Before long, the Shopkeeper and a shop assistant walked over, carrying several longswords, and placed them on the counter.
Ye Tian's heart skipped a beat as he looked at the longswords. Their sheaths were exquisitely crafted and inlaid with gemstones. Needless to say, they were extremely expensive.
"Ye Tian, the swords are here. Go ahead and pick one! Consider it a gift from me!" Ye Feifei said with a smile.
"I can't accept this! I know these swords are very expensive. In my current situation, I can't afford one at all. This favor is just too great.
How about this? Put whatever you spend today on a tab, and I'll pay you back when I have enough Spirit Stones one day. What do you say?" Ye Tian said, a little embarrassed.
As the saying goes, one shouldn't be rewarded for no reason. He had only met Ye Feifei twice. The first time, she gave him a Martial Arts Manual and a Celestial Melody Pill. Now, she was giving him a sword. The debt of gratitude was enormous—so great he felt he couldn't possibly bear it.
Ye Feifei knew that Ye Tian would likely refuse if she insisted on him accepting her goodwill outright. Though they hadn't known each other long, she had the impression that he was a very proud person.
"Since you put it that way, we'll do as you say! Go on and pick any Fine Steel Sword you like. I can't afford to give you a Spirit Sword or a Holy Sword, but maybe one day, when you've become a great figure, you can give me a Spirit Sword or even a legendary Holy Sword!" Ye Feifei said with a laugh.
Ye Tian knew that on the Celestial Dragon Continent, weapons were graded just like Martial Skills. Taking swords as an example, there were several tiers.
There were the most common Iron Swords, then Fine Steel Swords, followed by Spirit Swords that possessed a spiritual nature, and then the extremely rare Holy Swords. It was said that Holy Swords contained an Artifact Spirit and could only be wielded by exceptionally powerful experts.
The final tier was the Divine Swords passed down from Ancient Times. Obtaining a Divine Sword was no different from obtaining a Dragon Pearl—both were incredibly difficult. As far as anyone knew, no one on the entire Celestial Dragon Continent currently possessed a Divine Sword.
Ye Tian walked to the counter and carefully examined the Fine Steel Swords on display before casually picking one up. In his hand, this Fine Steel Sword was much, much lighter than the scruffy old man's Black Glaze Sword.
"Shopkeeper Wang, how many Spirit Stones for the Fine Steel Sword he chose?" Ye Feifei asked the shopkeeper.
"Young Miss, the retail price for this Fine Steel Sword is eight hundred Spirit Stones. Even family members pay five hundred Spirit Stones. Since you are the Young Miss, you can't break the rules, but I can reduce it by another hundred Spirit Stones at most. This Fine Steel Sword will be four hundred Spirit Stones," said Shopkeeper Wang.
When Ye Tian heard the number, it sounded astronomical. Four hundred Spirit Stones was equivalent to several years of his monthly allowance. "Ye Feifei, that's too expensive. I think I should just forget it!"
"What are you talking about? I said I'd get it for you, so there's no taking it back! Let's go!" Ye Feifei said with a smile.
The two of them then left the Weapon Shop. "Ye Tian, now you have a Martial Skill and a sword. I hope you'll practice hard and become the dark horse at the tournament, shocking everyone who looks down on you," Ye Feifei said.
"I'll work hard! Thank you for today! It's getting late. Are you going to keep looking around?" Ye Tian asked.
"You go on back! I still have some things to take care of. I look forward to you surprising me!" Ye Feifei said with a smile.
Ye Tian then returned to his residence. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he carefully examined the Fine Steel Sword in his hand, his heart filled with excitement.
'The things that happened today were too strange. Especially when I held that Black Glaze Sword, I had a feeling of déjà vu. And the expression on that scruffy old man's face when he saw me draw the Black Glaze Sword was very odd.'
It was impossible to practice a Martial Skill in his room, of course. Ye Tian planned to go to the back mountain to train after dinner. For now, he decided to carefully study the contents of the Flowing Cloud Step and the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique so that his training would go faster later.
Ye Tian made up his mind to start with the Flowing Cloud Step. He believed that only after mastering the Flowing Cloud Step could he learn the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique more quickly.
And so, Ye Tian spent the entire afternoon studying the execution of the Flowing Cloud Step. Although he didn't physically try it, he practiced it over and over in his mind.
The Flowing Cloud Step had only three forms: the First Form, Flowing Clouds and Water; the Second Form, Light Clouds and Gentle Wind; and the Third Form, Flowing Light Illusion.
Ye Tian knew that any Martial Skill required repeated practice to reach a state of perfection. Although he had more or less perfected the First Form in his mind, real-world practice would be a completely different matter.
After dinner, Ye Tian took his Fine Steel Sword and slipped quietly out of the Ye Family's main gate, running quickly toward the back mountain a few miles away.
By the time he reached the back mountain, dusk had fallen. The surroundings were gradually growing dark. Before complete darkness set in, Ye Tian found a clearing to use for his training.
He sat on a large rock and waited for the moon to rise. Training under the moonlight would be a pleasure—with no one to disturb him, he could focus completely on his cultivation.
It would still be some time before the moon appeared. Ye Tian took out the Celestial Melody Pill Ye Feifei had given him. Taking three of these pills offered a chance to break through to the Fifth Layer, and he had to seize this opportunity.
After pouring out one Celestial Melody Pill, Ye Tian saw that other than a faint, pleasant fragrance, there was nothing else unusual about it.
Without the slightest hesitation, he swallowed it. The moment the Celestial Melody Pill entered his mouth, it miraculously dissolved, turning into a liquid that flowed down his throat and into his stomach.
A cool, soothing sensation spread down his throat, but after a few breaths, a scorching heat erupted in his abdomen, making him feel uncomfortable.
Ye Tian discovered a powerful surge of energy erupting in his abdomen, much like the energy the Dragon Pearl had released. It began to course wildly through the meridians in his body.
'The energy from this Celestial Melody Pill is truly powerful. I have to cultivate it properly!' Ye Tian murmured to himself.
He immediately began to stabilize his mind and slowly absorb the powerful energy rampaging through his body, refining it into his Dragon Spiritual Power.
An unknown amount of time passed before Ye Tian opened his eyes, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. Ye Feifei hadn't lied to him. He could feel that he was on the verge of a breakthrough.
The moon was already setting in the west; it had to be the latter half of the night. Ye Tian jumped down from the large rock, ready to stretch his limbs. His body was now brimming with power, and he felt refreshed and invigorated.
The method for executing the Flowing Cloud Step quickly surfaced in his mind. Following the steps he had rehearsed mentally, Ye Tian began to slowly move across the ground.
Putting it into practice was much harder than rehearsing it in his mind. Even with his intelligence, it took Ye Tian nearly two hours to barely grasp the footwork for the First Form, Flowing Clouds and Water.
The first two forms of the Flowing Cloud Step were footwork, but the final form was a Body Technique. Only after mastering the first two could one cultivate the last.
Ye Tian tirelessly practiced the First Form over and over. Before he knew it, the sky had begun to brighten, yet he didn't feel the slightest bit of hunger. This was probably due to the Celestial Melody Pill he had taken.
As time passed, Ye Tian grew more and more proficient with the First Form. If someone were watching from a distance, they would see that his movements were now faintly trailed by afterimages—a sign that he was approaching the Perfect Realm for the First Form.