My Informative Cultivation Life

Yang Ji knitted his brows as he watched the remaining shadow, over and over again, constantly recalling and contemplating in his mind, murmuring to himself.

"This sword is very domineering, with one slash, the Sword Qi is like a wildfire, unstoppable..."

[You have had a major epiphany, Sword Qi is like a wildfire, swordsmanship proficiency +1.]

"Hm?" Yang Ji suddenly froze, disbelieving, "I have contemplated countless directions before, the sharpness of the Sword Dao, the domineering nature of the Sword Qi, and the like were all minor insights. Could it be now that 'fire' is actually a major epiphany?"

"Could it be that the essence of a wildfire is the most critical meaning within this sword?"

[You have had a major epiphany, the sword is a symbol of fire, swordsmanship proficiency +1.]

"Another major epiphany?" Yang Ji's heart was shaken, excited, "It seems I've really comprehended the correct direction, the symbol of fire, the symbol of fire... It appears that this sword technique's remaining shadow is related to fire.

Although there is no appearance of the scorching flames, what it captures is the essence of fire, the momentum of the wild wind, the ferocity of the flames rolling across the Nine Heavens."

Yang Ji immediately grasped the right comprehension and had a moment of enlightenment, "Yes, yes, before I had only seen the dominance of this sword. I had thought that the meaning contained within this sword was 'dominance,' not realizing that it is the essence of fire that grants this boundless dominance."

"I only saw the superficial appearance and didn't perceive the true profundity. No wonder, no wonder I always felt something was lacking but couldn't pinpoint what it was. I hadn't comprehended the true meaning."

"If I hadn't comprehended the right direction, the Golden Finger would have displayed a message; otherwise, how could one realize the true meaning concealed in this sword is the symbol of fire? Without the reminder from the Golden Finger, even if the symbol of fire came to mind, I would probably have delved deeper."

"This is indeed too difficult; no wonder so many outstanding disciples from the Canglan Sect could only comprehend one or half a move. Without the scripture of Sword Dao, relying solely on a segment of the Sword Dao's remaining shadow to comprehend the meaning of fire concealed within is truly too hard."

At this moment, Yang Ji was incredibly excited. He could feel that after grasping the deeper essence of fire, a thorough review of the Sword Dao's remaining shadow from beginning to end would allow him to have a great enlightenment, truly comprehending one and a half moves.

He knew that today's major epiphany was not by chance, but was the result of his persistent contemplation day and night for over a year, which had led him to touch upon the core secret of that sword; the result of the hard work added by the Golden Finger.

Indeed, there aren't so many sudden enlightenments in cultivation; it's all about accumulated effort and the manifestation of inspiration at the moment.

Yang Ji was delighted in his heart; to be able to comprehend would mean that this sword technique would become his strongest killing move at the moment.

Right then, he quickly composed himself and began to fully organize and contemplate.

Days like this went by, five days in a row.

On another night.

Under the full moon, by the sea cliff.

Yang Ji stood facing the wind, his mind echoing with that single sword from the Sword Dao's remaining shadow, one that once unleashed could sweep across a thousand miles.

Yang Ji stood silently, letting the sea wind swirl, letting the sea waves roar.

His mind did not stray for a moment, rotating hundreds of thoughts in a flash, all revolving around that one sword.

He stood like this, not knowing how much time had passed.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes.

The Sword Dao's remaining shadow that flashed in his eyes quickly shrank, penetrating into his pupils and rapidly condensing into a transparent sword-shaped rune, deeply imprinting into the depths of his soul.

At this moment, Yang Ji knew that he had finally refined the meaning within the Sword Dao's remaining shadow, though it was very transparent and thin. He knew that he had entered the doorway.

[The symbol of fire Sword Intent has condensed, one part.]

"One part of Sword Intent? The meaning contained in this move is the symbol of fire, but the name of the move remains unknown, yet I know, it's strong!"

In a thunderous moment, Yang Ji's entire body burst forth with Sword Qi, the sword intent rune in his mind also vibrating madly.

When the momentum reached its peak, an inexplicable mood radiated outward, centered around him.

Within the range of the mood's radiation, the air seemed to boil, violently shaking as it transformed into numerous tiny flying swords under the influence of this mood.

With a glance from Yang Ji, those tiny flying swords became wildly fierce, their howling as they charged towards a millstone-sized rock in front of them, immediately splitting it in two, two into four, four into eight, until it was reduced to fine powder in an instant.

"The fire-attribute Sword Intent is too strong, too overbearing; just imparting it upon the air gives it such power, capable of shattering stone and claiming lives. If it were imparted upon Spiritual Power and unleashed with a Flying Sword, what kind of power would that be?"

A sharp Sword Light flashed suddenly in Yang Ji's eyes as he explosively rose from the ground, and at a height of thirty feet, he furiously slashed downward with his sword.

Slash!

A vast and dazzling arc of Sword Qi tore across the sky, instantly ripping through the air like wildfire licking dry grass, spreading rapidly in a blaze, the Sword Qi overbearing and unstoppable; it entered the sea in the blink of an eye.

With a thunderous boom, the Sword Qi furiously cut a mile through the sea, parting the waters and lifting waves as high as thirty feet.

This sword strike, fierce and overbearing, was the most powerful one he could deliver at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining.

He was quite satisfied with this sword strike, but Jin Suanpan, who was flying over, was shocked.

"Brother Dao, this sword of yours..."

Jin Suanpan glanced at the sea surface torn open by the Sword Qi, then back at Yang Ji, his eyes widening like saucers, "You, you've grasped that sword move from the 'Sword Dao Shadows'?"

"You really are a genius. In the entire Canglan Sect, only the senior brother Li Changxiao could comprehend that sword move, and you managed to as well?"

"With this sword move, are you still worried about not being able to leave the island?"

"If Mang Biao knew about this, he would have to kneel before you, respectfully inviting you to leave."

Yang Ji asked in surprise, "Is it that exaggerated?"

"Exaggerated? Not in the slightest," Jin Suanpan took a deep breath and sized up Yang Ji once more before adding,

"Do you know what this sword move means? It means that you are now the de facto disciple of Grandmaster Jian Yuanzi."

"Grandmaster Jian Yuanzi is the most powerful individual below Divinity Transformation in the entire Thousand-Islands Sea Area; he follows the path of the Sword Immortal, and his strength far surpasses any Nascent Soul True Monarch of the same realm."

"As his disciple, who would dare to bully you?"

"If Mang Biao knew, he would have to come over and kneel before you now."

The more Jin Suanpan spoke, the more eager he became, "Brother Dao, your backing is incredibly formidable; once we're at the Sect, you'll have to look out for your junior brother here.

"Nothing is set in stone yet; I dare not presume to call myself his disciple," Yang Ji shook his head, aware of the will of such a powerful figure. He would not offend nor speculate lightly; he was self-aware.

"Moreover, don't spread this matter around, and especially don't tell Mang Biao," Yang Ji cautioned sternly.

This sword move was a representation of that person; if he were to show off this move everywhere, boasting about it, and if it displeased that person, not to mention becoming a disciple, his own situation could become even worse.

If Mang Biao still refused to let him go after three years, then it wouldn't be too late to pull out this ace then.

But who could say what might happen within these three years?

Jin Suanpan looked at him and nodded solemnly, "Alright, I won't tell a second person."

"Hmm," Yang Ji nodded, his gaze suddenly shifting towards the sea. What he saw made his pupils shrink, "That is..."