Chapter 16

On the Cliff of Reflection, a cold wind blew, causing everyone to shiver. The joy on the faces of Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze turned cold, with Yue Buqun’s face as cold as frost, making it impossible for anyone to look at him directly.

"Master, your disciple..." Linghu Chong, after practicing the sword technique, felt something was amiss. He opened his mouth but could not say anything.

Behind Yue Buqun, Bai Xiaosheng understood. Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze’s change in expression was due to the fluidity of Linghu Chong’s sword technique. This fluidity was not the method of the Qi Sect but the method of the Sword Sect. Moreover, Linghu Chong’s variation of the "Unmatched, Ning’s Sword" was in line with the method of the Sword Sect. In the hearts of Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze, the Sword Sect had left a significant psychological shadow, so how could they be happy?

"Brat, what have you been reflecting on these past six months on the Cliff of Reflection? What kind of skill have you been practicing?" Yue Buqun roared, scaring the three people behind him, including Yue Lingshan, who were unaware of the situation.

Linghu Chong felt dizzy and confused, quickly kneeling down and saying, "Disciple... disciple hasn’t... practiced any skill."

"You’re still lying! Wasn’t the ‘Unmatched, Ning’s Sword’ you just used something you created yourself?" Yue Buqun was extremely angry, shouting loudly.

Linghu Chong’s mind went blank, completely at a loss. That move was definitely a Huashan Sect sword technique. He thought his master had recognized it, but he couldn’t understand why his master was so angry. "Disciple, disciple..." Linghu Chong couldn’t speak. At this moment, Lady Yue had regained her composure and stepped forward, saying softly, "Get up. You didn’t know the key point." She turned to her husband and said, "Brother, Chong is too talented. In these six months, without seeing us, he practiced on his own, leading him astray. Now that he hasn’t strayed too far, it’s not too late to correct him."

Yue Buqun nodded and said to Linghu Chong, "Get up!"

Linghu Chong stood up, staring blankly at the long sword in his hand, still thinking about the sword technique he had just used. It was definitely a good sword technique, even more powerful than the "Unmatched, Ning’s Sword" created by his master’s wife. But why were his master and master’s wife so angry? Why did he go astray? He felt lost and at a loss.

Yue Buqun sighed and turned to Bai Xiaosheng, saying, "Nephew Bai, I’ve embarrassed myself."

Bai Xiaosheng quickly shook his head and then asked, "Uncle Yue, I see that Brother Linghu’s sword technique is very high. In the past half month, I almost couldn’t defeat him. Why do you say he has gone astray?"

"Indeed, Father! Just now, Eldest Brother’s sword was even more powerful than Mother’s. Why are you still angry?" Yue Lingshan, who had been puzzled for a long time, asked.

"Hmph!" Yue Buqun coldly snorted. Ning Zhongze said, "Nephew Bai, Lingshan, you don’t understand the reason." She then looked at Yue Buqun, who beckoned to Shi Daizi and Lu Dayou, calling them to the front and slowly said, "Twenty-five years ago, our sect’s skills were divided into the orthodox and the heterodox paths." Everyone was surprised. Huashan Sect skills were Huashan Sect skills; how could there be a distinction between orthodox and heterodox? Of course, Bai Xiaosheng understood the reason, but his face also showed surprise and confusion.

"Father, what we practice is, of course, the orthodox path." Yue Lingshan added. Yue Buqun said, "Of course. Would we practice the heterodox path if we knew it was heterodox? But the heterodox path considered itself the orthodox and said we were the heterodox. Over time, the truth became clear, and the heterodox path eventually disappeared. For twenty-five years, it has not existed in this world." Yue Lingshan said, "No wonder I’ve never heard of it. Father, since the heterodox path has been eliminated, we don’t need to worry about it."

"What do you know? The so-called heterodox path is not really evil. It is still our sect’s skill, just with a different focus in practice. What did I teach you first?" Yue Buqun’s eyes were fixed on Linghu Chong. Linghu Chong felt a chill and immediately replied, "The first thing taught was the breathing technique, starting with the practice of qi."

Yue Buqun nodded and said, "Yes. The key to Huashan Sect skills is in the word ‘qi.’ Once qi skills are mastered, whether using fists, feet, knives, or swords, everything becomes advantageous. This is the orthodox path of our sect’s practice. However, there was another group among our predecessors who believed that the key to our sect’s skills was in ‘sword.’ Once sword skills are mastered, even with average internal skills, one can defeat the enemy. The main difference between the orthodox and heterodox paths lies here."

