Chapter Twenty-Six: The Improvement of Strength

The sense of power gained from cultivation is ultimately abstract, Shang Jiuya knew all too well. In the face of real life-or-death battles, theoretical discussions and greenhouse cultivation were meaningless. She needed to know precisely what level she had reached, how much her spiritual sense could play in actual combat, and just how much power her condensed demonic energy and the increasingly bizarre Kunwu Blade could unleash.

"Li Yue." On this day, after finishing yet another painful session of cultivating the "Burning Marrow and Eroding Heart Technique," Shang Jiuya wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and called out to the head guard who was about to go on patrol to inspect the defenses.

"What are your orders, Your Majesty?" Li Yue turned around and asked respectfully.

Shang Jiuya's gaze swept over him and Shi Gu, the Shadow Guard Captain standing to the side. "From today onwards, set aside one hour each day. You, Shi Gu, and the two most skilled Shadow Guards will spar with me."

Li Yue and Shi Gu were both taken aback, their faces showing surprise.

"Your Excellency, your health..." Li Yue's first thought was of her safety and her weakened state, as bumps and bruises were inevitable during sparring.

“Precisely because of my frail health, I need to know my actual combat abilities, rather than reinventing the wheel,” Shang Jiuya interrupted him. “There’s no need to worry about my status or hold back—of course, that means doing my best without causing real serious injury. I need the most realistic pressure to know my limits and to find a way to survive before real danger arrives.”

Li Yue and Shi Gu exchanged a glance, both seeing the solemnity and a hint of admiration in each other's eyes. Even the Venerable One was so ruthless to them.

"Yes! Your subordinates obey!" the two replied in unison.

Therefore, the most sturdy side hall of the Ziguang Hall was temporarily converted into a training ground.

The first sparring session was quite a mess.

Although Shang Jiuya possessed a spiritual sense that could vaguely perceive the attack intentions and trajectories of Li Yue and Shi Gu, her physical reactions lagged far behind her thoughts. Often, her mind would be aware of the attack, but her body wouldn't have time to effectively evade or block it, easily struck by the back of Li Yue's unsheathed longsword or by Shi Gu's fists and feet enveloped in demonic energy—of course, the force was controlled to avoid injuring her bones, but it was enough to make her grimace in pain, leaving bruises that wouldn't fade for days.

Although her demonic energy had become condensed and scorching, the amount was too small. When used for attack, it could only be attached to the Kunwu Blade for short thrusts or parries, and could not form an effective ranged or area-of-effect attack. Several attempts to forcefully unleash it almost caused a backlash of demonic energy, and her meridians were in excruciating pain.

Although the Kunwu Blade was sharp and unpredictable, she was unfamiliar with its use. Often, when she caught an opening, the blade tip would deviate by a hair's breadth, or it would be easily neutralized by Li Yue and the others with their richer and more experienced combat skills.

After a sparring session, Shang Jiuya was helped back to the inner hall by Bai Yu, her whole body aching. Her complexion was even worse than when she was practicing the "Burning Marrow and Eroding Heart Technique," a sign of both physical and mental exhaustion.

However, there was no sign of discouragement in her eyes.

"We'll continue tomorrow." She only said these four words to Li Yue and Shi Gu.

Day after day, the sounds of impacts, howls, and Shang Jiuya's occasional groans of pain from the side hall became the unchanging background noise within the Ziguang Hall.

Change happens quietly amidst pain and perseverance.

Her movements were still not particularly agile, but with the enhanced spiritual senses brought by the "Shadow Secrets Chapter," she began to anticipate attacks and dodge them in the most economical and effective way. From initially taking all the hits, she gradually learned to avoid 30-40% of the attacks. She began to learn to utilize the energy flow and air currents generated by Li Yue and Shi Gu's attacks, always finding that sliver of an opening at the most crucial moment.

Her control over demonic energy became increasingly refined. She no longer attempted unbearable bursts of power, but instead focused every wisp of condensed demonic energy on the blade: unleashing a burst of power the instant the Kunwu Blade parried, shattering the opponent's weapon; while dodging, she concentrated a small amount of demonic energy at the soles of her feet to increase explosive power for a short-distance sprint; she even tried to transmit a wisp of scorching demonic energy along the opponent's weapon, although the power was weak, it was enough to make Li Yue and Shi Gu feel a momentary sting and stagnation, thus creating an extremely brief opportunity for a counterattack.

