Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 157 - 150 Casting the Sword 2

Chapter 157: Chapter 150 Casting the Sword 2

Lin Xin knew he had something to report, so he instructed the old blacksmith with a few words and then walked over.

"What’s the matter, Gongsun Li?"

But Gongsun Li was beaming with happiness, his brows lifted and eyes smiling.

"Great joy, great joy indeed, Villa Master!"

"What great joy?"

"Villa Master’s disciple, Nan Shunqing, has officially entered the ranks of the internal arts today!" Gongsun Li hastily reported.

"If it were only that, it wouldn’t be enough to make you so delighted," Ou Yinghong, who was in charge of teaching the young ones the basics, said with a smile. "That Nan Shunqing is indeed a peerless genius praised by the Villa Master himself! His performance is simply making us feel ashamed!"

Lin Xin asked curiously, "What about him? What did he do to make you all so happy?"

"He... he can actually multitask in three ways at once! He cultivates his Inner Qi, practices his Swordsmanship, and even trains his Qinggong simultaneously!!" At this point, Gongsun Li couldn’t hold back his excitement any longer, fearing that Ou Yinghong would get all the words out, so he hurriedly blurted it all out.

"What?! Multitask in three ways?!" Lin Xin was also shocked. This was even more incredible than his own attribute transformation ability!

"Not only that!" Gongsun Li said with bright eyes and a smile. "His Inner Qi cultivation is actually more than twice as fast as that of ordinary people! If he hadn’t doubted himself and worried that the Inner Qi he cultivated might have some issue and stopped to secretly consult with Lin Luo, we would have been kept in the dark, none the wiser."

"Let’s go! Let’s go have a look!" Lin Xin, who occasionally gave guidance to the four youngsters recently, was also impressed by the rapid progress of Nan Shunqing, though Lin Luo was not far behind him. But it now seemed that the situation was completely unexpected.

The group, half excited and half expectant, quickly made their way to the practice field where the four youngsters were located.

The practice field was a small area of premises specially set aside next to the manor. Even before entering the field, they could hear the crisp sounds of encouragement, along with the clash of swords and shouts of people.

When Lin Xin and his group entered the field, they saw Nan Shunqing, Lin Zhen, and Lin Luo practicing swordsmanship. Lin Zhen and Lin Luo were teaming up against Nan Shunqing and were seemingly struggling.

Lin Duan was watching the fight coyly on the side, clapping and cheering from time to time. Surprisingly, she was cheering not for her own brother but for Nan Shunqing.

Looking at Nan Shunqing’s gaze, it was also burning hot as he glanced at Lin Duan from time to time. Their eyes met with a depth of emotion, clearly showing that feelings had developed between them at some point.

Lin Xin stopped the servant who was about to go announce their arrival and instead led the group to quietly observe the sparring trio from a distance.

Nan Shunqing held a sword in each hand, striking extremely fast with amazing stamina, seemingly effortless. His execution of the sword techniques was natural and masterful. From Pine Forest Swordsmanship to Peacock Swordsmanship, to Empty Brightness Sword, Spiritual Sun Sword, and Spiritual Light Swordsmanship, these top sword techniques of the sect were performed by him with such refined skill that it even hinted at a free and easy special realm.

Lin Zhen and Lin Luo were having a tough time under his swordplay, clearly struggling, and it seemed that it wouldn’t be long before they would be defeated.

Clang, clang.

Two crisp sounds rang out, and the swords flew from their hands. Nan Shunqing sheathed his swords , his sturdy young body shining under the sunlight, reflecting off his mildly tanned skin.

Two sword sheaths hung at his waist, coupled with loose trousers and black long boots, giving him a roguish and uninhibited air.

"Thank you for the match, junior brothers," he said.

Looking at his somewhat reddened wrists, Lin Luo didn’t say much, merely picking up his long sword and slowly sheathing it.

Lin Zhen, however, seemed somewhat unconvinced, though he had no words to refute.

"Big brother Qing, you said you wouldn’t use dual swords..." he was still childish at times.

Nan Shunqing burst into laughter.

"How many times have I told you not to trust others so easily? You just don’t listen," he said as he went over and ruffled Lin Zhen’s head vigorously.

