Martial Arts: After ten years of sword-drawing, the Sword God must bow his head when he sees me

Chapter 205 Full Moon Night
The next day.

As the sun rose high in the sky, Qu Feiyan walked out of the small courtyard.

Upon seeing Qu Feiyan, the man with the blood-patterned mask who had been slowly cultivating with his eyes closed at the entrance of the courtyard immediately opened his eyes.

Upon noticing the wooden box in Qu Feiyan's hand, the man wearing the blood-patterned mask immediately went to greet her.

Qu Feiyan handed the wooden box in her hand to the man wearing the blood-patterned mask.

"Here, these are the three pills that the young master just refined. Mix the pills into water, along with the medicinal water boiled with astragalus. Soak the pills in the medicinal water for the time it takes to burn an incense stick every three hours. After three times, you will recover."

After patiently listening to Qu Feiyan's retelling, the man wearing the blood-patterned mask said respectfully, "Thank you for your trouble, Miss Qu."

As soon as he finished speaking, the man wearing the blood-patterned mask used his lightness skill to quickly leave.

After watching the other person leave, he turned around and went back into the courtyard.

"Young master, the items have been handed over to the Azure Dragon Society."

Shen Ping'an nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then focused his gaze on the table.

After glancing at the three swords on the table, Shen Ping'an picked up the white jade sword.

After reading the small seal script on both sides of the white jade sword, a system notification popped up.

[Ding! Detected a low-grade Heaven-rank sword technique, "White Jade Sword Style." Would you like to learn it?]

"study!"

As soon as Shen Ping'an had a thought, the system notifications popped up in front of him one after another.

[Ding, the host's comprehension level has been detected to have reached "One in a Million". The mastery level of this martial art has automatically been raised to the "Master" level.]

[Ding! It has been detected that the host's current sword cultivation has reached the fifth level of swordsmanship, the Earth Sword Realm. With the bonus of sword realm, the mastery level of this sword technique will automatically increase to the "Comprehensive Understanding" level.]

The next instant, Shen Ping'an closed his eyes and his consciousness appeared on the cloud-covered mountain peak.

A moment later, as Shen Ping'an's understanding of the fifth move of the "Eight Styles of Famous Swords," the "White Jade Sword Style," deepened, some hidden meridians or channels in Shen Ping'an's body that he had never encountered before were opened up.

As Shen Ping'an's internal energy circulated, it began to spontaneously encompass the newly opened meridians and started to circulate along a unique route.

After several cycles, the white jade sword that Shen Ping'an had been holding in his hand suddenly detached from his right hand and floated in front of him without any wind.

At the same time, the true energy within Shen Ping'an's body began to flow towards the white jade sword floating in front of him, and then returned to his body.

As the fluctuations of true energy within Shen Ping'an's body became increasingly apparent, Yaoyue and the others who were also cultivating in the courtyard stopped what they were doing and all looked at Shen Ping'an.

A moment later, under the watchful eyes of the group, a sword shadow about an inch long suddenly shot out from Shen Ping'an's body.

After a large amount of true energy surged in, the sword shadow grew longer in the wind, until it reached three feet and five inches before stopping.

The moment the sword shadow coalesced, it seemed to form an inexplicable connection with the white jade sword.

Shen Ping'an, the sword shadow and the white jade sword formed a triangle, and the true energy circulated back and forth around Shen Ping'an.

As their true energy circulated back and forth, accompanied by bursts of sword cries, the group discovered that the previously somewhat illusory sword shadows were gradually becoming solid.

Furthermore, patterns similar to those on the white jade sword began to appear on the sword shadow.

"It hasn't even been the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, but judging from his condition, he has already successfully cultivated the martial arts of the White Jade Sword, which is at the lower level of the Heavenly Rank."

Hearing Yaoyue speak, Zhang Sanniang chimed in, "The swords of Mingjian Villa are all inscribed with martial arts of the lower Heaven rank. For us, it might take several months to master them. But he has already created sword techniques above the Heaven rank. What difficulty is there for him?"

Lianxing, who was standing to the side, said, "But he's already able to create martial arts above the Heaven Rank, so why is he still interested in the low-grade Heaven Rank martial arts of the Famous Sword Manor?"

Just then, Shen Ping'an's voice suddenly rang out.

"Only in this way can we learn from the strengths of all schools of thought."

Upon hearing this gentle voice, Yaoyue and the others looked up and saw that Shen Ping'an had opened his eyes at some point.

After gathering his inner energy and placing the white jade sword that had been hovering in front of him back into its sheath, Shen Ping'an said, "Martial arts have no limits, but people have their limits."

"Everyone's thinking is ultimately limited by their own thinking, and martial artists are no exception."

