Chapter Twenty: Remarkable Results

When he returned to the thatched hut and was about to go to sleep, Master Mo spoke up, “Change the water in the vat.”

Again? Although Lin Xiaobao already guessed what Master Mo intended, having tasted the benefits, he no longer feared that sharp pain. Besides, he could now use the cultivation of Mindwave to ease the discomfort.

He quickly replaced the water, and as Master Mo instructed, added the leftover medicinal herbs from last time into the vat.

“These aren't the same herbs as before, are they?” With his powerful mental strength, Lin Xiaobao had nearly reached a photographic memory.

“Different times, different needs. Get in!” Master Mo offered no further explanation; he was unwilling to distract Lin Xiaobao by teaching him alchemy, knowing that for now, cultivating mental power and strengthening his own abilities were most important.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Xiaobao shed his clothes and cautiously submerged himself in the vat. This time, instead of the expected stinging sensation, he felt an indescribable comfort envelop his entire body. The fatigue from a day’s hard training melted away at once.

“How can this be?” Lin Xiaobao asked in puzzlement.

“Ungrateful wretch! What, are you getting so used to pain that you miss it?” Master Mo teased, then explained, “Your training intensity has already surpassed what a human body can bear. Without the medicinal decoction to restore you, lingering injuries would severely impede your future cultivation.”

So that was the reason. If he could soak like this every day, a little hardship hardly seemed like a bad thing. Though Lin Xiaobao thought this to himself, he didn’t let his mind relax. Immersed in the vat, he began cultivating Mindwave again.

If his earliest cultivation had been forced by the two elders, now, having tasted its pleasures, Lin Xiaobao was able to practice of his own volition.

The days that followed were ever simpler. By day, he relentlessly pushed his body to its limits, time and again forcing himself to the brink, even collapsing in exhaustion in the forests on several occasions.

At night, he would return to the hut, soak in the medicinal decoction, and cultivate Mindwave. The monotonous days became suffused with meaning as each breakthrough brought Lin Xiaobao new joy.

In a flash, three and a half months passed. The gravity array on Lin Xiaobao's body had increased from threefold to twentyfold, and he had advanced from the first to the seventh rank of Warrior. It was unfortunate that Lin Tian had not appeared during this time; otherwise, seeing such progress, he would have stopped worrying about Lin Xiaobao and instead marveled at his peerless talent.

In just five and a half months since entering the Hall of Wind and Snow, Lin Xiaobao had risen from an ordinary person to the seventh rank of Warrior—a feat unprecedented, if not unmatched, in the history of the Hall.

“I’ve finally reached the seventh rank of Warrior!” Having just broken through his limits and advanced, Lin Xiaobao could not hide his excitement.

The seventh rank of Warrior might not even count as a milestone on the path of cultivation, but to Lin Xiaobao, it meant everything. Now, according to Master Mo’s plan, he could begin learning the first form of the Dragon-Slaying Sword Technique—Dragon’s Flash! This had been one of his motivations through all these arduous days.

Unable to wait, he hurried back to the hut, took the longsword provided to every disciple by the Hall of Wind and Snow from the wall, and with a resonant clang, unsheathed it. The blade, forged of fine steel, gleamed with a cold luster.

He dashed outside. Lin Xiaobao closed his eyes tightly, and once again a shadowy figure appeared in his mind. Every movement of the figure was excruciatingly slow. Though this image had played in his mind countless times, at this moment of truth, Lin Xiaobao carefully savored every key detail.

With a sharp whoosh, breaking the silence, Lin Xiaobao’s figure began to blur. The sound, at first intermittent, soon became a continuous rush. Each strike was faster than the last, and streaks of swordlight left countless afterimages all around him. In the blink of an eye, he was enveloped in a web of swordlight, his form flickering within the sea of white.

Yet Lin Xiaobao remained dissatisfied. Though his speed was now astonishing, it still failed to reach the essence required by the Dragon’s Flash.

He quietly formed a hand seal with his left hand, channeling his mental power into an invisible force that spread across his body, temporarily suppressing the gravity array placed on him by Master Wu. Though he could not yet inscribe arrays himself, under Master Wu’s tutelage, his formidable mental strength enabled him to do this much.

With the weight lifted, Lin Xiaobao felt a sudden lightness, his long-suppressed strength yearning for release—and the sword in his hand was the perfect conduit.

As his speed soared, the air was rent with thunderous cracks. Swordlight whirled into a circle, encasing Lin Xiaobao within. As he moved, grass and dust flew in a wild storm, and the ground bore deep, clear sword marks in his wake.

Still, his speed continued to rise, as if all the pent-up energy from these past months was being unleashed in a single onslaught. The rapid strikes layered the sword’s whistle atop itself, building into a deafening crescendo.

With a fierce shout, Lin Xiaobao reached his absolute limit. The swordlight condensed to a critical point beyond which it could not be further compressed. At that instant, the gathered light burst forth with his final, explosive strike, scattering into countless rays that, reflecting the noonday sun, shot out in every direction.

The clashing of swordlight against obstacles rang out, joining the shriek of steel, the crash of impacts, the roar of explosions—a cacophony of perilous sound.

Dust billowed, sand and stones flew. After a moment, all was still. Drained, Lin Xiaobao leaned on his sword for support, eyes still closed, savoring the sensation of that moment. His body was covered in dust and grass, yet there was nothing disheveled about him. He stood motionless, like a war god descended, radiating a boundless fighting spirit.

Having unleashed the Dragon’s Flash to its fullest, Lin Xiaobao realized the experience far surpassed the mental image of the sword technique he had studied.

Speed! How to be faster, how to control the force, speed, angle, rhythm of each strike… As he reviewed the image in his mind and compared it to his own sensations, Lin Xiaobao found he had not yet unleashed even a third of the technique’s true power.

Stepping out of the sword’s intent, he looked at the scene before him—and was dumbfounded. More than a dozen great trees, which would have taken a grown man to encircle, had been reduced to splinters, and the ground was gouged as though plowed, sunken by at least three inches.