After a deep, dreamless nightâs sleep, on the third day, Zhong Ming awoke. However, he didnât follow the plan Qi Hong and Yang Chen had arranged for him, which involved intense combat practice.
He found a stream and, following his own rhythm, began to gently move through his sword forms.
Seeing this, Qi Hong, Yang Chen, and the others... didnât think Zhong Ming was slacking off.
Nor did they feel he was doing anything wrong.
Over the past few days of training, Zhong Mingâs rate of progress had stunned them, winning their complete admiration.
Qi Hong said, "Cultivation, Cultivation... what we cultivate is our true selves. For Cultivators like us, the further we advance, the more we need our own insights and understanding. Simply imitating others will never lead one to become truly powerful."
"Junior Brother Zhong Mingâs cultivation base may be low, but his Talent is extraordinary. Itâs only logical that heâs starting to walk his own path."
Yang Chen and the others deeply agreed with this sentiment.
At this moment, their only regret and sense of loss stemmed from how little time they had to teach him.
"Sigh, what a pity. Weâre still not strong enough. We canât offer Junior Brother Zhong Ming any more guidance..."
...
Zhong Ming didnât notice the othersâ sentiments.
Immersed in his own world, he gently moved through his sword forms.
As he brandished the sword, his body moved unceasingly, just like flowing water.
And in the process, water from the stream was drawn out by his longsword, moving in tandem with its motions.
Once, twice, three times...
Slowly, as Zhong Ming wielded his sword, he seemed to break through the boundary between reality and illusion. He truly felt himself transforming into a mass of waterâthe gushing, leaping, flowing water of a stream.
SPLASH...
At that moment, Zhong Ming heard the flow of the stream and felt a sense of ease and freedom.
At the same time, a system notification sounded in his Sea of Consciousness.
[Ding! Your Longxi Swordsmanship has broken through. It is now at the Third Realm, Refinement. You have gained a new characteristic: Flow of Water.]
[Longxi Swordsmanship: Third Realm, Refinement (1/14800), Characteristics: â River and Sword Convergence, ⥠Flow of Water]
Just like before, upon breaking through, Zhong Ming entered a minor state of epiphany, and his understanding of water deepened.
The difference was that in his previous epiphanies, Zhong Ming had comprehended the principle that âWater has no form, hence it can take on any shape,â as well as waterâs ability to change in size.
This time, what Zhong Ming comprehended about the Flow of Water was more about whirlpools, undercurrents...
âWater has power, too. A massive whirlpool can swallow a ten-thousand-ton ship. When the vortex spins, nothing can escape. It can only be swept along, forced to go with my flow...â
BOOM...
The instant Zhong Ming comprehended this Flow of Water, an attractive force materialized from his longsword as he practiced.
The surrounding leaves, dry twigs, and even small stones were all pulled in by this force.
Naturally, this debris didnât land on Zhong Ming. Instead, it mixed into the current of water from his sword dance, where it was swept up and began to spin rapidly.
These stones and twigs made the current Zhong Ming had summoned more powerful and heavy, more than doubling its destructive force.
âSo this is the Third Realm of Longxi Swordsmanship? Without needing to make contact, just by brandishing my sword, I can generate a force that involuntarily draws an opponentâs attack toward my blade. Then, my Flow of Water can neutralize it and even borrow some of its power.â
SWOOSH...
Reaching the Third Realm in his Longxi Swordsmanship brought Zhong Ming a surge of joy.
But his concentration lapsed for only a moment before he was once again immersed in his sword dance.
This time, the display of his swordsmanship was even more magnificent.
RUMBLE...
A few breaths later, another system notification sounded in his Sea of Consciousness. Another of his Cultivation Techniques had broken through.
This time it was the Spirit Stream Finger: Water Dragon Technique.
[Your Spirit Stream Finger: Water Dragon Technique has broken through. It is now at the Third Realm, Refinement. You have gained a new characteristic: Flow of Water.]
[Spirit Stream Finger: Water Dragon Technique: Third Realm, Refinement (1/14200), Characteristics: â Water Attraction, ⥠Flow of Water]
VMMMM...
Just like the previous times, this breakthrough sent Zhong Ming into a state of epiphany.
But this time, his comprehension of Water Transformation was particularly different.
