Chapter 1097: Knocking at the South Heaven Gate (Third Update!)
Long Qilin took down the Gourd Sky Bottle and used Primordial Chaos Origin Liquid to treat the Butcher’s injuries. Mute and Blind chuckled endlessly. Mute gestured with his hands, “Your Emperor Throne level technique is already complete. Why not just pass it directly to him, instead of constantly forcing him to enter the Dao through the blade?”
The Butcher took out another pill refined by the Physician, swallowed it to stabilize his scattered primordial energy, nourish his Divine Treasury and Heavenly Palace, and shook his head. “What the hell do you know? The technique was created by me, suited for me, but not necessarily for him. The best teacher isn’t one who teaches his own technique, but one who lets him comprehend his own path.”
He looked up at the sky, where Qin Mu was pondering the name of the first level of his blade Dao. “My eldest disciple, Ba Shan, won’t cut it. He’s lacking in the blade Dao, can only take a side path, merging combat techniques. That can still make him a Grandmaster, so I could pass my technique to him. But Mu’er is different. He can go further, so he must comprehend it himself.”
He stretched his body, the corners of his eyes twitching as he grunted, “It’s just that this kid’s divine power is too strong! His essence, energy, and spirit have been settling too long, and this journey has brought him immense benefits. When his blade Dao erupted, I almost thought I couldn’t keep up.”
Blind’s eyes flickered. “His sword Dao started from the Village Chief’s tenth level of sword Dao, using that as a foundation to develop his own. His blade Dao also began with your Nine Techniques of the Heavenly Blade, jumping straight to the ninth level of blade Dao. This little guy, at forty years old, has achieved this much…”
Yan’er reminded them, “Young master said he just turned ten.”
“Shameless! So shameless! Utterly brazen!”
Blind, Mute, and the Butcher all cursed loudly, happily venting for a while, feeling much better inside.
“Cultivation level actually depends on one’s vision and Dao heart.”
The Butcher sighed. “For example, a farmer spends his whole life farming. What he sees and thinks about is all farming. It’s hard for him to jump out of that field, and he’ll be a farmer for life. But if his gaze isn’t limited to that field, he can discover a broader world outside, without being confined to one plot. If he steps out of that field, he can achieve greater things!”
Blind nodded. “Broadening one’s horizons is important, and tempering the Dao heart is also important. If a person is confined to their own trade, the highest achievement is just being a master craftsman in that field. To become a Grandmaster, one needs to see more broadly, further, to elevate oneself.”
Mute nodded repeatedly. “Not being limited to what’s at hand allows one to advance further. Mu’er’s blade Dao conception is loftier than Butcher’s, so even at the first level of blade Dao, it’s like Butcher’s ninth level.”
The Butcher was quite annoyed, but he agreed with the sentiment.
Qin Mu had first tempered his Dao heart, with a broader and higher vision than his, allowing him to forge his own path based on the Butcher’s blade Dao foundation.
This kind of inheritance filled him with great comfort.
Yan’er was startled and asked Long Qilin, “Young master’s elders all have such high standards?”
Long Qilin nodded. “That’s why the Sect Master often returns to learn from them.”
Yan’er stuck out her tongue.
The Butcher glanced at Blind and Mute. “I’ve passed on my Dao. What about you two?”
Blind hesitated. “The Formation Heavenly Palace is easy enough, but how to make him comprehend the Dao of formations and realize his own Formation Heavenly Palace—that’s giving me a headache.”
Mute gestured. “Forging the Heavenly Palace isn’t hard either. The difficulty lies in making him comprehend his own path.”
Both were troubled.
Yan’er asked in confusion, “Long Fatty, is it easy for them to comprehend their own Emperor Throne techniques? In history, those who did found it extremely difficult.”
“The reason people in history found it hard was that they started from scratch and were secretive, rarely exchanging Emperor Throne techniques.”
Long Qilin explained. “But Yan Kang is different. In Yan Kang, you can go to any academy or school and learn three or four Emperor Throne techniques. Across Yan Kang, there are over a dozen Emperor Throne techniques, and they aren’t forbidden to learn. As for other techniques, there are even more.”