And the Kunwu Blade became increasingly attuned to her will. It was no longer merely a sharp weapon, but more like an extension of her limbs. With the slightest thought, the blade could be thrust out at incredibly tricky angles, even adjusting its trajectory automatically based on her spiritual senses, preying on the weak points in her opponent's energy flow. Its sharpness and corrosive nature forced Li Yue and Shi Gu to pay extra attention, fearing even the slightest scratch—the feeling would be extremely unpleasant.

Later, Li Yue and Shi Gu even needed to use seven or eight tenths of their strength, along with some simple combined attack techniques, to steadily suppress Shang Jiuya. The astonishment in their eyes grew deeper; the speed of their Venerable One's progress was simply astonishing.

Of course, they can still win. Their rich experience, greater strength, and seamless teamwork cannot be easily compensated for by short-term, explosive growth.

But what Shang Jiuya wanted was not to win, but to become familiar with power, hone her instincts, and unleash her potential under extreme pressure.

The sparring was particularly intense that day. After narrowly avoiding a side kick from Shi Gu, Shang Jiuya staggered, her strength exhausted and unable to muster any new power. Li Yue seized the opportunity, his unsheathed longsword thrusting straight at her wide-open right shoulder with incredible speed.

If this blow lands, it will be enough to make it difficult for her to exert force in her right arm for a short period of time.

At the critical moment, Shang Jiuya's pupils suddenly contracted. With the "Shadow Secret Knowledge Chapter" activated to its limit, everything around her seemed to slow down instantly. She could clearly "see" the trajectory of Li Yue's blade tip and the power it contained, and she could also "sense" that Shi Gu was blocking her possible escape route.

You can't dodge it! You can't stop it!

Almost instinctively, she poured the scorching, burning demonic energy cultivated from the "Burning Marrow and Corroding Heart Technique," which she had never used in sparring, into the Kunwu Blade.

The Kunwu Blade emitted an unprecedentedly excited hum, its blade instantly turning scorching red, and an extremely violent aura suddenly erupted.

Instead of defending, Kunwu Blade advanced, drawing an extremely strange and tricky arc, directly slashing at the wrist, the weakest point of Li Yue's longsword. The speed, angle, and timing were all perfectly controlled, far exceeding her usual level.

Alarm bells rang in Li Yue's mind. He was forced to stop the stabbing attack. With a flick of his wrist, he changed the longsword from a thrust to a sweep, barely managing to block the Kunwu sword.

With a piercing clang of metal against metal, Li Yue felt a scorching, burning energy surge through the blade, causing a slight numbness in his hand and a momentary stagnation of his demonic energy. Horrified, he leaped backward, staring incredulously at Shang Jiuya and the dagger in her hand that still emanated an unsettling aura.

Shi Gu also stopped what he was doing, his face turning solemn.

Shang Jiuya was breathing heavily, her face pale, and her forehead covered in sweat. The burst of energy just now had almost drained most of her demonic energy and mental strength, and her right arm was sore and numb. But she stood very steadily, her hand holding the Kunwu Blade did not tremble at all, and her eyes were surprisingly bright.

“Your Excellency, you…” Li Yue hesitated, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"It's alright." Shang Jiuya slowly sheathed her sword and put it in her sleeve, feeling the scorching heat gradually subside. "Continue. Tomorrow, try the two of you working together and launching a full-scale attack."

Li Yue and Shi Gu solemnly obeyed the order.

Their understanding of Shang Jiuya was completely refreshed once again.

The daily sparring became the only activity in the Ziguang Hall that was full of life and intense sounds, apart from the tense preparations for battle.

The initial disarray quickly became a thing of the past. With each trial, Shang Jiuya rapidly shed her vulnerability, revealing her inner resilience and sharpness.

Her progress was comprehensive. The spiritual senses from "The Shadow's Secret Insight" were no longer vague warnings, but gradually became her "third eye" in battle. She began to be able to "read" more clearly the subtle exertion of Li Yue and Shi Gu's muscles, the instantaneous fluctuations in their demonic energy, and even the simple tactical intentions conveyed when their eyes met. This allowed her to often make the most reasonable response in advance, just before the opponent's move was launched—either deftly dodging a powerful slash that could split a mountain, or precisely stepping aside to avoid a sweeping kick, and sometimes even taking advantage of the moment when their moves were exhausted to launch a swift counterattack.

She wielded the scorching demonic energy brought by the "Burning Marrow and Corroding Heart Technique" with ever more exquisite precision. No longer content with simple attachment and bursts, she began to experiment with more complex variations: sometimes condensing demonic energy at her fingertips, creating instantaneous high-frequency vibrations during parries, attempting to deflect or even destroy the opponent's weapon; she even imitated Li Yue's power-generating techniques, attempting to briefly compress demonic energy and then release it instantly. Although it was far from reaching Li Yue's power, it still imbued her thrusts or parries with a strange explosive force, making them impossible to defend against.

