Chapter 23

**The Perfection Beyond is the Subtle, Finally Reaching It?**

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter his mother had given him.

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In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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The sword's blade was bright, with feather-like patterns, and the edge showed fine wave-like textures, making it even sharper. The blade was sixty-three centimeters long, three-point-two centimeters wide at its widest point, two-point-five centimeters wide at its narrowest, one centimeter thick at its thickest, and half a centimeter thick at its thinnest. The hilt was twenty centimeters long, resembling bamboo joints, made of dark red wood with a matte surface and a slight acidic fragrance. The pommel was ancient copper, shaped like a tiger's head, and the sword weighed eighteen kilograms without the scabbard.

Holding the sword in his left hand, the blade reflected his sharp eyes, sliding like flowing water. With a slight tremor of his wrist, the sword light was dazzling, and he casually swung it, forming several sword flowers.

This was the fine steel sword Chen Zong had just received. From its appearance alone, it was indeed superior to the ordinary iron sword he had before, truly a fine sword.

The tiger's mouth on his right hand was split, making it temporarily unsuitable for practicing swordsmanship. Fortunately, he had always been training his left hand, which was not much worse than his right.

He skillfully formed several sword flowers and then sheathed the sword.

The scabbard of the fine steel sword was made of dark red wood, decorated with ancient copper, making it look even more extraordinary.

Putting down the sword, Chen Zong took out the Tiger Yang Bone Ointment.

It was about the size of an egg, brown, and emitted a strong, pungent aroma. According to the person who delivered the Tiger Yang Bone Ointment, a piece of this size could be used to make about twenty jars of Tiger Yang Bone Wine.

He cut off one-tenth of it and put it in his mouth. It exploded on his tongue, numbing his mouth, and then quickly subsided, turning into a strong fragrance. The taste was very unique.

His body quickly heated up, and his blood flow accelerated. Chen Zong hurriedly practiced the Tiger Roar Technique.

One-tenth of the ointment was roughly equivalent to drinking two jars of Tiger Yang Bone Wine, and the effect was quite noticeable.

After a moment, Chen Zong immediately felt a shock throughout his body, a tingling sensation spreading all over, as if an electric current had passed through him, making him feel incredibly comfortable. A smile spread across his face.

"Finally, the sixth refinement is complete, but I can feel that this is not my limit," Chen Zong said, both happy and somewhat troubled.

Not reaching the limit meant he could continue refining, completing the seventh refinement, which was a very exciting prospect. However, the sixth refinement had already taken him a lot of time, and the seventh would be even more difficult, possibly exceeding the one-year standard.

"The remaining Tiger Yang Bone Ointment can indeed shorten my refinement time, but not by much," Chen Zong thought. "I must find a way to accelerate my cultivation."

He believed that even if a full year passed without his cultivation breaking through to the fourth layer of the Blood Qi Realm, he would not be expelled due to his solid foundation, but it would not be a good thing.

Opportunities must be actively sought.

Nine days later, Chen Zong had finished all the Tiger Yang Bone Ointment. His blood qi had been refined somewhat, but there was still a significant gap before completing the seventh refinement. Chen Zong estimated it would take at least three months.

He couldn't help but think of Tang Junluo, the young master of the Tang family, who had been born into a high position. Even if he were a pig, he would still enjoy treatment that others could not, let alone being a rare genius, receiving even more attention.

Chen Zong was different; he was just a descendant of a branch family. The difference in background was clear. After all, no matter how powerful a family was, resources were always limited.

In those nine days, the injury on the tiger's mouth of his right hand had healed, allowing him to resume sword practice.

During these nine days, he had only practiced with his left hand, bringing his left-hand sword skills to a level almost as good as his right.

"I can choose other foundational martial arts to practice and easily reach the Great Success stage, but that kind of improvement is no match for directly practicing the Tiger Roar Technique. Unless I can reach the Perfection stage, but it would take several months of hard work to achieve that, which is too slow," Chen Zong pondered.

If others knew his thoughts, they would be envious. Just a few months to reach the Perfection stage of a foundational martial art was a realm many people dreamed of.

"Perhaps I can try to refine the Shadow Sword Technique, Willow Sword Technique, and Eagle Strike Sword Technique to the Subtle stage," Chen Zong's eyes gleamed.

Nine days ago, in the battle with Tang Junluo, under the immense pressure from his opponent, he had unconsciously broken the barriers between the three sword techniques, achieving a harmonious and natural flow, giving him new insights into the three techniques. After these nine days of practice, he gradually grasped a sense of transcending the Perfection stage.

Breaking through from the Great Success stage to the Perfection stage had already helped refine his blood qi. Breaking through the Perfection stage to the Subtle stage would provide even greater assistance.

The fine steel sword was drawn, the blade bright, reflecting the sunlight, almost blinding.

This corner of the training ground seemed to have become Chen Zong's exclusive sword practice area. From a distance, people would occasionally look over, filled with both envy and awe.

Chen Zong performed the Shadow Sword Technique, the sword light and shadows intertwining and changing unpredictably. For a moment, it was hard to distinguish reality from illusion, as if every strike was real and every strike was fake, leaving onlookers dazzled and amazed.

