317 Learning the Blade

The sword was the most commonly seen weapon, as well as the weapon that heldthe greatest status. To countless sects and schools, their greatest Daoistskills were sword techniques. The reason why the Longevity Sect could controlcountless other sects, and why it truly had the confidence in allowing thissouthern sect to become important enough to contend against the Li Palace, wasstill because of the Mount Li Sword Sect, perhaps because of this reason. The blade was normally only used in the army, to kill the enemy on thebattlefield. It was always unqualified to take a place in the higher circles,until a thousand years ago, when Zhou came into being. Only after he had usedthe blade to defeat all the experts in the world did a change in this situationoccur. However, after Zhou Dufu, there were still very few famous people thatused the blade. Why was it like that? It was because Zhou Dufu’s blade was too sharp, and alsobecause he had created his own universally shocking blade technique. This blade technique was named the same as his blade: Halving. This was the legendary Halving Blade Technique. Looking at those words and images on the wall of the obsidian coffin, ChenChangsheng and Xu Yourong were both dumbstruck. There was always the rumor thatZhou Dufu’s legacy was in the Garden of Zhou. Only after seeing it with theirown eyes did they confirm that this rumor turned out to be real. Compared to this blade technique, the secret manuals of martial arts, valuablepills and treasures from the nine stone rooms were not worthy of beingmentioned at all. Time indeed was very strong. It could cause pills to loseeffectiveness and treasures to dull, but it could not cause intelligence andknowledge to depreciate. Without a question, the Halving Blade Technique wasthe first-rate intelligence and knowledge in the world of cultivation. They were willing to hear the truth even if they had to die for it. Themonster tide was currently approaching the mausoleum, and the huge shadow inthe sky that represented death was about to envelop them. Chen Changsheng andXu Yourong had completely forgotten about these matters, and began to read andview the words and images on the wall of the coffin. They wished that theycould learn even more in their final moments. Their gazes landed at the beginning of the text. This was the entire outlineof the Halving Blade Technique. The words were extremely clear and easy tounderstand, however, the ideas they presented were actually extremely profound.In the images created from the words, there was the perspective of a simpleblade, an edge connecting with the world. It was a hitherto unimagined way oflooking at things. This was truly a uniquely and finely written article. The Halving Blade Technique had a total of one hundred and eight blade moves,forming three parts. The entire outline called them sections, and each sectionhad thirty-six blade moves. The first section was named “Rise”, and it detailed the one word. How to raisethe blade, how to raise the edge, how to create wind, and how to begin thetechnique were all the most basic parts in the section. It was also the sectionthat had the most on manner. The second section was called “Endure”, and mainlyfocused on defense. If trained to the limit, it could endure the changes of theworld, but the thirty-six styles did not only focus on defense. The edge of theblade was hidden within it, like a dragon in the clouds, able to reach out andeat people at any moment. As a result, it was the steadiest and most dangeroussection. The third section was called “Fall”. This word, fall, could easilydescribe the fall of the blade, but actually, it carried the definition ofextracting from the heavens. Wherever the edge of the blade went, it possessedthe vast image of an azure sky, able to envelop the world and cut througheverything before the eye. (TL: The first section is “Rise” 起, which can hold a lot of differentmeanings. Basically, the author is doing some wordplay for the how to xxx part.They all contain the word 起. In the third section, “Fall” (落), basically it issaying that the 落 is referring to 碧落, which means heavens, and has nothing todo with actually falling.) After reading the entire outline of the Halving Blade Technique, ChenChangsheng and Xu Yourong did not stop at all, and began to look at an imageand the words on it closely afterward. That was the first move from the section“Rise”. This was also the first move of the Halving Sword Technique. It had anespecially simple name: Origin. (TL: Again, more word play. The Chinese name is 缘起, which again has 起(“Rise”), but has nothing to do with actually rising.) The image did not have a blade, nor did it have someone using the blade. Therewere only several simple lines. Chen Changsheng had the experience from comprehending monoliths in theMausoleum of Books, and