Wan'er remained bowed, her flawless face tense as she lightly bit her lower lip.
She knew full well how abrupt it was to step forward like this, but still, she had mustered all her courage.
After all, she was a sword user too—and the man before her had the most incredible swordsmanship she had ever witnessed. At least within the Bai family, there was absolutely no one who could come close to his level. She couldn't bear to let this rare opportunity for a face-to-face lesson slip by.
Zihua gave her a strange look but eventually nodded and lowered his voice. "Alright, I'll do it."
Wan'er's face lit up with joy.
The people around them, including Sun, were all visibly surprised.
None of them had expected this man—clearly someone with a lofty status known as "Storm"—to actually agree to give her guidance.
"Whew..." Wan'er exhaled softly, then took a few steps back and drew her longsword. "Sir, since your cultivation is at the eighth level of the True Martial Realm, I'll restrict my power to that level as well."
"Go ahead," Zihua said casually, utterly relaxed.
Whoosh!
Wan'er struck. A brilliant arc of sword light lit up, and the air around them seemed to shimmer with drifting snowflakes.
"Snowfall Sword Technique?" Zihua chuckled.
Wan'er was using the Bai family's signature technique, and Zihua was extremely familiar with it.
One after another, the sword shadows flew toward him like swirling snowflakes. But Zihua didn't move. He simply swung his sword in an almost lazy manner. He didn't use any particular technique—just basic strikes. Yet every swing landed with perfect timing and precision, directly targeting the weak points in each "snowflake" attack and shattering them with ease.
"Incredible..." Wan'er murmured in awe.
Then, without hesitation, she launched her strongest move in the Snowfall technique—Snow-Cleaving Strike.
The Snow-Cleaving Strike consisted of nine strikes, each one faster than the last.
Wan'er had trained this technique for years and was now able to unleash eight strikes in a row.
Knowing full well just how terrifying this "Storm" was with a sword, she didn't hold back. She gave it everything she had.
But the outcome remained unchanged. Zihua stayed right where he was. He didn't even take a step. With a few more effortless swings, he blocked all eight blindingly fast attacks. The repeated clash of steel rang out sharply—but not a single strike got through.
"He blocked all eight of my Snow-Cleaving Strikes that easily?" Wan'er was dumbfounded.
"Use your strongest technique," Zihua said calmly.
"Sir, then please be careful." A blush rose to Wan'er's cheeks, but in the next instant, she leapt into the air.
Her elegant figure soared like a phoenix descending from the heavens. Her sword flashed down in sync with her movement, and with a loud whoosh, a brilliant arc of light exploded across the sky.
"So beautiful..."
The crowd couldn't help but be entranced.
"Phoenix Descent Sword Technique?" Zihua narrowed his eyes. "Too bad... it's only the first form."
Clang!
A sharp metallic clash rang out. Wan'er's sword was knocked from her hands—and before she could even react, a gleaming blade was already at her snowy-white neck.
"I... lost?" Wan'er felt the cold steel against her throat, and her heart trembled.
But Zihua's voice turned cold. "Crude. Far too crude. The sword technique itself is powerful, but the way you wield it is a complete mess. You focus too much on form and not enough on intent. You're obsessed with making your moves look graceful, but you've completely lost the essence of swordsmanship. Sure, it looks pretty. Sure, it's mesmerizing. But it's utterly useless."
"Think about it." With that, Zihua sheathed his sword, turned, and walked away.
"Too focused on form over intent? Caring only about the moves while forgetting the essence of swordsmanship?" Wan'er felt like her head had just been struck by lightning. It buzzed violently as those words echoed through her mind.
It took her a while to snap out of it. Then she bowed respectfully toward Zihua and said, "Thank you for your guidance, sir!"
Hearing this, Zihua—who had already turned his back to her—touched his nose, and a faint, amused smile tugged at his lips.
He couldn't help but think back to when they were younger. Back then, Wan'er used to pat him on the head all the time, always saying how she'd protect him in the future. And now...
