Yefutidaolu

Chapter 256 Another Defeat, Divine Swordsmanship
Despite being at a disadvantage, Takami was actually quite pleased.

Before my eyes, countless formations came rushing towards me, all genuine forms, each wielding a completely different sword technique.

What is 'knife technique'?
Actually, it's just a weapon-shaped object, and the movement path in a person's hand is nothing special.

All marksmanship, swordsmanship, and staff techniques are nothing more than this.

Therefore, it is obvious that in the hands of an eight-armed Naga protector, swordsmanship would be completely different.

Because the points of force application and the paths of movement are different, the knife techniques will present completely different forms.

Similarly, in dogs and lions, due to differences in muscle composition and the conditions for exerting force, the knife can be used in countless ways.

It's like a short apprentice and a tall, thin master. When the short apprentice practices with a knife, he should raise the tip of the knife by three points and lower the handle by three points, based on the master's skill.

When learning knife techniques, don't learn the postures. If the purpose of a knife technique is to slit a throat, a master can make a horizontal cut, but an apprentice who is too short can only cut to the chest if he makes a horizontal cut like his master. Therefore, remember that a knife is a dead knife, but a person is a living person, and techniques can be changed at any time.

And that's the essence of the opponent's swordsmanship.

Such numerous variations reveal the opponent's intention! By grasping the 'essence of the One,' one can easily manifest such a multitude of structural changes!

The essence of Yin and Yang, movement and stillness, is the way of Heaven and Earth!
The One is the guiding principle of all things, the parent of change, and the origin of life and death.

The vast emptiness is the origin of creation, from which all things begin. The five elements cycle through the heavens, spreading true energy, governing the universe. The nine stars hang brightly, and the seven luminaries revolve. Yin and Yang, softness and hardness, are in their proper places. Cold and heat alternate, life and transformation occur, and all things flourish.

Once you master this, you will have mastered all the 'variations' of sword techniques.

As I was thinking about these things, the rusty knife's blade shrank by an inch.

Yes.

From the moment the opponent drew his sword, the reason why Gao Jian did not use that sword technique that would pull people into the realm of desire was because... he wanted to watch the opponent's actions completely.

In this way, he would be able to discern the essence of the opponent's swordsmanship.

In this way, Gao Jian's weakness in knife skills was completely compensated.

"Therefore, the birth of things is called transformation, and the extreme of things is called change."

"The function of change is mysterious in the heavens, the way in man, and transformation on earth."

"The five flavors are born from the Dao, wisdom is born from the Dao, and spirit is born from the mystery. In the heavens, it is qi; on the earth, it takes form. Qi and form interact with each other, and all things are born. Heaven and earth are above and below all things; left and right form the path of yin and yang, the beginning and end of creation. Qi has a certain amount, and form has a certain amount. Above and below interact and the difference between them is manifested."

Gao Jian made a sound as he caught the knife.

That is the information recorded in Shen Yun.

Cheng Feng, the eldest son of the Empress Dowager's maternal relatives, felt fear in that instant!
What? Did I see wrong, or did I hear wrong?

"Pretending!" Cheng Feng roared, then intensified his attack!
The sound of the floor cracking around him was teeth-grinding, and nearby objects shattered into fragments. The long sword that cut through the horse was wrapped in a blue light, cleaving through the dust, revealing countless shapes and blades, many of which broke through Takashi's defenses and grazed his body.

To be honest, Gao Jian couldn't withstand so many attacks at all. A chill seeped into the gaps between his spines, and he smelled the burnt smell of his hair ends, which was from the blade energy grazing his scalp.

Many blades scraped through the air, and the friction raised the temperature of the surrounding area!

But suddenly the air around Gao Jian exploded. The rusty knife didn't have many fancy moves, but the blade still drew hundreds of rays of light in the midday sun. The blade stirred up the air vortex, condensing the sand and gravel into a yellow dragon, defending without attacking.

The two sides collided, and sparks flew up three feet high at the point of impact.

Hundreds of collisions occurred every second, each producing such violent sparks and explosions. The aftershocks of the battle spread further and further. The two were not standing still, but constantly shifting their positions, moving from the ground to the sky, and even striking the Eternal Ice.

What is Mars?
Sparks are the flames produced when two weapons rub against each other, causing part of the blade to break and the fragments to ignite from the intense friction.

Therefore, depending on the material of the blade, the color of the sparks will also be different. In such a battle, a dazzling array of multicolored flames will generally be produced, intertwined across the entire battlefield.

If the knife is of good quality, it generally won't produce sparks.

But now, there is only one kind of flame on the battlefield.

