34 Shen Long's first bottleneck!

"You have certainly improved a lot since yesterday. However, wielding twin swords like this is technically cheating. You still have not grasped the point of Balance between your two swords. Although it works perfectly fine for now, you still have not fully comprehended the first stance thoroughly. In actual combat, you should aim to achieve perfect balance for both individual swords, not creating balance by wielding two swords with opposing swordplay style." Daoist Fireblade criticized.

Shen Long was slightly disappointed after hearing his Master's words. However, he, himself, was aware of the problem as well. Even though he was now comfortable with the lighter and faster strikes, he still couldn't merge the two styles together. Fundamentally, fast and slow are two opposing qualities. Shen Long, for the first time, truly felt like he was stuck in a bottleneck.

Shen Long's insight towards this set of sword art and the Dao of Balance was still insufficient. He recognized the significance of balance, but he couldn't find the solution towards the fusion of the two sword arts. Even with Shen Long's knowledge of Taiji, it seemed impossible for him to be swift and slow, strong and weak, soft and forceful at the same time.

Daoist Fireblade refused to give him guidance regarding this matter as well. One must encounter and pass through the bottleneck himself in the journey of cultivation. It is the most efficient way of improving, in the long-term. Developing a habit to figure out problems singlehandedly was important. Ultimately, the road of cultivation could only be walked down alone. The further you went, the less you could rely on others.

Daoist Fireblade had placed high hopes on Shen Long. As a cultivator who had received the blessing from the universe essence, he could easily cultivate to Emperor Level as long as he was prudent while adventuring in the future. To ascend to God Realm, however, was still very difficult. However, Daoist Fireblade believed in Shen Long's capabilities. If he continued to advance at this rate and maintain his hardworking attitude, it wasn't completely impossible for Shen Long.

Seeing Shen Long's disappointment, Daoist Fireblade decided to give Shen Long a few words of encouragement. He couldn't stand watching his disciple to behave like this. He felt slightly guilty as he could reveal the trick to him, but he chose not to.

"Keep it up, Shen Long. You have already done a fantastic job. You've only been training in this sword art for one day! Your progress is already extremely impressive, even when compared to those freakishly talented monsters. I am really proud of you, Long-er!"

Shen Long nodded as he continued to recite the manual in his head. His understanding was slowly improving, but he was not content with the current speed. As Shen Long had only trained for two months, he had never understood the difficulty of cultivation. The so-called "bottlenecks" for Shen Long were all solved within days. Now that Shen Long properly encountered his first, he could not accept his cultivation speed slowing down.

As time continued to tick, Shen Long listened to his Master's advice and took a break. Shen Long had been training for 32 hours, and he should be exhausted. Shen Long agreed to have dinner with Daoist Fireblade. The Master and disciple duo chatted and ate until Shen Long returned to the training ground again. Shen Long realised that he skipped his Qi cultivation and his strength session today, so he came back for it before he went home.

As soon as he arrived back home, he immediately slept. Even though a Saint Cultivator could theoretically go for 2-3 days without sleep, Shen Long's body craved for sleep for various reasons. As a teenager, Shen Long needed at least eight hours of sleep every day. Also, Shen Long had been training crazily for the past hours. Sleep was necessary for his muscle to repair and grow.

It wasn't long until Shen Long woke up. Immediately, he headed straight back to the training ground. Following his usual routine, he did his basic training first - Qi and Strength - before he started working on his sword art again. Shen Long, however, approached the sword art in a different way. Instead of spam-practising, he chose to reflect on his swordplay every attempt.

Just as he was about to record his own sword movements with a camera, he realised... this was the cultivation world. Technology didn't exist, so there was no way for Shen Long to record his swordplay. Shen Long was tempted to craft a camera himself, but he realised the difficulty of doing so. As a sixteen years old and his limited knowledge, it was an impossible task.

"Whatever... I guess I will try to recall my movement as much as I can then... I really need to start bringing people from Earth over. Everything will be so much easier! Everyone would benefit from the modern day technology, and surely Master would be able to use this advantage to trade me some decent treasures... to prolong my parent's lifespan! What a godly plan. No wonder why I'm called Shen Long." Shen Long thought to himself as he grinned.

Clearing away these random thoughts, he jumped straight back into cultivation. He repeatedly attempted to fuse the two different styles together, but he had not succeeded a single time. In fact, he wasn't even sure if he was going in the right direction. This happened for the next few days. When Daoist Fireblade arrived, he would nod and encourage him, but would not reveal any tips and hints towards his manual.

This left Shen Long slightly speechless. Even though he understood his master's intentions, he still wished his Master to drop him some hints. Besides his advancement in Qi, his sword art had merely improved at all. However, he had mastered the Sixth Level of the Moonlight Script, and he was ready to advance to Demigod Realm.

As one's intelligence increased with cultivation level, Shen Long might be able to comprehend the Sword Art after reaching Demigod realm. At least, it would be much easier for him to grasp it. Daoist Fireblade instructed Shen Long to rest for a day before advancing to Demigod realm, though he didn't understand why, nor did Daoist Fireblade explain.

Shen Long rushed to the training ground as soon as he woke up. Unexpectedly, the training ground's appearance was very different. There was a gigantic circle, in the centre, marked by green trails. Surrounded by torches, the equipment, puppets and weapon rack had disappeared to nowhere. The room felt abnormally dark, as the faint, unwelcoming torches act as the only light source.

Encountering such a scene, Shen Long was hesitant to enter. He confirmed once more if this was the training ground, not an evil, ritual evocation room. Sweats started dropping down his delicate face as his heartbeat hastened. Shen Long's dedication towards cultivation, however, pushed him to continue walking.

As he stepped into the mysterious circle, the torches instantly burned out, and the room was devoured by darkness. Shen Long was scared shitless. He didn't have a mobile phone, which had a torch function, nor an actual torch. All he could do was to attempt to find his way back.

At the exact moment, a high-pitched screech could be heard across the room. Shen Long could hear footsteps, slowly drawing close. Shen Long attempted to calm himself down as he lowered himself into a horse stance position. Being completely blinded, he used his other senses to locate the suspicious figure.

Shen Long was unarmed as he had still not received his twin swords from his Master yet. Even though the mysterious person was drawing closer, Shen Long couldn't feel any killing intent from him or her. In fact, he could even the odour of flowers as he continued to come close.

"Unless it's a witch? No way. The security of this palace is so tight. How can an evil creature come in without alerting any Guards? That smell is definitely from a flower. A dandelion. Don't tell me, it's one of Master's disciples? But why would one be here, at this time?" Shen Long thought to himself as he relaxed slightly.

"Hello? May I ask who you are and why you're here?" Shen Long politely asked as he turned his head into the direction of the strange person.

"AHH!" A girlish scream could be heard, as well as the sound of metallic objects crashing onto the ground. It was no more than an utterance from Shen Long, yet the terror on her face was crystal clear.