Madam, please ascend.

Chapter 149: Become a Disciple (Part )

"Sir, what you mean is that I need to learn more about swordsmanship before I can find my own path."

"Yes and no. Ordinary people often follow the old paths of their predecessors in their cultivation. With a scripture and a great way of inheritance, they can easily enter the Hedao realm. However, from then on, they are only in the Hedao realm and it is difficult to make any further progress."

Wang Shenlai's words were shocking. He looked down on the inheritance of the great Dao, and in his eyes, the major sects of both the righteous and evil paths were misleading the young people.

He said, "I hope you can blaze a new trail and not just repeat what others have said."

Yun Yi smiled bitterly and said, "Isn't it too early for me to consider these things since I'm only at the Spiritual Transformation stage now?"

"Not too early, not too early. If you cultivate with the goal of finding your own path, this bullshit realm is just a rhetoric created to rank cultivators."

"Searching for a path that has never been taken before is something I never dared to think about before."

"How difficult is this? Didn't Nangong Feitian also create the 'Natural Way'? If he hadn't been trapped by the word 'love' in his life, he would have reached the immortal realm by now."

Wang Shenlai lightly brushed the blade of the Fangyuan Sword with his index finger and sighed, "I thought I wasn't alone on the road, and that I had someone to walk with me. Unfortunately, I'm still alone in the end."

At this time, Yun Yi was surprised to find that the sword intent in the purple gold gourd seemed to have sensed Wang Shenlai's presence and became restless.

They were not eager to take action, but were quite close to this person.

It was as if all the sword intent in the world was directed towards Wang Shenlai like this.

So Yun Yi opened the gourd and released the sword intent. Several small swords circled around Wang Shenlai for a few times, and finally stopped around him, looking like they were sitting quietly listening to a lecture.

Wang Shenlai smiled and said, "These three little guys are very good. They can cultivate sword spirits in the future. You must cherish them."

Yun Yi: "Junior will remember this."

"As for the Tiger Subduing Dao on your right arm, it does have some good fortune for you. Although you won't be able to achieve harmony with it in the future, you may be able to integrate it with the Dao of the Sword and use it for your own benefit. Fusheng Temple's generosity this time is truly remarkable, as they are willing to use a great opportunity to establish a good relationship with you."

Yun Yi was also quite surprised by this matter. The Fu Hu Dao, an important inheritance that accounted for one-third of the Fu Sheng Temple, was given to an outsider like this. Moreover, it seemed that Abbot Hui Ming was not lying. At least so far, he had not made any demands on him.

Wang Shenlai said, "But your sword training method is really a bit clumsy."

What he was talking about was naturally the sword-sharpening technique.

"If you want the Fangyuan Sword to reveal its true form in your hands, you can't do it simply by sharpening it."

Yun Yi sat upright and listened to the lecture.

Wang Shenlai said, "Swordsmen in the world are divided into two schools: form and intention. Emphasizing form over intention often leads to clumsiness, while emphasizing intention over form is too vague. Therefore, both form and intention must be combined; neither can be missing.

"You have a high level of understanding of sword intent, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to easily subdue the Qinglian and Fuyao sword intents and use them for your own benefit. However, in the realm of form, you still need to practice even harder to achieve improvement."

Yun Yi didn't understand: "So, my use of the Sword Sharpening Sutra isn't wrong?"

Wang Shenlai: "The skills are just the surface. The problem is that what really needs to be polished is not the sword body, but the sword shape. You must first understand why the square and round sword is this shape, so that you can polish it to perfection. Otherwise, the slightest deviation will make the future of harmony with the Tao a thousand miles away."

Yun Yi suddenly realized that the Sword Sharpening Sutra was correct, but his method of sharpening was wrong. The fundamental purpose of sword sharpening was not to make the Fangyuan Sword extremely sharp, but to make it fit one's own sword path.

Wang Shenlai advised, "The easiest way to understand sword forms is to forge a sword that satisfies your needs. Sword forging can solve your current confusion."

Yun Yi asked, "How do I cultivate the sword spirit?"

"This requires starting from your true heart. The Qinglian sword intent is like a spring breeze, and the Fuyao sword intent is clear and lofty. The opportunity given to you by these two sword intents provides you with ample space for cultivation. One day, when you find your true heart, you will be able to integrate them."

"What about Fangyuan Sword Intention?"

"Although it originated from Nangong Feitian, it is the most compatible with your nature. In fact, it is already the same as your original heart." Wang Shenlai took a sip of wine. "As for cultivating sword intent, there is actually a shortcut. That is to increase your knowledge and observe the sword intent of others."

As the person who knows swords best in the Three Realms and Nine Provinces, Wang Shenlai was discussing the Dao while casually drawing small swords in the air.

Although those small swords have no physical form, if you feel them carefully you will find that they have both form and meaning, which is the most amazing thing.

It is invisible yet seems visible, and it is drawn casually yet seems to have intention.

A small sword named "Imperial Decree", it looks small and short like a dagger, with a golden and purple glow all over, and looks extremely valuable.

Wang Shenlai flicked the end of the hilt of the sword casually, and the decree instantly turned into a meteor and pierced into the sky, exploding a string of unusual colors in the ink-and-wash landscape.

Thunder patterns filled the sky, and the roars were louder and louder, as if a brilliant firework display was being set off.

In Yun Yi's opinion, the aura of the imperial decree was not much different from Xiao Buyi's, at least at the level of the Ascension Realm. However, Wang Shenlai used it for demonstration and casually set it off like an ordinary firework.

What a big deal.

Wang Shenlai said, "The difficulty in painting a person lies in drawing their bones, and the difficulty in painting a sword lies in drawing their soul. A sword that possesses both form and meaning will inevitably give birth to its own sword spirit. With your current level of cultivation, nurturing a sword spirit is far too difficult, but there are ways to speed up the process."

"The simplest method is to kill many lives. If you kill enough, the sword will naturally be stained with souls. But this is not the right way. A better method is to cleanse the sword with the 'Sword Washing Spring'."

Yun Yi took a deep breath when he heard this. The Sword-Sweeping Spring was extremely valuable, much more precious than a top-grade sword-grinding stone. It was a treasure that had not been sold in the Tianyuan Chamber of Commerce for nearly a thousand years.

"Excuse me, sir, wouldn't this be like forcing the issue to a halt?"

"That's not the case. Some seedlings have shallow roots, so pulling them up hastily will naturally make them look weak. Other seedlings have deep roots, so helping them grow taller earlier will actually be beneficial rather than harmful."

Wang Shenlai continued, "In short, form and intention are the essence of the sword. When the two are combined and practiced to the extreme, the sword spirit will be born. As for sword energy, sword energy, sword domain, and sword moves, they are just fancy tricks displayed by the sword."

Yun Yi understood and said, "In that case, my most urgent task now is to use the sword forging to comprehend the sword's form, and then continue to sharpen the sword with the sword sharpening manual. As for the sword's intent, I need to see more of the sword's intent of other sword masters."

At this point, Wang Shenlai finally revealed his true intentions: "I happen to have a place here, where there are swordsmiths and an inexhaustible sword-washing spring. As for sword energy, it is almost infinite, and it is all stored in my Zongheng Tower."

Having said this, he was almost writing the four big words "Come and become my disciple" on his face.

(End of this chapter)