The following morning, Ruan Hongling vaulted from her balcony onto Li Yundong's, peering in only to find the room empty. She called out, but received no response.

Ruan Hongling muttered to herself, This scoundrel couldn't possibly have been practicing all night, could he?

Hesitating, Ruan Hongling stilled her breath and listened intently. Sure enough, she detected faint sounds of air being sliced. She shook her head and let out a cold snort. "Truly a hopeless idiot. I told him rushing things only defeats the purpose, yet he refuses to listen. Does he think he can achieve mastery in a single night? What a daydream!"

With that, she scanned the balcony area, and once satisfied no one was watching, she lightly pushed off, executing several graceful leaps onto the rooftop.

As soon as she landed, Ruan Hongling’s eyes widened. She saw a dense black sphere rolling incessantly on the balcony below. Countless golden Sanskrit characters floated around the black mass, gleaming brilliantly even in the daylight, like a layer of golden Futu script.

This black sphere constantly emitted a low whooshing sound as it whipped up dust and pebbles, like a sudden gale. Interspersed within the whooshing were sharp, rapid clacking sounds—the sound of the Iron Fan’s leaves opening and closing repeatedly. If one closed their eyes, it sounded as if thousands of warriors were drawing their swords in quick succession, their steel ringing with a formidable, murderous aura.

Ruan Hongling’s eyes were stretched wide, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. She stammered, "Th-this isn't him practicing the fan dance, is it?"

As she hesitated, the black sphere abruptly vanished. The surrounding golden script fluttered, twisted, and then slowly dissipated in the air, revealing a man wreathed in swirling white vapor—it was Li Yundong!

Li Yundong flicked his wrist, and the towering, man-high Seven Treasures Spirit-Awakening Fan suddenly snapped shut. The black light and golden Futu manifestation created by the black leaves and golden Sanskrit disappeared with it. Yet, with a fierce shout, he tossed the Iron Fan above his head. Swish! The fan instantly snapped fully open again, humming like a rapidly spinning razor blade, whirling violently in the air.

With the treasured fan momentarily out of his hand, Li Yundong executed three sharp, consecutive kicks in place—pa-pa-pa—his bones emitting crisp, powerful snaps with each movement. Just as the third kick landed, the spinning Seven Treasures Spirit-Awakening Fan plummeted from the sky, its sharp edges rotating at high speed like serrations. Anything it struck, even steel rebar, would likely be instantly severed in two!

Li Yundong gauged the trajectory with precision, reaching out to the whirling fan and grasping the central spine exactly. Then, with a pivot of his foot and a powerful thrust from his waist, the fan immediately retracted its leaves with a swish. Li Yundong spun and retreated, bringing the Seven Treasures Spirit-Awakening Fan sweeping down violently over his head. The momentum was so ferocious that Ruan Hongling felt as if that single strike could smash the entire building down!

However, just as Li Yundong’s fan reached mid-arc, it suddenly froze, as if a monstrous flood had instantly turned into an icy, boundless sea—motionless.

The shift from immense, surging power to sudden, absolute stillness left Ruan Hongling staring blankly. Although she was a cultivator proficient in spiritual arts, she was no novice in the ways of martial combat.

As the saying goes, 'Nine out of ten Daoists are physicians, and nine out of ten Daoists are martial artists.' This implies that nine out of ten cultivators can treat ailments, and nine out of ten possess defensive fighting skills.

Ruan Hongling had found the move where Li Yundong threw the fan upward somewhat baffling, but when she witnessed the three powerful kicks he delivered immediately after tossing the fan, she couldn't help but applaud internally: What a magnificent move of feinting an attack elsewhere!

But when Li Yundong caught the fan and, with a sharp flick of his wrist, retracted the iron blades in an instant, Ruan Hongling’s eyes lit up. She knew that if an attacker had lunged at that moment, Li Yundong could have used the sharp edge of the retracted fan to inflict a grievous wound.

Yet, the most masterful move was that pivot and retreat!

The path of martial arts aligns with the art of war. The Sage of War, Sun Tzu, noted in The Art of War that among the Thirty-Six Stratagems, the most brilliant one is: 'To retreat is the best strategy!'

No matter how powerful a strike is, if the opponent dodges or flees, it achieves nothing if it fails to connect.

Li Yundong’s pivot and retreat embodied the thirty-sixth stratagem, 'To retreat is the best strategy.' But immediately following the turn, he used the momentum of the pivot to smash the iron fan downward as if wielding a solid iron column. This maneuver carried the essence of both 'turning back for a surprise attack' and 'the trailing saber technique,' making it a superb, deceptive killing move that countered offense with defense!

Once Li Yundong settled completely, Ruan Hongling couldn't help but ask loudly, "How did you suddenly become so powerful? Did Sister Ziyuan teach you a few tricks last night?"

Though Li Yundong had finished his fierce fan practice, his internal energy churned vigorously, yet only white vapor rose from his head. Not a bead of sweat marred his skin, and his face was only slightly flushed—he didn't look like someone who had just undergone intense exertion.

Hearing Ruan Hongling’s voice, Li Yundong turned his head, glanced at her, and shook his head. "No."

Ruan Hongling’s eyes widened. "Then where did you learn that move just now?"

Li Yundong replied, "I figured it out myself."

Ruan Hongling gasped, "You figured it out yourself? Impossible!"

She stared at him, inwardly shaken: Was he bluffing? It was astonishing enough that he had mastered the Seven Treasures Spirit-Awakening Fan in one night, but to immediately derive a decisive, enemy-defeating killing maneuver from using it? Was this guy some kind of freak? Even a genius wasn't this exaggerated!

