It was a cotton farm, extensive in scope, but as it was not the season for planting, the plain lay open and empty, appearing as nothing more than an endless expanse of flat land.

Beneath the starry expanse, Zhang Yang galloped across the open ground atop Zhuifeng. From a distance, he was just a fleeting white shadow, moving swiftly before vanishing almost immediately.

The starlight was exceptionally bright that night, with the moon still hanging high. Riding at full speed under the moonlight stirred a surge of pride within Zhang Yang.

It was a feeling of boundless freedom, a magnificent sweep of spirit that proclaimed, The world is vast, and I am free to fly!

Clutching Shandian close, Zhang Yang couldn't resist letting out a long, spirited cry toward the heavens. The sound, imbued with his powerful inner qi, carried far, far across the empty terrain.

This grand feeling instilled in Zhang Yang an aura of dominance—the sense that the world was his to command. This surge of elation also dispelled the pent-up frustration he had been nursing lately. Ever since Zhang Keqin was poisoned, although Zhang Yang maintained a composed exterior, anxiety had gnawed at him inwardly.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have pushed himself so relentlessly on the journey, even leaving Long Feng trailing behind.

But in this moment, speeding across the immense landscape on Zhuifeng’s back, nothing else occupied Zhang Yang’s mind; only a feeling of unprecedented openness.

His heart felt vast enough to contain the entire sweep of the heavens and earth.

Seated upon Zhuifeng, Zhang Yang suddenly pulled a small notebook from his person and opened it, immediately commencing his reading. This was the secret manual for the Potian Sword Technique he always carried. The first section, which had previously proven agonizingly bitter and difficult to comprehend, now flowed with remarkable smoothness.

The incantations of the sword style activated naturally as Zhang Yang used his finger in place of a blade, tracing gentle arcs through the air.

Zhuifeng, mid-stride, suddenly halted, turning its head back with a look of surprise toward Zhang Yang.

Seeing the halt, Zhang Yang lightly patted the horse’s head. As soon as Zhuifeng registered the touch, the sense of smooth comprehension vanished. He needed Zhuifeng to run again, to recapture that seamless flow.

Receiving the command, Zhuifeng reluctantly stretched its hooves and burst into a sprint once more.

Zhang Yang slowly closed his eyes, a faint smile touching his lips. His fingers danced lightly and continuously. Shandian and Wuying both stood erect on their hind legs, watching Zhang Yang with equal astonishment.

A dense field of energy enveloped Zhang Yang, and the surrounding ambient energy of the world rapidly converged upon him.

The sheer magnitude of this energy influx was comparable only to the time Zhang Yang achieved his initial major epiphany, when the Spiritual Gate of Heaven and Earth opened for him.

However, even that moment couldn't match the present. That previous time was within the city limits; this time, he was truly in the wilderness, in an extremely open area, where the energy was far purer than it had been in Hangzhou.

Clusters of energy swiftly spun through Zhang Yang’s fingers and into his body. His comprehension of the sword technique deepened profoundly.

The sky suddenly darkened momentarily, and just after that swift passage of darkness, dawn broke.

A sliver of crimson hue appeared on the distant horizon. The sun was about to rise, signaling the imminent arrival of a new day.

Zhuifeng continued its steady run. As the sky brightened, a ray of red sunlight finally spilled onto the horse's coat. At that precise moment, Zhang Yang awoke.

A broad, deep smile spread across Zhang Yang’s face.

“Jee-jee-jee!”

“Squeak-squeak-squeak!”

Wuying and Shandian hopped over, one in front of the other. They both sensed a transformation in Zhang Yang, yet they couldn't quite articulate what that change was.

The two little ones looked up, questioning him.

“I’m fine. I just didn’t expect the harvest this time to be so huge!”

Picking up Shandian and Wuying, Zhang Yang laughed as he spoke. The gains from this session were indeed significant. Besides the secret knowledge of the five layers, the Potian Sword Technique itself was an enormous prize.

The surge of pride he felt earlier had suddenly unlocked his understanding of the parts of the sword technique that had been obscure. Striking while the iron was hot, Zhang Yang immediately pulled out the manual to practice. All the previously impenetrable sections passed through smoothly this time. Zhang Yang had successfully mastered the first stance of the Potian Sword Technique.

The Potian Sword Technique was not overly complex; it comprised only six stances in total. Although this was just the first stance, its power was already immense, far exceeding Zhang Yang’s previous imagination.

Ordinary martial arts, regardless of their nature, relied on the practitioner’s internal qi. The might of a technique depended on both the refinement of skill and the strength of one’s internal reserves; the stronger the qi, the greater the power.

The Potian Sword Technique, however, was entirely different. It demanded no internal qi from the user. The moment it was deployed, it could draw energy directly from the surrounding heaven and earth—and terrifying energy at that.

This borrowed energy could be utilized, and the stronger the user, the more power they could command. With Zhang Yang at the early stage of the Fourth Layer, using the Potian Sword Technique allowed him to borrow power equivalent to an early Fourth Layer expert.

As long as the energy in the world remained continuous, this source of power would never cease. In energy-rich locations, this was essentially inexhaustible might.

Merely this aspect alone made it an extraordinarily fearsome sword style.

Zhang Yang did not know the true rank of this technique, but he now had a strong intuition that even the most supreme-grade sword styles could not compare to the Potian Sword Technique.

