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By noon the next day, the disciple who delivered meals came to call Xunuo, who rubbed his sleepy eyes awake. It had been a long time since he had slept so soundly, especially after parting from Lu Duhou; no one had woken him from his dreams since then. Upon waking, Xunuo felt a wave of relief wash over him, clearing the gloom in his heart. In a good mood, he took out the food from the meal box and began to eat heartily.
Seeing that the disciple was about to leave, he called out to him, "From now on, you can bring meals every three days. I don't have much appetite since I'm not moving around much here."
The disciple was taken aback for a moment but nodded in agreement before leaving. Outside Broken Heart Cliff, he consulted with Zigong Changhe, who was stationed there.
Zigong Changhe thought for a moment and said, "Just do as he says; simply deliver three days' worth of food in one go. If he prefers cold dishes, let him have them."
After finishing his meal, Xunuo began to contemplate his next steps in training. Although he had obtained the Meridian diagram, he had offended the disciples of the Divine Mechanism Hall quite severely. Learning techniques like throwing darts and other concealed weapons was out of the question for now; that would have to be set aside for the time being. According to what Meridian Copper Man had shown him, he could actually connect all the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Meridians. Despite his disbelief and confusion, facing this reality left him with even more questions and frustrations.
His own Huayang Classic had only reached the fifth level. However, this incomplete version he possessed still had two levels left to cultivate. From what he heard from Lu Duhou and his senior brothers from the Wuhua Sect, they all said that mastering the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Meridians would grant one access to the heavenly path, allowing them to roam freely across the world.
If that were true, then he had already stepped onto the heavenly path. Yet he still found himself pursued by two old foes, unable to find a way into heaven or earth—this was simply unacceptable. At the Qingyang Boxing Hall, he had faced off against that Red Robe Man. Not only did he gain no advantage, but he was also sent flying by a single strike, nearly losing his life. Perhaps it was due to using an incorrect method at that time; without following the path of the Meridian, he couldn't utilize his true strength.
With this thought in mind, Xunuo felt a surge of inspiration. He channeled his True Qi from his Dantian, circulating it through the three yang meridians along his body surface. Instantly, he felt a warmth enveloping him as if his blood were boiling. He immediately rose and began practicing the Eight Extremes Fist within the cave.
This time, his execution of the Eight Extremes Fist was markedly different from before. His punches struck like lightning and his kicks flew like rabbits; between fists and feet, there were faint rumbling sounds. Soon after, his movements became faster and faster until they were almost indistinguishable. All that could be seen was a blue figure darting back and forth—vanishing one moment and reappearing the next—while thunderous sounds echoed throughout the cave. The curtain hanging at the entrance fluttered violently under this powerful energy.
After about a meal's worth of time spent practicing, Xunuo finally stopped and retracted his fists while pulling back his True Qi. Immediately, the surging energy within the cave dissipated completely. The curtain that had been thrust outward now hung limply at the entrance again. Aside from the lingering echoes still ringing in his ears, everything that had just transpired felt like an illusion. When Xunuo raised his hands to look at them, they appeared smooth as ever.
However, after unleashing such explosive power with his fists just moments ago, he could clearly feel that his hands were like eagle claws—sharp and deadly weapons in their own right. At the same time, he felt quite satisfied with how freely he could control his Inner Strength.
Through this round of practicing the Fist Technique, Xunuo began to believe more firmly in himself. It seemed that he truly had stepped into the realm of heavenly martial arts. If that were indeed true, then which specific technique mattered less; as long as he mastered this set of Eight Extremes Fist, he could conquer anyone in the world.
If only he could encounter more different types of Fist Techniques, merging them together to create a style more suited to himself would be even better. However, Xunuo knew that now was not yet the time for that. He needed to seek guidance from others and learn through practice; it was beyond what he could achieve at present.
Xunuo stood with his hands hanging for a moment before taking the sword off the stone wall and muttering to himself that his previous inability to wield the Sword Flower might be related to the improper flow of True Qi. Today, however, he could give it a try.
