In the courtyard, Qi Wei and Wang Xing swung their Long Swords again and again.
Perhaps because they had witnessed Chu Fan’s abilities, his words were like gospel truth to them. Whatever Chu Fan instructed, they would complete it tirelessly and at all costs.
Over the next ten-odd days, their Sword Technique improved at a visible rate.
The one who surprised Chu Fan the most was actually Ye Xiaohan. Although his physique was only considered mid-to-high quality, his comprehension was extremely high, and he had a photographic memory.
A dense and complex Cultivation Technique nearly ten thousand words long, he could recite it by heart after reading it just once.
After improving his constitution with medicinal baths, Chu Fan began to teach him the methods of Cultivation. To his surprise, Chu Fan only needed to teach it once for him to grasp it.
On the very first day, he could sense Spiritual Qi, draw it into his body, and guide it through a full Circulation according to the Heart Method Mantra.
Within three days, he could feel the True Qi inside his body.
Besides teaching the three of them and cultivating himself, Chu Fan also took out the dozen or so Sword Manuals he had obtained from Dingfeng Slope.
He chose one of them for himself to practice, a Sword Manual titled *Dream-Breaking Meteor Sword*.
This brought to mind the power that came with entering the Sword Dao. Chu Fan had stepped into the Second Layer Realm of the Sword Dao at the age of twenty-two.
For an ordinary Sword Manual, he only needed to practice it once to more or less master it. He could also grasp the fundamentals of an exquisite Sword Technique several times faster than an ordinary Swordsman.
The *Dream-Breaking Meteor Sword* had seven techniques in total. He was able to grasp the Sword Intent of the first two techniques in just half a day.
However, he began to struggle starting from the Third Technique.
It was a classic case of his eyes understanding, but his body being brutally honest about its limits.
He could comprehend the Sword Intent, but his body’s speed simply couldn’t keep up with the demands of the Sword Techniques. Furthermore, the techniques consumed True Qi like a whale swallowing the sea, and his current Realm was not high enough to sustain the consumption of the Third Technique.
The *Dream-Breaking Meteor Sword* was a Sword Technique that pursued the ultimate in speed. Each technique was faster than the last. This speed wasn’t just in the linking of the Sword Techniques, but also demanded that one’s own Body Technique match their velocity.
Moreover, the Sword Techniques pushed Sword Qi, Sword Gang, and Sword Intent to their absolute limits.
As he practiced this Sword Manual, Chu Fan couldn’t help but marvel internally. ’I wonder what kind of grandmaster could have created such an incomparably exquisite Sword Technique.’
None of the Sword Techniques within each form had a single wasted movement. Even the placement of every footstep seemed to have been deliberately calculated.
One could only imagine that if the Six Sects and Eight Gates ever learned of this Sword Manual, they would likely tear each other apart for it.
In the Cultivation Realm, both Martial Techniques and weapons had strict grading systems.
For example, weapons were divided into Three Grades and Nine Tiers. The Three Grades were Celestial Grade, Masterwork, and Mortal Grade, and each grade was further divided into high, middle, and low Tiers.
As for Martial Techniques, they were divided into four Levels and twelve tiers. The four Levels were Celestial, Earth, Profound, and Yellow, with each level also divided into high, middle, and low tiers.
Based on his judgment, Chu Fan reckoned that the *Dream-Breaking Meteor Sword* could be classified as a Celestial Level Martial Technique, at least a middle-tier one.
In contrast, the Lingyun Sect’s most exquisite Sword Manual, the *Lingyun Heaven-Breaking Sword*, could barely be considered an Earth Level Top Class Martial Technique.
Night fell. All was silent, save for the incessant chirping of insects. The sky was starless.
Under the cover of darkness, before Chu Fan could even touch Ye Xiaohan’s door, a voice came from within.
"Brother Chu, no need to knock. Just come in. The door isn’t latched."
Chu Fan was a little surprised. His decision to visit tonight had been a spur-of-the-moment one. ’How did he know I was coming?’
Some time ago, after learning about Ye Xiaohan’s photographic memory, Chu Fan had been curious whether this ability was innate or acquired through training.
Pushing the door open, he saw Ye Xiaohan getting out of bed. Beside the bed lay a Scroll, which was unfurled.
"Brother Chu, is something the matter?"
"Actually, I came to ask you about your photographic memory."