He hesitated. “Now there might be even more Emperor Throne techniques. If you have the ability, you can even learn over a dozen. However, creating a technique is hard, but actually cultivating to the Emperor Throne realm is even harder. To reach the Emperor Throne realm, relying solely on techniques isn’t enough. There are so many Emperor Throne techniques in the Heavenly Court, yet very few have actually reached the Emperor Throne realm.”
Yan’er stuck out her tongue again. Yan Kang seemed to have an indescribable atmosphere, full of vibrant energy and a thriving, bustling scene, unlike the scheming and infighting of the Heavenly Court.
Of course, Yan Kang’s rapid development was actually related to the Celestial Masters like Woodcutter and Yan Yunxi, and to the inheritance from the Kai Huang Era.
Before the Yan Kang Calamity erupted, the four Celestial Masters of the Kai Huang Era entered Yan Kang, passing on the reform achievements of that era to Yan Kang’s various academies and schools. The results in medicine, calligraphy, painting, forging, formations, sword Dao, blade Dao, architecture, design, farming, breeding, and many other fields were all absorbed by Yan Kang.
That was the period of Yan Kang’s fastest development.
Afterward, the Yan Kang Calamity erupted, and Qin Mu bore the brunt of it, preserving Yan Kang’s foundation and allowing the reform achievements to survive, enabling continued development.
Another interesting phenomenon was that Yan Yunxi brought the fruits of Yan Kang’s reforms to Carefree Village, hoping they would absorb them and forge their own path.
However, to her surprise, Carefree Village did not absorb Yan Kang’s reforms, remaining lifeless until Qin Mu’s arrival revitalized it.
The most intriguing part was that the first to absorb Yan Kang’s reforms and innovate upon them was Kai Huang himself, who had been constantly blamed by the people of Carefree Village.
He created the Twenty Styles of Sword, elevating his sword Dao to another level, moving closer to the ultimate realm of the sword Dao.
“Ten years to study the sword and book, journeying west to Lo Han City.”
Qin Mu’s chant came from the sky. Everyone looked up to see him dancing with the blade in the air, the blade light interweaving like chains, like lightning, like thunder!
“Knocking at the South Heaven Gate, long blade takes the nobles!”
He leaped down from the sky, sheathed the blade, and appeared before the Butcher and the others. Returning the divine blade to the Butcher, he bowed and said, “Grandpa Butcher, I already know the name of my first level of blade Dao. This blade shall be called Knocking at the South Heaven Gate!”
The Butcher laughed heartily. “Not bad, quite interesting. The blade—I’ve led you through the door. The path ahead is yours to walk.”
Qin Mu nodded solemnly. In his Embryonic Divine Treasury, the blade Dao Heavenly Palace was reorganizing, taking shape again, becoming more and more complete.
The Butcher hadn’t taught him any techniques, only guided him into the blade Dao. This blade Dao Heavenly Palace could only be perfected by Qin Mu himself.
The Butcher’s teaching method was crude and direct—not the best teacher, but also the best teacher.
Qin Mu closed his eyes. In the blade Dao Heavenly Palace, buildings rose from the ground. Divine halls and palaces formed amidst the crisscrossing blade energy. The Jade Pool and Jade Terrace were rapidly constructed, followed by the Execution Platform and the Jade Capital City.
Countless blade energies stacked up at the central barrier of the Jade Capital City, forming a blade Dao Hall of Supreme Harmony!
The corners of Qin Mu’s Embryonic Divine Treasury eyes twitched. The blade Dao Hall of Supreme Harmony was too powerful. To comprehend the ultimate blade Dao and step into that hall, to sit on the Emperor Throne and become the Emperor of Blades—one could imagine the immense trials and tribulations required!
But what truly terrified him was the Execution Platform formed by two blade lights!
Those two blade lights were condensed from the Great Dao of the blade, capable of cutting anything, sharp without equal. Even though his blade Dao primordial spirit was still beneath the South Heaven Gate, gazing at those two blade lights from afar sent a chill down his spine.