Chapter 54: Initiation into the Wind-Stepping Technique

"It's you!"
When he saw who was standing opposite, Xu Chen uttered a surprised exclamation.
Across from him stood a woman dressed in black, her figure well-proportioned, her gaze frosty, a long sword in her hand.
"Choose your weapon. Come at me with all your strength," her voice carried a hint of chill.
Xu Chen glanced at the weapon rack beside him and shook his head.
"We've already fought with weapons in the illusion trial. How about we go unarmed this time?"
A phantom of a sacred ape appeared behind Xu Chen, beating its chest and roaring.
"Are you certain you want to fight barehanded?"
The woman casually tossed her sword onto the weapon rack, returning it to its place.
A biting cold swept forth, and behind her manifested a haze of ice, within which a terrifying figure could be vaguely seen.
"Damn, that's definitely a high-grade blood-forging technique," Xu Chen muttered inwardly.
Compared to the ten-zhang-tall ice mist behind the woman, the sacred ape phantom at his back seemed lackluster.
"Come on, then—"
Xu Chen beckoned with his hand. So what if it's a high-level blood-forging art? One day, he'd have it, too.
Noticing the sacred ape phantom behind him, the woman's eyes flashed with confusion, but she turned into a shadowy blur, charging at Xu Chen.
"Bang!!"
At the first exchange, Xu Chen felt a piercing chill shoot through his flesh and blood.
"I can't hold back," he thought.
Her force was icy, piercing to the bone; the longer he delayed, the worse it would be for him.
Xu Chen's gaze grew sharp, each move now tinged with lethal intent.
Like relentless waves, his force pressed forward, each strike burying its power within her body.
"Bang!"
Palm met palm, a violent shockwave rippled out; both retreated more than ten paces.
Xu Chen felt ice in his bones, his whole body stiffening. Though his fighting strength was greatly diminished, he detonated the force he'd left within her.
"Urgh—"
A mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of viscera, sprayed out; the woman's frosty eyes dimmed.
"Why have you cultivated the most basic sacred ape foundation technique?" she asked coldly.
Hearing this, Xu Chen felt a tangle of emotions, but still maintained the demeanor of a master.
"I'm afraid I can't say."
As soon as he finished, the woman could endure no longer; she died before Xu Chen's eyes.
The illusion shattered, and Xu Chen's consciousness returned to his body.
"Is it over already?"
He held his disciple's token, reading the message it had received.
At the Miscellaneous Hall, Xu Chen collected two thousand spirit coins.

"So much?" Xu Chen was a bit surprised.
"This was a task commissioned by a disciple of an elder. He offered this reward," Manager Bai said with a smile.
"If only there were more jobs like this," Xu Chen said, weighing the two large bags of spirit coins before storing them in his pouch with a smile.
"Fox Moon has become much more cheerful training with you lately. Thank you," Manager Bai said gratefully.
"Little Fox Moon has a good temperament. She's easy to get along with during training."
"That's good to hear!"
After collecting his reward, Xu Chen flew home.
As he sat atop the Wind Spirit Bird, admiring the scenery, the space in the distance trembled.
A celestial vessel, a hundred zhang long, burst through the void and flew toward Great Stream Sect, passing right over Xu Chen's head.
The vessel gleamed sapphire blue, spiritual light flowing along its hull, with phantom images of dragons and phoenixes flying alongside.
On either side of the craft spread transparent wings hundreds of zhang wide, inscribed with intricate mystic runes.
"How extravagant," Xu Chen marveled at the vessel.
"That's the personal chariot of Little Ancestor—the Sapphire Celestial Vessel. Looks like Little Ancestor has returned from the Imperial Dao Continent," the Wind Spirit Bird beneath him replied.
"So that's Little Ancestor's ride? Impressive."
"I've noticed you folks always have the sharpest news."
"But of course! What else would we do in our free time?"
As they bantered, they arrived at Xu Chen's doorstep.
Six spirit coins arced through the air, all landing neatly in the Wind Spirit Bird's beak before it flapped away.
At that moment, Fox Moon and Niu Dali were practicing in the small courtyard.
Niu Dali stood in horse stance, arms extended, holding barbells.
"Senior Brother Niu, have you made a breakthrough? Your strength's grown again," Xu Chen called.
At his words, Niu Dali put down the barbells with a sigh.
"I only lasted a quarter of an hour."
"That's still impressive—holding weights of a hundred and ten thousand jin with your arms outstretched."
"Not quite enough," Niu Dali replied, then resumed his training.
Xu Chen glanced at Fox Moon training in the distance, then settled into his own cultivation.
Unknowingly, a month passed.
One day, as Xu Chen was practicing the Wind-Stepping Technique, he was struck by a sudden insight; in a blink, he appeared tens of zhang away.
Staring at his new position, joy spread across his face.
"I've finally entered the first stage!" he exclaimed, delighted.
Looking up, he saw dusk had fallen.
He hurried home.
"Little Fox Moon, have dinner by yourself tonight—I need to enter seclusion for a while."

"Take care, Brother Xu."
Once inside his room, Xu Chen entered the Sacred White Space.
Four doors formed a circle around him.
"Why is this wooden door so battered?"
"Does the quality of the door reflect how good the blood-forging technique is?"
Xu Chen approached the Wind-Stepping Technique's wooden door for a closer look.
The door was loose and dilapidated, pockmarked with holes left by burrowing insects, looking as if it would crumble at a touch.
"Let's see what's inside."
He pushed open the door and entered—finding himself once again in the familiar Sacred White Space.
At its center stood a figure identical to Xu Chen, expression vacant and dull.
"Why so dazed?" Xu Chen said, closing the door behind him.
The moment the door shut, the blank-faced doppelganger seemed to come alive.
Its body blurred into motion, launching a kick at Xu Chen.
"So fast."
Though it wielded only the strength of seven tigers, with that speed, it struck with the power of ten.
Xu Chen intended to counterattack, but the double dodged with blinding speed.
"Does it lack any intelligence?"
That kick had barely tickled him.
The double paid no heed, circling Xu Chen at ever-increasing speed until Xu Chen felt a fierce gale.
Suddenly, the double's foot whistled toward his face.
"Not the face!"
Xu Chen caught the kicking leg, then slammed the double into the ground, spinning it like a windmill.
After a dozen such slams, the double died.
The space shattered, and Xu Chen was pulled into a strange new realm.
He now found himself as a fourteen-year-old boy, kneeling before an old man.
"Lin Feng, your talent is unparalleled—a genius the martial world has not seen in millennia."
"Now, I will impart to you the sect's supreme technique, the pinnacle of all martial arts—the Wind-Stepping Technique. I hope you can use it to shatter the void and reach the legendary Immortal Realm."
Xu Chen, inhabiting the youth's body, couldn't help but feel speechless at these words.
"Even at mastery, it only grants the strength of seven tigers. No matter how small the world, you couldn't break through the void with that."