Chapter 47: Xunfeng Swordsmanship

「The next morning.」

Fang Han arrived outside Elder Fang Yuan’s Quiet Chamber. After a servant announced him, he gently pushed open the door and walked in.

The scent of sandalwood wafted through the room. Elder Fang Yuan wasn’t seated at his desk sipping tea as usual. Instead, he stood by the window, his hands clasped behind his back. Hearing footsteps, he slowly turned around.

His usually stern face now wore a look of pleased satisfaction.

His gaze was intense as he carefully sized up Fang Han, as if appraising a piece of peerless, uncut jade. He nodded repeatedly.

"Excellent, my boy! You’ve truly given me a wonderful surprise. To think your Qingfeng Swordsmanship has already reached Perfection!"

Elder Fang Yuan’s voice was resonant, filled with an excitement he couldn’t suppress.

"And you did it with a Middle Stage of Bone Refining cultivation, defeating Lin Hu, who’s in the Late Stage of Bone Refining!"

He strode forward and clapped Fang Han firmly on the shoulder, a sharp glint in his eyes.

"Well done. You’ve brought great honor to our Fang Family! Lin Hu is the second-ranked descendant in the Lin Family’s Inner Hall. By crushing his momentum, you’ve made a great name for the Fang Family’s Inner Hall!"

"You praise me too much, Elder. I was merely fortunate to win."

Fang Han could feel the elder’s sincere joy and pride, and he bowed slightly as he spoke.

"Don’t be so modest."

Elder Fang Yuan waved a hand, cutting him off. The smile on his face faded slightly, replaced by a look of deep appreciation.

"Strength is strength. What does luck have to do with it?"

He paused, his gaze growing deep, as if he could already see a bright future for the Fang Family. His voice was filled with boundless expectation.

"Keep this up, and your future will extend far beyond the borders of Liangshui City."

"I will certainly work hard to live up to the high hopes of you and the family, Elder."

Fang Han replied respectfully.

’With the system panel, I also believe I won’t be limited to just Liangshui City. But you have to take things one step at a time. It’s good to have lofty goals, but I can’t get ahead of myself.’

He changed the subject, stating the main purpose of his visit.

"Elder, my Qingfeng Swordsmanship has reached its peak. I would like to request permission to cultivate a higher-grade swordsmanship."

"Mm, I anticipated as much, and I’ve already prepared something for you."

Elder Fang Yuan looked as if he had been waiting for him to say just that, a knowing smile gracing his lips.

He turned, and from a red sandalwood cabinet behind him, he retrieved a yellowed manual bound in tanned beast hide.

On the manual’s cover, two words were written in powerful brushstrokes—*Xunfeng Swordsmanship*!

"*Xunfeng Swordsmanship* is one of the several Low Grade Sword Techniques in the Fang Family’s collection, known for its swiftness and ferocity."

Elder Fang Yuan handed the manual to Fang Han with a solemn expression.

"This swordsmanship’s attacks are like a raging tempest—relentless and unending. Its power is far beyond that of any Basic Swordsmanship."

He continued with a look of conviction.

"I have given it careful thought. This swordsmanship should be the most suitable technique of its grade for your current realm and swordsmanship foundation. It will allow you to maximize the advantages of your Perfection Qingfeng Swordsmanship."

"Thank you, Elder, for taking such care in selecting this for me!"

Fang Han accepted the manual with both hands. Just as Elder Fang Yuan had said, it was indeed a swordsmanship perfectly suited for him.

"Don’t be so quick to thank me."

Elder Fang Yuan stroked his beard, his tone shifting as he added thoughtfully.

"While your swordsmanship is formidable, you cannot neglect your body technique. In your battle with Lin Hu yesterday, you may have eked out a victory with your Perfection Swordsmanship, but your movements were sluggish. You failed to fully bring out the agile essence of Qingfeng Swordsmanship’s ’Formless Like the Wind’."

"If you could learn a Light Body Technique to make your movements faster, more agile, and more unpredictable, it would complement your swordsmanship and your strength would undoubtedly rise to a whole new level!"

Upon hearing this, realization dawned on Fang Han. Elder Fang Yuan’s words were a wake-up call.

He had been so immersed in improving his swordsmanship that he had never thought to supplement it with a body technique.

Qingfeng Swordsmanship was already known for being light and swift; pairing it with a body technique would be like adding wings to a tiger.