"If Cousin Wan'er ever found out that the 'sir' she's thanking so respectfully is the same little guy she used to pat on the head... I wonder what kind of expression she'd make," Zihua thought to himself.
"Young man, here's the top-grade Spirit-Gathering Pills you asked for." Sun handed Zihua an exquisite jade box.
Zihua opened it briefly to check the contents before putting it away.
"Much appreciated," he said with a nod, then turned to leave.
Outside the True Martial Pavilion, a large crowd of martial artists had gathered. As Zihua walked away, they all watched him in awe and admiration.
"Supervisor, should we send someone to tail him and find out who he really is?" one of the black-robed stewards asked.
"No need," Sun replied, shaking his head. "If he's using an alias, then clearly he doesn't want anyone to know his true identity. Our mission at Black Dragon Pavilion is to build relationships with top-tier talents like him, so they'll feel a sense of gratitude toward us—and maybe one day, serve the Empire. But if we start digging too much or even send people to spy on him, and he finds out, it'll only backfire."
"Besides," he continued, "he passed the fourteenth level of the True Martial Pavilion while still at the eighth level of the True Martial Realm. A genius like that won't stay unknown for long. He's bound to shake all of Maple Empire sooner or later. All we need to do... is wait and watch."
******
Zihua had moved cautiously on his way back, taking plenty of time to make sure no one was tailing him before finally returning to the Bai household.
Inside his room, he looked at the twenty milky-white pills resting inside the jade box, each exuding a strong medicinal fragrance. His heart filled with joy.
"These top-grade Spirit-Gathering Pills are dozens of times stronger than regular ones. There are fifteen days left before the Sword Token Tournament. I can take one pill a day. Combined with the cultivation speed from my inherited technique... I should have no trouble reaching the ninth level of the True Martial Realm in half a month. Maybe even the tenth," Zihua said with a smile.
From that day on, he poured most of his time into cultivation.
With the help of the top-grade pills and his unique technique, his strength increased at a terrifying pace.
Day by day, his power continued to rise.
But while Zihua remained in secluded training, the Bai family was far from peaceful.
Several notable members of the younger generation—like Huo and Wan'er—had returned home after spending time out in the world, honing their skills.
Their goal was the same: to grow stronger so they could challenge Wei in the upcoming Sword Token Tournament. And their efforts hadn't been in vain—each of them had made visible progress.
Especially Huo.
Rumor had it that he had reached the peak of the tenth level of the True Martial Realm—no weaker than Wei.
That gave the Bai family a sudden burst of hope. Many believed Huo might truly be able to defeat Wei in the upcoming tournament.
But only a few days later, Wei returned as well.
And on the very same day, he went straight to Black Dragon Pavilion—and cleared the eleventh level of the True Martial Pavilion!
The moment the news broke, the entire Bai family was shaken to its core.
Anyone who made it past the tenth level of the True Martial Pavilion while still in the True Martial Realm was already considered a top-tier genius—those kinds of talents were few and far between, even in all of Bright Moon County.
And someone who cleared the eleventh level?
That was even more extraordinary.
Sure, there had been rumors not long ago about a guy named Storm—a mere eighth-level cultivator—who stunned everyone by passing the fourteenth level of the pavilion. But Storm wasn't from the Bai family, so the news didn't make much of a splash within the clan.
Wei, on the other hand, was one of their own. So his accomplishment caused an even bigger stir inside the Bai family.
Everyone was shocked.
The Retainer Faction was thrilled, practically bursting with excitement, while the Bai family's main bloodline fell silent—especially those who had high hopes for Huo, thinking he could defeat Wei. After hearing the news, they had nothing more to say.
And who could blame them?
Even though Huo's cultivation level was similar, he had only ever made it to the ninth level of the pavilion. He hadn't even broken through the tenth. Meanwhile, Wei had already cleared the eleventh. Just in terms of technique alone, the difference between the two was huge.
That hit the younger generation of the Bai family hard. Morale plummeted, and many of them already felt a creeping sense of despair.
But like it or not, the day had come—the Bai family's Sword Token Tournament was about to begin!