…
⟪[Basic Sword Techniques]⟫
[Stabbing Sword Technique(Intermediate)
[Quick-Draw Sword Technique(Intermediate)
[Vertical Slash Technique(Intermediate)
[Horizontal Slash Technique(Intermediate)
[Double Slash Technique(intermediate)
[Triple Stab Technique(Intermediate)
[Crimson Crescent Slash Technique(Intermediate)
…
"Oh! My basic sword techniques mastery has increased, now it is at the intermediate level. According to the knowledge I received while comprehending the techniques, there are four stages to mastering a technique— the basic, intermediate, advanced and then the Mastered or Extreme stage. I think the system used the term foundation for the basic stage. Well, it doesn't matter as long as I can increase their mastery level by practicing the techniques, I am okay with whatever name or term that the system uses." Shenyan mumbled to himself.
Even though he was currently living by himself after Wang Lei was taken in by the principal of the academy, Shenyan was not bothered in the slightest. Every student who wanted a roommate would likely have found their partners a long time ago and no one would be willing to live with someone they do not know. Shenyan preferred it this way, after all, with the system with him, there are chances his actions may arouse attention from others so living by himself for now was in his favor.
'With my current skills, at most, I can only hunt the low-leveled spirit beasts without any issue, but for the high-level spirit beasts, I would have to increase my cultivation base a little bit before I can even think about tackling them.' Shenyan thought. Shenyan was well aware of the difference between spirit beasts and humans.
While a spirit beast may have the same cultivation base as a human, it does not mean that the human cultivator can easily deal with the said spirit beast. After all, spirit beasts have strong hides that can defend against most attacks, in addition to that, they also attack ferociously with either their claws or fangs that could easily ripe a human in two.
All in all, it is a dangerous occupation to hunt spirit beasts, but the income for successfully hunting one offset the danger, so most people dare to take the risk, nonetheless. Cultivation itself is a dangerous path, so if you are not willing to take risks, how can you succeed in the future? Only those who dare take risks succeed in their cultivation and accomplish great feats, after all, no pain, no gain.
'After practicing my techniques, even though I didn't use any spirit energy for most part, I could feel that my energy circulation has gotten better. Maybe I should practice without using spirit energy for a couple of days before deciding to head to the Task Hall for a mission.' Shenyan pondered for a while, and he decided that it was better to get accustomed to his strength first before deciding to take on missions from the task hall. While getting used to his strength, he would also be able to raise his mastery level for his sword techniques, after all, he had basically mastered the techniques, but it was only virtually and even though he had the muscle memory of the techniques, he still needed to practice the techniques himself get a better hang of it and at same time, retain his peak in the techniques just like he had, in that strange place.
…
The following day.
Shenyan woke up and cleaned himself as he proceeded to make his way to the training ground. Shenyan visited the training ground to continue his practice with his techniques, but before he began his practice, he tiptoed his way to the location where he had destroyed the puppet from before, and surprisingly, the puppet had been replaced by the elder dean. 'That elder really works so fast.' Shenyan thought as he looked at the brand-new puppet that shined with the morning sun giving off sparkles of light that indicates that it was indeed a new puppet.
This time, Shenyan decided not to use his spirit energy, so he only practiced his technique using only his pure strength. Some students saw him swinging his sword around like a lunatic, but they soon ignored him a moment later, and then engaged in their own practice.
Some were shooting fireballs compressed using spirit energy at the puppet to check how much destruction they could cause the puppets through the explosion and others were using their wind blade techniques to hit the puppet while increasing the sharpest of their wind blade attack using spirit energy.
The practice puppets of Deep-Frozen Academy were specially made, they usually reflect the amount of damage they receive by showing different colors. When there is no change in the color of the puppet after an attack, it means that the attack was mediocre at best and could not cause any significant damage to a human cultivator.
When the practice puppet changes color to yellow, it means that the attack could damage the skin of human cultivator, and finally, when the practice puppet changes color to red, it means that the attack could be lethal to human cultivators. The darker the color reflected by the practice puppet, the stronger the said attack was.
As for weapon techniques, the puppet was made with malleable materials so it can bend and it is also durable, so matter how much destructive the physical attack that lands on it, it will only bend at most, even if the attack contains spirit energy. That was one of the reasons why the elder dean from the Weapon Storage Hall was surprised by Shenyan's feat, that and also the fact that he was not even a Peaked Level Spirit Apprentice.
…
"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swish!"
Shenyan kept swinging his sword non-stop without taking a break, as he felt that the more that he exhausts himself, the sooner he would be able to control his spirit energy flow. Shenyan swung his steel sword until it was dark outside.
He only took a break to eat lunch and he even found out that his appetite has increased again, this spurred him even more to hunt the spirit beasts for money, otherwise, he would really starve to death at the rate that he is spending his little money.
After thinking about this, Shenyan decided to head home for the day, but until he gets himself some food to eat. He was currently exhausted and thinking about how much money he would have to spend to satiate his hunger, Shenyan could feel an incoming headache, but he still had to eat, otherwise how can he practice his sword techniques with an empty stomach.
Luckily, he had saved up enough money while working as a server at the Heavenly Taste Restaurant, Wang Lei's father's restaurant. Otherwise, he had no idea how he would have survived, maybe he would have been kicked out of the academy and would have had to sleep in some cold alley again, just like how he was before he was found by Wang Zhong, Wang Lei's father. Shenyan dismissed these thoughts as he made his way to the academy's cafeteria.
…
A few days later.
Shenyan was finally able to finish practicing his sword techniques. This was even more apparent as he glanced at his technique icon on his status screen and looked at the drop-down list for his basic sword techniques.
…
⟪[Basic Sword Techniques]⟫
[Stabbing Sword Technique(Advanced)
[Quick-Draw Sword Technique(Advanced)
[Vertical Slash Technique(Advanced)
[Horizontal Slash Technique(Advanced)
[Double Slash Technique(Advanced)
[Triple Stab Technique(Advanced)
[Crimson Crescent Slash Technique(Advanced)
…
Shenyan nodded his head when he saw that his basic sword techniques had finally reached the advanced stage. This means that he had basically understood the techniques, in and out. The only reason why they had not increased any further had to do with the fact that he had not practiced using his spirit energy, especially for [Crimson Crescent Slash Technique].
Shenyan focused more on practicing the basics for crimson crescent slash technique as it seemed to be the strongest technique that he had in his collection right now. Shenyan wanted to learn more techniques but when he looked at the amount of Source Points needed to learn the cheapest advanced sword technique, he shook his head.
…
⟪[Advanced Sword Techniques]⟫
[Wind Slash Technique — 25 SP]
[Phantom Slash Technique — 30 SP]
…
⟪[Source Energy Accumulation]: 24 Points⟫
…
Last time, Shenyan had used 56 Source Points to learn the seven basic sword techniques and now, he was only left with 24 Source Points. Only one point away from learning that advanced sword technique, [Wind Slash Technique].
Shenyan could choose to spend the remaining points on some of the basic sword techniques, since most of them only cost on average 2-5 points only. The only exceptions were the double slash, triple stab and the crimson crescent slash techniques— these techniques seemed special among the basic sword techniques.
After thinking about this, Shenyan only shook his head again as he was contented with his current techniques, he would have time to learn the other techniques later, when the time comes. For now, he had to make his way to the Task Hall of the academy and receive some tasks and missions that he can handle at his current level of strength.