Tingfeng stood, breath ragged, his shoulders rising and falling with each inhale. A fine sheen of sweat clung to his forehead, trickling down the side of his face. He stepped forward, picked up his sword, and tightened his grip around the hilt as he stared at the shattered remains of the jade soldier.

For a moment, he stood still, watching in silence as the puppet’s lower half remained upright. Then, with a faint shimmer, it cracked, crumbled into translucent fragments, and dissolved into fine dust that scattered across the ground.

Only then did Tingfeng slide his sword into its sheath with a clean, deliberate motion and exhale.

I hadn’t been watching the fight the whole time, but for him to kill the jade soldier without my senses catching it? And how had he sliced through jade so cleanly with a mediocre metal sword?

Was it sword intent…?

If so, that was amazing.

Well, sword intent didn’t technically exist here as far as I knew, but there were things like it. He might’ve unconsciously channeled Qi to coat his sword. That would explain the exhaustion.

“You did well,” I said, clapping once. “But you could’ve done much better. Your lack of experience fighting skilled opponents shows. You’ve got no momentum. You just charge like a boar, relying on raw technique instead of dodging or flowing with your opponent.”

“I’d say your jade puppet was too skilled,” Jiang Yeming chimed in. “It didn’t fight like a human.”

“That’s just an excuse,” I said with a shrug. “Plenty of people fight weirder, and they’re stronger than that puppet.”

“I agree,” Tingfeng said. “Even if I destroyed it, that last strike he stopped could’ve killed me. So it’s my loss.”

I nodded, appreciating the honesty.

The jade soldier had drawn first blood, so by most standards, it had won. But I didn’t want to crush his spirit.

At least he wasn’t arrogant, and he could admit defeat. That trait was rarer among cultivators than you’d think.

“Well,” I said, “you’ll fix your momentum issues over time with enough practice against real opponents. We’ll spar again soon. When that gets too easy, I’ll throw in two or three jade soldiers.”

He nodded, still deep in thought about the fight.

“Your swordsmanship was good, but it lacked finishing moves. That’s expected, so I’ll help you with that. I’m no swordmaster, but I’ll see what I can do.”

Tingfeng nodded again, quietly agreeing with everything I said.

It was nice having students who actually listened.

But Jiang Yeming had other thoughts. She muttered under her breath, “If you can create jade soldiers with skills like that, you can’t be that bad.”

She probably knew I could hear her but didn’t seem to care.

“I just read some swordsmanship books and fed that knowledge into the jade soldier,” I shrugged. “Doesn’t mean I’m any good with a sword myself.”

Then I turned to Tingfeng. “Anyway, let’s get you a finishing move, the kind that’ll make enemies tremble.”

Despite my best efforts to hype him up over an Earth Grade Technique, he didn’t react at all. Just stood there, face blank.

Awkward.

I didn’t dwell on it. Instead, I considered what kind of technique would suit our little sword saint.

The Blazing Sun Sect wasn’t known for sword mastery, but it still had a decent collection of sword techniques. The problem? The ones I knew were either too basic or way too advanced. He needed something practical. Something usable now. More importantly, something I actually had experience with.

Out of the dozens of techniques that came to mind, only one stood out.

“I’ve got just the technique for you,” I said. “Well, a variation of it. Keep your eyes on me, and don’t blink. I will keep the Qi density high so even you can see it.”

I channeled Qi into my arm, compressing it until it felt like a solid blade of force. Then, I swung down in a sharp arc.

The ground split with a crisp hiss as if an invisible razor had carved through it with perfect fineness.

Falling Moon Claw.

The cut wasn’t deep, but it was clean, like the mountain had been politely asked to step aside. I’d held back, of course. Just a demonstration. The last thing I needed was to scar the terrain or cause a rockslide I’d have to clean up later.

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“This is called Falling Moon Claw, a technique I know a bit about,” I said. “So if you’ve got questions, don’t be afraid to ask.”

It had been a while since I’d used this technique, mainly because my arrays were way more lethal.

Earth Grade Techniques provided a solid foundation, but they became obsolete quickly once you advanced. Still, they had their place.

“However,” I added, “despite what you just saw, this isn’t the version I want you to use.”

With a thought, I conjured a translucent jade longsword in my hand, the kind of elegant weapon that looked like it belonged to a fairytale knight.

Usually, I would’ve utilized a dagger. That was what I had the most experience with. But if Tingfeng was going to learn this correctly, he needed to see it through the lens of his own weapon preference.

I poured Qi into the jade blade, far more than it was ever meant to handle, and channeled Falling Moon Claw through it. A longer weapon needed finer control, but nothing I couldn’t manage.

