Chapter 30: Chapter 28: Cultivating Longxi Swordsmanship, The First Stage: Sword Unification Stream
It was just that for several years prior, the Seven Profound Sect’s Sect Leader and elders had given the disciples of Longxi Peak a great deal of support. To restore Longxi Peak’s former glory, its Peak Master had also used up more than half of its reserves to help those disciples solidify their cultivation and increase their strength.
During that time, Longxi Peak’s glory truly did see a bit of a resurgence, and they cultivated several Sword Dao Seeds who possessed a Sword Heart.
Unfortunately, while Sword Cultivators who had comprehended a Sword Heart were strong, they were not invincible.
This was especially true for Sword Cultivators who had not yet fully matured.
They could be forcibly killed by enemies of a High Realm.
In the past, human factions mostly wouldn’t do such a thing. Even if they did, they would be very covert about it, and they certainly wouldn’t target everyone.
But Demonic Fiends didn’t care about such things. During one training expedition, a powerful and strange Demonic Fiend appeared and either killed or crippled Longxi Peak’s prodigies.
That incident left Longxi Peak completely devastated. Even the Peak Master, Yun Qianqiu, was gravely injured and left on the brink of death while trying to rescue his disciples, forcing him into long-term seclusion to recover.
This tragic experience was also the beginning of the sect’s change in attitude.
The losses were too heavy.
In those years, any disciple with even a bit of Talent was chosen by Longxi Peak and Bright Stone Peak. The tragic deaths of these disciples meant that the Seven Profound Sect’s lineage was cut off for several years.
The excessive deaths even affected the surrounding families, making them hesitant to send their most outstanding young members to the Seven Profound Sect.
"Sect Leader, we can’t go on like this. The Demonic Fiends’ abilities are strange. True, a Sword Cultivator’s One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Techniques is powerful, but reaching that realm is just too difficult. We’d be better off supporting Molten Fire Peak and Cuixiang Mountain first, focusing on Artifact Refining and Alchemy. We can reconsider after the demonic calamity has passed."
"Instead of Artifact Cultivators, why not support Magic Cultivators? The Demonic Fiends have strange abilities, but do our Magic Cultivator disciples lack methods to deal with them? Besides, Magic Cultivators don’t need the dauntless, forward-charging spirit of Sword Cultivators. More importantly, besides Sword Cultivators, we Magic Cultivators have the strongest combat power."
"Heh, you think we Artifact Cultivators are weak? This is the Three Mountains Seal. Why don’t you try and block it..."
Mo Shuying: "Sigh..."
After that incident, the Seven Profound Sect withdrew most of its support for Longxi Peak. However, the sect leadership was still unwilling to accept this outcome and didn’t want the sect to lose its edge. Thus, Longxi Peak merely lost its support; it wasn’t actively suppressed.
Unfortunately, people are inherently selfish. Whether it was the surrounding Cultivation Families or the sect elders, they all sent their most outstanding and valued heirs to Molten Fire Peak, Cuixiang Mountain, or, failing that, Dharma Seal Peak.
’A Sword Cultivator who has comprehended a Sword Heart is indeed powerful among their peers, but they aren’t invincible. A Magic Cultivator who has grasped True Intent or mastered a Thunder Skill, or an Artifact Cultivator with a top-grade Magical Artifact, can all contend with a Sword Cultivator.’
With this kind of thinking, the Cultivation Families had their outstanding disciples play it safe.
Only the less outstanding ones were sent to Longxi Peak to try and stake it all.
With this shift in balance, Longxi Peak’s situation naturally worsened.
Moreover, after that incident, Longxi Peak’s remaining reserves were almost depleted. If they were to meticulously nurture someone, they had enough to cultivate only a single person.
And unlike Yi Yunya, among everyone on Longxi Peak, Mo Shuying was most optimistic about Xue Yao.
With her A Class Spiritual Root, she was the first to advance, and she also possessed the special talent, Ice Heart.
In Mo Shuying’s opinion, if anyone among Longxi Peak’s disciples could advance to the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation in just one month and contend with the likes of Yan Chen and Su Lingya, it would have to be Xue Yao.
Therefore, she used all of Longxi Peak’s remaining resources on Xue Yao, giving none to Zhong Ming.
