The excitement seemed to have died down.
But in the system, the stream of emotional value notifications continued for quite some time. Yun Jin could clearly sense that this time was different from before.
In the past, she had gained massive bursts of emotional value all at once, but they never lasted long. That was because those events hadn't affected many people directly. The bystanders might have been briefly stirred, but afterward, it was no more than gossip. It didn't trigger lasting emotional waves.
But this time...
What Yun Jin set out to do was closely tied to the entire Tianxing Sect. Even the ordinary disciples were invested, let alone the various peak lords who had started discussing the matter in private. That was why the emotional value kept flowing in. And this gave Yun Jin an important realization.
Beyond just broadening the ways she earned emotional value, if her actions had a far-reaching impact, the emotional feedback would last much longer.
For example, if she happened to accidentally save the world one day, the emotional value from that alone might sustain her for a lifetime.
In the Sect Master's Hall...
Zhao Wuji personally summoned Ma Hongyu and his chief disciple, Ye Cheng. He glanced at Ye Cheng. The boy seemed timid, his head kept low, too nervous to meet anyone's gaze.
He narrowed his eyes and spoke directly, "Hongyu, I'm sure you've heard what happened in the Disciplinary Hall. Yun Jin will be competing with Ye Cheng. Are you confident?"
Ma Hongyu smiled. "Sect Master, has Yun Jin even been in the sect for a full month yet?"
Zhao Wuji shook his head. "Not even half a month."
"She only just started learning planting techniques?"
"I checked the Scripture Pavilion myself. She exchanged for the manuals only yesterday."
"Then what exactly are you worried about, Sect Master?" Ma Hongyu's tone was calm. "I'm the sect's only Grade Five planting master. Ye Cheng is the most gifted disciple I've ever trained. He's been with me for ten years. At the very least, he's reached the level of a Grade Three planting master. And Yun Jin? She only started studying yesterday. Are we really supposed to believe that within one week, she'll catch up to a Grade Three?"
Zhao Wuji instinctively shook his head.
"Then there you have it. There's no need for concern. Ye Cheng won't lose," Ma Hongyu said with confidence.
Hearing that, Zhao Wuji finally felt somewhat at ease. He knew the odds of Yun Jin winning were close to zero. But she was simply too unpredictable, which made him uneasy.
Sensing the lingering worry on Zhao Wuji's face, Ma Hongyu added, "If I remember right, Yun Jin is a sword cultivator, and a talented one at that?"
Zhao Wuji didn't want to admit it, but he nodded. "You could say so."
"That explains it," Ma Hongyu said calmly. "The sword path is one of killing and aggression. Sword cultivators often carry a sharp, overbearing energy, which matches Yun Jin's personality. But planting arts require a calm and harmonious state of mind. The more peaceful the cultivator's heart, the better they can attune to the natural world, and the more effectively they can communicate with plants and channel the power of the earth."
He gestured toward Ye Cheng. "Like him. Quiet and reserved. His temperament is perfectly suited for this path. That's the kind of person who gains the trust of spirit herbs and grows rapidly. But someone like Yun Jin? She can't walk this road."
With that explanation, Zhao Wuji's concerns nearly vanished. He gave a rare smile. "Then I'll leave the coming duel in your hands."
Ma Hongyu and Ye Cheng both nodded.
After they left, Zhao Wuji narrowed his eyes.
So Yun Jin had deliberately thrown the match to spare Danxia?
Hmph, at least she had the sense to back down.
Over at Tianjian Peak...
Lin Ya and the others had already inspected the newly sprouted spiritual fields. They had also heard from Yue Zhao about Yun Jin's little innovation to the cultivation method. No one asked Yun Jin whether she had confidence. It was a pointless question.
Instead, they focused on setting up layers of formations, concealing the spiritual farmland beneath dense protective arrays. And for the next ten days, the entire Tianjian Peak closed its doors to outsiders.
