Returning to the courtyard, he found Chen Xi had just come out as well.
Lin Yan looked inward at his Martial Arts Fruit. This time, it had increased by another seventy-three years, bringing the total to one hundred nineteen.
’One hundred years is enough for me to cultivate my Mist Rain Swordsmanship to Sword Intent Perfection. Even if the Cui Family won’t suspect me this soon, the whole point of this trip was to find Martial Arts Fruits. Now that I have enough, there’s no reason to wait any longer.’
Lin Yan was certain the Cui Family wouldn’t suspect him so soon because he had concluded they were unaware of Cui Chenyu’s assassination attempt.
If the Cui Family had known and approved of Cui Chenyu’s actions, they would never have let him act alone.
This incident was most likely Cui Chenyu acting on his own initiative.
Cui Chenyu hated the Third Branch of the Lin Family and wanted revenge.
Lin Yan hadn’t learned this from Yang Xuan. He had pieced it together from an information booklet he’d found back at Qingfeng Stockade—one detailing the various great families of the Qing State Prefecture.
The booklet contained information on Cui Chenyu.
Cui Chenyu, twenty-six years old. One of the top ten prodigies of the Cui Family’s younger generation!
He had lost his mother at a young age and was exceptionally close to his aunt.
The booklet also had an entry for Cui Chenyu’s aunt, which specifically mentioned that she seemed to have been entangled with both the Third and Fourth Branches of the Lin Family.
Putting these pieces of information together, Lin Yan finally understood.
Cui Chenyu’s hatred for him stemmed from his hatred for Uncle Qi. It was Uncle Qi who had killed his aunt.
’It seems that Tenth Uncle from the Fourth Branch really was blinded by lust. He didn’t just sell out family secrets; he even leaked a Cultivation Technique.’
A sarcastic smile touched Lin Yan’s lips. ’And after that... how did the Fourth Branch still have the gall to keep hounding the Third Branch?’
Calming his mind, Lin Yan gripped the Abyssal Sword and whispered, "Martial Arts Fruit, aid me."
In his mind, one Martial Arts Fruit after another silently shattered.
The scene before him shifted abruptly once more. This time, he stood on the surface of a lake shrouded in mist and rain, letting the drizzle fall upon him.
The fine strands of rain, like silken threads, drifted down from above, landing on the lake and sending out concentric ripples.
The lake was vast and boundless. Mist and rain shrouded heaven and earth, making it impossible to distinguish distance or direction.
There was no sky, no earth—only the endless mist and rain.
Day after day, year after year.
The misty rain over the lake never ceased, and Lin Yan never left.
He stood there, like a stone statue, or a withered lotus stalk upon the water.
Ten years, twenty years, thirty years...
Until, at a certain moment, he slowly raised his hand.
The flash of his sword transformed into mist and rain, blurring everything around him.
After ninety-three years of enlightenment in the mist and rain, he had finally achieved Sword Intent Perfection in the Mist Rain Swordsmanship.
Lin Yan opened his eyes. He did not swing his sword. Instead, the first thing he did was look into his mind.
On his Martial Arts Tree, the leaf representing the Mist Rain Swordsmanship now flowed with white light. It was now tightly connected to the other three leaves—Flowing Cloud, Rain-Covering, and Pine Wind. The four leaves clustered together on a single branch, their silvery-white light shimmering and reflecting off one another, like four pearls strung together.
’I was right. With the Martial Arts Tree, I don’t need to actively fuse them myself; the tree will do it for me.’
’Master said that gathering four Perfect Sword Intents of a similar nature would allow the Sword Pill to turn from illusory to solid.’
’So, my Sword Pill...’
Lin Yan closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his body as he began to sense for it.
Before, his Sword Intent was stored within the Sword Pill, but the pill itself was invisible and imperceptible.
But now, he could clearly sense its existence.
Deep within his Dantian, at the very core of his surging Blood Gang, a tiny, silvery-white point of light was slowly coalescing.
That was the Sword Pill.
No longer illusory, but solid.
The moment Lin Yan’s consciousness touched the point of light, a cool stream of energy surged out from it, flowing through his meridians and spreading to every corner of his body.
That stream of energy was different from his Qi Blood and his Blood Gang; it was something more fundamental, more pure.
’So this is the Sword Pill that turned from illusory to solid, just as Master said?’ Lin Yan mused.
He tried to activate the Sword Pill. Four streams of Sword Intent surged out from it simultaneously, weaving and fusing together within his Dantian. They became a single, seamless entity, without the slightest hint of sluggishness.
The fusion was smoother than ever before, as if the four Sword Intents had always been one, merely separated into four parts.
Lin Yan opened his eyes, gripped the Abyssal Sword, and swung it lightly.
He didn’t gather power, nor did he project his Sword Gang. It was just a simple, unadorned thrust.
But as the blade passed, an extremely fine, silvery-white trace appeared in the air. It hung there, condensed and un-dispersing, like a slender silken thread. It floated in the air for a full three breaths before slowly fading away.
’Using a solid Sword Pill to channel four Perfect Sword Intents... the solidification and duration of my Sword Gang have been elevated by more than a single level.’
A look of satisfaction appeared in Lin Yan’s eyes. While it hadn’t doubled the power of his Sword Gang, the improvement was still terrifyingly significant, especially considering it would scale with future increases to his Realm and Blood Gang.
’As long as the base value is high enough, even a bonus of less than ten percent will result in a terrifyingly large final increase.’
’Most importantly, the Sword Pill didn’t just enhance the power of my Sword Gang. According to Master, condensing a Sword Pill was also crucial for my future path in the Sword Dao.’
’What about my other Sword Intents? Aren’t they in the Sword Pill?’
Lin Yan tried to search within the Sword Pill for his other Sword Intents, like those from the Jinghong Sword Technique and the Shadowless Swordsmanship... but after a thorough search, he found no trace of them.
’They really aren’t in the Sword Pill.’
Lin Yan frowned slightly. According to his master, a Sword Pill was simply the condensation of Sword Intent within the body. The only catch was that a single Sword Intent wasn’t enough; it required four of a similar nature.

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