Chapter 330: A Single Meeting Surpasses Countless Encounters in the World
The middle-aged man on the city wall had a somewhat pale complexion, clearly bearing injuries that had not yet healed. This man was none other than the Grand Teacher of Yan Kang. He had suffered severe wounds from a battle against a god, and although Qin Mu and Little Poison King Fu Yuanqing had joined forces to treat his injuries, the wounds were inflicted by a deity, and he had not fully recovered.
The Barbarian Di Kingdom took advantage of this opportunity to invade Yan Kang. The Qingmen Pass was of utmost importance. The Grand Teacher of Yan Kang knew that the Yan Kang Kingdom had endured two major calamities, severely depleting its vitality. Moreover, neither he nor Emperor Yan Feng had returned to their peak states—the Emperor’s injuries were even more severe than his own.
Fearing that the Barbarian Di forces would drive straight in, he mobilized troops and held the Qingmen Pass at all costs.
He even went so far as to personally come to the battlefield to command this confrontation.
The Village Chief drew his sword, and with a single strike, he quelled the conflict on the battlefield, a sight that stirred the heart and was not lost on the Grand Teacher.
In truth, this was no longer just stirring the heart; it was a display of power capable of turning the battlefield into a sea of blood, intimidating both armies’ cavalry and infantry.
The lives of everyone on the battlefield were in his hands.
This sword technique could hardly be called a technique; it was a profound approach to the Dao, showing the Grand Teacher of Yan Kang a higher level—the level of the sword’s Dao.
With that one move from the Village Chief, the sword light unleashed was beyond counting, but the most terrifying aspect was that each beam of light followed a different trajectory, restraining countless martial artists and cultivators. This was nearly impossible to achieve.
On the battlefield, hundreds of thousands of troops charged, clashed, and fought. Each person’s cultivation and strength varied, their martial arts, techniques, and divine abilities differed slightly, and the battle formations shifted in an instant. To subdue everyone simultaneously required countering all their techniques, martial arts, spirit weapons, and formations—a level of calculation that was already inconceivable.
To reach such a level was to be called a god—a god of the sword!
“One sword opens the imperial era, a sea of blood—I have seen this sword technique before, in a painting by the Sage of Painting.”
The Grand Teacher of Yan Kang narrowed his eyes and looked toward the Dragon Qilin. Qin Mu and the others stood on the Dragon Qilin’s back. Though these individuals were formidable, they did not yet command his attention.
“From that painting, I saw the pinnacle of sword technique. Over these two hundred years, I have painstakingly studied the sword art of the figure in the painting. Each time I observed it, I gained new insights, until one day, I could see no new sword techniques. So I believed I had reached the level of the figure in the painting.”
The Grand Teacher of Yan Kang recalled the painting, searching for the figure within it but failing to find him. Then his gaze settled on Qin Mu’s back.
Qin Mu carried a medicinal basket, and in that basket was an old man with white hair, missing his hands and feet.
This old man did not resemble the figure from the painting. That figure was a Sword God, not so aged, radiating a sharp vitality like a sword that had just tasted blood.
But the old man in the basket was a cripple, frail and aged, his candlelight flickering as if it might go out at any moment. How could he compare to the spirited Sword God in the painting?
Yet the Grand Teacher of Yan Kang was certain that this disabled old man was the Sword God of that era!
Because his own sword art enlightenment had come from the Sword God in the painting.
The Grand Teacher of Yan Kang trembled slightly, let out a long breath, and gave orders: “Welcome them!”
The city gates opened, and the generals within the city lined up on both sides. The Dragon Qilin, with its head held high and a proud, potbellied stride, entered the city. Suddenly, all the sword light on the battlefield surged like a tide, whistling toward Qin Mu and streaming into the medicinal basket on his back.
The Village Chief poked his head out of the basket and then saw the middle-aged man approaching—the man hailed as a saint born once every five hundred years, the strongest under the gods, the man acclaimed as the Sword God of the present age!
Their eyes met, and ripples stirred in both their hearts.
The Sword God of the previous era and the Sword God of this era had finally met!
Behind the battlefield, on the city towers of the two great passes, the sound of striking bronze bells rang out—the signal to withdraw troops, ordering the battlefield to cease fighting.
On the battlefield, hundreds of thousands of soldiers breathed a sigh of relief and hastily retreated. Everyone felt their clothes soaked through, sweat pouring like juice.
Inside Qingmen Pass, the Village Chief floated out of the medicinal basket. It was as if he had grown legs and hands, walking straight toward the Grand Teacher of Yan Kang. The two strongest men of their eras faced each other!
“You study the sword?” the Village Chief asked.
The Grand Teacher of Yan Kang assumed the posture of a disciple, his expression respectful: “In my early years, I studied the sword. At one hundred and sixty years of age, I stopped learning the sword.”
The Village Chief inquired: “At one hundred and sixty, did you understand the sword?”
The Grand Teacher of Yan Kang replied solemnly: “At one hundred and sixty, I extensively studied all the techniques and ultimate arts of the world, comprehending the myriad divine abilities. Thus, I understood the sword and began to create my own sword techniques.”
The Village Chief smiled: “Show me your sword techniques.”
The Grand Teacher of Yan Kang drew his sword. Sword light filled the sky, illuminating the world. His sword techniques were ever-changing, a thousand variations, as complex as stars, as simple as counting rods, with horizontal and vertical strokes, twists and turns, seeming to transform into all the myriad methods of the world, giving an indescribable feeling.
His sword techniques carried an unyielding momentum, a grand spirit of reform like boiling oil and blooming flowers, determined to ignite the fire of the people, to change this fixed heaven and earth, to alter this unchanging Dao, to reform all that was stale, to tear open the decay of this old era, revealing its ugly face and ugly truth!
