Soon, the two climbed the mountain and before long arrived at Ru Peak.
Qixian Residence.
This was the courtyard where Jiang Yan lived.
Outside the courtyard, Lin Yuan and Yun Feiyang arrived. The moment they stepped close, they felt a sharp, startling aura wash over them, causing their bodies to involuntarily shudder.
Looking ahead, they saw a graceful figure practicing swordplay. The angles and speed of her strikes were pitch-perfect, ruthlessly fierce yet devoid of any loss of elegance.
"Is that Junior Sister Liu Ruyan from Sword Peak?"
Lin Yuan was slightly startled, recognizing the sword-wielding woman.
Liu Ruyan had joined the Dao Sect two years ago and entered Sword Peak; in terms of seniority, she was indeed Lin Yuan's junior sister.
However, when it came to cultivation, Lin Yuan, who focused primarily on alchemy, fell far short of her.
"I'd long heard that Junior Sister Liu's attainments in the sword are extraordinary—even across the entire younger generation of Xuan Province, few can compare to her. Seeing her today, she is indeed formidable."
Even with Yun Feiyang's high seniority as the head disciple of Martial Peak, upon feeling the sword aura emanating from Liu Ruyan at this moment, he could not help but feel a chill of shock.
"Wrong! The angle of your strike is way off, and your control over your spiritual energy is an absolute mess. A sword like that might work against someone weaker than you, but against an opponent of the same realm, it is full of openings!"
Right at that moment, this discordant voice rang out, causing Lin Yuan and Yun Feiyang to freeze for a moment before breaking into cold sneers.
They had wondered which blind fool was being so arrogant and presumptuous as to critique Liu Ruyan's sword techniques here.
"Senior Brother Jiang Yan?"
But when Lin Yuan clearly saw the other's appearance, realization dawned on him.
"This youth in white is that legendary senior master brother? He's so young?" Yun Feiyang was astonished.
Although he had heard that Jiang Yan was not old, he never expected him to be a youth of around sixteen.
Besides, what was he seeing right now?
Liu Ruyan, the top prodigy of Sword Peak with a formidable reputation across the entire Xuan Province, possessed sword techniques that were undoubtedly flawless. Yet now, in Jiang Yan's mouth, they were being dismissed as utterly worthless?
"Do as I say. First like this, then like this, and finally like this. Understood?"
Jiang Yan was holding a wooden sword, demonstrating something to Liu Ruyan.
Beside him, Liu Ruyan watched with surprising docility and seriousness before nodding and executing the sword form once more.
To the astonishment of Lin Yuan and Yun Feiyang, after Jiang Yan's guidance, Liu Ruyan's swordplay truly looked vastly different, becoming far fiercer and more startling.
"Senior Master Brother."
At that moment, the two stepped into the courtyard and bowed to Jiang Yan in greeting.
"You two... are you also here to learn from me?"
Jiang Yan was slightly taken aback. He recognized Lin Yuan, but Yun Feiyang was completely unfamiliar; he had never seen him before.
"Yes, Senior Master Brother." Lin Yuan nodded earnestly.
By now, he held a profound admiration for Jiang Yan.
Having witnessed the other's alchemy techniques last night, in Lin Yuan's heart, Jiang Yan's attainments in alchemy were utterly unfathomable.
"Greetings, Senior Master Brother. My name is Yun Feiyang, head disciple of Martial Peak."
Yun Feiyang also stepped forward to introduce himself, appearing quite respectful.
Although he had no prior contact with Jiang Yan, Lin Yuan had already let him know that this person was far from being as simple as he appeared on the surface.
Moreover, he had just witnessed with his own eyes how Jiang Yan's guidance had allowed Liu Ruyan's swordplay to make rapid, leaps-and-bounds progress.
"Everyone at Martial Peak trains the physical body. Judging by Junior Brother's physique, you must have put in plenty of grueling work over the years. Your aura is relatively steady, and you've already reached the Second Layer of the Spirit Transformation Realm. Combined with the power of your physical body, you could likely fight an expert at the Fourth Layer of the Spirit Transformation Realm without breaking a sweat." Jiang Yan rubbed his chin as he looked Yun Feiyang up and down very seriously.
The fellow truly lived up to his title as the head disciple of Martial Peak; his strength was indeed formidable. To reach the Second Layer of the Spirit Transformation Realm at this age and be capable of fighting a Fourth Layer expert—there were not many within the entire Dao Sect who could do so.
Upon hearing Jiang Yan's words, Yun Feiyang could not help but be startled.
To be able to tell at a single glance that he possessed the cultivation of the Second Layer of the Spirit Transformation Realm—this point alone proved that Jiang Yan was far from ordinary.
Either the man possessed an extraordinary eye for talent, or Jiang Yan's own cultivation was already no lower than his!
"Hum!"
Just as Yun Feiyang was feeling astonished, Jiang Yan flipped his palm, retrieving a black stone from his storage treasure.
This stone was only half a person high, but its weight was terrifyingly heavy. It seemed immensely dense, weighing at least several times more than an ordinary stone.
"This is a meteorite from beyond the heavens. Try striking it with all your might, and let me see to what extent your strength has been tempered," Jiang Yan said.
Yun Feiyang blinked in surprise, a look of pride flashing across his face.
A mere stone like this was something he could ordinarily shatter with a single punch without the slightest difficulty.
"Bang!"
However, when he clenched his fist and struck out with all his might using every ounce of strength, he instantly regretted it.
The hardness of this stone completely exceeded his comprehension.
With a crisp crunch, it wasn't the stone that shattered—his arm fractured instead, and he let out a miserable howl of pain.
"Why are you so careless?"
Jiang Yan immediately frowned, stepping forward before grabbing the other's arm and giving it a forceful twist.
Another crunch rang out.
The fractured bone seemed to be set back in place, and the blinding pain vanished along with it. However, Yun Feiyang was still covered in cold sweat; this injury would likely require ten days to half a month of recuperation to fully heal.
"Senior Brother, this stone is so hard, why didn't you say so earlier? You caused me to fracture my bone! Even though it's set now, it will probably take at least several days to recover completely." Yun Feiyang complained bitterly.
During this period of injury, he wouldn't be able to cultivate—how much progress would he fall behind?
"It's nothing, just a minor injury, nothing to worry about. I know of a medicinal liquid that can make your arm recover completely in just one hour," Jiang Yan said.
"Really?"
Yun Feiyang remained skeptical. Having trained his body for years and suffered countless injuries, he naturally knew that such external traumas were difficult to heal in a short time, nor had he ever heard of any medicinal liquid with such miraculous effects.
"Could your senior brother possibly lie to you?"
Jiang Yan smiled with confidence, then continued, "However, this medicinal liquid is a little bit pricey..."
"How many spirit stones does it need? Senior Brother, just name the price. If it can truly restore my arm within an hour, any amount is worth it!" Yun Feiyang replied.
"It will be one thousand and three spirit stones." Jiang Yan rubbed his chin as he calculated in his mind.
"One thousand and three?"
Yun Feiyang paused for a moment. With a precise number including odd digits, it didn't seem like he was making it up.
Then he heard Jiang Yan say, "One thousand spirit stones for the cost of the ingredients, and those extra three spirit stones are for labor costs. Since we are fellow disciples, I won't make a single penny of profit off you."