Ruan Hongling scrutinized Li Yundong from head to toe, as if encountering an alien visitor. It wasn't until Ziyuan also arrived on the rooftop that she snapped back to reality. She grabbed Ziyuan’s arm and pointed at Li Yundong, stammering, "Sister Ziyuan, he just, he, he..."

For a moment, Ruan Hongling couldn't find the right words to describe Li Yundong.

Ziyuan looked at Ruan Hongling, confused. "What's wrong with you?"

Ruan Hongling glared at Li Yundong, thinking grimly: If his cultivation advances this quickly, won't he soon surpass me effortlessly? Thinking this, Ruan Hongling felt a pang of sourness and replied listlessly, "Nothing. You ask him."

Ziyuan turned her puzzled gaze toward Li Yundong. Li Yundong held a degree of reverence for this female cultivator who so resembled an immortal sister. He smiled faintly and said, "It's nothing. I just practiced with the Seven Treasures Spirit-Awakening Fan all night and finally grasped some fundamentals and developed a few insights."

Ruan Hongling rolled her eyes beside him, thinking: Practiced that skillfully, and he calls that 'a few insights'?

Ziyuan didn't take the explanation at face value, sounding slightly admonishing. "You, why don't you ever listen to what you're told? Didn't I tell you that cultivation requires adherence to the Heavenly Way, to rhythm? You must sleep when it’s time to sleep. Why didn't you sleep last night?"

Li Yundong offered a wry smile. "You two left so suddenly last night, abandoning me on the rooftop. I could get up here, but I couldn't get down!"

Ziyuan and Ruan Hongling both paused, then Ruan Hongling threw her head back and burst into loud laughter, shaking the heavens. Ziyuan couldn't help but let out a muffled chuckle and turned away to hide her smile.

Amidst their laughter, Li Yundong said helplessly, "Alone up on the roof, if I wasn't practicing the Seven Treasures Spirit-Awakening Fan, what else was I supposed to do?"

After laughing for a while, Ziyuan slightly pursed her lips, her eyes still smiling. "Well, that's my fault. Now, hurry and come down with us. Get some proper rest, and I have something else I need to discuss with you."

Li Yundong nodded, then took Ziyuan’s outstretched hand. After a moment of soaring like clouds and riding the mist, he was back inside his own home.

Ziyuan instructed, "This is when Yang energy is at its peak. You can sit facing east and circulate your Qi. While it won't negate the exhaustion from staying up all night, it should at least prevent you from being fatigued all day."

Li Yundong nodded and followed her instruction. Ziyuan and Ruan Hongling exchanged a glance and departed from Li Yundong's apartment via the balcony.

Li Yundong sat in meditation facing the rising sun, circulating his Qi. He felt a comforting warmth throughout his body, as if a scorching hot current was flowing within him. Wherever it flowed, it brought serenity and ease, washing away the fatigue.

After an indeterminate time, when he finished circulating his energy, Li Yundong opened his eyes to find Ziyuan and Ruan Hongling staring intently at him.

Li Yundong blinked. "What is it?"

Ruan Hongling’s expression was rather odd, and she remained silent. Ziyuan smiled slightly and said, "Nothing. The Golden Core essence and the Virgin essence within you are hard-won; you must cherish them."

"That statement sounds quite strange," Li Yundong thought to himself with a frown. He didn't respond to Ziyuan, but his gaze swept over Ruan Hongling's hands, and he broke into an apologetic smile. "You brought me food again? I'm so embarrassed to always trouble you both! Thank you!"

Ruan Hongling snorted through her nose. "So you know how to say thank you?" She then placed the plastic bag she was holding onto the coffee table.

Although Li Yundong and Ruan Hongling had been sparring verbally these past few days, the fact remained that Ruan Hongling and Ziyuan had been helping him. Li Yundong noticed and remembered this, even if he didn't say it aloud; he was secretly grateful. He felt particular respect for Ziyuan, which consequently improved his attitude toward Ruan Hongling as well.

Though he heard Ruan Hongling mock him, Li Yundong didn't engage in banter. He opened the plastic bag, took out the food containers, and was about to eat when a thought struck him. He looked up and asked, "By the way, have you two eaten?"

Before Ziyuan could reply, Ruan Hongling snorted, "Heaven help us, so you do know how to care about others? We two are still starving!"

Ziyuan gave Ruan Hongling a reproving look and apologized to Li Yundong, "Don't listen to her nonsense. We both ate this morning."

Li Yundong laughed. "It’s almost noon, and you’re telling me you ate this morning? Isn't that calling me an idiot?" Saying this, Li Yundong stood up. "Wait here for a moment, I need to step out." As he reached the door, he suddenly turned back and added, "Oh, and next time you visit, could you please use the door? Stop flying in and out from the balcony like common thieves, alright?"

Without waiting for a reply from Ziyuan or Ruan Hongling, he stepped out.

Ruan Hongling turned to Ziyuan, huffing indignantly, "Sister Ziyuan, he called us thieves!"

Ziyuan smiled faintly and said nothing.

Seeing that her attempt to stir trouble had failed, Ruan Hongling’s eyes darted around, and she said, "Sister Ziyuan, guess what he went out to do?"

Ziyuan smiled gently. "You already have the answer in your heart. Why ask me?"

Ruan Hongling chuckled, about to speak, when suddenly a phone began vibrating loudly on the sofa. She turned to look; it was Li Yundong’s mobile phone, buzzing insistently.

Ruan Hongling wondered aloud, "Huh? Who’s calling him?" She picked up the phone and looked at the caller ID, which clearly displayed two large characters: Little Chick! F