Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 184 - 184 183 The Way of the Sword Realm 1 Added for 4500 votes

184: Chapter 183 The Way of the Sword Realm 1 [Added for 4500 votes] 184: Chapter 183 The Way of the Sword Realm 1 [Added for 4500 votes] Hou Niao forced a bitter smile.

His senior uncle indeed had the gall to say such things; of course, he didn’t literally mean to kill these people, but rather to cultivate relationships through daily interactions and finally sever them with one strike—this was also a method for cultivators to test their resolve.

There were many ways to test one’s resolve, and it was also possible not to test it at all.

Everyone’s path was different, and there was no need to copy anyone.

What Yu Zhengxing wanted to convey to him was: his current glory might not be true glory, and Hou Niao’s destitution might also not be true destitution.

As for learning the path, it was merely a matter of speaking, anything could be said.

Just like one could still explain after killing someone: “I am sending you to paradise, while I continue to suffer in this cruel reality,” and so forth.

“It seems you don’t quite agree?”

Hou Niao spoke honestly, “Uh, the disciple is more pragmatic.

Glory is glory, at least having experienced and enjoyed it, it is a reality that existed; how can one just forget after eating, drinking, and playing?

Hardship is also real; being weary, tired, and injured, these too are tangibly existent, and they should not be altered just because they might be beneficial to a cultivator.”

Yu Zhengxing laughed heartily, pointing at him, “You’re calling me pretentious!

Good, it’s good to have your own thoughts, at least they’re genuine.

In Miao Gao Town, everyone praises Yu Zhengxing for being uncorrupted by prosperity, but you are the first to boldly point out my true feelings.

Correct, if you can enjoy it now, then you should.

When the day comes that you feel tired and indifferent, then discard it as easily as an old shoe!”

Looking at him, he joked, “How about I send you off to riches first?”

Hou Niao shook his head, “No thanks?

Right now, it’s better for the disciple to keep enduring hardship.”

Yu Zhengxing was very pleased, “Good, knowing what to do at what stage, just for this alone, you could probably advance a few more steps.”

Yu Zhengxing drew his longsword with a flick of his wrist, “I heard that in Yinling, you Hou had no equal in a patrol swordplay, let me see if that’s an exaggeration?”

Hou Niao did not refuse; in fact, since he had mastered swordsmanship, he really hadn’t had the opportunity to compete face to face with someone in sword skills; it was always a mismatch of some sort.

Soul Ghosts had no techniques worth mentioning, Demon Beasts relied solely on brute force, and a few minor thieving cultivators were too weak, his fellow disciples couldn’t handle his full strength…

“The disciple will do his best…”

Yu Zhengxing laughed and scolded, “Of course you have to do your best; you’re leagues behind me, do you still plan to hold back?

If you can, kill me, and all of this will be yours!”

Hou Niao slowly drew his longsword, in that moment, he instantly returned to the state of life-and-death combat he experienced in the Soul Realm; this caused Yu Zhengxing a chill in his heart, although there was no comparison in strength between them, if he controlled his mana output and only used the longsword in face-to-face combat, even he had to admit Hou was a worthy opponent!

The level of sword cultivators was evident upon drawing their swords.

With a sword in hand, Hou Niao held no thoughts of senior uncles or elders, only enemies!

He also wanted to see how far his sword skills could go against a true master.

The light of the sword flashed, and the two engaged fiercely, and Yu Zhengxing instantly realized that he simply could not fully suppress his strength below the Tongxuan level, for, if he did, he would find defeat within three strikes!

This was because since ascending Tongxuan, he had devoted all his heart power to flying swords, but also because the terrifying strength of this youngster in wielding a sword had completely surpassed his expectations,

Talking about safety was out of the question; although an opponent’s longsword might not penetrate his Protective Gang Qi, even a grazed blade on his body would count as his defeat, where was the need for actual injury?

Unable to increase his sword’s power, he had to compensate by using Divine Sense to anticipate his opponent’s moves.

From this standpoint, he had already lost.

Fighting against a lower realm was an exhausting task, as it restricted his usual sword handling habits, and in fact, sword cultivation does not advocate such competitions; it isn’t beneficial for lower realm cultivators as it could lead to an overestimation of their abilities and for higher realm cultivators, frequently doing so could develop many bad habits.

In sword combat, the core principle is to go all out; not being able to do so is misleading both oneself and others.

Yu Zhengxing realized he couldn’t defeat his opponent even with strength below Tongxuan, and without wasting time, he decisively withdrew and stared at his opponent.

“Goodness, where did you learn such sword skills?”

Hou Niao had not had enough, but he also knew that the other was letting him win, so he couldn’t pester unreasonably,

“I figured it out myself, actually, they are all swordsmanship from the Sword Storage Tower; I just blended them together.”

Yu Zhengxing sheathed his sword, “No more, old man can’t beat you, it’s pointless to continue.”

Hou Niao bowed, “You didn’t lose, you were just exhausted from suppressing your realm.

Senior uncle never really competes with juniors like this, does he?

I noticed you were very hesitant many times.

If every strike needs to consider how much force to use, what would be a normal response for a cultivator below Tongxuan, then even a Sword Immortal would have struggled.”

With swords, there’s a fine line, and there’s no room for distractions, not to mention having to consider these with every single strike.

Yu Zhengxing was straightforward, “You are right, I rarely guide disciples this way, and the few times I do, it’s through flying swords; however, compared to my time at the Grain Avoidance Realm, my sword skills are inferior to yours, there’s nothing embarrassing about admitting that.”

Yu Zhengxing was very magnanimous, as typically those who truly reached this level of cultivation were; this bout of swordplay made him realize that all the rumors about Hou Niao were true.

At their level, such sword skills were almost cheating.

In Yujing City, he didn’t know if there were others below Tongxuan like that, and even if there were, there weren’t many, were there?

This was also the reason he treated this young disciple especially; he is a very promising disciple, as long as he can advance his Realm, his combat power would be among the top tier.

“Sit.”

The two of them simply sat down on a limestone rock, and Yu Zhengxing decided to properly guide him—not in specific cultivation techniques, but about some pitfalls sword cultivators might encounter.

In the cultivation circles, secret manuals and cultivation techniques don’t represent everything, some real experiences are still passed down verbally, which are not available to every disciple.

“The sword splits into Six Realms: Sword Gall, Sword Intent, Sword Consciousness, Sword Momentum, Sword Heart, Sword Soul—are you aware of these basic things?”

Hou Niao knew this was a senior giving him pointers, a rare opportunity indeed.

“I am aware, but I always feel these distinctions are too abstract, as if they can’t be applied practically?”

Yu Zhengxing nodded, “Your view is quite common, especially at your current realm, but if you successfully advance to Tongxuan, you will realize these are not mere illusions; they all have specific significances.”

Hou Niao nodded, “I see, so what you mean is that what we’re learning now isn’t really the essence of sword cultivation?

Just like even if I excel in wielding a sword, it probably wouldn’t withstand a strike from a flying sword?”