Chapter 135: The Winding Sword Technique
The Yan Kang National Teacher appeared before the Grand Academy Hall, smiling. "Grand Sacrificial Official, then I shall presume to take the lead."
Fu Yuanqing followed behind him, looking around and frowning slightly. "Which one is my little junior brother?"
Qin Mu had neutralized the Empress Dowager's Thousand Mechanisms Poison, and through the insect eye, Fu Yuanqing had seen Qin Mu's appearance. But with so many people here, he couldn't pinpoint Qin Mu's location for the moment.
The Young Ancestor smiled. "You used to come from time to time to serve as an Imperial Academy instructor, teaching the scholars. But since you haven't come in recent years, it's hardly presumptuous. Please."
The Yan Kang National Teacher walked to the steps, surveyed the crowd, and said, "The Grand Sacrificial Official's hospitality is hard to refuse. Today, I shall open a forum on the sword, speaking only for two days, and nothing else."
Ba Shan, the Sacrificial Official, muttered quietly, "Wasn't it three days?"
The Young Ancestor glanced at him. "The Daoist sect has blocked our Grand Academy's gate for only three days. Half a day has already passed. If the National Teacher lectures for three days, by the time he finishes, the opportunity will be cold."
Ba Shan sighed. "It's rare enough for the National Teacher to come and lecture, yet he can't even speak for two more days. What a pity... For the National Teacher to personally give a lecture is like Tathagata preaching sutras at the Great Thunderclap Monastery, the Daoist Lord transmitting teachings at the Daoist sect, or the Demon Cult Leader bestowing initiation and empowerment. How rare is that?"
The Yan Kang National Teacher paced slowly, descending from the steps with an unhurried air. "What is the sword? Has the sword been fixed in form and nature? I deeply disagree. Some say the sword has ten thousand techniques, while others say the sword has only fourteen moves: thrust, lift, circle, chop, cleave, stab, collapse, hook, brush, wipe, sweep, block, intercept, and flourish. Nonsense!"
As he walked down, the many scholars below felt an immense pressure, as if a razor-sharp sword hung above their heads, about to strike but not yet falling. That incomparable aura seemed ready to tear apart their bodies, their spirit embryos, their consciousness, their very souls!
"If the sword is fixed, then it is no longer the Dao. The Great Dao is boundless—how could it be limited to only fourteen moves?"
With each step he took, the pressure grew stronger, yet his voice remained calm and flat. Suddenly, his words pierced into the ears of the crowd like sharp swords: "Why can't the sword be sound? Why can't the sword be light? Why can't it be color? Why can't it be primordial energy? Why can't it be a single glance?"
His gaze swept across the faces of the many scholars below. Countless scholars couldn't help but draw their swords, holding them horizontally to block, yet they blocked nothing, breaking out in cold sweat.
The Yan Kang National Teacher smiled faintly. "From this perspective, is the sword still only fourteen moves?"
Cold sweat dripped from Qin Mu's forehead as he finally understood the Yan Kang National Teacher's prowess.
The Village Chief had taught him the fourteen most basic sword techniques, and Qin Mu had turned these basics into numbers. Any sword move, as long as he saw it once, he could replicate it. At that time, Qin Mu had believed this was the pinnacle of the sword.
But now, the Yan Kang National Teacher was clearly innovating beyond traditional swordsmanship, developing it further.
His thinking was broader, and thus he had created basic sword forms beyond the original fourteen!
"Extraordinary achievement. No wonder he's the number one under the gods."
Qin Mu marveled inwardly. The Yan Kang National Teacher's thinking was too advanced—or perhaps not advanced, but rather he was pushing the era forward, pushing divine techniques and Daoist methods forward, pushing the people of this age forward!
"So, on the basis of the fourteen basic sword techniques, I have developed a few more moves. Over these two days, I will teach you these most basic sword techniques. I will not discuss any others."
The Yan Kang National Teacher stopped walking, his smile fading, his expression turning solemn. "But before that, I want you to forget the form of the sword. The sword can be light, it can be sound, it can be color, it can be a glance. Therefore, the sword does not need a fixed form. It can be long or short, hard or soft, and can attack from any angle. If you can forget the form of the sword, then you can learn my sword technique. The first move of my sword technique is: Winding."
He moved his fingertip, and instantly, countless strands of primordial energy, as fine as sword light, surged forth, forming a pillar of swords thrusting forward: "This is Winding!"
This was a move from the Greater Six Harmonies Sword Technique. It appeared to be a thrust, but in reality, the sword pillar was composed of countless intertwining sword lights, constantly flowing and shifting positions!
Qin Mu had seen a similar technique from Qu Ping, though Qu Ping had executed it as a cleave.
Thrust and cleave both appeared to be basic sword moves, but the inner composition of these basic moves was the Yan Kang National Teacher's Winding Sword Technique.
The Winding Sword Technique differed from the Entangling Sword Technique among the fourteen basics. The Entangling Sword Technique used the sword's hilt to exert force, entangling the opponent's weapon, while the Winding Sword Technique gathered power to unleash a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering strike.
The biggest difference between the Yan Kang National Teacher's execution of the Winding Sword Technique and Qu Ping's was that each sword in his pillar changed differently, whereas Qu Ping controlled his swords with identical changes, which allowed Lin Xuan, the Daoist Son, to defeat him using his fly whisk as a sword.
If it had been the Yan Kang National Teacher, he would have been able to block Lin Xuan's fly whisk.
