Because the mist shrouded the night, most houses here reserved a large amount of space indoors. For instance, the dining hall where they were at this moment was at least two hundred square meters—extremely spacious.
Mingde stood in the open space, his right hand hanging naturally, fingertips pointing toward the ground.
"Watch closely. The first move of the Clear Wind Sword—Formless Wind Trend!"
Shua!
His right hand abruptly scattered into complex afterimages. Those dozen or so afterimages slowly combined into one body, like a flower bud.
In the next instant, the flower bud blossomed suddenly, stabbing out a ray of faint white sword light from the center.
It was clearly a finger, yet the sword light he stabbed out at this moment was like a true longsword, tapping instantly against the ground.
Pu!
A black hole of unknown depth appeared on the floor.
"Look again at the second move, One-Handed Cloud Sweep!"
He waved his right hand casually to the side. Layers upon layers of afterimages emerged once more. In the next instant, all the afterimages merged abruptly, then exploded outward.
This time, no sword light was visible, only an invisible wind blowing out in all directions.
In the next moment, Lin Hui suddenly felt a chill on his neck. He hurriedly turned sideways, only to see that Mingde had appeared on his right side at some unknown point, his fingers forming a sword, pointed directly at his neck.
Meanwhile, the Mingde who had just been standing in front of him turned into an afterimage and slowly faded away.
"Third move..."
Mingde demonstrated one move after another without holding anything back, thoroughly displaying the Clear Wind Sword Technique from start to finish.
Until the final killing move—Wind-Riding Three Points. A total of eighty-one moves, all concluded.
"Did you see them clearly?"
"I saw clearly! But this disciple is slow-witted; I do not know how to channel and execute such moves," Lin Hui said gravely.
Viewing it as a whole, he realized the tyrannical nature of the Clear Wind Sword. This sword technique focused on a single phrase: caught off guard.
Its characteristic was to attack the unexpected, striking beyond anticipation, followed immediately by a stab to a vital point, causing instant death.
This type of sword technique excelled in unpredictability, cunning, and high risk. However, when faced with an opponent whose dignified fighting style was flawless from the front, it was as if it had met its nemesis.
If the opponent was flawless, the sword couldn't break their defense. The final result was that, under the same realm, Daoist Baohe was crushed by Song Zhanlong in just a few moves.
This was not a difference in cultivation levels, but in fighting styles. Choosing to walk a dangerous path naturally meant exposing greater flaws within oneself. Once that perilous path was blocked and the flaws laid bare, swift defeat would be inevitable.
But this kind of martial art also had its benefits.
That was the 'First-Encounter Kill'. Once the opponent failed to respond in time, it would result in a swift victory.
"To channel and execute the moves, you must pay attention to maintaining the state of your inner heart. The state of the heart—this is the mental method. The mental method of the Clear Wind Sword requires you to maintain a clarified state like the mirrored surface of a lake, clearly weaving sword moves, compressing sword moves, and then finding the opportunity to explode in an instant!"
Mingde explained while reaching into the inner pocket of his lining, fishing out a small black scroll.
"This is the visualization diagram of our sect's mental method, used to let disciples comprehend the state of mind within. You must remember: if the heart is chaotic, the hands will be chaotic. The heart is the root of everything. Keep the heart unmoved, and the sword technique will naturally be methodical and orderly."
Lin Hui accepted the scroll and slowly unrolled it. On it was a picture of a bright moon and mountain ranges. A sickle-like moon hung high above, releasing silver moonlight that sprinkled over the mountains like silk threads.
A feeling of quietude and relaxation welled up in his heart.
Lin Hui savored this feeling carefully. Gradually, he realized that the sensation he experienced while executing continuous sword moves during his practice of the Seven-Section Swift Sword was, in fact, remarkably similar to the artistic conception conveyed by this visualization diagram.
As he looked, move after move of the Seven-Section Swift Sword inexplicably surged in his mind.
"Alright, next, you execute the Nine-Section Swift Sword. Attack me with full power. I will test your current sword art cultivation." Mingde clapped his hands, interrupting Lin Hui's train of thought.
