Refined Techniques

"Oh you're here and you've brought the little fox too", he saw them enter together but did not move from his seat.

Looking at him, Ming Yue saw a wooden blade in his hands as well as a chalkboard next to him. She only grew confused at to what he would be training her on.

"I came by the last several days but you were never there."

"Ah, I was busy with my duties, had to make a few trips to the Forge Hall. Alright then, get up here."

He stood up from his seat and began writing on the chalkboard. He only wrote one word, "Technique" and looked back at Ming Yue. She stepped into the ring and looked at the word.

"So, what do you think a technique is?" he pointed at what he had written and waited for her to answer.

"A form, a stance?" her unconfident answer only made the elder shake his head.

"Not exactly, think of it as more of an idea, a concept"

Elder Xiang turned back and began writing furiously on the board.

"Techniques isn't just making simple movements. Their names and origins are derived with what you envision the technique to be. They should have a purpose, some sort of impact in a fight."

The words "purpose" and "idea" were written and connected to each other through lines. The elder looked at her and grabbed the wooden sword, using it a like a stick.

"What we are going to do is refine what you have right now, turn them into proper techniques. You've been depending on your instincts to fight. As good as they are, you need to learn a bit of strategy. Knowing what techniques to use, when to attack, predicting the opponent's actions, momentum are all important and you will learn in due time."

The elder erased what was on the board and moved it next to his seat.

"Now then, let's start."

The following month was spent on improving Ming Yue. While those two were busy, Hei Yue and Xiao Yin went off to play elsewhere, most likely at the Beast Hall.

Even with her mastery of the sword and wind, the elder was still able to find flaws in it all. At the same time, he taught her all about the essence of a technique, the types that existed, how to properly create one. By the end of it, she had created a total of nine formal techniques of which she created two sets. Both sets were three moves each and the remaining three techniques were unique and could not be put on their own.

The first of the nine as well as the first move of the three move set was a technique she had devised long ago.

Where she imbued her sword with her energy and condensed it into a thin coating of sharp winds. Using the utmost of her concentration, ignoring all that surrounded her except for what was in front of her, she would produce an impossibly swift strike that could cut metal as easily as she cut behead an enemy. With the empowered blade, she could dash forward and attack before her opponent would realize she was gone. An imperceptible attack, one that no one would expect. Thus, she called it, "First Wind: Phantasmal Wind" for when she moved, it would be quick enough to leave a image of herself where she once stood.

If that strike did not kill, then she had her second technique. An improved version of "Savage Tempest", where that layer of wind would burst out whenever her blade struck something. Meant to overwhelm and suppress, a flurry of attacks would be enough to knock anyone off their feet. This was, "Second Wind: Tempestuous Storm", a nod to the original name.

The third and final technique to this set, was extremely deadly and certain to kill. The second technique would leave the opponent weak and unable to move. If they were thrown off from the consecutive blasts, That coating of wind would no longer be condensed, expanding until it was three times the size of the blade. A two handed technique, she could drive the blade into the body causing the sharp winds to mutilate the internal organs. This, she called, "Final Wind: Squall Strike". Unless the victim had a rare and powerful medicinal pill, death was certain.

The fourth technique took over Savage Tempest's place as the most destructive technique. By using her quintessence energy, she would form a tornado, controlling its size and strength. So long as she fed it more energy, this technique could go on forever, terrorizing those in its way. If you were caught by the winds, you would suffer constant pain from the sharp winds and incredible pressure. Knowing its effects, it was named, "Wrath of the Winds."

The fifth technique revolved around the formation of her wind lances. With her current abilities, it would take just seconds to create a spinning lance powerful enough to pierce a boulder. What made this truly special was its composition. The lance head is hollow and upon impact, the blast would be exponentialy more explosive. But rather than just have one, Ming Yue found that she could have four of them simultaneously and anymore would greatly weaken her control. This she had named, "Blasting Gale".

