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Elder Zi sighed.
"Girl—don't think you're the only one who's considered such a method. The problem is: everyone who tried has failed." Elder Zi's eyes darkened abruptly. "Even the artificially created sword cultivators who "succeeded" suffered Qi deviation when facing real hardships—not manufactured ones."
"A true sword cultivator cannot be manufactured. It is something born within each person. We might even call it destiny. Without the destiny to become a sword cultivator—no matter how hard you try—you will never succeed."
Elder Zi's gaze turned profoundly shadowed as he spoke.
Qing Xuanling swallowed hard, not daring to utter a word. Elder Zi seemed to notice her discomfort and chuckled.
"What—did a mere look frighten you?" Elder Zi laughed as he rose. "That would be rather bad. If so, there'd be little point in having a warm-up spar with you."
Qing Xuanling opened and closed her mouth. Elder Zi evoked a strange sensation in her.
Though armless, he radiated no vulnerability whatsoever. Despite his usually solemn expression, he had no issue laughing and teasing her. And just moments ago—when his gaze had darkened, as if bearing immense weight—he hadn't seemed weak at all. Instead, Qing Xuanling felt she was witnessing an unsheathed sword.
Perhaps because of all this, a strong desire to learn from him surged within Qing Xuanling.
She stood with a soft laugh. "I won't be afraid—as long as you don't go too hard on me! Don't you dare use the excuse of having no arms to try and beat me!"
"Oh? Clever girls truly are frightening—even capable of reading minds." Elder Zi smiled, though a trace of coldness lingered beneath. "Tell me, when you first saw me, didn't you think I couldn't do much harm?"
"…Do you think I'm mentally deficient or something?" Qing Xuanling shook her head vigorously. "A Foundation Establishment cultivator has millions of ways to kill me in one strike—even without arms!"
Elder Zi nodded as Sword Qi coalesced around him, forming several white swords. "Good that you know this. Since you're aware—tell me: why do you think I want a warm-up spar with you in my first class?"
Qing Xuanling frowned. "So you can gauge how strong I am…?"
"No." Elder Zi shook his head. "It's so you can see your own strength. Lately, you've experienced several power surges without opportunity to verify them: your new techniques, your body cultivation, even your recent Sword Qi."
"Not knowing your current strength—as a sword cultivator, one who lives by battle—is like slowly poisoning yourself."
Qing Xuanling's eyes widened. Upon reflection, Elder Zi's words made sense!
Just as she was about to thank him for the guidance—a Qi sword near Elder Zi shot toward her at high speed!
"This sword contains the maximum power a cultivator at your cultivation level can unleash." Elder Zi's smile held a sadistic edge.
Fiusssh!
The sword tore through the air, hurtling toward Qing Xuanling.
She smiled wryly and instantly unsheathed Memory. Under the Qi sword's glow, *Memory shimmered with five colors.
'It's merely a third-layer cultivator's attack… I shouldn't need more than physical strength.'
Qing Xuanling grinned and slashed with Memory using pure physical force—clashing against the Qi sword!
Clang!
A sharp ring echoed in Qing Xuanling's ears as her eyes widened in disbelief—her arm was violently repelled backward!
She had lost the exchange!
Worse—the Qi sword retreated only half a meter before surging toward her neck again. Qing Xuanling swallowed hard and immediately activated the Wandering Sword Art's second move: Nine changes.
Memory, though repelled, abruptly changed direction and struck the Qi sword again! This time—the result was utterly different. Memory cleanly severed the Qi sword in half!
Qing Xuanling took a sharp breath, gazing at the white Qi clinging to Memory's blade—her expression darkening.
"I told you: this is the maximum power a slightly-above-average third-layer cultivator can unleash." Elder Zi smiled while forming another Qi sword. "Well, I guess I forgot to mention that it was the power of a slightly stronger-than-normal cultivator. But oh well, at least you know for this round. This is the maximum power of a cultivator on the fourth layer. Don't get cocky~"
The Qi sword shot toward Qing Xuanling again—faster this time.
