Chapter 4: The Essence of Swordsmanship

  Arriving at the Scripture Pavilion, there were not many disciples entering and exiting at this moment because it was early morning. They were all outer sect disciples. Compared to inner sect disciples like Lu Qing, outer sect disciples usually had difficulties in their cultivation and could only come to the Scripture Pavilion for help. As for inner sect disciples, they would often be unwilling to waste their time guiding these outer sect disciples.

  The bi-weekly lectures are for inner sect disciples only, and outer sect disciples are not included. Therefore, the library can be said to be the mentor of all outer sect disciples in many cases. The writings of many senior swordsmen inside have a great deal of benevolence for them.

  So there are good things to say, saying that the single theory is repaired, the inner sect disciples must be far superior, but if it is about understanding the sunrise peak and other peaks as well as history, the inner sect disciples are absolutely far inferior to the outer sect disciples.

  Entering the library, Lu Qing arrived at the entrance of the second floor's Wu Pavilion. Two guarding outer sect disciples hastily saluted and said: "Greetings, Guardian Lu."

  The voices of the two attracted the attention of some early-arriving outer sect disciples on the first floor. In those gazes, Lu Qing saw envy and awe, and even discovered a particularly eager gaze. The gaze swept casually, but it made him discover an unbearable thing.

  There was nothing else, only the owner of these few gazes behind him, unexpectedly carrying a large black iron sword similar to Lu Qing's Lian Xin Sword. Possibly due to insufficient physical strength, the size of that large sword was slightly smaller than Lu Qing's Lian Xin, approximately five feet in length and three inches wide. Lu Qing estimated it weighed over fifty kilograms.

  It seems that it's not just a simple imitation of himself. Lu Qing estimated that for ordinary people, they can generally wield a long sword of over 20 jin with one arm. For those with more physical strength, such as some hunters or ordinary swordsmiths, they can wield around 30 jin. Very few people have cultivated their bodies like he has through his family's hammering techniques. These outer sect disciples usually practice with swords weighing only 7-8 jin.

  Now that he has switched to such a heavy black iron sword, it is not easy to carry it on his body alone, and it is clear that he has also made up his mind. Lu Qing believes that if they can wield this heavy sword with ease, not only will their physical strength be greatly enhanced, but their mastery of swordsmanship and control over their force will also undergo a qualitative change.

  Nodding at those few people, Lu Qing directly went upstairs to the second floor.

  "See, Lu Hu Fa nodded at me."

  "Who said it was a nod to you? That was a nod to me!"

  "How could it be you, when it's clearly me!" Lu Qingyi walked away, and the two outer sect disciples who were carrying large swords immediately began to argue. These two people were both almost twenty years old, and obviously still had the possibility of building their foundation. According to the requirements of the inner sect disciples, as long as they could successfully build their foundation before the age of thirty, they would be able to join the ranks of the inner sect disciples. This gave many outer sect disciples a glimmer of hope, and it was clear that these two had such possibilities.

  "Stop arguing, Lu Hufa is nodding at all of us." Another outer disciple with a heavy sword on his back spoke impatiently, "Since we chose to follow in Lu Hufa's footsteps and wield the heavy sword, we can't tarnish Lu Hufa's reputation. We must put up a good fight and not waste our time arguing over trivial matters here!"

  The two were stunned by the words of this disciple, but immediately the eyes of both showed a firm gaze, and at the same time they bowed to this disciple and left. The outer door disciple was also stunned by the actions of the two, but soon his eyes also showed a firm expression, and he followed them out.

  This scene made some of the outer disciples on the first floor a little surprised, but soon they showed an envious expression. Among these people, many were almost thirty years old, and for them, building the foundation had basically become a distant dream. However, hearing the conversation between the three at this moment still brought out a familiar passion in their hearts.

  Lu Qing went up to the second floor of the Wu Ge, and the guardian of the second floor Wu Ge was still the same old man who had passed his sixtieth birthday. At this moment, it was early morning, and there were basically no people on the second floor of the Wu Ge, so the old man just sat quietly in front of the cedar wood table with his eyes closed to meditate.

  "I've seen Ling Huofa," Lu Qing bowed and said, still showing the old man the respect he deserved.

  The old man slowly opened his eyes, and a hint of smile and surprise appeared in his eyes. He said, "We are both guardians, but there is no need to be so polite."

  He shook his head and said, "The title of Guardian is just a nominal one. You and my master are both fellow disciples, which makes you my uncle-master. I, Lu Qing, cannot be rude." At the previous grand ceremony, Xuan Qing had also introduced to Lu Qing the other six Guardians who were not present, among whom were these four Guardians, Ling Tong. According to their generation, they were senior fellow disciples of his master Xuan Qing, and thus his uncle-masters of the 15th generation.