At this point, Yue Buqun looked at Bai Xiaosheng and asked, "Nephew Bai, what do you think of what I’ve said?"

Bai Xiaosheng didn’t expect Yue Buqun to ask him, was slightly taken aback, and immediately bowed, opening his mouth to speak, but suddenly hesitated.

Which is more important, sword or qi? Which is the main focus? Nowadays, everyone would say both are equally important, or even both can be the main focus. The reason is simple: without internal power, you can’t hit anyone; without techniques, you can’t defeat anyone. But if we delve deeper, which is the main focus? Looking at the protagonists in Jin Yong’s novels, it seems that internal power is the main focus.

But saying internal power is the main focus, Bai Xiaosheng found it hard to say. In his previous life, he also felt it was wrong, thinking both internal power and sword techniques should be cultivated together. But after being reborn, he understood that cultivating both internal power and sword techniques is not that simple. Unless you have a supreme secret manual, you can only choose one as the main focus and the other as the secondary focus, using the main focus to drive the other skills.

Otherwise, you would be "all-round," which means you are good at nothing.

This contradicted his inner thoughts, so he was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Nephew Bai, have you never thought about this issue?" Yue Buqun asked again. Bai Xiaosheng nodded in a daze, thinking of the Nine Swords of Dugu and the Manual of the Sunflower.

In "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer," the Nine Swords of Dugu are the supreme sword technique, and the Manual of the Sunflower is the supreme internal skill.

Here, the Manual of the Sunflower is the most powerful martial art, even surpassing the legendary Yi Jin Jing. Many people recognize the Manual of the Sunflower for its displayed power—ghostly and hard to defend against. But in essence, the essence of the Manual of the Sunflower is not its speed but its method of internal skill cultivation.

It is because of its unique method of internal skill cultivation that the Manual of the Sunflower exhibits its "ghostly and hard to defend against" characteristics.

In short, the Manual of the Sunflower represents internal skills, not techniques!

Both are supreme secret manuals. Learning the Nine Swords of Dugu, even with average internal skills, you can still become a top-notch expert. But if you think about it, with only the Nine Swords of Dugu, you would probably only be a top-notch expert, a skilled swordsman. To achieve a higher realm, you need profound internal skills. Moreover, the ninth move, the Qi-Breaking Move, probably cannot be used without profound internal skills.

In summary, it seems that internal skills are more important!

On the other side, Yue Buqun was explaining the Huashan Sect’s skills, emphasizing that internal skills are the main focus and techniques are the secondary focus, and also mentioned the fierce internal conflict on Yvnu Peak twenty-five years ago.

On this side, Bai Xiaosheng was lost in his thoughts. Gradually, he summarized some key points. He believed that in terms of martial arts, internal skills are the main focus and techniques are the secondary focus, but for different people, these two points should be reversed. For example, if Linghu Chong had joined the Sword Sect, he would have likely reached a high level of sword mastery and gained a significant position in the martial world. But since he joined the Qi Sect, it limited his understanding of sword techniques. For some relatively clumsy or naturally talented in internal skills, the focus would be reversed.

Thinking about this, Bai Xiaosheng also thought about himself. From his cultivation, he seemed to have not clearly distinguished the main and secondary focuses, always practicing diligently and managing his time well. But this also limited his talent in one area, and he didn’t know whether that talent was in techniques or internal skills.

Of course, Bai Xiaosheng thought about more than just this. He also thought about some supreme secret manuals, like the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms!

The Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms are considered external skills, but they can also cultivate a profound true qi. Practicing this skill not only improves external techniques but also rapidly enhances internal skills. With the assistance of profound internal skills, the results would be unstoppable.

And the Manual of the Sunflower, although it focuses on internal skills, also has a significant impact on techniques. With the Manual of the Sunflower, you don’t need to worry about techniques because its speed is enough to take you from no techniques to "no techniques," and the intermediate steps of learning and mastering techniques can be ignored.

These are the benefits of supreme secret manuals, making people envious. Bai Xiaosheng had also considered whether he should practice some supreme secret manuals, but in "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer," he couldn’t find any that truly interested him. Even if there were, he felt they would be extremely difficult to obtain, so he had never seriously considered it. Now, thinking about these, his interest in this area increased, and his target was set on the Nine Swords of Dugu and the Yi Jin Jing. As for the Manual of the Sunflower, the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual, and the Star Absorbing Technique, which are incomplete skills, they could go to hell!