Who taught him to practice swordsmanship like this?

Chapter 162 Remember His Kindness

A phantom clone of Su Baichen quietly left Yinfeng Gorge.

This illusionary clone is a completely new attempt. Su Baichen used earth elemental spiritual energy as the framework and then attached it with yin and yang energies.

In this way, the illusionary clone can exist for a longer time and have a higher strength.

Thus, this illusory clone can even use earth-elemental escape techniques because it possesses earth-elemental spiritual energy.

This is definitely a huge improvement, but unfortunately it seems that only he can do it for now.

Because his earth element is not ordinary earth element, but innate earth element.

Therefore, this illusory clone could shrink the distance to an inch, and finally arrived in the capital city before the earth elemental spiritual energy was exhausted.

When he entered the city and first came to pay his respects to his grandmaster, Daoist Shangshan, Daoist Shangshan was almost startled: What is this thing?

Daoist Shangshan was a powerful expert at the mid-stage of the Returning to Void realm; he immediately recognized that Su Baichen before him was a strange clone.

The problem is, when did his adorable little grand-disciple become capable of creating such a sophisticated device as a clone?

They quickly grabbed the man and interrogated him, only to discover that it was a small invention created by Su Baichen.

After carefully experiencing its effects, even the Supreme Daoist had to admit: "This little invention is incredibly convenient."

"Come, all of you, learn this illusion technique. It's a new spell created by your junior brother, and it's very useful for you at this stage."

Wu Xiangyu walked over, looking completely bewildered. Looking at Su Baichen's illusory clone, her eyes reddened again: "Grandmaster, but I haven't even fully mastered the 'Condensing Yin and Destroying Qi' you taught me—isn't this a bit too hasty?"

She seemed somewhat on the verge of collapse. It wasn't that she wasn't trying hard enough, but rather that the things her own sect had thrown at her were too difficult and too numerous for her to handle.

Lord Shangshan sighed, "Either way, it's unlikely you'll achieve much by cultivating the Yin Condensation and Annihilation Qi. Why not switch to cultivating this Illusionary Clone Technique? At least it's simpler."

Wu Xiangyu reluctantly agreed, but she wasn't happy at all, feeling that she had been slighted.

The second senior brother, Zhang Qiuzhuo, clasped his hands and said, "Grandmaster, although I have made some progress in cultivating the Yin Condensation and Destruction Qi, my main cultivation is the Yin Talisman Treasure Scroll. I would like to start cultivating the Illusionary Yin Eight Transformations before trying this Illusionary Clone Technique."

Lord Shangshan nodded in approval, saying, "It's good that you have your own plans."

Then he looked at the maple forest.

Feng Linzi clasped his hands in a fist salute and said, "This disciple will do his best to cultivate."

Lord Shangshan nodded: "You need to work harder. This illusion clone technique should greatly improve you. Perform well in six months—the higher your status in Changchun Palace, the less people will gossip about your wife."

Feng Linzi solemnly agreed.

He had no other requirements for this unique disciple competition; he simply wanted Youlian to gain the recognition of her fellow disciples through her own efforts.

Of course, his pressure wasn't actually that great. After all, he had elders willing to protect him, and a lovely junior brother who worked tirelessly for him.

"Senior brother, this is how the illusionary clone works. I still need to see the emperor, so I'll take my leave now."

As he spoke, he used earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique in Chinese fantasy novels) to burrow underground and disappear.

"what?"

Feng Linzi exclaimed in surprise, "Junior Brother Bai Chen's illusory clone seems to be quite different from the version he taught me?"

Lord Shangshan nodded and said, "The version he gave you was specially adjusted to suit most people's cultivation, while the version he used himself was only suitable for him."

"In my opinion, Bai Chen's real strength lies not in his ability to constantly create sword techniques and secret arts that suit him, but in his ability to adjust these techniques to a level that is suitable for the vast majority of people to practice."

"Just like the body-refining technique he taught you—without this technique, your foundation would be shaken and you might even be at risk of exhaustion."

"But with this body-refining technique, not only have you improved your foundation, but it has also helped you reach even greater heights!"

"It's hard to imagine how much improvement Changchun Palace would have received if this body-refining technique had been practiced when the disciples were in the Foundation Establishment stage."

Feng Linzi nodded earnestly: "I will always remember your kindness, Junior Brother, and I will never dare to let you down in the future."

Lord Shangshan nodded: "Good, it's good that you remember, but I hope that day will never come—"

The highly skilled Daoist Shangshan seemed to have a premonition of something, and he stared blankly at the spot where Su Baichen's illusory clone had disappeared.

Su Baichen's illusory clone arrived at the palace and saw Tang Dezhao diligently reviewing memorials in the imperial study.

The young emperor has grown another year older, but he looks much more mature all of a sudden.

"Your Majesty, would you like to rest for a while?"

"Who goes there?!"

Tang Dezhao looked up and saw Su Baichen.

"Teacher Xiaobai? You've finally decided to come back!"

-

Su Baichen replied with a smile, "In order to fulfill my promise to His Majesty, I have traveled to various countries this time, and that's how I came up with some ideas."

Upon hearing this, Tang Dezhao immediately became interested: "What kind of sword technique is that?"

Su Baichen paused, then said seriously, "I call it the 'Sword of the Emperor'!"

"What a magnificent sword of the king! Show me how you wield it!"

Su Baichen smiled and agreed, then recited the incantation for circulating qi while performing his sword technique.

This sword technique is a fusion of the majestic power of Mount Tai, the steadfast protection of Mount Damao, the enduring strength of Mount Nan, the sharp and domineering presence of Mount Yujing, and the all-embracing spirit of the mountains.

By integrating the essence of the five mountains, a sword technique with a majestic and imperial aura has been created.

This sword technique abandons the subtlety of varied moves, focusing solely on momentum and spirit. When Su Baichen practiced it, he already displayed the majesty and elegance befitting an emperor.

At this moment, a shadow was deeply etched into Tang Dezhao's eyes—the back of a true emperor!

When he finally came to his senses, he said with a complicated expression, "I feel you are more suitable for this position than I am."

Su Baichen chuckled and said, "No, the throne is yours. Now I will pass this sword technique on to you."

He didn't say what the specific power of this sword technique was, and Tang Dezhao didn't ask either.

They tacitly agreed to take turns teaching and learning, and their progress was rapid.

"I seem to be quite suited to this swordsmanship."

Tang Dezhao looked at the sword in his hand in surprise.

Su Baichen said, "This sword technique emphasizes mental state the most, which means that your current mental state is very much in line with its characteristics."

"Dezhao, you will be a good emperor, although it will be very hard."

Tang Dezhao was suddenly stunned, and his eyes reddened slightly—no one had ever said such a thing to him before!

He was originally a playful person, but who could know how much hardship and pressure he endured after he decided to shoulder such a heavy responsibility?

Many times he wanted to give up.

But at this moment, he suddenly found a haven, a place where he could gain recognition and completely relax.

He felt that he could remember Su Baichen's kindness for a lifetime.