Secluded Cultivation

For the next six months, she would first switch her cultivation method to the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》, completely replacing her family's heritage cultivation method.

Once her cultivation method stabilized, she would then begin practicing the three martial arts.

The next day, as the first light of dawn broke, the morning mist in the bamboo forest had not yet dispersed.

Nalan Yanli walked along the green bamboo path to find Ye Ling's small courtyard.

Holding several white jade porcelain bottles in her hands, she walked straight into the courtyard and handed them to Ye Ling.

“These are Fasting Pills, which I specifically brought for you.”

Nalan Yanli explained gently, “Ordinary cultivators can rely on pills to fast once they break through to the Xiantian Realm, eliminating the need to eat every day.”

“However, even if many people can fast, they still crave the taste of food and often seek out delicacies anyway.”

“But you are going to cultivate behind closed doors for the next six months, so it is best to have fewer distractions.”

“With these Fasting Pills, you can focus entirely on your cultivation without wasting mental energy on three meals a day.”

Ye Ling took the porcelain bottles. As her fingertips touched the cool jade surface, a trace of warmth rose in her heart, and she softly thanked Nalan Yanli.

Last night, Ye Ling had closed her doors to comprehend the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》 without stopping for a single moment, meditating and circulating the cultivation method throughout the night.

Hard work paid off, and she finally managed to practice this sect-guarding secret method to the Entry Level.

Even though it was only at the Entry Level, the sheer density of the spiritual energy circulating within her body was already thirty percent greater than her family's cultivation method, which she had practiced to Great Perfection.

The gap was clear at a glance.

As expected of the sect-guarding secret method passed down through generations in the Qinglan Sword Sect, its foundation was simply incomparable to ordinary worldly cultivation methods.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

During these entire thirty days, Ye Ling stayed in the serene bamboo courtyard.

Ignoring external affairs and devoting herself to bitter cultivation, she polished the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》 day and night. She was completely focused and never slacked off.

Relying on her excellent sword path talent and the Heaven Rewards Diligence Dao imprint, Ye Ling made great progress, already cultivating the Qinglan Sword Canon from the Entry Level to the Initial Mastery realm.

The moment her cultivation method reached Initial Mastery, the spiritual energy in her body underwent another pure transformation.

Her spiritual energy became more condensed, heavy, clear, and overbearing, and the sword charm lingering around her body grew increasingly solid and sharp.

After stabilizing the foundation of the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》, Ye Ling no longer focused solely on her cultivation method.

She finally spared some energy to begin practicing the three Yellow-grade peak-tier martial arts she had previously selected from the Library.

The three martial arts were the Floating Cloud Sword Technique, the Swift Thunder Movement Technique, and the Lost Track Leg Technique.

The sword force of the Floating Cloud Sword Technique was like drifting clouds, unpredictable in its truth and falsehood. The sword strikes were light and versatile, specializing in confusing the opponent and concealing a deadly blow.

The Swift Thunder Movement Technique focused on extreme lunges and evasions. The body moved as fast as sudden thunder, suitable for both long-range and close-range positioning, as well as surprise attacks and escapes.

The Lost Track Leg Technique specialized in close-quarters combat. The chaotic shadows of her legs would disturb the enemy, specifically targeting blind spots, making it extremely powerful for close-range sneak attacks.

...

Deep in the bamboo forest, Ye Ling stood quietly in her plain green dress.

Her black hair was tied up with only a simple jade hairpin, with a few stray strands of hair gently brushing in the breeze. Her slender and upright figure carried a natural, ethereal grace.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she suddenly made her move.

The longsword in her hand let out a soft hum as she smoothly unleashed the Floating Cloud Sword Technique.

The sword force drifted like clouds, the moves intertwining truth and illusion, as the nimble sword light darted and floated among the shadows of the bamboo.

Layers of sword shadows confused the vision. Within every seemingly gentle sword strike, a sharp and lethal intent was hidden.

Between the rising and falling of the sword light, Ye Ling executed the Swift Thunder Movement Technique.

Her speed suddenly surged, fast as a thunderbolt streaking across the sky. Her figure was elusive and unpredictable, shifting and maneuvering several Zhang in an instant.