They both came from humble backgrounds and both had an A-level Rating, but in the end, she gave all of Longxi Peak’s resources to Xue Yao and not a single bit to Zhong Ming. This unfair distribution made Mo Shuying feel a little uneasy.
—She saw Longxi Peak as her home and the Inner Sect Disciples as her family, so this differential treatment naturally made her feel bad.
’To have little Yao advance to the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation and compete against Yan Chen and the others, who possess treasures, I need to get her a treasure of the same level. That’s why Longxi Peak’s funds and resources can’t be used for you. I’m sorry, Zhong Ming, but I’m doing this for the good of Longxi Peak... If she takes one of the top three spots, or even first place, the Sect Leader might start allocating resources to us again.’
’However, I can’t touch Longxi Peak’s resources, but we still have some connections on the other peaks. Maybe I can do this...’
Feeling that she owed Zhong Ming, she ultimately still wanted to give him some form of compensation.
Besides, she also felt that if Zhong Ming’s strength increased, he could also help Xue Yao.
’The end-of-month assessment looks at overall strength. Even if Xue Yao can hold off Yan Chen and the others, if Zhuang Yi and Zhong Ming are defeated too quickly, Xue Yao won’t be able to win. After all, two fists are no match for four hands.’
Holding this thought, Mo Shuying headed to Molten Fire Peak and arrived before a luxurious courtyard.
Just as she flew in, a young, gorgeously dressed woman in a palace gown appeared before her.
"Senior Sister Mo, what brings you here?"
"I came to see Senior Brother Xie. How... is he?"
Hearing this, the palace-gowned young woman’s expression dimmed. "My husband... he’s still recovering..."
...
Yi Yunya wanted to throw her lot in with him, while Senior Sister Mo Shuying wanted to find some way to compensate him. Zhong Ming was completely unaware of all this.
At this moment, his entire focus was on comprehending and understanding the Longxi Swordsmanship.
After silently reading through the Longxi Swordsmanship manual using his Mind Reading ability, Zhong Ming discovered, not surprisingly, that the Longxi Swordsmanship had too many similarities to the Longxi Breathing Technique.
’The sword is like a stream, flowing with the current, not against it... This is the general principle of the Longxi Swordsmanship.’
In simpler terms, the initial stage of Longxi Swordsmanship trains the gentleness of water. When an opponent attacks, Longxi Swordsmanship doesn’t meet force with force. Instead, it uses the sword to guide the opponent’s attack, redirecting it to the side along the flow of water.
When this step is trained to its limit, it becomes the [Flow of Water].
At that point, when Zhong Ming used the Longxi Swordsmanship, his longsword would be like a flowing stream. No matter how his opponent attacked, Zhong Ming would be able to redirect their offense to the side, following the intent of the water.
Of course, Longxi Peak was famous for its swords, with its fierce attacks ranked first among the Seven Peaks. As the most fundamental and core technique, the Longxi Swordsmanship naturally had more to it than just the ability to redirect and neutralize force.
Again, the flow of water is for building up momentum.
[You have gained some insight into Longxi Swordsmanship. Cultivation Technique progress
63]
Once the Longxi Swordsmanship was practiced to proficiency, while using the Flow of Water to deflect an opponent’s attack, Zhong Ming could also take advantage of the momentum to borrow a portion of the enemy’s power.
’This, too, is flowing—transferring the enemy’s power onto my own sword.’
[You have gained some insight into Longxi Swordsmanship. Cultivation Technique progress
71]
’Come to think of it, water can conduct force... If someone forcefully strikes the surface of the water, it will create ripples in the stream and even cause the current to speed up.’
’My sword is like a stream, so I, too, should be able to act like a stream in nature, borrowing the enemy’s power to increase the speed and force of my own Sword Techniques.’
[You have gained some insight into Longxi Swordsmanship. Cultivation Technique progress
85]
’When the enemy’s attack is redirected, that’s the moment their guard is wide open and the speed and power of my sword have doubled. If I attack at that instant, the enemy will have a hard time defending... The concept behind Longxi Swordsmanship is truly excellent.’
’Even if the enemy manages to defend in time, it doesn’t matter. By relying on the Flow of Water, I can continuously build up momentum. The longer I fight, the stronger my Sword Momentum becomes. In the end, this babbling brook will turn into a monstrous wave, and my opponent still won’t be able to block it.’
This is the first stage of Longxi Swordsmanship: Sword Unification Stream.
...
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