Chu Li mentioned, "The more people I battle with, the quicker my Great Heaven-deriving Sword will improve."

"... Alright, I'll try," Lu Zhengjun replied.

He was rather hesitant but Lu Zhengjun decided to give it a shot when he saw Chu Li's determination. If those disciples were to leave disappointed after exchanging blows with Chu Li, Chu Li could only blame himself for being incompetent.

Chu Li gave Lu Zhengjun a fist salute before continuing with his cultivation. He cultivated the Fillip Swift Thunder from the first to the sixth level, then rinsed and repeated until he could do it in one shot.

Normally, one could only advance a level at a time as the route for one level itself was quite complex. The mental strength needed to cultivate six levels in one shot was beyond one's imagination.

Although Chu Li could not use the Omniscient Mirror and was forced to trap his own spiritual force in his body, he was still strong enough to complete all six levels for multiple times.

Chu Li realized that this method was way more effective than cultivating the levels one by one and this also resulted in faster improvement in the level of attainment. Consequently, his inner energy became purer, and he advanced much faster in Fillip Swift Thunder.

In his opinion, Fillip Swift Thunder must be cultivated in a short time. However, those with abundant spiritual force could accomplish it at one go, whereas those with insufficient spiritual force would be tortured with extremely slow cultivation speed.

While Chu Li cultivated the finger technique, he mult.i.tasked by thinking about Great Heaven-deriving Sword.

The Great Heaven-deriving Sword could be used together with Nature Restoration Manifestation as it was more effective.

The Omniscient Mirror could not be used since it was a divine technique, but this was not the case for Nature Restoration Manifestation as that was an unusual heart technique. It only functioned inside Chu Li's body, hence it could be used as he wished.

The next evening, two young men arrived to battle with Chu Li.

Their sword techniques were remarkable.

Chu Li attempted to combine Nature Restoration Manifestation and Great Heaven-deriving Sword which resulted in a significant increase in power. Ten hits later, the two young men were defeated one after another. So, Chu Li asked that they join hands against him, but they were still defeated.

After putting their swords back, the two men looked at Chu Li in shock as they were surprised by the profoundness of his Great Heaven-deriving Sword.

Great Heaven-deriving Sword was too complicated and tough to be cultivated, but the hardest part was to perform it. Since it involved a thousand techniques, normal people could not decide in time a suitable technique to counter an attack during crucial moments. Therefore, it became a burden and it was deemed not on par with basic sword techniques.

This was why talent played an important role in cultivating Great Heaven-deriving Sword; only those with outstanding intelligence could cultivate and perform it. It would be a waste of time if one cultivated it forcefully. That being said, while all Green Deer Disciples were extremely smart, Chu Li was the first in a hundred years who had cultivated the Great Heaven-deriving Sword.

Chu Li dared not talk too much in case he made a mistake. So, he gave them a fist salute and returned to his house.

From the next morning onward, many inner cliff disciples began looking for Chu Li to practice their sword techniques. Chu Li was undefeated due to the combination of Nature Restoration Manifestation and Great Heaven-deriving Sword that made him formidable.

He Shu and the two other outer cliff disciples were thrilled. In time, Chu Li could become an inner cliff disciple after defeating everyone.

However, Chu Li knew that the young disciples were not top-notch masters as some of them were newly recruited disciples who were there for fun. Zhao Tianxing was the real challenge.

It would still be hard for him to defeat Zhao Tianxing with his Great Heaven-deriving Sword.

Chu Li placed his hope on the Fillip Swift Thunder, hoping that he could master it as soon as possible.

…

In the evening ten days later, the setting sun painted the sky in a beautiful afterglow.

Chu Li and Zhao Tianxing faced each other in the martial arts field again.

Zhao Tianxing wore a green robe that fluttered in the wind. He smiled at Chu Li. "Junior Brother Lu, have you achieved perfect mastery for Fillip Swift Thunder?"

"Yes," Chu Li answered.

