Martial Dao: I Can Enhance My Talents

Chapter 289: Chapter 288: Rank 89 on the Celestial Pride List

After defeating Chu Feng, Fang Han didn’t return to his residence. Instead, he headed for the Overall Martial Arts Stele.

Walking toward the plaza where the Overall Martial Arts Stele was located, his steps were unhurried, and his expression was calm and placid.

Only in the depths of his eyes did a faint, sharp glint flicker.

Defeating Chu Feng was a validation of his current strength. It cleared his mind and strengthened his resolve, but he didn’t allow himself to revel in the victory.

The path of the Martial Dao is like rowing a boat upstream; a moment of negligence, and you could be overtaken by those who come after.

The speed at which Chu Feng’s strength had increased this time had already sounded an alarm for him.

Arriving at the plaza where the White Jade Stele stood, Fang Han walked to about ten feet before it and stopped.

His gaze swept over the newly updated rankings on the stele’s face—

Tenth: Fang Han;

Ninth: Chu Feng.

If it were anyone else, it would be fine, but seeing Chu Feng’s name ranked above his own was truly irritating. That was why he had rushed here immediately after defeating him.

His eyes narrowed slightly. He slowly closed them, and the Inner Qi of the Profound Wind Technique began to circulate silently within him. The aura around his body started to retract, like the calm before a storm.

A few breaths later, he abruptly opened his eyes. A flash of cyan lightning seemed to flicker in their depths before vanishing!

KENG!

The Flowing Wind Sword sang a clear note as it left its scabbard. Infused with Inner Qi, the dark cyan blade emitted a low, pleasant hum.

Without needing to build up any momentum, Fang Han flicked his wrist.

The Flowing Wind Sword transformed into an extremely condensed, fine line of pale cyan light that seemed capable of tearing through space itself. Carrying a sharp Sword Momentum far exceeding what he had half a month ago, it tapped against the stele’s surface.

HISS—BOOM!!

The instant the sword tip touched the stele, the highly concentrated Sword Momentum and immense Inner Qi erupted.

After a sharp, strange noise came a dull explosion, like a clap of thunder.

The entire Overall Martial Arts Stele burst into brilliant light. Its surface trembled violently as ripple-like waves of energy spread out in a frenzy.

Fang Han’s name suddenly lit up, and the number representing his rank began to jump frantically!

Ten... Nine!

It showed signs of changing to "eight," but ultimately lacked the staying power and settled on "nine."

His rank returned to the ninth position on the overall list, once again pushing Chu Feng down to tenth!

Slowly sheathing his sword, Fang Han turned and walked back with steady steps to Courtyard No. 35 of the True Inheritance Courtyard.

’Defeating Chu Feng this time was clearly much easier than the last!’

Returning to his quiet courtyard, Fang Han dismissed his attendants. He stood in the open space, replaying the recent battle with Chu Feng in his mind.

Although he disliked Chu Feng, he had to admit that Chu Feng’s strength had improved significantly in the past half a month.

However, his own improvement was even greater. He had advanced in all aspects, completely suppressing Chu Feng and defeating him in just a few dozen moves.

The only downside was that Chu Feng hadn’t put much pressure on him this time—far less than before.

The tempering effect of the pressure was not nearly as good as last time.

’If pressure isn’t enough, talent will have to do.’

Fang Han thought to himself.

Although the pressure from Chu Feng was limited this time, under the terrifying boost of his 128-fold Swordsmanship Talent, he still managed to capture and analyze a vast amount of combat insight from every detail of their exchange.

The deceptive transformations in his opponent’s Sword Techniques, the subtle fluctuations of his Inner Qi, the choice of trajectories in his Body Technique... All this information flashed through his mind, deconstructing and reassembling at high speed.

Many previously obscure points in his understanding of the Nine Swords of Sky Splitting suddenly became clear, validated by this practical combat.

SWISH SWISH SWISH—

He quickly drew his sword and began to practice, combining his insights with drills from the Nine Swords of Sky Splitting to digest what he’d learned.