He would use his sword to change the stale Dao of this world, to carve out new paths, to usher the world into a new era!
His sword techniques had transcended mere skill, becoming a method infused with his own ideals, only one step away from reaching the realm of the Dao!
Principle—the principle of ideals, and also the principle of reason. With ideals, the sword technique gained life, and his sword techniques already possessed life. The Dao comes before principle; only by surpassing principle can one see the Dao.
His sword techniques were just one step away from seeing the Dao.
The Grand Teacher of Yan Kang sheathed his sword, panting heavily. His injuries had not yet healed, and his cultivation was not what it once was. But before the Sword God of the previous era, he was like a student, willingly displaying his most perfect sword techniques, hoping for the other’s evaluation.
“Excellent sword techniques.”
The Village Chief praised, saying: “Truly worthy of being the strongest under the gods, a saint born once every five hundred years. On the verge of my end, I have finally met someone with whom I can converse. I came out this time specifically to see you, to help you see the Dao.”
The Grand Teacher of Yan Kang said solemnly: “Today at Qingmen Pass, a million troops are stationed, many of them my students, but I am your student. There are also many scholars from the Grand Academy here, who have come to contribute their strength in this national crisis. I dare to ask the teacher to impart the Dao and resolve our doubts here!”
The Village Chief laughed: “I dare not presume. It is merely an exchange.”
The two walked together. Qin Mu followed behind. Xiong Xiyu looked up at the two men—one ancient and decrepit, the other in his prime—her gaze curious. She murmured: “In the Western Lands’ True Heaven Palace, there are no such outstanding men. In the Western Lands, women rule the household, and men are timid and submissive. If the men of the Western Lands all possessed such great spirit and ability, why would we women need to take charge?”
They entered the city. Qin Mu saw many scholars from the Grand Academy, sitting cross-legged in silence, waiting quietly, their expressions barely concealing their excitement.
This national crisis was upon them. The Barbarian Di Kingdom had launched a massive invasion, while the Yan Kang Kingdom had suffered a great rebellion and a snow disaster, leaving the people destitute, the population sharply reduced, and the populace displaced. The kingdom had not yet stabilized, and food was scarce. Even in the military, provisions were insufficient. Many scholars from the Grand Academy had come here, tightening their belts, not daring to eat their fill.
Qin Mu also saw Wei Yong, Qin Yu, and others. Wei Yong, originally a large fat man, had now grown much thinner from hunger.
Only when the autumn harvest season arrived would this dire situation improve somewhat.
The Village Chief and the Grand Teacher of Yan Kang sat down. The Village Chief said unhurriedly: “I have come this time not to lecture on sword techniques, but only on the Dao. I will speak of the Sword Dao. How much you gain will depend on your own insight. In this world, there was originally no such thing as the Sword Dao. Since the sword was created as a weapon, the Sword Dao came into being.”
Many soldiers who had returned from the front lines also gathered. Some took off their armor and sat on the ground, while others stood and listened.
Many people, upon hearing this old man speak of the Dao, showed expressions of confusion. Someone murmured: “Can the great Dao of heaven and earth be created? Are we cultivators not cultivating the natural Dao of heaven and earth?”
Qin Mu’s heart stirred, recalling his conversation with Jade Heavenly King, which had touched upon the matter of reform and the changing of the great Dao.
Human creativity had brought into the world many great Daos that did not originally exist, and likewise, human creativity had altered the preexisting Daos of heaven and earth.
When the Dao of techniques and divine abilities changed, the methods also changed, hence it was called reform.
Jade Heavenly King believed that reform might touch upon the interests of gods and demons.
What the Village Chief said, however, was far more profound than what Jade Heavenly King had spoken.
The reason people were puzzled was that they were all Qi cultivators, with the ingrained cognition of learning the inherited Dao techniques and divine abilities. Divine abilities were dependent on the Dao and methods. To make them change their ingrained cognition would surely cause a tremendous shock to their minds!
The Grand Teacher of Yan Kang asked: “How can the great Dao be created?”
The Village Chief said: “By reaching the extreme, it can be created. Grand Teacher, has your sword technique reached its extreme?”
The Grand Teacher of Yan Kang was momentarily stunned, then said: “Only a little short.”
The Village Chief smiled: “I will help you.”
He thrust his sword toward the Grand Teacher of Yan Kang. Instantly, the surroundings changed. Thousands of mountains and rivers rushed toward them. In an instant, it seemed they were no longer in Qingmen Pass, no longer on the blood-soaked battlefield, but in another new world, a new heaven and earth. The mountains were lush and green, the plants vibrant, the rivers surging with waves, each wave crystal clear and real, the veins of every leaf complex and distinct.
Everyone stood up. Some climbed the high mountains, some jumped into the river, and others picked up a flower formed by sword light. Qin Mu reached out and caught a dewdrop falling from a leaf.
Sword Traverses Mountains and Rivers.
This was the Sword Traverses Mountains and Rivers that the Village Chief had unleashed. Though it was a move of supreme power, in the Village Chief’s hands, it had no killing force. Instead, it brought them into a strange world.
It was as if this was a real world—a world composed of the Sword Dao.
Though this scene struck everyone with great impact, it affected the Grand Teacher of Yan Kang the most. His body trembled, his soul stirred. He crouched down to touch the ground, then looked up at the starry sky. The Village Chief had shown him the face of the Dao, allowing him to touch the Sword Dao.
Suddenly, he felt a door burst open, and he stood there motionless, frozen.
Seeing this, the Village Chief sighed inwardly: “A saint born once every five hundred years is indeed far more talented than Mu’er. He has comprehended the Dao so quickly.”
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