Chengfeng's horse-slaying saber swept across Gaojian's rusty blade, the blade's energy tearing up dozens of floor tiles before shattering them into fragments. The two figures crossed paths amidst the torrential rain of bricks and stones, and the sparks from the colliding blades ignited Chengfeng's temple.

He glanced at the horse-slaying sword in his hand.

This is a magical artifact capable of supporting the power of the Six Realms. Its name is "Hundred Victories". It is made of red cinnabar charcoal for fire and is composed of five colors: gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin. It is three feet and nine inches long. When wielded, it can cut through iron as easily as the wind sweeps through grass and pierce armor as easily as cutting paper.

Ordinary armor, as if it were nothing.

When weapons clash, the blades always sever each other in one stroke. Even the Ironclad Pagoda, clad in full black iron armor, can be cut off along with the armor, the parrying spear shaft, the horse armor, and the horse's body. The wielder feels no delay and hardly expends any effort.

Without a doubt, this is a divine weapon, a weapon that can leave its mark in the martial arts world.

But now, when it came into contact with that long sword that was only sharp at the tip, not only did it fail to cut through the opponent's blade, but its own blade also developed several nicks.

Those sparks were all produced by his knife.

The knife in Gao Jian's hand was completely undamaged.

It was so rusty, how could this be?!
Furthermore, Cheng Feng discovered that he was finding it increasingly difficult, and the swordsmanship he had been practicing all along seemed to be gradually losing ground.

Gao Jian's words hadn't stopped yet.

“It sprouts at Zi (子), grows in Chou (丑), reaches Yin (寅), grows in Mao (卯), flourishes in Chen (辰), reaches its peak in Si (巳), spreads out in Wu (午), becomes obscure in Wei (未), strengthens in Shen (申), lingers in You (酉), finishes in Xu (戌), and is blocked in Hai (亥).”

“It emerges from Jia, strives and struggles in Yi, shines brightly in Bing, flourishes greatly in Ding, prospers in Wu, governs and regulates in Ji, gathers and changes in Geng, is completely renewed in Xin, embraces responsibility in Ren, and presents its principles in Gui.”

What Gao Jian was talking about was precisely the essence of his swordsmanship.

The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, Yin and Yang, the Five Elements—the very essence of all sword techniques lies within this blade. This primordial energy, in the heavens, circulates throughout the six directions; on earth, it gives rise to all things. Without it, the heavens would have no source of energy; without it, the earth would have no form to sustain itself. Therefore, it is vast and boundless, permeating all things, present everywhere and ever in motion. It is said: existing before heaven and earth, enduring after heaven and earth.

Therefore, this sword technique contains the transformation of Yin and Yang, the beginning and end of all things, and is both related to the musical scales and the daily cycle, so the nature of change can be seen. By unifying the elements, different 'forms' can be created.

There's no need to learn so many specific ways of forming shapes; just grasp the 'one element,' and all shapes and situations will be within your grasp.

Okay, I've grasped the essence and insight.

then--

In the fourth second of the battle, Takami's rusty knife stopped rusting.

At the same time, he slashed out with his sword.

Cheng Feng's vision blurred for a moment.

A force from the Desire Realm struck, dragging his mind into the abyss.

Cheng Feng had anticipated this; he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

He had been watching this attack for a long time while observing from the outside, and had made all the necessary preparations.

Concentrate your mind, calm your spirit, close your eyes, and swallow the calming and tranquilizing pill that you had been holding in your mouth.

This medicine is made primarily from white rhinoceros horn, along with borneol and ginseng. To think that Gao Jian possesses this knife is nothing but 'delusion,' or, in Buddhist Zen terms, 'inverted dreams.'

Troubles arise from delusions, and there are three types of delusions:

Or to reminisce about the glory and disgrace, the gratitude and resentment, the joys and sorrows, and all sorts of idle thoughts from decades ago—these are all past delusions.

When faced with a situation that could be handled smoothly, one may hesitate and waver, going back and forth repeatedly, unable to make a decision. This is wishful thinking.

To hope for future wealth and honor, or to achieve great success and fame, is to indulge in wishful thinking about the future. But all things that are not guaranteed to be achieved or obtained are merely delusions.

The past, present, and future are delusions that arise and vanish suddenly, which is called the illusory mind. The horn of a white rhinoceros can see through these delusions, cut off these thoughts, and is a method specifically designed to restrain such lofty views.

This is the foundation of a prominent family.

This kind of foundation is not just about money, martial arts techniques, or rare and precious materials.

It also includes 'knowledge'.

There are many things that you either know or you don't know, and if you don't know, there's no way to solve them.

