In the courtyard, Chun Feng watched them as they trained.
"Well, it looks like you're taking your training seriously."
After observing for a while, Chun Feng let out a laugh and made his presence known to everyone in the courtyard.
Placing the things he was carrying onto a nearby table, he walked over to Qing Lingyun and the others.
"Big brother, you're back! That's great." Said Qing Lingyun in a melodious voice, her beautiful smile giving na approachable glow to her wild, natural beauty.
"Yeah, I managed to hunt a few good things. But I bet you're all itching to test yourselves, right?"
Setting his sword, bow, and quiver on the table, Chun Feng walked over to where the training weapons were stored.
Grabbing two wooden practice swords, he headed to the center of the courtyard, where there was no flooring, only packed earth.
Squatting down, he pressed the tips of the two swords to the ground, then spun swiftly, drawing a large circle in the dirt.
"Same rules as always: if any of you can land a hit on me, you win. And of course, if you can force me out of this circle I just drew, that counts as a victory too."
Chun Feng rested the sword in his right hand on his shoulder, while his left arm hung casually at his side, holding the other sword loosely toward the ground.
"You've all improved a lot during this training period. Now I want to see how you perform in real combat."
As Chun Feng's words fell, Qing Lingyun and the others stepped forward, taking up their positions as if it had all been planned in advance.
In front of him stood Qing Lingyun. To his left was Gu Xiaoming, to his right Qing Yan, and behind him was Xiao Lian.
'A combat formation, huh…'
His eyes narrowed at the thought. After all, the only time he had ever seen formations like this was when he secretly observed the guards during their training. That was how he had first learned the city guard's sword technique.
Back when he still lived on the streets, during the afternoons, after doing whatever jobs he could find to buy food for himself and the other kids, he would sneak up onto the roof of a restaurant near the city guard barracks. From there, using the incredible vision granted by his eyes, he'd watch their training from afar.
By observing them, he began practicing the moves he saw from the veteran guards as they trained the recruits. Over time, he found that he could mimic their movements perfectly, but something still felt off.
So, he began to infuse his own interpretation of what a sword should be into the style, gradually bringing the sensation of his swordplay closer to that mystical feeling he sensed from the guards' techniques. But even so, the feeling was still noticeably different.
Once he began cultivating under old Gu's guidance, Chun Feng finally understood, that feeling was the concept behind a cultivator's technique.
If a cultivator trained using a fire-element technique, they needed to understand what fire was, and what it truly represented.
According to old Gu himself, only when a cultivator's level of concept reached a certain threshold could they create their own technique. Even then, they would still need a strong enough foundation of knowledge to do so.
Though Chun Feng had a solid understanding of the Black Rock Sword Technique, having long surpassed the flawed conception he once had, he wasn't yet at a level where he could alter the technique. He still lacked the necessary depth of knowledge about the sword path.
Even so, he could already be considered na excellent swordsman.
And now, as he looked at the children before him, he remembered something he had once seen at the city guard barracks, guards combining their strength using group formations to take on stronger opponents.
Looking at the formation before him, even though it was flawed and rudimentary, he could see the shadow of the city guard's formation in it.
A smile appeared on Chun Feng's face, because these kids, without any help from him, had found a way to increase their strength. And not only that, but he was almost certain they had somehow stolen that formation from the city guards.
These were his younger brothers and sisters, just like him, if they didn't have something, they found a way to make do.
Laughing softly, he examined everyone's positioning and behavior.
After observing them for a moment, Chun Feng noticed something.
"I've already told you, Xiao Lian, you're not meant to walk the path of the sword."
Glancing sideways at Xiao Lian, Chun Feng commented calmly. He had already tried to train her in the art of the sword before, but she hadn't shown much talent in that area.
And yet now, there she was, holding a sword while standing behind him. But unlike Chun Feng and Qing Lingyun, Xiao Lian didn't have the aura of a swordsman. It was a special kind of aura, earned through training and years spent walking alongside one's sword, a presence that was hard to conceal.
"I still haven't found a weapon that really suits me." Xiao Lian replied with a shy smile after noticing Chun Feng's gaze.
She knew she didn't have a talent for the sword, but she was even worse with the saber and spear. She didn't want to face Chun Feng empty-handed, doing so would've been foolish. And since it was close-combat training, she didn't want to use a bow and arrows.
