Under One Person: Starting with the Dual Cultivation of Body and Soul.

Li Shaoyun demanded, "Chang'an, if your grandfather were to draw his sword against you now, what do you intend to do?"

Li Chang'an did not answer, but simply held the sword upright in front of his chest.

This action speaks for itself.

"Hahaha, good!"

Li Shaoyun laughed loudly, and his movements suddenly quickened. This time, instead of moving horizontally, he lunged forward.

He darted out like a startled hare.

At the same time, the sword in his hand remained in the same position with the tip pointing diagonally. He didn't swing or slash; he simply "passed" it out naturally as his body lunged forward.

"laugh!"

A very faint whooshing sound rang out, and Li Shaoyun's sword stopped in front of his chest, the tip of the sword resting on a certain point in the air, completely still.

Looking at the sword tip, Li Chang'an felt a cold sweat break out on his back.

He understood the sword move just now.

The direction in which Grandpa lunged was precisely the path his wrist would have taken when he tried to swing his sword.

That seemingly simple "pass" would have pierced his wrist in actual combat.

Not only that, but Grandpa's lunge just now blocked all his escape routes.

No matter how he dodged, the sword tip was always aimed at his arm.

It could be said that the outcome was decided the moment the opponent made their move.

Li Chang'an took a deep breath and said:

"Grandpa, our family's swordsmanship places great emphasis on offense!"

Li Shaoyun sheathed his sword, pointed it diagonally at the ground, and nodded with satisfaction: "You're right. There's a line in our family's sword manual, 'To survive death and sit in an iron house,' which is the essence of this sword manual."

"Now, I will formally learn the three gates and six methods of your sword technique."

"The three gates are Tiger, Snake, and Dragon."

"The six methods are: advancing diagonally to the left, advancing diagonally to the right, advancing through the tiger gate, retreating through the dragon gate, using a chopping and sweeping motion as a feint, and thrusting as a real attack!"

As Li Shaoyun moved slowly, he chanted an incantation, his voice and sword movements becoming one:

"Swordsmanship has three gates: left, center, and right. Right is tiger, center is snake, and left is dragon."

He first turned to his right, and with his sword raised from below, like a tiger lifting its tail, he slowly lifted it up. The force was as if it could lift a huge rock from the ground; this was the "Tiger Gate".

Then, the sword shifted, thrusting straight and flat into the chest. It was simple and direct, without any fancy moves, yet it made one feel that no matter how one dodged, this sword would pierce through them.

This is "Serpent's Gate".

Finally, he stepped to the left, his body relaxed, and his sword drew a full arc above his head, slashing down like a dragon's tail.

This is "Dragon Gate".

"With the blade's momentum revealed in front and behind, one can quickly advance through the Dragon Gate to the left. With the blade's momentum concealed in front and behind, one can easily advance through the Tiger Gate to the right."

Following that, Li Shaoyun demonstrated the "Showing Blade Stance" to lure the enemy and the "Dragon Gate" to enter, and then demonstrated the "Hidden Blade Stance" to conceal the edge and the "Tiger Gate" to counterattack.

With each turn and each strike of the sword, his body was like a bent bamboo, full of tension that could spring back at any moment.

"I retreat with my hands and advance with my body, leaping left and right like a lion. A tiger cannot enter a dragon, and a dragon cannot enter a tiger. Both dragon and tiger leaps are like snakes, advancing straight to the chest, unstoppable."

……

……

After the drill, the courtyard returned to silence.

A light sheen of sweat appeared on Li Shaoyun's forehead, but his breathing remained perfectly steady.

He placed the sword on the sword rack, looked at Li Chang'an, and his gaze softened from sharp to gentle.

"Chang'an, you can learn this sword technique, but don't use it lightly."

"These are peaceful times. This swordsmanship is a means of killing, a helpless art."

"If you use your swordsmanship to kill people outside, you'll only bring trouble upon yourself. I've seen far too many people die because of their skills in my life!"

With a sigh, Li Shaoyun asked, "Chang'an, how much of it have you memorized?"

"Write it all down!"

Li Chang'an said that the sword moves and incantations his grandfather had just demonstrated were deeply imprinted in his mind.

“But there’s one thing I don’t quite understand,” Li Chang’an said.

"What point?" Li Shaoyun asked.

