The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Dugu Qiubai's plan was to use the life force of this strange dragon to maintain his own state of suspended animation. If someone successfully knocked on the Heavenly Gate within the time limit during which he could maintain his life force, then the strange dragon would awaken...

If someone awakens him with sword intent, Dugu Qiubai can then merge with the "life essence" of the strange dragon, restoring his spirit and energy to their peak state. At that time, not only will his lifespan be extended, but he will also be able to open the Heavenly Gate.

Then...

After that, Dugu Qiubai could continue to happily seek out masters to "defeat" instead of only being defeated by time.

From the inscription on the stone tablet, Chu Luren also discovered that Dugu Qiubai was still a master from a very long time ago, because his "seeking defeat" even included Yi Yun of Mingjian Villa - the result was naturally that he failed to defeat him.

Moreover, from this perspective, Dugu Qiubai was at least a hundred years ago, before Zhang Zhenren rose to prominence. Unfortunately, he didn't live to see Zhang Zhenren grow up and faked his death here...

The giant eagle lured Chu Luren here, hoping that he could awaken Dugu Qiubai with his sword intent. However... in the giant eagle's view, Chu Luren's sword intent was somewhat insufficient.

Of course, if the person lured there has any bad intentions, even if Dugu Qiubai fakes his death, his remaining sword intent can still severely injure the attacker, preventing him from reviving, but the attacker will not gain any benefit either.

Moreover, in the eyes of the giant eagle, the strength of the Chu Lu people was still within the "safe" range.

At the same time, after Chu Luren finished reading the stone tablet, the giant eagle pushed the huge stone tablet aside, revealing several sword boxes hidden underneath...

Using Dugu Qiubai's sword intent to "stimulate" him would be the most effective. The giant eagle obviously did not expect Chu Luren to awaken Dugu Qiubai directly, but instead planned to hand over the sword box left by Dugu Qiubai to him first, which was exactly what Chu Luren wanted.

Beneath the stone tablet were four sword cases: an iron case, a jade case, a black iron case, and the last one, which surprised Chu Luren, was a wooden case that had not yet rotted.

This sword box has clearly been placed there for a long time, but it still faintly exudes the aura of swordsmanship.

Chu Luren, who had some idea about this scene, naturally wanted to start by looking at the last iron box. However, as soon as he reached out, he was stopped by the giant eagle sweeping its wings and indicating that he should look at the last wooden box directly!

It seems the giant eagle's assessment of Chu Luren's swordsmanship ability was quite high...

Do you think it's okay to skip directly to the last part?

"Brother Diao, do you think I should learn this most profound part? I feel that the sword intent remaining on this wooden box is the purest, but... I think it's better to comprehend it from the beginning, so that I can more truly feel Senior Lonely's sword intent!" Chu Luren was always greedy for more.

The giant eagle hesitated for a moment, then decided not to stop Chu Luren any further...

Chapter 566 The Sword Award

Chu Luren picked up the iron box first. After opening it, a surge of sword intent immediately entered his heart. In an instant, Chu Luren's mind was drawn into a sword illusion by this sharp sword intent...

Chu Luren was very familiar with this process; he had experienced it once before in the Siguo Cave of Mount Hua!

However, it was Chu Luren who had a sudden enlightenment that brought his sword intent to such a degree.

This time, however, Chu Luren was directly affected by the sword intent and fell into it...

Chu Luren thought that one reason was that Dugu Qiubai's realm was far superior to those people's, and he had left his sword intent in order to cultivate successors or even someone who could awaken him. Naturally, the effect was better than the sword carving on the stone wall. Another reason was that Chu Luren's swordsmanship was now even higher, so it was easier for him to enter the state!

At this moment, Chu Luren still felt that if he wanted to escape, he could break free from this sword illusion at any time—although he was far inferior to Dugu Qiubai in his prime, Chu Luren was no longer at the level where he would be trapped by the sword intent left behind by the opponent for so long.

At the same time, Chu Luren could sense that the pattern of this sword illusion was completely different from that of the sword carvings on the Cliff of Contemplation.

After all, the latter was just a coincidence...

After being influenced by Dugu Qiubai's swordsmanship, Chu Luren no longer needed to defeat the "sword man"; sword techniques and swordsmanship were flowing in his heart.

Enemies also appear, but only some of these enemies use swords, and the goal is not to defeat them to gain insights into swordsmanship, but to use them to hone the insights flowing in one's heart!

In a daze, Chu Luren seemed to hear a weathered voice saying: "The sword is sharp and fierce, invincible... I used it to compete with the heroes of Hebei before I came of age!"