Moreover, in Qin Mu's view, the Yan Kang National Teacher's sword was a unified whole.
His sword pillar was composed of countless sword lights, each an individual entity, but when he thrust forward, it was a single whole. To counter this move, one would have to overpower the sword pillar's might to break through each individual sword light within it.
The method Lin Xuan had used against Qu Ping would be utterly useless against him!
"The Yan Kang National Teacher's foundation is as solid as mine—even more solid than Lin Xuan's!"
Qin Mu was in awe. How could such an existence exist?
He was practically a divine being!
On the steps, the Yan Kang National Teacher explained the intricacies of exerting force in the Winding Sword Technique in great detail. To Qin Mu, it felt like the Village Chief teaching him swordsmanship.
The Winding Sword Technique was an extension of basic swordsmanship. Qin Mu's foundation in the fourteen basic techniques was already rock-solid, and having been taught by the Village Chief, he found learning the Winding Sword Technique easy. He grasped it with a single hint, understood it with a single explanation, and listened with rapt fascination.
But that was just him. Others listening to the Yan Kang National Teacher's explanation were struggling to comprehend. Some stopped thinking altogether and simply memorized it by heart. Others used their primordial energy to control writing brushes, frantically recording the National Teacher's words to ponder later.
Those who could immediately understand and fully grasp it were still a minority. Most wore bewildered expressions.
After finishing his explanation of the Winding Sword Technique, the Yan Kang National Teacher said, "Scholars, you may now attempt to execute it."
The instructors from the Imperial Academy, the Imperial Library, and the Sacrificial Officials all perked up. They had been listening intently as well, but now they had to focus, their eyes fixed on the thousand-plus scholars below.
The National Teacher's request for them to try the sword was actually to see if there were any noteworthy individuals among them. Those with strong comprehension would certainly be selected to face Lin Xuan, the Daoist Son, in two days.
Before the Grand Academy Hall, scholars began clumsily attempting to use their primordial energy to form sword energy and execute the Winding Sword Technique. Some lost control of their sword energy, causing their primordial energy to scatter and shoot in all directions, nearly injuring those nearby and sparking a commotion.
Others managed to gather their energy into a sword pillar, but when they tried to make the sword energy rotate concentrically, it refused to budge, moving only in straight lines.
There were also quite a few cultivators who had already learned the Greater Six Harmonies Sword Technique taught by the Grand Academy. Since the technique itself was created by the Yan Kang National Teacher, they performed it with some skill.
A few received pointers from the Yan Kang National Teacher, elevating their swordsmanship to a higher level. Though they hadn't grasped the essence of the Winding Sword Technique, their power had greatly increased compared to before.
Some were exceptionally clever. Though they hadn't studied the Winding Sword Technique before, after receiving guidance, they managed to grasp some of its subtleties and executed the sword pillar. Their swordplay was still somewhat awkward, but it grew more fluid with each attempt.
Qin Mu also tried to execute the Winding Sword Technique, but he quickly frowned, staring blankly at his own "strands of primordial energy."
Others had primordial energy as fine as hair, so when they formed a sword pillar, it was composed of extremely slender sword energy. But his strands of primordial energy were as thick as an arm. Using such thick "strands" to execute the Winding Sword Technique?
How thick would the resulting sword pillar be?
The young man shook his head. A sword pillar that thick wouldn't be a pillar anymore—it would be a sword mountain!
A mountain of sword energy thrusting forward?
"My primordial energy is abundant, but not to that extent. I can't execute a sword mountain like that."
Beside Qin Mu, even the little fox was imitating the Winding Sword Technique with some skill. Wei Yong, Yun Que, and others were already trying to make their sword energy rotate. Ling Yuxiu and Shen Wanyun were making the fastest progress. Only Qin Mu stood there, dazed.
After a moment, Qin Mu tried to release a single "strand of primordial energy" as thick as an arm, thinking to himself, "Since that won't work, can I use the Winding Sword Technique to break down my strands of primordial energy?"
As soon as the thought came, he eagerly attempted to use the method the Yan Kang National Teacher had taught to decompose his primordial energy strands.
His primordial energy was vast and robust, extremely pure, making it difficult to refine into fine strands. This was especially true after cultivating the Heart of the Dan technique, which had further purified his energy.
The villagers had never taught him how to refine energy into fine strands either. The highest authority on swordsmanship was the Village Chief, who had only taught him one sword technique with fourteen moves, leaving everything else alone and allowing Qin Mu's "strands of primordial energy" to grow thick and strong.
This time, a flash of inspiration struck Qin Mu. He felt that using the Winding Sword Technique to refine his energy into fine strands would surely yield results.
The Yan Kang National Teacher's Winding Sword Technique was indeed exquisitely subtle. Soon, Qin Mu grasped the trick and a look of joy appeared on his face.
Before the Grand Academy Hall, the Young Ancestor's gaze fell on Qin Mu, and he frowned slightly. "What is that rascal doing? Instead of learning swordsmanship, he's fiddling with a stick over there?"
Not far away, Shen Wanyun saw Qin Mu's stick of primordial energy and smiled. "Though he's strong, his comprehension is mediocre—far inferior to mine!"
Just then, Qin Mu suddenly burst into ecstatic laughter, his voice thundering across the entire venue: "I've done it! Finally done it! Heaven has eyes—I've finally refined my primordial energy into fine strands!"