At dusk, Ye Changkong finally left the martial arts arena.
As he passed through the corridor connecting the martial arts arena to the courtyard armory room, he heard a faint and feeble shout.
"Ye Changkong, have the guts to come out and challenge me on the Sky Blue Platform!"
"What's the point of hiding in there like a turtle with your head tucked in?"
Ye Changkong frowned as he saw several figures swaying in front of the courtyard gate.
These people were lying or sitting against the wall, shouting words here and there.
"He's coming out, Tang Qi, he's coming out."
Upon seeing Ye Changkong's figure in the courtyard, Chu Yun sat up straight, revealing a tense expression on his face.
The surrounding Tang Qi and others immediately became alert and watched carefully.
"This is just a bunch of hot air. What's the point of staying here if you don't dare to fight?" Ye Changkong felt both amused and annoyed at the disciples of Tianyun Peak outside the courtyard.
Shaking his head, he called in a handyman disciple who was watering and weeding in the courtyard and asked him to close the courtyard gate before heading straight to the bathroom.
After taking a comfortable hot bath and lying on the bed, Ye Changkong murmured, "Yao Yao, didn't you say you want to surprise me?"
"Close your eyes," Qin Yaorao whispered.
Slowly closing his eyes, Ye Changkong suddenly felt a strange power released from the Dream Pearl in his dantian, spreading throughout his body.
In just a few breaths of time, a strong drowsiness came over him, causing his mind to become muddled and unenergetic.
Amidst Ye Changkong's drowsy confusion, the Dream Pearl in his sea of qi began to move.
The black and gray Dream Pearl released a mist that billowed out every time it trembled.
The haze-like mist was like a black hole vortex, devouring all of his consciousness.
"Where is this?"
When Ye Changkong's consciousness was completely devoured, he suddenly realized that he was in a gray space. "Is this the Dream Pearl's inner space?"
"Yes, this is the Timeless Dream Realm."
Qin Yaorao's enchanting figure slowly appeared in the gray space.
As Qin Yaorao's figure emerged, colors began to appear in the gray space.
Like a painting, each object was outlined in detail, from the blue stone brick flooring to the three-meter-high sword testing stones...
In a matter of moments, the entire martial arts arena of the courtyard seemed to have been completely cloned here, making it impossible to distinguish between reality and illusion.
"The Timeless Dream Realm can change the flow of time in dreams compared to the flow of time in reality."
Qin Yaorao twisted her curvaceous waist and walked towards Ye Changkong. "With my current spiritual power, I can only make time in the dream world flow at twice the rate of time in the real world."
"So you mean if I train for two hours in the Timeless Dream Realm, only one hour will pass in the outside world?" Ye Changkong's face revealed an uncontrollable joy. Although he had heard Qin Yaorao mention the Timeless Dream Realm several times before, he never expected it to have such a magical ability.
"Does that mean that as long as I stay in the Timeless Dream Realm every day, it means I have twice the training time compared to ordinary people?"
Ye Changkong's heart pounded. What was he lacking most right now?
Time!
With only half a month left until the major competition, it would be difficult to make a big breakthrough.
But now that Qin Yaorao has the ability to open the Timeless Dream Realm in the Dream Pearl, everything has changed.
For him, half a month will be equivalent to one month of training time.
"It's easy to say."
Qin Yaorao chuckled softly and charmingly. "My spiritual power is very weak right now. I can only support the flow of time five times than the real world in the Timeless Dream Realm. After that, I need to rest for another five hours before I can open it again."
As she listened to Qin Yaorao, Ye Changkong was disheartened but still found the five-hour time difference better than nothing.
The following days passed by quickly and were fulfilling at the same time.
During the day, he practiced the Undying God-Emperor's Formula in the courtyard's training room, using the Gathering Spirit Crystal and the Green Spirit Fluid.
At night, he practiced the Point Stabbing Sword Technique in the Timeless Dream Realm, wasting no time.
Ye Changkong had a strong learning ability, and after integrating part of Qin Yaorao's soul talent, his talent far exceeded that of his peers.
In just a few days, he had fully grasped the essence of the Point Stabbing Sword Technique and began to work on cultivating the Point Blue Sword Technique.
Cultivation knows no age, and for Ye Changkong, who is completely immersed in practice, a dozen days have passed in a flash.
