Chapter 883: Chapter 882 Qingkong System 1
"We differentiate the direction of swordsmanship not from cultivation techniques, but from the philosophy of sword wielding, divided into the Ascending Sword Lineage, Killing Sword Lineage, Dao Sword Lineage, Yi Sword Lineage, and Star Sword Lineage; among these, the Ascending Sword is the most crucial. It’s not just a direction, but the cornerstone of all Sword Sects, and every sword cultivator on Xiao Mountain must master it before considering other paths.
So, which lineage do you think you belong to?"
Hou Niao scratched his head; how would he know that? The Body Sword Lineage? But that wasn’t something of his own, and he didn’t have the gall to claim glory that wasn’t his.
"I feel it’s not quite suitable to talk about sword sect direction now? I’d better practice the Ascending Sword first and gradually find my right path during this process."
Yue Duo nodded; this guy indeed had talent, and most importantly, he was very rational, knowing what he lacked and needed, instead of blindly choosing powerful sword techniques.
"Very good, although generally speaking, sword cultivators on Xiao Mountain have mostly solidified their paths after entering the Golden Core stage, your situation is different. Starting with the Ascending Sword is correct, and then we can talk about other things.
Now, show me all your skills; I want to see your real ability at this stage!"
Hou Niao performed the salutations of a disciple, Yue Duo merely sidestepped, treating him as a junior sister half-teacher.
Then, he started wielding his sword, using all his strength, unleashing twenty swords in an instant, then forty, then eighty... In the blink of an eye, a torrent of nearly a hundred flying swords formed in the sky, leaving Yue Duo dumbfounded. Even when she first practiced the Dividing Sword Skill for ten years, her strength was limited.
Looking further, the sword torrent swept across the sky, stirring up overwhelming Sword Qi, evolving into various attack formations, fully exploiting its changeability; for a moment, the sky seemed occupied by dazzling sword lights, but Yue Duo frowned.
Hou Niao did not demonstrate the Sword Holding Skill, as it belonged to basic skills; nor did he demonstrate the Body Sword Skill, knowing that the senior sister wasn’t looking at that. He focused on the Flying Sword Skill, showing all his advancements over the past ten years without reservation, seeking the most pertinent critique from his senior sister.
After a quarter-hour, the swords retracted and the rain ceased, his breath steady, evidently still at ease, a natural occurrence when mana nears the middle string.
Standing aside, watching the contemplative senior sister intently, he didn’t want to hear her praise; he only wanted to know what he was lacking and how he could elevate his Sword Light Division to the level of his senior sister’s, so that cultivators of strength akin to Lou Yi could no longer handle him.
After a long while, Yue Duo opened her eyes, "Watch closely!"
A flying sword emerged, similarly unleashing twenty swords within an instant, and thrice divided, yet the sword group reached three hundred and twenty pieces...
Retracting her sword, she stood, "What did you see?"
Hou Niao squinted as if a new world had opened up, "Senior sister, one of your flying swords can split into four sword lights, while I can only split into two!"
Yue Duo explained to him, "For us sword cultivators, the most important aspect in battle is the number of Burst Swords in a breath; it determines the strength of your initial strike and gathering sword power; after one breath, when you wish to burst swords again, the front and back swords will be separated. Knowing that the distance between us and the opponent is within a few breaths, the second burst is what we call the second move."
Hou Niao listened carefully, knowing this was the essence of tens of thousands of years of swordsmanship in the Qingkong Sword Vein, unrecorded in books, in a sense, even more valuable than secret tomes.
Seeing this fellow’s eager gaze, Yue Duo was very satisfied. The poor child, in a place like Jinxiu Continent, practicing to this level on some semblance of swordsmanship legacy truly was hard on him.
"The number of swords you can burst depends on two aspects: the first being sword issuing speed, which we also call sword frequency, a very important indicator of a sword cultivator’s ability.
In the Qingkong Sword Vein, we practice the Twelve-story Building Pulse Charge Sword. My current maximum ability is twenty swords in a breath; your flying swords are hidden in the Purple Mansion, and you have your sword issuing method, still achieving twenty swords in a breath. If you can further increase in the future, in this regard, your method doesn’t lose to the Qingkong Sword Vein!
But unfortunately, I can’t help you here; you’ll need to find a way to improve on your own."
Hou Niao greatly admired this senior sister, not only for her high level of sword skills but also for her straightforward personality; her pride was a sword’s pride, not built on belittling others. A disciple of a tens of thousands-year-old Ancient Sword Lineage could acknowledge that his lower realm low cultivator’s sword emission method was not inferior to hers, an open mind that was truly admirable.
He really wanted to say that his sword emission had great potential for future improvement, but this didn’t seem quite appropriate for the occasion? Since the senior sister regarded him well, he couldn’t start boasting himself?
He relied on the Five Elements Mysterious Light to cut the Sword Seed, emitting flying swords, theoretically imagining the Five Elements Mysterious Light as a circle, divided into five equal arc segments, each representing an attribute, and every junction between two arc segments passing the Sword Seed could generate Sword Qi to burst out of the mansion;
In other words, there are five junctions in this circle; since he controls only the Water, Earth, and Wood so far, three arcs equate to two junctions; he can rotate the Five Elements Mysterious Light ten times in a breath, resulting in precisely twenty swords.
If he later masters the Fire Element, then he’ll have Water, Earth, Wood, and Fire, forming three junctions; in the case of unchanged Mysterious Light rotation speed, he could emit thirty swords in a breath!
Should he one day master all Five Elements, he would possess five junctions, releasing five flying swords with one Mysterious Light rotation, ten rotations in a breath yielding fifty flying swords... mastering more Five Elements Attributes and rotating the Mysterious Light faster, great potential indeed!
This method is easier to enhance compared to the Twelve-story Building Pulse Charge Sword, but he dared not speak up, feeling a bit cocky might get him beaten...
Yue Duo continued, "The second aspect is Sword Transformation, meaning how many Sword Lights can a flying sword split into at once, as you observed?
Like me now, my sword frequency is twenty, sword transformation four, experiencing three divisions before hitting the opponent totals three hundred twenty swords.
While your current sword frequency is twenty, the transformation is at the basic two, leading to only eighty swords after three divisions..."
Hou Niao nodded, "In reality, the Flying Sword Group follows a sequence of division during an attack; the last sword is slower by a breath than the first sword?"
"Exactly, this tests our control ability greatly, how to ensure forming a unified whole when the Sword Group strikes in place. Many factors are to be considered, such as the distance from the opponent, and controlling sword speed, making the front slower and the rear faster...
There’s no shortcut to these, and the only method to aid you is through much practice and combat."
Hou Niao was very curious, "Senior sister, could you tell me about the maximum sword frequency and transformation the most powerful Sword Immortals of our Qingkong Sword Vein could achieve?"
Yue Duo knew he would ask this, chuckling, "The most powerful? The most formidable Sword Immortals don’t consider sword frequency, only Sword Transformation! Because this allows them to hack at the opponent with the fastest speed! No need for the Flying Sword Group to adjust!
They typically release one sword, then the sword splits a hundredfold, two divisions make ten thousand swords, and three divisions make a million swords. Can you imagine such power?"
Hou Niao laughed foolishly, "Like grabbing a handful of sweat hairs and blowing away..."