After Luo Qi left, the spine-chilling sensation finally disappeared for Jiang Yun. He began to fully focus on countering Wan Yankun's attacks, narrowly evading his sword strikes with the Four Elephants Steps.
The last bit of spiritual energy accumulated within Wan Yankun was completely exhausted in this wave of attacks. Jiang Yun's obstructed breath finally cleared, and he stepped back, his eyes sharp as he drew his sword again.
As if sensing the change in Jiang Yun's aura, the onlookers held their breath as they watched his sword swing once more. The sword's radiance remained as majestic as before, a colorful display under the sunlight's reflection.
"Crack!"
Upon contact, Wan Yankun's sword shattered against Jiang Yun's Green Reed Sword. The sword light cut through his protective spiritual energy like a hot knife through butter, leaving a gash on his wrist. Blood sprayed, and his severed hand dropped to the ground, leaving Wan Yankun utterly defeated.
"Ah..."
Wan Yankun's mournful cry echoed through the arena. Jiang Yun turned around with an icy gaze. As he sheathed the Green Reed Sword upon turning, he seemed unmovable as a mountain yet invasive as fire. At that moment, Jiang Yun's image became vividly etched in the minds of the spectators.
As Jiang Yun walked out from the arena, no one dared to meet his cold eyes. Throughout the entire duel, he had only struck twice. The spectators realized that if not for Jiang Yun's own actions, victory might have been secured in just one strike.
Evaluating people through their swords, Jiang Yun's technique was ruthless and unstoppable, leaving no room for mercy. The outer disciples who once found him affable now understood that beneath his amiable exterior was a merciless swordsman.
Li Da Dan didn't ponder too much. He thought Jiang Yun was easy to get along with. Jiang Yun's victory, winning over seventy Body Tempering Pills, left him excited. He approached Jiang Yun and handed over all the Body Tempering Pills.
Jiang Yun took out half of the Body Tempering Pills and gave them to Li Da Dan, saying, "These are for you. Keep them safe. If you need anything, find me."
Having said that, Jiang Yun left the arena. Wang Kai Hai cast a complex look at Jiang Yun. After witnessing Jiang Yun's two sword strikes, he felt an overwhelming sense of powerlessness, a true sense of gazing up at a towering mountain.
Zhou Zi Yue's folding fan in his hand swayed faster and faster, failing to conceal his inner turmoil. He jealously watched everyone's fear-stricken gazes following Jiang Yun's departing figure. His heart was a tumultuous mix of emotions. Throughout his life, he had always been in the spotlight. However, in this moment, nearly all the attention was snatched away by Jiang Yun.
The battle between Wan Yankun and Jiang Yun quickly spread among the people. After that duel, Jiang Yun continued to keep a low profile. Except for his morning practice sessions, he rarely ventured outside his room. Most of his time was spent on cultivation.
From that day onward, whenever Jiang Yun practiced his morning boxing routine, he often encountered other outer disciple practitioners who were also exercising. Their intentions of getting close to him were quite evident, yet Jiang Yun only nodded and smiled, refraining from engaging in extended conversations.
Jiang Yun had no inclination to socialize. His entire time was dedicated to cultivating the Nine Lirian Art. Apart from that, he spent an hour each evening practicing sword techniques on the mountainside. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect; this principle applied to both boxing and swordsmanship.
Although others regarded Jiang Yun as astonishingly talented in swordsmanship, few were aware that he performed basic sword techniques a thousand times each day on the mountainside – thrust, parry, slash, stab, and draw. Despite the dullness, Jiang Yun tirelessly practiced these motions to deepen his control over sword techniques.
Every seven days, there was a lesson from the second-generation disciples, most of which were related to swordsmanship. Although Jiang Yun deemed these foundational lessons unhelpful, he never missed a session. However, he remained passive during these classes.
A month passed, and Jiang Yun continued his daily morning boxing sessions. Due to his distant demeanor, the outer disciples who had attempted to get close to him gradually disappeared. After all, being snubbed didn't feel pleasant.
Wang Kai Hai still persisted in his daily morning sword practice. Occasionally, he crossed paths with Jiang Yun. However, their conversations remained scarce. There was only one instance when Wang Kai Hai, faced with a bottleneck in his swordsmanship, approached Jiang Yun for advice.
Even when asking for help, Wang Kai Hai's tone remained as cold as ever, as if he weren't seeking assistance from Jiang Yun. Nonetheless, Jiang Yun didn't mind. After Wang Kai Hai explained his swordsmanship bottleneck, Jiang Yun imparted the principles of the Dugu Nine Swords to him.
The Dugu Nine Swords could be considered a fluid sword technique, devoid of fixed forms. It primarily tested one's visual acumen, adhering to the theory of "no technique surpasses no technique." Essentially, it focused on discovering and addressing vulnerabilities. Although the Dugu Nine Swords were renowned in Jiang Yun's past life, he had only glimpsed the overall outline of the technique without delving too deeply into its legendary status.
Jiang Yun had displayed a form of the Dugu Nine Swords here once, but it could only be considered a half-finished version derived from the general outline. He wasn't sure if it was the correct direction for the Dugu Nine Swords.
However, Wang Kai Hai pursued a path of speed in his swordsmanship. His bottleneck occurred when he reached the limits of his physical speed, unsure how to advance further. Jiang Yun then shared the principles of the Dugu Nine Swords, cautioning that blindly pursuing speed might not always be beneficial.
Jiang Yun explained in simple terms, but he wasn't sure how much Wang Kai Hai could comprehend. Later, during Jiang Yun's morning practice sessions, he hadn't seen Wang Kai Hai for a while. Until one day, Li Da Dan mentioned Wang Kai Hai, saying that he had been suspending a spider from his window with a string, observing the spider for at least an hour each day.
Upon hearing this news, Jiang Yun refrained from commenting, yet a faint smile adorned his face. It held a touch of contentment – Wang Kai Hai seemed to have found the right direction.
Over the course of the month, Li Da Dan occasionally came to chat with Jiang Yun. Most of the time, he spoke while Jiang Yun listened. Only when discussing cultivation would Jiang Yun provide assessments and offer guidance towards the correct path.
Apart from Li Da Dan, Lu Yao had approached Jiang Yun twice as well. However, their interactions were brief, primarily because of Jiang Yun's lack of enthusiasm. Lu Yao didn't show much interest in engaging with Jiang Yun either, and their conversations remained short. Nevertheless, she did inquire about Jiang Yun's cultivation regression, but he evaded the topic and didn't explain it clearly to her.
Although Lu Yao held a slight fondness for Jiang Yun, his cool attitude during their two encounters dampened her interest in seeking him out further. After all, girls cared more about maintaining their dignity.
Time quickly came around to the monthly assessment. The shockwave caused by Jiang Yun's battle against Wan Yan Kun gradually diminished. For this assessment, many were now gearing up to achieve prominent ranks.