Chapter 63

Uncle Jiu smiled and said, "To be honest, I feel rather ashamed. After practicing for most of my life, I have only just reached the fourth level of the Spirit Refinement Realm, barely crossing into the middle stage."

Hearing this, Elder Xu laughed heartily and said, "You should be content. I have been stuck at the third level of the Spirit Refinement Realm for many years and have never been able to cross the threshold to the middle stage. I guess that's how it will be for the rest of my life."

At this, both of them sighed. For martial artists, the fastest progress is made when they are young. As they grow older, it becomes increasingly difficult to break through. At Uncle Jiu and Elder Xu's age, unless they have a miraculous encounter, the hope of advancing further is very slim.

At this moment, Lin Xinyi interjected and asked, "Uncle Jiu, you just said that the 'spirit' in Spirit Refinement has two meanings. One is the essence spirit power. What is the other?"

"Let me explain this," Elder Xu smiled, stroking his beard. "After body refinement comes spirit refinement. This 'spirit' refers to the mind!"

"As the saying goes, martial arts and the Way. In fact, the Way of Martial Arts includes two aspects: one is martial cultivation, and the other is enlightenment of the Way. Martial cultivation is physical, while enlightenment of the Way is mental. Therefore, in the Spirit Refinement Realm, besides refining essence spirit power, one must also train mental strength."

"However, mental strength is a very mysterious thing. Unlike essence spirit power, which we can perceive and refine and utilize, mental strength, though everyone has it, no one knows how to cultivate it. It can only be trained through auxiliary means, such as enchanting and alchemy. In these processes, mental strength can be enhanced to a certain extent."

"So, in fact, for martial artists, although the term 'spirit' in Spirit Refinement has two meanings, for the vast majority of martial artists, they only need to focus on one, which is refining essence spirit power."

After hearing Elder Xu's words, Lu Xuan nodded thoughtfully. In short, entering the Spirit Refinement Realm means refining essence spirit power into one's innate essence power and starting to train mental strength.

However, Lu Xuan did not agree with Elder Xu's statement that one only needs to focus on refining essence spirit power. He believed that since the term 'spirit' has two meanings, there must be a reason for its existence. If both could be cultivated simultaneously, there would surely be different effects. But since he had not even reached the Spirit Refinement Realm yet, it was too early to talk about these things, so he did not voice his disagreement.

After listening to Uncle Jiu and Elder Xu, Xia Chenxi and Lin Xinyi also benefited greatly, at least knowing the direction to move forward.

While they were talking, Lu Yu and Lu Qiong had already packed their luggage. The servants of the Lu family were all locals from Green Mountain Town. After giving them a substantial amount of money, Lu Yu dismissed them.

After waiting for a while, Yao Lei arrived with his parents. Yao Lei looked almost identical to his father, with the same round face, though he was a bit thinner.

As soon as Yao's father arrived, he hurriedly greeted Uncle Jiu, Xia Chenxi, and Lin Xinyi with a smile, clearly having learned from Yao Lei about their identities. To him, these were people he could never have imagined meeting before, and now that he had the chance to interact with such important figures, he naturally wanted to build a good relationship.

The Yao family did not bring much, just their basic belongings. With money, they could get anything in Lincheng.

Since there were many people going to Lincheng, Uncle Jiu and Elder Xu decided not to travel with Lu Xuan and the others. With their strength, they could fly directly from Green Mountain Town to Lincheng, which would be much faster than a carriage.

The group got into the city lord's carriage and quickly returned to Lincheng.

After returning to Lincheng, with the help of Xia Chenxi and Lin Xinyi, the Lu family and the Yao family quickly settled down. During this time, Lu Xuan and the others also met Xia Chenxi's father, the city lord of Lincheng, Xia Tao.

Meeting such an important figure for the first time, Lu Yu and Yao's father were somewhat nervous. Lu Xuan, however, remained very composed. Since obtaining the sword crystal, Lu Xuan had become increasingly confident. In the past, he might have been intimidated by the city lord of Lincheng.

As the city lord of Lincheng, Xia Tao did not put on any airs when facing Lu Xuan and the others. He had only one daughter, Xia Chenxi, and was naturally very kind to her friends. Moreover, with Uncle Jiu and Elder Xu present, he praised Lu Xuan highly.

To reach such a position, Xia Tao naturally had the ability to judge people. Since Uncle Jiu and Elder Xu both held Lu Xuan in high regard, he must have exceptional qualities. Moreover, his composure in front of him was enough to earn him a higher regard.

As for Lin Xinyi, being the youngest and most favored daughter of the Lin family, it was easy for her to help the Lu family and the Yao family settle down. The Lin family's business spanned several cities, and they quickly arranged two businesses for the two families. As long as they managed them well, it would be much better than staying in Green Mountain Town.

During these few days, Lu Xuan stopped practicing and stayed at home with his father and sister. In three days, he would be heading to the Wind Sword Sect, and if there were no necessary matters, it would be a long time before he could return home.

The three days passed quickly. After bidding farewell to his father and sister, Lu Xuan set off with Xia Chenxi and the others to the Sword Testing Hall. Today was the day they would officially go to the Wind Sword Sect!

When Lu Xuan and the others arrived at the Sword Testing Hall, there were already many martial artists waiting. These were all the martial artists who had passed the examination.

Each martial artist's face was filled with joy. They all longed for the legendary Wind Sword Sect. Now that they could become outer disciples of the Wind Sword Sect, they were eager to start.

As noon approached, Elder Xu and another elder appeared. This time, Uncle Jiu did not come, and Elder Sun, due to matters in Green Mountain Town, was somewhere else and would not come.

"All martial artists who have passed the examination, follow me!" Elder Xu shouted, then turned and walked towards the open space in front of the Sword Tower. Lu Xuan and the others followed closely behind.

In front of the Sword Tower, Elder Xu threw a small sword from his storage ring. Strangely, the small sword grew rapidly upon contact with the air, quickly becoming a massive object. All the martial artists were amazed, and even Lu Xuan and the others could not help but open their mouths wide. It was truly incredible; they had never seen such a large sword.

Seeing the martial artists' astonished expressions, Elder Xu explained, "This is our Wind Sword Sect's flying treasure. This time, you will travel to the Wind Sword Sect with me on this sword. Now, all martial artists, hand your number plates to the attendants and board one by one."