After Madara had fully healed and recovered, Luo Feiyan approached him to ask, "Aren't we going back for the others? We still need six more Ghostleaf Mantises."
"No need," Madara replied as he stood up. "I've already slain nine Ghostleaf Mantises."
Hearing this, Luo Feiyan was surprised and at a loss for words.
"Let's start looking for a place where we can extract the beast cores from the bodies of the Ghostleaf Mantises," Madara suggested.
Luo Feiyan simply nodded, and they began to run.
As they searched, Madara thought to himself that he couldn't use his Wood Technique: Four-Pillar House because he didn't know Luo Feiyan well enough yet; it was better not to risk it.
Meanwhile, Luo Feiyan secretly glanced at Madara and thought, "I still have a long way to go to catch up to him. I wish I had sword intent too."
During their search, they found a flat grassy area—just the right place to perform the extraction of the beast cores from the Ghostleaf Mantis bodies. When they arrived, Luo Feiyan immediately took out a dead Ghostleaf Mantis from her storage ring.
She quickly stabbed her sword into the upper thorax of the mantis, causing greenish fluid to spill out. From there, she began slicing toward the upper abdomen.
As she continued, she saw pale green muscles and finally spotted the glowing jade beast core, surrounded by thin membranes with qi veins.
Gently, she extracted the beast core from the mantis's body, then swiftly stored it in her storage ring. She also stored the mantis's body, knowing some parts could still be useful.
Afterward, she took out another Ghostleaf Mantis corpse.
Madara did the same process with the nine Ghostleaf Mantises he had slain. After she finished extracting the beast cores from the four mantises she had killed, she helped him with the remaining ones. Once they were done, they quickly left their location, fearing that the strong smell of the beast cores—emitted from the corpses—might attract other beasts if they stayed too long.
After hours of running, they finally stopped as dusk began to fall and night approached. After eating dinner, Luo Feiyan mimicked Madara's method of resting in such a wild forest, as she had no prior experience with sleeping in such a place.
As Madara settled to sleep atop a tree branch, Luo Feiyan, resting on a branch of a nearby tree, suddenly spoke up.
"Are you still awake? "
Madara replied softly, "Yes."
"Thank you for saving me earlier from the Ghostleaf Mantis, and I'm sorry for judging you too soon when you changed our route earlier."
"I only did what I thought was right." Madara paused briefly, hesitant to say more, but then decided to be honest after what almost happened earlier that nearly cost them their lives.
"It's not about being bossy, but none of that would have happened if we had a plan and coordinated well with each other. What's the point of a duo mission if we can't even handle this? How much worse would it be if our enemy were fellow cultivators?"
Everything he said rang true to her. She was about to respond when he spoke again.
Since he had already opened up, he decided to be honest with her as well. "I also made a mistake when it comes to coordination. I didn't tell you about the Clearheart Plums I found on our way to the Ghostleaf Mantis nest—something we ended up needing later on."
"I was also at fault," Luo Feiyan admitted. "At first, I hesitated to talk to you or approach you because of how cold and serious you seemed. But now I realize… that's just how your expression naturally is. My perspective of you has changed, Madara."
"That's something I'll probably never be able to change," silently thought to himself.
After that, silence settled between them beneath the night sky—until eventually, both drifted off to sleep.
...
While sleeping, Madara awoke on his own—his body clock alerting him after exactly four hours of rest (in Earth time), something he had long been accustomed to ever since he began his journey as a cultivator. He let out a quiet yawn and stretched his limbs while surveying the dark, forested surroundings. The only source of light came from the moon above, casting a pale glow over the forest in the stillness of the night.
When he looked to his right, he saw Luo Feiyan still fast asleep on a tree branch. The sight reminded him of something he once read in the library. Based on that knowledge, and his understanding of Lantian, he knew that dawn was still a long way off.
"Looks like morning's still far off," he muttered softly.
Remaining in his place, Madara sat down and immediately began to meditate, entering his Inner Realm.
Once inside, he accessed his Memory Sphere and began replaying his battle against the nine Ghostleaf Mantises. After watching for several hours, he commented,
"There wasn't anything wrong with my strikes or defenses against the Ghostleaf Mantises. The main difference between this and a sparring match is battle experience. They have hunting instincts—and they fight as a coordinated pack. That's nothing like my duel with Ai Xia."
"I'm still lacking. I need to train harder," he muttered, believing that with each passing day, the foes he would face in the future were growing stronger as well.
After spending hours training and refining various techniques within his Inner Realm, Madara finally returned to the real world—where he resumed his sword practice in silence, beneath the pale glow of the moonlight.
...
As the sun began to rise, Luo Feiyan slowly stirred from her sleep. She immediately noticed that Madara was no longer lying on the branch, prompting her to rise and check where he had gone. Upon descending from the tree, she activated her Wind Cutter Step technique to hasten her search.
