Chapter 8: Guidance

Outside the True Martial Pavilion, hundreds of people had gathered, including Su Yuning, all of them staring intently at the lanterns hanging from the black tower.

When they saw that even Yuan Qing, the supervisor of the Red Dragon Tower, had been alerted, they realized that whoever was challenging the True Martial Pavilion must be doing something extraordinary.

Sure enough, they watched as one lantern after another lit up in succession.

The ninth floor, the tenth floor, the eleventh floor...

In the end, even the lamp for the fourteenth floor lit up.

Everyone was stunned.

The vast square fell into a deathly silence. They were all immersed in a state of unprecedented shock and disbelief.

"The, the fourteenth floor..." Su Yuning gasped.

Having seen Su Xin take quite a long time to clear the eighth floor, she had subconsciously assumed he wouldn't even be able to pass the ninth. Yet, who would have thought...

She did not know that before reaching the twelfth floor, Su Xin hadn't been taking it seriously at all, merely using his sword to "toy" with the combat puppets, which was why it had taken him a little longer.

"To clear the fourteenth floor of the True Martial Pavilion while in the True Martial Realm—this means his skill is comparable to, or perhaps even surpasses, that of an average Void Breaker Realm expert. A peerless genius of such skill... I doubt a second one could be found in the entire contemporary Tianyan Dynasty," someone nearby remarked in horror.

Just then, the fourteen lit lanterns on the pavilion extinguished simultaneously, and the tower doors opened.

"Look!"

"He's coming out!"

All eyes turned instantly toward the entrance.

Whoosh!

The figure from the void descended directly in front of the gate.

As soon as Su Xin stepped out of the True Martial Pavilion, he immediately felt countless burning gazes upon him. These gazes were indeed "burning," filled with undisguised shock, awe, and jealousy.

Clearing the fourteenth floor of the True Martial Pavilion while in the True Martial Realm was simply inconceivable.

"Young friend, greetings." The white-haired Yuan Qing stood before Su Xin with a gentle smile. "I am Yuan Qing, the supervisor of the Red Dragon Tower in Yongning County."

"Supervisor Yuan Qing," Su Xin nodded.

"May I ask your name, young friend?" Yuan Qing inquired.

"Jian Yi," Su Xin replied. This was the alias he had decided upon before choosing to challenge the pavilion.

"Jian Yi?" Yuan Qing’s heart stirred. He immediately understood that this was merely a pseudonym and, knowing that Su Xin did not intend to reveal his true identity, he naturally asked no further questions.

"Having cleared the fourteenth floor of the True Martial Pavilion, your performance earns you the right to hold the 'Earth-grade' token of our Red Dragon Tower." Yuan Qing handed a gold-stamped token to Su Xin; the words "Red Dragon" were written on it in a bold, sweeping calligraphy.

"Earth-grade?" Su Xin raised an eyebrow.

The Red Dragon Tower possessed four different levels of tokens—Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow—each representing different levels of authority within the organization. The "Yellow-grade" token held the lowest authority, yet it could still command the Red Dragon Tower to assist with minor matters.

The highest level, the "Heaven-grade" token, carried immense authority. Under normal circumstances, its holder could directly request entry into the Tianyan Dynasty’s highest-level "Genius Training Camp" to cultivate, receiving an abundance of resources from the dynasty itself.

However, the "Heaven-grade" token was incredibly difficult to obtain; one had to either clear the fifteenth floor of the True Martial Pavilion or, while in the Sea Transformation Realm, clear the third floor of the Dragon-Seeking Tower. Such geniuses appeared only once every few years, or even decades, throughout the entire Tianyan Dynasty.

Su Xin’s feat of clearing the fourteenth floor was shocking, but it still fell short of the requirements for a "Heaven-grade" token.

"An Earth-grade token is sufficient." Su Xin accepted the token, feeling quite pleased.

"Young friend, according to the rules, holding an Earth-grade token grants you high authority within our Red Dragon Tower. If you have any matters requiring our assistance, or if you need certain resources or treasures, feel free to ask. As long as it is within your authority, the Red Dragon Tower will satisfy your request." Yuan Qing smiled. "However, the Red Dragon Tower will not interfere in your personal growth. This means that if you encounter danger or enemies on your path, our tower will not step in."

"I understand," Su Xin nodded.

The Red Dragon Tower indeed did not interfere with the growth of geniuses. To be precise, for the tower, appropriate danger or potential enemies served as training for these geniuses, which was why they remained hands-off.

"I do, in fact, need some top-tier Spirit Gathering Pills," Su Xin said.

"Top-tier Spirit Gathering Pills?" Yuan Qing laughed. Because of their high grade, these pills were rare and precious due to the low success rate of alchemy, but in reality, they were only useful for martial artists in the True Martial Realm; for those in the Sea Transformation Realm and above, their utility was limited. Thus, in the eyes of the high-ranking experts of the Tianyan Dynasty, they were not considered precious resources. With Su Xin's current "Earth-grade" authority, requesting them was certainly not a problem.