After drawing the True Qi from his Dantian, he followed the Meridian and directed it into the Iron Sword. Suddenly, there was a loud crash as the Iron Sword shattered into hundreds of pieces, scattering everywhere. Xunuo was caught off guard and had no time to react. Fortunately, the fragments did not fly towards him, sparing him from a self-inflicted disaster.
Xunuo broke out in a cold sweat, silently thanking his luck. Losing a sword was minor; losing one's life was a serious matter.
He knew he had to figure this out; otherwise, he would never be able to practice this sword technique again. In the past, when he practiced with the sword, he had infused True Qi into it without encountering such strange occurrences. It must be that today's method was flawed, or perhaps...
As this thought crossed his mind, a light bulb went off in Xunuo's head: previously, he had dispersed his True Qi across his body and only infused a small amount into the Iron Sword. But today, he had channeled all of his True Qi directly into the Iron Sword. Could it be that he had infused too much?
However, this hypothesis needed testing, and now his Iron Sword was destroyed. He recalled that he had asked a disciple to bring food three days later and immediately regretted it, wishing he could slap himself. He muttered, "Man proposes, but heaven disposes."
All he could do was wait patiently. As for going to check on his senior brother guarding Broken Heart Cliff, that thought didn't even cross his mind. He felt too ashamed to face the other senior brothers after causing such trouble for the eldest.
After three long days of waiting, the disciple finally arrived with food. He set down the food box and politely asked, "Shishu, do you have any other instructions?"
This was merely a courteous remark implying that if there were no further tasks, he would take his leave.
Xunuo had been waiting for this moment and replied, "I do have something for you to do. My sword fell off the cliff yesterday; please bring me a new one."
The disciple was Chang Zai Shui, a student of Xunuo's second senior brother An Mo Sheng. He came daily to deliver meals and knew that Xunuo indeed possessed swords here. Considering that Master Tian had already given him a sword, it meant he was permitted to practice here. Bringing another one wouldn't violate any rules.
He responded with "Understood" and left.
Just as Chang Zai Shui reached the cave entrance, Xunuo called out to him again: "Wait a moment; one is not enough—bring two Iron Swords."
The disciple replied, "Understood," and went to fetch two Iron Swords. For him, there was little difference between carrying one or two Iron Swords.
With the two Iron Swords in hand, Xunuo felt a surge of confidence. Having had some free time these past few days, he had thought through how to proceed.
Xunuo first extended his right arm, holding the sword straight out with the tip pointing forward. He then drew a strand of True Qi from his Dantian, just about ten percent of what he had a few days ago.
Following the Meridian, he slowly infused the Iron Sword with his True Qi. This time, the Iron Sword appeared calm. However, just as half of the True Qi was injected, the Iron Sword suddenly emitted a buzzing sound. Xunuo quickly halted the flow of True Qi, but the Iron Sword still shattered with a loud bang. This time, Xunuo was prepared and stepped back just in time to avoid being hit by the flying shards.
He tossed aside the remaining sword handle and chuckled, "Good thing I had the foresight to take two swords."
He then drew out the other sword and pondered carefully: this time it would be just this one Iron Sword; if it broke again, he would have to wait another three days. He decided to be more cautious; injecting fifty percent of his True Qi would surely cause the Iron Sword to explode, so injecting just ten percent should be safe.
After making up his mind, Xunuo drew out a thread of True Qi and slowly infused it into the Iron Sword. As expected, this time there were no unusual reactions from the sword. Xunuo thought to himself: It worked.
He gently shook the Iron Sword in his hand, and with a "crack," it broke into three pieces. Fortunately, this time the shards did not fly apart.
Frustrated, Xunuo hurled the broken sword away, embedding it into the stone wall up to the hilt. He sighed; having vented his anger, he realized that he still needed to find a solution to this problem. After some contemplation, Xunuo decided to identify the root cause by comparing his current state with how things were before descending the mountain when infusing True Qi into the Iron Sword had been trouble-free.
Upon comparison, Xunuo discovered that there were indeed many differences between the two situations.
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