Chapter 176: Free Discussion
Zhangsun Jing was puzzled at first, and then joyfully pulled out his long knife to chop at big trees in the courtyard. He fiercely flourished the knife with a murderous look. It could be speculated that his bladesmanship was found out through bloody battle.
He swung the knife more and more fiercely. Into a small place, there seed to be saber-rattling and a dusty battlefield full of shouting.
With a dull-looking expression in his eyes, Taoist Hu wondered why he always t such geniuses. For him, it had beco familiar that Xiao ng’s strength ascended at a speed totally beyond his imagination. However, Zhangsun Jing was also young and had practiced martial arts for only a few years. How could he have so pure of a vital spirit and unique bladesmanship?
No wonder he boasted himself as a bladesmanship genius.
ng Qi slightly nodded in agreent of his bladesmanship, which could be counted as sharp and powerful because his posture was perfectly matched with montum although the bladesmanship had many deficiencies, such as loss of careful revision and lack of change, and there was neither guidance nor profound bladesmanship.
Suddenly, Zhangsun Jing changed the way he swung the knife from inflexibility to yielding. He lightly lifted up the knife just as the most special gentlemanlike general before tens of thousands of soldiers.
ng Qi secretly praised, “Pretty good, he even knew how to combine stiffness with flexibility.”
After completing his practice, Zhangsun Jing put the blade back. He appeared calm but could not help peeping at ng Qi. “Hero ng, I appreciate your advice.”
“For this movent, you should restrain yourself a little bit.” In the sa fierce and malicious way, ng Qi flourished the Evil Ordeal with scabbard. However, his movent and strength were more restrained with a little dignity, so that it was hard to resist as if there continuously ca thousands upon thousands of horses and soldiers. Zhangsun Jing was almost breathless.
For Zhangsun Jing’s bladesmanship, ng Qi successively pointed out 27 mistakes in a combination of explanation with practice. They were either omissions resulting from unsolid basic bladesmanship or problems due to the assistance of Blade-breaking Move.
With glowing eyes, Zhangsun Jing contemplated for a while before cupping one hand in the other before his chest. “Thanks for Hero ng’s advice. To my surprise, my Blood-thirsty Bladesmanship could be so invincible.”
“Your talent for bladesmanship is good but lacks the basic skills. Without restriction, it’s original and imaginative, but it’s ant to have impractical foundations and careless omissions.” ng Qi concisely advised as a senior master.
Zhangsun Jing thoughtfully said, “I have looked for the entry-level blade book before, but I didn’t find any better than my blood-thirsty bladesmanship.”
ng Qi put his knife back around his waist and said indifferently, “Like Go with a certain pattern, bladesmanship and sword art also have movents. As long as you brandish a knife or sword, I can guess your next movent and make good preparation in advance. At this stage, people possess an incredible mory, so they probably cope with common movents. For a further step, they can combine movents at will and even guess the opponent’s movents to win.”
“However, any movent is composed of the most basic actions including chopping, cutting, peeling, and waving. After hundreds and thousands of tis of practice, their taboos and advantages are absolutely clear in the entry-level blade book.”
“You don’t know the taboos for the lack of the entry-level regulation. Your innovative movents have a lot of omissions because you failed to learn from past mistakes committed by predecessors. As a result, masters can easily deal with such bladesmanship.”
“No wonder I felt that my bladesmanship had got stuck recently without a solution to improve.” Zhangsun Jing was suddenly enlightened.
ng Qi put his hands behind his back, looking at trees of dead leaves. “Until the change of movents is engraved on your heart, you will explore a few invariable laws from complex to simple among the myriads of changes. The more invariable laws you master, the better you will do with ever-changing things. Thus, you can abandon unnecessary constraints and give a full display to change, to realize from simple to complex.”
“Both sides are complentary, and each can’t be neglected. Without understanding the truth of from complex to simple, how can you realize the higher-level ‘to Complex’? Moreover, without further understanding bladesmanship and swordsmanship from simple to complex, how can you further realize ‘to Simple’?”
Zhangsun Jing intently listened for this was the first ti soone had told him such things. Taoist Hu was also absorbed thinking ng Qi’s simple words sumd up all ideas over the years. Moreover, his latter words seemingly further unraveled his puzzles; thus, he had fresh new perspectives and views about sword arts and movents.
“Hero ng, to what extent can we respectively reach after From Complex to Complicated or From Simple to Complicated?” Zhangsun Jing asked.
ng Qi forced a graceful smile and sternly said, “You can display blood-thirsty bladesmanship again.”
Zhangsun Jing questioningly drew out his knife and fiercely chopped again.
“Stab the right wrist!” ng Qi speeded up his speech.
Upon hearing this, Zhangsun Jing changed his bladesmanship from inflexibility to yielding and then chopped down to form an oblique arc.
“Lift up!” ng Qi spat out the words.
Zhangsun Jing was stunned that with real scenes of engagent in his mind, his opponent lifted up the sword in the forr high-low trend exactly avoiding his blade to threaten his chest and abdon.
He dodged sideways with his blade chopping crosswise. How fierce it was as if they were destined to perish together!
“Cut off the left leg,” ng Qi said.
Zhangsun Jing’s expression changed because the opponent could hit him by cutting off his left leg with a sword before he flourished his blade. anwhile, it could be avoided to perish together.
Considering this, he changed his movents once again.
In this way, he displayed his bladesmanship while ng Qi pointed out his flaws in words. Alongside, Taoist Hu, Ba Tu, and Ruan Yushu quietly watched.
Gradually, Zhangsun Jing spent more and more ti thinking. It took several breaths to brandish a blade. In case of actual combat, he would have already been knocked to the ground. However, ng Qi just demonstrated without urging.
