The morning sun rose slowly above the horizon, spilling golden light over the Li Estate. Dew sparkled on the tiled rooftops, and light mist curled in the courtyard like a silent dance. Birds chirped from high branches, and servants moved about respectfully, aware that their young master will soon began his journey in the outside world and had chosen Sky-Reaching Sword Sect for his cultivation.
In his private chamber, Li Qingyun sat in quiet contemplation.
The system interface floated before his mind's eye.
[System Interface]
[Energy Points: 345]
[Slot 1: Voidcleave Sword Manual – Perfect]
[Slot 2: Ninefold Essence Sutra – Perfect]
[Slot 3: Locked (Unlock requires 100 points)]
The moment had come.
He gathered his thoughts and calmly issued a command.
"Unlock third slot."
> [100 Energy Points Consumed – Slot 3 Unlocked]
[Remaining Energy Points: 245]
With a soft chime, the third slot lit up. He unrolled the scroll that came with the sect's gift — the Cloudveil Flight Method, a sword control technique specifically designed to guide a flying sword for both transportation and battle manipulation.
Placing it in the newly unlocked slot, he watched it begin to resonate faintly with the Voidcleave Sword Manual.
[Slot 3: Cloudveil Flight Method – Cultivation initiated.]
Progress: Beginner stage...
Li Qingyun frowned slightly, then smiled.
He didn't rush.
Instead, he stood up, opened the doors to his training courtyard, and walked out into the fresh morning light.
With sleeves tied and hair bound, he placed the gifted sword — an elegant, plain longsword with a slight curve — onto the ground before him.
This wasn't Shadowfang, his personal bonded weapon, a sword of battle and killing intent. This one was different. A flying sword, sleek and sharp, but not for close combat. A vessel, not a predator.
Li Qingyun knelt before it.
He shut his eyes, extended his spiritual sense, and recalled the guidance from the scroll: "Let the sword follow thought, not force."
He willed the sword to rise.
It didn't move.
He tried again, spiritual energy pulsing through his fingertips, lines of control branching out like invisible threads.
The sword twitched.
Then nothing.
"This is harder than it looks..." he murmured, smiling wryly.
Hours passed as he practiced. The sword rose for a breath and fell. Turned slightly and dropped again. Unlike Voidcleave, which advanced with a steady tempo and ferocity, this technique required absolute delicacy — subtlety over strength.
Even so, by noon, he was finally able to make the sword hover steadily in the air and move in short circles around him. Far from mastery, but an important first step.
In the early afternoon, he returned to the main hall where his parents were resting. He found them sipping tea and chatting in the warm breeze. His mother, Lin Meiyu, noticed him first.
"Done practicing, Qingyun?"
"Not done," he said calmly, "but I thought I should show you this."
He presented the flying sword, and the silver-rune talisman gifted by the sect. Though they had already seen the items in passing the night before, he wanted to properly explain them.
"This sword is for flying, not for combat. And this…" He gently placed the talisman down. "Is a single-use item that can block an attack from a Nascent Soul expert or lower."
Lin Meiyu's eyes widened slightly. "A Nascent Soul level defense… That's an extremely rare talisman."
Li Tianyang lifted it and examined it closely. "Crafted with spatial-reversal formation runes. These aren't mass-produced. Likely created by a formation elder at the sect."
Seeing his parents' worried expressions linger despite their praise, Li Qingyun continued, "I'm showing you all this because I want you to worry less when I leave. If anything happens, I'll protect myself first — always."
Lin Meiyu smiled gently, brushing his hair from his forehead like when he was a child. "We know… But you're our son. And it is normal for parents to worry about their children."
"I know," he said quietly.
---
Later that afternoon, with the sun hanging high, Li Qingyun returned to his courtyard. The moment had come to test what little control he had gained.
He placed the flying sword onto the ground, then stepped onto it lightly.
The moment he channeled energy into it, the sword trembled beneath his feet.
"Rise."
The sword lifted into the air—wobbling, unstable. He gritted his teeth and adjusted his spiritual flow, carefully adjusting balance and posture.
The sword steadied.
Wind rushed past his robes. He slowly rose ten, then twenty meters above the courtyard. From here, the tiled roofs of the estate looked like a serene painting. His heart pounded.
Not from fear — but exhilaration.
He floated like that for only a minute before descending.
"One day," he murmured, stepping down, "I'll soar beyond the clouds."
That night, while meditating, the system pinged softly.
[Cloudveil Flight Method: Beginner → Proficient Stage]
Cultivation of control-type techniques depends heavily on user's comprehension and external practice.
He accepted that. Not every path could be walked quickly.
And besides…
He had time now.
---
As the stars rose that evening and night swept across the estate, Li Qingyun sat beside his sword in the courtyard — eyes closed, mind calm.
Immediately, a light breeze swirled through the room.
It wasn't real wind — not in the mundane sense. It was sword energy, subtle and ephemeral. He could feel the method awakening inside him, feeding from the precision of Voidcleave, the flow of Ninefold Essence, and the clarity of his own focused will.
Minutes passed like water down a mountainside.
Then something shifted inside him.
A pressure that had been coiled within his core for days suddenly loosened. His spiritual energy surged, breaking through his bottleneck with quiet momentum.
[Cultivation Realm Advanced: Qi Gathering 8th → 9th Stage]
He took a sharp breath and opened his eyes. A rush of heat, power, and clarity coursed through his meridians. The world felt subtly different. Quieter, sharper. As if each breath was more meaningful.
He had 245 energy points left, and for now, he had no intention of spending them. He will save them for now.