"Master, of course you're a good man," Liu Jinyuan said earnestly. "When we first met, we were strangers, yet you escorted me all the way from the capital to Suzhou. Alone, I never could have made it safely.
"And more than that," he added after a pause, "you agreed to teach me martial arts without asking anything in return. You even went so far as to use the initiation method, at great risk to yourself. Such kindness, I will never forget. In my heart, Master, you are not only a good man—you are the perfect man."
Alex gave a wry smile. "You can keep the compliments coming, but don't call me a 'good man.' Where I come from, that's practically an insult."
"An… insult?" Jinyuan blinked, startled. "Master, I—I didn't mean any offense…"
The explanation left him flustered. He had meant it as the highest praise. Still, whatever the wording, he was determined to repay Alex's generosity with hard work.
The Sacred Heart Technique Alex had shared with him was now etched into his mind, as if he'd studied it for decades. With clear focus, he mapped out a plan to cultivate inner energy step by step, his progress astonishingly fast.
In the blink of an eye, a week passed.
During that week, Jinyuan devoted himself entirely to the Sacred Heart Technique. Though deceptively simple at first glance, it was notoriously hard to master. Yet with his gift for absorbing knowledge, Jinyuan quickly grasped the fundamentals of inner cultivation.
He trained diligently inside the Lin Family Fort, while Alex remained there as well, watching over his progress. Occasionally they discussed the finer points of the Sacred Heart Technique, and more than once Jinyuan's unique perspective gave Alex a flash of sudden understanding.
So that's the difference, Alex realized. His E-drive is enormous. His capacity for understanding and refining knowledge is on a level I can't touch…
Even though they had started from the same foundation, Jinyuan's insights into the Sacred Heart Technique already surpassed his own.
For a week, both master and student immersed themselves in practice, each gaining valuable realizations. To any observer, Jinyuan might have seemed less like a beginner and more like a reincarnated sword sage, recalling wisdom from a past life.
One afternoon, Lin Tiannan returned from attending to matters at the fort and happened to notice a servant carrying a longsword toward Jinyuan's courtyard.
"What's that?" Tiannan asked, eyeing the sword.
"Master," the servant replied respectfully, "this is the steel sword Young Master Liu requested I purchase."
"Bought a sword?" Tiannan frowned slightly.
It made sense, of course. Alex was a swordsman of extraordinary skill, and Liu Jinyuan learning swordsmanship from him was only natural. But Tiannan still thought it strange. Beginners usually practiced with wooden swords. A steel blade was sharp, dangerous—one wrong move could cause serious injury.
After a moment of silence, curiosity got the better of him. He waved the servant on and quietly followed, stopping outside Jinyuan's courtyard to observe.
Inside, the servant presented an ornate box. "Young Master Liu, here is the fine steel sword you ordered."
"Thank you," Jinyuan said warmly, his smile polite as ever.
Though he now carried himself like a martial artist, his demeanor remained the same—gracious, approachable, and effortlessly kind.
"Young Master Liu, you're too polite. I'm just a servant—this is my duty," the man said, flattered by Jinyuan's gratitude.
"Hm. Truly an exceptional young man," Lin Tiannan muttered approvingly from his hidden vantage point.
When the sword box was opened, a finely crafted steel blade gleamed inside. Jinyuan drew it smoothly, tapped the edge with his finger, then gave it a testing shake. With practiced ease, the weapon blossomed into flowing arcs of steel, scattering sword flowers through the air.
The Dugu Nine Swords came alive in his hands—each strike natural, fluid, and brimming with elegance.
Though the techniques themselves had come from Alex, the temperament behind them was Jinyuan's own. The same sword art, performed by different men, could leave entirely different impressions. In Jinyuan's grip, the Nine Swords radiated poise and nobility; every movement resembled a brushstroke across canvas, more art than battle.
This… this is a beginner?
Lin Tiannan had crept close simply to gauge his nephew's progress. What he saw left him thunderstruck.
He knew well that Jinyuan had never touched martial arts before, and that it had been scarcely a week since Alex began teaching him. Under normal circumstances, a student might barely memorize a basic sword form in that time, let alone wield it.
But Jinyuan moved with the fluency of a man who'd studied for decades.
"Still… my internal energy is weak," Jinyuan murmured to himself, lowering his blade in thought. "For now, I should emphasize the Qi-breaking Style. Using precision to overcome brute strength suits me best at this stage…"
He shifted seamlessly into the Qi-breaking form, adjusting his training with keen self-awareness.
Lin Tiannan's heart pounded.
This isn't rote practice. He's adapting the art to his own condition…
Was Liu Jinyuan truly a once-in-a-century martial prodigy? Or had Alex's teaching methods reached such a divine level that even the heavens would marvel?