This cultivation session began at six in the morning and lasted until nine, an hour longer than his sessions before his last major breakthrough.

He could feel the tempering effects of his stance training reaching deeper than before. His blood had begun to undergo a strange transformation, and his breathing grew far more steady and sustained.

After showering in the Kuaidou Training Chamber, he went to the dining area for a bite to eat before returning for another round of cultivation.

His Sword Nurturing Skill had become quite effective after this period of practice. In his spiritual space, his Imagined Sword was no longer instantly shattered by the second strand of Sword Intent from the Cyan Lotus Sword; it could now hold on for a single breath.

Yu Fei sat cross-legged in the enclosed Meditation Chamber. With a slight twitch of his fingers, the Cyan Lotus Sword hovered steadily an inch before the spot between his eyebrows, its cold glint flickering, concealing a murderous intent.

"Strike!"

A distant yet swift Sword Intent shot forward like a bolt of lightning. He controlled the three-foot blade of light within his spiritual space—equally sharp and brilliant—to meet the Sword Intent head-on. They were locked in a stalemate for a single breath before the blade of light’s form wavered. It was then pierced through, dissolving into a flash of brilliance.

Hindered by this resistance, the incoming Sword Intent was no longer as ferocious. Although it still struck fiercely within his spiritual space, the damage it caused was less than before.

Yu Fei’s brow furrowed slightly. It was just a sharp pain, not enough to cause him any fundamental damage.

He rested for a moment, then once again levitated the Cyan Lotus Sword an inch before the spot between his eyebrows.

"Strike!"

The familiar Sword Intent struck again. Aided by his seven-fold increase in neural reaction speed, he could observe more details within the Sword Intent, allowing him to grow even faster.

Although Super Speed Reaction was a blue-tier talent, its function was absolutely overpowered. It represented a power that surpassed the limits of humanity.

If one were to quantify the effects of cultivation, the experience Yu Fei gained from each confrontation with the Sword Intent was at least five times that of other Cultivators. This was the true reason for his lightning-fast progress with the Green Lotus Sword Nourishing Skill.

Bolstered by the Bright Spirit Liquid provided by Yan Sea, his mental resilience had increased dramatically. He managed to train seven times in a row before his mind felt overwhelmed, at which point he stopped, lit a stick of Nourishing Spirit Incense, and began to recover his mental energy.

With such full-throttle cultivation, Yu Fei’s own Sword Intent grew rapidly, taking great strides on the path to mastery.

* * *

Deep on the fourth floor of the Aurora Martial Arts Hall was an area not usually open to clients. It was the hall master’s personal dojo.

In a reception room to the east, a graceful and elegant woman stood before a tea table. With a delicate lift of her fair hand, her movements were full of grace. The amber-colored tea flowed from the spout like a stream of light, pouring into a white porcelain cup. The thin stream was steady, not a drop splashing, and it made a clear, crisp sound as it filled the cup.

Su Yue held the teacup with both hands. As she gently lifted it, her sleeve slid down, revealing a slender, jade-like wrist. Her eyes were filled with a smiling warmth, concealing a deep tenderness. She looked at the stiffly seated man across from her and asked softly.

"A man of your stature... since when did you learn how to sneak into private residences?"

Yan Sea mechanically extended both hands to take the cup.

His expression was wooden, dazed like a new recruit on his first battlefield.

After a few seconds of silence, Yan Sea began to explain. His usually hoarse voice sounded as if a rusted door hinge had been oiled—smoother by a degree, and less harsh.

"I... I didn’t know you were here."

Su Yue smiled faintly and said teasingly, "The great Bloodthirsty Dragon General, of course, only has matters of state and war on his mind. The profound bond between master and disciple... how could a mere marriage agreement from a matchmaking session possibly compare? And as for this Aurora Martial Arts Hall, which has only been open for ten years, you naturally wouldn’t deign to notice it."

Yan Sea actually blushed a little, but after years as a martial arts teacher, his old face was too tanned and weathered to show it.

Ever since Yu Fei was attacked by the cultists, he had been secretly protecting him.