Immersed in this highly efficient process of absorbing his insights, his mind sank into a deep focus, completely losing track of time.

After an unknown amount of time, the aura around him quietly began to change. A new conception, sharper and closer to the true meaning of "Sky Splitting," naturally emerged.

The Flowing Wind Sword let out a faint, subtle vibration, as if its will was connected to its master’s.

Suddenly, inspiration struck. His comprehension of "wind" instantly ascended to a whole new level.

It was a more refined control, as if he could clearly "see" the trajectory of every wisp of airflow and could use his Sword Momentum to guide, gather, and even... tear it apart!

OMM—

A nearly inaudible hum resonated from within Fang Han. It wasn’t a physical sound but a sign of a breakthrough in his Sword Dao Realm.

Nine Swords of Sky Splitting, Mastery!

In that instant, Fang Han felt his ability to draw upon and control Wind Momentum had surged from forty percent to fifty percent!

This ten percent increase should not be underestimated. For a top-level Swordsmanship like the Nine Swords of Sky Splitting, each additional ten percent of the world’s momentum channeled made a world of difference in power.

The power of his Sword Techniques now was several times greater than when he was at the Minor Achievement stage!

’I’ve smoothly broken through to Mastery!’

A deep cyan glint of sword light flowed in the depths of Fang Han’s eyes before disappearing.

The gains from his battle with Chu Feng were now completely digested. His strength had risen to a new level, and he had successfully broken through to the Mastery stage.

...

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a new month had arrived.

In the early morning, Fang Han finished his Cultivation. Just as he pushed open the door to his Quiet Chamber, his maid, Qiu Lan, came to report that Steward Zhou Heng from the True Inheritance Courtyard was already waiting in the living room.

Fang Han straightened his robes and stepped into the living room.

Steward Zhou Heng was already seated. Upon seeing Fang Han, a warm smile immediately appeared on his face as he stood and offered a cupped fist salute.

"True Inheritor Fang, congratulations on the advancement of your Cultivation. Your aura is even more impressive than before."

"You’re too kind, Steward Zhou."

Fang Han returned the gesture, and the two sat down.

He recalled Chu Feng forcing his way into the courtyard a few days prior. If not for Zhou Heng’s timely intervention, Qiu Lan and the others would have likely suffered more. He decided to speak up.

"Regarding Chu Feng’s actions the other day, thank you for intervening, Steward Zhou."

"True Inheritor Fang, you speak too seriously. It was merely my duty."

Hearing this, Steward Zhou Heng’s smile became a bit more sincere. He waved his hand and said:

"Junior Chu Feng was in a poor mood that day, and his actions were excessive. I have already reported it to the Precepts Hall. I trust he will be more restrained in the future."

He spoke with sincerity, clearly happy to do Fang Han this favor.

Fang Han’s prospects were currently as bright as the midday sun, his potential limitless. Befriending him would also be beneficial to his own standing within the Sect.

Fang Han nodded slightly and said no more.

A favor remembered is enough; there’s no need to constantly speak of it.

"True Inheritor Fang, please present your Identity Token. I will transfer this month’s Contribution Points reward to you."

Steward Zhou Heng took out that simple, ancient "Inheritance Jade Inkstone" and smiled.

Fang Han handed over his Token. Zhou Heng skillfully operated the device for a moment before handing the Token back. "Ninth on the overall list. This month’s Contribution Points reward is 17,000 points. They have been transferred to your Token."

Fang Han took it back. Circulating a wisp of Inner Qi into it, he glanced down and saw the number on the Token had changed to—51,000 points.

His Contribution Points had broken the fifty-thousand mark for the first time.

"Your resource allocation is here."

Zhou Heng then took three quaintly styled Jade Bottles from a tray held by an accompanying disciple and handed them to Fang Han.

The Jade Bottles were warm to the touch. On their surface, the three words "Earth Spirit Pill" were inscribed in ancient seal script.

’It’s actually Earth Spirit Pills.’

