Chapter 64 : Sword One
Chapter 64: Sword One
Beneath the shade of the tree, Li Yunqing slightly lifted her eyes and looked toward the courtyard gate.
Lu Xingzhou, dressed in white, held two long swords in his hands, walking forward with unhurried steps.
His expression was calm and composed. Walking under the sunlight, he carried the bearing of an unparalleled swordsman.
“Demon-Slaying Sword Art?”
Li Yunqing voiced her confusion.
Within the sword canon passed down by the Sword Saint, there was no such sword art—only sword cultivation techniques, the method of condensing the Sword Heart, and seventy-two forms of sword techniques.
It nearly encompassed all foundational sword techniques, along with variations and transitions for each.
Even so, the sword canon was still considered high-grade.
Lu Xingzhou stopped not far in front of Li Yunqing. Hearing her question, he spoke softly, “The Demon-Slaying Sword Art has nine forms.”
“My master named them Sword One, Sword Two… up to Sword Nine.”
“Each form was tempered through countless battles against demons, created solely for killing enemies. If an ordinary person without a Sword Heart cultivates this sword art, it would be akin to falling into demonic obsession.”
“Therefore, it was not included in the sword canon. Only true disciples who have condensed a Sword Heart can learn it.”
Hearing this, Li Yunqing paused slightly.
She suddenly recalled the hatred and fury flowing in the Sword Saint’s eyes when he had awakened earlier from treating the Nine Infants’ poison.
If what Lu Xingzhou said was true, then this indeed could be considered a sword art of slaughter bordering on demonic obsession.
But to Li Yunqing, this was not a problem. She had already condensed a Sword Heart, and naturally, the stronger the sword art, the better.
Moreover, slaughter and destruction were inherently one.
Such a sword art might rapidly strengthen her Sword Intent.
With that thought, Li Yunqing set down the book in her hand, slowly stood up, and said, “Senior Brother Lu, please instruct me.”
Sword Intent was the foundation of the Qi Realm.
The stronger the Sword Intent, the faster one could break through into the Qi Realm.
Her Sword Intent had already reached mastery. Once she broke through, she could instantly step into the Middle Tier of the Qi Realm.
If she could refine her Sword Intent to great completion, then upon breakthrough, she would directly reach the Upper Tier of the Qi Realm.
Even in Qingzhou City, such existences were few.
Lu Xingzhou handed one of the long swords to Li Yunqing and nodded slightly. “I will demonstrate it once first. See how much you can remember.”
“If there is anything you don’t understand, ask at any time.”
His expression was serious, his tone sincere, treating Li Yunqing as a true junior sister, meticulous and without the slightest carelessness.
After Li Yunqing took the sword, Lu Xingzhou walked to the open space in the courtyard.
“Clang!”
The long sword left its sheath.
At that instant, Lu Xingzhou himself seemed like a sword—his entire body radiating sharpness, upright and majestic, like the blazing sun without the slightest concealment.
The feeling he gave was as though he held no shadows or secrets at all—completely open, utterly sincere.
“So this is the Sincere Sword Heart?”
Feeling that upright brilliance like the scorching sun, Li Yunqing’s brows moved slightly.
She suddenly recalled the Sword Saint’s presence—like a divine mountain, vast and grand, without any unnecessary flourish, direct and straightforward.
“Junior Sister Li, watch carefully!”
At that moment, Lu Xingzhou moved with the sword, like a roaming dragon. As the long sword flashed, thirty-six forms of sword techniques poured forth like flowing water.
The sword light flowed like an inverted galaxy.
“Sword One!”
At the instant the thirty-six forms were unleashed, Lu Xingzhou called out.
In the next moment, his sword turned. The thirty-six forms he had just displayed seemed to merge into one, slashing out in reverse.
A dazzling sword light burst forth from his blade, slashing upward diagonally.
“Shh!”
The brilliant sword light formed a perfect arc, like a crescent moon over a zhang long, tearing through the air.
In that instant, Li Yunqing clearly saw the air itself, like an invisible transparent curtain, being split into two by that sword light.
Even more terrifying, with the augmentation of True Qi, the sword light extended dozens of zhang into the sky.
Where it passed, everything—even the wind—seemed to pause for a moment before returning to normal.
“So powerful!”
Feeling the might of that sword light, Li Yunqing’s brows moved slightly.
Its speed and range far exceeded her expectations. With her current strength, she had almost no chance of evading it.
“How much did you remember?”
Lu Xingzhou sheathed his sword and turned to look at Li Yunqing calmly, his expression serious.
With her photographic memory, every movement of Lu Xingzhou’s sword technique replayed in her mind like a film.
She had remembered it all, but she did not act arrogantly. Instead, she said softly, “I will try once. Please guide me, Senior Brother Lu.”
As she spoke, Li Yunqing gently drew her sword and stepped into the open space.
Lu Xingzhou stepped back, his gaze fixed on her, a trace of admiration arising in his heart.
In martial practice, the greatest taboo was overestimating oneself. The same applied to swordsmanship.
Only with a humble and eager-to-learn heart could one continue forward. Arrogance only blinded one to oneself.
