The First Sage of Military Strategists

Chapter 32 Practicing Swordsmanship in the Rain! The Killing Blade!
In the wind and rain.

From the moment Han Qing made his first strike, he was completely in the zone, requiring little thought. With the muscle memory of each strike, the next strike would immediately follow, resulting in a continuous and fluid swordsmanship. The light of the blade surrounded him, as if he were a transparent sphere, from which raindrops fell, only to be deflected by the blade.

This scene drew cheers from a large group of teenagers in the courtyard.

Because of the heavy rain, Master Fang, being kind, allowed them to go back to their rooms to rest.

Hearing the commotion outside, many teenagers pressed their eyes against the windows and through the cracks in the doors, watching Han Qing practice his swordsmanship.

They couldn't discern the details of Han Qing's swordsmanship, but they could still sense that each of Han Qing's strikes was swift, ruthless, and incredibly fluid, possessing a unique aesthetic beauty.

"The mute's swordsmanship is amazing! I'm so envious!"

"Why are you calling me mute? Call me Brother Han!"

"Ah, right, right, Brother Han!"

creak!

Fang Ye's room door opened a crack, and he sat in a chair, his eyes fixed on Han Qing not far away.

In his memory, Han Qing had never learned swordsmanship before. How could his proficiency have increased so much in just three or four days? Is this plausible? Is this reasonable? Is this what a genius is? This is a bit frightening, isn't it?

Fang Ye fell silent, momentarily doubting the world and himself.

He suddenly realized that his previous assessment of Han Qing might have been too low; perhaps Han Qing was even more of a genius than he had imagined.

Just then, Han Qing shouted and stepped forward, unleashing his final strike, the most exquisite and fierce strike of this sword technique.

A flash of light, bright and clear, briefly cleaved through the rain curtain ahead, with the clanging of the blade faintly heard in the wind and rain.

"Perfect!" Master Fang narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself, "Han Qing's martial arts talent is too abnormal."

"it is good!"

The young people cheered in unison, each one filled with envy, dreaming that one day they too could possess martial arts skills like Han Qing.

Han Qing sheathed his sword, feeling refreshed and exhilarated.

"Dumb man, come here, I have something to ask you!" Master Fang called out.

Han Qing strode up to him, the wind and rain lashing against him, but he was completely unconcerned about it now that he was physically strong.

"Have you ever practiced the Hundred-Crack Blade before?" Master Fang asked.

"No." Han Qing shook his head.

"How can you learn so quickly?" Master Fang asked, puzzled.

"I don't know," Han Qing replied.

He dared to practice his swordplay in public today to demonstrate his superior martial arts talent.

Since he already holds the title of a martial arts prodigy that is rare in Baiyun County, let's exaggerate it a bit more. This way, Yang Wu will value him even more and he can receive more rewards, thus creating a virtuous cycle.

As for achieving mastery in seven days, wouldn't that be too illogical? Not really. He learned from the book that there have been quite a few people like that in the history of Shu.

The Hundred-Crack Blade isn't a particularly profound martial art, so it's not very difficult to master, but it's also not something that's commonly found everywhere.

Upon hearing this, Master Fang couldn't help but sigh inwardly, realizing that the difference between people was truly as vast as heaven and earth.

If anyone else had said this, he might have thought it was just a perfunctory remark, but if it was Han Qing, he thought it was perfectly normal.

"Master Fang, is this fast or slow?" a young man from the next room asked daringly.

Master Fang stroked his chin: "So-so. It has the style of my younger days. Dumb, don't get arrogant. Keep practicing hard."

"Yes." Han Qing nodded.

Mr. Fang then closed the door and suddenly realized that although the wind had blown on his head earlier, it didn't hurt much.

"That's right, the mute man wasn't lying. This medicine really works. The symptoms have indeed lessened, and it seems like it can be cured within a year!"

…Back in the house.

Han Qing took off his clothes and took a very refreshing hot bath in a large wooden tub, washing away the wind and rain.

