Chapter 66: The Realm of Sword Threads

Old habits accumulate, then suddenly everything becomes clear.

Jiang Min recalled again what Senior He had said: she must practice the sword radiance to absolute mastery, and then the sword threads would come naturally. There were countless books and elders who all declared that there were no shortcuts in the way of the sword; only through relentless training and repeated refinement, even a prodigy must follow this path.

Diligence can make up for lack of talent.

Such a simple, straightforward truth. Yet few truly achieve it.

Jiang Min did not consider herself a genius. With every step in cultivation, she only wished to lay a solid foundation; her approach to swordsmanship was no different. She no longer looked at other fragmented texts. Those were like castles in the air, far beyond her reach.

She closed her eyes slightly, recalling the sword techniques of ancient sword cultivators, imagining herself practicing sword forms between heaven and earth.

Horse stance.

Raise the sword.

Draw, carry, lift, parry, strike, thrust...

These movements, Jiang Min practiced daily in sword classes, countless times over. Even with her eyes closed, she could easily picture the force, angle, and variation of each motion, could even envision the gusts stirred by the swinging sword.

Gradually, she became immersed, entering once more into a more mysterious state. It felt as if she were not sitting still, but truly practicing swordplay, sweating profusely, in harmony with heaven and earth. She lost herself in the experience, unaware that a sudden violent wind had arisen around her, sharp as blades, fiercely raging, as if someone really was practicing swordsmanship.

Whoosh!

Jiang Min’s sword insight was remarkably unique.

Many disciples, as well as a few Golden Core masters, all turned to look at her.

Seeing she was only at the Qi Refining stage, they were even more astonished.

Beside Master Qingyou, the young man Yu Qinghe was pondering a fragment about the sword intent of fire. Lost in thought, he suddenly heard Yu Qingqiu’s joyful exclamation, “Wow, that sister is amazing!”

At her words, Yu Qinghe’s expression darkened slightly. He didn’t mind his young sister interrupting his concentration, but retorted, “Isn’t your brother amazing too?”

“Of course you’re amazing.”

Yu Qingqiu’s innocent little face showed a natural purity, but then she turned the conversation, puzzled, “But, brother, why don’t you have that kind of phenomenon like her?”

“…”

He hadn’t even entered the state yet!

Following Yu Qingqiu’s pointing finger, Yu Qinghe saw an outer sect girl about his age, sitting cross-legged on the yellow sand, her eyes half-closed, an aura swirling mysteriously around her, stirring a fierce wind.

He didn’t know her; in fact, hadn’t noticed her at all before. Yet her rapid entry into sword insight suggested her talent was not low.

Curious, Yu Qinghe pressed a finger to his brow.

A phantom crack opened at his brow, revealing a vertical pupil, both real and unreal.

This was the legendary ancient Qi-Seeing Eye technique; True Lord Qian Yan had only a fragment of it, which he passed on to Yu Qinghe. It could see through many illusions and reveal the truth.

Jiang Min wore some artifacts to conceal her aura; at the Qi Refining stage, her cultivation could not be discerned, and even Foundation Establishment cultivators would not know her realm without deliberately probing.

But before the ancient Qi-Seeing Eye, such concealment was useless.

When Yu Qinghe saw Jiang Min’s true aura, he was startled.

“Five elemental roots?”

With the pupil technique, he could easily see the five elemental energies swirling above Jiang Min’s head—she was a five elemental root.

A five elemental root at Qi Refining level eight was truly rare.

Then Yu Qinghe noticed the lightning and fire power rising from Jiang Min, and his starry eyes showed a trace of incredulous shock.

“Refining the body as a furnace, forging the body into a sword?”

The body-refining method was somewhat different from typical physical cultivation; it was a way of forging the flesh as a weapon, the harshest and most demanding martial path, yet also the most powerful. For example, the second stage of Jiang Min’s Lightning-Fire Furnace Treasure Refining method was to forge the body into a sword.

This method was extremely painful, and for all its torment, offered only limited improvement in combat strength. Even sword or blade cultivators rarely chose such a path.

As far as Yu Qinghe knew, no one he met practiced the body-refining method.

But True Lord Qian Yan required it of him, and Yu Qinghe had endured the pain and succeeded.

He always thought he was the only one in Eastern Spirit Sect who persisted in this method—never expected to meet another today.

Someone could suffer even more than him?

He couldn’t stand it.

He couldn’t let himself be surpassed!

Seeing even his little sister’s gaze glued to Jiang Min, Yu Qinghe felt sour—no, he must quickly enter sword insight himself, lest his sister be disappointed.

“Senior sister, please watch Qingqiu for me. I’m going to the front to meditate.”

He set Qingqiu in Master Qingyou’s arms, then moved closer to the Sword Insight Cliff, sat down, and continued studying the fragment he had just pondered.

“Eh? Why did brother go so far?” Qingqiu nestled in Master Qingyou’s embrace, tilting her head, puzzled.

Master Qingyou chuckled softly; she knew Yu Qinghe had seen someone who could endure even more hardship, and his competitive spirit had been sparked—he wanted to compete with Jiang Min.

At this moment, beneath Sword Insight Cliff, Jiang Min sat cross-legged, eyes closed.

Though she sat unmoving, sweat poured from her body, as if she were truly practicing swordplay.

She was immersed in a state between dream and reality, as if she were endlessly practicing basic sword techniques, for ages, over and over, until the years slipped by unnoticed—one hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times… without end.

A single, simplest movement, repeated millions of times, so monotonous Jiang Min was tempted time and again to give up.

But she gritted her teeth and persisted. After all the hardships she’d endured, what was a little monotony?

She wanted to know—

What was that feeling, when accumulated habits suddenly broke through?

In this illusory yet real state, as she practiced, Jiang Min gradually discovered that each repetition of the same movement felt a little different.

For example, in a thrust, every time she struck, the force, distance, and direction varied, and thus the wind stirred was different—sometimes strong, sometimes weak. What if she could find the perfect combination of force, distance, and direction to make the wind most fierce?

With this in mind, Jiang Min began adjusting her thrust each time, letting the sword’s edge draw ever sharper, swifter winds.

She did not know—

As she adjusted, the wind around her in reality grew more violent, and sharp sword energy emerged from the gale. At first short and weak, then gradually spreading, visible to the naked eye, growing more solid, forming threads that mingled with the wind like silkworms spinning cocoons, wrapping around Jiang Min.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Some who had just emerged from their own meditative states saw Jiang Min’s sword insight, and were amazed.

Her azure robe marked her as an outer sect Qi Refining disciple of Eastern Spirit Sect—such a young girl, already entering the sword thread realm of insight?

Even Master Qingyou, who had been protecting the disciples, allowed a hint of surprise to flicker in her violet eyes.

"This little girl has quite a talent for the sword."

Thanks to Xiaoshi for the rewards and for painstakingly organizing the scripture and talisman collection—feel free to check the pinned post in the comment section for more.

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