Starshatter Sword Art!

Duanmu Qingshan might have been strong, but he was no cook. After several days of eating his dark ingredients, Ling Feng had had enough. Fortunately, cooking was one of the skills he'd picked up while traveling with his grandfather. Otherwise, he'd have been forced to eat the food his master had just placed on the table.

As the sun rose to its zenith, the odor of cooking meat filled the bamboo house. The aroma made Duanmu Qingshan smile. He couldn't recall the last time he'd sat down and enjoyed such fine food.

When the two were done eating, Duanmu Qingshan gestured for Ling Feng to follow him upstairs. He guided Ling Feng into his room and settled down with his back pressed against the wall.

Once Ling Feng thought that his master was comfortable in his chosen resting place, he reached into his robes and pulled out the bamboo tube that he'd filled earlier that morning, "Master, you must take a few drops of this every morning before taking a dose of the medicine I will provide for you. I will carry out another round of acupuncture in half a month."

Duanmu Qingshan nodded and asked, "Will this fully expel the sword Qi from my body?"

"No," Ling Feng said with a firm shake of his head, "My cultivation base is still too low. The only thing I can do is carry out multiple rounds of acupuncture and eliminate the sword Qi little by little."

'It's unfortunate that I don't have the other half of the Transcendent Acupuncture Technique. If I did, I wouldn't have to work this hard.'

Ling Feng sighed heavily, "Master, you can rest assured. I will use any method at my disposal in order to cure you as soon as possible."

He paused suddenly, as if in deep consideration. "By the way, Master, do you happen to have an elixir furnace?" he asked finally.

"An elixir furnace?" Duanmu Qingshan parroted, eyelids jumping at the sudden question. "Do you also understand alchemy?"

"I am slightly familiar."

Duanmu Qingshan gave Ling Feng a profound look of understanding. At this point, he knew that this young disciple of his had an odd habit of severely understating his level of skill.

"Yes, I have an elixir furnace," he said slowly, "Behind this bamboo house, there is a small cottage built entirely of bluestone. I usually go there when I want to refine pills of immortality."

Ling Feng bowed slightly at his master's wisdom. Alchemy required the use of fire. Only a fool would refine pills of immortality in a bamboo house.

"Then I shall refine some supplementary elixirs for you. And in about a month's time, the sword Qi in your body should be thoroughly suppressed. You should make a complete recovery five months after that…"

"Just don't forget that you still have to drink several drops of dew from the stone marrow flower and take a few doses of the medicine that will repair your internal organs every day," Ling Feng added seriously.

"Ha, I understand, kid." Duanmu Qingshan shook his head and smiled. At this moment, Ling Feng reminded him of himself when he was at that age.

"You won't have to worry about collecting dewdrops from the stone marrow flower because I'll do that for you."

"I am in your care," Duanmu Qingshan said, before he moved off the wall he'd been resting on.

Ling Feng smiled as his master then reached out a hand to touch his shoulder.

"Now that all of that is taken care of," he said. "I think it is about time for me to begin fulfilling my duty as your master…"

Duanmu Qingshan gathered breath and continued on in a solemn voice, "As the last and only disciple of my lineage, I will use all of my resources to get you to the Vein Coagulation Boundary! After that, you will have to depend on your own efforts."

Ling Feng nodded again and again, "When one is poor, one lives a scholarly life. But when one is rich, one walks the path of martial arts."

In this world, only martial artists with abundant resources could hope to quickly reach the peak of cultivation.

"Since the Questioning Immortal Qi Refinement Art is a popular Qi refinement method of the inner sect, you won't need to worry about replacing it soon. Your martial skills, however, are a different story…"

"Yesterday, in your fight with the Meteor Peak disciples, I noticed that you have a strong imitation ability. You only had to see your opponent's move once before learning it."

"I was just drawing a gourd from a model. In the end, it's merely a lesser imitation of the original." Ling Feng scratched the tip of his nose with a smile of embarrassment.

"Whether that is true or not, to be able to copy the things that you see means that your eyesight is extremely good," Duanmu Qingshan's eyes met Ling Feng's own as he said those words. Then he ordered Ling Feng to follow him into the courtyard before he could say anything.

Once the two were outside, Duanmu Qingshan entered into a well-set stance and said, "First, I will teach you a sword technique!"

When he felt that Ling Feng's mind would not wander, he stretched his hand forward and a narrow sword, as black as ink, emerged out of thin air.

