"Aunt, don't worry. Your nephew isn't some naive youngster fresh out of the Jianghu. I'll consider things carefully. Besides, aren't Third Uncle and Uncle Qingyi still with me?" Qin Chu said with a smile, sensing Qin Lingxi's concern.
Qin Lingxi nodded. She knew Qin Longxuan would handle things well, but as an aunt, she couldn't help but worry a little.
After Cultivating the Vermilion Bird Soaring Movement Technique for another two days, Qin Chu, Qin Longxuan, and Qingyi set out.
Leaving Vermilion Bird Manor, Qingyi changed his attire. His robes were still green, but he wore a bronze mask on his face.
"Uncle Qingyi, it's best if you don't fight for a while. If the Xuanwu Saint Clan's scouts discover you and become suspicious, they'll check the Xuanbing Prison, and our secret will be exposed. You see, the environment in Xuanbing Prison is very cold, so that corpse won't rot for a while," Qin Chu said.
"Young Lord, you don't understand Xuanbing Prison. There's a type of ice spider in Xuanbing Prison. They don't usually attack living people, but once a lifeless corpse appears, they'll swarm it. It won't take long for it to become a pile of white bones. The corpse you and Princess Lingxi left is already white bones. They'll believe your subordinate died in Xuanbing Prison!" Qingyi told Qin Chu.
"That puts my mind at ease. The Xuanwu Saint Clan also has no bottom line when they act. If they could make a move back then, they can now, so we must be careful and cautious," Qin Chu said.
Qin Longxuan looked at Qin Chu with admiration. Having a sense of crisis was a good thing, and being able to accurately analyze the situation was a necessary ability for a faction leader.
Because they weren't in a hurry, the group traveled during the day and rested at night. During their rest, Qin Chu would Cultivate his Sword Arts and movement techniques.
Qin Longxuan also Cultivated the Vermilion Bird Soaring Movement Technique, so guiding Qin Chu in Cultivating it was no problem. He told Qin Chu that directly using the Vermilion Bird Soaring Movement Technique was incorrect. Its most valuable aspect was its auxiliary ability; after channeling Bloodline Power to the legs and feet, other movement techniques could still be used.
After hearing Qin Longxuan's words, some of Qin Chu's worries were dispelled, as he had always been concerned that others might identify his Vermilion Bird Saint Clan origins through the Vermilion Bird Soaring Movement Technique.
When Qin Chu Cultivated his Sword Arts, Qingyi helped him spar.
During sparring with Qingyi, Qin Chu felt frustrated. Qingyi's battle halberd swung with wide, sweeping movements. Even with the same Cultivation, Qin Chu couldn't withstand it, mainly because Qingyi's strength was too great.
"One force can overcome ten techniques. Since your Uncle Qingyi's strength is great, you can no longer clash head-on. Display the flexibility and speed of your Sword Arts. Among all methods in the world, only speed is unbreakable!" Qin Longxuan instructed Qin Chu.
Following Qin Longxuan's guidance, Qin Chu understood some combat techniques.
There are two crucial factors in combat: one is strength, or intensity. If your attack intensity is high, your opponent cannot defend. The second factor is speed. If your movement speed and attack speed are fast, your opponent cannot effectively defend. Even if they can defend, they will be rushed and expose flaws.
"Young Lord, you are already very good. Your subordinate, apart from using brute strength, simply cannot break your Sword Arts, neither in attack nor defense. As for strength, your strength is actually not small. Your subordinate's great strength is due to possessing the Xuanwu Saint Clan's Bloodline, and it's a mutated second Awakening," Qingyi said.
"What does a second Awakening mean?" Qin Chu was a little confused.
"Your subordinate's Xuanwu Saint Clan Bloodline is very thin, belonging to the Low Grade, but due to certain reasons, the Bloodline mutated and was stimulated a second time. The Bloodline's level has risen again, currently between the superior and king-grade. Even within the Xuanwu Saint Clan, very few possess Bloodline Power exceeding your subordinate's, apart from your mother, only the Clan Chief," Qingyi explained.