The sixth, seventh, and eighth techniques are part of the second set with assassination in mind, quick, deadly, and unnoticeable. With her aura restrained and quick reflexes, she could pull off one of these three killing moves or even use all of them in quick succession.

The sixth technique worked on her wind needles. Small and thin but with enough power to penetrate metal much less bone, she found a unique way to utilize them rather than just shooting them. By placing them at the tip of her fingers, these wind needles turned her hands into a deadly weapon. Whether it was grabbing someone by the neck and stabbing with her off-hand, the needles could pierce flesh like nothing. They were like claws that could retract and with that in mind, Ming Yue called it, "Zephyr Claws".

The seventh technique is similar to the first in that she moved with such speed that she would leave nothing in her steps. She would end up behind her victim to which she could behead them in a simple fashion. This one was made to be used by her sword or dagger. This was named, "Reaping Blade", taking lives like it was harvesting medicine from a garden.

The eighth technique required precise control and could be utilized at any moment, whether it was a crowded area or a quiet forest. By using a sharp wind carefully aimed at the neck, she could behead a person within a hundred meters. Quick and simple, a thin knife-like wind that would cut through and disappear in a moment. The only downfall was the speed at which it happened. It was quick enough to produce a whistle but outside of that, it was undetected. Because of the whistling sound, Ming Yue called it, "Whistle Wind."

The ninth technique was the ace in the hole. The trump card for when nothing else worked. This revolved around empowering her body with her own energy, evidently overloading her meridians with power. Doing so would increase her strength by many times. Furthermore, it caused her aura to leak out uncontrollably, the color of which was pale blue.

But the strain was immense, under the elder's supervision, she could only last in that state for no more than a minute. Anymore could lead to lasting damage but just being in that state could render her immoble for a day or two. Using any techniques would lower that minute down to seconds. So she chose to only use this technique only if she had no choice. This technique she called, "Pale Moon", for the pale aura she emitted and the "Yue" in her name that stood for "Moon".

These nine techniques were strong but they were just made, with potential to improve even further.

With her ability, the elder was secretly impressed with her though he chalked it up to her increased cultivation. But with this, he no longer taught her and instead sent her off.

"Alright then, these past few weeks have been spent on these nine moves. From now on, I want you to get to work, grab some missions and go out into the world. The Heavenly Gate Tournament starts at the beginning of the new year, so that would be about seven months. That's it. Oh, and return my manuals, you don't need them now."

In that hall, the chalk board was incredibly messy, words written everywhere, parts were erased to make room for other things. The amount of time they spent working on these techinques was nothing more than ghastly. The wooden sword Elder Xiang used was cracked everywhere and the edge had become dull.

Ming Yue had the manuals in her hands before holding out the Martial Thunder Arts manual in her hand. She had completely forgotten to ask about it and found it to be the perfect opportunity.

"Elder Xiang, why did you give me this manual? My affinity for wind is much greater than lightning, no?"

The elder looked back and stared at the book. He grabbed it and flipped through the pages.

"Hmm, barely touched. Well, wind and lightning go quite well together and it seemed that you tempered your body with some lightning attributed materials. I thought this was a good move for you but it seems that you are going solely for the Dao of Wind, so I'll be taking this back."

"No! I was just curious that's all. I'd like to look though the manual a bit before deciding."

The elder looked at her with doubt but handed it back to her.

"Alright then, but you better return it soon."

Ming Yue looked at the book with renewed interest. She had completely forgot about tempering her body with the Thunder Roc's Blood. It had helped her break through several levels of the Human Realm. She was so focused on the Dao fo Wind and her sword skills, that she had forgotten about this. Furthermore, she had a Lightning Dao Root!

She could start learning the Dao of Lightning with the Martial Thunder Arts. In addition, if she were to nurture the Dao Root, it would become a handy tool in improving her skill in controlling the element.

Ming Yue continued to ponder about this as she left. As the excitement went away, she moved on to other things, such as the Immortal Siren Flower!