"I think I know a type of weapon that might suit you. I'll try to make it for you," Chun Feng said after thinking for a moment.
"Really? Thank you, big brother." Xiao Lian said sincerely, a genuine smile lighting up her cute face.
With his short conversation with Xiao Lian finished, Chun Feng looked over everyone and then spoke:
"Ready? Then begin!"
At Chun Feng's signal, everyone focused. Xiao Lian took the initiative, launching na attack aimed at Chun Feng's back.
Sensing the incoming strike, Chun Feng didn't even turn around. Instead, he reversed his grip on the sword in his left hand, raising it vertically behind him and easily blocking Xiao Lian's attack.
Almost at the same time Xiao Lian struck, Gu Xiaoming lunged forward, thrusting his spear. He aimed a powerful blow at Chun Feng's left shoulder, but Chun Feng, seeing his movements, smiled once again. With a flick of his sword in his right hand, he struck the shaft of the spear, deflecting it just enough.
His eyes moved quickly between the children as he noticed Qing Yan and Qing Lingyun preparing to attack. Pushing away Xiao Lian's sword that was still locked with his, he spun using a strange footwork technique.
It looked like he had turned and moved from his original position, but anyone paying close attention would've noticed that he had barely shifted at all.
With a glint in his eye, Chun Feng met Qing Lingyun's strike with his own sword. Sensing another threat, he twisted his waist and slid his right leg backward, dodging a fast horizontal slash from Qing Yan aimed at his waist with a wooden saber.
"So close! You've really improved your speed compared to before, Qing Yan," he praised mid-battle.
Even while facing all four children, each at the Bone Forging stage, Chun Feng found the time to compliment Qing Yan's progress. That was thanks to his Body Purification-level cultivation and his sharp combat instincts. But a large part of it came from his unique eyes, which granted him exceptional perception.
Though it hadn't always been this way. Chun Feng had realized over time that his eyes were changing his body. At first, he could only see farther than others. But gradually, his reaction time became faster.
Attacks that once outpaced his reflexes were now easy for him to track.
With his breathing still calm and steady, he twisted his sword to block another strike from Qing Yan. After pushing him back, he lifted his left leg, narrowly avoiding a low sweep from Gu Xiaoming's spear.
Watching the movements of Xiao Lian and Qing Lingyun, Chun Feng quickly bent his knees before leaping into the air, spinning his body horizontally. With this move, he dodged the attacks from the two girls, who had each delivered horizontal slashes, one low, aiming at his legs, and the other high, targeting his chest.
After landing, Chun Feng raised one of his swords in front of his chest, blocking a slash from Qing Yan's saber. Suddenly, with a few subtle movements of his wrist, the sword in Chun Feng's hand began to sway as if alive, slithering toward Qing Yan's wrist and striking it.
"Argh!"
Hit directly on the wrist, Qing Yan was forced to drop his saber, letting out a pained groan. Since he had lost his weapon and injured the hand that wielded it, he was effectively out of the sparring match. Acknowledging this, he retreated, now watching the fight from a distance.
Having successfully taken Qing Yan out, Chun Feng looked at the others and said with a smile,
"One down."
The remaining three paused their attacks. Small drops of sweat could be seen on their faces. Even though it had only been a short exchange, the pressure of facing Chun Feng had worn them down.
After all, it was their older brother who trained them, and he was three cultivation stages ahead. Moreover, their only real combat experience came from fighting each other or Chun Feng himself. Chun Feng, on the other hand, had regularly hunted and even faced dangerous encounters with other people in the forest.
Deciding it was time to finish things, Chun Feng took advantage of the pause and subtly moved his foot closer to Qing Yan's saber on the ground.
The three exchanged glances before Gu Xiaoming resumed his attack. Following his lead, Qing Lingyun and Xiao Lian shifted positions, preparing to strike from new angles.
Noticing their positions from the corner of his eye, Chun Feng used one sword to block Gu Xiaoming's sweeping strike, then defended his shoulder with the other as Qing Lingyun followed up with na overhead blow.
With both of Chun Feng's hands occupied, Xiao Lian now had the freedom to strike. She began to close the distance, preparing to slash at Chun Feng's chest, when she suddenly heard a warning from Qing Yan.
"Watch out!"
