"Innate Infant? Innate Sword Body?"
Zhang Tianyang looked utterly bewildered.
He understood each of those words individually.
So why, when they were combined, did they make no sense to him?
Mu Qingfeng looked at Zhang Tianyang, patting his shoulder.
"Tianyang, you've rendered a great service to the Sect. This infant's Inner Qi is naturally formed, and he even carries Sword Intent. His aptitude is unprecedented, a talent for the ages. In the future, he may even become a Martial Saint. The Sword Sect has a successor at last!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Tianyang was utterly shaken. He stammered in disbelief,
"S-Sect Leader, y-you're saying... this child... he's already reached the Innate Realm?!"
Mu Qingfeng nodded slightly.
"There's no mistake. Inner Qi has already formed in his Dantian. Though it's still quite weak, for an infant, it's simply unbelievable. In all my years of Cultivation, I have never seen anything like it."
Zhang Tianyang's mouth fell open. As if struck by lightning, he stood frozen to the spot, speechless.
A tidal wave of shock crashed through his mind.
It had taken him a full five years of Cultivation, starting from the age of ten, just to cross the threshold into the Postnatal Realm.
After that, it took another fifteen years to step into the Innate Realm!
And he was considered one of the more talented ones. For anyone else, it would have likely taken even longer.
However,
this child before him had completed a journey in an instant that had taken him twenty years!
'Is this how unfair the world can be?!'
'Comparisons will be the death of you.'
However,
Zhang Tianyang didn't feel the slightest bit of jealousy.
He knew what this meant!
An Innate Realm Martial Artist in infancy... his future achievements would be immeasurable.
It was highly likely that their Sword Sect would one day have a Martial Saint!
Mu Qingfeng said, "This matter concerns the very future of our Sword Sect. Not a single word of this can get out. Take the child back with you and care for him diligently. Remember, there can be no mistakes."
He had originally considered raising Wang Xiao by his side personally, but such a move would be too conspicuous and would attract unwanted attention.
It was better to let Wang Xiao stay with Zhang Tianyang for the time being.
After all,
Wang Xiao was the one Zhang Tianyang had brought back. This way, it wouldn't arouse any suspicion!
Zhang Tianyang said solemnly, "Sect Leader, rest assured. I will raise this child to adulthood, even if it costs me my life!"
"Your words put me at ease," Mu Qingfeng couldn't help but smile.
Wang Xiao listened to their conversation, his large eyes blinking rapidly.
'Looks like I'm being taken seriously.'
'I won't have to worry about my personal safety for a long time to come.'
However,
'this Analyze All Things Talent is really something else.'
'It let me skip the Postnatal Realm entirely and break right through to the Innate Realm!'
'With a Talent like this, I could probably become a Martial Saint in less than thirty years!'
…
Time flew by, spring turning to autumn.
In the blink of an eye, five years had passed.
「In a courtyard.」
"Master, take this!"
A boy who looked to be only five years old, with his hair in a Daoist topknot and dressed in a long robe, was as exquisitely handsome as if carved from jade. He wielded a longsword, and his body moved like a fleeting shadow, thrusting toward a gaunt-faced, middle-aged man nearby!
SHIING!
In the boy's hands, the sword seemed to have a life of its own, twisting and turning until it became a blur of Sword Shadows in midair.
"A fine strike!"
The middle-aged man's eyes narrowed as he watched the boy's attack. He raised his own sword and thrust in response.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
In an instant,
the sound of clashing steel rang throughout the courtyard.
Sword Shadows flickered, their movements impossibly graceful!
In just a few moments, the two had already exchanged three or four blows.
Though the boy looked young, his every move carried the air of a Grandmaster.
No matter how cunning or fierce the middle-aged man's attacks, the boy neutralized them with ease.
On their eighth exchange,
the boy's Sword Momentum suddenly shifted, filled with an indescribable dominance. His sword unleashed a heaven-shaking torrent of light!
SHIIING!
The sword shrieked like a dragon as it slashed toward the middle-aged man!
The middle-aged man's pupils constricted. His Inner Qi erupted as he hurriedly moved to block.
However,
the boy's Sword Momentum shifted again. The slash turned into an upward flick from an uncanny angle!
CLANG!
The next moment,
the sword was sent flying from the middle-aged man's hand. It embedded itself in a nearby pagoda tree, piercing straight through the trunk!
"Sigh. I lost."
The middle-aged man shook his head, his expression a mixture of melancholy and pride as he looked at the boy before him.
This middle-aged man was, of course, Zhang Tianyang.
