A ruthless bandit from the celestial realm, he began his cultivation journey after kidnapping the Em

Meanwhile, Xu Changqing continued explaining...

"A thousand people, a thousand faces; and a thousand kinds of sword intent..."

"Everyone's understanding of sword intent is different; only through personal reflection can one truly comprehend one's own sword intent..."

He paused abruptly, then continued.

"Only through diligent study and practice can one comprehend one's own sword intent from various sword techniques. Cultivation is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind..."

"The way of the sword is the same."

Ye Chen listened intently from the crowd, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Diligent study and practice?"

"I have practiced swordsmanship since I was a child, never neglecting it through summer or winter. Isn't that enough effort?"

"I haven't seen any sword intent all these years..."

He muttered to himself, unable to figure out what had gone wrong...

He secretly regretted that his father hadn't died young, so someone could have told him what sword intent was...

After a moment's thought, Ye Chen looked up and found that everything around him had fallen silent...

Xu Changqing's voice also stopped.

The entire training ground was eerily quiet, as if it had been paused.

Ye Chen's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately tensed up.

"Why did you stop talking?"

"Could it be that my muttering was too loud and disturbed the class?"

"It would be so embarrassing to be kicked out..."

"Don't look at me, don't look at me..."

He was feeling incredibly guilty, terrified that everyone was looking at him...

Fortunately, that wasn't the case. Suddenly, two disciples stood up from the crowd and walked straight towards the center of the training ground...

"What's wrong?" he couldn't help but ask.

He was distracted during the lecture and didn't know what happened.

Could it be that those two disciples were caught whispering too loudly?

Upon hearing this, Lin Ningxue, who was standing next to him, turned to look at him and began to explain.

"Senior brother, Elder Xu wants everyone to go up and compete in swordsmanship..."

"If there's anything wrong, Elder Xu will also offer some guidance..."

"Senior brother, would you like to go up and duel with someone?"

She blinked her clear, bright eyes at Ye Chen, a hint of anticipation flickering in her heart...

I've never seen my senior brother wield a sword before, he must be very skilled, right?

Upon hearing Lin Ningxue's explanation, Ye Chen suddenly understood and breathed a sigh of relief...

"A sword duel?"

"Let's just forget about it..."

Ye Chen shook his head.

He felt that despite years of diligent practice, he hadn't grasped the essence of swordsmanship. His sword techniques might be effective against ordinary bandits, but dealing with cultivators who practiced swordsmanship daily was uncertain...

They often come to listen to Xu Changqing's lectures, so their swordsmanship must be quite impressive, right?

"Not going? That would be such a waste..."

A hint of disappointment flashed across Lin Ningxue's face; she had wanted to see Ye Chen's swordsmanship...

As they spoke, the two disciples who had stood up earlier were already standing in the middle of the training ground.

The two men, each wielding a sword, stood several meters apart and exchanged fist salutes.

"Senior brother, please enlighten me!"

"Junior brother, please enlighten me!"

At this moment, everyone's eyes in the training ground were fixed on these two disciples.

Watching sword duels can also provide insights and a deeper understanding of sword techniques...

After exchanging a fist salute, the two charged at each other with their swords drawn. Their swordplay was dazzling, and they used different sword techniques, making it difficult to determine a winner for a time.

"Those two senior brothers' swordsmanship is amazing..." Lin Ningxue exclaimed in amazement, feeling envious.

I wish I could master such advanced swordsmanship...

Ye Chen looked up and asked in surprise.

"You call that impressive?"

"What kind of swordplay is that? It looks like something a street performer would do..."

"That sword strike was too light; was he deliberately holding back?"

"That thrust was so slow, you're clumsy, aren't you? A little faster and it would have landed..."

He watched until he was exhausted, feeling as if the two disciples on the field were practicing sword moves rather than engaging in a duel.

At first glance, it's full of flaws; a single, casual sword strike could secure victory!

"No, are these two putting on an act?"

Ye Chen couldn't help but complain, "I thought I could learn something from observing, but who knew I'd end up making such a huge mess..."

But thinking about it, it makes sense. With over 200,000 outer disciples, it's normal to have a few useless ones.

Lin Ningxue, standing beside him, didn't notice anything amiss, such as being too light or too slow. She turned to look at Ye Chen with a bewildered expression and asked hesitantly.

"Senior brother, what are you talking about?"

"Weren't those two senior brothers' sword techniques powerful enough?"

She felt that if she were to go on stage, these two senior brothers would probably have stabbed her in the back, so how come Ye Chen saw it all as acting?

If someone heard what my senior brother said, he'd probably get a beating...

Ye Chen glanced at Lin Ningxue with surprise, a strange look flashing in his eyes.

"What's so impressive about that..."

"Look at the one on the left. If he had aimed his sword down a third of the way, he could have hit him squarely."

"And this last sword strike—if it had been slightly angled to the left, wouldn't the person have had no chance to dodge?"

He pointed to the two disciples fighting on the field, explaining to Lin Ningxue clearly every mistake they made in their moves...

"this..."

Lin Ningxue initially didn't notice anything amiss, but after Ye Chen pointed it out, she immediately saw the flaws in those moves...

"That's really true..."

"Senior brother, I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't pointed it out..."

"How did you figure that out...?"

She paused for a moment, looking at Ye Chen with a shocked expression, somewhat incredulous.

This is clearly not a guess; it means that the senior brother's swordsmanship must be very high, otherwise how could he see the flaws in the sword moves?

Meeting Lin Ningxue's gaze, Ye Chen shrugged and said with a strange expression.

"Isn't it obvious at a glance?"

Lin Ningxue: ? ? ?

Lin Ningxue couldn't help but fall into deep thought, wondering if she was too useless, which was why she couldn't see the flaws in those sword moves.

Otherwise, how could Senior Brother make it sound so easy?

It seems I still need to practice more...

The two were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice a pair of eyes watching them from a short distance away...

Xu Changqing raised an eyebrow, looking at Ye Chen sitting in the crowd with surprise. He pricked up his ears to hear everything Ye Chen said, and was quite shocked...

This kid actually has such a deep understanding of swordsmanship. Could it be that he has already grasped some of the essence of swordsmanship?

Why haven't I seen him attend classes before?

He could clearly remember every disciple he had ever seen, let alone those with a certain level of swordsmanship skill; he should have noticed them earlier...

Unless... it's the first time the other person has attended his lecture!

Xu Changqing looked at Ye Chen not far away with admiration, a smile appearing on his calm and composed face.

This is truly a promising talent for sword cultivation...