Chapter 6 Three Thousand Swords!
On this day, Qian Daobai finally made her stop practicing standing meditation.
"That's fine."
He handed Qian Renxue a wooden sword.
"From today onwards, I will learn swordsmanship."
Qian Renxue took the wooden sword, her spirits lifted.
"Basic sword techniques, swing the sword three thousand times a day."
After Qian Daobai finished speaking, he personally demonstrated the technique.
He raised his arm, flicked his wrist, and delivered a simple, unremarkable straight thrust.
But in Qian Renxue's eyes, this sword strike carried an indescribable charm.
She imitated Qian Daobai and began to practice.
"wrong."
Qian Daobai's voice rang out.
"Your wrists are not flexible enough; they are too stiff."
He walked to Qian Renxue's side, reached out, and gently grasped her wrist holding the sword.
"Do this: raise your arm, coordinate with your body, and rotate your wrist."
His hand was warm yet strong, and a strange force guided Qian Renxue's wrist to complete an extremely smooth rotation.
Qian Renxue's cheeks flushed slightly, but she was more deeply shocked.
It was just a simple movement, but with the master's guidance, it made such a world of difference.
After laying a solid foundation, Qian Daobai began the next stage of instruction.
"Your martial spirit is a six-winged angel."
"Holy, radiant, and incredibly fast."
Qian Daobai looked at her and spoke slowly.
"Therefore, in the world of martial arts, speed is the only thing that cannot be broken. This saying suits you very well."
He casually picked up a fallen leaf from the ground.
"Next, practice your sword-drawing speed."
"Continue standing in the stance, and when you see a falling leaf, pierce it with the fastest speed."
Before he could finish speaking, he flicked his finger.
The withered yellow leaf swirled and drifted leisurely towards the towering snow.
Qian Renxue's eyes narrowed, and almost instinctively, she thrust out her wooden sword!
Whoosh!
The sword tip whistled through the air, but grazed past the falling leaves.
The fallen leaves gently landed at her feet.
"Too slow."
Qian Daobai shook his head.
"Your eyes saw it, and your heart thought it, but your sword didn't follow."
"Again."
One piece, two pieces, three pieces...
Qian Renxue practiced this exercise repeatedly all morning.
From initial repeated failures to occasional successes, and finally to absolute certainty.
When she finally managed to accurately pierce the falling leaves with every sword strike, her forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat.
But her eyes gleamed with excitement.
"good."
Qian Daobai gave a positive evaluation for the first time.
"Next, practical application."
He was still empty-handed, just standing there quietly.
"Attack!"
"Use your strongest swordsmanship, don't hold back."
Qian Renxue took a deep breath and nodded.
She knew that her master was testing her progress.
The next moment, she moved.
His figure moved like a white lightning bolt, and the angelic holy sword in his hand instantly materialized, no longer a wooden sword.
Instead of launching a full-scale, aggressive attack, she integrated what she had learned over the past few days.
Light steps and agile movements.
In the instant she approached Qian Daobai, she spotted a fleeting opening.
That was a strand of hair at his temple.
Qian Renxue leaped lightly, the tip of her sword drawing a tricky arc, swift as a startled swan, piercing straight at that strand of hair!
This sword strike represents the pinnacle of her speed and skill to date!
However--
bite.
A soft sound.
Qian Daobai simply extended two fingers and effortlessly caught the tip of her sword, which she was determined to win.
The terrifying soul power contained in the sword's edge became as docile as a kitten before his fingertips.
Qian Renxue's pupils suddenly contracted.
"The speed was good, and the timing was also excellent."
Qian Daobai loosened his fingers and commented.
"But you've overlooked the most important point."
"Your sword has a trajectory. Once you see your opponent's trajectory clearly, no matter how fast his sword is, it is just a slowly moving target to you."
"Look with your heart, not just with your eyes."
Days passed by like this.
Time stands still in the mountains; one is unaware of the changing seasons.
Qian Renxue was completely immersed in this pure sword practice.
Her progress is rapid.
Two figures were crossing paths in the bamboo forest.
Qian Daobai casually broke off a branch and waved it around, unleashing a continuous barrage of attacks.
This time, however, Qian Renxue was no longer as disheveled as before.
She moved swiftly, always finding space to dodge from seemingly impossible angles.
With a light, nimble step, she perfectly dodged Qian Daobai's strike aimed at her shoulder.
Her eyes were calm and focused like never before.
Through repeated confrontations, she learned to think calmly and to anticipate her opponent's attacks.
Gradually, she no longer needed to consciously think of moves when wielding her sword.
With a single thought, the sword's edge arrives.
The sword moves as the heart desires.
She has reached a height that she never dared to even imagine before.
bite--
A crisp, metallic sound echoed through the tranquil bamboo forest.
The emerald green branch that Qian Daobai used as a weapon snapped in two, the remaining half spinning and flying out, precisely embedding itself in the joint of an old bamboo stalk not far away.
At the end of the branch, a withered yellow bamboo leaf was hanging.
Qian Renxue's figure slowly stopped three feet in front of Qian Daobai. She gripped the Angelic Holy Sword tightly in her hand, the tip of the sword trembling slightly. Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and her chest rose and fell slightly with her rapid breathing.
But her eyes shone with an unprecedented light.
"Master, I did it!"
The girl's voice was clear and crisp, carrying a hint of barely suppressed excitement and agitation.
She darted to the old bamboo tree, carefully removed the bamboo leaf that was pinned to the branch, and then, like a child presenting a treasure, held it in both hands and ran to the Thousand Cypress Tree.
"Master, look!"
Qian Daobai sat cross-legged on a blue stone, his eyes slightly closed, his breath long and deep, as if he had long since become one with this mountain forest.
Hearing the sound, he slowly opened his eyes.
The girl before me, dressed in a simple white dress, fluttered slightly in the mountain breeze, outlining her already beginning-developing graceful curves.
Due to her long period of cultivation and the excitement at this moment, her already beautiful face was flushed with a healthy blush, and her eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.
She has a tall and well-proportioned figure, especially her long legs wrapped in a white outfit, which are straight and slender, full of power and beauty.
Qian Daobai's gaze lingered on the bamboo leaves for a moment before landing on his disciple's expectant face.
He nodded slightly, a faint smile on his face.
"good."
"Even under the pressure of my sword intent, you can still accurately capture the trajectory of this leaf and successfully hit it."
"You certainly have a talent for swordsmanship."
Receiving praise from her master, Qian Renxue was overjoyed, even more so than when she broke through her soul power level.
"From now on, your swordsmanship training will be considered to have truly entered the door."
(End of chapter)