Since awakening to his past life's wisdom, Lu Chengfeng discovered this special talent of his, named the Widow's Gift.
As long as he married a widow, he could gain certain abilities and memory fragments of her late husband through some mysterious karmic force.
The main reason Lu Chengfeng married Luo Suyi was precisely this. With the power of his talent, he could acquire his master Zhao Changzhen's martial arts skills, thereby rapidly increasing his power.
Even if there were risks, this was an excellent opportunity for him.
Now finally getting what he wished for, Lu Chengfeng sat cross-legged on the mat, calming his mind, and connected with the golden light at his brow.
In a daze, Lu Chengfeng felt countless memories surging into his mind, his brow swelling and aching as if about to explode.
Most of the memories belonged to the Bixiao Sword Manual and the Blue Sea, Clear Sky Inner Cultivation Heart Method, both of which Zhao Changzhen had cultivated to the Twelfth Layer or above, intricate and profound, obscure and hard to understand.
Besides, the most important were two incredibly wicked cultivation techniques: one called the "Soul-Destroying Claw" Slaughter Technique, the other the "Six Yang Seizing Yin" Dual Cultivation Replenishment Skill.
Lu Chengfeng dared not examine them closely at this time, carefully guarding his mind, letting the countless memory fragments surge like waves, until after more than a two-hour period, they finally ceased.
When the golden light at his brow dimmed, transforming into a dark star suspended at the Spirit Platform at his brow, Lu Chengfeng slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's done!"
He suddenly opened his eyes, a suppressed joy showing on his face.
"This talent is indeed useful. In the future, I, Lu Chengfeng, will have a step to ascend to the heavens, allowing me to cultivate at a speed far surpassing others."
"Figures like Xue Dulong are no longer a threat."
Lu Chengfeng stood up, quickly walked to the wall, grabbed a sheathed long sword hanging there, and with a slight exertion, the sword blade sprang out a foot from the scabbard, its cold light flowing, sharp and revealing.
This was a blade he had kept with him since childhood, named Cold Cicada, forged from Cold Iron, extremely sharp, its blade tempered over a thousand times, vaguely forming patterns resembling cicada wings.
Buzz!
With the sound of the sword, Lu Chengfeng drew the sword from its sheath, performing the nineteen forms of the Bixiao Sword Manual he had previously comprehended one by one, sword light crisscrossing, filling the entire room as if cast by a myriad of stars.
Lu Chengfeng felt each move flowing smoothly, the subtle changes between sword moves once difficult to grasp were now executed almost effortlessly.
"The twentieth form, Sword Soars the Sky."
As the swordsmanship reached a state of perfection, a power grew within him, spreading over the sword blade, making the already sharp Treasure Sword even more chilling.
"Bixiao Sword Manual's twenty-first form, Sword Sweeps the Star River!"
The power slightly trembled, causing the long sword to scatter a piece of cold light in an instant, like a chilling Long River descending to earth.
"The Seventh Layer of the Bixiao Sword Manual is complete!"
Although he had anticipated it earlier, actually breaking through to the Seventh Layer of the Bixiao Sword Manual made him feel genuine inner joy.
In martial arts, there is a distinction between internal and external skills; internal skills increase Qi power, cultivate the spirit, prolong life, fortify and replenish.
External skills encompass slaughter techniques, fists, palms, fingers, claws, swords, and spears, including Horizontal Hard Training.
Whether practicing internal or external skills, to gauge the sophistication of a martial art is to see to what highest realm it can be cultivated. Only reaching the Tenth Layer Realm qualifies it as superior.
For the seventy-two forms of the Bixiao Sword Manual, mastering three sword moves increases Swordsmanship by one layer, with a maximum cultivation of the Twenty-Fourth Layer, making it a rare, top-notch martial art in the Martial World.
Lu Chengfeng had always been stuck at the Sixth Layer, having mastered only nineteen sword moves, still some distance from the Seventh Layer.
Having now received Zhao Changzhen's insights, he almost instantly comprehended the twentieth and twenty-first sword moves.
And this was not the limit...
Lu Chengfeng carefully felt the memories in his mind; the talent feedback seemed to offer not just Zhao Changzhen's cultivation memories but as if he himself had practiced this Sword Manual for decades, each move refined to the bone long ago.
The more he practiced, the more joyful he felt, a kind of joy from the bone. This visibly rapid progress, if known to outsiders, would be astonishingly maddening.
In the next room, Luo Suyi originally found it hard to sleep; so many things had happened recently, making her feel like a duckweed in the water, drifting with the current, unable to control her destiny.
Now married to Lu Chengfeng, besides the fear of the future, there was also perhaps a subtle fondness from years of acquaintance with this junior disciple, deep in her heart.
Though not love, this bit of fondness perhaps played a part in her choice to agree to marry Lu Chengfeng in this period of confusion.
Regarding tonight's wedding night, she was both anxious and held an indescribable anticipation, as if wanting to vent her inner fear and unease through this manner.
But who would have thought that man would actually leave her alone on their wedding night to run to the next room, and soon after came the sound of the sword.
"That guy is actually practicing Swordsmanship?" Luo Suyi found it both amusing and exasperating, even questioning her own allure for being left by such a man during a moment meant to be delightful.'
Listening to the sound of sword practice next door, after a moment, she actually felt an unusual peace of mind.
With days of changes exhausting her, she hadn't rested in a long time, now feeling a sleepy wave coming over her, she couldn't resist yawning slightly.
Luo Suyi stretched her arms, straightening her slim waist, letting her voluptuousness become more pronounced, muttering, "An ungrateful man."
Then, removing her outer robe, leaving only red satin middle wear, she slipped into the bed, prepared with bright red covers for the occasion.
Listening to the humming of the sword blade from the next room, she unknowingly drifted into a deep sleep.
Lu Chengfeng practiced Swordsmanship throughout the night without feeling any fatigue, with the Blue Sea, Clear Sky Heart Method harmonizing with the Bixiao Sword Manual inside him, the Inner Strength ebbing and flowing like tides, constantly improving.
At dawn, Lu Chengfeng felt a slight mental decline, his sword momentum naturally subsiding. He did not press on but effortlessly returned his sword to its sheath, the sword slipping precisely into the scabbard with a clang.
"The thirty-two forms of the Bixiao Sword Manual are fully mastered; I've practiced this Swordsmanship to the Tenth Layer, not far from the Eleventh Layer."
"To leap from the Sixth Layer to the Tenth Layer overnight is truly extraordinary."
"If I hadn't experienced it myself, who would imagine such a miraculous thing exists in the world?"
Lu Chengfeng himself felt a bit shocked, "To claim decades of others' achievements overnight and show no sign of instability, as if endured decades of hard practice."
"Such mystery I've never even heard of elsewhere.
"The Swordsmanship gifts I've received from Master haven't been fully absorbed yet; merely a few more days to digest and polish them, and I'll effortlessly break through to the Twelfth Layer, on par with Master's Swordsmanship."
"As for Inner Strength, it's tied to the harmonization of the body's Essence, Qi, and Spirit; overnight, it's but a breakthrough to the Seventh Layer, further enhancement requires more time."
"Yet it's sufficient enough, a completed Swordsmanship of the Tenth Layer qualifies one for the position of Elder within the sect, a foothold for me."
"The most urgent task now is to quickly apply for the Elder's assessment within the sect; otherwise, Xue Dulong arriving at Bixiao Peak as an Elder could inevitably cause trouble."
After thinking it through, Lu Chengfeng picked up his sword and headed to the room next door, where a beautiful lady awaited him.