Time slipped by in a blur of sweat-drenched training. In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed.

Inside the Class A-10 Martial Arts Room, Fang Han stood firm as a rock.

RUMBLE—

His vital energy, driven by his Eightfold Root Bone Talent, churned like boiling lava, letting out a deep and powerful roar.

Nourished by copious amounts of Demon Beast Meat, his vital energy had grown even more immense and pure, continuously washing over and tempering his bones, already at the Late Stage of Bone Refining.

Although he hadn’t reached the Bone Refining Limit, he had still made considerable progress within the Late Stage.

After finishing his Pile Skill practice, Fang Han began practicing the Xunfeng Swordsmanship.

This recent period of practice had lent his Xunfeng Swordsmanship an indescribable harmony and fluid grace.

He could already sense the faint stirrings of the next realm for his Xunfeng Swordsmanship. He had a premonition that a breakthrough was near.

It might be in a few days, or it might be in the very next moment.

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH—

He waved the Cyan Blade Sword, its light glinting as it swept through the air like a fierce wind, letting out a series of sharp whistles.

Suddenly, his Sword Momentum changed!

The surging vital energy within him seemed to have found a brand new outlet, infusing the body of the sword in an even more profound manner.

VMMMM—

The Cyan Blade Sword let out a clear, prolonged hum. As the tip vibrated, it conjured several cyan afterimages, making it impossible to distinguish the real blade from the phantoms.

Like several gales converging, their paths were devious and unpredictable, their power increasing dramatically.

’My Xunfeng Swordsmanship has reached Mastery!’

Fang Han retracted his sword and stood still, a formidable light erupting in his eyes.

Just moments ago, he had brought the Xunfeng Swordsmanship to the Mastery Realm—a graded Martial Technique whose difficulty far surpassed that of the Qingfeng Swordsmanship.

’The power has increased by a huge margin!’

Feeling that abrupt, massive surge in power, his heart pounded with excitement.

Just as he’d expected, his Xunfeng Swordsmanship at the Mastery Realm now displayed a sharpness and power that completely surpassed the Perfection-Level Qingfeng Swordsmanship.

And this was only Mastery. After it, there were still the two levels of Great Success and Perfection.

’If I continue to improve it to Great Success, or even Perfection, just how powerful will it become?’

The superiority of a graded Martial Technique was now on full display.

’The time it took to get the Xunfeng Swordsmanship from Minor Achievement to Mastery was even shorter than it took for the Qingfeng Swordsmanship!’

Fang Han did a quick mental calculation and came to a surprising conclusion.

As a graded swordsmanship, the Xunfeng Swordsmanship was much harder to practice than the Qingfeng Swordsmanship.

But it had taken him two months to advance the Qingfeng Swordsmanship from Minor Achievement to Mastery, while it had only taken a little over a month for the Xunfeng Swordsmanship.

The Xunfeng Swordsmanship was clearly the more difficult technique to practice, yet it had taken him less time. This was undoubtedly unbelievable.

’It’s because my Perfection in Qingfeng Swordsmanship laid a solid foundation in the Sword Dao, and also because my Swordsmanship Talent Amplification is higher!’

After a moment’s thought, Fang Han understood why.

His Perfection in Qingfeng Swordsmanship had laid a solid foundation in the Sword Dao, which gave him a huge boost when practicing swordsmanship, especially a similar style like the Xunfeng Swordsmanship.

The other reason was that during the stage from Minor Achievement to Mastery for the Qingfeng Swordsmanship, his Swordsmanship Talent Amplification was only twofold.

But for the Xunfeng Swordsmanship, during the stage from Minor Achievement to Mastery, his Swordsmanship Talent Amplification had reached fourfold.

This higher amplification multiplier gave him a greater aptitude for swordsmanship and allowed him to comprehend it much faster.

’Time to test its actual power!’

To test its actual power, Fang Han strode toward the Black Iron Wooden Man Stake in the corner of the Martial Arts Room. It was a dummy made for testing, its hardness comparable to Hundred-refined Steel.

He focused his mind and calmed his breath, perfectly merging the immense power of his Late-Stage Bone Refining cultivation with the fierce Sword Momentum of his Master-Level Xunfeng Swordsmanship.

SWOOSH!

A beam of cyan light, more condensed and swifter than ever before, flashed past. With an ear-piercing sound of tearing air, it struck down savagely on the sturdy arm of the wooden man stake.

SHIIINK—CRACK!

A muffled yet cringe-inducing cutting sound rang out.

On the incredibly hard arm of the wooden man stake, a sword mark two inches deep had appeared.

The edges of the mark were as smooth as a mirror, displaying the extreme sharpness and focus of this strike!

’Two inches deep... The power has doubled!’

Fang Han carefully examined the sword mark, and a hint of a pleased smile touched his lips.

The last time he tested it when his Xunfeng Swordsmanship reached Minor Achievement, he had only cut one inch deep. Now, he had cut two inches deep—a full doubling of power.

Of course, his realm had also advanced. Last time, he was only in the Middle Stage of Bone Refining, whereas now he was in the Late Stage. The true increase in power from advancing the Xunfeng Swordsmanship from Minor Achievement to Mastery couldn’t actually be double.

Even so, the increase in power was still significant—enough for him to easily crush his former self.

’It’s time to go re-test at the Martial Arts Stele!’

Fang Han sheathed his Cyan Blade Sword, a look of anticipation in his eyes.

By his estimate, reaching Mastery in Xunfeng Swordsmanship should be enough to catch up to, or even surpass, Fang Hong’s ranking. Now was the time to verify it.

Without any further hesitation, he pushed open the door to the Martial Arts Room and headed for the courtyard of the Martial Arts Stele.

His appearance immediately attracted the attention of all the Inner Hall Descendants along the way.

As he walked straight toward the Martial Arts Stele, a silent shockwave spread across the training grounds.

"Fang Han is going to the Martial Arts Stele again!"

"This time... is he going to challenge Fang Hong for first place?"

"Quick, let’s go see!"

A murmur of hushed exclamations and discussion erupted instantly.

Nearly every disciple who witnessed the scene subconsciously stopped their practice. Their faces a mixture of disbelief and intense curiosity, they all flocked toward the courtyard of the Martial Arts Stele.

The crowd grew larger and larger. All eyes focused on the figure walking toward the Jade Stele, and the atmosphere quietly grew tense with anticipation.

Standing before the Martial Arts Stele, Fang Han reached out a finger and carved his name onto the ice-cold surface of the stele.

Immediately after, his gaze became as sharp as a falcon’s!

’Xunfeng Sky Splitter!’

He roared in his heart. The surging vital energy of his Late-Stage Bone Refining cultivation poured unreservedly into the Fine Iron Longsword, and his Mastery-Level Xunfeng Swordsmanship erupted with ferocious power.

VMMMM—!!!

The Cyan Blade Sword transformed into a cyan streak that seemed capable of tearing space itself. The air at its tip distorted and compressed, letting out a heart-stopping shriek as it stabbed viciously into the core of the Martial Arts Stele with an unstoppable, overwhelming force.

The Jade Stele erupted with an unprecedentedly brilliant light. It trembled violently, and the resulting hum was as deep as a dragon’s roar, causing the very bluestone slabs of the courtyard to vibrate slightly.

The piercing radiance was so intense that the nearby disciples subconsciously narrowed their eyes.

Everyone’s heart was in their throat, their gazes locked firmly on the surface of the stele.

The number beside Fang Han’s name began to jump. It flew past ’2,’ and finally, defiantly settled on—First Place!