"Ouch, stop it, my hair will get messy!" Lin Zhen complained. But his efforts to escape Nan Shunqing’s grasp were futile, so he could only dodge here and there.

While Nan Shunqing was chasing and playing with Lin Zhen, he was also surreptitiously keeping an eye on Lin Duan, who was comforting her brother Lin Luo.

Lin Duan had been beautiful since she was a child, and now that she had grown a bit and been well nourished, she was even more graceful, pure, and lovely.

Seeing the harmonious relationship between them, Lin Xin then led the others over.

"The Villa Master has arrived!" they announced.

The four youngsters stopped their frolicking at once, lined up in a row, and bowed neatly to Lin Xin.

"Greetings to Master," they said.

"Where’s Hua Yaozhu?" Lin Zhen suddenly noticed her absence and nudged Lin Luo.

Lin Luo kept his head down.

"I don’t know, isn’t she always with you?" he replied.

Lin Zhen was speechless.

Lin Xin looked at the four students, overhearing their conversation. He was well aware of the relationship between Hua Yaozhu and his son Lin Zhen, as it was often reported by the Hidden Guards. Lin Zhen desperately worked hard to keep up with the others, so out of pity, he would tutor her secretly in the evenings, even stealing Qi-Blood elixirs from the alchemy room to aid in her cultivation practice.

But if such efforts could make up for innate foundational damage and serious lack of talent, the rules of the Cultivation World wouldn’t be so strict.

So his actions, naturally, yielded minimal results. Yet, the relationship between the two seemed to have grown closer.

However, without the Blood Pill Method, Hua Yaozhu would likely never be able to enter the ranks of the internal arts.

Shaking his head, Lin Xin gestured for the four youngsters to rise.

"Qing’er, the words you spoke to Luo’er about being able to multi-task with a single focus, is that really true?" he asked straightforwardly, getting right to the point.

"Yes, Master," Nan Shunqing replied with some pride, and demonstrated it right in front of Lin Xin and the others.

While using two different sword techniques at the same time, he could also secretly channel his Inner Qi through his footsteps, tracing out the steps of a third sword technique.

This immediately earned a round of admiration.

He stopped and chuckled.

"Teacher, not only can I multi-task with a single focus, but I can also..."

"Stop." Lin Xin suddenly cut him off mid-sentence. Gazing at the boy for a moment, he continued slowly, "Starting from today, you are to copy the Primitive Scripture thirty times daily in the study."

"The Primitive Scripture...?" Nan Shunqing was stunned, and so were the other children. The title sounded very grand but was utterly unrelated to martial arts. It was merely a collection of obscure scriptures and philosophical reasonings, along with some fables and parables, many of which were about teaching the rules of conduct.

"But, Master..."

"I don’t want to hear it. That’s all," said Lin Xin indifferently.

Nan Shunqing was left with a feeling of suffocation, unsure whether to speak out or hold back. He had just entered the internal school and had reached the First Layer of the small Return to Origin Technique. Proud and complacent, he didn’t expect his master to throw cold water on his enthusiasm.

Lin Xin then continued to inquire about the other three youngsters’ progress. Lin Luo had also entered the internal school, while Lin Zhen had reached the Second Layer. Yet, both were no match for the newly-initiated Nan Shunqing, which spoke volumes of his astonishing talent.

After the inquiry and guidance, Lin Xin personally took to the field to demonstrate. He had practiced swordsmanship for many years, and with skill assistance, once he succeeded in executing a sword technique, he could fully master it. With such assistance, his practice in various techniques was twice as effective, whether it was the Flameless Swordsmanship, Pine Forest Swordsmanship, or Peacock Swordsmanship. To comprehend a swordsmanship uniquely suited to him, he had thoroughly learned all the sword techniques in the manor and brought each to its highest realm.

Although these sword techniques were only of Innate Level, they were sufficient for guiding the few kids.

"Sword techniques are martial skills meant for actual combat and self-protect, not for pursuing the grand path of cultivation. Thus, throughout history, many prodigiously talented figures possessed astounding combat powers, but in the end, they all turned to dust, their path and life extinguished, unable to ascend to higher realms," Lin Xin admonished after putting away his sword.

"Cultivation is determined by one’s temperament and perseverance; one must bear the daily hardships of practice. No matter how the outside world changes, if you remain unwavering, that’s the true way."

