Yun Jin's fifty somersaults weren't just a warm-up. They were a full performance.
Backflips, front flips, aerials, single-hand spins, sideways twists—she did them all. She even threw in a deliberate "mistake" for flair.
Sadly, the Emotional Value gains weren't as explosive as she'd hoped.
Hmm.
Had her antics become... too predictable?
Not good.
Still, she finished the flips in record time. She had taken it so seriously that, just as she stopped, a wave of sword technique comprehension surged through her. The impact nearly made her stumble.
The crowd: "..."
Zhao Wuji chuckled. "What's this, Yun Jin? You finish your little acrobatics and suddenly you've mastered the sword art?"
His tone was full of mockery.
But Yun Jin nodded solemnly. "Yes. I think I have."
Still bluffing?
Zhao Wuji sneered. "Then, please, show us."
Yun Jin didn't rush. Calmly, she walked over and picked up the sword she had tossed aside earlier.
"This sword art... is quite interesting," she said with a curl of her lips, then moved.
Whoosh!
Her silhouette vanished in an instant.
Her form and sword drifted apart, then converged again, like an illusion, like a dream. It was an eerie, breathtaking beauty.
[Ding. High-Grade Yellow Rank Sword Art: Entry Level, 6/10.]
[Reaching 10/10 allows compression and upgrade to Low-Grade Mystic Rank Sword Art.]
Yun Jin's eyes lit up.
Oh? So mastering ten High-Grade Yellow Rank sword arts could be synthesized into a Mystic Rank one?
Even just a Low-Grade Mystic Rank was a leap across realms.
In all of Tianxing Sect, there were countless Yellow Rank techniques, but only three Mystic Rank sword manuals in total. From Yellow to Mystic—this was a qualitative transformation.
But with the Simplification System in her hands, she could potentially mass-produce Mystic Rank sword techniques. The system's message didn't distract her. Yun Jin continued practicing the sword art.
Elder Jian watched with shining eyes. He had practiced this very technique himself. Even with his mastery of the sword, it had taken him hours to fully grasp it.
But Yun Jin?
One glance.
As for the somersaults?
Ah!
She must've noticed this art demanded physical flexibility—hence the warm-up flips!
Brilliant!
His admiration soared.
"This girl... was extraordinary."
He had come to the right place today.
Yun Jin finished the demonstration and sheathed her sword, her expression calm.
She quickly checked her Emotional Value.
...Tch.
Somersaults and a full sword performance, and she had only gained 800 points.
Sure, it was probably because she had milked them plenty earlier, but still...
As the old saying went:
"Fleece every sheep until it's bald."
And another:
"Leaving even one strand unplucked is a crime!"
With an utterly calm face, Yun Jin said, "Elder Jian, please don't bring out such basic sword arts next time. I find that only Heaven Rank techniques pose even a slight challenge for me. Unfortunately, Tianxing Sect is such a tiny sect, not even one Heaven Rank sword manual exists here. If you really insist, just hand over that Earth Rank 'Azure Lotus Sword Art.' I can manage with that."
She stood there, the picture of lonely invincibility.
The crowd was speechless.
They had seen people show off before—but never like this.
She asked for a Heaven Rank sword art right out of the gate?!
Did she even know what she was asking for?
That was the kind of treasure found only in a Holy Land!
And she called an Earth Rank technique "barely acceptable"?
Reality check: no one in the entire Tianxing Sect had ever mastered an Earth Rank sword technique. Not Lin Ya, the prodigy of a generation. Not even Sect Master Zhao Wuji himself!
Even Elder Jian was stunned for a moment. Then, unexpectedly, he laughed. "Yun Jin, did you say... you want to cultivate an Earth Rank sword art?"
Yun Jin didn't get a chance to respond before Zhao Wuji cut in.
"Elder Jian, this girl is insufferable! She's barely grasped a few High-Grade Yellow Rank techniques, yet she dares to dream of Earth Rank? With this kind of arrogance, she won't make it far on the path of cultivation!"
At that, Yun Jin lifted her chin, face full of disdain. "How could the mediocre ever understand the terror of true genius?"
[+200 Emotional Value.]
Yun Jin grinned at Zhao Wuji. "Ah, what a generous source of Emotional Value he was."
So she added, "My fate is to be unmatched. Every step I take at each stage, I stand at the peak. One by one, I will surpass you all—and when that day comes, I hope you will still chase after me. Though by then, you may not even see my shadow."
[+200 Emotional Value.]
[+50 Emotional Value.]
[+10 Emotional Value.]
Oh? Still milking more out of them?
So swordplay bored them, but edgy proclamations still worked!
Emboldened, Yun Jin stomped the ground, pointing skyward: "I'll tear the heavens if they blind me! Shatter the earth if it binds me! All beings shall know my will—even gods and buddhas will turn to dust before me!"
Silence.
Deafening silence.
Lin Ya stared, dumbfounded.
What kind of lunatic had he taken in?!
"Gods and buddhas to dust"?!
Did she want divine retribution?!
[+300 Emotional Value.]
[+100 Emotional Value.]
[+100 Emotional Value.]
Yun Jin blinked, amused.
Oh, who could understand this?
All the sword moves, all the tumbling—she'd scraped out Emotional Value bit by bit.
But just a few lines of melodramatic nonsense?
The Emotional Value soared like crazy!
Yun Jin made a firm decision then and there:
From now on, she would etch her over-the-top lines into her very bones.
Ideally, she'd recite one every time she entered the scene!
"Very... ambitious," Elder Jian stammered. He was the first to respond.
"Acceptable," Yun Jin said with a modest smile.
"Blasphemous wretch!" Zhao Wuji snapped. "You better pray those gods and buddhas don't take offense. If they do, a single bolt of lightning could strike you down."
Yun Jin smirked, eyes gleaming. "Is that so? They should pray I ignore them Otherwise, I'll shake heaven and earth."
The crowd: "..."
Elder Jian couldn't take it anymore. Even though no divine being would bother with a mere disciple, such words were better spoken with caution.
He cleared his throat. "Back to the point. Yun Jin, are you certain you want to cultivate an Earth Rank sword technique?"
Before she could reply—
Zhao Wuji's expression turned dark. "Elder Jian, you've seen her behavior. Arrogant beyond words. She may have some talent in swordsmanship, but she has Five Spiritual Roots! A cultivator like that will never reach the Nascent Soul stage. She'll be stuck at Golden Core her whole life. Even with a sword-appropriate body, what can she possibly accomplish?"
At that, Zhao Wuji felt deeply relieved.
Thank heavens Yun Jin had Five Spiritual Roots.
If she had anything better, she might flip the entire Tianxing Sect on its head!
To be fair, Zhao Wuji wasn't entirely wrong. Elder Jian fell silent, deep in thought.
Yun Jin raised an eyebrow. "Who says Five Spiritual Roots can't reach the Nascent Soul realm? I told you, I'm a genius. And a genius defies common sense."
Zhao Wuji's eye twitched.
Genius? Debatable.
But this shamelessness?
Peerless.