"How many would you like, young friend?" Yuan Qing asked.

"Twenty should do," Su Xin replied. He didn't want to be greedy. Twenty pills were enough for him to squander while in the True Martial Realm, and by the time he broke through to the Sea Transformation Realm, they would be of no use to him anyway.

Yuan Qing immediately instructed a deacon of the Red Dragon Tower. "Wait a moment, young friend. I have already ordered them to be prepared; the pills will be delivered shortly."

"Thank you for the trouble," Su Xin smiled slightly.

Just then, a graceful figure approached him.

"Sister Ning?" Su Xin’s expression became peculiar; the person approaching was indeed Su Yuning.

"Su Yuning of the Su family humbly requests your guidance, sir," Su Yuning said, bowing low with her hands clasped around her sword.

A stir went through the surrounding crowd. They couldn't help but admire her courage.

Everyone knew that this mysterious swordsman, "Jian Yi," had just cleared the fourteenth floor of the True Martial Pavilion. His swordsmanship was likely unmatched among all in the True Martial Realm of the Tianyan Dynasty. Su Yuning, who hadn't even been able to clear the ninth floor, was vastly inferior—a difference of several levels. Given such a gap, one would normally only look up to him in awe, yet Su Yuning dared to step forward and ask for his guidance.

...

Su Yuning remained bowed, her teeth biting down on her lip beneath her beautiful face. She knew it was somewhat abrupt to step forward like this, but she had gathered all her courage. After all, she was a sword practitioner, and the level of the man’s skill was the highest she had ever witnessed in her life—certainly, no one in the Su family could compare. She simply didn't want to miss this opportunity to ask for advice in person.

Su Xin looked at Su Yuning with a strange expression. After a long moment, he nodded and lowered his voice. "Very well, I agree."

Su Yuning was overjoyed.

The onlookers, including Yuan Qing, were astonished. They hadn't expected the mysterious Master "Jian Yi," who clearly held an exalted status, to actually agree to give pointers.

"Phew!"

Su Yuning let out a soft breath. She stepped back a certain distance and drew her longsword. "Sir, your cultivation is at the eighth stage of the True Martial Realm, so I will suppress my power to that level as well."

"Feel free to attack," Su Xin said, looking relaxed and comfortable.

Whoosh!

Su Yuning struck. A brilliant sword shadow emerged, and it seemed as if snowflakes were falling in the surrounding air.

"Falling Snow Sword Technique?" Su Xin smiled.

It was indeed the Su family's Falling Snow Sword Technique, and Su Xin was intimately familiar with it.

As the sword shadows, resembling drifting snowflakes, attacked in succession, Su Xin simply stood there, striking out casually. He didn't use any named technique, just simple slashes, yet each one hit the "snowflake’s" opening at the perfect moment, causing the patterns to dissipate.

"Incredible!"

Su Yuning exclaimed, then immediately unleashed the strongest move of the Falling Snow Sword Technique... the Snow-Severing Stance!

The Snow-Severing Stance consisted of nine strikes, each faster than the last. Having practiced this for years, Su Yuning could manage eight consecutive strikes. Knowing how terrifying "Jian Yi's" swordsmanship was, she went all out, unleashing all eight at once.

However, Su Xin remained standing on the spot, not moving a single step. He still countered with those simple strikes. With a series of clashing sounds, all eight blindingly fast sword lights were blocked.

"You blocked my eight Snow-Severing strikes so easily?" Su Yuning was incredulous.

"Use your strongest technique," Su Xin prompted.

"Sir, be careful."

Su Yuning’s face flushed. She leaped into the air, looking down from above. Her beautiful figure resembled a phoenix descending, and her longsword slashed down with a burst of brilliant light.

"How beautiful!" The surrounding spectators were mesmerized.

"Phoenix Descent Sword?" Su Xin narrowed his eyes. "A pity, it is only the first form."

Clang!

With a single strike, Su Yuning’s sword was knocked from her hand, and the sharp tip of Su Xin’s blade rested against her elegant neck.

"I... I lost already?" Su Yuning felt the icy sensation against her skin and was shaken to her core.

Su Xin said coldly, "Crude, far too crude! The sword technique itself is strong, but in your hands, it is a mess. You emphasize form over intent, focusing only on the shape of the moves while forgetting the essence of the art. It looks beautiful and intoxicating when performed, but it is entirely useless!"

"Think about it carefully!"

With that, Su Xin sheathed his sword and turned to leave.

"Emphasize form over intent? Focusing on the shape while forgetting the essence?" Su Yuning’s head buzzed as if struck by lightning.

After a long while, she snapped out of it and bowed respectfully toward Su Xin. "Thank you for your guidance, sir!"

Hearing this, Su Xin, with his back to her, couldn't help but rub his nose, a playful smile appearing on his face. He remembered how, when he was a child, Su Yuning would often pat him on the head, talking about how she would look after him in the future. But now...

"If Sister Ning knew that the 'Sir' she addressed was the same little kid she used to pat on the head, I wonder what expression she would have," Su Xin thought to himself.