Chapter 13: Chapter 013: Sect Leader Jade Token!
After Duanmu Qingshan passed down the "Shattering Star Sword Technique," Ling Feng's daily life became busy.
Each morning, he would collect dew for his master and prepare medicinal ingredients. Then, it was time to practice the Shattering Star Sword Technique and Chasing Cloud Steps repeatedly. As for the Black Wind Claw, that sort of rubbish was promptly abandoned by Ling Feng.
To facilitate Ling Feng's swordsmanship practice, Duanmu Qingshan specially gifted him a Three-foot Green Blade Sword. Though it was a common, gradeless Mortal Sword, it still shone with a cold gleam, and its Sword Qi was like frost.
In the eyes of ordinary people, it was indeed a rare treasure sword.
By night, Ling Feng made good use of those "thirty breaths" of time to cultivate and improve.
In the blink of an eye, five days had passed, and those from Feixing Peak seemed genuinely afraid of Duanmu Qingshan and no longer sent anyone to provoke Ling Feng.
"Master said that if one could master this set of 'Shattering Star Sword Technique' within a month, one could be considered to have exceptional comprehension!"
In the courtyard, Ling Feng put away his sword and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.
Thanks to his ability to "Duplicate Martial Skills" with the Heavenly Dao Eye, Ling Feng had been able to perform the Shattering Star Sword Technique completely on the third day. Today, he had even managed to unleash Sword Qi with the sword blade.
This was what Duanmu Qingshan referred to as the entry-level stage.
If entering the door in one month is regarded as genius, what then is Ling Feng, who achieved it in five days?
Moreover, after several days of cultivation, Ling Feng's True Qi Cultivation had actually broken through once again, advancing to the Fourth Level of Qi Condensation!
Just then, footsteps sounded from behind.
Hearing the "glug glug" sound of Duanmu Qingshan drinking, Ling Feng turned and bowed respectfully to him, "Master."
"Hmm," Duanmu Qingshan nodded slightly, very satisfied with this disciple.
Extremely satisfied!
No need for his own urging, daily rising early and practicing late into the night, and not forgetting to decoct and prepare medicines for him.
Such a good apprentice was surely hard to find even with a lantern lit!
All of a sudden, Duanmu Qingshan's eyelids twitched violently, and a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, "You... you've broken through again?"
Ling Feng touched his nose and said lightly, "Just a stroke of luck."
"Luck?" Duanmu Qingshan shook his head, amused inside.
If breaking through from the First Level of Qi Condensation to the Third was a stroke of luck, now, after only five days, another breakthrough had been made—is that still just luck?
It's known that beyond the Third Level, one enters the mid-stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, and breaking through is not as simple as the earlier stages. Even disciples with above-average aptitude would need months or even a year or two for a chance to break through.
And Ling Feng, wasn't he supposed to be of mediocre talent?
At that thought, Duanmu Qingshan quickly walked over to Ling Feng, placed his hand on the meridian of Ling Feng's right hand, and a stream of True Qi surged into Ling Feng's body.
"Indeed, it's the Fourth Level of Qi Condensation!" A hint of joy flashed in Duanmu Qingshan's eyes, followed by a sudden contraction of his pupils and another wave of surprise.
"You..." Duanmu Qingshan stared intently at Ling Feng, "You've entered the door of the Shattering Star Sword Technique?"
"By luck, just lucky," Ling Feng said as sweat formed on his forehead. Using the ability of his Heavenly Dao Eye, mastering a Martial Technique was just too easy for him.
If Duanmu Qingshan had performed the complete swordsmanship in front of him that day, he could have entered the entry-level then and there!
"Prodigy!"
Duanmu Qingshan was silent for a long while before finally uttering two words.
He, Duanmu Qingshan, was proclaimed a genius of the Sword Dao. Even when he began his training in the Shattering Star Sword Technique, it took him twenty days.
Yet Ling Feng had done it four times faster!
