I Can See Your Combat Power
Chapter 1658 - Ninety-Seven: The Storytelling Session of Shentu_2

Chapter 1658: Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Storytelling Session of Shentu_2

’The one who should be relaxed is me.’ Tang Luo thought to himself, smiling and nodding at Shentu Jihui before turning to leave.

He had just finished one lecture, and there were seven or eight more waiting for him. Now was not the time to slack off!

...

In the middle of October in the year 1792 of the Dragon Continent Calendar,

the news that the Titled-class Expert Shentu Jihui had joined Unparalleled Academy and officially became the second lecturer was buzzing everywhere.

Disregarding the confined Void Grandmaster and the enigmatic Dean, Unparalleled City truly had a Titled-class Expert in residence, which further boosted the credibility of the Academy.

The disciples working in the academy’s Enrollment Management Department were even more excited; after all, they were in the presence of a Titled-class Expert, a figure whom most independent cultivators would give their lives to emulate.

They had immense expectations for the classes of the Master of Demon Slaughter Palace.

Yet, when the time for the actual class came and the tiered lecture hall was packed full, the students were dumbstruck. The Master of Demon Slaughter Palace neither imparted the secrets of Soul Casting nor lectured on martial techniques.

From beginning to end, he only talked about ancient texts and legends, including tales of the ten great Demon Kings of Longzhou and stories of how these Demon Kings were annihilated.

While interesting and amusing, to the youngest cultivator present, who was well over forty, if they wanted to hear stories, couldn’t they just go to teahouses and taverns instead of wasting precious study time at the Academy?

After several sessions, the classes of the Master of Demon Slaughter Palace thinned out, with fewer and fewer students willing to spend their valuable study time listening to stories.

Realizing that this was not working, the Master of Demon Slaughter Palace finally began to mix in some practical content while telling stories.

"The cultivation practices of ancient cultivators differ greatly from today’s martial arts; for example, the Spiritual Instruments used nowadays tend to be light and agile, and even spiritual armor is mostly made of Soul Jade. In contrast, ancient cultivators often wielded heavy armor and large swords."

"This is because in ancient times, the main adversary of the Human Race was the Demon Race. Facing gigantic demon beasts, humans had not only to strengthen their bodies but also wield weapons even larger than themselves to inflict effective damage on the Demon Race."

To provide the disciples with a more vivid understanding, Shentu Jihui unveiled his treasured weapon—the Demon-Sealing Giant Que.

A blade covered with numerous small scales, blood grooves, and reverse hooks—all characteristics that if someone were struck by such a vicious weapon, they would either die or be grievously wounded.

No wonder it’s called the Demon-Sealing Giant Que; seeing its exaggerated length, the students couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.

Even the tall and burly Master of Demon Slaughter Palace had to stretch his right arm fully to manage grasping the hilt of the giant sword stuck in the ground—seemingly only a weapon of this scale could pose a threat to the ferocious demons and monsters from the stories.

"Besides large swords, there were also giant hammers, large spears, massive blades, and great axes. Hence, in ancient times, the bigger and heavier the weapon, the stronger the cultivator was said to be..."

"Instructor Shentu, this disciple has a question that puzzles him."

A disciple sitting in the back row raised his voice to inquire, standing up and asking respectfully: "This disciple has observed that in ancient times weapons were so domineering that even today’s magical armor and qi would be like paper before such weapons. Why then, are heavy weapons becoming increasingly scarce today while lighter weapons are becoming more common?"

"That’s a very good question."

Shentu Jihui nodded and said, "The reasons for the decline of heavy weapons are twofold: first, the traces of demon monsters have vanished, and the Human Race no longer has to confront beasts far larger than themselves. The second and most important reason is that in conflicts among one’s own kind, gigantic weapons do not confer an advantage but rather a disadvantage—that is what we will discuss next."

"The martial arts of the ancient times naturally cannot be compared with those of today. In those times, cultivators had a low level of application and development of Spiritual Power; it was merely about channeling Spiritual Power into their weapons to enhance their killing power, just like this."

Shentu Jihui gripped the hilt, and as Spiritual Power flowed, the great sword emitted a clang like metal striking stone; its surface was enveloped in a layer of blue light, making the already fearsome weapon even more magically dazzling.

"Later, as the application of Spiritual Power became more sophisticated, it could transform among the attributes of the Five Elements."

