Chapter 1981: Door to the Dao of the Blade

Zhao Hai was standing in his own courtyard with a tang blade in his hand. Although Zhao Hai was used to the form of the tang blade, he looked like a beginner right now. As he held his blade, he continued to slash.

The jade slip that the Yin Elder gave Zhao Hai contained very detailed basic movements for the blade. Chops, cuts, upswing, stabbing, sweeping, and other moves. All these movements were recorded. Even the way to hold the blade and how much strength to use were clearly described.

If he didn’t get in contact with the Tyrant Blade Sect, Zhao Hai wouldn’t have known that there was so much nuisance in using the blade. Warriors using the blade were different compared to soldiers in war. On the battlefield, soldiers weren’t facing experts. Therefore, they gripped their blades in a way where they could exert all their strength in each strike. They were prepared to deal with their enemy in one move.

Warriors were different. Warriors battled other warriors. They cannot grip their blades too strongly or else they risk losing flexibility. Moreover, each attack they made only contained 80% of their strength. This would allow them to make adjustments during the attack. Zhao Hai was now starting with this foundational knowledge.

The Yin Elder only gave Zhao Hai a jade slip and then made him practice. This might seem irresponsible, but this wasn’t strange. In the Great Realm of Cultivation, Masters would only give delicate instructions to their disciples in the beginning. Once they surpass the Core Formation stage, the Master would only give them a set of techniques to practice. The disciple would be left to form their own understanding about the techniques.

All cultivators understand that there were no two completely similar cultivators, like there were no similar snowflakes in the world. What worked for the Master might not be effective to the disciple. Even if the spiritual roots or cultivation methods of the master were the same as the disciple, this doesn’t mean that the disciple would reach the same point.

Because of this, when a disciple reaches a certain level, the master would be akin to a shepherd letting their sheep graze. They would make their disciples form their own comprehension regarding their techniques. Only in this way can the disciple better understand the technique and be able to see what path suits them the most.

Naturally, what Zhao Hai was studying right now weren’t deeply profound things. These were just the most basic movements of the blade. These things can be trained by having the master explain on the side.

However, the Yin Elder didn’t explain anything to Zhao Hai. This was because he wanted to see Zhao Hai’s perception. He gave detailed information on the jade slip, but there were parts that needed to be comprehended. The Yin Elder wanted to see if Zhao Hai was able to do it.

Another reason was because the Yin Elder wanted to see Zhao Hai’s temperament. For a cultivator, temperament was important. If your heart was as solid as a rock, you will get twice the result with half the effort when you cultivate. Practicing basic blade moves was very boring. It was impossible for a normal person to practice for an extended period of time. It was almost impossible to ingrain these blade techniques into one’s instincts in a period of one month.

The Yin Yang Elders wanted to polish Zhao Hai’s temperament. So after giving the jade slip to Zhao Hai, the two Elders left.

Zhao Hai didn’t actually think about it too much. The Yin Yang Elder’s actions were completely normal to him. And to be honest, Zhao Hai doesn’t think that practicing the blade was a pain.

When practicing his blade moves, Zhao Hai didn’t divide his time in practicing different movements throughout the day. Because in that case, he would just be swinging his blade for the sake of hitting the quota. Zhao Hai just focused his attention on one blade movement. Every time he slashed it, he would feel the strength of the move, its speed, which muscles he used, and how heavy the force was. Then he would analyze where he was short. This allowed him to make his blade faster, stronger and sharper.

If the Yin Yang Elders knew that this was how Zhao Hai was practicing, they would have commended him. This was the most optimal way to practice the blade. By slowly perceiving the movements of the blade, one could slowly perfect it. Only by grasping the essence of the blade can Zhao Hai’s blade gain a spiritual nature. Once he succeeds, his blade would seem like it was moving on its own. 

In the past, Zhao Hai used his divergent abilities to communicate with various things. He has met all kinds of situations. Sometimes, in order to find the mental state of the item, Zhao Hai had to adjust his thinking very carefully. And after multiple tries, Zhao Hai’s state of mind has been honed. With this mental strength, Zhao Hai could achieve twice the result with half the effort when mastering anything.