"Let me see your Shattering Star Sword Qi," Duanmu Qingshan said gravely.
Ling Feng nodded slightly, drew his sword, out of the scabbard!
Clang!
The sword's light was cold, and a streak of frosty light, like silk, cut through the air in an instant.
Fast! Ruthless! Accurate!
A moon-white Sword Qi slashed across, picturing ten streaks of light on the ground, creating fissures that nearly formed the perfect character for "star."
"It's not just entry-level, you're almost approaching small success!"
Duanmu Qingshan took a deep breath. He knew he had stumbled upon a treasure this time.
Yang Wei and Lee Liang, who mistook Ling Feng for trash and tossed him aside, could never have anticipated not only was Ling Feng far from useless, he was a prodigy, a monster!
"Hahaha!" Duanmu Qingshan laughed uproariously toward the sky, "Initially, I taught you swordsmanship as thanks for your help with my injury. But now, I believe you can be the successor to me, Duanmu Qingshan! Your future achievements may even surpass my own!"
Being praised so by Duanmu Qingshan, Ling Feng felt somewhat embarrassed and humbly said with clenched teeth, "Master overpraises."
"Humph, humph, as the successor to Duanmu Qingshan, forget modesty, send it to hell! Come with me!"
Saying this, Duanmu Qingshan patted Ling Feng on the shoulder and then grabbed his wrist, leading him towards the house.
Before long, Duanmu Qingshan brought Ling Feng to his own dwelling and began rummaging through his possessions. After a long search, he finally fished out a dust-covered token from under the bed.
"As my disciple, Duanmu Qingshan, you are the same generation as Sect Leader Lin Canglang. Thus, while in the Inner Sect, be as arrogant and domineering as you wish! With this token, you may freely enter and exit any Forbidden Land or Treasure Vault within the Wenxian Sect!"
Ling Feng took the token and saw an "Immortal" character etched upon it. The composition of which was unclear, yet it exuded a faint chill in his grip.
"What is this?"
"Sect Leader Token!" Duanmu Qingshan shrugged, "After I dispatched my junior brother, the previous Sect Leader, this thing came into my possession."
Ling Feng swallowed hard. His Master was fierce! Truly formidable!
"What a pity, although I dispatched the previous Sect Leader, I also got sealed by him and several of his disciples, including the current Sect Leader Lin Canglang, as well as Yang Wei and Lee Liang, who together deployed a Sealing Great Formation that restricted me to Little Bamboo Peak, unable to take even a half-step out."
Ling Feng sniffed. So his Master was sealed on Little Bamboo Peak by a formation. No wonder Yang Wei and the others had always dealt with the disciples of Duanmu Qingshan's lineage with despicable tactics, and he had actually endured through it all.
"Master, if the previous Sect Leader was your junior brother, why did you kill him?" Ling Feng hesitated before finally asking.
Could it be that the brothers, in a quest to vie for the Sect Leader position, turned against each other?
"Kill him? I wanted to dig up the graves of his ancestors eighteen generations deep!" Vehement hatred flashed in Duanmu Qingshan's eyes.
"That old bastard coveted the Supreme Sword Manual possessed by my wife, poisoned her to death, and even inflicted a grave injury on my only daughter, leaving her fate uncertain!"
Duanmu Qingshan's eyes were bloodshot, and he clenched his fists tightly, "Tell me, doesn't such a beast, worse than an animal, deserve to die?"
"He deserves to die! He absolutely deserves to be dismembered into a thousand pieces!" Ling Feng nodded emphatically, now understanding the profound vendetta carried by his Master.
"I have been sealed here with hidden Sword Qi injuries. Over the years, not only has there been no progression in my strength, but there has also been a hint of regression. I thought I was doomed to die here."
Duanmu Qingshan clenched his fists, and with a change in tone, he turned to look at Ling Feng, saying solemnly, "However, your arrival has given me hope."