And the boy was Wang Xiao, who had now lived in the Sword Sect for five years!
For the past five years, Wang Xiao had been studying nonstop.
Thanks to his extraordinary Talent and the special favor of the Sect Leader, he had been granted unrestricted access to the Sword Sect's Library Pavilion, allowing him to peruse all manner of Cultivation Technique Manuals.
The Sword Sect had been established for three hundred years, and its Library Pavilion housed a collection of texts as vast as a sea, with manuals piled high as mountains.
The variety was immense, not limited to Sword Dao Secret Scriptures but also encompassing Martial Arts such as Body Techniques, Fist Techniques, Palm Techniques, and Saber Techniques.
There were a full thirty-six disciplines of Upper-Grade Martial Arts alone!
In this world, Martial Arts were divided into Lower, Middle, and Upper Grades.
Mastering a single Upper-Grade Martial Art to the Transformation Realm was enough to produce a Grandmaster!
This was the very foundation of the Sword Sect's power!
Over the years, Wang Xiao had used his Analyze All Things Talent to thoroughly study all kinds of texts.
Furthermore, he had mastered and synthesized all thirty-six Upper-Grade Martial Arts, able to use them at will.
However,
the Analyze All Things Talent only allowed him to quickly grasp a martial art. To truly push a technique to the Transformation Realm required a great deal of practical combat experience.
Although Wang Xiao had not yet pushed any single martial art to the Transformation Realm and become a Grandmaster,
he had long since circulated his Inner Qi throughout his entire body, becoming a Martial Artist at the peak of Innate Perfection—what one might call a Half-Step Grandmaster.
Of course,
if he weren't so ambitious—wanting to bring all thirty-six Upper-Grade Martial Arts to the Transformation Realm to break through to the Grandmaster Realm in a single, decisive step—
he could have focused on just one and would have already become a Grandmaster by now!
Wang Xiao walked over to Zhang Tianyang's side and said comfortingly,
"Master, don't feel bad. I have been cultivating for five years, after all. My Inner Qi is perfectly refined, and I've practiced all sorts of Secret Scriptures. The fact that you could last eight moves against me is actually quite impressive. I doubt any other Innate Realm Martial Artist in the world could have done the same."
Zhang Tianyang's lip twitched, and he felt a dull ache in his chest.
"You little brat, is that your idea of comforting someone?"
He had been cultivating for forty years now, and he still couldn't beat a five-year-old child.
Compared to Wang Xiao, it felt like his own years of cultivation had been a complete waste.
Moreover,
he could tell that Wang Xiao had clearly held back just now. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have even lasted three exchanges.
He truly couldn't fathom how a five-year-old child could cultivate so quickly.
Such talent... it was simply unnatural!
"Haha! Tianyang, Xiao'Er is telling the truth. With his current strength, even an ordinary Grandmaster might not be his match."
A figure with an ethereal, otherworldly bearing strode gracefully into the courtyard.
His posture was ramrod straight, like a drawn sword. Despite his white hair, his face was unlined and youthful. It was the Sect Leader, Mu Qingfeng.
Five years had left few marks of their passage on him.
Even at the ripe age of seventy-five, he still moved with the swiftness of the wind.
As for "Xiao'Er," that was, of course, Wang Xiao.
As it happened, Wang Xiao was still named Wang Xiao in this world.
The Sect Leader himself had given him the name.
He said he hoped that in the future, Wang Xiao would become a king among swordsmen, soaring to the heavens!
"Greetings, Sect Leader."
Zhang Tianyang and Wang Xiao bowed in unison.
"No need for such formality."
Mu Qingfeng waved his hand, a warm smile on his face as he looked at Wang Xiao.
"Xiao'Er, I've observed that you have already mastered all thirty-six Upper-Grade Martial Arts. Why not focus on a single one, push it to the Transformation Realm, and become a Grandmaster?"
Wang Xiao answered truthfully, "Sect Leader, I want to bring all thirty-six Upper-Grade Martial Arts to the Transformation Realm simultaneously. I want to see if I can use that momentum to break through to the Grandmaster Realm in a single step!"
If anyone else had said such a thing, Mu Qingfeng would have thought they'd lost their mind.
After all, an ordinary person might not be able to bring a single Upper-Grade Martial Art to the Transformation Realm in their entire lifetime, let alone thirty-six of them.
However,
hearing these words from Wang Xiao's lips made Mu Qingfeng break into a delighted smile.
"Excellent! Excellent! Xiao'Er, to have such heavenly talent and still be so ambitious... I am deeply gratified. Come with me. I will take you to a place that should help you reach the next level!"