"Yes."
Lin Hui straightened his body, holding the sword in his right hand, and closed his eyes.
"Nine-Section Swift Sword. Disciple has already stepped into the 7th Rank of Body Tempering. Please, Teacher, grant instruction."
"Execute as you wish." Mingde smiled. Progress like the 7th Rank of Body Tempering had indeed reached a level more genius than even Huang Shan and the others.
The genius of Huang Shan and Qiu Yiren lay in their mastery of sword techniques, while Lin Hui's genius lay in Body Tempering.
Each had their own merits.
But it had to be said, talent like Lin Hui's was easier to overlook. After all, accumulating strength to burst forth later meant there would be no special manifestations at the very beginning.
Thoughts flowed in Mingde's mind as he gazed at Lin Hui, who stood two meters in front of him, waiting for the other party to draw his sword.
Ding...
Just then, his expression moved. He seemed to hear a light sound beside his ear, like a bell.
It was as if a silver wind chime hanging under the eaves was swaying in the wind, gently colliding.
"Nine-Section Swift Sword..." Lin Hui's voice came accompanied by the light sound. "Illusory Golden Autumn..."
The autumn wind howled, the wind chimes agitated. In that split second, a series of illusory figures emerged in Mingde's eyes.
Those were Lin Hui's figures.
They connected into a single piece, shaped like a straight line, perfectly forming a coherent phantom from drawing the sword, raising it high, to striking out.
Chi!!
All the phantoms merged instantly, turning into a human form that appeared behind Mingde, slowly turning around.
The sword edge stabbed silently toward the center of Mingde's back.
Pu!!
The blade stabbed into a thin layer of white light, piercing a tiny dent into it before finally freezing motionless.
"!!!" The smile on Mingde's face had long since stiffened.
His right hand had only raised a section, forming a sword shape, but until the very end, he did not strike. He simply watched Lin Hui's move completely and quietly.
In the end, he chose to use Internal Force to forcefully withstand this sword. He did so to watch the entire process of this move thoroughly, without missing a single trace.
He was entranced.
Yes.
The moment Lin Hui drew his sword, he was entranced.
He had never imagined that the sword moves of the Nine-Section Swift Sword could reach such a level of flawlessness.
That sword light, incapable of addition or subtraction—impeccable—was like the most correct and perfect trajectory between heaven and earth, making one involuntarily, uncontrollably attracted to gaze upon it.
Just one look, and Mingde felt that the Nine-Section Swift Sword he had practiced before was wrong.
Not just wrong, but outrageously wrong!
If one practiced according to Lin Hui's manner, the power of the Nine-Section Swift Sword would increase by at least half!
"How did you practice this?"
It was a long time before Mingde asked, his voice hoarse.
"Disciple practiced according to the Master's instructions. Is there a problem?" Lin Hui sheathed his sword and answered.
He naturally couldn't mention the existence of the Blood Seal.
To be honest, this was also his first time using the perfect version of the Nine-Section Swift Sword in a spar. He hadn't expected his teacher's reaction to be so huge.
At this moment, he felt somewhat apprehensive in his heart.
"Very good, practiced very well!" Mingde said forcefully, a smile resurfacing on his face.
But this smile soon turned stiff.
How he wished a genius like Lin Hui had appeared ten years ago... If he had grown up back then... perhaps they wouldn't necessarily have been unable to block Song Zhanlong.
Pity, it was too late now...
"You, demonstrate the Nine-Section Swift Sword completely for me once." Mingde suppressed the shock in his heart and spoke again.
"Yes!" Lin Hui nodded, raising his hand again, sword out.
That sound resembling wind chimes, caused by the blade piercing the air, rang out once more.
The seven afterimages of the 7th Rank of Body Tempering flashed continuously, executing the brand-new perfect version of the Nine-Section Swift Sword time and again.
