Chapter 367 - 217: Peerless Prodigy Xie Yuan, The Path to Grandmaster Opens

Chapter 367: Chapter 217: Peerless Prodigy Xie Yuan, The Path to Grandmaster Opens

Xie Yuan watched the stunning young woman, her cheeks puffed out with pastries like a dumpling, her eyes curving into crescents of pure satisfaction. ’At least, she’s always been like this around me,’ he thought.

A gentle expression settled on Xie Yuan’s face.

After finishing breakfast with Situ Qin, the two were relaxing in the lounge when Xie Yuan suddenly remembered something and asked:

"Miss Qin, come to think of it... this time, I felt like your music carried a hint of Sword Intent."

It was his first time fighting alongside Situ Qin, and his first time experiencing such an unorthodox, sound-based Martial Dao. However, with his mastery of the Sword Dao and his Sword Heart, he had keenly detected a familiar quality within the force of her music.

"Haven’t I told you before?"

Situ Qin blinked. Realizing she actually hadn’t mentioned it, she said with a flash of understanding:

"You’re right! Remember that one time, when we were exploring the cave? I saw that surging Sword Qi, like a tsunami, and its sound shook me to my core. I had a moment of insight. After I got back and cultivated, I managed to integrate a sliver of sharp Sword Intent into my music. And you know what? It made the force of my music much more powerful. My compositions mainly injure people through internal breath, with the musical force itself being secondary. Now, it’s balanced, inside and out."

Sound-based Cultivation Techniques like hers injure people in two ways. The first is through direct attacks with musical force, which are like hidden weapons that cause external injuries—like the Sword Intent Situ Qin had just infused into her own musical force.

The second is by using a musical composition in conjunction with one’s inner breath. The resulting music attacks the enemy, often causing internal injuries or trapping them with an Illusion Technique, like the piece Situ Qin used to injure the Celestial Tier Assassin.

Attacks using musical compositions are difficult to defend against and extremely powerful, but they also require the Martial Artist to have profound Inner Strength.

After listening, Xie Yuan praised her in amazement:

"You gained insight just from seeing it once? That’s just like you. Your talent is truly extraordinary."

Hearing his praise, Situ Qin beamed with delight and said, a little smugly:

"Naturally! But, Master Xie..."

A playful glint appeared in her beautiful eyes as she said softly,

"You’re not so bad yourself. You just broke through to the Second Transformation Realm, yet you were able to trade blows with a Third Transformation Realm Assassin from the Autumn Wind Building and even wound him. And that axe technique and your Concealing Skill... they were simply breathtaking."

Situ Qin was genuinely in awe.

Even with her own Grandmaster-Level inheritance, she had been astounded by Xie Yuan’s Celestial Concealment Skill and his ’Sweep Through a Thousand Armies’ technique.

Xie Yuan chuckled and said:

"Are we just supposed to flatter each other now? I didn’t hear your final piece, but for someone at the Qi and Blood Second Transformation Realm to create an effect that can seemingly change the color of the sky, and even subdue an enemy from a higher realm... now *that* is what’s truly unimaginable."

"’Flatter each other’... What a strange phrase. Does your Little Stone Village have this much slang?"

Situ Qin found this amusing. She roughly understood what he meant and covered her mouth, giggling.

"However, my Celestial Concealment Skill and ’Sweep Through a Thousand Armies’ both came from sudden insight. They can’t be put into words, so I have no way of teaching them to you."

Xie Yuan sighed.

If it were possible, he would have taught her. Situ Qin might not have needed or wanted to learn ’Sweep Through a Thousand Armies,’ but Xie Yuan was more than willing to teach her the Celestial Concealment Skill, a top-tier Secret Technique with endless uses.

But for both of those skills, Xie Yuan himself only knew *how* they worked, not *why*. He couldn’t possibly teach them to anyone.

Although his mastery of the Celestial Concealment Skill was already profound, he had gained his enlightenment from the Eight Trigrams Lotus. Without that key item, it was impossible to explain with words alone.

Situ Qin froze for a moment when she heard this, then a slow smile spread across her face.

"Who said I wanted to learn your techniques! I have more than enough of my own to practice! Honestly!"

She said this, but the smile on her face was radiant, as if she were happier than after eating a grand feast.

The two then spent some time discussing the details of their recent mission and the battle. A post-battle review is a crucial part of improving one’s strength. It allows one to reflect on choices made in the heat of the moment, identify and correct shortcomings, and analyze any mistakes. If there are faults, you correct them; if there are none, you continue to strive for improvement. This way, you perform better next time.

Martial Artists who are skilled at this kind of analysis often progress much faster than their peers, creating a massive gap in strength before anyone even realizes it.

Two heads are better than one. After discussing the martial aspects of their fight for a long time, both Xie Yuan and Situ Qin felt they had gained a great deal. Setting aside their personal feelings for each other, simply their seamless cooperation in battle, as if their minds were linked, brought them immense satisfaction as Martial Artists. A terrible teammate will make your blood pressure soar, but a god-tier teammate makes every battle a joy.

And besides, they were more than just comrades-in-arms.

Situ Qin looked at Xie Yuan, her large eyes sparkling brightly, and then they suddenly curved into two crescent moons.

"Master Xie, fighting alongside you made me very happy. I’ll be counting on your guidance in the future!"

Outside the waterside pavilion, a gentle breeze stirred, sending soft ripples across the lake. The water’s surface glittered, reflecting the golden morning sun.

Xie Yuan looked at Situ Qin’s radiant smile and nodded, a smile on his own face as well.

...

The two had spent their time in Wu River County pursuing leads and fighting one battle after another. The final clash against the Celestial Tier Assassin from the Autumn Wind Building, in particular, had utterly drained them of all their energy.

If not for the pleasant, warm time they spent together—which felt like a sweet spring welling up in their hearts, nourishing body and soul and restoring their strength—they would have collapsed into bed long ago.

But neither Xie Yuan nor Situ Qin were the type of young lovers to indulge only in fleeting pleasures. After breakfast, they each returned to their rooms to rest and recover their stamina.

Although Xie Yuan hadn’t suffered any major injuries, he was in dire need of rest. He had completely exhausted his strength, used a Small Returning Pill to recover, and then drained himself once more fighting the Assassin head-on. On top of that, there were the minor side effects of the Great Strength Vajra Pill to deal with.

However, the Small Returning Pill from the ancient ruins was miraculously potent. Its effect was akin to having a second life, and its side effects were negligible—the same was true for the Great Strength Vajra Pill. Normally, after the effects of such a strength-enhancing elixir wore off, total collapse would be considered a light symptom. Yet Xie Yuan merely felt exhausted from overexertion.

If it hadn’t been, the Celestial Tier Assassin would have succeeded. He had seized his opportunity with perfect timing, striking at the very moment Xie Yuan’s Great Strength Vajra Pill wore off and he was at his weakest. Had it been a common elixir, Xie Yuan likely wouldn’t have been able to react. But the assassin could never have anticipated the miraculous properties of an ancient elixir.