  He gazed deeply at Lu Qing, and a hint of emotion appeared on Ling Tong's face: "Not losing one's original heart due to status, having such a temperament and cultivation at this age, your progress speed reminds me of the year when Zi Xia Zu Shi was young."

  After a pause, Ling Tong spoke up: "Now that you have become the guardian, you are qualified to know some of the sword arrays and entry and exit methods in the second and third layers of the Wuque. Remember, I will transmit it to you with my divine consciousness." Then Lu Qing felt a vast and majestic divine consciousness shooting out from the old man's divine sea.

  What a powerful divine sense! Lu Qing was shocked in his heart, and from this divine sense, Lu Qing felt a hidden and majestic pressure, knowing that it was the old man's intention to hold back, otherwise his divine sense might be injured.

  This made Lu Qing speculate about the old man's strength, but soon he was attracted by the sword array's entry and exit methods described by the old man's divine consciousness. Although he didn't know how to set up those sword arrays, just the entry and exit methods of the sword arrays showed many things. Even some sword arrays on the third floor required a light-as-a-feather-and-heavy-as-a-mountain swordsmanship realm when opening, in order to control the force well and not be injured by the sword energy of the sword array.

  Ling Tong roughly explained for about half an hour, and then Lu Qing spent another half an hour memorizing these techniques and roughly understanding them before making a gesture of apology to Ling Tong and entering the Wu Pavilion. As he watched Lu Qing's receding figure, Ling Tong nodded slowly and closed his eyes again.

  After entering Wu Ge, Lu Qing walked to the bookshelf of Jian Fa. In addition to the compulsory Jian Fa Chaoyang Qi Shi and Tengyun Jiu Jian, it also collects some widely spread Jian Fa in the sect, such as Yan Dang Jiu Jian, Duan Jin Liu Shi, Kai Shan Wu Jian, Xing Yun Jian Fa, etc. However, these Jian Fa are too ordinary, so they are not included in the collection, but only placed on one side as a reference for Chaoyang Qi Shi and Tengyun Jiu Jian.

  After going through these sword techniques one by one, Lu Qing found that although these basic sword techniques did not have the profound sword techniques' majestic power, they also contained some connotations of majestic power. This could be seen from the names of these sword techniques, which already had some resonance with Lu Qing's current state.

  He once again recalled the Kokuryūkken, and Lu Qing felt even more clearly that the power of the Kokuryūkken's profound swordsmanship had become stronger, but it still hadn't reached the point where it could mobilize the power of the Kokuryūkken.

  It turned out that way, Lu Qing thought carefully for a moment and then recalled the Zixuan Wind and Thunder Sword. He realized that the ranking of swordsmanship was actually based on the strength of the power contained within it. It was also a guiding process for a swordsman to start from the foundation swordsmanship, gradually deepening his understanding of the power, and finally practicing the profound swordsmanship that truly possessed the power. At that time, he could successfully guide the seed of the power into his body. Of course, the premise was that he had to choose a profound swordsmanship that matched the power of the swordsmanship he had practiced before.

  Otherwise, choosing another school of profound swordsmanship would still bring him back to the starting point. An unintentional discovery made Lu Qing feel that his understanding of the essence of swordsmanship had undergone a qualitative change, causing a major shift in his perspective on swordsmanship. Of course, this was limited to profound swordsmanship and below; as for the soul path swordsmanship belonging to the strong at the Sword Soul Realm, it was not something he could comprehend at present. At Lu Qing's current level, he had gradually come to understand a principle: the level of one's realm often determines the level of understanding.

  Lu Qing didn't linger and walked directly to the bookshelf wrapped in a sword array that collected profound sword techniques. According to what Ling Tong had explained earlier, this sword array was called the Radiant Sun Sword Array. Just by its name, one could guess that it was created from the profound sword technique of the same name, which was created by the first generation Peak Master Ancestor in his later years. Its power had almost reached the peak of a terrestrial sword array.

  According to Ling Tong's description to Lu Qing, once the Yang Sword Array is randomly touched by someone who doesn't understand sword arrays, it will emit a dazzling Yang Sword Qi that can rival the Great Heavenly Rank of the Sword Master. It is almost impossible for swordsmen with cultivation below the Sword Master stage to dodge it. If an outsider intrudes deeply into the array, it will automatically activate, and even a Sword King at the lowest level of the Sword Soul Realm may fall within.

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