Yu Fei was confident in himself.

This confidence came from the Fate-Defying Pearl. To this day, his view on martial arts cultivation hadn’t changed.

Talent and resources were both indispensable, but relatively speaking, talent was more important.

It determined the efficiency of resource utilization. Of course, for ordinary people, talent was unchangeable, while resources could be acquired one way or another.

As for the willpower that Yan Sea always emphasized, Yu Fei agreed it was crucial. Willpower was a Martial Artist’s driving force. Without immense willpower to focus the mind and eliminate distracting thoughts, even the best talent and resources were useless.

He truly wanted to establish the Tribulation Sword Dao Foundation. On one hand, it was a special Cultivation Technique from an eighth-realm Grandmaster and was bound to be incredibly powerful. On the other hand, Yan Sea had helped him a great deal, and he genuinely wanted to help in return. It was clear Yan Sea was deeply obsessed with this matter.

A Martial Artist’s physical constitution was far superior to that of an ordinary person, and the same was true for their hematopoietic function.

What’s more, with the Profound Yuan Blood Elixir provided by Yan Sea, Yu Fei didn’t feel drained at all. In fact, he felt overly nourished.

He had no choice but to increase the frequency of his Ox Subduing Pile Skill practice to suppress the restless energy in his body.

But Yu Fei was currently at the tendon-refining level, so it just meant more pain.

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed. Dr. Zou had finished processing the blood needed for the blood sacrifice to the Cyan Lotus Sword.

At the school hospital, Dr. Zou brought out a small glass tank. It contained a shallow layer of blue liquid, within which specks of blood-red light floated. A faint, sweet scent of blood wafted from it. This was the refined blood Dr. Zou had prepared.

Yu Fei had over three liters of blood drawn in total, but the final processed product was less than 500ml.

Yan Sea unstrapped the sword case and took out the razor-sharp Cyan Lotus Sword.

He then instructed Yu Fei to calm his mind, focus his spirit, and plunge the tip of the Cyan Lotus Sword into the refined blood.

Yu Fei held the sword with both hands, not expecting the hilt itself to radiate a sharp aura. It cut his palms, and in an instant, the blood was absorbed by the hilt.

"Don’t stop! Plunge the Cyan Lotus Sword in, quickly!"

Yan Sea’s instruction rang out.

Yu Fei hesitated no longer, plunging the sword into the glass tank with both hands.

The blue liquid was seen slowly climbing up the golden patterns on the Cyan Lotus Sword. At the same time, blood seeped rapidly from the cuts on his hands, also spreading down the golden patterns on the hilt.

At that moment, the Cyan Lotus Sword was like an insatiable juicer, drawing Yu Fei’s blood from both above and below.

Soon, the illuminated golden patterns from both ends met in the middle of the sword.

"VMMMMM~"

The ring of a sword echoed beside Yu Fei’s ear. It was as if a piercing ray of sword light had stabbed into his mind.

Yu Fei was stunned for a few seconds before he came to his senses.

Little did he know that when the sword rang, both Yan Sea and Zou Zhiming had worn grave and tense expressions.

Yan Sea’s fists were clenched, and he only relaxed when he saw Yu Fei recover his senses.

"Not bad!" A look of joy appeared on Yan Sea’s face.

"Attaboy, kid!"

Zou Zhiming said in a cheerful tone.

For some reason, Yu Fei felt Dr. Zou’s attitude toward him had completely changed. Before, there was a hint of disdain, but now there was only admiration.

Yu Fei didn’t know that for the Tribulation Sword lineage’s foundation method, every step after the Cyan Lotus Sword Seal was a new threshold.

The blood sacrifice to the Cyan Lotus Sword was the very first one.

The moment the sword sacrifice succeeded, the refiner would be hit by a spiritual attack from the Cyan Lotus Sword. This was the first screening criterion; only those with sufficient Spiritual Power could successfully resist it.

If one were to fall unconscious under this Sword Intent, they would be deemed unsuitable for the Green Lotus Sword Nurturing Skill. Forcing oneself to cultivate it would only be a waste of time and could even turn them into an imbecile.

