Chapter 326 - 210: Blood Lingzhi, The Examination

Chapter 326: Chapter 210: Blood Lingzhi, The Examination

Lv Liangdong, the head instructor of the Inner Courtyard disciples, was at the Qi Blood Third Transformation Realm.

Although his cultivation had not yet reached the Grandmaster Realm, his seniority and status were extremely high, nearly on par with a Grandmaster elder.

For one, he had been an instructor in the Inner Courtyard for decades. Many of the Sect’s most prominent figures today had once practiced the sword under his guidance. Even those whose positions had surpassed his still had to respectfully address him as "Instructor" upon seeing him.

For another, he was not young and had joined the Sect very early. By seniority, he was the martial uncle to the current Sect Leader, Li Xingtuo, and several elders. Of course, he had never taught them; with the aptitude of these Grandmasters, they had been chosen as Direct Disciples of various peaks and lineages right after joining the Sect.

Therefore, although Lv Liangdong’s strength fell short of a Grandmaster’s, everyone treated him with extreme respect and dared not show any neglect.

However, his talent was a notch below what was needed. Having never been able to break through to the Grandmaster Realm, he dedicated himself to teaching disciples, quietly cultivating talent in the Inner Courtyard for decades.

Of course, this "notch below" was all relative.

A cultivation level like the Qi Blood Third Transformation Realm would be considered an expert no matter where one went.

A Grandmaster... if one wasn’t a preeminent figure or one in ten thousand, how could they be called a Grandmaster? Even in the entire Cloud Mountain Sword Sect, the number of Grandmasters could be counted on two hands.

Forget the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect; even in Prajna Temple, the Xuanzhen Sect, and all the other major orthodox sects, not everyone could hope to become a Grandmaster, let alone reach the Qi Blood Third Transformation Realm.

Plenty of disciples who seemed exceptionally talented when they joined would ultimately get stuck at a certain level of the Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm, unable to advance another inch.

Cultivation was like climbing mountains; there was always another mountain after the first, and one never knew on which peak they would finally be unable to climb over.

Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, Lv Liangdong slowly spoke.

"Cloud Mountain Sword Form, begin."

The training ground filled with the uniform SHING of swords being drawn as all the disciples followed his command, assuming the opening stance of the Cloud Mountain Sword Form.

Even in the Inner Sect, sword practice began with Cloud Mountain’s most basic swordsmanship. This swordsmanship was the crystallization of their predecessors’ wisdom. Though fundamental, it laid a solid foundation for all of the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect’s advanced techniques and was worthy of a lifetime of practice.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Lv Liangdong paced slowly among the disciples. He would occasionally raise a hand to either guide or strike, correcting their movements. Whether it was a gentle adjustment or a sharp slap depended entirely on the magnitude of the disciple’s error.

He walked from the front of the formation to the very back, his hands almost never stopping. But as he reached the end of the line and was about to raise his hand out of habit, he suddenly froze.

Standing before him was none other than Xie Yuan.

Lv Liangdong’s brow twitched. He slowly retracted his hand and clasped it behind his back again. Then, he walked slowly to the very end of the formation, carefully watching Xie Yuan’s movements from behind, his eyes flickering faintly.

’There’s nothing to correct...’

Lv Liangdong was greatly surprised.

No matter how well a disciple practiced, there would always be some flaws. Even for those who had reached a state of near-perfection, their performance depended on their condition when wielding the sword. After all, to be human is to err; reaching a high level didn’t mean one would never again make a mistake.

’But this Zhang Mountain... I’ve been watching for a while now, and there’s really not the slightest deviation?’

Lv Liangdong’s gaze sharpened. When the disciples had finished the form, he opened his mouth and said in a deep voice,

"Cloud Mountain Sword Form. Again."

The disciples were slightly stunned, apparently not expecting this, and their movements were a bit ragged. But when they heard Lv Liangdong let out a soft hmph, they immediately sharpened their actions and began the form once more.

’They were confused, however. Normally, they would practice the Cloud Mountain Sword Form once as a warm-up, listen to a few pointers, and then move on to other techniques. Why were they doing it again today?’

Xie Yuan, on the other hand, felt nothing was amiss. It was his first time here, so he didn’t know the usual routine.

This time, he again calmed his mind and focused, meticulously practicing the swordsmanship move by move.

’Although there was no more room for improvement in this basic swordsmanship, it could still serve to temper my body. As long as I’m training, I won’t just go through the motions; that would be a waste of time.’

’As for whether I should hide my skill, I can’t be bothered with such thoughts. That would truly be an act of self-deception. After all, Li Xingtuo already knows on the surface that my swordsmanship is perfected, so there’s no need to go to the trouble of concealing it.’

So Lv Liangdong watched him again. This time, he didn’t walk around but stood right behind Xie Yuan, observing him closely. He still found his performance to be completely flawless, and his eyes shook with astonishment.

’In all my decades of teaching in the Inner Sect, I’ve never seen anyone practice the Cloud Mountain Sword Form to such a degree—not even those at the Qi Blood First or Second Transformation, let alone a disciple still in the External Training stage!’

’This aptitude, this technique... it’s as if he was born to practice the sword!’

’What a good prospect. No wonder he could stay on Sword Peak for nine days... He couldn’t have just been comprehending the Cloud Mountain Sword Form, could he?’

Lv Liangdong shook his head.

’Talented disciples always have a bit of arrogance and some quirks. It’s no surprise that this Zhang Mountain has been in the Inner Sect for some time now, yet he’s either asking for leave or nowhere to be found. He’s quite the maverick, but he does have the capital to back it up.’

’But this won’t do. Too much pride leads to great losses. For such an outstanding prospect, I must correct him early and teach him a lesson he won’t forget.’

The old instructor nodded slightly. His gaze shifted, and he suddenly spoke.

"Zhang Mountain, your Qi and Blood is surging as you move, and your spirit is vigorous. Did you have a breakthrough?"

Everyone nearby turned to look. Xie Yuan turned and bowed to Lv Liangdong.

"Instructor Lv, this disciple has just broken through to the Fourth Training."

’The effects of the Blood Lingzhi are too obvious to hide, so I’ll just say I just broke through. Lin Cheng broke through as well, and Li Xingtuo himself pointed out that my cultivation shouldn’t be this low... With a perfected Cloud Mountain Sword Form, faster cultivation speed is to be expected.’