"Therefore, if one wants to make continuous breakthroughs in martial arts, one must constantly broaden one's horizons, learn from the strengths of various schools and integrate them into one's own, so as to perfect one's martial arts and create stronger martial arts."

“Just like the ‘White Jade Sword Style’ on this white jade sword, the cultivation method involved is something I had never thought of before.”

Hearing Shen Ping'an's words, Yaoyue and the others also became interested.

"It's surprising that even you have such an understanding of martial arts. It seems that the martial arts contained in this white jade sword are somewhat different."

Shen Ping'an nodded and said, "That's true."

“Ordinary Heaven-rank martial arts require martial artists to open up their own meridians and hidden meridians to cultivate, but the White Jade Sword Style is different. The person who created the White Jade Sword Style actually used the White Jade Sword as a meridian, so that the path of cultivation actually needs to include the White Jade Sword.”

"The cultivation route actually involves weapons? This is the first time I've heard of such a thing." Hearing Shen Ping'an's words, Zhang San Niang couldn't help but look at the white jade sword in the sword box with surprise.

Yaoyue frowned and said, "If the sword techniques above still require this sword, doesn't that mean that without this sword, we can't even use this martial art?"

Shen Ping'an shook his head and said, "The martial arts of Mingjian Manor are somewhat special. This white jade sword also requires the cultivator to condense a sword shadow within their body."

"Once the white jade sword shadow is condensed, even without a weapon in hand, one can use the martial arts on the white jade sword by using the white jade sword shadow condensed within the body."

"However, when practicing the White Jade Sword Style, having this White Jade Sword in hand can make the process twice as efficient and assist in the practice."

"At the same time, if one holds a white jade sword when using martial arts, the characteristics of the white jade sword can reduce the burden on the meridians when one's true energy flows."

Yaoyue commented, "The idea of ​​combining martial arts training methods with weapons to complement each other is truly ingenious."

After saying that, Yaoyue looked at Shen Ping'an and said, "You want to combine the strengths of a hundred schools for the sake of the subsequent sword moves of the 'Ethereal Sword Technique'?"

Shen Ping'an stated frankly, "That's part of the reason!"

Initially, Shen Ping'an created the "Ethereal Sword Technique" for the sake of the Shen family.

However, as his cultivation and martial arts level improved, the existence of the "Ethereal Sword Technique" was no longer just to give the Shen family another martial art to inherit.

It was also a method Shen Ping'an used to verify and summarize his own swordsmanship and martial arts.

Shen Ping'an also wanted to try to see if he could develop the "Ethereal Sword Technique," which was originally only at the Earth Rank, to a certain extent on his own.

After an incense stick's time, and having learned the remaining two sword techniques from the Qingfeng Sword and the Jueming Sword, Shen Ping'an had confirmed through the martial arts of the four swords that the sword shadows of the seven swords of the Famous Sword Manor could indeed be fused together. Next, he only needed to master the martial arts of the remaining three swords before attempting to comprehend the eighth sword technique, thus achieving the simultaneous use of all eight swords.

With that thought in mind, Shen Ping'an looked at Shen Qingshan and said, "These three swords are all of equal value to the Glazed Sword, but if we consider the overall value, the Qingfeng Sword, which can increase the speed of your sword strikes, is more suitable for you."

Shen Qingshan didn't stand on ceremony with Shen Ping'an, whom he had grown up with since childhood.

Walking up to the stone table, Shen Qingshan glanced at the three swords on it before reaching for the Qingfeng Sword.

However, as soon as Shen Qingshan's hand touched Qingfeng Sword, it no longer behaved as obediently as when Shen Ping'an held it. Instead, the sword trembled and seemed to want to break free from Shen Qingshan's grasp.

"Ok?"

Upon discovering this, Shen Qingshan's heart skipped a beat.

The next second, the sword intent within Shen Ping'an surged, and the Qingfeng Sword, which had been trembling, instantly calmed down.

Shen Qingshan first glanced at the glass sword in Qu Feiyan's hand, then scratched his head and asked, "Cousin, why was there nothing wrong with the glass sword when Feiyan held it yesterday, but when I held this Qingfeng sword, the white jade sword kept vibrating?"

Shen Ping'an said, "These swords have all been nourished by the true energy of the masters of the Famous Sword Manor over the years, and they all contain their own sword energy."

"It's just that when I was studying the internal structure of the Glazed Sword, my own true energy dispersed the sword energy within the Glazed Sword, so Fei Yan didn't experience anything unusual when she picked up the sword."

"I did not destroy the sword energy contained in these three swords today, which is why the swords trembled when you held them. After you have chosen your sword, you should infuse it with your own true energy and sword intent for half an hour every day. After a few days, this situation will no longer occur."

