Hong continued to follow Long Yuyun with his eyes until she dissapeared from his line of vision, and then shook his head. He was.... disappointed. Unfulfilled, left hanging from his adrenaline high. The result of the spar was determined the moment he decided to take things seriously. The current strongest genius of the institute was nothing more than a child dancing to his merry tune from the moment he used his revised martial arts. And even more unfortunately, he could still feel his martial foundation lack stability.
Disappointed, Hong dragged himself back out of the ring, where many congratulated and tried to curry favours with him. But he ignored all and walked towards his associates.
"I think I had enough today guys" Xiao Long said as he tried to calm his soul power, "If you guys don't mind, I'm gonna go back to my dormitory."
Without another word, he left the grounds. He needed to do something. He wanted to fight, to consolidate his martial foundation, after long time of simply cultivating. And so he moved into the training grounds and imagined Long Yu Yin, fighting her again and again, until he could ragdoll her image.
"This.... is not going to work."
After battling twelve images of Long Yu Yin, Xiao Long decided. he needed a real battle.
His musings were interupted by a messenger. "Xiao Long! you have a lettter!"
Taking the letter, xiao Long proceeded to read it and a wide grin spread across his face.
'A deity lake guarded by a dao of the dragon level demon beast. How interesting! '
The letter detailed the white lion faction's newest endeavour. A decent yielding deity lake which was guarded by a demon beast nest. The nest was at a level the elders of the league could handle, but the leader of the nest? The dao of the dragon level dragon bloodline demon beast with lightning powers along with a slew of offsprings just a few levels below it? While the stronger ones could handle the weakest of the beasts, the rest was up to him to handle.
He wrote another letter, they needed to schedule a date for this type of an event. Then he sent the letter back. If all tured out right, they would go hunting within a weeks time.
After sending the letter, Hong went back to the training field. This time he was equipped with his sword and his weapons.
Tap
Tap
Tap
Hong brought a little heavenly energy to his finger tips as he pressed his acupoints , blocking the flow of energy. He felt his body grow numb, almost lifeless as the energy that flowed through him constantly internally as well as internally was completely blocked. For additional reassure, he sealed all three of his energy cores as well. Completely isolating himself from the heaven and earth energy after a long long time.
While the energy within the body flows constantly within all living beings, that does not mean living beings would die without the energy. Ultimately the body was a product of earth. It could nourish itself from earth until it's natural lifespan ran out without any external force for a short amount of time. Blood carried the nutrition, oxygen while the neurons carried signals and impulses as well as thoughts.
As the flow of energy was completely cut off, Hong felt weakness grab his entire body. His limbs shivered, his eyes blurred and his mind turned hazy. Hong picked up his sword, his wrist straining as it tried to hold the weight in place. And he moved it.
The first slash was weak. The sword path wobbled. It's speed was weak and it continued moving till it hit the ground. But Hong didn't stop. As he moved the sword again and again, he became familiar with his body. He could remember this sensation. It was the same he condition he lived with for two decades back on earth. No energy. No powers. No gods. Just man against the world.
Without energy to bolster his spirit, random thoughts began to crowd his head. His mind was filled with the noise of random thoughts chatting away. This was familiar to him. This was how he lived back on earth. Where your own mind was so full of random noise to a point you could drift off daydreaming while walking.
But he was not a normal cultivator. He was not a normal person. Hong was a martial artist. Martial artist who had honed his mind and body through relentless effort and practice.
He wobbled around as he tried to perform his most basic swordsmanship moves. And with each second, the movements grew sharper.
'Swoosh'
As the sword fell, Hong cleared his mind of the clatter. He pulled the sword back and thrust the sword at a flying insect, missing him by inches. He pulled his sword back, and squared up. His feet connected to the ground, body tense, and ready to release.
Woosh
Again the sword flew, this time, cutting the flying insect perfectly. He took a deep breath. By then, the wobbling had stopped. His body worked perfectly. And , though it was a far cry from his usual self, he felt proper again.
It was time to up the training. He picked up the small sand bags and tied them to his wrists, ankles, thighs, biceps, head and torso. The entire weight totalling up to fifty kilos. Then he performed his sword dance. A kata made to practice his body and muscles. It was made to train every single muscle of his body.
He threw the sword up, and rolled on the ground before stopping in a handstand, The sword safely caught between his feet. He bent his feet before throwing he sword up once more, and cartwheeled while catching the falling sword effortlessly with his hand. He danced, and the sword flew like a silver eel, flowing around Hong faster and faster as he upped the speed until nothing but a silver streak remained.
By the time Hong stopped, it was nearly night. His body was streaked with sweat grime and blood. The training was not without danger, but the reward was enough.
His blood pulsed through his veins with strength while his muscles felt worn yet energetic. He could feel a phantom pain throughout his entire body, the symptoms of lacking heaven and earth energy. And so he released his cores and opened his acupoints.
As the energy rushed through his meridians, they inflated with pressure, blowing away impurities that had clogged the paths while nourishing the torn muscles and the worn mind. The sweat dried up, and his body cooled down in an instant bringing him to his peak condition.
Hong closed his eyes as he followed the flow, meditating cross legged as he guided the energy consciously. He opened his eyes after some time and pulled out his sword.
As he gripped the hilt, dark orange red energy enveloped the blade, making it glow from the hilt up. He gripped the hilt with both hands, and placed his feet about two feet apart. He squared his shoulders, and lifted the sword up as he took in a deep breath. And the energy enveloped Hong as well in a thin membrane connecting the man with the sword. Sword man Unity.
The sword swung down as he exhaled sharply. And the training ground splin through the middle. No cracks, no rubble. Just clean smooth cut that ran from the middle of the field to the edge of one side. Hong placed the sword back in his scabbard and walked away. There was still time to practice. He didn't want to kill small fry, he wanted to kill the dao of the dragon level demon beast single handedly.