The ten-day deadline passed in the blink of an eye.
And during those ten days, Yun Jin's progress had each of her teachers grinning from ear to ear.
In terms of swordsmanship, Yun Jin had already grasped the basics of all four sword techniques personally developed by Ji Wusi. In fact, she had even begun to comprehend the sword intent within the first two—Earth Lotus and Flame Lotus. The remaining two were only a matter of time.
Now, counting the Azure Lotus Sword Art, Yun Jin had already mastered five Earth-grade sword techniques, each aligned with one of the five elements.
As for sword intent, she had unlocked ten minor intents and four intermediate ones.
These included the previously acquired Tide and Spiral Intents, as well as two newly grasped elemental intents: the solid, grounded Earth Fusion Intent and the explosive Flame-burst Intent.
With offensive, burst-type, defensive, and versatile sword intents under her belt, Yun Jin was only two short of covering all angles. Once she understood the final two, her sword path would be without flaws.
At this rate, Ji Wusi saw no way he could possibly lose.
But what occupied his thoughts more than anything was Yun Jin's Heavenly Dao oath. She had been forced into it by Lin Xiao—an oath to never join any of the four current Holy Lands. That said, none of the three elders seemed particularly concerned.
When Yun Jin reached a higher level of cultivation, all they had to do was change the name of the Kunlun Sword Sect.
How about renaming it to Qinglian Sword Sect?
Problem solved.
Though Ji Wusi couldn't bring her back to the Kunlun Sword Sect just yet, perhaps it was for the best. As long as she remained in the Tianxing Sect, she would attract less attention from demon race and evil paths. He could quietly leave some protective measures behind, keeping her safe.
Besides, Yun Jin was basically self-taught. There was little she needed from him now. Ji Wusi had so much time on his hands, he had already begun planning her next few hundred years of cultivation.
On Qing Yun's end, Yun Jin had advanced to the second level of the Thousand Veil Perception Technique. She had reached a bottleneck due to current limits in her cultivation and skill proficiency.
But it had only been ten days!
With more time, she would surely master it completely.
Of course, Yun Jin could not yet formally join the Xuandan Gate either.
Qing Yun, however, was in no rush.
Unlike the sword path, alchemy often relied on experience passed down through word of mouth. Sect-exclusive techniques might be off-limits, but his own insights? He could teach her those freely.
Once she was stronger, her oath could be dealt with in other ways.
As for Liu Li, Yun Jin's progress in her path was just as smooth. The Soul Control Art had already reached the second level. Like the Thousand Veil Perception Technique, the third level was a Heaven-grade secret art that Yun Jin was not yet ready to learn.
When the ten-day trial ended, Ji Wusi and the others invited representatives from Tianjian Peak as witnesses and brought Yun Jin forward to demonstrate her progress.
Ji Wusi smiled broadly and spoke first. "Xiao Jin, come. Show them what you've got."
This time, he didn't bother hiding his joy. The smile on his face was brilliant.
Qing Yun and Liu Li exchanged uneasy glances.
What was going on?
Had Ji Wusi been hiding something?
Impossible.
When had a sword cultivator ever outsmarted anyone?
Yun Jin responded with a quiet nod, then began demonstrating the sword techniques. Ten days. Four Earth-grade sword arts, all learned. And two sword intents already awakened. Even Cang Li, who had considered himself a sword prodigy, was visibly moved. Compared to her, even his own younger self fell far short. The Yun Clan had truly produced a peerless genius.
When Yun Jin finished her demonstration, Ji Wusi chuckled and looked smugly at the others. "I know you two didn't make much progress. Sorry, but things went very smoothly on my end. Yun Jin was born for the sword path. You two should give up while you can."
Qing Yun and Liu Li's expressions darkened.
They hadn't expected Ji Wusi to pull such a stunt.
But had they really lost?
Qing Yun raised a brow. "Who said I didn't make progress? Xiao Jin, go on. Show them."
He pulled out a few ornate boxes and casually placed them on the table. Each one was protected by formations that blocked standard sensing techniques. Yun Jin stepped forward and activated the Thousand Veil Perception Technique. Moments later, she accurately identified the contents of each box by sensing their unique qi signatures.
Qing Yun smirked. "She has already reached the second level of my technique. With a gift like that, how could swordsmanship even compare? With this ability, Yun Jin is destined to become a grandmaster of alchemy!"
Ji Wusi, who knew firsthand how powerful that secret art was, froze. His expression twisted slightly. "Qing Yun, you shameless bastard."
The man had kept this progress hidden, and yet spent the past few days pretending everything was going poorly.
Qing Yun scoffed. "Speak for yourself."
The two turned in unison to look at Liu Li.
Beastmasters were always the craftiest. Surely she hadn't fallen behind either?
Liu Li sighed. "Xiao Jin, demonstrate."
"Yes." Yun Jin nodded and focused her gaze on a small ant on the ground.
She activated the Soul Control Art.
The ant froze in place, then, under her command, began performing various movements.
The first level of the technique could only disrupt a target for one second.
At the second level, it allowed simple commands, with a three-second duration. If the opponent's soul power was significantly weaker, the effect could last even longer.
This ant had no real soul resistance. Yun Jin controlled it effortlessly. She even manipulated hundreds of ants into forming shapes and patterns.
Lin Ya could not help but stare in awe.
This level of control was unheard of.
And that was only one technique. The others—Qing Yun's sensing art, Ji Wusi's sword path—were just as terrifying.
Any one of them could spark chaos if leaked into the outside world.
And now, Yun Jin had learned all of them.
Which meant, according to their original agreement...
Ji Wusi, Qing Yun, and Liu Li all looked a bit uncomfortable.
Damn it.
They had each assumed victory, only to realize—
They had all cheated in their own way.
Each of them had been putting on an act, pretending their training wasn't going well, while secretly achieving outstanding results.
Yun Jin blinked innocently and said, "It seems I've grasped the basics of all three seniors' secret arts."
The three exchanged awkward glances.
They had tried to convince her to pick a single path, citing a lack of time.
But now?
In just ten days, Yun Jin had pulled off what should have been impossible.
She had proven she could walk all three paths at once.
Was such talent even possible?
Even seasoned veterans like Ji Wusi and the others found themselves momentarily speechless.
None of them had ever shared a disciple before.
They had only agreed because they believed Yun Jin couldn't pull it off.
And yet, here she was.
She had done it.