I used enough Qi that even a Body Tempering Cultivator could sense it. The air thickened around the blade, humming with tension like the calm before a storm.

Swish!

The sword became a blur, vanishing even to my eyes. The ground hissed as a deep gash tore through it, far deeper than intended. A shockwave roared outward, stripping the snow and baring raw earth beneath.

I turned to Tingfeng. His eyes locked first on the cut, then on the jade sword in my hand, sharp and focused, like a hawk about to dive.

Jiang Yeming’s reaction was even more telling. Her eyes widened.

“Imbuing a technique into a weapon?” she muttered.

Hm. Maybe my suspicion about her wasn’t so far-fetched after all.

I set that aside and turned back to Tingfeng.

“Did you get what you saw,” I asked, “or do you need another look?”

Tingfeng shook his head. “There is no need.”

He closed his eyes, sheathed his sword, and dropped into a sword-drawing stance.

Is he really about to try Falling Moon Claw on his first attempt? That’d be both cool and, honestly, pretty damn impressive.

Song Song always claimed I was specific and able to grasp techniques quickly. I never fully agreed. Once you know the basics, most techniques are variations on the same themes: wind blades, fireballs, translucent jade arcs. Qi control is the key. However, people spend more effort breaking through to the next realm than refining their control.

I was sure others out there shared my knack; they just kept the trick to themselves.

“Where did you learn to imbue your weapon with a technique like that?” Jiang Yeming asked.

“First winter outside the Sect,” I said. “Couldn’t block beast attacks with my squishy body, so I started using daggers. But that meant I couldn’t use hand-based techniques like Falling Moon Claw, so I channeled it through the blades instead.”

“Just like that?” she asked, looking baffled.

“What more would there need to be?” I asked with a grin.

“I’m starting to feel a little inadequate, being around people like you and Tingfeng,” she sighed.

“I know what that feels like,” I said, trying to reassure her.

Truthfully, I didn’t. Even sparring with Song Song, I never felt inadequate. There were always more books to read and more techniques to learn, with no time for envy or other distractions.

Just as we were talking, Tingfeng opened his eyes, unsheathed his sword, and swung it forward in one fluid motion.

I had somewhat hoped, and maybe even expected, that he’d manage to use the technique on his first try. Still, when the blade cut through the air and nothing happened, I let out a quiet sigh.

Then, a tingling sensation crawled up my spine. My lips developed into a face-splitting grin before I even realized why.

Behind him a whitish tiger emerged, ghostly and immaterial, as though forged from moonlight and condensed Qi. Its body shimmered with an otherworldly glow, half-transparent, its presence more felt than seen. It opened its maw in a silent roar, one that somehow echoed inside the gut rather than the ears.

Then, it raised a massive claw and swung it down.

A brilliant arc of pure white erupted outward, radiant like a sliver of moonlight slicing through the dark. The slash traveled with terrifying precision, tracing a clean line across the ground that split stone and soil like butter. For a moment, it lit the entire mountainside, as though night had been banished by a second moon.

He’d hit Trace on his very first attempt after seeing the technique only once.

This guy…

Since he was only at the Body Tempering stage, the slash lacked overwhelming power. It carved a shallow trench into the earth, sliced through a few rocks, and scattered some debris, but nothing earth-shaking. Still, for someone at his level, the precision and clarity of the technique were remarkable. The form was there. The intent was there. The control was leagues beyond what a Body Tempering cultivator should be capable of.

Normally, Body Tempering cultivators can’t even use Earth Grade Techniques. They usually require Qi.

Tingfeng breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling with each strained inhale. Beads of sweat clung to his forehead, trickling down his temples. His hands trembled slightly as he lowered his sword, and the brightness in his eyes dimmed for a moment like the technique had drained more than just his Qi.

Oh. Right. I really hoped Tingfeng hadn’t pulled from his lifespan to use this technique.

There was fatigue in his posture but also a quiet satisfaction, the kind that came from pushing past one’s limits and brushing against something just out of reach.

So, I decided not to mention the lifespan concern for now and instead focused on checking his condition.

With a smile, I approached Tingfeng. With a bit of concentration, I could assess his physical state without even touching him.

Thankfully, he hadn’t drawn on his lifespan. That was a relief.

Still, it looked like Tingfeng was now in the same situation I’d once been in. He could already sense Qi, even before his body was fully ready to break through into the Qi Gathering realm.

He had already reached the nine-star Body Tempering. Just a little more, and he’d make the leap.

From the sidelines, Jiang Yeming looked on, wide-eyed, and muttered under her breath.

“Monsters. Both of them.”