“‘Dragons leap and tigers tumble, snakes move,’ I only saw the form, but failed to grasp the spirit,” Li Chang’an said.

Li Shaoyun laughed heartily, a genuine laugh from the bottom of his heart: "You didn't understand? That's not your fault, it's my fault, it's all my fault!"

"Grandpa, why do you blame me?" Li Chang'an asked, puzzled.

"Because, even your grandfather himself hasn't fully mastered this move. He only has the form, not the spirit!" Li Shaoyun laughed loudly.

He felt no frustration whatsoever. Many children pretend to understand when they don't, or only have a vague understanding.

His own grandson actually spotted the weakness in his moves at a glance; his insight was truly astonishing.

Li Shaoyun smiled and said, "Chang'an, how do you think that move should have been executed? Or rather, how should it have been executed to convey divine intent?"

He was just speaking casually, like some adults like to tease children, and he didn't expect to get any constructive advice. But unexpectedly, Li Chang'an actually gave his opinion.

“Grandpa, I think the move ‘Dragon leaps, tiger leaps, snake moves’ incorporates the essence of all three styles, but it’s not simply a combination of them.”

Li Chang'an's intermediate state was a manifestation of his ancestral spiritual light, which granted him ultimate insight. Although he could only see himself, it was still incredibly useful.

Just now, he wrote down all the actions his grandfather demonstrated and then carefully reviewed them.

The intermediate state is the easiest time to attain enlightenment, so he could easily see the flaws in the sword technique his grandfather used.

Li Chang'an continued, "The dragon represents change. The tiger represents power. The snake represents intent. A dragon can transform into a tiger, and a tiger can transform into a dragon. These can change at any time, and the intent of the snake runs through them all."

"Grandpa, you seem to be too concerned about the phrase 'all snake-like' in 'dragons leaping and tigers bounding.'"

"You always try to incorporate the Dragon Gate and Tiger Gate techniques into the Snake Gate techniques, which is putting the cart before the horse. You should do it the other way around and incorporate the essence of the Snake Gate into the variations of the Dragon Gate and Tiger Gate."

"Incorporate the essence of the Snake Gate into the changes of the Dragon Gate and Tiger Gate..." Li Shaoyun murmured to himself.

Li Chang'an continued, "In our family's sword technique, the dragon represents change, the tiger represents momentum, and the snake represents intent."

"This intention is that of striking straight at the heart, with a single, decisive blow."

"In this move, if the dragon does not have this intention, it is nothing more than a long, winding worm; if the tiger does not have this intention, it is nothing more than a toothless worm."

"Only when the Serpent Gate has this intention will the power of the Dragon Leaping and Tiger Turning will be revealed."

Chapter 20 Foundation Building Success

Li Shaoyun initially listened with a smile, not paying much attention. What constructive opinions could a little kid possibly offer?

But as he listened, the smile on his face froze.

"Incorporate the essence of the Snake Gate into the transformations of the Dragon Gate and Tiger Gate..."

He moved his lips, chewing on the words over and over in his mouth. At first, he only felt that they made some sense, but the more he pondered them, the more an inexplicable feeling of excitement surged in his heart.

He's been stuck on this one move for thirteen years now.

For thirteen years, he practiced swordsmanship countless times, breaking down and refining the seven characters "dragons leaping and tigers bounding, all moving like snakes," practicing them over and over again.

He believed he had mastered each of the three gates—Dragon Gate, Tiger Gate, and Snake Gate—but when he tried to combine them, he always fell short.

He always thought that his skills were not good enough, that his mastery was not deep enough. So he practiced day after day, year after year, until his temples turned gray, but the move was still just a shell of its former self.

But today, his grandson only watched him demonstrate once, and then revealed the secret in one sentence: it's not about stuffing the Dragon Gate and Tiger Gate into the Snake Gate, but about infusing the essence of the Snake Gate into the Dragon and Tiger.

"Without this intention, a dragon is nothing more than a long, winding worm... Without this intention, a tiger is nothing more than a toothless worm..."

Li Shaoyun muttered his grandson's words repeatedly, then walked to the sword rack as if possessed, drew the iron sword, walked to the center of the courtyard, barefoot, pointed the sword tip at the ground, and closed his eyes.

With those eyes closed, it took more than a dozen breaths.