"To be honest, this involves a secret of my Ye Family’s heritage. Outside of the direct lineage heirs of the Ye Family, everyone believes we communicate with warhorses by playing the White Jade Bone Flute. But the White Jade Bone Flute is just a medium. What truly allows us to communicate with them is Spiritual Power..."
Spiritual Power can also be described as the Power of the Soul. It is an ethereal force condensed from the Sixth Sense: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and consciousness.
An ordinary person with sharp hearing and sight, possessing an acute Sixth Sense, is considered Level 1.
The first five levels are defined by the acuity of the first five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. For example, the distance one can see, the ability to observe minute details, the power of olfactory discrimination, the range of musical pitches one’s hearing can distinguish, and so on.
But starting from Level 6, consciousness begins to play a crucial role, allowing for things like sensing danger, or even communicating and clashing with another’s Spiritual Power.
According to Ye Xiaohan’s description, Chu Fan’s current Spiritual Power was at most comparable to Level 6. Before his Cultivation was crippled, when he was in the Golden Core Realm, his Spiritual Power had been roughly equivalent to Level 9.
The most distinct characteristic of Level 9 is that even if one stands still with their eyes, ears, and nose covered, they can perceive everything within a five-zhang radius purely through their consciousness—even sensing how many ants are in a nest beneath their feet.
"Your Ye Family isn’t a Cultivation Family, so how do you raise your Spiritual Power? Or is it related to your Ye Family bloodline?"
After learning about the levels of Spiritual Power, Chu Fan was still very curious as to how Ye Xiaohan possessed Level 9 Spiritual Power.
Ye Xiaohan pointed to the Scroll on the bed and said, "It’s because of this. This painting is the true heirloom of our Ye Family, even more precious than the White Jade Bone Flute. Before our ancestor ascended, he left behind three items: one was the White Jade Bone Flute, another was this painting, and the third was supposedly a book of musical scores, but unfortunately, it was lost long ago."
"Ascended? Your Ye Family’s ancestor ascended? What was his name? Why have I never heard of him?"
"I once heard my grandfather say that our Ye Family was a branch of the Yingtang Ye Family from the Hua Xu Empire. Later, when Prince Xuan Ning launched a coup to usurp the throne, he purged all his opponents. The Ye Family ancestor of that generation was executed. Only a small number of widows and orphans from the Ye Family managed to escape to the Eastern Domain, and the family’s ancestral musical scores were lost at that time. As for my ascended ancestor, his name was Ye Xingfeng, also known as Ascendant Xingfeng. He ascended to become an Immortal by relying on his Spiritual Power. My grandfather said that as long as one’s Spiritual Power reaches Level 50, they can shed their mortal coil and become an Immortal God."
"What did you say your Ye Family ancestor was called?" Chu Fan suddenly grew excited.
Ascendant Xingfeng. He had indeed heard that name. In fact, who in the Eastern Domain’s Six Sects and Eight Gates didn’t know of him?
After Ascendant Xingfeng, no one else had ever achieved immortality.
Countless legends about Ascendant Xingfeng circulated in the Cultivation Realm. He never imagined that Ye Xiaohan was actually a descendant of Ascendant Xingfeng.
’Ascendant Xingfeng himself probably never would have guessed that eight thousand years after his ascension, his descendants would have fallen to such a state!’
As for the matter of Prince Xuan Ning’s coup in the Hua Xu Empire, Chu Fan knew nothing about it. After all, the Hua Xu Empire was in the Central Domain, tens of thousands of miles away from Yunmeng Mountain.
He only knew that the Hua Xu Empire was the largest empire on the continent, occupying the entire Central Domain. Its Royal Family’s lineage had spanned over ten thousand years and more than one hundred Emperors. The shortest-reigning among them had ruled for sixty-seven years. If the previous Emperor hadn’t lost interest in state affairs and abdicated the throne, the current one might have had to wait several more decades to ascend.
Furthermore, the Hua Xu Empire had far more Cultivation Sects. There were no fewer than ten super Sects more powerful than the Lingyun Sect.
To the people of the Hua Xu Empire, a place like the Eastern Domain was nothing more than a barren wasteland.
Putting aside matters of the Hua Xu Empire for the moment, Chu Fan looked at the Scroll on the bed and asked, "This painting... may I take a look?"
"Of course!"
As Ye Xiaohan spoke, he picked up the painting. The moment Chu Fan’s eyes fell upon it, his soul trembled violently, and the world began to spin...