Naked Sword Art

[ Li Lian's House ]

When Xiao Fang returned, he went straight out to the backyard to watch Xun Wei train, but the moment he got there Xiao Hei saw him then jumped into his arms.

"Daddy~" she said as she hugged him.

She was still only between 4 to 5 feet tall so he carried her as if she was still a little girl.

Seeing Xiao Fang return, Xun Wei also stopped what she was doing to greet Xiao Fang.

"Xiao Fang, you're back early today."

"Mn, something came up, but at least now I have time to help you train."

Seeing that they were preparing to spar, Xiao Hei climbed down his body then found a nice spot on the grass to sit and watch from.

Xun Wei jumped back to make some space between them. She made a swordsman's stance which meant she was ready, but Xiao Fang raised a hand up.

"No swords style," he said.

"But..."

"It's best that we stick to our hands and feet while we are in this sect. It would be best if we don't give away the fact that we both practice the Divine Sword method."

After a moment of reluctance, she eventually put her sword away.

...

Even though it was best that they concealed the fact that they practice the Divine Sword method, the real reason he was teaching her the 'No Sword Style' was because the requirement to jump from the 9th stage of the [ Divine Sword ] Body Refinement realm to the 1st stage of the [ Divine Sword ] Solid Body realm was to be proficient in wielding sword qi as an extension of the body. The best way to do that was to stop relying on the sword which acts more like training wheels for novice swordsmen and to start practicing without the help of the sword.

Although there were still powerful swords like the one wielded by the Patriarch of the Divine Sword sect which is formally known as the 'Tyrannical Demon Edge', swords like that were incredibly rare and have been passed down from patriarch to patriarch since ancient times.

...

When Xiao Fang first taught Xun Wei the 'No Sword Style', she did her best to control her sword qi, but it was too erratic. Just making it stay on her hands seemed like an impossible task, but she's been making huge improvements since then.

After a few attempts, she was able to completely coat her hands in sword qi, but it was still extremely weak. Her eyes lit up, and she felt a sense of accomplishment because it would usually take her much longer to do it.

Once she was ready, they started their training session.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, Li Lian was still in closed door training, but a transformational change was happening in her dantian. The flame within her was going rampant and was slowly taking shape.

Ever since that day they returned from the Divine Sword sect, she had been feeling a divine but dormant presence hiding deep within her, only now was it finally taking form.

'What the hell is that!' she thought in horror.

The flame grew larger and larger, it was raging even more fiercely, but her attempts to control it were futile. It was almost as if it was taking on a life of its own.

'Ah! It burns,' she gritted her teeth in pain, but she didn't stop trying to suppress it.

Her eyes were shut tightly, her fists clenched, and her body was burning up.

Suddenly, two balls of condensed flames were forming within that inferno abyss.

'Are those... eyes?'

Suddenly as if to confirm her suspicion, the Heavenly Fire took the form of a large magnificent dragon then roared a deafening sound that shook her soul.

She was terrified, terrified more than she's ever been, but this power was hers and she could feel it coursing through her veins.

'1st stage of the [ Heavenly Fire ] Dragon Perception,' she thought, but this thought was not her own.

Whatever this was, she felt as though she had broken through to the next level of some kind of evolution. The power she felt inside of her was several times stronger than before.

Li Lian got up feeling completely different. She no longer felt bound to this mortal world, almost as if her body could soar through the skies unhindered.

Her hair, eye, and hands glowed a bright fiery red, her body felt as light as a feather, and all of her sweat started to evaporate into steam.

She was convinced that if she jumped into a pit of flames she'd come out of it unharmed. Whether something was too hot or not was something she no longer worried about. She felt one with fire.

When her hair and hands stopped glowing, Li Lian finally walked out of her room then went down stairs. When she saw Xun Wei sparring against Xiao Fang she became confused.

'Xun Wei's movements... they're too slow,' she thought.

She couldn't guess how fast Xiao Fang was because he hardly moved from where he stood, it was clear that he was just using a fraction of his strength to challenge her.

When Li Lian finally walked outside, Xun Wei stopped then looked at her. The first thing she noticed were Li Lian's eyes, they were no longer emerald green, they were a scarlet red.

Xun Wei knew there was something else different about Li Lian, but it took her a few moments to figure it out.

"Could it be that you've grasped Dragon Perception?" Xun Wei asked.

Hearing those words from Xun Wei's mouth, Xiao Fang was shocked.

When Xiao Fang was little he witnessed his father, Xiao Jianhong, make a breakthrough into what he referred to as his Dragon's Perception. He made Xiao Fang swear never to tell anyone about it, not even Xiao Kong or Wu Yue.

"Xun Wei, what do you know about Dragon's Perception?" Xiao Fang asked.

...

Dragon's Perception:

Spirit attributes - grants cultivators in the Mortal realm +1 realm of battle power, which means that they could fight against cultivators a realm higher than them. (example: a Profound Body Cultivator going even against a Divine Body cultivator)

1st stage Dragon Perception - grants cultivators in the mortal realm +2 realms of battle power, and grants cultivators in the Heavenly realm +1 realm of battle power.

...

Xun Wei explained it the way her Master, Wu Yue, explained it to her.

Xiao Fang was impressed with how much she knew, but considering who her master was, perhaps it was to be expected.

Li Lian finally spoke,

"In that case, that would mean I could even beat you at full strength?" She said to Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fang shook his head in disagreement.

"You are a tiger with no fangs. You have the cultivation, but you lack a strong cultivation method. Without it, you wouldn't be able to fight me at full strength."

Truth is, he was curious to see just how strong she was, but he didn't want to risk using his curse again.