Fang Han joyfully accepted the three bottles of Elixirs.

This wasn’t the first time he had received Earth Spirit Pills as his resource allocation, and he was deeply aware of their effects.

These pills had medicinal effects far stronger than True Spirit Pills and were miraculously effective for increasing one’s Cultivation and breaking through bottlenecks.

"Thank you for your trouble, Steward Zhou."

Fang Han carefully put away the three bottles of Earth Spirit Pills.

With the formalities complete, Steward Zhou Heng rose to take his leave. Fang Han personally saw him to the courtyard gate, and they bid farewell with a cupped fist salute.

「The next day.」 As dawn broke, Qiu Lan carried the newest editions of the Celestial Pride List and the Martial Artist Ranking booklets and respectfully delivered them to the Quiet Chamber.

Fang Han took the booklets, which still gave off a faint scent of ink, and slowly opened one.

His gaze fell directly on the Celestial Pride List.

Reading from the bottom up, the first name that caught his eye was:

Number Ninety-Four: Chu Feng (Qingxuan Sect)!

’Ninety-fourth. As expected, a decent jump.’

Fang Han’s eyebrows raised slightly.

Even though Chu Feng had been at a complete disadvantage during their fight and was defeated in just a few dozen moves, it was undeniable that Chu Feng’s strength had indeed grown significantly.

So it was understandable that his rank had risen, and by a full three places at that.

His gaze continued upward.

Number Eighty-Nine: Fang Han (Qingxuan Sect)!

His own rank had jumped five places, from ninety-fourth to eighty-ninth!

’A jump of five places in one go...’

A flash of satisfaction appeared in Fang Han’s eyes.

Compared to Chu Feng, his own ranking had also improved, and by an even greater margin—a jump of five places.

He even noticed that his Eighth Senior Brother, Wang Miao, who was originally ranked ninetieth, had slipped one spot to ninety-first.

In terms of the Celestial Pride List ranking alone, he had already surpassed Wang Miao.

This meant that in the evaluation system of the Celestial Pride List, his overall strength was now considered superior to Wang Miao’s.

This change would likely cause quite a stir within the Sect.

Sure enough, in less than half a day, the news that his rank had surpassed Wang Miao’s spread like wildfire throughout the Qingxuan Sect, sparking even greater discussion.

"Senior Brother Fang Han is too incredible! How long has it been, and he’s already surpassed Senior Brother Wang Miao!"

"Senior Brother Chu Feng rising three places was already amazing, but Senior Brother Fang’s improvement is even greater. His rank rose to eighty-ninth, a full five-place jump..."

"I bet Senior Brother Wang Miao never expected to be surpassed by Senior Brother Fang so quickly, right?"

"Looks like the lineup of the Sect’s top ten is about to change."

Amidst the various discussions, there was astonishment, envy, and also speculation about Wang Miao’s reaction.

「At the same time.」 In another elegant and secluded courtyard within the True Inheritance Courtyard.

Wang Meng sat by the window, her hand gripping the newly delivered ranking booklet so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.

Her eyes were fixed on the words "Number Eighty-Nine: Fang Han." The color drained from her beautiful face, which was filled with a complex, lingering emotion.

Across from her sat a young man in blue robes with a gentle face and a calm demeanor. It was her brother, Wang Miao, formerly ninetieth on the Celestial Pride List, now ninety-first.

Wang Miao looked at his sister’s crestfallen expression, sighed softly, picked up his teacup for a sip, and spoke in a placid tone:

"Rankings on the list rise and fall. It’s a common occurrence. Why let it trouble you so?"

"Brother!"

Wang Meng snapped her head up, her eyes filled with indignation and a barely perceptible hint of regret.

"How could he possibly be this fast... Back in Liangshui City, he was clearly..."

She wanted to say that back then, Fang Han was just a young man from a minor family with seemingly ordinary Talent. How could he have reached such heights in just over a year?

To the point where... even her pride and joy, her own brother, had been surpassed by him?