Additionally, when Zhao Hai was communicating with all kinds of things, his thinking kept changing. This was to form a connection to his target. Zhao Hai was now using this method to learn the blade. His mind would communicate with the blade and adjust his body accordingly. This enabled Zhao Hai to inch closer and closer to mastering the blade.

Zhao Hai completely immersed himself in the movements. He felt that his body was now moving unconsciously. At the same time, his muscles and bones were beginning to remember the blade movements.

Zhao Hai didn’t know how many times he had swung his blade, this was because he simply didn’t count. As he slashed, he comprehended.  Blade after blade swung again and again.

After an unknown period of time, Zhao Hai stopped swinging his blade. He had comprehended the basic movements of the blade. Moreover, he found best angle of each movement. He knew which muscle groups to use and the speed in which the blade should be swung. 

However, Zhao Hai only stopped for a while before he resumed his practice. But this time, his slashes were different. He didn’t just stand in place and swung the blade. He performed the movements while advancing, retreating, jumping, and even crouching. He proceeded to look for the most perfect slash.

Nobody disturbed Zhao Hai. His courtyard has become a forbidden land in the Tyrant Blade Sect’s branch hall. Nobody can approach 500 meters from his location. The courtyards around him were also emptied by the sect.

In the branch building of the Tyrant Blade Sect, the Yin Yang Elders were looking in the direction of Zhao Hai’s courtyard. The two were showing a surprised expression. 

They didn’t expect Zhao Hai to make this much progress. He can actually feel the essence of the blade, which was their intention for letting Zhao Hai practice the basic moves. It must be known that when they practiced these basic movements, it was under the guidance of their masters. Only then did they understand the spirit of the blade and how to make it alive. The Yin Yang Elders originally planned to wait until after a month to guide Zhao Hai. But now they found that this was not needed at all. Zhao Hai figured it out all by himself.

To be honest, although the two were happy, they also felt a sense of loss. Teaching such a talented disciple made them feel useless.

After some time, the Yang Elder smiled bitterly as he looked at the Yin Elder and said, “Senior Brother, I didn’t expect this kid to reach this point. It seems like we underestimated him.”

The Yin Elder also sighed, but he laughed soon after as he said, “That kid is a real genius, but this is also good. In the future, this kid will go farther into the Dao of the Blade. We should be happy.”

The  Yang Elder also smiled, “We should be happy. This kid is a genius. It’s not only good for us, but for the sect as well.”

The Yin Elder let out a long breath and said, “For many years, although the sect has acquired plenty of blade-wielding talents, none of them could comprehend the basic moves without any guidance. But this kid was able to. When he grows up, he would certainly shock the entire True Spirit Realm.”

The Yang Elder nodded, then he said, “We should take a look at how he practices the other blade movements. If he can still do the same, then we must adjust our teaching methods.”

The Yin Elder hesitated for a moment, then he said, “Then we should. This kid is worth teaching.” After he said that, the two returned back to their office and no longer made a sound.

Zhao Hai was now immersed in his practice. He found the perfect way to use the blade in different scenarios. For the first time, Zhao Hai felt that the blade in his hand was alive. Zhao Hai was ecstatic, this was because he was able to confirm his guesses.

When Zhao Hai first practiced this move, he tried to treat it as a conscious being. This was because when he communicated using his divergent abilities in the past, he discovered that everything seems to have its own thinking. This included wind and even the invisible existence of space.

So when Zhao Hai practiced the blade, he began to adjust his thinking, trying to connect himself to the movement. But compared to objects, blade movements needed to be used perfectly in order to communicate with it.

With this assumption, Zhao Hai began to swing his blade. The more he practiced the movement, the more he comprehended it, and the more convinced he was of his idea. This was because he felt his mind fluctuate. Although it was very light, he could feel it. 

As his actions became more and more perfect, the clearer his thoughts became. When he chopped his blade, he could feel its thoughts. However, he still didn’t have a way to communicate with it with his consciousness. He just began to practice the blade. But as he progressed further and further in connecting with the blade, a unique door to the Dao of the Blade was being opened to him.

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