She hadn't gone far when she spotted him in the distance, seemingly locked in battle. She rushed toward him but, upon closer inspection, realized there was no enemy in sight. A sigh of relief escaped her lips—only to be replaced by a sense of intrigue.
Madara was swinging his sword through the air, yet it wasn't reckless or aimless. His movements flowed like a silent dance, each motion seamlessly connecting to the next. His sword carried both elegance and weight, slicing through the air with purpose and precision.
She, who had never witnessed such a flawless harmony between man and sword, couldn't help but wonder:
"Is that… a technique?"
She silently observed until Madara finally completed his swordplay routine.
Turning toward the direction where she was hiding, Madara asked, "How long have you been there?" as he wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve.
Luo Feiyan stepped out from behind the tree and answered honestly, "Since I noticed you were no longer where you slept. I went looking for you."
"Ah, I see."
As they walked back to the spot where they had rested the night before, Luo Feiyan gathered her courage and asked about what she had just witnessed.
"Uchiha Madara… how did you learn to manifest sword intent? I've followed everything written in this manual—every step, every instruction—but nothing like that ever happened for me."
She pulled a book from her storage ring and handed it to him. Upon reading the title and flipping through its contents, Madara immediately recognized it—it was the same book his elder sister, Xiao Yun, had made him read and memorize in the past.
After handing the book back to her, Madara finally spoke.
"The answer you seek… lies within you. That is the true nature of sword intent."
Thinking her question would finally be answered, she was left disappointed. A faint sadness welled up inside her. Once they returned, they began preparing breakfast. After eating and tidying up their sleeping area, they promptly set off on their journey back to the sect.
As they ran through the wilderness, she kept pondering what Madara had said about sword intent. His explanation was vague and completely different from Shen Xiu's—who had given her a long, detailed discourse on how to comprehend sword intent.
After several days of travel, they finally saw their sect in the distance. Upon arriving at the sect gates, the guards stopped them due to their disheveled appearance—greenish stains smeared across their bodies and cuts on various parts of their clothing. To avoid any questions, the two simply presented their sect talisman tokens.
Once inside, many fellow disciples turned their heads to stare. Without saying a word, they quickly made their way to the sleeping quarters. Just before parting ways at the path that led to their respective rooms, Madara briefly discussed what they needed to do next. After hearing his plan, Luo Feiyan nodded in agreement, and the two separated and headed off.
Upon returning to his quarters, Madara immediately took a bath to wash away the green residue clinging to his body. Afterward, he put on his sect uniform, even though it still bore multiple tears from the mission. After that, he carefully took out the Ghostleaf Mantis in his storage ring and carefully cut out the various parts that might be usedful to exchange for sect contribution points.
Then, without delay, he left his quarters and headed for the Contribution Exchange Pavilion to trade the Clearheart Plums and Ghostleaf Mantis parts for sect points,
As he walked, other disciples turned to glance at him, their eyes lingering on his damaged robes. Still, he paid them no mind. After all, they had no idea what he had gone through during the mission.
When he arrived at the Wardrobe Pavilion, Madara exchanged a portion of his sect points for a new set of Outer Sect disciple robes. After completing all his tasks for the day, he prepared dinner and rested for the night.
The next morning, after finishing his swordplay exercises and morning routine, he headed to the Battle Pagoda to train for the entire day. As he and Luo Feiyan had agreed, they would not take another mission until the following day.
When the day arrived, Madara found Luo Feiyan already waiting in front of the Mission Hall. Without delay, he handed her the exact amount of sect contribution points, ensuring they had an equal share. Once that was settled, they stepped inside and submitted the Task Medallion along with the ten Ghostleaf Mantis beast cores. With the formalities complete, they proceeded to accept a new mission.
Over the following days and months, their missions became more coordinated and well-planned. Their teamwork steadily improved, refined by the lessons they learned during their early experiences—even from something as simple as collecting herbal medicines to the dangerous task of harvesting beast cores from spirit beasts. These trials helped further temper both Madara and Luo Feiyan's swordsmanship over time.
Through these shared experiences, Luo Feiyan gradually came to understand how to act in various situations—particularly in matters of physical survival—by observing Madara's actions. After each return to the sect, she would quietly mimic his morning exercise routines, adapting them to her own style within the solitude of her quarters.
Until one year had passed.
...
Within one of the secluded chambers of the female disciples' quarters, a pale-skinned young maiden, sixteen years of age, was immersed in focused cultivation. Her expression was calm yet resolute, her eyes gleaming with unwavering determination. As she released a stream of white sword qi from her right hand, it surged forth like a silent gale—refined, sharp, and filled with intent.
The wooden sword in her grasp trembled for a brief moment before collapsing into delicate fragments, as thin as paper, unable to withstand the sheer force of her will.
Staring at the remains of her shattered training sword, the young lady trembled, tears silently trailing down her cheeks. Yet amidst those tears, a smile bloomed on her face.
With a soft, trembling voice filled with joy and awe, she whispered,
"I've comprehended Sword Intent…"