Chen Zong was fully focused, forgetting everything around him, constantly sensing and trying to improve.

After practicing the Shadow Sword Technique a hundred times, he practiced the Willow Sword Technique a hundred times, then the Eagle Strike Sword Technique a hundred times, took a short break to recover his strength, and then alternated the three techniques, trying to recapture the feeling from the battle with Tang Junluo.

After Chen Chuyun left, the courtyard was reclaimed by the clan hall, leaving Chen Zong with no place to practice the three principles of speed, accuracy, and stability. However, he always wore fifty-pound iron plates on his arms, except when bathing, even while sleeping.

Although he had no place to practice the three principles, he did not neglect the basic eighteen forms and used the time originally allocated for the three principles to practice the three foundational sword techniques.

Every day, Chen Zong would have a new insight.

Time flew by, and before he knew it, Chen Zong had been at the clan hall for ten months.

After Chen Fenghua, Chen Guzhan, and four others, several more people had refined their blood qi to the limit, successfully breaking through to become martial artists, reducing the number of martial disciples.

"The seventh refinement is finally halfway complete, with half remaining," Chen Zong stopped practicing the Tiger Roar Technique, exhaled a long breath, and said to himself.

He picked up his sword and returned to the corner of the training ground to practice sword techniques.

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True Martial Year 395, July 20.

"Shadow!"

With a low shout, Chen Zong drew his sword, the sword light and shadows overlapping and intertwining. The six forms of the Shadow Sword Technique were performed one after another, seemingly becoming chaotic and without pattern.

As he practiced, Chen Zong paused, feeling as if he was about to grasp something important but couldn't quite catch it, a feeling that made him feel like his heart was being scratched by a cat's claws, making him itchy and restless.

He subconsciously looked up at the sky.

The sun was high, and the sunlight was shining brightly. Suddenly, a dark cloud drifted over, covering the sun, casting a shadow over the surroundings and over Chen Zong.

"Light... Shadow..." Chen Zong's eyes brightened, and a flood of inspiration surged in his mind, but it was fragmented and hard to gather. Chen Zong fell into a frenzy of thought, the mysterious sword tip trembling continuously, a silver dragon dancing, its light radiating in all directions.

The dark cloud slowly moved across the sky, and when it parted, a ray of sunlight fell directly on Chen Zong's eyes, dispelling the shadow. He trembled as if struck by lightning, and the countless inspirations in his mind found a breakthrough, converging rapidly.

"Light creates shadow... Light dispels shadow..."

Muttering these words, Chen Zong drew his sword again.

It was still the six forms of the Shadow Sword Technique, but as he practiced them repeatedly, the countless inspirations in his mind converged faster, and the feeling became clearer.

Countless sword lights surrounded him, and countless sword shadows appeared and disappeared.

As he practiced, the six forms of the Shadow Sword Technique became blurry, and the sword lights and shadows around him continuously overlapped. Finally, Chen Zong's eyes emitted a startling light, like a sword being drawn from its sheath. The fine steel sword paused slightly, and countless light and shadows converged into the fine steel sword, making it emit a dazzling light, as if it were competing with the sun.

"Roar!"

With a fierce shout, the fine steel sword pierced the air, and an extremely bright sword light shot out, instantly turning into a web of shadows, from bright to dark, making the strike even harder to discern.

Following this, Chen Zong trembled as if struck by lightning, his body numb, his blood qi surging, and the Tiger Roar Technique automatically circulating, roaring loudly.

The shadows dispersed, and Chen Zong remained in the stance of a thrust, as if frozen in place, his skin red like a cooked shrimp, somewhat frightening.

After a full half-hour, the surging blood qi gradually calmed down, and Chen Zong carefully sensed it.

"Good, the Shadow Sword Technique has broken through to the Subtle stage, and its effect on refining blood qi is indeed strong, comparable to the effect of the True Sword Eight Forms breaking through from the Great Success stage to the Perfection stage." Chen Zong was overjoyed, as this had saved him seven to eight days of hard practice.

Feeling very hungry, he quickly took out an energy pill and swallowed it. As the energy pill dissolved, the hunger gradually subsided.

Swinging the sword, the fine steel sword thrust out again, light and shadow alternating, making it impossible to see where the sword was.

"Originally, this is what the Subtle stage is..."

With the Shadow Sword Technique reaching the Subtle stage, Chen Zong finally understood that from the initial stage to the Perfection stage, a martial art was still within its own range or constraints. The Subtle stage, however, broke those constraints, transcending that level, and provided a new and higher understanding of the martial art, making it his own.

In simpler terms, before the Subtle stage, a martial art was like someone else's possession, but at the Subtle stage, it became his own.

"The so-called Subtle stage is the breakthrough of the original extreme understanding of the sword technique and the application of the sword technique, maximizing the use of every bit of one's strength and the power of the sword technique itself, releasing the greatest power with the least effort," Chen Zong thought, his eyes gleaming. "Since the Shadow Sword Technique has reached the Subtle stage, with this as a guide, the Willow Sword Technique and the Eagle Strike Sword Technique should also be able to break through and reach the Subtle stage."