Letâs rewind time to the last challenge of the trial at Mount Fajue.
The thirty-eighth death, Ling Yunpo was resurrected once again, his breathing slightly disordered.
However, there was only to see the Sun Sword Master, dressed as a Taoist priest, his face growing heavier with disappointment, finally unable to restrain himself, he asked:
âWhat on earth is going on? How come your swordsmanship is so mediocre? Not to mention possessing the Innate Sword Bone, even if you brought out a Loose Cultivator of the Refining Mansion rank, he wouldnât be so inferior!â
Ling Yunpo nearly coughed up blood, but still put on a resolute and unyielding face, and said:
âMy skills are not refined, I am at the mercy of the seniorâs comments; but the teachings of my sect cannot be insulted!â
The Sun Sword Master indeed scoffed, speaking directly:
âWhat kind of crappy swordsmanship is your sect teaching? Ridiculous, show me what youâve got!â
Ling Yunpo then fell silent for a moment, feigning hesitation and struggle, before finally saying:
âI will make a fool of myself.â
He demonstrated all the various sword techniques of the Seven Kills Sword Technique, only to see the Sun Sword Master cover his face and sigh:
âThe swordsmanship is somewhat interesting, but in your hands, there are too many mistakes and flaws.â
âIf Iâm not mistaken, this swordsmanship must have been created by your master, and your master is a person with extremely proud temperament, hence every movement and posture in this created swordsmanship is imprinted with his strong personal flair.â
âWhat a pity! In his hands, this swordsmanship could be called extraordinary; but the more it is deeply integrated with him, the harder it is to use by others. Moreover, with your crude sword skills, I guess your master didnât give you any guidance after passing down the swordsmanship, did he?â
Ling Yunpo: â¦â¦â¦
If it had not been that the other party was just a projection, he would have been moved to tears at this moment, shouting three times, âSeniorâs discernment is as brilliant as fire, I am thoroughly convinced and grateful.â
That crappy master of his, Su Jian, since I became his disciple, he has never fulfilled a single responsibility of a master!
Seeing his âindignantâ expression, seeming âdaring to be angry but not daring to speakâ, the Sun Sword Master took it as an inability to refute and sneered:
âIf you had been born in my era, many a Sword Immortal would have fought to take you as a disciple. How come you ended up under such a person?â
âEnough! I know you hold respect for your master and the Way. I will not say more on this subject. Watch carefully, this is how the swordsmanship should be executed!â
He picked up the Sun True Obscure Sword, and displayed exactly all the moves and postures that Ling Yunpo had just used.
Ling Yunpo watched intently, only to see the exact same moves, but for some reason when performed by the Sun Sword Master, they carried an overwhelming and fierce power, an unstoppable terror.
âDid you understand?â the Sun Sword Master stopped his sword movements and turned to ask.
âI understood,â replied Ling Yunpo truthfully, âbut not completely.â
âTruly dull-witted!â the Sun Sword Master scornfully cursed, âEven the most dim-witted disciple under me would have understood after watching thrice!â
He performed the Seven Kills Sword Technique moves once again, and Ling Yunpo focused, finally confirming that the issue was not with the swordsmanship techniques, but the path of Qi flow during Sword Control, which somewhat resembled the âSupreme Primordial True Recordâ of Shushan in general, but was much more exquisite in detail.
âMay I ask the senior, is your Sword Controlâs Qi path derived from the âSupreme Primordial True Recordâ?â Ling Yunpo ventured to ask.
