Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Passing Down the Blade

“The Burning Wood Saber is merely a dharma gate for cultivating the Fast Saber, not a technique itself.”

The Mountain Guest said, “If one successfully cultivates the Burning Wood Saber, it can be integrated into any saber technique, greatly enhancing its power.”

Chen Tang nodded.

The same basic saber form, when executed faster, is naturally harder to defend against.

“I have a few saber techniques I can teach you, but…”

The Mountain Guest paused, pondering, “It’s just that if you’re only roaming the Jianghu, it will be difficult for you to grasp the divine charm of these saber techniques. At most, you can cultivate them to the ’Mastering Change’ realm.”

“Forget it, I’ll teach you first.”

The Mountain Guest stood up, grasped the Ice Saber in his hand, and pointed it at Chen Tang, saying, “This move is called Butcher Dissects an Ox. It suits your talent well, but to cultivate it to the ’Divine’ realm, your own realm must be at least Seventh Grade.”

Butcher Dissects an Ox, Chen Tang had heard of this allusion in his previous life.

Most things in this unfamiliar world were different from his previous life, but some parts overlapped.

“Most saber techniques focus on vigor.”

The Mountain Guest said, “But this move, Butcher Dissects an Ox, excels in softness. This move has no fixed form, the angle is arbitrary, but you must avoid the opponent’s weapon and not engage it head-on.”

“You must cultivate until you no longer see the person, only their muscles and bones, weak points, and flaws; only then can you achieve great success.”

“Pick up the saber.”

The Mountain Guest gestured for Chen Tang to pick up the long saber from the ground.

Chen Tang knew that the Mountain Guest wanted to spar with him.

Only by continuously sparring and feeding him moves could he more easily grasp the essence and divine charm of this technique.

Chen Tang drew the long saber and stood ready.

The Mountain Guest gripped the Ice Saber, stepped forward, and randomly slashed down towards Chen Tang’s face.

Chen Tang raised his saber to block upward!

Just as the two sabers were about to collide, the Mountain Guest’s saber momentum changed. The blade became incomparably light and soft, bypassing Chen Tang’s long saber and horizontally slicing from an extremely eerie angle!

Moreover, this slice enveloped multiple vital points on Chen Tang’s body!

Throat, chest, under the ribs…

Before the blade even arrived, Chen Tang felt a faint tingling sensation from these spots!

This slice could target any of these vital points.

If Chen Tang defended his chest, his throat might get hit, and vice versa.

In an instant, Chen Tang felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

As if guided by a mysterious force, he suddenly thought of the sword technique Zhiwei had taught him during the day.

With no time to spare, Chen Tang sidestepped half a step, slightly leaning his body, using his saber as a sword, and with a twist of his wrist, utilizing the strength of his body and arm, swept the long saber horizontally!

Clang!

The two sabers collided with a crisp sound.

Chen Tang was overjoyed!

He had blocked it!

He could clearly see that the Mountain Guest’s Ice Saber had deviated from its original trajectory, showing signs of missing its mark.

“Hmm?”

The Mountain Guest’s expression changed.

In the next moment, that Ice Saber gently trembled.

Chen Tang felt his tiger’s mouth vibrate, unable to hold the saber hilt, the long saber flew out of his grasp and landed on the ground!

Chen Tang slightly parted his lips.

The Mountain Guest had disarmed him with the Ice Saber, yet the Ice Saber remained unscathed!

Of course, Chen Tang knew that the Mountain Guest had just won by strength.

Speaking purely of techniques, the Mountain Guest’s move Butcher Dissects an Ox had already been countered.

The Mountain Guest frowned and asked, “Where did you learn that move just now?”

“It was taught to me by a little girl.”

Chen Tang roughly recounted what happened at the foot of the mountain and tentatively asked, “Is there a problem with this move?”

The Mountain Guest seemed not to hear him, slightly lowering his head, staring at the Ice Saber in his hand, lost in thought.