Only Gu Jinghong, moving under Yun Jin's instructions, was allowed in and out. The rest followed her lead and entered seclusion.
Yun Jin was incredibly busy.
She had two main goals for the ten days: first, to raise her planting master rank; second, to fully learn the Azure Lotus Sword Art. On top of that, she still had pills to refine and her own strength to improve.
All of it had to move forward together. Nothing could fall behind.
Thankfully, she had Gu Jinghong. He continued training the other five with her sword techniques. Yun Jin also tossed them small incentives now and then to keep their motivation up.
Meanwhile, Gu Jinghong wandered openly through various spiritual fields, chatting casually with the spirit plants as if no one else existed. The cultivators from other peaks watched his behavior, hesitated for a moment, then pretended not to see anything. They just let him act as he pleased.
Ma Hongyu regarded him as nothing more than a fool. He simply ordered his men to keep watch and make sure Gu Jinghong didn't cause trouble. Beyond that, he didn't care. After all, just talking to spirit plants—did anyone really think that could teach you planting techniques?
Utter nonsense.
But with their motivation renewed, the five disciples trained even harder. On the fifth day, they managed to push Yun Jin's sword technique proficiency to the [Proficient] level.
Five sword intents poured into Yun Jin's mind like a tidal wave of knowledge. Adding that to the Void-Piercing Sword Intent and Lotus Bloom Sword Intent, she now had seven in total. In the past five days, Yun Jin had also personally trained in the three sword manuals she exchanged and brought them all to the [Proficient] level.
And so—
Ten sword intents, complete.
When Yun Jin grasped the tenth sword intent, the world tilted and swirled. She opened her eyes to find herself no longer in her little bamboo hut, but standing amid a boundless sea.
A white-robed swordsman practiced swordplay upon the waves. At first, his movements were crude and scattered. Gradually, they sharpened. With a single stroke of his sword, waves surged ten thousand feet high. The roaring sea and the blade-wielding figure etched themselves deep into Yun Jin's mind.
She could feel his every swing. She could sense the force driving him forward. She could even feel the sea spray brushing her skin. It was vast, overwhelming, and powerful.
So this is the Azure Lotus Sword Art?
It shared the lotus character with the Lotus Bloom Sword Art, but the resemblance ended there. The Lotus Bloom Sword Art was radiant and ornate, its brilliance hiding lethal strikes within, catching foes off guard.
But the Azure Lotus Sword Intent?
It was not dazzling. It had no elaborate killing techniques.
It was pure strength—direct and unstoppable.
"Onefold wave," the swordsman murmured, slicing out a single crest of water.
But he wasn't satisfied.
"Twofold wave."
Layer upon layer, the ocean roared louder with each repetition.
By the ninth wave, the sea itself resembled a natural disaster, raging like a tsunami.
Just when Yun Jin thought this was the limit of the Azure Lotus Sword Art...
The swordsman frowned. "No, something's still off... maybe I can—"
He didn't finish.
The image vanished without warning.
Yun Jin blinked, finding herself back in her familiar bamboo hut.
And in that moment—
She had comprehended her eleventh sword intent:
Wave Surge Sword Intent.
A supreme technique that stacked layers of force for an unstoppable frontal assault.
The Azure Lotus Sword Art was now officially mastered.
But the swordsman's unfinished thought lingered in Yun Jin's heart. She couldn't help but feel intrigued.
Still, she quickly remembered—
The Azure Lotus Sword Art was only the beginner-level form of the Azure Lotus Sword Codex, a secret Heaven-tier technique passed down within the Kunlun Sword Sect.
These ninefold waves were the end of the sword art, but not the limit of the sword codex.
To continue cultivating it...
She would have to go to the Kunlun Sword Sect someday.
Suppressing the exhilaration from witnessing the swordsman's display, Yun Jin steadied herself.
"No rush. The road ahead is long, and mountains still loom before me.
But as long as I keep moving forward…
One day, I'll stand where all peaks seem small."