ââSupreme Primordial True Recordâ?â The Sun Sword Master spoke with a strange tone, âThat is the coarse and simplified cultivation technique given to the outer disciples. Why would someone with Innate Sword Bone practise that?â
No sooner had he finished speaking than it seemed he misunderstood something, and started to sneer disdainfully:
âSo thatâs how it is, indeed a âbrilliant discernmentâ from a good sect, a good master⦠Listen well, forget that crude classic, I am now going to impart the true explanation of swordsmanship to you, the âSupreme Sun and Moon Primordial Classicâ!â
He swung the Sun True Obscure Sword and suddenly sang out, his voice clear and melodious:
âSword Bone, Sword Bone, listen to my truth! Qian Kun, Kan Li, hardness and softness in unison, the four encompassing elements are the keys. Two, four, three, five, one, the essence of heaven and earthâ¦â
â¦â¦â¦
Having seen Lin Duanshan and the others off, Ling Yunpo found himself unconsciously reminiscing about the scenes from the trials at Mount Fajue, and couldnât help but feel a surge of emotion.
After learning the Supreme Sun and Moon Primordial Classic, his swordsmanship skills had not just improved by leaps and bounds.
From initially being utterly powerless against the Sun Sword Master to barely being able to withstand a strike of the Sun True Obscure Sword, it had taken only a day and a night.
It was indeed unclear whether the Shushan higher-ups were hoarding this true Sword technique as a treasured secret, deliberately hiding it from others, or whether this true solution had indeed disappeared into the river of history due to some reasons over the epochs, leaving only the castrated version of the Supreme Primordial True Record.
Regardless of the situation, it was a pity.
âSenior sister,â he turned his head and asked An Zhisu, âarenât you curious about my swordsmanship?â
An Zhisu blinked and said,
âWhy should I be curious? Isnât this the true transmission of the Seven Kills Sword Technique of our Qingluo Peak?â
Ling Yunpo was slightly stunned by her words, then chuckled and said,
âIndeed, it seems Iâve forgotten about this matter. Since it is the true transmission of the Seven Kills Sword Technique, it should be fine for me to recite the mental method to senior sister again, right?â
He took his senior sisterâs hand and walked towards the pavilion by the stream on the back mountain.
An Zhisu didnât struggle but allowed him to take her hand with a smile.
Sitting beside the long pavilion, Ling Yunpo completely recited the Supreme Sun and Moon Primordial Classic.
âIs this what you gained from the trials in the White Jade Capital?â An Zhisu asked in astonishment.
With her insight, she immediately noticed that this overarching Sword Control Heart Method seemed to share the same origin with the Supreme Primordial True Record of Shushan, but its rank was countless times higher.
What was more ingenious was that since the sources were so close or even identical, outsiders couldnât tell that this was a different Sword Control Heart Method. They would only think that it was the Supreme Primordial True Record cultivated to an extremely profound level.
âWhat do you think, senior sister?â Ling Yunpo said with a smile, âHow formidable is this âtrue transmission of the Seven Kills Sword Techniqueâ?â
An Zhisu pondered for a long while before seriously saying,
âJunior brother, this true transmission⦠is too sensitive. It absolutely must not be spread to others.â
âSenior sister, I understand,â Ling Yunpo said solemnly.
The Supreme Primordial True Record was the orthodox Sword Control Heart Method that had been passed down in Shushan for nearly ten thousand years.
If another version suddenly appeared, it was hard to predict how the Shushan higher-ups would react.
If things turned out well, they might adopt a permissive attitude, turning a blind eye and allowing this heart method to spread freely among the disciples of Shushan;
If things went badly⦠they might adopt an attitude reserved for heresy, prohibiting its circulation and cracking down severely (while secretly studying it).
Considering their wariness and isolation of Qingluo Peak, this was also a possibility.
Ultimately, it all came down to Qingluo Peak being too weak and, due to Su Jianâs involvement, tainted with heterodoxy, which was a particularly sensitive matter.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
If it were Qiu Changtian at Kunlun, no matter when he brought it out, he would immediately receive rewards from the Ziwei Master, with no worries at all.
At this point, Ling Yunpo once again thought of the Shenxiao Thunder.
Rushing things with his senior sister wouldnât do â after all, with her modesty, teasing too much would set her off.
For now, it was best to find time to return to Kunlun and learn Shenxiao Thunder⦠and incidentally, see how Junior Sister Xu was getting on.