After a period of hard work, he had reached an entry-level in the three-part Point Blue Sword Technique, and his cultivation level had further advanced, stepping into the fourth stage of the Wuwei Meridian and approaching the opening of the fifth Wuwei Meridian.
On this day, the resounding sound echoed endlessly in the dream of time.
With one hand holding the Xuantie Heavy Sword, Ye Changkong thrust his sword out continuously. After each strike, he would pause for a moment to savor the charm of the sword technique.
Qin Yaorao lay on the vine wooden chair she had created, leisurely watching Ye Changkong practicing his sword skills with great concentration.
Dang ~ Ka ~
The tip of the Xuantie Heavy Sword struck the boulder again, making a dull sound. The boulder cracked like a spider web and then burst into a pile of rubble.
"The power of this sword still couldn't completely concentrate at the point of the sword."
Ye Changkong frowned slightly. This boulder in front of him was the eighth one he had shattered tonight, but he still hadn't been able to improve his Dian Cang swordsmanship.
The sound of the shattered boulder made Qin Yaorao frown as well. She raised her hand, and another training stone appeared in the dream of time. "Dian Cang swordsmanship emphasizes condensing strength at a single point instead of relying on the brute force of a heavy sword. Do you understand the essence of technique?"
"I'll demonstrate it again. In two days, the big competition will begin, and whether or not you can perfect the Dian Cang swordsmanship depends solely on you."
As she spoke, Qin Yaorao's hand produced a heavy sword out of thin air, and a training stone appeared in front of her.
Her figure suddenly moved, and she struck out with the sword at an incredibly fast speed. The tip of the sword emitted a shimmering light every time it struck, which was not particularly noticeable but could still be clearly sensed.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Each sword pierced through the stone like tofu, producing a crisp and resounding sound.
These consecutive strikes not only penetrated the training stone completely, but also had no trace of debris.
"Do you understand now?"
Qin Yaorao's sword and the training stone disappeared from her hand as she lay back on the chair.
In life, she did not use a heavy sword. She had just been bored watching Ye Changkong practice his sword skills here every day and decided to delve into the mystery of Dian Cang swordsmanship, which was a high-grade swordsman skill that was very difficult to learn. Compared to Ye Changkong, who had only just started practicing for ten days, it was really like comparing heaven and earth.
"Yaoyao, do you think everyone has your monstrous talent?"
If he hadn't known that Qin Yaorao was a legendary emperor figure, Ye Changkong wouldn't have believed that there could be someone with such a monstrous talent in the world.
Ye Changkong sneered, and then immersed himself in the experience of Qin Yaorao's strikes. After a long while, he finally had an epiphany. He thrust out his sword once again towards the boulder in front of him.
Ding!
He seemed to have found the key, with a single strike that produced a clear, crisp sound as the sword landed on the boulder. The dull thud of impact had turned into a bright and clean sound, like a long sword piercing through paper easily and effortlessly without producing too many flying debris.
This strike was enough to break through the barrier of the Dian Cang swordsmanship for Ye Changkong.
The following strikes became more and more proficient. Even the clumsy tip of the heavy sword began to show signs of sharpness.
One training stone after another was pierced through, creating holes of various sizes. Ye Changkong repeated this process over and over again, feeling a sense of determination and unwavering faith rather than the dullness and boredom he had before.
Tomorrow would be the day of the big competition. If he could perfect the Dian Cang swordsmanship, he would have a greater chance of re-entering the top ten and becoming an inner disciple.
Crack!
A crisp echo rang out as the tip of the Xuantie Heavy Sword pierced through a boulder in front of him, producing a sharp sword glow.
"I finally got it!"
Looking at his masterpiece in front of him, Ye Changkong couldn't help but shout with excitement.
"It's a breakthrough."
Qin Yaorao smiled, and with a wave of her jade hand, she immediately sent the excited Ye Changkong out of the dream of time.
Rolling over in his bed, Ye Changkong suddenly sat up. He glanced at the sunlight that shone through the window gap and realized that it was already morning. One night in the dream of time was equivalent to two nights in reality. It was surprising how quickly the time had passed.
After freshening himself up, he walked out of his room only to find another woman's figure in the courtyard.
Seeing the figure standing in the courtyard, Ye Changkong immediately smiled and said, "Yiyi, why did you come?" (To be continued)