The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 3: Eight Plays of Mount Hua

The night is deep and the sky is dotted with stars.

Huashan at night is very quiet except for the occasional strong wind blowing over the top of the mountain!

After meeting with his master, his mistress, and his fellow senior brothers, Xu Xingchen returned to his residence without wasting time. He quickly immersed himself in the study of Taoist Canon, I Ching and other books, and from time to time he took a pen to write down the key points on paper and make notes.

He discovered that many of the texts in the Taoist Canon were mysterious and confusing, but often, all of them were telling the same story.

This truly proves the truth of the famous saying, "Falsely transmit ten thousand books, truly transmit one sentence."

Fortunately, he has an amazing talent for learning. He is good at unraveling confusing exercises, finding the key points, and then using the simplest methods to solve those difficult problems.

If some Taoist masters saw how fast he could interpret the Taoist scriptures, they would be shocked and astonished, and then angrily cursed: "How can the difference between people be greater than the difference between people and dogs?"

In the following days, Xu Xingchen continued to get up early in the morning to practice sword on the cliff. In the morning, he studied how to integrate Huashan swordsmanship and Huashan mental skills. In the afternoon, he continued to practice sword with the "heavy sword". In the evening, he studied the Taoist Canon and the Book of Changes, and meditated before going to bed.

The whole day was packed with activities and nothing was wasted.

If it were someone with a restless mind, such as Sixth Senior Brother Lu Dayou, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to hold on for more than a few days and would become irritated and go crazy.

Even the eldest senior brother Linghu Chong could not endure such hard training. The reason why his swordsmanship was so outstanding was that "hard work and practice" only accounted for four points, and the remaining six points were all due to his spiritual talent.

The reason why Xu Xingchen was able to persevere was due to his obsession, his concentration, and his love for novel things like martial arts.

You must see your master once every three days. Even if your master is not on the mountain, you must go and see your master's wife Ning Zhongze and your master's sister Yue Lingshan. This is the rule and also a means of maintaining family ties.

He competed with his fellow brothers once a month, and every time he competed, Xu Xingchen could feel that his swordsmanship improved by leaps and bounds.

However, with the presence of his second senior brother, the "sixth" in the sect, and his young age and ranking last, it was not easy for him to stand out. So, every time there was a sword competition, he tried his best to restrain, hide and conceal his skills to maintain his stable position as the "ninth".

As a second-generation man, he no longer has the desire to show off in front of others like a young man, and his mentality is very stable!
Time flies, and half a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

During the past six months, Xu Xingchen's position for sword practice in the morning has become higher and higher, the position he stands in has become more and more dangerous, and the dagger in his hand has become more and more stable.

The thirteen moves of Huashan swordsmanship, when performed in his hands, were truly as steady as a rock, and in accordance with rules and regulations, without any trace of majestic, dangerous or handsome conception.

Even if the moves have not changed, people would just think it is another set of swordsmanship, rather than the Huashan swordsmanship which is famous for its strangeness and danger.

At the same time, when he was practicing sword in the yard, he tied wooden sticks to the three-foot-long sword to increase the weight of the sword!
Holding the "heavy" sword to integrate and strengthen the strength of the muscles and bones throughout the body actually stimulated his height to grow a lot in the past six months.

After all, the topic of the integration of Huashan swordsmanship and Huashan mental skills is to analyze and deal with some problems based on existing knowledge. It is much easier than innovation that is confusing and has no clear direction. Therefore, it only took half a year to achieve results.

Xu Xingchen removed all the acupoints used for attack in Huashan Sword Technique, and only retained some acupoints that stimulated the activity of muscles throughout the body.

The thirteen sword techniques were also reduced, retaining only some basic steps and movements that enhance body flexibility.

Initially, he wanted to express the combined movements of the two in the form of standing meditation, but after trying several times, he found that this approach was completely contrary to the ideas of Huashan's mental and sword techniques, and they could not be combined together.

Then, he tried to use strong and vigorous movements to guide the circulation of internal energy in the meridians, but it still didn't work.

Finally, he chose to use the graceful steps like Lingbo Weibu to transfer his internal energy, but it was still unsatisfactory and not smooth.

If it weren't for the moderate and peaceful internal energy cultivated through the Huashan Heart Method, he would have gone astray countless times with such crazy attempts.

After trying, failing, and modifying again and again, I tried again, failed again, and modified again.
Xu Xingchen finally found the key to the initial integration of the two, and after sorting and modifying them several times, he came up with eight movements.

These eight movements are a combination of body movements, steps and boxing techniques. Once performed, the steps are light, the body is stretched, and the arms rise and fall, like a golden goose flying in the sky or a phoenix hovering. Although there are only eight movements, they can fully demonstrate the charm of lightness, speed and agility.

These eight movements are not like boxing, steps or body movements. They are just like children playing and having fun, full of childish fun. Xu Xingchen named them "Eight Actions of Mount Hua" with a sense of childishness.

In the meditation room, a wisp of green smoke rising from the sandalwood was swayed left and right and pulled this way and that by a figure.

On the open floor, Xu Xingchen was like a flying bird, soaring and circling lightly. Although there were only eight movements, they presented a variety of magical charms in the continuous cycle.

Simply incredible!

The internal force in Xu Xingchen's body did not need to be driven or guided by his mind. It just flowed along the meridians and acupoints under the influence of eight movements.