Even if you have a million dollars, you can't buy those top-secret knowledge.

The powerful families possess that knowledge. They weren't just watching for entertainment; in just a short while, they had already figured out the details revealed by Gao Jian's strike.

Even the 'self-sacrifice' meaning of the Gaojian sword technique has been unearthed, and the original version of the self-sacrifice sword technique has been presented to them by these people.

Is there really any way to break through the inherent limitations of aristocratic families?
That's probably difficult.

fine……

Gao Jian is equally impressive in this regard.

The Xuanhua Tongmen Dadao Ge also possesses similar abilities.

Cheng Feng instantly broke free from the entanglements of the Desire Realm, a smile playing on his lips, and unleashed another slash.

This strike will decide the outcome!
Gao Jian would never have expected him to break through those illusions in such a short time, so this strike would be a surprise attack—

Just as Chengfeng was thinking this...

Gao Jian's sword and his sword clashed together.

Immediately afterwards, Cheng Feng felt that the knife in his hand... was out of control.

All his strength was out of balance. He tried to chop upwards, but the force was completely unbalanced, causing the hilt of the knife to slip from his hand!

Cheng Feng panicked!

This is impossible—!
The force on the blade... is out of control?

Every force is essentially a resultant force composed of countless component forces.

Therefore, as long as another component force is applied to this force, and as long as the magnitude and direction of this component force are appropriate, then the resultant force can be made unbalanced, and the trajectory of the resultant force will change.

If it is "appropriate", then even a force that is small compared to the original resultant force can deflect the trajectory of this large resultant force.

The so-called "using four ounces to move a thousand pounds" technique uses this principle.

In principle, the principle of using four ounces to move a thousand pounds doesn't even require four ounces of force; just the right amount is enough.

But there is a problem.

That is, the "four ounces" that can move a thousand pounds with four ounces must be fully understood in order to achieve this.

This requires you to have a complete understanding of the opponent's actions. Therefore, martial arts that have the effect of using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds basically all have the method of "listening to the force," which helps you judge the opponent's way of exerting force.

Cheng Feng showed no fear; in fact, his face was full of confusion.

What happened? What exactly happened? Why was Gao Jian able to see through his power and even completely overwhelm his swordsmanship, leaving his own sword utterly destroyed?

Just a few seconds ago, his swordsmanship was only so-so... how come it suddenly became divine a few seconds later?

But saying all that is pointless now.

As the saber slipped from his hand, Gao Jian instinctively lunged forward, presenting the rusty blade to Cheng Feng's neck.

Cheng Feng remained expressionless, but he stopped resisting.

After a long while, about ten seconds later, he nodded: "I lost. You were hiding your strength, but how can you hide it when facing the next one?"

Yes, Cheng Feng has made his judgment.

This person was hiding his true abilities; he didn't lose because of a difference in strength, but because this person caught him off guard.

His swordsmanship was clearly clumsy before, which was precisely to launch a sneak attack at this moment.

Gao Jian did not refute this.

no need.

He just smiled; this was part of the plan, after all.

Ideally, everyone would think he was hiding his true abilities, rather than believing that... this guy with superior insight had learned the other's swordsmanship in a matter of seconds and used it even more skillfully than the other!
“Then, please step down, Senior Chengfeng.” Gao Jian sheathed his sword and gently pushed the other man forward.

Cheng Feng glanced at Gao Jian: "You do have the right to be arrogant... but you've put yourself on a pedestal. In the Imperial Academy, I'm not the strongest."

As he spoke, he lightly tapped his forehead, opened the mud pill, and his aura rose again.

"After my One Yuan Sword Technique opens the Niwan point, the form it takes is no longer limited to various living beings, but can manifest a hundred gods within my body."

The mud pill, when mixed with the hundred gods and transformed ten times, can control the gods within the body. This sword technique can obviously also mix the power of these gods within the body, thus forming a new 'form'.

The sword technique is called "One Yuan". One Yuan is the guiding principle of all things, the parent of change, and the origin of life and death. So naturally it should have an effect worthy of such a grand name.

“That’s a matter for those at the sixth level, senior. At least at the fifth level, you’re no match for me,” Gao Jian said.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Feng fell silent, gave a cold snort, and stormed off, appearing somewhat exasperated.

Gao Jian's vital energy and blood finally weakened to the point that it was visibly reduced.

In the initial battle with Cheng Feng, he was indeed at a disadvantage and was barely holding on, which consumed a lot of his energy.

In the eyes of others, this state meant that he was truly 'getting serious'.

So, will anyone else come up?

Coming up here is risky.

(End of this chapter)