"Your Uncle Qingyi means you don't need to be disheartened. This level of strength, in the Xuanwu Saint Clan, besides the Clan Chief—that two-faced maternal grandfather of yours—only your mother is stronger than him," Qin Longxuan said.
"I understand. In the future, I need to study the Cultivation of strength. My mother has a king-grade Xuanwu Saint Bloodline, so there's no reason my strength should be lacking," Qin Chu said after thinking for a moment.
"Haha, Young Lord's strength is already very strong; it's just that your subordinate is different from ordinary Cultivators!" Qingyi said with a smile.
With the guidance of Qin Longxuan and Qingyi, Qin Chu's combat abilities continuously improved as they traveled.
According to Qin Longxuan, Qin Chu, using the Sword Spirit Realm as a foundation, executing Great Perfection basic Sword Arts, coupled with the speed enhancement from the Startling God Sword Art, was truly abnormal. Because he had no flaws, it was very difficult to defend against Qin Chu. The only way to defeat Qin Chu was to suppress him with Cultivation. Without Cultivation suppression, there was no chance.
For Qingyi, if he didn't use absolute strength, he also had no way to deal with Qin Chu. Qin Chu's Sword Arts flowed from one move to the next, perfectly flawless in their transitions. Aside from breaking them with brute force, he couldn't do anything to Qin Chu.
In fact, fighting against Qin Longxuan and Qingyi was also very difficult for Qin Chu. Even with the same Cultivation, Qin Longxuan possessed the Vermilion Bird Soaring Movement Technique, making his speed incredibly fast, causing Qin Chu's attacks to miss. As for Qingyi, his battle halberd swung with wide, sweeping movements, blocking all of Qin Chu's attacks. As for Battle Intent and Sword Intent, they had no effect on Qin Longxuan and Qingyi, because Qin Longxuan's Sword Intent was deeper than his, and Qingyi wielded a battle halberd, comprehending Spear Intent, which was also at a much deeper level than his, leaving him helpless.
In these somewhat frustrating sparring sessions, Qin Chu also gained a lot. Qin Longxuan and Qingyi were also extremely impressed with Qin Chu, because Cultivators of Qin Chu's age and level simply couldn't possess the same profound understanding as the two of them.
After sparring, Qin Chu would practice Alchemy. Firstly, he had no stock of top-grade Heavenly Origin Pills, and secondly, it was to improve his Alchemy skills. When he reached Saint Martial City, he planned to first certify as a Fifth-Tier Five-Star Alchemist.
As they traveled, Qin Chu and the two others got closer and closer to Saint Martial City. They encountered more and more Cultivators. The Azure Cloud Ranking Tournament was considered a grand event in the Central Plains, with only the Soaring Dragon Ranking Tournament surpassing it in scale.
The Azure Cloud Ranking allowed Cultivators under the second cycle of age to participate. The Soaring Dragon Ranking's limit was under the third cycle, with one cycle being twelve years, meaning Cultivators under thirty-six years old could compete for the Soaring Dragon Ranking.
Shang Tang, whom Qin Chu wanted to kill, was a Cultivator on the Soaring Dragon Ranking, though his ranking wasn't very high. This wasn't to say his strength was lacking; it was mainly because it wasn't during the Soaring Dragon Ranking Tournament, making it difficult to encounter other Soaring Dragon Ranking Cultivators. Finding and challenging higher-ranked Soaring Dragon Ranking Cultivators wasn't something that could be done easily.
"Fame... Everyone comes to snatch fame. Is fame really that important?" Qin Chu murmured softly.
"Naturally, it's important. Fame means prestige. Who doesn't want prestige? Who doesn't want to be respected by others?" Qin Longxuan said, looking at Qin Chu.