A mont later, Zhangsun Jing sighed and put his blade back. “Hero ng, I lost.”
With a fully sweaty forehead, he was depressed. It seed more exhausting than actual combat with real people.
With longing and hope, Zhangsun Jing said, “So that is the realm of From Complex to Complicated. I felt my bladesmanship had been reduced to the simplest changing combinations without any secret. Moreover, you could anticipate my next movent.”
“After From Simple to Complicated, there were constant changes, so that flaws and traps were no longer distinguishable. Against the swordsmanship, no one could escape in any way, just like being trapped in a far-flung network. As for which is better, it might depend on the corresponding capability and realm.”
“Rather than From Complex to Complicated,” ng Qi said, “if you confront with an opponent who well understands the change of movents, you can use movents which are totally against a few invariable laws of swordsmanship and bladesmanship. In their eyes, it goes against common sense. But, it also ans that they can’t predict your next movent. It’s called ‘Void Tactics’.”
“However, it’s not really Void Tactics, because as long as you still wave the sword, it can be called Skillful Tactics.”
“Void Tactics…” Zhangsun Jing and Taoist Hu beca thoughtful.
“It’s necessary to have a preliminary learning of the few invariable laws to realize ‘Void Tactics’. If you willfully act like a kid, the opponent will knock you down with a move rather than be fooled at all. Moreover, the opponent is easy to see through because it’s hard to deliberately avoid invariable laws.” ng Qi coldly said, walking to the front of a big tree with a deep shadow.
“What’s the next after Void Tactics?” Zhangsun Jing boldly asked.
Actually, ng Qi wasn’t clear. While organizing the thought, he slowly spoke, “The next is to go back to ‘Skillful Tactics’, aning thoroughly master the fundantal laws and essences to skillfully cope with changes, which can be regarded as the most wonderful movent. It might be simple as wisdom disguised as slow-wittedness and complicated as a perplexing maze. Besides, it might be ‘void tactics’ to take others by surprise. For masters, the ‘Void Tactics’ becos aningless again because movents can only be divided into applicable and inapplicable.”
“Then?” Zhangsun Jing listened with fascination.
“Then?” ng Qi said with emotion, “Whether there is a sword or not, the sword of heart finally is to purify people’s spirit. After interacting with their own swords and the natural world, people discover that their movents begin to close to nature and mystery. But in the end, all return to the nature of sword, and the several questions, such as what’s a sword? and why?” “Where does it stand in life and martial arts? What does it represent in the laws of heaven and earth and in the Dharma and Logos? With different opinions, the personal sword principles begin to take shape.”
“After this, the internal and external worlds et, and the sword rges with nature. With the sword drawn out, Dharma and Logos interiorize. Thus, the sword becos extrely powerful to resist floating clouds and the netherworld, and even mountains and seas.”
Though Half-step Exterior Scenery is said to be more difficult than the Exterior, both to open the Hidden Latch of Life and Death and to connect the Bridge between Heaven and Earth are closely linked to mysterious and dangerous Primal Aperture at Mid-brows, so you’ll beco an idiot or die at once with one careless move. anwhile, it also has so requirents for mind and perception. Besides, the Exterior isn’t so easy.”
“Its requirents for the mind is related to the perception towards nature. In case of good practicing thods and resources, the requirents for mind and perception are relatively low. For people like the warriors in this world, who have neither the thod to open Primal Aperture at Mid-brows except taking the edge ball like Transformation Strategy, nor the detailed Dharma Access about internal and external Heaven-earth rging, if they want to succeed, mind level and perception of nature are required to be high, almost as sa as those of the real Exterior. Only this, the Hidden Latch, can be broken to connect the internal and external finally to reach the Exterior from Nine Apertures with one move.”
“Therefore, Sword Emperor’s mind and perception are obviously higher than those of his mortal body and actual military power.”
Thoughts of Zhangsun Jing, Ba Tu, and Taoist Hu wandered far away. Whatever true or false, Xiao ng at least presented them a grand and promising picture of reasonableness.
“Then, the process might be repeated again: arbitrarily apply movents in compliance with Dharma and Logos of heaven and earth, ‘Void Tactics’ against Dharma and Logos, as well as the already-mastered movents.” ng Qi spoke casually without much knowledge about the Exterior.
“Please don’t think too much about the latter part. I just spoke without thinking. For the previous part, do you understand?” ng Qi turned around and quietly asked.
Zhangsun Jing solemnly saluted, “I’ll study the entry-level blade book once again, Hero ng. Your words enlightened a lot. If needed in the future, I’ll spare no efforts.”
Being born into a beggar family, he has never been so polite.
“Until your bladesmanship reaches to an advanced certain degree, I’ll fight with you again.” ng Qi amusingly thought, wishing that he would have mastered the gist of Heaven Blade by then.
Because Sword Emperor’s guidance benefited him a lot, ng Qi had the idea to direct Zhangsun Jing.
The situation was diffused just now, so ng Qi believed that Royal Advisor, Sword Emperor, and Devil Empress had already noticed here. However, they restrained each other, so that everything will be alright at night.
Lu Guan also agreed with this. They decided to discuss it after seeing the Right Chief Minister tomorrow.
After returning to the courtyard and entering the living room, ng Qi didn’t need to pretend to be cold. Giving a stretch and rubbing his face, he said to Ruan Yushu, “I’ve been thinking about the excuse to see the Third Prince. But now, I don’t worry anymore. Tomorrow, let’s visit the four princes one by one, to observe their behaviors and know their attitudes towards West Invaders.”
“Hum.” Ruan Yushu walked to his wing room holding the Chinese zither.
ng Qi was very puzzled, “Aren’t you curious about the excuse?”
“I won’t go there anyhow.” Ruan Yushu coolly replied.
“Ho-ho…” ng Qi “laughed”.
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