After a long while, he came back to his senses and said lightly, “That move of yours was originally swordsmanship, right?”

Chen Tang knew he couldn’t hide it, so he nodded.

“A little girl…”

The Mountain Guest murmured quietly, “When you go down the mountain, treat that little girl well, don’t wrong her.”

“Ah?”

Chen Tang was taken aback, not expecting the Mountain Guest to suddenly say such a thing.

“Do you know her?” Chen Tang asked.

“I don’t know her, but I do recognize that sword technique.”

The Mountain Guest smiled and said, “That sword technique was originally not meant to be taught openly, your ability to learn it is your own fortune.”

Chen Tang asked again, “Is there any significance to this sword technique?”

“Nothing much.”

The Mountain Guest said, “But if you use that sword technique to defend, the move Butcher Dissects an Ox would naturally be useless.”

“I’ll pass on the next few moves to you; you can continue to block and dissolve them with that sword technique.”

Chen Tang held the saber in his hand again.

“Watch closely, the first move, South and North Wars!”

The Mountain Guest grasped the Ice Saber, suddenly slashing into the void behind him.

Before Chen Tang could react, the Mountain Guest spun around and pounced with even greater speed, his momentum fierce, carrying an unwavering, unstoppable killing intent!

Chen Tang didn’t have time to draw his saber and felt a surge of blood rushing towards him, suffocating him.

In the next moment.

The blade was already hovering in front of his forehead!

“The Southern Expedition is one slash, the Northern Battle is another.”

The Mountain Guest reenacted it once more and explained, “The Southern Expedition slash can be void, mainly leveraging the opponent’s strength, then adding your own, turning around and executing the Northern Battle Slash.”

“The Southern Expedition slash can also be real, or even both the Southern Expedition and Northern Battle slashes can be void, with the third slash being real. This depends on the battlefield situation, adapting to make the most beneficial judgment.”

“Just remember one point, the Void Saber leverages strength and momentum, the Real Saber breaks formations and defeats the enemy!”

Chen Tang first grasped the flow of the saber techniques, then carefully pondered the Mountain Guest’s words.

He felt that this move, seemingly simple, was full of subtle nuances and had infinite applications.

“Second move, Sweeping the Six Directions!”

The Mountain Guest used his body as an axis, rotating in place, the saber creating a huge gust of air around him!

Chen Tang’s pupils slightly contracted.

In his vision, it seemed as if the entire heaven and earth were cut in half by the Mountain Guest’s saber, briefly separated!

“Third move, Vast Ambition!”

The Mountain Guest struck again, in an instant, slicing eight times, covering all directions with no gaps!

The Mountain Guest said, “These moves aren’t hard to learn, nor difficult to remember, but if you want to practice them to the ’Divine Realm’, or even further, it is as hard as climbing to the sky.”

Chen Tang felt the same way.

These three moves seemed completely different from the essence of Butcher Dissects an Ox.

The techniques seemed extremely simple, straightforward, but contained a sense of returning to simplicity.

More importantly, these three slashes exuded a chilling killing intent!

Chen Tang asked, “These three slashes seem related to the battlefield?”

The Mountain Guest’s eyes lit up, “Very good, it’s great that you can sense that. These three moves are saber techniques realized from experiencing life and death, fighting bloodily on the battlefield.”

“That’s why there are no fancy techniques, every move is a life-and-death kill strike.”

On the battlefield, it’s unlike dueling in the Jianghu.

Amidst thousands of troops and horses, armies collide, swords and sabers are blind, chaos abounds, and in an instant, countless people fall, with no room for probing flashy moves.

A single probing move could lead to countless swords and spears piercing you, with no chance for a second move!

No wonder the Mountain Guest just said that if Chen Tang were only roaming the Jianghu, he could at most comprehend these three moves to the ’Transformation Realm’.

Only by experiencing life and death, personally feeling the cruelty and bloodshed of the battlefield, could one possibly reach the ’Divine Realm’.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep