After finishing the sweet breakfast, which was slowly starting to grow on him, Jian Shen took the Ethereal Phoenix Sword with him outside.
Like everyday, he raised the sword up and slashed it downwards. The movement so swift and accurate, that it seemed like his muscles had got used to it.
In just one slash Jian Shen figured out the difference between the wooden sword he used until now, and the black sword in his hands.
The obvious difference was that the Ethereal Phoenix Sword was heavier.
But, the difference one weight didn't seem too much even though the Ethereal Phoenix Sword was much longer than the wooden sword, and made purely of metal.
Other than this, the Ethereal Phoenix Sword had a very sharp blade which cut through the air and made his swings faster.
In this sense, the Ethereal Phoenix Sword was both heavy and light at the same time.
Also, unlike with his training with the wooden sword, Jian Shen felt even closer to the mysterious sensation when using the Ethereal Phoenix Sword.
Therefore, with twice the effort and determination, Jian Shen kept on swinging the black sword without even resting to have a break or eat lunch.
...
Having started early in the morning, Jian Shen's arms were now completely numb. He also knew, that his hands were repeating the same move out of muscle memory.
And so, if he stopped, Jian Shen knew that he would no longer be able to continue for today.
Therefore, with sheer willpower Jian Shen kept on swinging the black sword with his sweat covered arms since he felt that understanding the mysterious sensation was very close.
Also for some reason, as if by pure instinct, Jian Shen knew that if stopped now and gave in to exhaustion, he would never be comprehended that was most likely the Path of Sword.
"Haaa...."
Huffing and puffing, Jian Shen's arms were greatly trembling and his grip around the hilt looked like it would slip at any second.
"Aaaahhhh!"
Finally, something happened. As Jian Shen used all of his remaining strength to perform one last slash, something changed inside him.
It wasn't his body, his Dantian, or any such thing. But it felt like his soul had undergone a change from what he just learnt.
But, before he could figure out what it was, the black sword slipped from his fingers and began flying towards Qingyu who was standing not too far in front of him.
Not even frowning at the unexpected sword flying straight at her, Qingyu was just about to make a move and stop it, when her eyes widened in surprise.
Looking ahead she saw Jian Shen trying to stretch his hands as if trying to catch the sword which was out of his grasp.
However, this wasn't what surprised Qingyu. What surprised her, was what happened next.
Upon noticing that his hand couldn't catch the sword, Jian Shen's eyes narrowed as he shouted, "Sttooopppp!"
Once the words escaped Jian Shen's mouth a very small finger length size of haze formed in front of his palm and took the shape of a sword.
Next, the finger sized mist sword flew and hit the Ethereal Phoenix Sword which was less than a few inches away from Qingyu's fearless face.
At once all of the black sword's momentum disappeared and it fell to the floor with a clang, as for the sword made of mist, it dispersed into the air after having completed its objective of stopping the Ethereal Phoenix Sword.
But this didn't last long and the sword fell down onto the ground with a clang, just around the time when Jian Shen's tired body also began falling forward.
Storing the Ethereal Phoenix Sword inside the World Crest, Qingyu appeared right in front of the falling Jian Shen and let his face fall on her bosom.
"You did it! Using Sword Qi means that you've officially stepped foot on the Path of Sword."
In response to Qingyu's happy words, Jian Shen only weakly muttered, "I did it."
Looking down at Jian Shen's face which was covered in perspiration and was greedily gasping for breath, Qingyu knew that she had two choices.
One, she could not do anything and spend about two more weeks with Jian Shen. Two, she could use most of her remaining strength to open every single one of Jian Shen's Great Meridians.
Because right now, Jian Shen's body had used up all of the Qi inside it, and it had zero impurities inside it.
So, if Qingyu chose to do so, she could open all of his 36 Great Meridians. And since she would be doing it before Jian Shen started cultivating, it was the same as sharpening a very sharp sword which could already cut through metal like butter.
However, if she did that, Qingyu would effectively lose all of her remaining lifespan. And most likely die in less than a day.
But, the predicament didn't last long because Qingyu whispered into Jian Shen's ears, "It's going to hurt a little, so hold on."
As she said those words, Qingyu placed her palm directly on top of Jian Shen's stomach.
The next instant the tired Jian Shen couldn't even shout when he felt everything from the lower part of his waist to his chest being pricked by cold ice needles.
Luckily, this didn't last long as a great relief spread throughout Jian Shen's body from having all of his 36 Great Meridians opened at once.
"What did you do?"
In response to Jian Shen's tired voice, Qingyu said, "I opened all of your 36 Great Meridians."
Listening to her, even the tired boy couldn't help but turn excited. "Really?!"
After all, having all 36 Great Meridians opened was a dream that every cultivator had, but very few ever achieved it.
Especially not so easily, from having someone else help you. Like in Jian Shen's case, where Qingyu directly opened every one of them for him.