Jian Dalong had perfected the [Mountain-Blocking Celestial Net]. His Qi Blood intertwined within his body to form a fine Qi Blood Armor, providing extremely powerful defense against force.

Logically, Yu Fei shouldn’t have been able to harm him at all, but strangely, the Qi Blood Armor inside his body had been breached.

"This is strange!"

Jian Dalong’s mind raced, but he didn’t change his strategy.

He twisted his body and dropped his elbow, continuing to drive it toward Yu Fei’s right shoulder. He was only halfway through the motion when a knee slammed into his side, making him stagger and lose his balance.

Before he could recover, Yu Fei stuck to him like glue, unleashing a relentless barrage of fists and feet. Jian Dalong took countless blows before he finally managed to seize an opportunity to throw Yu Fei off.

The two stood apart again, each searching for an opening.

Jian Dalong felt the damaged Qi Blood Armor within him and was filled with a sense of resignation.

Only a short while had passed, yet his defense had already been breached.

The [Mountain-Blocking Celestial Net] was a very peculiar internal Cultivation Technique. It was only useful in actual combat once one had perfected it.

A Martial Artist’s Qi Blood would form a continuous, unending armor. Even if a section was destroyed by an overwhelming attack, the flow of Qi Blood would allow it to recover quickly.

This was also the reason why he attacked with all his might, disregarding defense.

But the perfected [Mountain-Blocking Celestial Net] had a drawback. Once more than thirty percent of the Qi Blood Armor was destroyed, the technique would fail. It would no longer provide any defensive capabilities and would even accelerate the consumption of Qi Blood.

And that was exactly his current situation.

No one likes to lose, and Jian Dalong wanted to win. He adjusted his stance, centered himself, and took a defensive posture.

Looking at Yu Fei’s relaxed expression, a sense of resignation washed over him.

’This guy’s attacks are too sharp. They’re simple, efficient, and every blow is aimed at my vitals.

Now I can only rely on my higher realm to wear him down.’

Jian Dalong was two minor realms higher than Yu Fei. His Qi Blood was much more abundant. Even though the failed [Mountain-Blocking Celestial Net] was causing extra consumption, his Qi Blood reserves were still significantly greater than Yu Fei’s.

Seeing his opponent’s intention, Yu Fei once again took the offensive.

Even though Jian Dalong was defending with all his might, he still couldn’t cover all his bases.

He was constantly forced back by punches that mixed both hard and soft force.

The crowd of onlookers witnessed a magnificent display of skill.

Usually, when everyone sparred with Yu Fei, they were always defeated in an instant, unable to gauge his true depth. Now, with Jian Dalong acting as a sufficiently durable punching bag for Yu Fei to unleash his skills on, they finally discovered just how amazing he was.

His every move was unpredictable and masterful, like a stroke of genius.

When attacking, he moved like a thunderclap, every strike aimed at a vital point.

He always dodged by a hair’s breadth, making his opponent’s attacks miss by the slimmest of margins.

Recalling Yu Fei’s responses carefully, they realized he had the perfect, unhurried air of a master!

THUD!

A prolonged defense is bound to fail. Jian Dalong was kicked in the chest and knocked to the ground. He clutched his chest, unable to get up for a long time.

Seeing that his talent-copying ability had succeeded, Yu Fei chuckled and pulled Jian Dalong to his feet.

His Qi Blood was less than thirty percent. It had to be said, Jian Dalong’s defensive ability was incredibly strong.

"My apologies!"

"Ugh... You’re a monster!"

Jian Dalong clutched his chest, gasping for air. He couldn’t understand how someone could have such perfect responses in a fight. He felt that even fighting a Second Realm teacher wasn’t this frustrating.

Yu Fei laughed heartily.

"I’ll take that as a compliment! Haha!"

Afterward, the two exchanged pointers on their boxing techniques and agreed to spar once a week.

The battle had put enough pressure on Jian Dalong to help him discover the weaknesses in his moves, while Yu Fei was able to integrate the martial arts he had learned.

A good opponent could spur growth in one’s own martial arts strength. Unfortunately, the stage of Nanguan Second Middle School was too small, limiting Yu Fei’s growth.

