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For the first time in a month, the quiet of Cloud-Ridge broke with the sound of steel.
Morning sunlight gleamed across hundreds of practice blades, scattering rainbows through the mist. The courtyards that had echoed only with breathing and birdsong now rang with the rhythm of moving feet, the hiss of air cut by silver arcs. It was the sound of progress renewed.
Ria stood at the head of the inner terrace, a slim training sword in hand. Its edge was dull, yet the balance felt alive, humming faintly as if recognizing her touch. The twin cores within her pulsed in answer—steady, ready.
Instructor Kao's voice cut through the clamor. "Disciples! Today we begin Flow Sword Form I — The River's Edge. Remember what you learned in stillness. The sword is not separate from breath—it is breath. Move with patience, or it will move without you."
She demonstrated a slow pattern: a sweep, a turn, a downward glide that ended as softly as falling rain. The motion was grace itself—no sparks, no violence, just rhythm.
"Begin."
Ria exhaled, letting qi spill from her core into her arms. The twin suns of her body turned once, and light travelled down her wrists, into the blade. She stepped forward.
The sword moved like water.
Each stroke left faint lines of light in the air, dissolving into mist before touching ground. She repeated the motion—inhale, sweep, exhale, return—until the rhythm settled into her heartbeat.
Sword-Skill Progress — 0 % → 4 %
Core Resonance: Dual Flow Active.
The Boundless System's voice murmured, smooth as silk.
New Title Acquired — "Multi-Group Skill Enhancer."
Effect: User and allied cultivators within 500 m gain quadruple proficiency in active martial training.
Personal sword-skill growth rate doubled.
The words shimmered briefly before fading. Around her, the other disciples gasped as their movements suddenly grew surer, faster, more precise. Even Kao paused, sensing the shift in the air.
Ren nearly dropped his sword. "Okay… tell me you felt that!"
"I might have done something," Ria admitted.
"'Something'? Ria, my sword just hummed the national anthem of qi!"
She laughed, though a little dazed herself. "Then sing along."
The training grounds erupted into synchronized motion. Disciples who had struggled with balance now flowed through the patterns effortlessly, their swords leaving trails of light like weaving ribbons. The mountain seemed to move with them; every gust of wind timed itself to each swing.
Instructor Kao observed, eyes wide. "This… this resonance… every form perfected in half the time. Her aura is amplifying theirs!"
She turned toward Elder Hanzo, who watched from the balcony above. "What should we do?"
Hanzo smiled faintly. "Let them dance."
As hours passed, Ria's connection to the sword deepened. Each repetition felt easier, clearer. The flow between breath and motion became seamless. When she pivoted, qi whirled around her like petals in a storm.
Sword-Skill Progress — 4 % → 8 %
Group Proficiency Multiplier × 4.
Core Progress — 50 % → 52 %.
Ren practised beside her, sweat streaming down his face, grin wide. "At this rate, we'll be sword saints by dinner."
"Only if we survive lunch," she teased, spinning into a new stance.
He tried to mirror her—emphasis on tried. His blade struck a training dummy, which promptly exploded into straw confetti. A nearby student ducked. "Ren!"
He raised both hands in surrender. "Artistic interpretation?"
Even Kao laughed despite herself. "Perhaps you should interpret the form from a distance."
Days became weeks. The hum of steel became the sect's new heartbeat. The Multi-Group Skill Enhancer field blanketed Cloud-Ridge; every cultivator's sword sang brighter each day. Techniques that should have taken months now bloomed in a week. The mountain rang with practice chants, blades flashing like waves under the sun.
Ria trained through every dawn. Her sword traced glowing arcs that lingered in the air long enough to form patterns—circles, spirals, symbols no one else recognized. When she finally stopped, the symbols faded into the earth, leaving faint runes burned into the stone.
Sword-Skill Progress — 8 % → 12 % → 16 %.
Qi Efficiency: Optimal.
System Note: Collective Proficiency Growth Stable.
At night, she would collapse on the grass beside Ren, both of them staring at the stars while their arms still tingled from practice.
"Do you think the sword ever gets tired?" he asked.
"No," she said. "It just learns."
"Then I want to be a sword when I grow up."
She rolled her eyes but smiled. "You already swing like one—sharp and reckless."
By the third week, even the elders joined in. The sect's veterans sparred under moonlight, rediscovering youth in every step. Qi lights arced across the sky like fireflies; the entire mountain had become a constellation of blades. Travelers from other sects camped at the base to watch the spectacle, whispering that Cloud-Ridge had become the birthplace of a new sword-era.
Ria, at the center of it all, moved like flowing wind. The twin cores lent perfect rhythm to her strikes—one sun feeding strength, the other precision. Each form ended exactly where it began, balance unbroken.
Sword-Skill Progress — 16 % → 20 % → 24 %.
Core Progress — 52 % → 54 %.
Group Proficiency Growth × 4 (Maintained).
The System pulsed gently in her mind.
Observation: Collective mastery accelerating beyond projection.
Recommendation: Prepare for next discipline – Elemental Integration.
Ria lowered her sword, breathing softly. Around her, hundreds of students mirrored the final stance. For a heartbeat, all of Cloud-Ridge stood still, blades raised toward the morning sun. The light refracted through steel into thousands of sparks—like stars waking one by one.
That evening, Instructor Kao gathered the sect around the central pavilion. Her expression held pride she rarely showed.
"In one month you have reached the First Flow of the Sword. You've learned that the weapon is not violence—it is focus. Yet remember this: the moment pride outweighs breath, the blade dulls."
Her gaze rested on Ria. "You've given this mountain another miracle, child. Guard it well."
Ria bowed. "I will."
Hanzo stepped forward next, robes rustling in the soft wind. "From this day, Cloud-Ridge enters a new chapter—the Sword Epoch. Each of you carries its beginning in your hands."
He looked to Ria and Ren, smiling. "And you two seem determined to make it last at least a thousand."
Ren grinned. "At least."
Later, when the moon rose, Ria practised alone by the lake. The surface was glass; every movement reflected perfectly. She raised her sword, exhaled, and began to move.
Silver arcs crossed their reflections—one above, one below—until they formed the shape of twin moons touching. The water rippled, scattering light like shattered stars.
Sword-Skill Progress — 24 % → 28 % → 32 %.
System Comment: Synchronization with natural rhythm achieved.
Chapter 29 of 1 000 + — "Dance of Blades" complete.
She lowered her weapon and smiled at her reflection. "So this is the rhythm of the sword," she whispered. "Quiet. Patient. Endless."
From the far shore, Ren's voice drifted. "Still talking to your reflection?"
"Maybe," she said, sheathing the sword. "But she listens better than you."
He laughed, and the sound carried across the water—bright, alive, perfectly human.
Above them, the stars gleamed like countless blades drawn against the velvet dark, each one waiting for the chapters yet unwritten.
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