Back when the Tribulation Sword lineage was at its peak, more than thirty percent of people failed at this stage.

First-realm Martial Artists were too fragile, and their spiritual talent had yet to manifest, making it impossible to ascertain the strength of their Spiritual Power. This stage was purely a matter of luck, and many a former prodigy had fallen here.

In fact, Yu Fei’s performance was outstanding. He had only been momentarily stunned before withstanding the Cyan Lotus Sword Intent’s attack.

In Yan Sea’s memory, no one had ever performed at Yu Fei’s level. Even his most talented junior brother back in the day had been lightly injured and needed three days to recuperate. The Nourishing Spirit Incense he had prepared was actually intended for this very purpose.

Thanks to his red-grade talent, [Spiritual Acuity], Yu Fei’s base Spiritual Power was already three times that of an ordinary person. Furthermore, his soul quality had been elevated by a full tier, granting him extremely high resistance to spiritual attacks.

"Yan Sea, you’ve got a good eye!"

Zou Zhiming looked at Yan Sea with excitement. His current admiration was as great as his previous disdain.

Hope was kindling in Yan Sea’s heart as well. ’Perhaps Yu Fei really can do it?’

Judging from the sword sacrifice alone, Yu Fei’s Spiritual Power was formidable, and his foundation was excellent.

’As for his comprehension... while the kid’s comprehension isn’t top-tier, it’s passable.’

’If... if he really succeeds in entering the threshold...’

Yan Sea took a long breath, suppressing the complex emotions in his heart. He said calmly to Zou Zhiming:

"He’s only succeeded in the sword sacrifice. It’s still too early. We’ll have to see what comes next."

Zou Zhiming’s lips twitched. "Oh-ho~ Look at you, old fox, trying to act all modest! Try wiping that smirk off your face first, then we’ll talk. Hmph!~"

Ever since that sword-ring, Yu Fei had a strange feeling. He seemed to have a faint, indistinct connection to the Cyan Lotus Sword in his hand.

The feeling was wondrous. If someone were to hide the Cyan Lotus Sword anywhere in the room without his knowledge, he felt he could find it instantly on intuition alone.

The Cyan Lotus Sword in Yu Fei’s hand gleamed with a cold light, but it now seemed to possess a trace of spirituality. This wasn’t something Yu Fei had bestowed upon it; rather, it was as if being nourished by his blood had given it life-like characteristics.

"Let’s go, Yu Fei. You’ll have plenty of time to study the Cyan Lotus Sword in your hand later. In fact, it’s going to be your nightmare for a long time to come.

There’s no time to lose. Let’s begin the next step!"

Yu Fei snapped back to reality. He placed the Cyan Lotus Sword into its case and handed it to Yan Sea, but he didn’t take it. Instead, he gestured for Yu Fei to strap the case to his own back.

"Right. From now on, until you’ve mastered the Sword Nurturing Skill, you are to carry the Cyan Lotus Sword with you at all times. Later, I’ll take you to the Martial Arts Administration Bureau to apply for a C-rank weapons permit."

"A weapons permit?"

"Yes. Traditionally, one isn’t taught to use weapons before reaching the second realm. After all, an armed Martial Artist and an unarmed one represent two completely different levels of destructive power.

Generally speaking, a second-realm or higher Martial Artist who has cultivated a Weapon Killing Skill to the minor-success stage can apply for a C-rank weapons permit, which allows them to carry a cold weapon. B-rank lets you carry a supernatural weapon. As for A-rank... that’s too far off, we’ll talk about it later."

Yu Fei was even more confused, so he asked:

"But Teacher, didn’t you say you can only learn a Weapon Killing Skill in the second realm? Doesn’t that mean you can only get a weapons permit in the second realm?"

Yan Sea stated calmly:

"Those who practice a special Cultivation Technique and have a sponsor with sufficient qualifications sign for them can apply for a C-rank weapons permit in advance, while still in the first realm."

"Qualifications? What kind of qualifications?"

"Heh~ Like me. Having an eighth-realm Grandmaster for a master gives you those qualifications."

"Hiss... Awesome!"