Yan Sea watched from the side, a thoughtful expression on his face. Yu Fei’s comprehension and innate talent were nothing compared to the geniuses from the capital, Shenjing; one could say they were very average! After all, Tianning County was a small place.

The fact that he still hadn’t perfected the [Cyan Lotus Sword Seal] after a month of study was proof of this.

In contrast, however, his combat aptitude was exceptionally high, and his talent with Spiritual Power was also outstanding. Of everyone Yan Sea had ever met, Yu Fei’s talent in these areas ranked in the top five.

The First Realm of martial arts didn’t involve training with weapons. They only began learning lethal combat methods in the Second Realm. He estimated that would be the time for Yu Fei to truly shine.

Yu Fei gleefully submerged his consciousness into his mental space. He saw two layers of brilliance enveloping the Fate-Reversing Pearl. Amidst the stardust floated three talent gems: one purple and two blue. He still had two opportunities left to copy a talent.

The talent from Jian Dalong was named:

[Tough Hide]

Description: You possess a more powerful physique.

Effect: Physical defense is increased by twenty percent, and strength is increased by thirty percent.

Jian Dalong’s talent focused on enhancing defense and strength. The increase in physical defense was within his expectations, but he hadn’t thought it would also boost strength.

Now he just needed a suitable opponent, one with a high-quality talent. Only then could he continuously obtain high-quality talent traits, break them down for stardust, and expand his talent slots.

’Perhaps the upcoming high school martial arts tournament will be my chance!’

「...」

After half a month of tireless effort, Yu Fei could finally control the Cyan Lotus Sword steadily three inches from the point between his eyebrows. The only regret was that the Cyan Lotus Sword Seal was still only at the minor-success level; he seemed to have hit some kind of bottleneck.

Beneath the giant character for "sword," Yu Fei sat cross-legged with his hands forming a seal, the Cyan Lotus Sword hovering steadily before his eyes.

Yan Sea stood beside Yu Fei, watching over him carefully. Seeing Yu Fei control the Cyan Lotus Sword with such stability, he finally relaxed.

"Good. Only now can you truly begin to practice the Green Lotus Sword Nourishing Skill. This is a Contemplation Skill. You must mentally visualize a sword and then have it slash toward the Cyan Lotus Sword before you. When your Imagined Sword clashes with the Cyan Lotus Sword, use the ’Order’ seal!"

Yu Fei focused his mind and held his breath. Without speaking to Yan Sea, he silently outlined a three-foot-long green blade in his mind and had it slash toward the Cyan Lotus Sword!

"Order!"

A light flashed on the Cyan Lotus Sword, and an invisible Sword Intent shot into Yu Fei’s mind. His Imagined Sword was struck by the formless, sharp Sword Qi and instantly shattered into pieces.

At the same time, Yu Fei felt as if his brain were being split in two. The pain was excruciating!

CLANG!

The Cyan Lotus Sword, no longer under his control, fell to the ground!

Pale-faced, Yu Fei swayed on his feet, blood streaming from his nose. But he held on and didn’t pass out!

After a moment, Yu Fei took the towel Yan Sea handed him with trembling hands and wiped the blood from his nose clean!

"Teacher... was I just struck by the Cyan Lotus Sword?"

Yan Sea was silent for a moment before saying:

"This is normal. The Green Lotus Sword Nourishing Skill is just like this. Why don’t you rest for now and try again tomorrow?"

This wasn’t meant as sarcasm. Although he had seen his junior brother practice this before, he hadn’t experienced it himself, and he had forgotten some of the details. He was just reconstructing the steps from the Cultivation Technique manual. But who knew if there were some unwritten details?

Moreover, as far as he knew, all twelve "seeds" that had been sent out back then had failed. It was possible there were some unknown secrets involved.

Yan Sea looked at Yu Fei, sometimes thinking of just telling him to give up, but he could never bring himself to say it.

On one hand, he believed that the Cultivation Techniques of the Calamity Sword lineage were a perfect match for Yu Fei. The Sharpness of the Calamity Sword, combined with Yu Fei’s combat aptitude, could allow him to walk the path of the strong. Besides, Yu Fei’s talent for Spiritual Power was good, making it a great fit for the Calamity Sword’s characteristics.

With the help of the Calamity Sword, the ordinarily talented Yu Fei would be able to go far on the path of cultivation.