Chapter 52: Great Completion
Li Yao charged toward Xiang Yu, her perfect-level movement technique propelling her with breathtaking speed. Her sword arced downward in a gleaming silver blur, sunlight dancing along its edge. To her surprise, Xiang Yu blocked the strike with remarkable ease, his knife intercepting her blade with precision timing.
In the same fluid motion, he countered, his other fist shooting toward her lower abdomen—not with the hesitation that once characterized his movements, but with deadly intent. Li Yao’s eyes widened as she instinctively leaped backward. Though his fist hadn’t connected, she felt the rush of displaced air against her robes, the power behind the strike sending tremors up her sword arm through their connected blades.
"He’s broken through again," she realized, her mind quickly processing this development. The realization crystallized—if she continued holding back to her current level, she might actually find herself at a disadvantage against her formerly timid senior brother.
Within a heartbeat, Li Yao made her decision. Power surged through her meridians as she released another portion of her cultivation, activating Body Refining eighth layer. The change was immediate and dramatic. Her movements accelerated, her techniques executed with greater force and precision.
The overwhelming battle intent emanating from Xiang Yu diminished considerably against her elevated power, though she could still detect its presence faintly. Their weapons clashed with renewed vigor, each exchange creating shockwaves that rustled nearby leaves. Steel sang against steel as they pushed each other to new limits, neither yielding ground despite the escalating intensity.
Only when the sun reached its zenith did they finally pause, acknowledging it was time for their midday meal. Together they walked toward the kitchen, their breathing controlled despite the hours of exertion. Xiang Yu prepared lunch with practiced efficiency, his movements in the kitchen as precise as his bladework on the training ground. The spirit-infused meal rejuvenated them both, qi flowing through their meridians, repairing subtle fatigue and restoring depleted energy.
After eating, they returned to the training ground without delay, resuming their relentless practice. The afternoon sun traced its arc across the azure sky as they continued their dance of blades, each exchange building upon lessons from the previous. Only when dusk painted the horizon in hues of amber and gold did they pause for their evening meal.
With energies refreshed from another spirit-infused dinner, Xiang Yu exchanged his knife for his sword. The weapon gleamed in the moonlight as he settled into a different stance, his muscles adjusting to the altered balance and reach. Li Yao nodded in approval, immediately adapting her own approach to challenge this variation in his technique.
Beneath the vast canopy of stars, they continued their rigorous training, their silhouettes casting long shadows across the moonlit ground. Each strike, each parry, each footstep served to refine their skills until midnight finally signaled the end of their session. With respectful nods, they parted ways toward their separate quarters.
Alone in his simple room, Xiang Yu reclined on his bed, summoning his status interface with practiced mental focus. The familiar blue glow illuminated his features as he examined the day’s progress:
[Enlightenment: Low (216/1000) (+2/1000)]
[Battle Instinct: (96/100,000) (+4/100,000)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 7th Grade (22/30,000) (+2/30,000)]
[Mountain Heart Sutra: Level 1 (30/1000) (+6/1000)]
[Mountain Heart Scripture: 5th Layer (30/500) (+30/500)]
[Mid-grade Phantom Footwork: Beginner (20/100) (+10/100)]
[Low-grade Iron Body Technique: Major Success (200/400) (+100/400)] [Basic Knife Technique: Great Completion (50/1000) (+50/1000)]
[Basic Sword Technique: Completion (300/500) (+100/500)]
[Cook: 8th Grade (26/200) (+4/200)]
[Experience Points Doubled]
[Cook: 8th Grade (26/200) → 8th Grade (52/200)]
[Basic Sword Technique: Completion (300/500) → Great Completion (0/1000)]
[Basic Knife Technique: Great Completion (50/1000) → Great Completion (100/1000)]
[Low-grade Iron Body Technique: Major Success (200/400) → Completion (0/500)]
[Mid-grade Phantom Footwork: Beginner (20/100) → Beginner (40/100)]
[Mountain Heart Scripture: 5th Layer (30/500) → 5th Layer (60/500)]
[Mountain Heart Sutra: Level 1 (30/1000) → Level 1 (60/1000)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 7th Grade (22/30,000) → 7th Grade (44/30,000)]
[Battle Instinct: (96/100,000) → (192/100,000)]
[Enlightenment: Low (216/1000) → Low (432/1000)]
...