"Looks like you're confident about winning me this time?" Zhao Tianxing asked.

Chu Li responded, "I'll have to try!"

"Alright!" Zhao Tianxing chuckled. "Let's not compete with our sword techniques then. I'll use my fist technique, you'll use your finger technique. Let's see what you can do."

Chu Li shook his head. "Let's just use our swords."

"Looks like you're very confident about your sword technique," Zhao Tianxing commented.

Chu Li nodded slowly. "I've improved."

"Alright, let's begin!" Zhao Tianxing wielded his fists, with no intention to use his sword.

Chu Li was unbothered. So, he pulled his sword out of the scabbard before he began his attack.

Zhao Tianxing used the Dancing Crane Technique where he fluttered backward and maintained a constant distance with the tip of Chu Li's sword. It was as if Chu Li's sword technique was pus.h.i.+ng him back.

Before coming into the battle, Chu Li had figured out the wonder of the Dancing Crane Technique.

Zhao Tianxing's body was as light as a feather, and his body contained only air. Without any inner energy inside his body, he relied only on air movement to move around as if his body was pulled by a string.

This was the wonder of Dancing Cranes at Ninth Heaven. Without Spirit Crane Technique and Dancing Cranes at Ninth Heaven, one's body could not be filled with air. Instead, the impure condition would hinder one from mastering Dancing Crane Technique, thus it was useless to those who had never cultivated the two techniques before.

The change in air movement was not detected from Chu Li's sword, but his body. Through Dancing Crane Technique, Zhao Tianxing could also sense his thoughts, which was a sharper version of a Grandmaster's intuition. It was similar to Chu Li's Eye of Insight but it was clearer even though it covered a narrower range. Chu Li could sense the change in another's mood and thoughts through Eye of Insight, whereas Zhao Tianxing could sense the change in a body's air movement through the Dancing Crane Technique.

Once Chu Li had figured the theory behind this, he knew how to counter it.

In terms of body control, Chu Li had a.s.sistance from the Omniscient Mirror. Although he was being suppressed by Green Deer Cliff's Heaven and G.o.d Pill so he could not use the Omniscient Mirror outside of his body, it could be used within his body.

While Chu Li seemed normal, he suppressed Zhao Tianxing sword after sword, forcing him to only move backward without being able to counterattack.

All of a sudden, Chu Li took a step forward. While he did that, he cast his inner energy away, using only his body to drive his sword forward.

Since Chu Li had consumed Giant Spirit Pill and Wind Speed Pill, he had endless energy and he was extremely fast. Though the speed of his sword was not as fast as when he drove it with his inner energy, it was faster than ordinary Grandmasters. Besides, owing to the precise position of Chu Li's sword, and that Zhao Tianxing relied too much on his Dancing Crane Technique, Zhao Tianxing lost his sensing ability for a moment, failing to react in time.

Hence, Chu Li's sword hit his shoulder.

"Bam!" Zhao Tianxing immediately hit the sword with his palm before he fluttered away. After that, his face darkened.

Chu Li returned his sword back into the scabbard, then gave him a fist salute. "Thanks for letting me win, Senior Brother Zhao!"

Zhao Tianxing glared at him.

Chu Li stared back at him too.

He Shu and the other two outer cliff disciples were dumbfounded.

A brief moment later, Chu Li asked, "Senior Brother Zhao, do you want another match?"

"... No!" Zhao Tianxing said, "You won. From tomorrow onwards, you can go onto the Challenge Stage!"

"Challenge Stage?" He Shu quickly asked, "Senior Brother Zhao, what's Challenge Stage?"

"Did you think that you can enter the inner cliff after defeating me?" Zhao Tianxing scoffed.

"Senior Brother Zhao, aren't you a youth champion?" He Shu asked.

Zhao Tianxing shook his head. "Statements don't mean nothing, you need to prove yourself through challenges. You'll have to go on the stage for three days where you'll be challenged by others. If you can defeat everyone, you can enter the inner cliff!"

"Very well!" Chu Li responded.