The Kunwu Blade had become an integral part of her body. Wherever her thoughts led, the blade's tip moved. It seemed to relish this intense confrontation, the hum of its blade growing ever clearer. Sometimes, when Li Yue's longsword clashed with it, even without a direct cut, he would feel a wisp of demonic energy instantly drained from the blade, or a slight tingling sensation at the point of contact. This forced Li Yue and Shi Gu to frequently switch their training weapons and become increasingly wary of the Kunwu Blade coming into contact with them.

The situation in the sparring match was quietly reversing.

From initially being certain of defeat within ten moves, to barely managing to hold out for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and later, being able to fight effectively against the combined attacks of these two masters, she was able to put on a respectable show of strength, both offensively and defensively. Although she was still at a disadvantage most of the time and needed to exert all her strength to remain undefeated, it was no longer a one-sided crushing defeat.

Li Yue and Shi Gu were utterly shocked. They could sense that Shang Jiuya's efficiency in using power, her grasp of timing, and her fighting style that combined prediction, eerie demonic energy, and unpredictable swordsmanship were incredibly difficult to deal with. Every counterattack was precise and dangerous.

Finally, during an intense sparring session, quantitative change led to qualitative change.

Unable to break through after a prolonged siege, Li Yue and Shi Gu's competitive spirit was fully ignited. They exchanged a glance, a tacit understanding forming between them, and decided to unleash their true killing move—a controlled version, of course.

Li Yue let out a low shout and brought his long sword down, his momentum locking down all of Shang Jiuya's evasive space. At the same time, Shi Gu's figure moved like a ghost, skimming along the ground, and a sweeping leg kick containing shattering force silently attacked Shang Jiuya's lower body.

A pincer attack from above and below—a decisive defeat!

If it were Shang Jiuya a few days ago, she would have had no choice but to either tough it out or roll around in a sorry state, and either way, she would have inevitably lost.

But at this moment, Shang Jiuya's eyes were frighteningly calm. With the "Shadow Secret Insight Chapter" operating at its limit, the sense of time seemed to be stretched out. She clearly "saw" the core and weak point of the power of the blade above her head, and also "sensed" the true point of force of the kick under her feet.

You can't dodge, you can only break through!

In a flash, she took a sudden step forward, landing precisely on the spot where Shi Gu's power was at its weakest just before he unleashed his sweeping leg attack, disrupting his rhythm and causing him to falter.

At the same time, she pointed a highly compressed, scorching demonic energy with her left hand at a spot where Li Yue's sword energy flowed—a spot she had found through countless observations and spiritual perceptions.

With a soft "poof," Li Yue's seemingly invincible sword strike suddenly trembled, its trajectory and power momentarily disrupted and slowed down.

Shang Jiuya's Kunwu Blade in her right hand emitted an unprecedentedly excited hum, and the dark red blade light flowed upstream along the tiny gap exposed by the disorder in Li Yue's longsword.

Fast! Accurate! Ruthless!

Li Yue felt a chill on his wrist, followed by a burning pain. He was horrified to discover that his hand holding the knife had been involuntarily pulled outward by a clever force, leaving his hand wide open.

The tip of the Kunwu sword was already half an inch from his throat.

On the other side, Shi Gu, whose rhythm had been disrupted, had just regained his footing and was trying to make amends when he discovered that Shang Jiuya's left toe had somehow landed on his ribs. Although the force was not strong, it meant that if he dared to move rashly, he would suffer a thunderous blow in the next moment.

Li Yue and Shi Gu stood frozen in place, staring in disbelief at Shang Jiuya, who was breathing heavily.

She did it.

Under the combined full-force attack of the two, she not only perfectly resolved the deadly situation, but also countered in the blink of an eye, thus "subduing" both of them.

Although there were factors such as them not using their full strength and the limitations of training not being a life-or-death struggle, the result is beyond doubt.

Shang Jiuya slowly withdrew her Kunwu sword and foot, took a step back, and breathed heavily. Her forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat; the burst of power just now had almost drained all her strength. But her spine remained straight.

Li Yue and Shi Gu exchanged a glance, then simultaneously stopped their stance, took a step back, and knelt on one knee, clasping their hands in a gesture of respect.

"Your Excellency... your progress is astounding, I... am truly impressed!"

Shang Jiuya looked at them and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. "Get up. If it weren't for your two dedicated training sessions, I wouldn't be where I am today. I will need your continued support in the days to come."

She finally had the confidence to wield her sword and strike her enemy amidst the impending storm.