Since Yuelan was now out of commission, he decided to let her rest.

Therefore, he stepped out of the cave and approached the forest crossing before sitting down on one of the nearby rocks.

He felt exhausted, even if he hadn’t done anything. But even so, he went ahead and inspected the skills Yuelan had given him.

—

<Winged Steps - First Form>

<Rank: Earth>

<Mastery Level: 1 → 5>

<Description: Your movements become lighter, and your techniques flow more smoothly. (NEW) You are able to take 3 steps on air before falling. Passive effect. No activation required.>

—

<Intermediate Swordsmanship>

<Rank: Mortal>

<Mastery Level: 1>

<Description: Permanently enhances your accuracy and dexterity with the sword. Greatly increases sharpness. Hitting weakpoints deals significantly more damage. (NEW) +50% comprehension of any swordsmanship-related technique. No activation Required>

—

<Intermediate Sword Slash>

<Rank: Mortal>

<Mastery Level: 1>

<Description: Consumes 500,000,000 Qi → 1,000,000,000 Qi. Must wield sword to activate. Infuses your sword slash with Spiritual Qi.

—

I can triple jump now? Holy shit? Xuan’s eyes sparkled, then he glanced over the other skills.

Of course, he wasn’t someone who wielded a sword, but he still accepted Yuelan’s efforts.

And as for himself, he decided to quickly check the Elemental Qi skill. He activated it, and after that, he guided the Qi on his own, making sure to follow Yuelan’s advice.

With his current amount of Spiritual Qi, he could use a grand total of 720 Elemental Qi.

It really isn’t that much, but it’s fine. I can increase the limit by increasing the skill’s mastery and getting more Spiritual Qi.

Still, the amount of strength he could exude with just 720 Elemental Qi was immense.

So with that in mind, Xuan covered his fists in Elemental Qi and began practicing.

.

.

.

(1 week later, the forest)

Xuan threw a punch, and in an instant, an entire section of the forest was uplifted, leaving behind a straight line of destruction.

At the same time, Xuan made some considerable progress skill-wise.

—

<Basic Void Fist>

<Rank: Spirit>

<Mastery Level: 2 → 8>

<Description: Consumes 50,000 → 500,000,000 Void Qi. Must not have any weapons in hand to activate. Infuses your fists with Void Qi. A special technique that bypasses most defenses.>

—

His Basic Qi Fist technique had reached the same mastery level, and it also infused a maximum of 500,000,000 Spiritual Qi into his fists.

Therefore, he was now much more confident in fighting that old man.

Xuan chuckled. At least now, I’d be able to actually land a solid punch without breaking my fucking arm.

Sadly, his Elemental Qi skill’s mastery didn’t increase in the slightest, but he knew things like this took time.

So with everything done, and the forest fully leveled, he approached the cave where Yuelan had been resting.

And coincidentally, the moment he stepped inside, he saw Yuelan sitting idly and staring at her new sword.

"Hungry?" Xuan asked, crouching down beside her.

Yuelan snapped out of it and nodded. "Very. Give me everything you got... please?"

"At least you still have manners." Xuan chuckled. "However, I haven’t eaten anything in a week, so we’re in the same boat. Wanna go ransack the Azure Sky Sect again?"

"Seriously..." Yuelan sighed. "Why don’t we just hunt something? Actually... do you want to go inside a dungeon?"

"Eager to test out your sword? Is it that good?" Xuan asked, and a moment later, she handed the sword over to him, and he inspected it right away.

—

<Moonpiercing Sword>

<Soulbound: Xiao Yuelan>

<Grade: Heaven>

<Physical Strength Required: 0>

<Mental Strength Required: 0>

<Sharpness: 50,000>

<Description: Sharpness x5 when using any swordsmanship or infusing the blade with Spiritual Qi. The effect doubles when in direct moonlight.>

—

"..."

"50,000 sharpness? Didn’t your old one have only 2,000?"

"Yup," Yuelan replied with a hum and took her sword back. "I had a dream that I was fighting someone on the moon, and when I defeated that certain someone, I got the sword as a gift."

Fighting someone on the moon? Sure... Xuan nodded. "So what kind of Sword Intent did you choose?"

Yuelan smiled. "That’s a secret."

With that, she stood up and walked out of the cave. She turned around briefly and nodded at him, almost like she wanted Xuan to follow.

Of course, while he was at it, he decided to tap the star beside her name and give her the upgraded Void Fist.

<You have shared your skills!>

<Xiao Yuelan has received: Basic Void Fist (Upgrade)>

"Next time do it with a pat," Yuelan said with a pout and suddenly dashed away.

Xuan rolled his eyes and Void Stepped after her, catching up pretty easily as she navigated the fallen forest.

They ran for nearly 10 minutes until eventually, they found a section of the forest Xuan hadn’t destroyed, and coincidentally, there was a single frozen spire that seemed to not fit the surroundings in the slightest. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Around it, the land was slightly frozen, with snowflakes falling peacefully.

But when Xuan and Yuelan approached, the snowflakes scattered, paving a direct path toward the thin frozen spire.

"Is this a dungeon?" Xuan mused.

"Hehehe..." Yuelan drooled. "It’s a dungeon, and an ice dungeon at that. If I get anything related to ice, then I can absorb it and increase my strength."

She gulped down her saliva, and without even giving it a second thought, she Swift Stepped over to the frozen spire.

Immediately, a massive blue portal appeared, and Yuelan stepped through it.

"..."

<Xiao Xuan: Are you still alive?>

A few seconds passed, and no reply came, so Xuan ran through the blue portal after her.

His vision darkened, and it felt like his body was being forcefully pulled elsewhere, but soon, that feeling faded away and what replaced it was a chilly atmosphere as he suddenly found himself in an ice cave.

Around him were a dozen monster corpses, ranging from white wolves to even yetis.

More importantly, all of these monsters died in the same way, with their heads being cut off perfectly.

And before he could inspect them further, a few pop-ups appeared in front of him.

[Ding!]

[You have entered a Frost Demon Dimensional Gate]

[Difficulty: First Level Spirit Master]