Finally, Shen Ping'an looked at Qu Feiyan and said, "You are the same, but since I destroyed the sword energy in your Glazed Sword, it will take longer to reassemble it."

"Feiyan understands."

After understanding the reason, Shen Qingshan's doubts disappeared, and he picked up the Qingfeng Sword and went to the side to start practicing.

A moment later, Shen Qingshan, who found the Qingfeng Sword particularly easy to handle, looked at it with great affection.

He was clearly very satisfied with the sword's performance.

Seeing that Shen Qingshan had decided to use the Qingfeng Sword as his personal sword, Shen Ping'an waved to Shen Qingshan.

When Shen Qingshan approached, he also used his sword intent to infuse his own understanding of the martial arts of the Qingfeng Sword, the "Qingfeng Sword Style," and the method of cultivation into Shen Qingshan's mind, helping him to reach the "first glimpse" level of the "Qingfeng Sword Style."

At this moment, Shen Ping'an spoke again: "I am not passing on the sword techniques on your respective swords for you to study and practice on a daily basis, but to let you learn more about a Heaven-rank martial art, so that you can not only increase your martial arts knowledge, but also better nurture the swords in your hands."

"For now, you can only practice the 'Ethereal Sword Technique'."

In the two years that they have been by Shen Ping'an's side, both Qu Feiyan and Shen Qingshan have come into contact with several Heaven-rank martial arts.

Unlike Shen Ping'an, the two of them didn't have a system to cheat with, and their own comprehension was also much worse than Shen Ping'an's.

For the two of them, trying to do too much at once would lead to failure; only by specializing in one martial art could they achieve true mastery.

If one is too distracted, one can only learn a few martial arts techniques superficially, which is detrimental to improving one's strength.

Knowing what Shen Ping'an meant, the two nodded in agreement.

As the day of Ye Gucheng's decisive battle with Ximen Chuixue draws ever closer, more and more martial artists are entering the imperial city.

In recent days, all the inns in the outer city of the capital have been fully booked, and those who arrive later can only stay in inns in the suburbs.

Along the way, one could almost always see warriors gathered together in the streets, wielding weapons.

Many people even competed for the hundred gold ribbons that could be used to enter the palace, hoping to witness the duel between the two swordsmen up close.

The attitude of the Eastern Depot and the government towards these people was also clear.

As long as it doesn't affect ordinary people or other people's businesses, they can simply surround the area and wait for the outcome of the dispute before removing the body.

In the following days, as planned, the group spent their days sightseeing around the capital and their evenings cultivating at the Shen family's old residence.

The fifteenth day of the lunar month is the full moon.

The full moon, like a silver plate, hung high in the sky. Under its bright light, the stars in the dark sky seemed to lose their color.

The Forbidden City is divided into two parts: the Outer Court and the Inner Court.

The center of the outer court consists of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony.

Next to the three main halls was a separate courtyard where the emperor usually conducted his business alone.

The inner court, collectively known as the harem, was where the emperor, empress, and other palace women lived, and beyond that was the imperial garden.

The place where Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue fought their final battle was naturally not the inner court or the imperial garden, but the Hall of Supreme Harmony, one of the three main halls.

At this moment, the open space outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, which is nearly a hundred feet in diameter, is teeming with people and filled with noise.

These people were not Ming Dynasty officials in court attire, but rather martial artists from the Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world) dressed in completely different clothes, each holding a ribbon in their hand.

A quick glance reveals that there are probably over ten thousand people.

Among the martial artists, at least half were wielding longswords, clearly indicating that they were all sword practitioners.

Around the palace gate, the Imperial Guards and a group of soldiers in armor, with solemn expressions, gathered.

Like the eyes of a hawk, they constantly swept over the warriors outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Just by looking at the gleam in their eyes, it's easy to tell that these people are all skilled in martial arts.

On the city walls surrounding the palace, hundreds of crossbows and tens of thousands of archers were aimed at the warriors below, their sharp arrowheads gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

Lu Xiaofeng, Hua Manlou, and other extremely famous masters in the martial arts world stood before the many martial artists.

The further back in a martial artist's career one goes, the lower their skill level and reputation in the martial arts world tend to be.

Meanwhile, a group of martial artists were passing through the palace gates, heading towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Along the way, palace guards were stationed everywhere.

Outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, on the rooftop, Shen Ping'an and his companions climbed to a high vantage point and, as they circulated their inner energy, took in the scene outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the distance.

The Azure Dragon Society member wearing the blood-patterned mask stood to one side, bowing slightly in a respectful manner.

(End of this chapter)