It seems that at this stage, Dugu Qiubai's understanding of the sword was simply "hard, fierce, firm, and straightforward."

The enemies that appear are likely to be the "heroes of Hebei", or rather, "the embodiment of Dugu Qiubai's impression of the heroes of Hebei".

At this moment, Chu Luren was in the sword illusion, holding a hundred-refined sword in his hand. Following the insights flowing in his heart, he defeated his opponents one by one. This understanding was very simple for Chu Luren!

In the "True Explanation of the Five Sacred Mountains," there is a section on sword techniques that aligns with the principles described therein. For Chu Luren, it is merely a form of mutual reinforcement and review.

He quickly mastered the skill and cleared the level. At the same time, Chu Luren saw a sharp sword with a flashing blue light appear in the sword illusion. After grabbing the hilt, the sword illusion shattered, and Chu Luren was seen holding the sharp sword in the iron sword box...

Seeing that it was still early, Chu Luren opened the second jade box. The same routine was about to begin, but this time Chu Luren was holding a soft sword, and the opponent he was facing was stronger!

At this point, Dugu Qiubai had clearly grasped another level of understanding—a balance of strength and gentleness, capable of being both firm and flexible, adaptable to any situation, and free to move around as he pleased.

One by one, the phantoms of opponents fell beneath Chu Luren's sword, and then...

They had encountered what should be the last master of the Purple Star Soft Sword Realm!

This person's martial arts can be described as being unbreakable by speed. His movements are fast, his attacks are fast, and he uses both sword techniques and flying needles, making him impossible to defend against!

But... why does this look so familiar?

Are you sure this isn't the "Sunflower Manual"?

There are indeed some differences; it seems... not as powerful as the "Sunflower Manual"!

Chu Luren tried his best to control himself, using the sword dao insights that the sword realm had "taught" him to fight against this person's illusion, rather than using his knowledge of the "Sunflower Manual" to defeat the opponent.

Following the swordplay guidance, the final sword strike, seemingly gentle yet powerful, accidentally... utterly destroyed the opponent.

The Purple Rose Soft Sword was used before the age of thirty. It was used to accidentally injure a righteous man, which was considered unlucky, so it was abandoned in a deep valley. Since the sword was abandoned in the deep valley, it is not in the sword tomb, but is replaced by a stone shard...

Another exclamation was directly instilled into Chu Luren's mind.

So, the Sunflower Ancestor wasn't acting voluntarily?

righteous……

So, he was accidentally injured in the genitals first, and only then did he enter the palace to protect the emperor?

If that's the case, then it's no wonder that the "Sunflower Manual" is so difficult to understand in terms of mindset—after all, the founder didn't really intend to castrate himself. Later generations tried to understand this martial art from the perspective of "to practice this skill, one must first castrate oneself," so their mindset naturally became problematic.

This time, Chu Luren didn't see the Purple Star Soft Sword either, but only a stone shard appeared. After Chu Luren grasped it, he passed through the illusion.

As evening approached, Chu Luren decided to first contemplate what he had gained before continuing his comprehension, while also reminding Xiao Hong to return and let him know she was safe.

He stayed in the Sword Tomb and cultivated for a whole night—mainly in the Dao Embryo state, to comprehend the Dugu Sword Realm he had just experienced.

The next morning, Chu Luren "woke up" on time, swallowed a snake gall to recover to his best condition, and then wanted to open the third "refined iron box"...

The giant eagle deliberately came over to block their way, but after Chu Luren looked over in confusion, the eagle hesitated for a long time before finally stepping aside...

Chu Luren was puzzled, but he still activated the sword intent of the "Refined Iron Box" as usual.

This time, Chu Luren wielded a much heavier broadsword...

Even the people of Chulu felt it had weight; how heavy must it be?

Of course, Chu Luren felt that the weight he felt in the illusion was not real weight, but just a state of "heaviness". After all, when he was holding the iron box, Chu Luren's body did not feel any weight!

The "heavy" feeling isn't because Chu Luren can't handle or isn't suited to this sword, but rather because he needs a sword that feels "heavy" to hone his skills in this area.

A heavy sword has no edge; true skill lies in simplicity!

If it's just the Xuan Tie sword itself weighing eighty-one jin, it's actually not heavy for Chu Luren...

Although one can use grass, trees, bamboo and stones as swords after reaching the state of being unattached to material things, there is always a sense of constraint when using this sword technique.

At the same time, Chu Luren also had a vague feeling that Dugu Qiubai's direction in comprehending the way of the sword was very... strange?