Ling Feng's eyelids jumped. He knew the sword in his master's hand could have only come from the fabled storage space. He had heard tales of this treasure's existence during his travels with his grandfather. This was his first time seeing one in person.

"Watch closely now, Ling Feng!"

Immediately, Duanmu Qingshan's body rose like a spring. Feet skimming lightly over the courtyard, he gripped the hilt of the narrow sword tight, rotated his palm, and began movements so delicate and precise he resembled a leaf dancing in the wind. The graceful arcs of the sword in his hand filled the sky with stars and blossomed into flowers. Each swing followed naturally from the last. The air rippled and shook.

"Shua… Shua… Shua!"

Ling Feng stared, eyes wide. Compared to this sword technique, the Black Wind Claw and other martial skills of its kind were trash.

Ling Feng quickly opened his deva eye as the movements of this complex sword technique were too difficult for him to memorize without it. Within the next heartbeat, he began to understand and slowly mimic every style and every movement of the sword technique inside his mind.

Sword light continued to illuminate the sky as Duanmu Qingshan swung his ink-colored sword once more. Finally, turning in an arc, moon-white sword Qi flew forward from along the edge of his blade, scattering the remaining sword flowers that shined like radiant stars into nothingness.

"What wonderful swordsmanship!" Ling Feng yelled, fists clenched. With this sword technique in hand, he was sure he could defeat Shi Tailong, even if his own cultivation base was slightly lower.

"This sword technique, named the Starshatter Sword Art, was created by the founder of the Questioning Immortal Sect. Only true disciples of the Boundary of Vein Coagulation have the qualifications to practice it. But since you are my last disciple, I see no reason not to teach it to you now."

Ling Feng sucked in a deep breath.

'Only a Vein Coagulation Boundary expert has the qualifications to practice?'

Out of all the people in the Questioning Immortal Sect, perhaps his master was only one who didn't care about following the sect's rules.

"Here is the sword manual. Take your time and look it over," Duanmu Qingshan tossed the secret manual to Ling Feng.

In martial arts, it was not enough to merely memorize every move of a single martial skill. A martial artist had to practice until his martial skill and his Qi circulation method entered a state of harmony, of oneness. The more advanced the martial skill, the harder it was to accomplish such a feat.

From Duanmu Qingshan's point of view, even though Ling Feng could imitate the sword strokes of the Starshatter Sword Art, it would take him time to master the essence of the technique.

Ling Feng, who had already duplicated all of the moves of the Starshatter Sword Art, caught the secret manual with a grateful expression. Then, after spending a few more minutes in discussion with his master, he asked to be excused.

Once in his room, he closed up to practice.

. . . . .

Above Meteor Peak, Yang Wei studied Shi Tailong with a somewhat gloomy facial expression.

"Did that old monster protect Ling Feng?" Yang Wei stubbornly asked.

"Yes… yes…" Shi Tailong answered, trying to fight the tremble from his limbs. "He… he… also said that Ling Feng would be his last disciple and that he would make you regret it if you put a hand on him!"

"Ahem!" Yang Wei's vision grew colder, "Good. That old monster is finally unable to restrain himself, eh?"

Yang Wei stood beside a man whose imposing manner soared to the heavens. It was Li Liang, the elder specifically responsible for the distribution and recruitment of disciples.

Li Liang narrowed his eyes and spoke in a dark voice, "Even though his aptitude is mediocre, there must be something special about that boy named Ling Feng. I doubt Duanmu Qingshan would have made a move to protect him if there wasn't."

"What storms can one waste raise?" Yang Wei said coldly, "I wonder, though, if that old monster plans to pass that sword classic on to him."

"It wouldn't be any trouble if he did," Li Liang responded with a cold laugh, "I would be more worried if that old monster didn't pass it on."

"What do you mean," Yang Wei asked with knitted brows.

"I believe an immature and inexperienced brat like Ling Feng will be much easier to deal with than that stubborn old man," Li Liang said.

"Oh!" Yang Wei yelled, suddenly enlightened, "Even though we can't cope with Old Monster Duanmu, we sure as shit can handle that little brat. Ha. Brother Li, you are brilliant!"

"So, rest easy now, Brother Yang. That boy will not be able to escape our grasp. Eventually, that sword classic will fall into our hands!"

At this moment, the two villains looked at each other and convulsed with laughter. Their sounds echoed in the empty silence of Meteor Peak's great hall, seeming to fade only after everyone had fallen serene and content to slumber.