Qing Xuanling exhaled, her eyes now fully focused. Her earlier arrogance had nearly cost her defeat—a sobering reality check for her.
She finally remembered: though she'd faced opponents of higher cultivation, her victories stemmed solely from exceptional combat instinct and striking at the perfect moment.
But overall—she truly possessed no high-power attacks! Only small tricks useful for finishing opponents in one blow!
And how could those tricks destroy these Qi swords?
The answer was clear: they couldn't. Small tricks only worked against living enemies—not against pure energy attacks, let alone absolute force.
If she wanted to shatter these Qi swords—she had only one option.
"Cut!"
Qing Xuanling suddenly roared, channeling more Sword Qi into Memory—making it hum with excitement!
She didn't retreat. Instead, she advanced toward the incoming Qi sword, using Nine changes to slash three times in rapid succession! The Qi sword shattered instantly!
"Good—you grasped it quickly." Elder Zi spoke calmly while forming another Qi sword. "The Wandering Sword Art is a killing technique with minimal destructive power in its early moves. To overcome this—you can only trust that your sword will cut through everything coming at you!"
"No tricks, no waiting for lucky breaks! Just make sure your sword hits your target, harder and faster than before!"
As he finished speaking, the Qi sword behind Elder Zi—clearly radiating fifth-layer cultivator power—shot toward Qing Xuanling.
She didn't flinch. She slashed immediately—but as Memory and the Qi sword neared collision, the latter abruptly changed direction at the last moment!
It evaded Memory with several twists and flew straight toward Qing Xuanling's face!
Alarms blared in her mind. She tilted her head at the last possible instant—barely avoiding the strike.
"That's cheating, damn it!"
She cursed, dropping to the floor to evade the Qi sword's attempt to pierce her back. She rolled, sprang up, and used the momentum to strike the Qi sword.
But of course—the Qi sword didn't shatter from that alone. Though dimmed slightly, it continued attacking Qing Xuanling with unpredictable twists.
She cursed fiercely at the Qi sword—but after failing to strike it again due to its erratic movements, Qing Xuanling calmed. Her eyes regained clarity and began analyzing the situation.
The Qi sword's trajectory…
'This thing must follow an attack pattern.'
She realized it suddenly after several seconds of evasion and calm observation. It wasn't obvious—but the sword seemed to execute certain movements based on Qing Xuanling's actions.
With the idea in mind, she acted immediately to test her hypothesis. She stepped forward with her right foot and slashed toward the incoming Qi sword.
The Qi sword again performed an apparently impossible twist to the left to avoid Memory. But this time—Memory changed direction simultaneously with the Qi sword's turn!
The edge of Memory's blade struck the Qi sword forcefully—draining nearly all its glow.
Qing Xuanling smiled. "So the pattern was something so simple!"
She laughed heartily and attacked the Qi sword again—this time stepping first with her left foot. When the sword tried to evade Memory, it twisted right—straight into Memory's path!
Clang!
The Qi sword shattered.
"Always remember this." Elder Zi gestured calmly as a larger Qi sword grew behind him. "Your greatest advantage in battle has never been your Sword Qi, your techniques, or any power you possess."
"Your primary advantage has always been that sharp mind of yours—and your ability to detect an enemy's weaknesses."
"But above all—what's truly amazing about you is your instinct to use whatever little you have in the best way possible. If you maintain that sense—forged from having few techniques since youth—believe me: you'll have few opponents among your age group."
Qing Xuanling's eyes gleamed as her heart trembled slightly. Elder Zi's words awakened her. She'd grown slightly careless lately, comforted by the support she knew was coming.
Now certain she'd receive more—and of a much higher grade—techniques, she'd begun thinking innovation was unnecessary. Like now—believing the Wandering Sword Art was powerful enough.
When in truth—she had ways to improve her current attacks.
She took a deep breath and gazed at the Qi sword behind Elder Zi. "Thank you for the reminder. Maximum-power sixth-layer sword attack? Send it. I can still move forward!"
