Xiao Che spoke indifferently.

 

“Thanks for the invitation, Shimei. But unfortunately, I have to cultivate tonight.”

 

His tone was calm, without a hint of mockery, yet it left no room for negotiation. He stepped around her and walked straight toward the back rows.

 

Liu Ruyan’s smile froze on her face. She paused for two breaths before slowly letting it fade.

 

She didn’t turn around or speak; she just stood there quietly, as if waiting for him to say, “Another day would work too.”

 

But those words never came. Xiao Che had already taken his seat.

 

Xiao Qing scooted her seat closer to her brother. The “my brother is so badass” pride on her small face was impossible to suppress. She whispered:

 

“Brother, she’s third on the Beauty List…”

 

Xiao Che unslung the Flowing Fire sword from his back and leaned it against the table.

 

“Oh? What does that have to do with me?”

 

Xiao Qing pursed her lips and smiled, saying no more.

 

In the front row, Liu Ruyan sat back down. Her spine was perfectly straight as she stared at the podium, her expression unreadable. Only the rising and falling of her chest, which pulled her purple dress tighter and tighter, betrayed the emotions she was struggling to suppress.

 

It took a long time before her clenched hands slowly relaxed.

 

…

 

The following month passed.

 

During the day, Xiao Che attended classes. Every ten days, he would head to the Prodigy List arena for a match.

 

His rank climbed steadily from eighty-third to fifty-second.

 

Any further, and the ranks were filled entirely by level nine Foundation Establishment cultivators, with even a few at Great Circle. If he kept winning while maintaining the persona of a “level one Foundation Establishment” cultivator, no one would be foolish enough to believe it.

 

He maintained his “weak” level one appearance, winning every match by the narrowest of margins.

 

Before every match, Xuan Buyan would send over intelligence reports. The odds were adjusted perfectly; they were enticing enough to draw bets, but not so lopsided that people were afraid to wager too much.

 

The spirit stone bags of both men grew significantly heavier.

 

The reward rules for contribution points on the Prodigy List were as follows:

 

Ranks ninety-one to one hundred: two hundred contribution points.

 

Ranks eighty-one to ninety-four hundred.

 

And so on; for every ten ranks gained, the reward increased by two hundred points.

 

…

 

Ranks fifty-one to sixty: one thousand.

 

…

 

Ranks two to ten: two thousand. These ranks also came with special permissions or the right to exchange for rare treasures.

 

First place received an additional five thousand points.

 

Unfortunately, rewards for each tier could only be claimed once. Otherwise, Xiao Che could have single-handedly bankrupted the academy.

 

At night, he practiced his movement techniques and swordplay in his meditation room.

 

*Sun-Chasing Seven Star Steps* progressed from Small Success to Great Success, and then from Great Success to Consummation. The seven-step chain was as fierce as a furnace; he could now activate or suppress it with a single thought.

 

A month later.

 

The two thousand one hundred and fifty contribution points he owed Bai Ling had been paid in full, with six hundred and sixty-five points left over.

 

That *Green Wood Flame Fire Manual* is suitable for Qing’er cost two thousand five hundred contribution points.

 

He was still quite a bit short.

 

There was no rush; once he finished climbing the rest of the rankings, he would buy it for her with interest.

 

Inside his storage ring, sixty thousand low-grade spirit stones lay in a pile.

 

His cultivation had also naturally broken through to level nine Foundation Establishment through the tempering of a month’s worth of actual combat.

 

Xiao Qing hadn’t been idle either.

 

The basic cultivation techniques of the Alchemy Hall, combined with her mutated Fire-Wood spiritual roots, allowed her to progress more than twice as fast as she had back in Cangyun Prefecture.

 

After a month, she had moved steadily from level three Qi Condensation to level four.

 

Bai Yuantian was right; the Alchemy Hall was indeed more suitable for her.

 

…

 

Late at night.

 

Tianshu Peak.

 

Tingzhu Pavilion.

 

The meditation room.

 

Xiao Che stood with his sword in hand, the *Pure Yang Golden Fire Sword Manual* moving according to his will. He had practiced this sword technique countless times; the thirty-six forms were already etched into his very bones.

 

After more than a month of bitter cultivation, this sword technique had finally reached the realm of Transcendence.

 

Now, when he struck, it was effortless. The sword followed his heart, as natural as breathing.

 

One strike.

 

Two strikes.

 

Three strikes.

 

On the fourth strike, he suddenly felt something different. The tip of his sword hung in mid-air, three feet from the wall.

 

He hadn’t touched anything.

 

Yet he felt as if that wall had been firmly locked by his presence.

 

He paused, then struck again. The feeling returned; wherever the sword tip pointed, the void seemed to stagnate. That sensation of being locked on became even stronger!

 

“Hoh.”

 

He lifted the sword before his eyes, turning it over to examine it twice.

 

Flowing Fire was still the same Flowing Fire: a low-grade spiritual tool with a few red patterns on the blade, nothing special.

