Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Qi and Blood Burst, Introduction to Swordsmanship

That night, Lu Qing waited for Xiaoyan to fall asleep. After feeding the black beast

, he lit an oil lamp and retrieved the Four-Sided Sword manual.

Remarkably, the black beast had actually brought another old mountain ginseng that night,

and its quality was no less impressive than the previous one.

Unfortunately, Lu Qing didn’t have a rare fish to exchange, so he could clearly sense the beast’s displeasure as it ate the fish.

Only after Lu Qing promised it he would catch rare fish for it when he had time did he finally appease it.

However, before leaving, the beast didn’t take the ginseng with it, but kept it.

So, Lu Qing now owed the black beast a rare fish. With

the oil lamp bright, Lu Qing flipped open the first page of the Four-Sided Sword manual and began to read.

Soon, a rich white light, even a tinge of red, appeared on the manual.

[Four-Sided Sword: A manual of advanced swordsmanship.]

[Bone and Muscle Realm swordsmanship emphasizes momentum and is all about killing.] Legend has it that

this sword technique was created by a martial arts master who had reached the perfection of the Bones and Muscles Realm, expending his entire life’s labors. With this technique, he once fought a formidable opponent in the Internal Organs Realm without dying.

Download the simulation?

“A secret manual emitting a red glow?”

Lu Qing was astonished at the sight of the red light.

Having awakened his supernatural powers for so long, he had a basic understanding of the supernatural light emanating from objects.

Anything emitting a red glow was generally considered extraordinary, a treasure. This

was true for anything from a rare fish to a century-old mountain ginseng. The fact that

this “Four-Sided Sword” could emit a red glow, even more intense than that of the fish or ginseng, truly astonished Lu Qing. The

fact that it had received such high praise from the supernatural power piqued Lu Qing’s curiosity about this Four-Sided Sword technique.

He chose “yes” and began to flip through the pages of the book.

[Downloading in progress, current progress: 1%, 2%, 3%…]

As Lu Qing flipped through the pages, the download progress bar edged up.

[…97%, 98%, 99%, 100%]

[Download completed, simulation started, current progress: 1%, 2%, 3%…]

By the time Lu Qing finished reading “Four-sided Blade,” the progress bar had reached 100%.

Then, another progress bar appeared.

“So that’s how it is. If I discover someone practicing a technique, I can simulate it directly. For secret manuals, I need to download them first, then simulate them,”

Lu Qing pondered.

He waited quietly, and before long, the progress bar jumped to 100%.

[Simulation completed, do you want to practice?]

Without hesitation, Lu Qing chose yes.

The next moment, countless key points and insights about the Four-sided Blade’s swordplay emerged from the depths of his mind.

Lu Qing closed his eyes slightly, quietly taking in this information.

After a long moment, he opened his eyes, a hint of shock in his eyes.

“This Four-Direction Sword Technique is truly extraordinary.”

At this moment, Lu Qing had completely absorbed the insights in his mind.

He also had a comprehensive understanding of this Four-Direction Sword Technique.

This Four-Direction Sword Technique does not have many moves, a total of nine.

Each move explains how to mobilize the strength of the whole body, unleashing the strongest power and momentum, and slaying all enemies.

The so-called Four Directions does not refer to a simple four directions, but to the four corners of the world, wherever the eye reaches, all space.

One can imagine the ambitions of the warrior who created this sword technique.

After all, Lu Qing had seen in the secret manual that the creator of this sword technique, a warrior at the Muscle and Bone Realm, originally aimed to use this sword technique to defeat a powerful warrior at the Internal Organ Realm.

Closing the secret manual, Lu Qing reached out, took a wooden sword from the table, and gently walked into the yard.

He had made the wooden sword himself in the afternoon. It was not very beautiful, but it was sturdy.

There was no other way. He couldn’t find a sword in this rural area, so he had to make do with it this way

for now. He was just practicing, not going out to chop anyone down.

Holding the wooden sword, Lu Qing stood quietly, his mind awash with insights about the Four-Sided Blade.

As he gained these insights, he slowly began to practice the sword techniques recorded in the Four-Sided Blade manual.

After entering the Qi and Blood Realm, Lu Qing’s control over his body was far superior to before.

Although it was his first time practicing sword techniques, he was already quite proficient the first time around.

Of course, this was also due to the simplicity of the Four-Sided Blade’s techniques.

The Four-Sided Blade manual consisted of nine simple, unpretentious moves, emphasizing momentum over form, making them easy to practice.

The real challenge lay in mobilizing the entire body’s strength while striking the sword, ensuring each strike unleashed its maximum force.

This involved a complex method of generating force.

Body movements, footwork, the angle and method of the sword strike, the connection and release of qi, blood, and bones, the timing, and so on—all had to be perfectly coordinated.

This required a very high level of self-control from the practitioner.

After practicing several times, Lu Qing, aided by his mental insights, quickly mastered the basic techniques of the Four-Directional Blade.

However, he remained elusive regarding the unique method of generating force within the blade.

He remained undeterred, continuing to practice the technique over and over again.

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. He believed that, aided by his mental insights, everything would fall into place naturally once he mastered the techniques to a sufficient degree.

And so it was.

As Lu Qing practiced again and again, his mastery of the Four-Directional Blade techniques grew more and more refined.

The connections between the techniques gradually became smoother and more seamless, flowing smoothly and effortlessly.

Though simple, the nine techniques of the Four-Directional Blade techniques are interconnected, forming a cohesive whole.

The nine techniques interlock, encompassing the entire body, leaving no gaps.

Lu Qing practiced his sword technique relentlessly, minimizing the gaps between his strokes.

Finally, when he had eliminated the last flaw, a wave of enlightenment surged within him.

The next moment, he stepped forward, his Qi and blood connecting and instantly erupting, he slashed down with a fierce blow.

Swish!

Driven by the immense force, a gust of wind and energy erupted, crushing the weeds beneath Lu Qing’s feet to the ground.

After this strike, Lu Qing stood still,

a look of delight on his face.

“So, this is what it feels like to connect Qi and blood, to instantly explode.”

Just then, Lu Qing had finally figured out how to synchronize his Qi and blood with his strikes, unleashing the full power of his sword moves.

According to the “Four-Sided Sword” manual, only by achieving this could Lu Qing be considered a true beginner in this technique.

Once he could perform a set of sword techniques, synchronizing each move with a burst of Qi and blood, he would be considered a master of the art.

“It’s truly not easy. If it weren’t for my supernatural powers, I’m afraid even if I were given another month, I wouldn’t be able to master the Four-Sided Blade.”

Although Lu Qing seemed to be at ease just now, having mastered the Four-Sided Blade’s introductory techniques in just an hour or two

, in reality, only he knew how difficult this sword technique truly was.

Remember, when he activated his supernatural powers, he was in a state akin to enlightenment.

Even so, it took him so long to master the Four-Sided Blade.

Of course, this was also due to his lack of swordsmanship.

But how many times can an ordinary warrior experience enlightenment in their lifetime?

If they were to practice the Four-Sided Blade, those with less aptitude would likely struggle for a year or two.

Lu Qing picked up his wooden sword, intending to strike while the iron was hot, capitalizing on this enlightenment to continue practicing.

Suddenly, he heard a cracking sound from the wooden sword in his hand.

It turned out that he had used too much force while practicing the last move of the sword technique, cracking it.

“Guess I need to find a way to get a real sword back.”

(End of Chapter)