In the East River Waters, the morning light was faint.
Lin Yan swung the Abyssal Sword. The light from its blade rippled like smoke and mist, merging seamlessly with the fog along the riverbank.
It was impossible to distinguish the blade’s light from the river’s mist.
As the sun rose, the blade of the Abyssal Sword shimmered with a crimson glow.
Lin Yan sheathed his sword and performed an Introspection of his Martial Arts Tree. The leaf representing the Mist Rain Swordsmanship had turned golden, which meant he had developed its Sword Momentum and reached the Great Success stage.
His Pine Wind Swordsmanship had also reached Great Success, just a few days earlier.
For the past half-month, he had been focused on cultivating these two swordsmanship techniques and had not used any Martial Arts Fruits to accelerate the process.
The main reason was that his master was too attentive, visiting the East River every few days. He was afraid of scaring the man if he simply used Martial Arts Fruits to advance.
Although he could conceal his Sword Momentum from an ordinary Martial Artist, he was afraid a Sword Dao Powerhouse like his master would see right through him.
Half a month was just the right amount of time. Besides, his main focus was now on the Refinement of the Bone Fragment and raising his Realm. As for fusing Sword Intents...
Ever since his Martial Arts Tree had proactively connected the branches of his Sword Intent leaves, he had a theory: he wouldn’t have to put much thought into it to reach the Perfect Fusion Level.
"Not bad. You’ve successfully developed the Sword Momentum for the Mist Rain Swordsmanship."
Lin Shouyuan’s voice came from the riverbank. Lin Yan turned and hurried over. "Master, you’re here bright and early."
"If you don’t want me running around like this every day, then go back to the family estate to do your Cultivation."
’Go back to the estate?’
Lin Yan glanced at the number of Martial Arts Fruits in his mind. Going back to the estate was out of the question.
Besides practicing his swordsmanship, he had spent the last half-month making daily trips to Swallow Cliff or Black Water Bay. He was like a fisherman: some days the haul was big, other days he only caught small fry, but he never cast an empty net. In this time, the total value of his accumulated Martial Arts Fruits had broken through a hundred years, reaching one hundred and twenty.
’If it weren’t for my inappropriate status, I would have been tempted to declare, "I will not return until the Water Bandits are purged!"’
"I accepted a family mission, and there are still a few months left. If I leave now, it will invite gossip from the others. I can’t just ignore the family rules because I’ve taken you as my master."
"Ah, you. You think too much, worry about too many things."
Lin Shouyuan shook his head but didn’t press the matter. He had misunderstood Lin Yan, thinking his disciple was worried about gossip from the fourth branch of the family.
"Master, I come from an ordinary background. Ever since I began my Martial Arts Cultivation, I’ve always been extremely cautious, trying my best not to make any mistakes. It’s a habit now."
After defeating Lin Wang, he had been honest with Brother Minghai about his family’s circumstances, including how he had obtained the invitation.
It wasn’t that he was particularly honest; he had just figured out that as long as his ancestors genuinely had some blood ties to the Lin Family—no matter how thin—it wouldn’t be a problem.
"That temperament has its pros and cons. The pro is that you are steady in your actions. The con is that you lack the sharp edge a young man should have. A Swordsman..."
Lin Shouyuan trailed off, swallowing the rest of his words.
He had wanted to say that a Swordsman wields the king of weapons; they are supposed to be sharp, revealing their edge and forging ahead with determination.
Even a gentle Sword Intent must hide killing intent within its continuous flow, its deadly undercurrents surging beneath a calm and breezy surface.
At the end of the day, a sword is meant to thrust forward.
But Lin Yan’s temperament was more like a bedrock boulder.
Unassuming and reserved, considering every matter with thoroughness and care.
When he used a sword, it always felt like he was missing that final spark.
Logically, Lin Yan shouldn’t be able to achieve much in the Sword Dao.
And yet, his talent for the Sword Dao was absurdly high.
He had pondered this for days but could never find a reasonable explanation. In the end, he simply gave up thinking about it.
"Now that you’ve developed Sword Momentum for the Mist Rain Swordsmanship, what’s next? Will you continue cultivating it until you develop Sword Intent, or will you work on developing Sword Momentum for the Pine Wind Swordsmanship?"
"Master, I’ve already developed Sword Momentum for the Pine Wind Swordsmanship."
Lin Yan smiled faintly and raised the Abyssal Sword. A soft whisper of wind emanated from the blade, like a gentle mountain breeze drifting by.
Lin Shouyuan fell silent once more.
Developing Sword Momentum in two different techniques in just half a month... even with the foundation from his Perfect Level Sword Intent in the Flowing Cloud Thirteen Techniques and the Rain-Covering Swordsmanship, this cultivation speed was simply astonishing.
’Good thing Xi’er didn’t come, otherwise she’d be locking herself away to train again.’
His daughter was competitive to the bone. She, too, was cultivating the Mist Rain Swordsmanship, following the same path as Lin Yan by using the Flowing Cloud Thirteen Techniques, Rain-Covering Swordsmanship, Pine Wind Swordsmanship, and Mist Rain Swordsmanship to condense a Sword Pill.
Although Xi’er hadn’t said anything these past few days, she was clearly working much harder than before, harboring the desire to compete with Lin Yan.
But as of now, Xi’er had only just reached the threshold of Sword Momentum with her Mist Rain Swordsmanship; it would likely take her another ten days or so to fully develop it.
When he had just seen Lin Yan develop Sword Momentum for the Mist Rain Swordsmanship, he’d felt that while his daughter’s talent was a bit lacking compared to Lin Yan’s, it wasn’t impossible for her to catch up. But now... he took back that thought.
The gap was quite large.
Moreover, this gap would only widen the further they progressed in their swordsmanship Cultivation.
"Master?" Seeing his master fall silent, Lin Yan prompted him, all the while thinking to himself, ’Maybe I should hide my progress a little more next time, so I don’t keep shocking him.’
"Ahem. Developing Sword Momentum in two swordsmanship techniques in half a month is very good."
Lin Shouyuan subconsciously stroked his sparse beard to hide his thoughts. "Then the next step is Sword Intent," he said. "I’ve never cultivated the Pine Wind Swordsmanship, but I have cultivated the Clear Wind Sword Skill, and the two are quite similar. I’ll demonstrate it for you."

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