From the previous two perspectives, it seems that Dugu Qiubai had already reached the level of seeking the Dao in his youth, comprehending sword intent and honing his sword heart. However, starting with the Xuan Tie Sword, Chu Luren felt...

Dugu Qiubai seems to be deliberately ceasing to comprehend sword intent and sword spirit, and has begun to focus on mastering and perfecting his skills.

Fortunately, Chu Luren was not the kind of person who believed that "I only seek one sword in my life," otherwise his understanding of the sword would inevitably clash with Dugu Qiubai's sword will.

This is no longer a difference in the sword techniques or sword spirit that people comprehend, but rather a difference in their understanding of the sword itself.

It's not that Chu Luren's swordsmanship level is insufficient, but rather... Chu Luren not only possesses swordsmanship, so he can temporarily set aside his own swordsmanship and concentrate on experiencing the realm of Dugu Qiubai!

Chu Luren guessed that the giant eagle hesitated to stop him earlier because it was worried that his swordsmanship would clash with Dugu Qiubai's, thus wasting the opportunity...

Chapter 567 Awakening

A heavy sword has no edge; true skill lies in simplicity!

Master the skill, master the skill!

Dugu Qiubai's Xuan Tie Sword Box is truly difficult to comprehend—one must shield oneself from the influence of sword intent and sword momentum, leaving only the path of "skill".

This time, it wasn't until the very end, when Chu Luren's sword will was almost completely exhausted, that he finally emerged from the illusion. He had grasped most of it, but... it couldn't be considered a complete victory.

Glug glug glug!

The giant eagle standing nearby had already seen through Chu Luren's previous dishonesty, but... all things considered, the result wasn't bad; it was better than not being able to comprehend it at all.

Although his understanding is not yet complete, there is still room for improvement. If there is a conflict between swordsmanship and swordsmanship, he may either be unable to accept Dugu Qiubai's "extreme skill" or his own sword spirit and sword momentum will be thrown into chaos.

"How should I put it... I'm pretty easygoing," Chu Luren explained awkwardly to the giant eagle.

The eagle ignored his explanation, but it didn't seem to intend to drive him away either.

Chu Luren then calmed down and contemplated the meaning of "a heavy sword has no edge, great skill is without artifice" before picking up the last wooden box.

After opening it, Chu Luren's hand turned into a wooden sword. At the same time... there were no enemies in this illusion, only wooden dummies, which looked endless!

Continue refining your techniques?

Chu Luren felt a little awkward, but continued to hone his sword skills according to Dugu Qiubai's methods.

After an unknown amount of time, behind Chu Luren lay an endless expanse of cleaved wooden figures, like a vast plain, while before him stretched an equally endless line of intact wooden figures. And by then, drawing his sword had become second nature…

Suddenly, Chu Luren had a thought and finally vaguely understood Dugu Qiubai's routine - after the true skill has reached its peak, one should then work backward to understand the "mind" and "momentum"!

If one can achieve that, then it is no longer within the scope of "comprehension," but more like "drawing casually."

If successful, one can directly stand at the pinnacle of power and mind, without needing to comprehend layer by layer as in normal cultivation. The "mind" and "power" that Chu Luren has comprehended so far are mostly at the first level. Knocking on the threshold of the Heavenly Gate is probably the peak of the second level. Successfully breaking through the Heavenly Gate is the third level, and the Buddhist master who left behind the "Six-Character Mantra" should be at a relatively profound state within the third level.

If Dugu Qiubai were to break through, he would at least be at the peak of the third level.

If he had cultivated step by step, perhaps he could have successfully reached the Heavenly Gate before his death. However, Dugu Qiubai's ambition was too great, and in his later years, because he was extremely skilled in technique and swordsmanship, his mental state became somewhat weak. As a result, he was affected by the guilt of "accidentally injuring a righteous person". When he finally achieved enlightenment, his body was already too old...

After experiencing the four levels of sword realm, Chu Luren had a general understanding of Dugu Qiubai's swordsmanship.

However, in terms of comprehension, Chu Luren only grasped seven or eight parts of the Xuan Tie sword technique, and he only grasped four or five parts of the final wooden sword, or rather, the swordless technique!

As for the so-called Dugu Nine Swords, it is merely a regularized version of the swordless form, posing no difficulty whatsoever for Chu Luren.

After Chu Luren escaped the Swordless Illusion, he saw the giant eagle looking at him anxiously and expectantly.

Chu Luren was unsure of himself, but he also wanted to awaken this senior swordsman, so he reassured him, "Let me organize what I've learned first, and try it in the best possible condition!"

Gollum-

The giant eagle nodded, showing no intention of urging Chu Luren, but instead looked at him with increasing anticipation.