After a long time, having passed through Lin Hui's demonstration, Mingde re-adjusted his own Nine-Section Swift Sword. For a time, he felt his move speed had increased significantly. Although it lacked that bizarre attraction of Lin Hui's, which was perfect to the point of seeming like an illusion, it substantially raised his own strength.
One must know that the Nine-Section Swift Sword was originally a simplified version of the Clear Wind Sword Technique. Now that it had obtained an enhancement, the boost to the Clear Wind Sword Technique was also not small.
That night, Mingde did not rest. Instead, he constantly adjusted his own sword technique, integrating the new perfect version of the Nine-Section Swift Sword into himself.
What disappointed him slightly was that no matter how hard he thought and struggled, the Nine-Section Swift Sword he executed was a cut below Lin Hui's.
He simply couldn't execute that sword technique, which was perfect to the point of near-enchantment and hypnosis, no matter how many times he imitated it.
Fortunately, although he couldn't imitate it, even the inferior effect made Mingde feel that his sword art attainments had risen by at least several percent.
Unlike Mingde's sleepless night of bitter contemplation, Lin Hui went to the side room arranged by his teacher to rest after demonstrating a few times.
He wasn't just resting, but also adjusting for the next step of the Blood Seal's evolution.
And the Blood Seal's next target had long been arranged—it was the newly learned Clear Wind Sword Technique.
Both the Seven-Section Swift Sword and the Nine-Section Swift Sword had been practiced to perfection. Having reached this stage, the final destination, the Clear Wind Sword Technique, naturally could not be missed.
However, this time, Lin Hui did not evolve the full set together again. Instead, he planned to break it down and evolve it move by move.
At this moment, he lay on his back in the dim bedroom, sleeping on a hard porcelain pillow, eyes closed, quietly gazing at the red handwriting at the bottom of his vision.
[Clear Wind Sword Technique: The main sword cultivation technique of Clear Wind Temple, renowned for its emphasis on speed and illusion. The style is enigmatic, cunning, and exhilarating, comprising eighty-one distinct moves. It has been perfected through generations of continual improvement by successive Clear Wind Temple Masters. Evolutionary Branches Available: 3.]
'Hmm? There are actually three evolution branches?' Lin Hui stared blankly, surprised in his heart.
One had to know that the Clear Wind Sword Technique was already the highest sword art of the Clear Wind Temple. Yet now, the Blood Seal had actually given three more evolution branches. This was strange.
This reminded him of the inexplicable evolution branches that appeared when he grabbed random objects before.
Like the chicken leg back then.
'Could it be, it's just like the chicken leg back then?'
An inexplicable expectation rose in Lin Hui's heart. He quickly focused his attention and tapped on the evolution branch column.
Chi.
The blood text blurred, then clarified again.
[Current Evolvable Branches:]
[1 — Clear Wind Sword Technique (Perfected Version).]
[2 — Clear Wind Sword Technique (Purgatory Breath Version).]
[3 — Clear Wind Sword Technique (Extreme Cold Whispers Version).]
'I knew it. Just like the chicken leg back then, it still involves Purgatory and Extreme Cold...' Looking at these three newly appeared branches, Lin Hui fell into deep thought.
A moment later, he separated the first move, Formless Wind Trend, and let the Blood Seal evolve it alone.
This time, the branch given by the Blood Seal only remained as the evolved version of the move itself, changing from Formless Wind Trend to Boundless Wind Trend.
'Can I only touch the other branches by evolving the full set together?' Lin Hui frowned tightly. This conflicted somewhat with his previous arrangement.
Looking at the branch lines for the full set evolution, any fool would know that the other two—Purgatory Breath and Extreme Cold Whispers—were absolutely tyrannically powerful. After all, they were levels comparable to the Perfected Version of the Clear Wind Sword Technique.
Just look at the Perfected Version of the Seven-Section Swift Sword. The Body Tempering speed was astonishingly fast, allowing him, with ordinary aptitude, to masquerade as a genius.
'It is time to choose...'
Looking at the three choices floating in the Blood Seal, Lin Hui fell into hesitation.