"You will understand when the time comes."
Chen Jichuan casually dismissed Wang Yan.
He then tidied himself up and went to meet Sect Master Yang Xiong. Thɪs chapter is updated by Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
"Are you saying you’ve mastered all thirty-two sword techniques in the Taixu Sword Manual?!"
Yang Xiong was shocked. He looked at the faction’s rising star, Wang Shan, seated below, finding it hard to believe.
Chen Jichuan replied honestly.
More than a year ago, when he had obtained the Taixu Sword Manual, it took him just over a month to master all thirty-two sword techniques.
He deliberately waited until today to reveal this for two reasons: firstly, to avoid scaring Yang Xiong and others; and secondly, because he wanted to gain access to the subsequent sixty-seven sword techniques in the manual as soon as possible.
And the third reason.
He intended to develop within the Taixu Sword Sect for the long term, so his own progress had to follow a traceable trajectory. It wouldn’t do for him to have achieved the Innate realm two years ago, remained unnoticed for two years, and then suddenly emerge as an invincible Innate.
That simply wouldn’t work.
Progress had to be shown bit by bit. Even if it was extraordinarily rapid, it needed to take the form of explosive advancement in full view of Yang Xiong and the reclusive elders of the Taixu Sword Sect.
Better to be seen as a genius, an anomaly...
Than to act secretively and attract undue suspicion.
Chen Jichuan’s cultivation talent was astonishing. For the Taixu Sword Sect, it would only bring them happiness and pride; they would never resent him for being too gifted.
Generally speaking, it wouldn’t arise.
Take Chen Jichuan himself, for instance: if a peerless prodigy emerged from Echo Valley in the Jade Spring World—
Achieving the Innate realm in six years and Qi Refinement in ten years.
He would merely speculate whether that genius had encountered some fortuitous opportunity, rather than leaping to wild conclusions.
If a disciple could master many profound sword techniques within a short span, he would only think that the disciple was extraordinarily talented in the art of swordsmanship and deserved more attention and cultivation, rather than harbor paranoid doubts about the disciple being the reincarnation of some ancient monster or someone who had seized another’s body.
This was something that couldn’t be precisely measured.
Someone reaching the Innate realm by the age of twenty-five—this was talent.
Someone mastering a sophisticated sword technique in just one month—this, too, was talent.
Unless you were dealing with an obstinate troublemaker,
Who would probe any deeper?
What Chen Jichuan wanted to display was precisely this almost monstrous level of talent, to explain his rapid progress in cultivation and his mastery of swordsmanship.
He also had contingency plans in mind: if ever doubted, he had a comprehensive strategy to win their trust.
"I don’t believe it."
"Come, draw your sword and attack me!"
Yang Xiong still refused to believe him. Rising to his feet, he took up his own sword and challenged Chen Jichuan.
"Sect Master, please excuse my offense."
Without hesitation, Chen Jichuan drew his sword.
Knowing that Yang Xiong wanted to witness it with his own eyes, he leapt into action, his movements as swift as a falcon. Sword light flickered as he demonstrated all thirty-two sword techniques from the Taixu Sword Manual one by one.
Yang Xiong did not unleash his full strength.
He merely wanted to verify whether Chen Jichuan had truly mastered all thirty-two techniques.
As he countered each move,
Yang Xiong grew increasingly astonished and increasingly delighted.
What he observed was not merely Chen Jichuan mastering each of the techniques; he had clearly already reached the level of perfection known as the Divine Communication Realm.
To master all these sword techniques in just one year was already the mark of a top-tier genius.
To reach the Divine Communication Realm with the same techniques within that year was absolutely shocking.
This had already surpassed the boundaries of genius and ascended to the realm of a "genius anomaly."
Yang Xiong had Chen Jichuan perform all thirty-two sword techniques, observing how he wielded them effortlessly—each strike and technique blending seamlessly with the others, adjusted as needed with impeccable skill.
He knew immediately that it was genuine.
He sheathed his sword and exclaimed "Excellent!" three times in succession, his face glowing with elation.
Looking at Chen Jichuan, he couldn’t stop nodding in approval.
Earlier, he had suspected that Wang Ji might have privately passed down the Taixu Sword Manual to this disciple long ago. In that case, mastering thirty-two sword techniques in eight or nine years might have been plausible. But upon witnessing Chen Jichuan’s swordsmanship prowess, that thought vanished like smoke.
Even if the techniques had been taught earlier, so what?
Even if he had practiced for a decade, so what?
To achieve such a level of mastery in swordsmanship at this age and cultivation stage rendered all these details irrelevant.
Moreover, as far as Yang Xiong knew, Chen Jichuan had not practiced swordsmanship before reaching the stage of Transforming Strength. He had seen it with his own eyes—at that time, the disciple had lacked even the slightest trace of a swordsman’s sharpness. He shouldn’t have been mistaken.
Yang Xiong felt increasingly excited and pleased. He said to Chen Jichuan, "Go back for now. Come tomorrow to receive the subsequent sword techniques."
"Thank you, Sect Master."
Chen Jichuan did not linger and took his leave.
After Chen Jichuan departed,
Yang Xiong first went to examine Wang Shan’s records.
Before transferring Wang Shan to be the Commander of the Fourth Division of the Blood Clothes Army, Yang Xiong had already studied his background. For the sake of caution, he scrutinized it once again this time.
After going through it, he headed straight for a cliffside cave at the rear of the mountain.
Outside the cliff cave, two Elders stood guard. On the cliff face, the words "Ten Thousand Scroll Cave" were engraved—the repository of the Taixu Sword Sect’s treasured archives.
he passed through a long tunnel until the space ahead opened up. Within the vast cavern, rows upon rows of bookshelves stood tall, each filled with volumes of books.
An elderly man was slowly dusting the shelves.
His actions seemed utterly mundane, but upon closer inspection, one might sense a connection to the forces of nature itself, exuding an indescribable harmony.
Upon arrival, Yang Xiong respectfully bowed to the gray-robed elder and addressed him, saying, "Seventh Master Uncle."
Although Yang Xiong was the Sect Master of the Taixu Sword Sect and not among the lowest in terms of seniority within the sect, those whom he called "Master Uncle" were an extreme rarity.
Most of the Sect’s Elders likely didn’t even know that such a figure existed.
"Why have you come to see this old man?"
The gray-robed elder didn’t pause his movements, nor did he look at Yang Xiong. Instead, he inquired casually.