 

But those few strikes just now were definitely different. He tried to activate the *Sun-Chasing Seven Star Steps*.

 

As he took the seven steps, the Pure Yang Momentum roared to life, filling the meditation room with a surging heatwave that made the very air feel heavy.

 

Then, he struck.

 

The moment the sword momentum merged with the Pure Yang Momentum, even he felt a shiver.

 

It wasn’t that the power had increased; rather, that sensation of “locking on” had become ten times clearer.

 

The Pure Yang Momentum suppressed you, while the sword pointed directly at you.

 

You could only choose to tank the Pure Yang Momentum first, and then tank the sword strike. Regardless of whether you could withstand it, you had no choice but to face it head-on.

 

Xiao Che withdrew his sword and stood in place, silent for three full breaths.

 

*Sword Momentum.*

 

He whispered those two words softly. Yellow-grade techniques weren’t supposed to possess Momentum.

 

Yet the set in his hands, after being practiced in the realm of Transcendence, had actually broken through the shackles of its grade. It had stepped into a realm that shouldn’t have belonged to it.

 

*A Yellow-grade technique, eighteen meridians, practiced to Transcendence… and it can actually produce Momentum? As expected of a Heavenly Book product, it’s bound to be high quality!*

 

Even he found it ridiculous.

 

But the feeling just now couldn’t be faked. What was even more absurd was that this Sword Momentum shared the same source as the Pure Yang Momentum of the *Sun-Chasing Seven Star Steps*.

 

The Momentum of the steps: Suppression.

 

The Momentum of the sword: Lock-on.

 

The hotter the furnace burned, the sharper the sword cut.

 

Xiao Che held the sword before his eyes, staring at the crimson pattern on the spine for a long time.

 

*This was a massive win.*

 

His grin stretched from ear to ear, and he couldn’t stop smiling for a long while.

 

On a whim, he gathered his momentum again and swung the longsword. The “lock-on” sensation arrived as expected; where the sword pointed, the void stagnated, as if an invisible giant hand was pinning the target to the spot.

 

He struck again, and the feeling became even clearer.

 

Standing there, Xiao Che suddenly felt a slight chill down his back.

 

Something was wrong.

 

If he were to spar with Qing’er… would he pin her to the spot with a single strike?

 

Furthermore, how was he supposed to “play the pig to eat the tiger” in the arena now? If he couldn’t pull the sword back and ended up skewering someone, how could he keep up the act?

 

With a thought, Xiao Che tentatively tried to withdraw that “Momentum.” The “lock-on” sensation on the sword actually dissipated.

 

He breathed a sigh of relief.

 

He tried again.

 

Withdraw, release, withdraw, release.

 

…

 

He continued until the sky began to turn gray with the dawn.

 

Xiao Che sheathed his sword and let out a long breath. He had finally figured it out.

 

The “Momentum” of the *Sun-Chasing Seven Star Steps* was passive. Once the seven steps were taken, the Momentum was born naturally; as long as he was moving, the suppression remained.

 

But the sword technique was different.

 

The “Momentum” of the sword was active. It moved according to his will, and he could release or withdraw it as he pleased. If he wanted to lock on, he locked on; if he didn’t, he didn’t.

 

This!

 

This was true “Momentum.”

 

He sheathed his sword, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.

 

Speaking of which, Senior Sister’s task is to break into the top fifty of the Prodigy List within three months.

 

Now that his Sword Momentum was formed, the timing was perfect.

 

He opened the Prodigy List and scanned down, quickly spotting a familiar name.

 

Feng Mohan, rank fifty-nine, level seven Foundation Establishment.

 

Xiao Che’s eyelids twitched.

 

He hadn’t paid attention for over a month, and this guy had climbed from level five to level seven?

 

He glanced at the number of losses listed next to the name: zero.

 

“…What a sword lunatic.”

 

***

 

NOTES

 

Session Glossary Updates (Memorized):

– 逐日七星踏 = Sun-Chasing Seven Star Steps

– 青木炎火诀 = Green Wood Flame Fire Manual

– 剑势 = Sword Momentum

– 化境 = Transcendence (The highest level of technique mastery)

 

Footnotes:

TN1: “Playing the pig to eat the tiger” (扮猪吃虎): A classic Chinese idiom/slang common in webnovels, referring to someone who hides their true strength to bait and defeat an overconfident opponent.

 

Translator’s Note: Frenadro Steph here. Xiao Che has reached Level 9 Foundation Establishment and mastered “Sword Momentum,” a feat usually impossible for low-grade techniques. The synergy between his movement and swordplay makes him a literal “lock-on” fighter. Meanwhile, his rival Feng Mohan is catching up in levels. Things are heating up!

Ink Hub, Frenadro Steph, your translator. Enjoy, and drop feedback; it sharpens the blade.

 

—

 

Translated by **Frenadro Steph