"Even though my father is a genius back then, he has aged. The Sword Cloud Manor favors young genius, and my brother was this genius... Without this, the Zhao family would soon make their move."
"This is because the Zhao have their Zhao Gongzu, the genius of the younger generation, thus gaining the support of the Sword Cloud Manor!" She murmured under her breath, then her eyes lit up as she continued.
"I heard he has reached Seventh Body Tempering Stage being only fourteen years old."
"Hmph! In front of my older brother, what talent does he amount to? Nothing!"
Seeing this, he let out a light chuckle. It was an amusing sight at the very least.
Wasn't Shi Jing at the Peak of Body Tempering, being only thirteen year old himself? He didn't bring it up and sighed.
"If the Zhao family achieved their desired goal, then I, as the representative of your Ming family, wouldn't I be facing their wraith next?" He said, shaking his head.
Perhaps it was to reassure her of his support, or to remind himself of his current circumstance.
Regardless of the former or latter, she seemed to form her own thoughts and concern as she whispered.
"If only my older brother is here… Then the Zhao family wouldn't dare make a sound."
He didn't ask about her brother, or other affairs of their family.
This matter was beyond his hand and he was just an outsider, a lone boat swept along the storming current.
Seeing that he had no interest in speaking further, she left after a moment of casual banter.
"One Autumn Stroke…" He murmured under his breath, his eyes was glued onto the system display.
[Sword Art: One Autumn Stroke (Minor Mastery)]
Minor mastery? Is this the initial level of comprehension for a technique?
He walked forward while thinking to himself.
He didn't have a sword, but not far from the small pond in his courtyard, there was a dead branch on the ground.
He picked it up and immerse in that sensation again.
The autumn wind seemed to hear his thoughts and began blowing against his clothes. With a flick of his wrist, he isolate himself from the world.
In that silent and still courtyard, he seem to grasp a thread.
Then, his Inner Qi surge, moving toward this thread.
Shush!
The stick in his hand come to life, moving on its own, or at least he thought it did.
But in actuality, it was his hand which move, it was his thought which produce the intent, and this intent which bring forth his action.
First Stroke!
As the branch move with the autumn wind, he could feel a slight resistance on his finger tip.
"It's not right! This resistance… I'm doing something wrong!" He didn't know much about martial art or cultivation, merely following his instinct.
But his instinct told him this was not the way!
Once again, he moved his hand, causing a mirage to appear from his movement. This mirage of image seemingly form a petal as it appear.
Second Stroke!
This time, it was different. It felt like he was on a raft being push by the ocean tide. There was no resistance, it was as though an invisible hand guided him.
Shush!
He opened his eyes and in front of him was a falling petal.
This falling petal drifted into the trajectory of his stroke, causing it to be sliced apart.
"T-This… I seem to have a natural talent for martial art." He whispered to himself. Despite being the one to perform this sword stroke, he was shocked to the core.
This was the only explanation he could think of. The notification of the system further reinforce this idea.
[Sword Art: One Autumn Stroke (Major Mastery)].
[Congratulation for reaching Major Mastery on your sword art.
Reward: One Cultivation Stage.]
Seeing this change, he was elated.
"Comprehending technique can give me cultivation directly?" This is too perverted!
Shi Jing wonder if the other transmigrator also enjoy this benefit from the system. He could only assume so since he wasn't the only one with the chat and mission function apparently.
At the same time, he was confused.
"I reached major mastery for the earth-grade body refinement art, why did I not get this reward?"
Other than reaching higher mastery of a particular art, does it need to be of a certain grade for it to count?
For example, the One Autumn Stroke is Heaven-Grade while the Iron Body Art is only Earth grade?
The system was indifferent, remaining silent and leaving his question unanswered.
[Detected Peak Body-Tempering Cultivation]
[Adjusting spiritual essence…]
[Spiritual essence adjusted.]
[Current Cultivation: Early Qi-Refinement Realm.]