In this world, taking a hot shower isn't easy, since even firewood costs money.

The apprentices could only wash twice a month, while he could wash once every seven days.

After taking a shower, Han Qing felt refreshed and invigorated.

"Inherit the Mandarin Duck Divine Refining Technique!"

With a thought, his mind was instantly flooded with a large amount of information, but this time it was mostly images.

The methods of refining the spirit often rely primarily on visualization diagrams, with text serving only as an aid, which is quite different from the physical martial arts.

However, the visualization of this Mandarin Duck Spirit Refining Method is quite peculiar, depicting a handsome man and a beautiful woman engaging in intercourse.

Both men and women wore star-blue robes and were incredibly handsome; the men were extremely dashing and the women were extremely charming.

The visualization is incredibly vivid. When you are immersed in it, the image of the man and woman will appear vividly in your mind, exuding an amazing allure.

Anyone who sees these pictures will have a strong sensual desire aroused within them.

"The book says that the right mindfulness preserved in the Yin-Yang Dao is the mindfulness of form, so it is not surprising that this visualization diagram looks like this."

He dared not immerse himself in it, and immediately chose to transfer his proficiency to the Zhige Jing.

He read in many books that one should not practice two different schools of spirit-refining methods at the same time, because this would create two completely different mental states that would conflict with each other and greatly increase the risk of going astray. Therefore, he dared not try to keep this spirit-refining method.

Thus, the transformation began, and the proficiency of the Mandarin Duck Spirit Cultivation Method fluctuated, constantly being transformed into the Ceasefire Sutra.

A flood of information surged through Han Qing's mind, forcing him to sit cross-legged in meditation, not daring to be distracted in the slightest, lest he suffer a qi deviation.

A surge of killing intent rose within him, and within the temple, strands of magical thoughts appeared out of thin air and rapidly grew stronger, while the length of the incense stick in front of the statue in the temple also slowly increased.

This period of seclusion lasted for another two days. By the fifth day, the proficiency conversion was finally completed, and the proficiency in Zhige Jing reached 36.5%, successfully entering the field.

"call!"

Han Qing took a deep breath, feeling utterly exhausted.

However, despite his exhaustion, he clearly felt that his magical power had increased.

With a thought, this stream of Dharma energy entered his ears, and he could clearly hear the whispers of the servants around him.

He then silently circulated the "Stop the War Sutra," transforming his thoughts into malevolent energy. In an instant, black energy surrounded him, and a fierce aura erupted, making him resemble a demon in the human world.

With a clang, he drew his sword. Under his deliberate guidance, wisps of malevolent energy gathered on the blade, causing it to be shrouded in a dark, ominous aura, transforming it into a malevolent blade.

This blade is even sharper and possesses the power to slay souls and destroy gods.

The evil aura dissipated in the next instant, transforming into spiritual energy that returned to the temple.

“Although it’s only the beginning, the Zhige Jing condenses a pure killing intent, while the killing intent condensed by other refining spirit methods is mostly mixed and impure. Even if the realm is higher, the resulting increase in combat power may not be greater,” Han Qingxin said.

There is a saying in the Zhige Jing (止戈经): "A single thought of killing is better than a hundred thoughts of Dharma that contain distracting thoughts." This shows how powerful this method of refining the spirit is.

...

The next morning.

Han Qing arrived at the jail compound early to report for duty. Yang Wu had been away for the past few days due to other matters. The jailers all performed their duties according to the rules. Today it was his and Ma Er's turn to patrol the cells.

Click!

He waited in the training ground for a while and heard the sound of Ma Er biting into a pear from behind him; it was very crisp.

Remember to come back and read tomorrow, which means you'll be on the last chapter. Longtime readers should understand what that means. I'll be competing against other authors on Tuesday. I should be fine in the first round, but in my experience, the second to third round is the most dangerous. So next Tuesday is crucial. Please don't let the book sit unread!

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(End of this chapter)