Now out of the fight, Qing Yan had a better view of the ongoing battle. He had noticed Chun Feng subtly moving his foot closer to the saber, and at first didn't think much of it. But when he saw Xiao Lian charging in from the front, he realized exactly what Chun Feng intended.
Hearing Qing Yan's warning, Xiao Lian tried to stop, but it was too late.
At that very moment, Chun Feng delivered a precisely calculated kick to the training saber, sending it flying at high speed straight toward Xiao Lian's shoulder. The weapon struck her hard.
The pain caused her to drop her sword. Realizing she had been eliminated, Xiao Lian picked up her weapon from the ground and stepped back, tears welling in her eyes.
Seeing that he had made Xiao Lian cry, Chun Feng felt awkward and a little guilty.
Taking advantage of Chun Feng's distraction, Qing Lingyun took a step back to disengage from him. After pushing his sword downward, she immediately advanced again with a powerful strike.
Seeing the incoming blow aimed at his chest, Chun Feng instinctively bent his knees and threw his torso backward, barely dodging Qing Lingyun's sword by a hair's breadth.
As Chun Feng leaned back, Qing Lingyun's strike carried through, continuing with momentum toward Gu Xiaoming's spear. Chun Feng's sudden dodge had left Gu Xiaoming without a target, causing him to lose his balance and stumble forward. When their weapons collided, both Qing Lingyun and Gu Xiaoming felt the tremor in their arms.
Using the backward momentum from his dodge, Chun Feng placed his hands on the ground, flipping his body into a spinning kick that knocked both Qing Lingyun's sword and Gu Xiaoming's spear away. With a final twist, he landed on his feet once more.
"We lost..."
"Damn it, I really thought we'd win this time."
The two of them sighed as they sat down on the ground.
Qing Yan and Xiao Lian also approached, looking a bit downhearted.
"At the very least, we've improved compared to last time,"
Qing Yan said, trying to lift everyone's spirits. Soon, they started discussing the details of the battle, analyzing their mistakes.
Watching the four of them gathered and talking, Chun Feng wiped his hands and walked over. He began pointing out the errors they had made during the fight, such as their lack of circular movement, and the fact that they shouldn't have paused when he eliminated Qing Yan. On the contrary, they should have intensified their attacks. He also noted that Qing Lingyun's strike had completely disregarded her teammate's safety.
If it had been Qing Yan or Xiao Lian in Gu Xiaoming's place, they would've been hit by her sword. Gu Xiaoming only avoided injury because he wielded a spear, one of the melee weapons with the longest reach.
The four of them went silent, listening to their older brother as if they were well-behaved students.
"But technically... you didn't lose." Chun Feng said after a moment, pointing toward the spot where he had drawn a circle with his sword.
The four of them turned their heads toward the circle.
There, they saw footprints and handprints scattered across the area, a chaotic mess from the fight. But upon closer inspection, they noticed one of Chun Feng's handprints was outside the boundary of the circle.
"We won!?"
"Seriously?!"
"Finally!"
Three of the children began celebrating in excitement. However, Qing Lingyun remained quiet.
"What's wrong, sister?" Qing Yan asked curiously, noticing her silence.
"That wasn't a real win. We didn't earn it." She replied, her gaze fixed on Chun Feng. "We only won because of big brother Chun's mistake. He got distracted by Xiao Lian's crying. If that hadn't happened, he probably would've beaten us like always."
Her words made the other three lose their enthusiasm and lower their heads.
Chun Feng caught the look in Qing Lingyun's eyes but chose not to respond. Instead, he looked at the others with a gentle smile and shook his head.
"There's no shame in beating me because of a mistake." He said. "In a real battle, a single mistake can cost you your life. Besides, you've all improved a lot compared to our past training sessions. That's something to be proud of."
Hearing their older brother's praise, the four of them smiled shyly.
Suddenly, a loud noise echoed, and everyone turned toward Chun Feng, who scratched the back of his head awkwardly while laughing. The rumble had come from his stomach, causing all the children to burst out laughing.
"Well then, how about we wrap up training for today and go wash up before dinner?"
Chun Feng suggested, glancing at the sky and noticing it was already late afternoon, the sun would be setting soon.
The four of them nodded, gathering the training equipment from the yard. After that, the girls and boys split up to go bathe.