She threaded freely through the dense green bamboo, advancing and retreating cleanly, shifting without a trace, making it impossible to capture her exact trajectory.

The moment she drew close, her legs suddenly flew out, executing the Lost Track Leg Technique.

The leg attacks were tricky and bizarre, with chaotic leg shadows layering over one another. Her shifting steps formed a confusing maze, precisely locking onto blind spots.

Coordinating with her agile movement technique and shifting sword moves, her swordplay, movement, and leg techniques merged into one. The transition between offense and defense was seamless, without a single flaw.

The morning light, bamboo shadows, sword light, and leg shadows reflected off one another. The young girl's figure was heroic and sharp, her cold eyes filled with complete focus.

In the serene bamboo forest, she polished her combat foundation day after day.

After a long time, Ye Ling sheathed her sword and stood among the bamboo. She slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and raised her hand to wipe the fine sweat from her brow.

In the blink of an eye, four months had passed.

During these past few months, she only rested for four to six hours each day, dedicating all of her remaining mental energy to practicing the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》 and the three martial arts.

The rewards of her bitter cultivation also far exceeded her expectations.

The 《Qinglan Sword Canon》 had already been cultivated to the Mastery realm, and the three Yellow-grade peak-tier martial arts—the Floating Cloud Sword Technique, Swift Thunder Movement Technique, and Lost Track Leg Technique—had all been polished to the Great Perfection realm.

Furthermore, her continuous bitter cultivation steadily pushed her cultivation level upward, allowing her to successfully step into the Houtian Twelfth Layer, leaving her only one step away from breaking through to the Xiantian Realm.

Only one final month remained before the new disciple tournament.

In the bamboo forest courtyard, Ye Ling completely calmed her mind, pouring all of her energy into the 《Qinglan Sword Canon》.

For the remaining time, she planned to put all her effort into breaking through to the Great Perfection realm, solely to cultivate that sword qi in her mouth, giving herself an extra trump card in the upcoming tournament.

Meanwhile, inside the discussion hall of the Qinglan Sword Sect, the atmosphere was slightly turbulent.

Leng Zhiwei sat high above, her expression cold and indifferent.

Below the hall, the Peak Masters of each main lineage had gathered together. All of them wore solemn expressions, looking at one another with a hint of unspeakable distress.

This gathering was entirely for the sake of this batch of newly recruited disciples.

The quality of the geniuses recruited by the sect this term far exceeded past standards, with extraordinary talents emerging from all walks of life.

Each Peak Master had selected the best among them, taking in personal disciples with exceptional aptitude. This was originally a great event for the prosperity of the sect.

But now, a difficult problem lay before them, causing trouble for the Peak Masters.

The reason stemmed from the long-standing rules of the Qinglan Sword Sect's new disciple tournament.

The tournament was restricted to newly recruited disciples below the Xiantian Realm.

The sect had always had a set rule that peerless geniuses who broke through to the Xiantian Realm before the age of twenty possessed talent that far surpassed their peers.

They did not need to participate in the new disciple competition and could be exceptionally promoted directly to the inner sect, bypassing the tournament.

In past terms, very few disciples could step into the Xiantian Realm at such a young age. Even if there were any, they all followed the sect's regulations, and no exceptions were ever made.

But this term was completely different. A total of five top geniuses who broke through to the Xiantian Realm before the age of twenty had emerged.

According to the sect rules, these five should have directly entered the inner sect without needing to participate in this new disciple tournament.

Yet surprisingly, these five geniuses were highly proud and held themselves in extremely high regard.

Having already heard that a figure like Ye Ling had emerged among the new disciples—someone who had been exceptionally taken in as a True Disciple by the Sect Master and had astounded the entire sect—their hearts burned with a surging desire to fight, wishing for nothing more than to exchange blows and compete with her.

Believing themselves to be invincible among their peers, they were absolutely unwilling to retreat without a fight. Thus, they had all actively submitted applications to the sect.

They strongly requested an exception to participate in this new disciple tournament, wanting to determine who was superior against Ye Ling on the tournament stage.

This matter broke the conventions of past terms, concerned the fairness of the tournament, and involved many complications.

The Peak Masters had argued and discussed this for a long time without reaching a decision. In the end, they could only gather in the hall to request a final decision from Sect Master Leng Zhiwei.