He could feel an invisible wave of energy entering his body from the surrounding. This force was like a breeze washing over his body.
Perhaps due to already completing his body metamorphosis, there was no pain or abnormality.
He broke through into Qi-Refinement right away without any hindrance.
With this breakthrough, he was elated beyond words.
I too am a True Cultivator! He thought as he form a tight fist.
Just as he thought the system was finished, another series of notification appeared.
[Detected first time achievement!]
[First transmigrator to reach Qi-Refinement, calculating reward...]
[Calculation complete!]
[Reward: Spirit Art: Ghostly Concealment Art
"T-This-", He muttered, his mouth stopped due to a wave of knowledge surging his mind.
There is sword art, body refinement art, naturally, there is spirit art.
The effect of Ghostly Concealment is in its name, "Concealment"!
With ghostly concealment, it is possible to conceal one's true cultivation from the prying sense of others. This elusive spirit art is rumored to originate from a legendary demonic figure in the past era.
"The effect of this spirit art is too mysterious!" He exclaimed, his breath extended for a long time before exhaling, producing white mist.
This white mist then stirred and move, shrouding his body before disappearing as though it never existed.
If someone were to attempt prying him with their senses, they would realized that he was an ordinary mortal without an ounce of spiritual essence or inner qi.
Unless he revealed himself, others cannot pry into his secrets!
Similarly, even if someone has higher cultivation than him examine his body, they would be met with a layer of white mist on his body.
"With this, I can act without worrying about my secret being revealed in the future..." As expected, the first time achievement reward was extraordinary.
The combination of these rewards washed away his stupor as he recalled the sense of fatigue from before.
At the same time, he realized something that made him hesitant.
Even with his peak body-tempering cultivation, he could only perform a single stroke at its full power!
Now that he reached Qi-Refinement, he wondered how many sword stroke can he perform?
If Ming Feng were to witness this in person, even he would be shocked and frightened!
Qi-Refinement at age thirteen and Major Mastery of Heaven-Grade sword art?
This was unheard of in the history of Cangwu city.
Not to mention, the origin of the One Autumn Stroke was complicated, perhaps only the founder knew of its true might.
Even Ming Feng himself, a genius of the Sword Cloud Manor, an influential figure in Cangwu City, reached major mastery of this sword art after reaching Qi-Refinement.
This was already considered talented!
Not to mention Ming Muwan, who had practiced this sword art at a young age until now, barely stepped into the minor mastery realm.
What would they think if they knew Shi Jing grasped it in under a day?
No, not even a day, but at a glance!
At this moment, the sky rumbled and rain started to pour. He discarded the stick and muster the strength to run for shelter from the rain.
The stick laid on the ground, blurred by heavy downpour and shattered to dust. He didn't noticed it and shivered from the cold wind, his breath producing white mist.
"The autumn wind in Cangwu city is cold… I wonder how my fellow transmigrators are doing..." It was a passing thought, and as they pass, he lost consciousness and fell asleep.
The sound of the rain, scent of the earth, they became his bed and blanket, allowing him to get his first restful sleep ever since his transmigration
The next day.
Shi Jing woke up, the sky was cleared and the rain disappeared as though it was an illusion.
However, the humid stench from the earth reminded him it was real.
Before he even opened his eyes, his spiritual essence stirred.
When his spiritual essence moved, it became an extension of his mind. Through this extension, he could clearly see a group of people approaching from a higher view.
Seeing this, he was a little startled.
"Is this my spiritual sense?" He recalls certain notes from the Iron Body Transformation Art. But he wasn't certain this was the so-called spiritual sense.
His of knowledge made him sighed as he lamented on his ignorance again.
This group of people entered Shi Jing courtyard. His poor appearance made them frowned.
"Who is this beggar?" Fang Zheng asked in annoyance.
All of them were wearing white robe with cloud embroidery. Clearly, this robe was a uniform of a certain sect or family.