Before that, Yan Sea had been completely immersed in his own world, indifferent to his surroundings. He knew there was an Aurora Martial Arts Hall in the county, but he had never paid it any mind.

The last time was when he was investigating Yu Fei, he saw him sparring with a fourth-gate coach, a case of one novice pecking at another. At the time, he’d only glanced from a distance and hadn’t investigated the Aurora Martial Arts Hall any further.

Today, in order to protect Yu Fei, he had secretly entered the Aurora Martial Arts Hall for the first time.

And was promptly caught red-handed by Su Yue.

When Yan Sea saw Su Yue, his mind went completely blank. The trials of the past ten years hadn’t changed her face in the slightest. Her familiar voice and smiling features awakened his memories of the past.

That great war had broken out suddenly. Before that, Yan Sea’s master had arranged a marriage for him. The bride-to-be was none other than Su Yue. They had met a few times, enjoyed each other’s company immensely, and so the engagement was set.

At that time, Yan Sea had achieved Gang Qi Perfection and was on the verge of becoming a Grandmaster. He had the backing of his eighth-realm master and had even earned the title of "Bloodthirsty Dragon General" in the army.

Life could not have been more triumphant.

Who could have known that a sudden, cataclysmic change would leave Yan Sea’s master and friends almost completely wiped out, visiting upon him a grief too deep for words. For ten years, the pain and repressed emotions have been his constant companions, causing him to nearly forget all that came before.

"The Aurora Martial Arts Hall... The Aurora Cafe..."

Yan Sea smiled bitterly to himself. ’I should have realized it sooner.’

The Aurora Cafe was where they first met. He had been so oblivious to the world around him all these years that he had never made the connection.

Su Yue looked at Yan Sea’s weather-beaten face, her heart filled with tenderness and pity. After the incident all those years ago, Yan Sea had disappeared without a trace. Her friends and family had all urged her to give up, arguing that it was just an engagement from a matchmaking session, a verbal agreement that could easily be dismissed.

Moreover, news eventually came that Yan Sea was still alive, yet he never returned to find her. It was clear he hadn’t given a second thought to the woman he’d met through a matchmaker.

But only Su Yue herself knew that she had been watching Yan Sea long before the matchmaking session. What was passed off as a casual joke was, in fact, something she had meticulously planned.

Later, she learned of Yan Sea’s whereabouts and resolutely left her comfortable life in the capital, Shenjing, to come to this remote place and open a martial arts hall. She named it Aurora, after the place where they had officially met for the first time.

Su Yue understood Yan Sea better than anyone could imagine. She understood his pain and knew his hopes.

That was why for ten years, she had only watched him from a distance, never taking the initiative to meet him, never interfering in his life.

Su Yue forgave Yan Sea for his unannounced departure. She waited in silence, hoping that one day, he would step into the Aurora Martial Arts Hall on his own.

That wait lasted ten years.

Su Yue poured herself some tea and slowly raised the cup. The knot of sorrow between her brows instantly dissolved, and her smile was as radiant as ever.

"I’m so happy to see you again."

Yan Sea’s expression was a mixture of shame and suppressed anguish.

His master and friends were gone, their last wishes still unfulfilled, and now he had also failed a beautiful woman, wasting her best years.

’How could a man fail so utterly!’

’How could anyone be such a failure!’

In the lake of Yan Sea’s heart, a blood-red dragon roared and lamented, its profound hatred driving it to the brink of madness.

He closed his scarlet eyes, as if shedding tears of blood.

’There had been so many wonderful people in this world who had helped that stupid orphan walk farther and farther along his path. But that orphan was simply too stupid and had failed every single one of them.’

Faintly, the clang of iron chains seemed to echo as strands of blood-red Qi Blood began to seep from Yan Sea’s body.

He was on the verge of demonic transformation.

Su Yue drained her tea in a single gulp, then rose and flew into his arms like a swallow returning to its nest. She wrapped her arms tightly around Yan Sea, as if she were embracing her entire world.

Yan Sea’s eyes snapped open. The blood-red color in their depths receded, leaving only astonishment.

A gentle whisper reached his ears.

"Don’t leave me behind again, okay?"