Elder Zi nodded slightly—launching the nearly two-meter-long Qi sword toward Qing Xuanling!
The Qi sword was overwhelmingly fast—nearly escaping Qing Xuanling's sight. In an instant, it reached her and shot toward her stomach!
She frowned and immediately swung Memory to intercept—but the sword, like the previous one, evaded Memory and surged toward Qing Xuanling again—this time accelerating after dodging Memory!
This time, even Qing Xuanling was momentarily stunned. Memory was too far forward—Nine changes was useless now. And unlike when she fell for that trick the first time, she had no room to dodge!
The strike seemed inevitable. Even Elder Zi's expression suggested his prediction was unfolding.
But in that moment—a pink glow illuminated Qing Xuanling's body.
Her left hand—which was free since she only used one hand to wield Memory—suddenly wreathed itself in intense, blazing pink fire!
'Celestial Flower's Pink Fire!'
Qing Xuanling had forgotten this fire-control technique—but in retrospect, the pink fire was immensely hot and fierce, utterly unlike the Clear Flame.
She smiled ruthlessly, completely enveloping her left fist in pink fire and delivering a swift, powerful blow to the flat part of the Qi sword!
Clang!
The trajectory of the Qi sword changed completely as its brightness diminished slightly and it only grazed Qing Xuanling's side!
A sharp pain shot through Qing Xuanling's hand before she could rejoice in her new attack method's success. She glanced down—her knuckles were bloodied, the blood slowly drying from the pink fire's heat.
She frowned. This was why she hadn't considered using pink fire this way before. Unlike spells, alchemists' fire-control techniques lacked the capacity to avoid harming their creators.
Now, the wound on her hand—caused from directly touching the Qi sword's body—was being cauterized by the fire, giving her hand a grotesque appearance.
The pain was intense. And this was a minor injury—thanks to the protection of its Copper Skin, the first level of skin of the Cauldron of the Devouring White Dragon.
Otherwise, she'd be seeing the bones of her knuckles. Sword Qi was, after all, Sword Qi. Anyone carelessly touching it would be mercilessly cut.
Even Elder Zi frowned upon seeing this—but despite his discomfort, he said nothing. Qing Xuanling's choices were hers alone. He wouldn't interfere.
And indeed—Qing Xuanling didn't want Elder Zi to stop the warm-up spar. She smiled and resumed battling the Qi sword, which had paused momentarily out of Elder Zi's consideration.
The Qi sword moved again as Qing Xuanling looked it with intense battle intent.
Qing Xuanling smiled, ignored the pain, and fought the Qi sword with her new combat style. Now she used not only her left fist—but also her feet. She wreathed them in pink fire and struck the Qi sword multiple times.
Her shoes were incinerated; her heels brutally wounded. Yet Qing Xuanling's smile never faded. On the contrary—it widened each time she noticed the Qi sword dimming slightly.
Finally, the Qi sword shattered after Qing Xuanling struck it with her pink-fire-wreathed fist. Her left hand and both feet were caked in dried blood and hideous scars—but Qing Xuanling's face shone bright with pride.
Elder Zi watched the scene—his expression… complex.
'…Is this girl's head screwed on right?'
He felt conflicted. Initially, he'd imagined Qing Xuanling would lose instantly against the sixth-layer-power sword.
After all—it wasn't a casual sixth-layer cultivator's attack. It was a strike requiring total energy expenditure—usable only once. Even a seventh-layer cultivator would struggle to destroy the Qi sword without being a genius.
'No—truthfully, even a genius at seventh layer would struggle against that Qi sword.'
But Qing Xuanling—through her grotesque, merciless-to-herself fighting style—had utterly surpassed Elder Zi's expectations in the worst possible way.
If Elder Zi had hands, he likely would've pinched the bridge of his nose.
'Extreme… This girl is far too extreme. If we're not careful—this child might kill herself trying to gain more strength.'