Naked Sword Art

In the core court of the Black Paradise sect, there was a special training place where Core Court disciples would go to practice their [ Illusory Clone ] technique.

There, Xun Wei was alone and cross-legged in the center of the room. Across from her were two illusory clones and it seemed as if she was trying to make a third. However, every time she got close it would just break apart and disappear.

She had lost count how many times she had failed, but she never gave up because the reward for success was just too great to pass up.

.

.

.

"Xun Wei, it looks like you could use a training partner," someone suddenly said.

When Xun Wei opened her eyes, she saw a stunningly beautiful girl wearing bright red robes, sexy thin red lips, a gorgeous pearl necklace, and 2 diamond earrings. Her eyes were as green as emerald, and her hair was as red as the setting sun. Even without her makeup on, she would still be the most beautiful girl in any room she walked in. She was Xun Wei's good friend Li Lian.

"Did you miss me?" Li Lian said with a warm smile on her face.

"Li Lian, it's you. Where have you been?"

"The Matriarch allowed me to go back home to visit my family. I only returned a few days ago."

Xun Wei looked up and down Li Lian's body then became surprised by what she was wearing.

"You look... different," Xun Wei said.

"You think I look too girly, don't you."

"Expensive, was the word I was thinking of."

Li Lian sighed.

"The Matriarch enjoys dressing me up like a doll rather than training me. I had to practically beg her to teach me a technique."

"You learned a technique? What's it called?" Xiao Hei asked.

"[ Clone Reanimation ]."

Xun Wei never heard of the technique, so Li Lian gave her a quick demonstration.

"Wow! How long did it take you to learn it?"

"A little more than a week," she rubbed her nose wittingly. "How about you? Has Elder Yao Wu taught you anything yet?"

"A bit, but nothing similar to the technique you just showed me. Elder Yao Wu has only been going over the basics with me, but I already learned a lot of it from Xiao Fang," Xun Wei said.

Hearing Xiao Fang's name made Li Lian react in a peculiar way.

"Speaking about Xiao Fang, have you gone to see him yet?" Li Lian asked.

Xun Wei shook her head, "No, I haven't."

"Why not?"

"I was told Core Court disciples weren't allowed into the Inner Court. However, Elder Yao Wu told me that she'd give me permission if I could make a 3rd [ Illusory Clone ]."

"3rd? Have you already reached the 1st stage of the [ Illusory Body ] Spirit Refinement realm?" Li Lian asked.

"No, not yet. Why do you ask?"

Li Lian suddenly created 2 [ Illusory Clones ].

"I only recently learned how to make a 2nd [ Illusory Clone ]. I was going to start practicing to make a 3rd, but then I was told that it would be extremely difficult to do that before reaching the [ Illusory Body ] Spirit Refinement realm."

Xun Wei was quiet for a moment then shook her head helplessly.

"I should've known it wasn't going to be easy," Xun Wei sighed before sitting back down.

Li Lian was confused by her reaction then asked,

"You're going to keep trying?"

"I don't really have a choice if I want to see Xiao Fang again. Trying to reach the Refinement realm could take months. I'm confident that I could make a 3rd [ Illusory Clone ] in half that time."

"What if there was another way," Li Lian said.

Xun Wei opened her eyes again then looked up at Li Lian.

"What other way?"

"Let's sneak into the Inner Court, and find him together."

Xun Wei's eyes widened when she heard those words. Although she thought about sneaking out before, she never really considered it.

"What if we get caught?" Xun Wei whispered.

"Whatever the punishment is, don't you think it would be worth it?" Li Lian said mischievously.

Unlike Xun Wei, Li Lian had never been the kind of girl to think about the consequences of her actions, so Xun Wei would typically be the one to reject such a proposal. However, in this specific case, Xun Wei really wanted to see Xiao Fang too.

"How do you plan on getting out without being seen?" Xun Wei asked.

"I made a few friends that showed me a way," Li Lian smiled since Xun Wei seemed to be on board. "I also learned that Xiao Fang is a guild master now, and he goes by the name: Long Wang."

"Long Wang, huh. I wonder how he came up with that one," Xun Wei joked.

The two girls laughed.

"So, I'll come by tomorrow morning, then we can go together."

"Ah... this week isn't good for me. How about we go next week?"

"Why next week?" Li Lian frowned.

"Elder Yao Wu wants me to start going on missions next week. If we go when she thinks I'm on a mission, she won't be suspicious of my absences," Xun Wei explained.

Li Lian thought about it for a second then ended up liking the idea. Even though she wanted to see Xiao Fang as soon as possible, waiting another week wasn't going to be a big deal.

"Alright, let's do it your way," Li Lian said.

Xun Wei inwardly sighed in relief.

Although Xun Wei also wanted to see Xiao Fang sooner rather than later, she wanted to learn a good technique first, like Li Lian's new technique, before seeing him.

Since she was a Dual Cultivator like him, she knew that comprehension of certain techniques could be shared through a dual cultivation session. If she were to learn a strong technique before dual cultivating with him, at least then she wouldn't be going back to him empty handed.

There was one technique Elder Yao Wu wanted to teach her, but she's been putting it off because she wanted to learn how to make a 3rd [ Illusory Clone ].

'That technique would do,' Xun Wei thought.

One week wasn't a lot of time to learn a difficult technique, but she needed to try.