Chapter 20: Departure, Breakthrough!

[Next Disaster Realm Excursion: 0 days 0 hours 12 minutes]

The third day after returning, at eight fifteen in the evening.

Zhou Yan stood silently inside the Martial Hall, facing the Rational Flow Cube before him.

During these three days, in the daytime, except for lunch and dinner when he helped the neighborhood restaurant owners deliver meals, Zhou Yan spent all other hours practicing swordsmanship at the sword academy alongside the other students.

When night fell and the other students retreated home, he and the two sisters would have dinner, after which he would quietly return to the Martial Hall for extra practice.

Owl Stance, Crane Dance, Eagle Strike, Falcon Assault, Sparrow Step...

After a round of routine drills, he would follow it with a round of air-slash practice against the Rational Flow Cube.

He wasn’t alone in this; Luo Xuan’s main sword practice also took place at night.

During the day, she acted as the academy master and the sole instructor, inevitably delaying her own cultivation. Only through nighttime extra training could she make up for it.

Zhou Yan observed Luo Xuan’s cultivation and could only say it was on a completely different level from ordinary people.

The most basic difference was that Luo Xuan wore specially designed weighted clothing during her training.

Out of curiosity, Zhou Yan once asked Luo Xuan how heavy it was.

The answer: one hundred seventy kilograms.

Nearly three times her own body weight...

When he heard the number, Zhou Yan’s eyebrows twitched.

But then he thought, even soldiers on Earth undergo weighted training of thirty to forty kilograms.

In this world, where renowned experts are as common as Captain America, Luo Xuan’s training method wasn’t particularly surprising...

Zhou Yan refrained from watching Luo Xuan’s specific cultivation any further; things he couldn’t emulate didn’t warrant extra attention.

He now focused on his own progress.

In air-slash practice with the Rational Flow Cube, he could already execute four slashes in random directions within seconds, all with precise accuracy.

His speed and proficiency had increased, but so had his precision—now, he only made a mistake once every dozen attempts.

Whenever he erred, the Cube’s detection system would catch it, marking that round as failed and awarding no points.

The Rational Flow Cube had a simple scoring mode—when activated, it would refresh a hundred rounds continuously with a timer, recording the total time taken and the accuracy.

Zhou Yan’s best score so far was “74/100” in “914” seconds.

This achievement placed him among the top students.

Of the nine students, seven were younger children, and the best among them performed at about this level.

For someone who had only studied swordsmanship for a week—and practiced the Southern Ming Sword for just three days—

Zhou Yan’s results were already considered “exceptionally gifted.”

Of course, above him stood Yan Yong and Luo Zhiming, both adults and the “elites” Luo Ke had mentioned to Zhou Yan earlier.

With solid foundations, these two could consistently score above “95” in the Cube’s evaluation mode, using much less time—under “700” seconds.

But they were veteran students, each with confirmed martial talent and years of continuous practice.

It was said they hadn’t trained at the Luo sisters’ Southern Ming Sword Academy before. In their original academies, their skills were merely average, unable to compete for elite spots, so they switched to Luo Xuan’s school two months ago.

Their goal was clear: to stand out and seek the “Southern Ming Secret Sword” from Luo Xuan, and perhaps even learn the legendary “Crane Cry Breathing Technique.”

Zhou Yan had no interest in comparing himself to others.

He cared only for his own progress.

For others, sword practice was perhaps a pursuit of a good job, fame, or fortune.

But for him, the strength of his swordsmanship directly affected his ability to fight in the Disaster Realm.

Today, Zhou Yan had attempted the Cube’s evaluation mode three times during the day, but his scores showed little improvement over his best.

The rapid progress phase for beginners seemed to have passed.

With so little time, his current level seemed to be the short-term limit for his Southern Ming Sword training.

Yet, with the next Disaster Realm excursion imminent, Zhou Yan wanted to make one final push.

His personal talent might be merely above average, but—he still had over two hundred points of Spirituality unused...

Zhou Yan stepped forward and pressed the Cube’s evaluation button, then returned to his position, watching the flashing countdown in the center panel, silently assuming the Owl Stance.

Across the Martial Hall, Luo Xuan, who was practicing on her own, paused slightly and glanced at Zhou Yan.

‘He’s evaluating himself too frequently.’

She had been monitoring Zhou Yan’s progress these past two days; whenever he used the Rational Flow Cube’s evaluation mode, she would check his score if she was free.

She had witnessed Zhou Yan’s rapid improvement—mostly due to the beginner’s advantage.

After this phase, breaking through further would require steady, incremental progress.

‘Unless… he can do what he did that night…’

Luo Xuan mused silently, her gaze flickering.

Meanwhile, as the Cube’s countdown neared its end, Zhou Yan drew a deep breath, his eyes growing resolute.

Activate—Spirituality Burn!

Boom!

A sound like a mighty bell thundered in his mind.

All irrelevant matters, sounds, thoughts were banished.

Zhou Yan’s left eye’s radiance faded; in his sight, only the Rational Flow Cube displaying numbers in every direction remained.

His expression was blank, as if he were a machine, delivering the first sword—

“Swish!”

Precise, swift.

The next three slashes followed, equally precise and quick.

As professional equipment, the Rational Flow Cube judged instantly, seamlessly presenting new sets of four numbers as soon as Zhou Yan finished each round.

In this blur of rapidly flashing digits,

Zhou Yan unleashed a ceaseless, flowing barrage of attacks!

Swish, swish, swish, swish...

Every move of the Southern Ming Sword flowed swiftly through his mind.

Force, angle, connection, transition, posture, footwork...

He operated in a state of crystal-clear, efficient learning.

As he struck, he quickly corrected his flaws, adjusting bad habits formed over the past two days.

Every awkward point in the techniques was swiftly answered.

The subtle sword principles elusive to ordinary talent were instantly discovered and understood.

In this moment, he was a sword prodigy worthy of the title “Heavenly Sword.”

For a long time, sword sheathed.

Zhou Yan exhaled deeply, sweat pouring down his body like a waterfall.

Beside him stood Luo Xuan, her face filled with astonishment. She glanced at the score on the Rational Flow Cube, her usually calm tone tinged with barely suppressed wonder:

“Seven hundred thirty seconds, full marks?”

“You’ve caught up to Yan Yong and Luo Zhiming.”

Zhou Yan turned wearily to look at Luo Xuan, a faint smile curling his lips: “Xuan, didn’t I say before? Maybe I’m a natural genius…”

[Southern Ming Sword (Beginner → Standard)]

Swordsmanship, advanced to the next level!

Next comes the second Disaster Realm excursion.

***