With this technique, despite being at the peak of the early Fourth Layer, he could now confidently contend with experts at the mid-Fourth Layer. Without relying on the aid of his three spirit beasts, even a mid-Fourth Layer expert might not be his match.

The power unleashed by the sword technique, once activated by Zhang Yang, was not a simple case of one plus one equaling two; his actual strength had undergone a qualitative leap.

Zhang Yang felt a pang of retrospective relief that Chu Yuntian had relied on a saber. Had he cultivated this sword technique upon acquiring it, Zhang Yang would have been completely outmatched, even if Chu Yuntian had only mastered the first stance. The grand formation Zhang Yang set up wouldn't have lasted a single clash against the sheer, inherent energy of the sword technique, which would have shattered the formation outright.

“Congratulations to the Host for acquiring a new ability!”

The system interface, which had remained dormant for a long time, suddenly popped up, displaying the familiar three-dimensional green screen before Zhang Yang’s eyes.

Upon appearance, the system automatically opened the Abilities tab. Previously, this tab listed only ‘Medical Arts’ and ‘Zhang Family Qigong’; now, ‘Potian Sword Technique’ had been added.

The proficiency level displayed for the Potian Sword Technique was 7. Among the three attributes, this was the lowest value.

This sudden development made Zhang Yang pause abruptly. After gazing at the screen for a moment, his eyes involuntarily narrowed, and his expression shifted to one of profound shock.

This Potian Sword Technique had established itself as a distinct category, becoming an entirely new ability.

Did this mean that in the future, just as he could upgrade his internal qi, he could use opportunities granted by completed missions to gain Ability Points and rapidly enhance the proficiency of the Potian Sword Technique? Even without consciously grasping the nuances of the sword style, his power could increase simply through the rising numerical value?

If this were true, it was absolutely fantastic news for Zhang Yang. He knew firsthand how difficult the comprehension and cultivation of this sword style were—significantly harder than cultivating internal qi.

Sword techniques relied almost entirely on epiphany, which was an ethereal and elusive thing—incredibly difficult. If he hadn't been riding Zhuifeng at full speed in this wide-open space, leading to his sudden expansive state of mind and the feeling of magnificent pride, he never would have achieved this breakthrough in understanding the first stance through sheer chance.

Looking at it this way, he had no clue when he might achieve the insight for the second stance, or even if he ever would.

But under the system, as long as he received future missions, there was a chance for ability points to automatically accrue, granting him a reserve of free Ability Points to allocate specifically to the sword style.

This effectively meant he could continue improving the sword technique without needing to rely on unpredictable epiphanies—this cheat function was simply too powerful.

Staring at the proficiency number for the Potian Sword Technique in the Abilities tab, a fresh wave of pleasant surprise spread across Zhang Yang’s face.

A 7. The current proficiency of the Potian Sword Technique was only 7. Compared to the Zhang Family Qigong, which already had a three-digit score, and Medical Arts, rated at 49 Ability Points, this 7 was an exceptionally low figure.

With such a low numerical value producing such great power, Zhang Yang could barely imagine the wonders awaiting him when the score climbed higher.

Thinking of this, he felt an overwhelming urge to laugh out loud to the sky.

Zhuifeng suddenly stopped again, and the three little creatures eyed Zhang Yang suspiciously. If they hadn't known him so well, they might have suspected this perpetually grinning man had been replaced.

The sun had fully risen now. Zhuifeng had carried them to the grasslands beneath the Tian Shan mountain range, where dewdrops still clung to the blades of grass.

“I’m fine, I just grasped a new martial art. I’ll show you later!”

Zhang Yang said, with a touch of smugness, like a child who had received an unexpected gift or a beloved new toy.

This sword technique had truly brought him immense delight.

If he had known how crucial those five layers of secret knowledge were when he first obtained it, he wouldn't have hesitated to agree to the exchange for three, or even ten, Youth-Preserving Pills. Cultivating internal qi practitioners was trivial; giving the Huang family three or five wasn't a big deal.

The value of this sword technique was simply too enormous.

Zhang Yang was also puzzled. How could a minor family like the Huangs possess such a formidable secret manual, along with the secret to the five advanced layers? Given the Huang family’s limited strength, they shouldn't have access to such resources.

This was a question he couldn't readily solve, though he quickly decided not to dwell on it.

How the Huang family ancestors acquired these secrets mattered little to him now. All that mattered was that he had successfully cultivated the sword technique, and his strength had received a monumental boost.

If Chu Yuntian were still alive, the current Zhang Yang was confident he could handle him alone, without needing external assistance.

At this moment, Zhang Yang almost regretted prematurely spending those few points of free Ability Value. How much better it would have been to apply them to this new ability! Perhaps it could have helped him quickly learn the second stance. If the first stance was this powerful, who knew what surprises the second would bring.

He checked the system interface briefly but found no new missions, causing a slight disappointment to cross his features.

He didn't rush it, though. Missions would certainly appear later. Having just learned this sword style, forcing rapid advancement would be detrimental; he needed time to familiarize himself with and stabilize his current level.

“Let’s go, Zhuifeng, towards Tian Shan!”

Looking up at the white peaks ahead, Zhang Yang patted Zhuifeng’s head lightly. The horse nodded slowly, then stretched out its legs and galloped forward again.

The saying goes that mountains exhaust a horse, but that refers to ordinary steeds; it certainly didn't apply to Zhuifeng. The seemingly distant Tian Shan soon materialized directly before Zhang Yang under the relentless gallop.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year, great fortune for your families, and greater prosperity in the coming year! RQ