A radiant golden sharpness, a wood aura that erodes the bone, a deep blue chill, a scorching flame, and the weightiness of the earth—

With a mere flip of his wrist, the five types of attached Spiritual Power changed, making the great sword’s temperament shift back and forth between light and agile, heavy and solid, blazing hot, and icy cold.

"However, such a change is still at the early stages of spiritual power application. Attaching spiritual power to an object for an attack is an inherently foolish technique."

After dispersing the spiritual power of the great sword, Shentu Jihui said with a tone of regret, "Subsequently, spirit arts entered the era of models, and those specializing in weapons were left far behind. Ultimately, it took a naturally gifted Sword Immortal to find a method to catch up."

"Do not treat a weapon as just an object, but as an extension of your own body, allowing it to assist you in constructing spirit arts. Spirit arts models built this way will possess a unique charm and their might will surpass ordinary models by a fair margin. However, in all things, gains are always accompanied by losses."

"Setting aside the immense effort required to make weapons extensions of your body, there is also the issue that each weapon has its own unique way of being wielded. Even the same type of weapons, each one will have slight differences, and these differences can render your past experiences with bodily extensions obsolete."

"Furthermore, the larger and heavier the weapon, the more difficult it is to integrate it as part of the body. This is why large weapons have become increasingly rare. Do you understand?"

Shentu Jihui asked the disciple who just posed the question, his voice warm.

"Disciple understands, thank you for the instructor’s guidance!"

Just by casually posing a question, the disciples in the back received such a splendid reply, they could hardly contain their delight.

Encouraged by this example, many disciples eagerly stood up to ask questions. Shentu Jihui, whether truly passionate about teaching or simply exceedingly patient with his students, would honestly answer any question related to ancient cultivation practices.

What began as a regular lesson turned into a free-for-all Q&A session, and as curiosity about ancient cultivators was exhausted, the students once again focused their attention on the master of the Demon Slaughter Palace.

"Instructor, there is something I don’t understand."

"What is it?"

"You just mentioned that large weapons are more difficult to integrate into bodily extensions than smaller ones, but didn’t you win the title at the Hero’s Arena with the Demon-Sealing Giant Que? Doesn’t this mean that massive weapons still have their unique advantages?"

"If you can reach that level of mastery with large weapons in three months, you could certainly try it. Otherwise, better to focus on agile weapons or spirit art models. The current state of martial arts has evolved as it has for a reason."

Shentu Jihui could tell what this student was hinting at, but he knew that gentle persuasion was useless for stubborn and arrogant disciples.

So he pulled up the great sword stuck in the ground, and with a flick of his wrist, danced a sword flow with a stunning momentum.

A faint pattern of Dao elements emerged from the sword movements, spreading through the air for a moment.

Lifting as if it was light, precise control of spiritual power, and the great sword he wielded as if it was his own limb, left all the students of the academy dumbfounded.

It also deeply impressed Tang Luo, who just happened to pass the classroom after his lecture, and caught a glimpse of Shentu Jihui’s performance. Shentu Jihui noticed the academy’s principal passing by, the two exchanged a nod with smiles, and then returned to their own affairs.

...

In the early November of the year 1792 in the Dragon Continent Calendar,

In just three short months, the Unparalleled Academy had trained seven thousand cultivators from the Mortal Realm into the Fierce Realm.

This escalated the level of conflicts across Xiehe, where once the presence of Fierce Realm experts was only common in towns, now even villages would see a few of them springing up.

Moreover, these independent cultivators seemed to have had an epiphany, forming odd alliances like the Unparalleled Academy’s Student Association branches and gatherings of Yancang’s cohort all over the place, seemingly out of nowhere.

Most were cultivators who had graduated from the student body, seemingly forming significant connections, assisting each other within their regions. Offending one meant challenging the whole group, not to mention the alumni from the management division willing to rush to their aid upon receiving word.

Formerly unloved and solitary like wandering ghosts, these independent cultivators now seemed to have found their organization overnight. Facing insurmountable difficulties, they needed only to shout cries like "I am a disciple of the twelfth term of the management division," and someone would emerge to help them out of their predicament.

It could be an older graduate or a younger alumnus; after resolving the crisis and confirming each other’s identities through a conversation, they could become close allies.

They might join a student association in a certain state or leave their address for an invitation to a future gathering, with a few gaining notable reputations and even being called leaders of the Unparalleled Academy.