Book 16 Chapter 9

Swordmarks

Five years ago, an unnamed amino acid.

The two old men stood in a large clearing in front of the pavilion.

We were talking back and forth.

The old man, with graying hair down to his chest, was the one who spoke, and the boy, who was about the same age, was the one who listened. The old man was lecturing on black herbs.

"In order to unravel the mystery, we must first grasp the whole picture of change. There is no change that occurs without rules, you just can't read the intricate rules, because everything in the world is connected by a single law, but they resonate with each other to create an infinite number of new changes. But our arms bend inward unless we take special lessons, we only have two feet, and our necks don't move in circles. A sword plant is limited by the constraints of reality. So what does it need to do to read those changes when it attacks?"

At her master's question, she shook her head.

"It's about knowing your swordprint."

"A cordon? What's that?"

"A swordprint is the path of a sword, the mark it makes in space. All beings in this world, animate and inanimate, send out waves toward and receive waves from the underlying foundation of the world. You can call them chi waves. If it bothers you, just call it chi. All beings, large and small, complex and simple, radiate myriad waveforms toward this base, and they intertwine to create unimaginably beautiful patterns. This ground is called by many names, such as Tao, Li, Tai Chi, and God, but its characteristics are constant. It appears to be empty, yet its depth is endless, and all things emanate from it. Therefore, it is inexhaustible. It is therefore changeable. On this foundation the world is built. The movement of man, and indeed the movement of all qi, is based on it; it is the unchanging cause, the one without beginning or end. All existence begins with that which has no beginning, and all existence ends with that which has no end; on that immovable one, which has no beginning and no end, we move and are given life and live. A checkpoint is a path left by a sword on some of that foundation, do you understand?"

"No!"

She replied that it wasn't worth it. It was as if she was protesting that she was not ashamed of not understanding, but was ashamed of being taught to not understand.

He protested again.

"Isn't it a bit much to say that and expect me to understand it? You need to be more specific and give me a clearer example. Too many analogies and symbols are the enemy of understanding."

"Whoa, I was a fool to teach you this. Anyway, I'll tell you in the simplest and easiest way. There is a checkpoint. Identify it, and you'll know where it begins and ends. The next step is to work around it, not against it. That's it. Do you understand?"

Bi Ryuyeon nodded.

"That's a lot simpler than before, but how do we know it's a checkpoint?"

The master chuckled. And he replied

"With your body!"

In the master's hands were five thunderbolts that had suddenly appeared, each carrying a brainwave.

Click!

The five folds unfolded like a tiger's claws, flashing with a greedy light. The sharp flashes of the blades were pale as frost.

"Let's keep it light and start with five!"

The master said with a gentle smile on his face. Bi Ryuyeon's shoulders slumped and she dropped her body.

"Damn, this is what happens.

Bi Ryuyeon lamented.

He'd never met a time when his master's distinctive laugh didn't bring a sense of foreboding.

Everyone thought that Bi Ryuyeon's body would be torn apart in a thousand different ways by the storm of sword qi, which was like a net, and there seemed to be no way out. But Bi Ryuyeon knew better than anyone how to move and how to avoid the myriad variations; it was what he did every day in the mountains.

The Unsurpassed Spear was basically a martial art that focused on how to avoid the attacks of the Unsurpassed Spear. It was a kind of spear and shield, and in order to face the strongest spear, the shield had to be the strongest. The phoenix sword, a unique Poisonous Moon Divination Technique, was born out of this.

"Changing from time to time, following the Tao! Changing from time to time, following the Tao! This is what true change is. Let yourself go with the flow of the Tao without resisting it. Because it is formless, it can change. If you don't resist the flow of change, you can walk through the rain and not get your clothes wet. Think about this robe carefully.

He could still hear his master's words ringing in his ears. It had been a hellish class, but through it all, he had survived. So no matter how much the ferocious whirlwind of sword qi pressed down on him, he could not die in a place like this. He still did not believe that there was a martial art that was more complex than Bi Liu Dao, that produced myriad changes.

Bi Ryuyeon's eyes widened.

Non-Lightning Sword: Poisonous Cloud Technique

Phoenix Dance (鳳凰舞) Secret Extreme Righteousness (秘傳極上奧義)

Wu Zhongge (Rainy Day) Fire Clothes (不霑衣)

Grrrr!

Bi Ryuyeon's body moved naturally, like an empty boat in the flow of a river. The movement was as natural and smooth as the flow of water.

Right now, a torrential downpour of sword qi was raining down to oviposit a man's flesh and make it rain blood. But even this ferocious baptism of sword qi could not help his body. He had assimilated into the flow, unwilling to resist even the sword herbs that sought his life.

The illusionary technique of the "Wu Zhong Ge Fire Point," which is said to be the culmination of the phoenix martial artist's study. The cultivation represented by these six characters, which translates to "walking in the rain and not getting your clothes wet," has finally been embodied in a human body.

He had already grasped this herbivore's screening, and his body had assimilated to its flow, so no matter how fierce the sword herbs were, it was impossible for them to hurt him.

"I'd rather be out in the rain.

It was a comment I made when I first learned it, and the price was, as always, a hot hump. Still, learning it was worth the extra hump. Still, learning it was worth the extra hump… though he'd much rather have named it himself! The Master's aesthetic eye was problematic.

"That's amazing, such a broad and deep perspective at such a young age."

After watching Bi Ryuyeon's movements just a moment ago, Swordsman Xu was unable to contain his excitement. What Bi Ryuyeon had done was something he had never seen before. It was a wonder that a human could perform such a magical move.

"I can't believe it! No, I don't believe it! I can't believe you actually did it……."

Tosheng exclaimed excitedly.

"But you have to admit, reality is reality. To be able to see through that dazzling sword sigil so perfectly! How did he reach such an advanced level at his age? What kind of training did he have? Who is his teacher?"

"So at least I got a wide-eye?"

"Maybe we've reached the heart of the matter."

"You can't possibly be telling me that I'm already at that point at that age?"

"I don't know. I'm skeptical, actually, but I think you should value your own experience and your own eyes more than you value stereotypes."

"Anyway, if this happens, the bet is……."

"That kid wins!"

In a valley on the volcano's southern peak, a miracle is happening right now.