Ahead.
Senior Brother Dong He of the Divine Sword Sect, who had been chatting with Luo Wentian, turned around and suddenly realized that their Little Junior Brother had disappeared. He was instantly startled.
Luo Wentian, however, smiled and held him back, saying:
"No worries. My Little Junior Brother probably took him off to play. Nothing to worry about."
Dong He immediately felt relieved.
Looking at Luo Wentian in front of him, he felt a bit envious—perhaps even jealous. He had heard that Daoist Longshan had shown tremendous might at the Wang Clan in Qingzhou. In the end, the Wang Clan had even offered a Condensed Qi Pill as an apology, which had allowed Luo Wentian to step into the Qi Origin Realm.
He himself was currently at the Perfection in Inner Origin Realm. If he had a Condensed Qi Pill, stepping into the Qi Origin Realm wouldn't be difficult.
Unfortunately, he didn't have that opportunity. How precious was the Condensed Qi Pill!
His heart felt complicated.
"Brother Dong? Brother Dong?"
"Relax. With my Little Junior Brother there, nothing will go wrong."
Luo Wentian simply thought the other was worried about Zhuang Chen.
Dong He quickly waved his hand.
"You flatter me, Brother Luo. My Little Junior Brother has been talking about Ning Qi nonstop for the past three years. Now that they've finally met again, it's natural that they're being affectionate—they're still just kids, after all."
A smile rose on his face.
...
At the Seeking Dao Courtyard.
Zhuang Chen was trembling.
When Ning Qi had suggested taking him to the Seeking Dao Courtyard to play, his eyes had lit up and he agreed without hesitation.
But now.
Seeing the smiling expression in Ning Qi's eyes, he was starting to panic, feeling a chilly shiver creep over him.
"N-Ning Qi, what are you planning to do?"
Ning Qi looked at Zhuang Chen's expression and couldn't help but feel exasperated. This guy was acting like he was about to do something weird.
He slapped Zhuang Chen on the forehead and said irritably:
"I'm going to teach you a sword-related secret art. Want it or not?"
Zhuang Chen's eyes lit up immediately.
"Really?"
Three years ago, the sword technique Ning Qi had taught him had become his treasured skill. He'd even comprehended Dominant Sword Intent from it. Now, hearing that Ning Qi wanted to teach him a new sword secret art, he couldn't help but rub his hands together in excitement. řάɴо₿ЁŞ
"Would I lie to you? But for the next few days, you'll have to help me with some research. Don't tell anyone else. I promise this secret art will be much stronger than the one I taught you before."
Ning Qi wasn't lying.
Back when he explored White Ape's physique, he created the powerful secret art Ape King True Form. Now, exploring Zhuang Chen's physique—even if he couldn't fully figure it out—he was sure to gain something.
If he could actually create another secret art on par with Ape King True Form, Ning Qi wouldn't keep it to himself.
Zhuang Chen nodded excitedly.
Next to them, Yuan Tiansheng was watching with a grin. Ape King True Form was great, but the process of developing it had been rather torturous.
"Sit still."
As Ning Qi spoke, he raised his hand and slowly pressed it against Zhuang Chen's back.
The next moment.
Streams of Qi Force surged from Ning Qi's palm and entered Zhuang Chen's body. Qi Force was the evolved form of Internal Energy, and naturally had similar properties. But when Ning Qi used Qi Force to probe White Ape's body, he discovered it was useless against the bloodline essence, so he had shelved it.
But probing the surface was no problem.
"Ah!"
Zhuang Chen cried out, his whole body twitching, instinctively wanting to pull away. Fortunately, Ning Qi's strength pressed down, and Zhuang Chen couldn't move an inch.
He quickly realized what was happening and forced himself to stay still.
A strange sensation rose from every part of his body—tingling, itchy, a bit sore and weak. As Ning Qi probed, the Qi Force constantly vibrated throughout his flesh and meridians, and the feeling was... oddly intense.
Zhuang Chen looked at the White Ape gloating nearby and wanted to cry. Luckily, the promised sword secret art was tempting enough to keep him enduring.
No one knew how much time had passed.
Zhuang Chen was drenched in sweat, just as he was about to collapse.
Ning Qi finally withdrew his right hand.
Before Zhuang Chen could speak, Ning Qi was already sitting cross-legged, slowly closing his eyes.
"Innate Sword Bone... in essence, it's a special physique among humans. This kind of physique has heightened sensitivity to sword comprehension, and even gets additional boosts when using sword arts."
"In a way, it's similar to Heavenly Beast bloodlines. Could it be that the human race once had people 'favored by the heavens', like 'Heaven-Men'? Born with extraordinary talent? But if that were true, shouldn't such bloodlines be common in the human race? Why are they so rare?"
"Still, a physique with heightened sword sensitivity also feels artificially forged. Could one of Zhuang Chen's ancestors have been a peerless expert who reached unimaginable heights and altered their bloodline?"
Ning Qi thought the Innate Sword Bone was far from simple. He couldn't quite figure it out—mainly due to the lack of information.
He ran through various speculations in his mind, but eventually dismissed them all.
"Forget it. Better to focus on understanding the Innate Sword Bone itself. Earlier, when I probed, Zhuang Chen's physique was definitely different from normal. Especially near the bones—there were strange fluctuations that resonated with tendons, meridians, and flesh. That could be one reason why the Innate Sword Bone is so extraordinary."
Brilliant ideas kept flashing through Ning Qi's mind.
He had once considered creating a method to cultivate an acquired Sword Bone, but that was a bit too ambitious. For now, he would focus on understanding these strange fluctuations—creating a powerful sword secret art from them wouldn't be difficult.
Time passed.
Zhuang Chen's stomach was already growling loudly, but he didn't dare disturb Ning Qi.
Finally.
Ning Qi opened his eyes. Zhuang Chen asked eagerly:
"How is it?"
Ning Qi smiled:
"I've got a basic idea, but you'll need to help me a few more times."
With the experience of Ape King True Form behind him, Ning Qi was much more skilled this time. In fact, if he wasn't worried that Zhuang Chen's body couldn't handle it, he could've kept probing—his current Qi Force was vastly superior to when he was still at the Inner Origin Realm.
Zhuang Chen instantly pulled a long face.
But thinking about how the sword secret art would be ruined if he quit halfway, he could only grit his teeth and agree.
"Let's go eat." Ning Qi laughed as he heard Zhuang Chen's stomach grumbling.
Zhuang Chen perked up and quickly followed.
...
The disciples of the Divine Sword Sect were settled into guest housing.
Over the next three days.
Every day, Ning Qi brought Zhuang Chen to the Seeking Dao Courtyard for one hour of research. Zhuang Chen suffered and rejoiced at the same time—there was a chicken leg dangling in front of him, and he had no choice but to hang in there.
Ning Qi estimated that one or two more days would be enough. He planned to find an excuse for Zhuang Chen to stay a few more days on Zhenwu Mountain after the Heaven-Man Ceremony ended.
He felt this sword secret art was especially suited for sword cultivators. It could greatly amplify sword techniques—he was looking forward to it.
And over these three days.
One by one, the famous forces of Qingzhou arrived. Qi Origin Realm experts, usually rare to see, were now everywhere. Even Core Formation Realm experts were not uncommon.
Anyone invited was either a regionally renowned expert, a widely respected righteous figure, or from a first-class force, often bringing disciples to broaden their horizons.
Meanwhile, martial artists who—for various reasons—could not go up the mountain had gathered in Zhenwu City.
They waited eagerly, able to hear the latest updates from the mountain in real time.
On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.
As promised, he arrived.