’Besides, if I practice a body technique, I can verify a theory I had.’

He immediately bowed to ask for guidance, his tone sincere:

"You are absolutely right, Elder! I’ve learned my lesson. Do you have a Light Body Technique you would recommend?"

Elder Fang Yuan clearly had a plan in mind, as he answered without hesitation.

"In our Fang Family’s Library Pavilion, there is a Basic Step Technique called *Gale Step*. It consumes relatively little qi and blood, and it excels at short-distance evasive maneuvers and bursts of acceleration. It’s perfectly suited to be used alongside swordsmanship."

"Furthermore, its name ’Gale’ is in the same vein as your ’Qingfeng’ and ’Xunfeng’ swordsmanship. Their underlying concepts are connected. Cultivating them simultaneously might allow you to achieve twice the results with half the effort. You should be able to master it more quickly."

"Thank you for your guidance, Elder!"

Fang Han immediately decided to cultivate this *Gale Step*.

After exchanging a few more words and carefully committing Elder Fang Yuan’s key instructions for cultivating *Xunfeng Swordsmanship* to memory, Fang Han carefully tucked the manual into his robes and respectfully took his leave.

After leaving the Quiet Chamber, Fang Han didn’t return to his Class A-10 Martial Arts Room. Instead, he made his way to the Fang Family’s heavily guarded Library Pavilion.

Using his Identity Token as an Inner Hall Descendant and a written order from Elder Fang Yuan, he easily found the manual for *Gale Step* on the first floor.

After completing the checkout procedure, Fang Han clutched the two new cultivation techniques, his heart filled with anticipation as he hurried back to his private Martial Arts Room.

The heavy, iron-reinforced wooden door slowly swung shut behind him, sealing off the outside world.

’*Xunfeng Swordsmanship*.’

Fang Han first sat down cross-legged and took out the beast-hide manual, *Xunfeng Swordsmanship*.

He opened it to find not only incredibly detailed written explanations but also vivid diagrams of figures demonstrating the sword movements.

Every aspect—from the techniques for generating force to the circulation of qi and blood and the transformations of the sword techniques—was broken down with exceptional clarity.

Fang Han calmed his mind, immersing himself completely as he carefully studied and absorbed the contents.

In the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, he had already committed every technique in the manual to memory.

’The only reason I’m this fast is thanks to the fourfold Swordsmanship Talent Amplification. When it comes to anything related to swordsmanship, my talent is incredibly high.’

SWOOSH!

He stood up, picked up his Cyan Blade Sword, and, following the manual’s instructions and Elder Fang Yuan’s advice, attempted the first form of *Xunfeng Swordsmanship*—"Wind Rises."

At first, his movements were awkward and stiff. He struggled with the more complex coordination of qi and blood and the force-generation techniques.

The execution of the sword techniques was nowhere near as fluid and natural as his Qingfeng Swordsmanship, and the power behind them felt hollow.

However, under the influence of his fourfold Swordsmanship Talent Amplification, his movements grew smooth after just a few repetitions.

Many of the more obscure and difficult aspects suddenly became clear. He was able to grasp the knack of many hard-to-coordinate force-generation techniques after only a few attempts.

Two hours later, he had raised his *Xunfeng Swordsmanship* to the Entry Level in a single go.

’So fast?’

Snapping out of his deep state of practice, Fang Han couldn’t help but feel astonished.

’This is a graded swordsmanship, far more difficult than any Basic Swordsmanship. I can’t believe I’ve already reached the Entry Level in just two hours.’

’Logically, it shouldn’t be this fast, even with the fourfold Swordsmanship Talent Amplification.’

’It felt as if... as if I had long ago laid an incredibly solid foundation in the Sword Dao.’

’Cultivating this high-grade swordsmanship now isn’t like building a skyscraper from scratch; it’s like adding new floors to an already existing, solid foundation!’

’It’s because of my Perfection Qingfeng Swordsmanship!’

A look of realization flashed in Fang Han’s eyes.

His Perfection Qingfeng Swordsmanship had given him an incredibly solid and deep foundation in the Sword Dao, allowing his understanding of the sword to far surpass that of his peers.

This gave him an exceptionally high starting point and powerful adaptability when it came to practicing higher-grade swordsmanship of a similar type.

Combined with the powerful comprehension granted by his fourfold Swordsmanship Talent Amplification, his progress was astonishingly fast.