Path to Dual Cultivation

Chapter 5: Perfect Sword Body

The Martial Manor was close to the Mayor's Estate so it didn't take long for Su Yang and his father to arrive at their destination.

The Martial Manor was a massive building with three floors, and the building itself took up an entire block within the city. Many cultivators were walking in and out of the building; if they weren't cultivators, they were mortals with a rich background.

Upon entering the building, Su Qiao led Su Yang to the closest employee and asked him, "Hello, where can I get my son's Dantian tested?"

The tall middle-aged worker looked at Su Yang and asked, "What kind of tests are you looking for? Are you simply seeing if he can cultivate, or the capacity of his Dantian?"

"I am here to see if I can cultivate," he responded.

The middle-aged man acknowledged, "There will be a fee of 1 silver for the test."

"Okay." Su Qiao nodded, retrieving a silver coin.

After accepting the fee, the middle-aged man said, "Follow me."

They walked to a nearby desk, where the middle-aged man brought out a five-inch-long green crystal shaped like a rod and said to Su Yang, "Simply hold the crystal with your hand. The crystal will emit a faint light if you have a Dantian within you."

Su Yang took a deep breath before reaching for the crystal. His future depended on this moment.

Upon Su Yang's grasp, the crystal promptly bathed in a gentle, warm glow.

A relieved smile appeared on Su Yang's face when he saw the light, as did Su Qiao, who was trembling in excitement.

"Congratulations, young man. You have a Dantian." The middle-aged man congratulated him.

"It's settled, Su Yang! You can become a cultivator and join a Sect!" Su Qiao had to control his urge to shout too loudly.

"Un." Su Yang nodded.

The middle-aged man suddenly spoke, "If you plan on joining a Sect, would you like to test the capacity of your Dantian as well while you are here? While having a Dantian is great and all, that is only the minimal requirement for joining a Sect."

"How does that work?" Su Qiao asked.

The middle-aged man proceeded to explain, "Not all Dantians are created equal, as some are larger than others, allowing them to contain more Profound Qi."

"It's better to have a bigger Dantian, right?" Su Qiao asked for confirmation.

"Of course. While everyone expands their Dantian as they cultivate, it's always better to start with a bigger Dantian, as that is what differentiates a talented cultivator from an ordinary one."

"How much would the test cost?" Su Qiao asked.

"We have three different levels of test for each size. Small, medium, or large. The small test will cost 10 gold coins. Medium will cost 100 gold coins, and large will cost 5,000 gold coins. Since most people only have a small Dantian, they start from small and go up from there."

"T-Ten gold coins for the small test?!" Su Qiao nearly had a heart attack upon hearing the prices.

Ignoring the other two tests, the small test alone would cost him a year's worth of income working as a guard at the Mayor's Estate.

"Why is it so expensive...?" Su Qiao couldn't help but ask.

"Because these tests use purified Profound Qi acquired from spirit stones, and a single low-quality spirit stone costs hundreds of gold coins." The middle-aged man explained.

Seeing the troubled look on Su Qiao's face, Su Yang said, "It's fine, I don't need to test the size of my Dantian."

"But..." Su Qiao felt ashamed when he heard Su Yang's words–ashamed of himself for not being able to afford these tests.

"I'm sorry for being such a useless father..." he sighed.

"Please don't say such a thing. It's not your fault that anything related to cultivators is beyond the reach of most mortals." Su Yang shook his head.

"Hahaha! I like the way you think, young man!" A laughing voice suddenly resounded from behind them.

Turning around, Su Yang beheld a towering old man, his long white hair cascading, and a beard extending a meter in length. The old man wore a pair of black robes with white clouds on them, exuding a profound aura, unlike anything Su Yang had encountered before.

Beside the old man stood a lovely young lady in similar clothes but with a different color, captivating enough to be deemed a fairy, yet her countenance remained cold and nonchalant, adding a mysterious allure to her beauty.

'He's a cultivator! A powerful one at that!' Even Su Yang, who was a mortal and had no knowledge about the cultivation world could tell that the old man was an expert.

"S-Senior Wu!" The middle-aged man bowed before the old man in a respectful manner.

"Don't mind me. I was just leaving and happened to overhear your conversation and decided to stick my nose into it."

The old man called Senior Wu looked at Su Yang and spoke with a mysterious smile on his face, "You want to know how big your Dantian is, correct?"

Su Yang nodded, "I did... until I heard the price for the tests."

Senior Wu chuckled, "There's no need to pay for such lousy tests when I can do it for you, and it'll be free of charge."

"Really? It won't inconvenience you, right?" Su Yang's eyes flickered with excitement.

"Of course not." Senior Wu extended his hand and continued, "Give me your hand. I'll pour some of my Profound Qi into your Dantian and test its size myself."

Not doubting Senior Wu's words, Su Yang offered his hand to him.

Senior Wu grabbed his wrist and warned him, "I'm going to transfer my Profound Qi into your Dantian now. It might feel a little weird at first but bear with it."

Su Yang silently nodded.

Senior Wu began transferring his Profound Qi shortly after.

A few moments later.

'This is... He's just as I expected!'

Senior Wu's eyes flickered with excitement when he poured enough Profound Qi to fill a medium-sized Dantian with ease.

The only reason he even stuck his nose into their business was because he'd sensed a subtle but distinct aura that belonged to swordmasters coming from Su Yang. Normally, such an aura would only be present in expert swordmasters who have trained with the sword for decades, yet such an aura could be felt in Su Yang, who appeared to be very young.

'There's no way he's a swordmaster at that age, but the only other condition that would cause a phenomenon would be...'

This intrigued Senior Wu, so he decided to inspect Su Yang's body under the disguise of testing his Dantian.

'This boy! He truly has the Perfect Sword Body!' Senior Wu's body trembled in excitement after confirming his suspicions.

Those with a Perfect Sword Body are born to wield the sword, as their physiques were built to swing a sword. Moreover, those with a Perfect Sword Body tend to learn and master the sword faster than anyone else. They were geniuses in their own category with no equal and were highly sought after by swordmasters as disciples, especially Sects that specialized in swords.

'To think I would stumble upon such talent in this small city! I'm glad that we stopped by here by chance!' Senior Wu laughed inwardly.

Sometime later, Senior Wu released Su Yang's wrist and spoke with a calm demeanor, "Congratulations, you have a large-sized Dantian."

"What?! A large-sized Dantian?!" The middle-aged man exclaimed in a shocked voice, alerting the others in the store.

"Did he just say large-sized Dantian? Who? That person with the mask?"

The appearance of someone with a large-sized Dantian instantly caught everyone's attention.

In the cultivation world, 90 percent of cultivators are born with a small-sized Dantian. Those with a medium-sized Dantian took up more than 9 percent of the remaining 10 percent, meaning that less than 1 percent of cultivators are blessed with a large-sized Dantian.

"A large-sized Dantian...? Him...?" The pretty young lady beside Senior Wu changed her expression for the first time, her gaze narrowed at Su Yang.

While Su Qiao might not have comprehended the full significance of Su Yang's large-sized Dantian, the envious gazes from those around him indicated that it was undeniably a favorable result. Knowing this, Su Qiao couldn't help but smile from ear to ear.