Lin Yan opened his eyes and swung the Abyssal Sword, letting it move with the wind.
The strike was silent, neither hurried nor slow.
Then, the tip of his sword lifted slightly to point at the river’s surface. The blade quivered gently in the morning light, emitting an almost inaudible hum.
It was the sound of the wind passing over the blade.
The sword began to accelerate—not with a sudden burst, but with a steady, continuous increase, like the wind gradually picking up. Its edge sliced through the air, producing a continuous hum like the soughing of pines, the rustling of bamboo, or the echo of wind through a mountain valley.
Pine Wind.
Lin Yan’s sword moved ever faster, yet felt ever lighter. It wasn’t that the blade itself had lost weight, but that it had become one with the wind.
Wherever the wind blew, the sword followed.
Fast wind, fast sword. Slow wind, slow sword. When the wind ceased, the sword stilled.
The man followed the sword, and the sword moved with the wind.
Lin Shouyuan stood to one side, hands clasped behind his back. His gaze was fixed on Lin Yan’s sword, a faint hint of surprise in his eyes.
Lin Yan had mastered the Flowing Cloud Thirteen Techniques and the Rain-Covering Swordsmanship, and his Pine Wind Swordsmanship had reached Great Success. It was not uncommon for someone to observe my Clear Wind Sword Intent and, in a moment of insight, grasp the Pine Wind Sword Intent.
This was why many Sword Dao prodigies sought out a master; sometimes, a hundred words of theory were worth less than witnessing a single, momentary swing of the blade.
What surprised him was the speed of Lin Yan’s epiphany. He had originally thought he would need to demonstrate the technique dozens of times, or perhaps even hold two or three more sessions, before Lin Yan could grasp the Pine Wind Sword Intent.
A hundred breaths later, the Abyssal Sword carved a final arc through the air, its tip slowly lowering to point at the ground.
Lin Yan retracted his sword, his face flushed with excitement. "Master, I’ve grasped the Pine Wind Sword Intent."
"Not bad," Lin Shouyuan assented with a nod. But seeing his disciple’s excitement, he felt a flicker of confusion. ’This isn’t the first time Lin Yan has grasped a Sword Intent. He’s already brought two others to the level of Perfection. He’s only just grasped the Pine Wind Sword Intent, so he shouldn’t be this emotional.’
Of course, Lin Shouyuan didn’t know that Lin Yan was so excited because this was the first time he had achieved such a breakthrough without using a Martial Arts Fruit. From the very beginning of his Cultivation to grasping this Sword Intent, he had relied entirely on his own effort.
Whatever his talent for the Sword Dao may have been in the past, from this moment on, Lin Yan knew in his heart that he could finally be considered a true prodigy of the sword.
To take it a step further, if the Martial Arts Tree were to one day disappear, he would not be reduced to his former self. With his current accomplishments in the Sword Dao, he could still continue to walk this path on his own.
Lin Shouyuan stayed for another half an hour to give Lin Yan pointers on his new Pine Wind Sword Intent before departing. Afterward, Lin Yan returned to his own courtyard residence.
Lin Yan had no intention of arduously practicing his way from his initial grasp of the Sword Intent to its Perfection. That would be far too time-consuming.
’Martial Arts Fruit, aid me!’
With a silent command, the Martial Arts Fruits in his mind shattered one by one.
The scene before his eyes changed in an instant.
Lin Yan found himself on a mountainside. Beneath his feet was a path paved with bluestone slabs, flanked by a dense pine forest. The tree trunks were perfectly straight, their crowns forming a canopy that filtered the daylight into a fine, mottled pattern on the ground.
A mountain breeze swept through, rustling as it passed between the pine needles. The sound was steady and gentle, like a song with no beginning and no end.
Standing on the mountain path, Lin Yan listened for a day, then two, then three.
One month, two months, three months...
One year, two years, three years...
After an unknown amount of time had passed, Lin Yan finally raised his hand and swung his sword.
In that instant, the pine trees on either side of the path swayed, seeming to merge as one with the arc of his blade.
Pine Wind Sword Intent: Perfection!
Time elapsed: seventy-four years!
’That makes seven.’
Lin Yan thought to himself as he performed Introspection, observing the seventh leaf swirling with white light in his mind.
The leaves representing the Pine Wind Swordsmanship, the Flowing Cloud Thirteen Techniques, and the Rain-Covering Swordsmanship were now linked together. Only the final one, the Mist Rain Swordsmanship, was missing.
He had forty-six years’ worth of Martial Arts Fruit remaining.
’Forty-six years won’t be enough. It looks like I’ll have to find another batch of Martial Arts Fruits.’
Lin Yan chose not to immediately perform Refinement on his remaining forty-six years of Martial Arts Fruit. It was simply his nature; he disliked exhausting his reserves completely, always preferring to keep something in store... just in case a special situation arose.
With fruit on the tree, his heart was at ease.
’I went to Swallow Cliff the last two times, so I’ll head to Black Water Bay this time.’
The night was as black as ink. The bow of a boat cut quietly through the surface of Black Water Bay, sending out soft ripples of sound.
An unmarked boat sailed out from one of Black Water Bay’s water stockades, heading off in a fixed direction.
Dim, yellow light shone from the cabin, looking like a single, eerie eye in the thick darkness.
Hushed voices drifted from within.
"Young Master Cui, now that I’ve boarded this boat, there’s no turning back for me," a deep, hoarse voice said. "I wonder, when will you deliver what you promised?"
"Rest assured," Cui Chenyu replied. "You won’t be shorted on what I promised you."
Cui Chenyu looked at the coarse-featured man before him, then pulled a box from his robes and tossed it over.
The man caught it immediately. He opened the box, and upon seeing its contents, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes as his breathing grew ragged.
"Don’t think you’re just doing me a favor," Cui Chenyu said. "Lately, quite a few of your Water Bandits in Black Water Bay have been killed off, silent as ghosts. Do you really think it’s just some Martial Artist with a grudge coming back for revenge?"
A mocking sneer touched Cui Chenyu’s lips. "Use that brain of yours for a moment. Nothing major has happened in the East River Waters for years. But ever since Lin Yan arrived, first the Water Bandit Alliance was annihilated, and now the Water Bandits in both Black Water Bay and Swallow Cliff are being picked off in secret. I’m afraid all of this is tied directly to Lin Yan."

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