Li Chang'an remained silent, simply watching quietly.

Suddenly, Li Shaoyun opened his eyes and began to move. He started practicing the Longmen sword technique, but his aura was completely different from before.

The longsword flashed through the air, from Dragon Gate to Tiger Gate. The trajectory of the sword changed, the posture of the body changed, and the direction of the footwork changed, but the tip of the sword remained locked on one point.

That spot was the throat of his imagined enemy, and also the target of the Serpent Gate.

"This is it, this is the feeling I wanted!" Li Chang'an thought with delight.

When Li Shaoyun practiced this move before, the dragon was a dragon, the tiger was a tiger, and the snake was a snake. Every change was clear, but every change was disconnected.

But now, the "intention" of the Snake Gate is like an invisible thread, connecting the Dragon Gate's chopping and the Tiger Gate's slashing together.

The form may change, but the meaning remains constant.

After completing the set of movements, Li Shaoyun suddenly straightened his sword and thrust it out horizontally.

This thrust was utterly simple, devoid of any frills, and even lacked any sword energy. It was accompanied only by a very soft, short "hiss," like a snake flicking its tongue.

Then, the sword tip stopped in mid-air, motionless.

Li Shaoyun looked at the iron sword in his hand, his hand trembling slightly, not from fatigue, but from excitement.

Thirteen years, a barrier that had trapped him for thirteen years, today his grandson stood by and watched for a while, then said one sentence: "It's broken."

Thirteen years of hardship have been resolved.

Li Shaoyun turned to look at Li Chang'an, his eyes filled with shock, elation, disbelief, and a hint of awe that even he himself was unaware of.

"The true teaching is contained in a single sentence, it really is... the true teaching is contained in a single sentence..."

Li Shaoyun murmured something, then suddenly strode forward, picked up Li Chang'an, and lifted him high above his head.

"Hahahaha!"

The old man laughed heartily, "I've been stuck on this move for thirteen years, longer than you are, but today you just pointed it out with a single sentence!"

"I was just saying..." This scene made Li Chang'an feel a little uncomfortable.

Li Shaoyun laughed and put Li Chang'an down: "What a fine 'just saying'! Your casual remark is worth ten years of hard work for others. If you were to say it seriously, wouldn't you wake up your ancestors from their graves?"

“Our ancestor wouldn’t be so easily startled!” Li Chang’an said with a smile.

"Indeed, our ancestor was very composed. Come, Chang'an, I'll teach you swordsmanship."

Then, the soft whistling sound of a sword cutting through the air echoed through the courtyard once again.

…………

…………

In the early morning, Li Chang'an sat cross-legged on the bed, circulating his microcosmic orbit as usual.

Lu Jin has been attending meetings at the headquarters of Naerdutong for twenty days now.

During these twenty days, Li Chang'an only did three things: eat, sleep, and cultivate.

He discovered that the more monotonous his life was, the fewer distracting thoughts he had, and the faster he could cultivate himself.

In this state, it only took him nineteen days for all 365 major acupoints in his body to be filled with true qi, leaving only the Baihui acupoint.

Baihui acupoint is also known as the Sanyang Wuhui acupoint. The common saying "Three Flowers Gather at the Top" and "Five Qi Converge at the Origin" refers to this acupoint.

Therefore, this place is also known as the meeting place of all yang energies and the acupoint at the top of the head, which is the hub where the body's qi and blood and yang energy converge.

Of course, merely establishing the foundation is far from achieving the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top or the Five Qi Converging at the Origin. Those are the signs of perfection that only appear in the later stages of cultivation.

What Li Chang'an is doing now is simply filling the Baihui acupoint with true Qi.

As usual, he circulated his Qi through the microcosmic orbit, channeling it into his acupoints thread by thread.

As true qi gradually filled his entire body, Li Chang'an felt increasingly clear and transparent.

He felt that his body was like an incredibly precise instrument, with each meridian as a wire and each acupoint as a capacitor or chip, and the flow of true qi within it was the current that drove this instrument.

Professor Lu Jin's teachings from some time ago allowed him to gain a detailed understanding of every aspect of this instrument. Combined with his observation of the intermediate state, he could accurately repair any damage to this precision instrument.

With these understandings, Li Chang'an became increasingly adept at cultivation.