Chapter 17

"Once the skills of our school are practiced to a profound level, even a flower petal or a leaf can be used to injure someone. Others think the Huashan Sect is only known for its sword techniques, but that underestimates us." As Yue Buqun spoke, he rolled up his left sleeve, and with a burst of strength, the long sword at Lu Dayou's waist leaped out of its scabbard. His right sleeve followed, sweeping over the sword, and with a crack, the long sword broke into two pieces.

His display of internal power left everyone in shock, even Bai Xiaosheng's heart raced, amazed by Yue Buqun's profound internal strength.

As in the original story, Yue Buqun explained the conflict between sword and qi in the Huashan Sect, and then put on a grand show of "sword as the main focus" before leading everyone down the cliff.

On Siguoye Cliff, Linghu Chong and Bai Xiaosheng were left alone again, speechless. Linghu Chong was shocked by what Yue Buqun said and the skill he demonstrated.

In "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer," Linghu Chong believed that if he had his master's internal strength, he could easily use the Huashan Sword Technique to defeat anyone. Now, with his sword technique reaching a new level, his perspective broadened. He felt that what his master said might be true, but the tone was too biased, overly suppressing those who practiced sword techniques. He then wondered if he could use his own techniques to break through his master's Huashan Sword Technique.

He carefully compared the two. Before, he wouldn't even be able to make a move, let alone break through. Now, he could make a move and even find flaws in his master's technique, but breaking through was still impossible because his internal strength was too weak. Just like Yue Buqun's demonstration, if he used internal strength to break his own sword, his techniques would be useless.

This was different from Linghu Chong's method of breaking through with a sword. From this, he realized that sword techniques vary depending on the person using them.

"Indeed, those who practice sword techniques should be flexible and not treat them as rigid. Only when the sword 'comes alive' can it truly be a good sword. In other words, sword techniques can be broken, but the person is hard to break."

Understanding this, Linghu Chong suddenly grasped the aspects of sword techniques he had previously misunderstood. He also understood the so-called 'evil path' mentioned by Yue Buqun. Although his "Unmatched, Ning's One Sword" surpassed Ning Zhongze, if they truly faced off, he would likely lose, just as his master's first demonstration of sword technique directly broke the sword.

This was not because Linghu Chong's sword technique was insufficient, but because his internal strength was weak.

Linghu Chong's roundabout understanding was quite speechless, but you had to admit he understood the meaning behind Yue Buqun's words. Just like Bai Xiaosheng, who understood these principles but needed someone to point them out. Now, Yue Buqun's words reminded him, making him seriously consider his martial arts practice.

Martial arts cannot be just a hobby. If you truly want to achieve something, you must treat martial arts as your life, as your destiny. Bai Xiaosheng was too casual, driven by curiosity and a desire for powerful techniques, lacking the ancient martial artists' dedication. This would eventually become an obstacle to his progress. Yue Buqun's unintentional words now made Bai Xiaosheng more alert.

"Brother Bai, Linghu Chong is going to practice internal strength, so I won't accompany you in sword practice." On the other side, Linghu Chong, who had figured it out, laughed and turned to walk into the cave. Watching his back, Bai Xiaosheng smiled and said softly, "Yes, practice internal strength. I should also practice internal strength!" With that, he walked to one side, faced the cliff, and sat down to practice his internal strength.

Until evening, the two did not practice sword techniques but instead focused on internal strength and physical training to strengthen their bodies. When they rested, Bai Xiaosheng tossed and turned, unable to sleep, his mind constantly thinking about the practice of internal strength and techniques.

Although he understood the importance, how to balance the two and maximize their effectiveness was still a problem.

For techniques, Bai Xiaosheng was not too worried because he had the analysis system, which could help him master sword techniques and moves. However, for internal strength? Although the system had some guidance on internal strength, it lacked the ability to adapt or change.

The analysis system analyzed martial arts based on its own knowledge, maximizing the effectiveness of what you learned. The basic analysis had three parts: first, analyzing the host's martial arts and giving an evaluation; second, demonstrating authentic martial arts techniques with perfect accuracy; third, adapting the martial arts to better suit the host based on their situation.

In other words, the first step was to list and evaluate the martial arts the host had learned. The second step was to understand authentic martial arts and their essence. The third step was to extract the essence and adapt it to the host, which the system could do instantly, saving the time it would take for the host to do it themselves.

According to the system's introduction, there were more advanced analyses, but Bai Xiaosheng's cultivation was not sufficient to provide the system with enough energy, so it could not evolve, and higher-level analyses were not possible.

At this stage, all of Bai Xiaosheng's martial arts had been analyzed by the system, but he had only reached the second step. In other words, he could not fully master or adapt his skills to create his own techniques.

In the darkness, Bai Xiaosheng's eyes were wide open, his mind filled with various thoughts. After tossing and turning for half the night, he finally calmed down a bit, but he still felt no sleepiness.

He stood up, buttoned his clothes, and slowly walked out of the cave, looking up at the night sky, lost in thought.

He stood there all night until Linghu Chong came out and woke him up. Bai Xiaosheng, now fully awake, felt refreshed. He laughed at Linghu Chong and immediately leaped onto a large green rock, closing his eyes to practice his internal strength.

After a night of random thoughts, Bai Xiaosheng finally organized his chaotic thoughts. He spent the night creating a detailed training schedule for himself.

Internal strength practice could not be done continuously, unless it was done slowly, but that would not be very effective. For example, the Huashan Sect's internal strength practice was continuous but very slow, adding little internal strength, far less than what could be gained from focused practice. Otherwise, Yue Buqun wouldn't have emphasized the theory of "qi as the main focus, sword as the auxiliary."

Bai Xiaosheng's Tiancan Gong did not have this characteristic, so he had to take it more seriously.

Last night, he carefully recalled the time he spent practicing internal strength and set it to three periods: one in the morning, one at noon, and one at night, totaling six hours. It seemed little, but each period pushed his meridians to their limit, and any more would cause pain.

During the other times, Bai Xiaosheng spent half an hour after practice, then practiced sword techniques, palm techniques, and lightness techniques. Altogether, it was a very tight schedule.

Therefore, Bai Xiaosheng thought of the analysis system and his own situation and decided to focus on one sword technique for now, mastering it thoroughly and making it his own, to drive the progress of other martial arts.

With a detailed plan, Bai Xiaosheng became more disciplined in his practice. Although Linghu Chong did not have a plan, years of practice had ingrained a sense of routine in him. Seeing Bai Xiaosheng practicing internal strength, he immediately sat down and began to meditate.

After breakfast, the two practiced sword techniques, then internal strength... until evening, when Lu Dayou brought food to the cliff and said, "Big Brother, Master and Mistress went to Shaanbei this morning."

Linghu Chong, confused, asked for the reason, but Bai Xiaosheng knew that Tian Boguang was coming.

Thinking about his match with Tian Boguang, Bai Xiaosheng smiled, looking forward to seeing Tian Boguang and wondering what his reaction would be when he saw him and remembered their promise.