âWater is not immutable... When heated, it evaporates or boils, turning from liquid into gaseous water vapor. When this vapor rises high into the sky and cools, it gradually condenses into tiny water droplets or ice crystals, forming clouds.â
âWhen water vapor in the clouds cools near the ground, it liquefies into tiny droplets that hang suspended in the air, forming mist.â
âCondensing into water, drifting as clouds, swirling as mist... this is also a form of waterâs flow, an expression of the great Dao of nature...â
VMMMM...
As Zhong Ming reached this understanding, with a wave of his longsword, the water flowing around him transformed into a thick fog that billowed out in all directions.
The fog was dense, seemingly capable of concealing everything. But Zhong Mingâs comprehension of water was so profound that while others couldnât see, he could perceive everything within the mist.
âAnother tool in my arsenal... And this transformation of water into cloud and mist isnât just for this. If I deepen my understanding of clouds and mist later on, I could even use the Flow of Water to perform Cloud Riding and Mist Driving.â
It wasnât just Zhong Ming who saw this dense fog; Qi Hong, Shi Yun, and the others saw it as well.
The scene left them sighing in admiration.
"The transformation of water into cloud and mist... Zhong Mingâs Water Dragon Technique has reached the Third Realm."
"Not just the Water Dragon Technique. That suction force from earlier means his Longxi Swordsmanship also reached the Third Realm. Itâs too fast."
Besides the two of them, Lin Shuyu also spoke up: "Zhong Mingâs cultivation isnât over yet. If Iâm not mistaken, his Wave-Surging Dragon Stream Step is also likely to reach the Third Realm."
"..."
Lin Shuyuâs words left everyone speechless.
Even though they knew Zhong Mingâs Talent was extraordinary, seeing him break through with three Cultivation Techniques in a single day still left them stunned.
...
At this moment, Zhong Ming had no time to pay attention to the outside world. Just as Lin Shuyu had predicted, after his Spirit Stream Finger: Water Dragon Technique advanced, his understanding of the Flow of Water deepened. This time, without even needing to practice, a system notification sounded in his mind.
[You have gained some insight into the Wave-Surging Dragon Stream Step. Your Cultivation Technique progress +19.]
[Your Wave-Surging Dragon Stream Step has broken through. It is now at the Third Realm, Refinement. You have gained a new characteristic: Flow of Water.]
[Wave-Surging Dragon Stream Step: Third Realm, Refinement (1/14600), Characteristics: â Water Stepping, ⥠Body Like a Stream, âą Flow of Water]
As before, the moment the advancement was complete, a wave of comprehension flooded Zhong Mingâs mind.
This time, his understanding was related to the refraction of light in water.
âWhen light enters water, it bends. This, too, is a kind of flow...â
As he pondered this, the Flow of Water from his Wave-Surging Dragon Stream Step and the Flow of Water from his Spirit Stream Finger: Water Dragon Technique began to resonate and merge.
Because of this, a special ability emerged in his mind.
VMMMM...
Acting on a sudden stroke of inspiration, Zhong Ming assumed a sword-drawing stance.
This time, Zhong Ming himself didnât move, but with a SWISH, a figure suddenly appeared three meters away from him. This âZhong Mingâ then fiercely slashed its sword forward.
SWISH!
After the slash, the figure vanished, but another appeared behind Zhong Ming.
Then to his side, in front of him, in the air...
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
For a moment, figures of Zhong Ming flickered nonstop all over the area.
However, these figures could only last for a single breath.
Finally, when Zhong Ming relaxed his sword-drawing stance, only the real body standing in the very center of the area remained.
But the presence of that âreal bodyâ made Qi Hong and the others raise their eyebrows. They all looked in unison... to its side.
POOF...
As they watched, the version of Zhong Ming in the center of the area also dissolved into mist and vanished.
When that body disappeared, another figure slowly materialized in the spot where Qi Hong and the others were looking.
This was Zhong Mingâs true body.
âBy relying on the transformations of water and mist, along with the refraction of light in water, I can create illusory bodies and even make myself invisible... a pity. These figures are just phantoms without any attack power, and my invisibility is just a visual effect. It doesnât work against a Cultivatorâs Divine Soul.â
Thinking this, Zhong Ming wasnât too disappointed.
His cultivation base was still very weak, and his Cultivation Level was also low, which was why there were so many flaws.
Once his cultivation base grew stronger and his Cultivation Method Realm also rose, these illusory clones wouldnât be so easy to deal with.
âNo, wait. It seems I donât have to wait for the future.â
âRight now, with just two âFlow of Waterâ characteristics resonating, Iâve gained such a mysterious ability. What if I stacked all five...â