“Clang!”
The sword hummed softly as Li Yunqing moved. Her figure flashed, and the sword thrust out instantly.
She then turned the blade to slash horizontally, lift lightly… each move was extremely precise, almost identical to Lu Xingzhou’s demonstration.
Seeing this, Lu Xingzhou paused slightly but still did not speak.
“Not right!”
After completing the thirty-six forms, Li Yunqing found herself unable to execute that final strike of Sword One.
Seeing this, Lu Xingzhou was about to offer guidance when Li Yunqing suddenly turned her sword and began practicing the thirty-six forms again.
This time, it was even smoother.
As she practiced, a realization suddenly emerged in her mind.
“The thirty-six forms—each is Sword One.”
“The complex movements exist only to allow one to comprehend the killing intent of this single strike.”
“Only by grasping that intent can Sword One be executed.”
“From simplicity to complexity, understanding its essence—then from complexity back to simplicity, returning all techniques to one, thus forming Sword One.”
Her comprehension was already extraordinary, and with Innate Sword Bones and a Clear Sword Heart, she grasped the essence after just two repetitions.
At this moment, she no longer pursued executing Sword One directly. Instead, she continuously swung her sword, practicing the thirty-six forms to comprehend their true meaning.
Almost instantly, she immersed herself in it. Even the Sword Intent within her was stirred by the killing intent contained in the sword forms.
“Frost Sword Canon Experience +10.”
“Frost Sword Canon Experience +10.”
“Frost Sword Intent: Mastery (3% → 4%).”
As time passed, lines of text continuously appeared before her, even her Sword Intent improving as a result.
Yet she seemed unaware, her sword flowing endlessly like a dragon.
“As expected of Innate Sword Bones!”
Seeing this, Lu Xingzhou was deeply shaken. When he had first learned the Demon-Slaying Sword Art, just Sword One alone had taken him over a month to comprehend.
Yet now, Li Yunqing had grasped its essence after only three to five repetitions.
Such talent was astonishing.
“Clang!”
In the courtyard, Li Yunqing wielded her sword, graceful as a soaring swan.
As she understood the essence of the sword forms, her swordsmanship began to diverge greatly from Lu Xingzhou’s.
A woman’s physique naturally differed from a man’s. Now, the thirty-six forms had been adjusted by her to perfectly suit herself.
In Lu Xingzhou’s eyes, her figure grew increasingly soft and graceful, like a willow swaying in the wind, shedding the rigidity of a man and fully displaying feminine elegance.
Her purple dress fluttered, her long hair danced, her body supple—moving like water taking form.
The sword light was like frost, illuminating her delicate face, making it even fairer, as though bathed in moonlight with a gentle glow.
Her eyes were calm, her features like a painting, filled with focus.
Her slender legs stepped lightly, agile and graceful. As her slim waist twisted, her perfect curves became even more enchanting, like a living poem.
As her Sword Intent surged, flakes of frost and snow drifted like petals, swirling around her.
Under the sunlight, they shimmered brilliantly, making the entire courtyard fall into a tranquil stillness, no longer seeming like the mortal world.
It was as if a celestial maiden of the Moon Palace danced with a sword amid frost and snow.
“A maiden in purple dances with frost and snow; even gods and Buddhas resent the height of heaven!”
Seeing that breathtaking scene, such a line of poetry suddenly surfaced in Lu Xingzhou’s mind. He stood frozen, eyes fixed.
Within his pupils, there was only Li Yunqing’s poetic and graceful figure.
Time passed—who knew how long.
“Sword One!”
Li Yunqing cried softly in her heart. Her sword turned, frost and snow gathering upon it before she slashed out.
“Shh—”
A thin, icy line tore through the air and shot forward.
Where it passed, the air froze instantly, then was cleanly split apart, stretching over a zhang before slowly dissipating.
Without True Qi, its power was still far inferior to Lu Xingzhou’s strike.
“Frost Sword Canon Experience +30.”
“Frost Sword Canon (Mastery 2258/5000).”
“Frost Sword Intent: Mastery (4% → 5%).”
Glancing at the text before her, Li Yunqing sheathed her sword and stood still, joy evident between her brows.
This Demon-Slaying Sword Art could truly help refine her Sword Intent—it was an unexpected delight.
She turned and cupped her hands slightly toward Lu Xingzhou. “Senior Brother Lu, how was it?”
Her voice seemed to drift from afar, crisp like silver bells, ethereal to the ears, jolting Lu Xingzhou out of his daze.
“Ah?”
Startled, Lu Xingzhou found his mind still filled with the image of Li Yunqing dancing with the sword, as if he had completely forgotten he came to teach her.
A trace of panic flashed in his eyes. For the first time, he went against his Sincere Heart and subconsciously nodded.
“Good… very good!”
“I will come again tomorrow to teach you Sword Two.”
As he spoke, he turned somewhat hastily and left the courtyard in a few quick steps.
Watching Lu Xingzhou leave, Li Yunqing’s brows moved slightly. She looked up at the sky, puzzled.
“It’s still early today!”