The wave of enlightenment crashed over Xiang Yu with unprecedented intensity, like a great dam shattering under immense pressure. Unlike previous doublings, this one unleashed a torrent of insights that threatened to drown his consciousness entirely. Thousands of revelations about his techniques materialized simultaneously in his mind, each one blindingly clear yet overwhelming in their collective brilliance.
The mental deluge persisted longer than ever before, washing through every corner of his awareness. Xiang Yu clutched his head, not from pain but from the sheer magnitude of understanding flooding his mind. Just as he feared being swept away by this current of revelations, a sudden clarity spread throughout his consciousness—the Mountain Heart Sutra asserting its stabilizing influence. The chaotic rush of insights began organizing themselves, each finding its proper place in the architecture of his understanding.
He exhaled deeply, his breath shaky from the intensity of the experience. "Four hundred and thirty-two points," he whispered to himself, genuine concern creeping into his thoughts. If this doubling had been this overwhelming, how would he possibly handle the next one when it exceeded eight hundred points? He could only hope that the Mountain Heart Sutra would be able to handle it.
Before he could dwell further on this concern, a second wave of understanding washed over him as his sword technique reached Great Completion. The insights arrived with precision rather than chaos, each building upon the last to form a coherent whole. Unlike his knife technique which had reached this stage earlier, the sword revelations carried different nuances—the blade’s greater reach, its weight distribution, the arc of its swing, all requiring distinct approaches from knife combat. Patterns emerged in his mind about how to transition seamlessly between the two weapons, exploiting the unique advantages of each.
These reflections were interrupted by his cooking skill doubling. Unlike previous culinary advancements which merely refined existing techniques, this brought entirely new dimensions to his understanding. Methods for manipulating qi and spirit flames during food preparation materialized in his mind. He suddenly comprehended dozens of specialized spirit food recipes, each designed for specific purposes: gathering qi, accelerating healing, replenishing stamina, enhancing strength, sharpening mental clarity, and many more. His newfound flame control techniques would allow him to create dishes tailored to cultivators at different realms, maximizing their benefit from his creations.
When his battle intent doubling registered, a fierce pride swelled within him. The attribute had leaped from respectable to formidable in a single bound, now standing at an impressive one hundred and ninety-two points. He remembered that he seemed to have surpassed Li Yao’s battle intent. Now that it had doubled once again, he wondered just how huge the difference would be?
From what he had seen, the attribute seemed more useful than he’d initially thought. Despite Li Yao overwhelming him in raw power, cultivation level, and literal perfection, his battle awareness had allowed him to anticipate her movements and respond effectively. If he could maximize this stat—pushing it to its full potential—he would definitely be invincible in the same realm. Who knows, he might even be able to challenge higher realms like the so-called geniuses.
His spirit flame had doubled to forty-four points, though the practical benefits remained subtle for now. More immediately tangible was his iron body technique reaching Completion stage. He ran a hand along his forearm, marveling at the transformation. His skin had hardened significantly, now genuinely comparable to iron in its durability. Common weapons would struggle to penetrate this natural armor, providing crucial protection in future conflicts.
The phantom footwork improvement manifested as enhanced control rather than new insights. Though still at the Beginner stage, he could feel his mastery deepening with each practice. The technique responded more readily to his intentions, requiring less conscious effort to activate. He anticipated a significant speed increase once it reached Minor Success, further enhancing his survivability.
After methodically analyzing each advancement, Xiang Yu called forth his complete status display...