Xu Yourong had the homework of studying andcomprehending monoliths every day at the Holy Maiden Peak. They each had theirown perspectives, and understood that these lines were pathways that trueessence could travel in, and at the same time, blade intent. However, exactlybecause it was simple, it was difficult to comprehend. The images of very fewlines on the coffin walls caused them to be immersed, and they actually slowlyforgot the flow of time. This lasted all the way until a certain moment whenthe two of them finally comprehended this blade move, and woke up at almost thesame time. They subconsciously looked at each other, and saw the astonishmentin each other’s hearts. When the metal blade left the sheath and was raised into the vast sky, nomatter how they looked at it, it was a very simple action, so how could therebe so many complicated changes? How could these complicated changes beremembered and used in battle? This blade technique was just like Zhou Dufu,extremely overbearing but also profound and confusing. To their knowledge andexperience, it felt outrageous. Other than the fact that Zhou Dufu was an expert who possessed theintelligence that exceeded normal people, there were no other reasonableexplanations. This seemingly simple first move of the “Rise” section actually caused them tospend a lot of effort before finally grasping it. Of course, once they hadcomprehended the move, they were suddenly overcome by an onrush of fiercedelight, like water bursting from a silver vase, or horsemen charging forward.It caused them to feel a period of carefreeness, and they actually wanted toyell loudly a few times to release their wonderful feelings. Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng only looked at each other quietly, and theshock in their eyes slowly turned into uneasiness. They had used this much timeonly on the first move, so just how much more time did they need to comprehendthe entirety of the one hundred and eight blade moves to the level that theycould use it smoothly and fluently? Currently, their biggest problem was thatthey did not have time. If it was just not enough time, they could just try to remember as many movesas they could. However, as mentioned before, the Halving Blade Technique was aunique, finely-written article and its most special area was that although theone hundred and eight moves seemed separate, they were actually one wholeentity. Only after all of the blade moves were completely comprehended couldthe idea of the article be known. Even when they seemed to grasp the first move, this type of fluency was farfrom enough, and could not even be considered as a true fluency. “Memorize first.” Chen Changsheng looked at her and said, “Make use of all thetime we have and remember all of these words and images.” Even if it was not comprehending, and only copying this blade technique intotheir minds, it was still an extremely difficult matter. Xu Yourong calculated the amount of time the monster tide would take to arriveand the amount of time she needed to memorize all of it, and confirmed that itwas not enough. She said, “Memorize separately.” “Okay.” Chen Changsheng looked at her slightly pale face, and paused a littlebefore saying, “I’ll memorize from the end, you memorize from the beginning.” If the blade technique was said to be an article, reading from the beginningto the end was naturally easier than the opposite. Memorizing was even more so. Xu Yourong knew that he thought about how she had not recovered from herinjuries, and intentionally did this. She did not decline, and walked beforethe images and words of the second move. She began recording it in her head. Chen Changsheng glanced at her and confirmed that she could stand by herselffor a little while now. He walked to the left side of the obsidian coffin,before the last image. This was the last move of the “Fall” section. It had an especially overbearingname: The World Ablaze. His gaze landed on the lines of the image, and at the same time, those wordsentered his eyes. With only a moment, the images and words disappeared. The image of a dusky skyappeared before him. There were falling stars everywhere with long, fierytails, as if the world was about to be destroyed... In the next moment, he discovered that the paths of the falling stars wereactually somewhat familiar. He remembered that these paths were actually theenergy of the first move of the Halving Blade Technique, Origin. As it turnedout, the very end and the very beginning were indeed connected. He finallyconfirmed the content of the entire outline. This blade technique actuallyrequired the mastery of all blade moves to grasp it. The blade technique was a whole entity that could not be divided. In otherwords, the one hundred and eight blade moves in the Halving Blade Techniquewere actually one blade. As it should be.