The two of them took the ironwood swords, a trace of excitement appearing between their brows. After so many years of Qi Refinement, aside from training their bodies and nurturing and strengthening the true qi within, they had only practiced the most basic sword moves—thrusting, flicking, chopping—and had never been exposed to formal sword techniques. For young people their age who dreamed of becoming great sword masters, this was truly a torment. Now that their master had decided to personally teach them formal sword techniques, even the usually steady Chad Sullivan showed a look of anticipation.

“I myself have learned the advanced sword technique of the Shengxuan Sect—the Xuankong Sword Art!” As he spoke, Michael Bolton’s face showed a hint of embarrassment. “This sword art is, apart from the sect’s core technique ‘Shengxuan Yin,’ the most powerful sword art. However, due to my limited aptitude, even though my master valued me so highly and passed the Xuankong Sword Art to me, I have only cultivated it to the third level…”

Even their master, who was at the eighth level of Innate, had only reached the third level—just how formidable was this sword art? For a moment, the two of them were both excited.

Seeing their expressions, Michael Bolton could easily guess what they were thinking and couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t get any ideas. Without the approval of the master or the sect leader, I won’t teach you the Xuankong Sword Art. If you want to learn it, you’ll have to earn the sect’s recognition through your own efforts.”

The excitement on their faces immediately faded.

“Don’t be disappointed. Even if I did teach you the Xuankong Sword Art, you wouldn’t be able to learn it with your current cultivation. As an advanced sword art, its minimum requirement is the Innate Realm. What I will teach you is a sword art I created by evolving the Xuankong Sword Art and combining it with my own experience—a sword art suitable for the fourth level of Qi Refinement: the Xuanxu Sword Art. Although its power is not as great as the true Xuankong Sword Art, as long as you can grasp its essence, you will at least have a great advantage when fighting opponents of the same level!”

The two of them perked up and responded in unison.

As a sword art evolved from an advanced technique, the Xuanxu Sword Art naturally possessed extraordinary power. However, contrary to its name, the Xuanxu Sword Art was not mysterious and illusory, ethereal and hard to grasp.

On the contrary.

The Xuanxu Sword Art was actually extremely fierce and direct, with wide, sweeping movements, maximizing the goal of injuring the enemy. Sometimes, it even required using oneself as bait to lure the enemy into exposing a weakness, then striking ruthlessly. As a terrifying swordsman who had previously slaughtered thousands of bandits at Fengjue Ridge, if the sword art he practiced was all flashy but impractical, he would have had no chance of survival when surrounded by thousands of bandits.

After less than half an hour of practice, the two of them found their true qi unable to keep up with the consumption and began to pant heavily.

Especially Chad Sullivan, whose spiritual strength was already weak—his whole body was drenched in sweat.

After all, this was a sword art created by a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refinement. For two practitioners at the fourth level, the consumption was naturally terrifying.

Michael Bolton watched for a while and frowned.

After all, the two of them had grown up under his protection and had never faced any setbacks. As for combat experience, they had none at all, so they naturally lacked the ruthlessness and killing intent required by the Xuanxu Sword Art.

However, although the two of them were drenched in sweat from exhaustion, they still did not give up easily. This attitude greatly satisfied Michael Bolton.

“All right, rest for a while if you’re tired. Cultivation is never achieved in a day; being too eager for quick results may backfire.”

The two of them stopped practicing and responded in agreement.

“Sit down first, I have something to say.” Michael Bolton smiled as he watched the two of them obediently sit down in front of him, then said, “I know, Zhan’er, you two bought a pair of twin swords. Haha, they’re even tokens of affection, aren’t they? You two little rascals, not bad at all.”

Being teased by their master, Chad Sullivan couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed, while Emily Thompson lowered her head, a charming blush quickly spreading across her snow-white cheeks.

“Hehe, no need to be embarrassed. Given your ages, in another three or four years, you’ll be of marriageable age. Giving gifts and such is nothing to be shy about. Besides, the quality of those two swords isn’t bad.” At this, Michael Bolton composed himself and said seriously, “To achieve success in swordsmanship, you must establish a bond with your sword—carefully sense it, feel its joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. If you can make the sword a part of your body and reach the state of unity between man and sword, your progress in any sword art will be rapid, advancing by leaps and bounds.”

“Feel the sword, establish a bond with it?”

The two of them were a bit confused.

“What I’m about to teach you now is the experience summarized by countless sword masters over the years. It is extremely effective for stepping into the Innate Realm and for sword cultivation; it is also a required lesson for the core disciples of any top sect—the Mind and Spirit Tempering Method!”

The two of them immediately perked up and listened attentively.

The difference between having a master’s guidance and exploring on one’s own was immediately apparent. If not for Michael Bolton, a powerful cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, or if Michael Bolton were not an inner disciple of the Shengxuan Sect, the number one sect in Kaiming Kingdom, who knows how many detours they would have taken in their cultivation.

“Lay your swords flat in front of you, then focus your mind, gather it in your sea of consciousness, and imagine your mind as a thread, building a connection with your sword, and thus sense the existence of the sword!”