"So, in sparring and practice fights, just treat it as play, and don’t be too concerned. I will make arrangements for the rest later."

Of the four, Nan Shunqing was somewhat unconvinced.

"Teacher, I disagree with your opinion. Skilfully used techniques can allow one to leap over several realms, achieving a qualitative change! Then, with this combat prowess, one can plunder the resources needed for cultivation, and surely rise step by step!"

Lin Xin pondered for a moment.

"What you said is not without reason; however, ’If others do not offend me, I do not offend them.’ Your viewpoint has some characteristics of the Demon Path. The Demon Path gives priority to combat power, divine skills, magical artifacts, and martial skills—whatever staggering means available. Initially, the power is indeed appalling, but later it starts to slow down. After all, a person’s energy is limited. If with the same talents, you spend two hours a day on qi cultivation to lay the foundation and the rest to practice divine skills, magical artifacts, and martial skills; while another dedicates four hours a day to endure and cultivate qi, the gap between the two..."

"But Teacher, there are physical limitations to qi cultivation; you can only cultivate for so long each day. Doing more can actually be detrimental," Nan Shunqing countered.

"Then it requires refining. The Sword Dao you practice with a focus on killing pays most attention to cultivation. The principles of the sword technique are not difficult to understand, but without sufficient cultivation, its power cannot be manifested. If you really have too much time, then go copy the Primitive Scripture. The refinement of cultivation mainly lies in its purity; the purer it is, the easier your path ahead will be."

"But what’s the use of copying scriptures?!" Nan Shunqing couldn’t understand.

"Just copy them because I said to copy! Why so much nonsense?" Lin Xin said sternly, with a severe expression.

Nan Shunqing was overwhelmed by his imposing manner and was suddenly speechless, eventually nodding in agreement.

Lin Xin was also helpless. Nan Shunqing’s nature could be described as somewhat narcissistic. To a greater extent, one might say he was arrogant. Arrogance wasn’t wrong, but if one became complacent, that would be unacceptable.

Overinflated self-confidence could make one disdain everything, which could easily lead to underestimating enemies, resulting in a severe setback someday.

After lecturing the four youths, Lin Xin continued to supervise the reforging of the Red Flower Sword.

For the following half month, white smoke continuously billowed above the manor every day, a result of fusing and burning a vast amount of coal for emissions.

And at night, above the furnace behind the manor, flickering red lights could be seen, causing passersby to marvel.

****************

"The Red Flower Sword is designed as a multi-layered Hollow Sword. You must be extra careful with what Array is inscribed within, Villa Master. You can’t engrave it with excessively violent Arrays," Shepherd Yang’s words still echoed in his ears.

Lin Xin sat in his study playing with a Qilin-shaped inkstone on his desk, lost in thought.

"Since I can’t inscribe it with overly violent Arrays, now that Yin Mantuo is getting stronger as well, why not completely use it as the core for the inscriptions?" he thought.

He put down the inkstone, picked up a brush, and sketched out a design for the Array on paper.

"The Black Poison Ivy belongs to the Wood System. Magma Iron mixed with Cloud Gold has a Golden Fire Property. If I use the Ivy as the core and strengthen it, then I have a much wider range of Arrays to inscribe."

Having thoroughly studied the structure of the Ivy, now that the Black Poison Ivy had evolved completely, he had revisited and confirmed his earlier studies. He probably understood Yin Mantuo even better than the Ivy itself.

"The flesh and Spiritual Energy, along with the negative energy, can evolve the Ivy through consumption, but the catalyst for its evolution into the Deadly Poison Ivy was the special potent poison from the Witch of the Red Tower. The increase in my Attributes is fundamental, while the potent poison just guided it in that direction of evolution. It means that without the poison, it may have evolved in a different direction."

Lin Xin identified the foundation; his Attribute points and the excessive consumption of flesh were the causes.

"With this knowledge, the Arrays I must inscribe should primarily aim to promote its evolution. The best way to enhance its evolution is to amplify its area-of-effect damage, enabling it to consume more flesh."

Arrays began to weave through his mind, dense runes twisted and intertwined. After a while, he began writing, and on a fresh sheet of paper, he penned the first stroke of an entirely new Array design.

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly passes at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)