It is as fast as a flying bird and as light as a feather. It is not driven by any mental thoughts but is coordinated only with the movements of the body, thus capturing the wonders of nature.

After practicing for half an hour, Xu Xingchen stopped, collected his energy and checked his internal strength. He found that it was lively and agile, full of vitality, and its size seemed to have increased a bit.

"This stage of research is considered complete!"

Xu Xingchen smiled slightly, and was quite satisfied with his research results in the past six months. If meditation is to use mental power to drive the circulation of internal power, it is absolutely subjective; then, using the "Eight Huashan Exercises" to guide the circulation of internal power does not require any effort, as long as the movements are done correctly and you can just focus on playing.

There is a huge difference between these two methods of cultivation. Even the growth of internal strength after cultivation has a clear gap.

Xu Xingchen didn't know how big the gap was. He just felt that every time he practiced the Huashan Heart Method in meditation for half an hour, he could not detect any increase in his internal strength.

But after practicing "Eight Exercises of Mount Hua" for half an hour, one can vaguely feel the increase of internal strength.

In order to prove that this was not an illusion, and to ensure that the "Eight Huashan Exercises" he created had no sequelae or side effects, Xu Xingchen practiced for another month.

As a result, the longer he practiced, the more he discovered the huge difference between the two.

After using the "Eight Huashan Exercises" to cultivate internal strength for only one month, he saw obvious signs of an increase in internal strength. This was an experience he had never had when he was practicing the Huashan Mental Method.

Xu Xingchen was happy and felt that all his hard work over the past six months had not been in vain.

He estimated that the increase in internal strength gained from practicing the "Eight Exercises of Mount Hua" for a year might be comparable to the internal strength accumulated by the Huashan Heart Method over the past five years.

This is such a happy event!

Xu Xingchen originally wanted to tell his master Yue Buqun the news, but he didn't expect that Yue Buqun had been busy at the foot of the mountain for some time and had not returned.

He thought about it and decided to tell his master's wife Ning Zhongze the news first.

Both his master Yue Buqun and his master's wife Ning Zhongze are the people closest to him in this world and the people who treat him best.

Since he had something good here, he naturally wanted to share it with his close ones as soon as possible. At the same time, he also wanted to make some changes within his ability in case of future tragedies.

So, that day, after finishing his morning exercises and having breakfast, he couldn't wait to go to his master's residence.

"Disciple greets Master's wife!"

"Xingchen, you're here. Have you eaten? Come in!" Ning Zhongze took Xu Xingchen's little hand, went back to the house and sat down, asking about her well-being.

Xu Xingchen smiled and answered them one by one.

"Mom, I'm done eating!"

"Little Junior Brother, call me Senior Sister!"

"Mom, I'm going to practice sword skills with my senior brother!"

Yue Lingshan, who was sitting at the table, wiped her mouth, jumped off the stool, and ran out while talking rapidly.

"Shan'er, run slower!" Ning Zhongze shouted from behind, then turned back and looked at Xu Xingchen, who was sitting on the stool obediently and politely, and sighed, "It's not proper for a girl to be so impetuous. It would be great if Shan'er was as obedient as you, Xingchen!"

Xu Xingchen smiled and said, "Senior Sister is also very cute like this!"

After chatting for a few more sentences, Xu Xingchen straightened his face and said to Ning Zhongze seriously: "Master's wife, I have something to say to you!"

Ning Zhongze knew that her husband's little disciple, although only eight years old, was very opinionated and sensible. Even the eldest disciple Linghu Chong was not as good as him.

At this moment, seeing this most sensible little disciple with a serious face, Ning Zhongze also became serious and looked at Xu Xingchen with gentle eyes: "Go ahead, Xingchen, if you have anything to say, just tell Master's Wife, and Master's Wife will make the decision for you!"

"Thank you, Master!" Xu Xingchen said gratefully, and then said, "Master, in the past six months, I have worked hard to create a set of cultivation methods. I want to tell you about it!"

Ning Zhongze was startled when he heard this, then he laughed: "Haha, Xingchen, did you create a set of boxing techniques? Or did you create a set of sword techniques? Come, come, demonstrate it to Master's wife, so that Master's wife can take a good look."

In the world of martial arts, every person who practices martial arts has had the beautiful dream of "creating one's own martial arts and being the best in the world", but the martial arts created by many people are mediocre and there are only a few who can be called famous in the world of martial arts.

Ning Zhongze was the same in the past. She felt that she had good talent and was not necessarily worse than the ancestors of Huashan. She created the "Thirteen Swords of the Jade Girl" and the "Unparalleled Ning Style Sword", and made a name for herself in the world.

Even her husband Yue Buqun created the "Three Green Peaks of Taiyue", which are extremely powerful.

Now, it is a very normal thing for the disciple in front of him to have the idea of creating his own martial arts. However, he is too young and his martial arts foundation has not been solid. It is really too early to talk about creating his own martial arts.

Ning Zhongze had already made up his mind that after seeing this disciple finish his practice, he would first encourage him and then give him the necessary criticism and education.

As soon as Xu Xingchen saw the Master's wife's funny smile, he knew that she didn't take his words to heart. He thought about it and nodded, "Okay, I will practice it for you right away."

　Collect, follow, thank you!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)