Chapter 7

Time passed slowly, and before they knew it, more than two years had gone by. Linghu Chong had been on the mountain for three years, and Yue Fangxing was already six years old. Over these few years, Linghu Chong's body had grown rapidly, and he now looked like a half-grown boy. Besides continuing to practice horse stance and basic martial arts, he had already sensed his internal energy and started to cultivate internal skills to unblock his meridians. At the same time, he began to learn the basic martial arts of Huashan, including footwork, body movement, fist techniques, and sword techniques.

Linghu Chong, worthy of being Yue Buqun's carefully selected senior disciple, was not particularly strong in internal skills, and his fist techniques were even worse. However, his footwork, body movement, and sword techniques were extremely proficient. He had a natural talent for sword techniques, and the techniques of cutting, slashing, thrusting, and sweeping came to him effortlessly. His sword strikes were precise and powerful, with no deviation. Recently, he had learned a sword technique called "Pine Welcoming Guests" from Yue Buqun. Although this move was the opening technique of Huashan swordsmanship, it concealed several follow-up moves and was crucial for connecting various basic Huashan sword techniques. Since Linghu Chong was still new to sword techniques and didn't fully understand them, he continued to practice diligently.

In fact, Linghu Chong's talent in swordsmanship had been evident a year ago, and he could have started learning the basic Huashan sword techniques. However, when Yue Buqun checked his internal skill cultivation, he found that although Linghu Chong's internal energy had already transformed into true qi, it was not sufficient to unblock his meridians. At that time, Linghu Chong had been practicing internal skills for a year, and even a person with average talent could have reached the standard for unblocking meridians. Given Linghu Chong's talent, it would have been normal for him to unblock one meridian. Therefore, Yue Buqun was furious and confined Linghu Chong for seven days.

Huashan emphasized controlling the sword with qi, and internal skill cultivation was of utmost importance. Once internal skills were mastered, other minor techniques would come naturally. Therefore, Linghu Chong was ordered to focus on internal skill cultivation, and he was almost forbidden from practicing sword techniques. It was only due to Ning Zhongze's persuasion and Yue Buqun's fear of stifling his sword talent that he was allowed to continue. However, the teaching of the basic Huashan sword techniques was delayed by a year, and Linghu Chong had to continue with the basics.

However, Linghu Chong's talent was undeniable. Although he sometimes lacked patience and Yue Fangxing didn't see him working hard much of the time, he often saw him playing with Yue Lingshan. Despite this, Linghu Chong managed to unblock two meridians within a few months. Recently, when Yue Buqun checked his internal skill cultivation, he found that Linghu Chong was about to unblock his third meridian. Delighted, Yue Buqun taught him the "Pine Welcoming Guests" technique, which excited Linghu Chong greatly. Yue Fangxing was also envious and wished he could grow up faster.

In recent years, the martial world had been far from peaceful. The righteous path and the demonic sect had several major battles, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. The demonic sect, after attacking Huashan several decades ago and losing ten elders, had gone into hiding for a while. In recent years, they had been living in Blackwood Cliff, and their strength had been restored. Under the leadership of the ambitious new sect leader, Ren Woxing, they re-emerged and caused chaos in the martial world, bringing about countless bloody storms.

The demonic sect was now truly powerful. Ren Woxing's Absorbing Star Technique was feared throughout the world, and people trembled at the mention of it, hinting at his potential to become the top martial artist. The high-ranking members of the demonic sect, such as the Left Brightness Envoy Dongfang Sheng, the Right Brightness Envoy "Heavenly King" Xiang Wentian, the "Yellow-faced Venerable" Jia Bu of the Azure Dragon Hall, the "Sculpture Hero" Shangguan Yun of the White Tiger Hall, and the Thunder and Lightning Hall's Tong Bixiong, along with the new ten elders, were not inferior to the leaders of major sects. Their disciples were spread throughout the land, and they had the support of various factions like the Five Poison Sect and the天河帮 (Tianhe Gang), as well as the ambiguous figures like the Yellow River Ancestor and the Twin Heroes of Tongbai. They had the potential to unify the martial world and dominate it, and their actions were becoming increasingly rampant and arrogant. Over the years, countless bloody incidents had occurred due to the Black Blood Needles, and many renowned figures had fallen victim to them. Even the Shaolin and Wudang, the two great holy places, had to join forces to barely counter the demonic sect.

The Five Great Sword Sects, due to their old grudges with the demonic sect, were the first to suffer in this martial turmoil, with countless casualties. Last year, during the alliance meeting of the five major sects on Mount Song, they had a major battle with the demonic sect, which ended in a stalemate. At that time, Ren Woxing, in his arrogance, had brought only a few people, intending to destroy the Five Great Sword Sects with his own strength. However, he suddenly stopped fighting when he was about to defeat Zuo Lengchan, and then the Shaolin Abbot Fangzheng led reinforcements, forcing him to retreat hastily. The Five Great Sword Sects did not suffer significant losses.

After that, the reputation of the Five Great Sword Sects soared. Zuo Lengchan, the alliance leader, was hailed as one of the three great righteous path experts, alongside Fangzheng and Chongxu. The leaders of Huashan and Hengshan, Yue Buqun and Mo Da, were also ranked among the top ten righteous path experts by martial enthusiasts. The combined strength of the five sects was implicitly greater than that of Shaolin and Wudang, but because they were a coalition of five sects spread across the Five Great Mountains, they were ranked below Shaolin and Wudang.

However, the Five Great Sword Sects were well aware that their strength could not yet match the demonic sect. In the previous battle, the demonic sect had not used their full strength and had retreated for unknown reasons. Their draw was a stroke of luck, so they were all focusing on enhancing their strength to prepare for the next invasion. It was rumored that Zuo Lengchan was in seclusion, trying to create a skill to counter the Absorbing Star Technique.

For some reason, the demonic sect suddenly became more restrained after the battle. There were also some internal changes: last year, one of the ten elders, Elder Wen, was expelled and killed by experts from the Songshan, Taishan, and Hengshan sects. This year, another elder, Elder Qiu, died mysteriously in Gansu. Other personnel changes were bewildering, and the righteous path had difficulty gathering detailed information. However, people were somewhat relieved, as the demonic sect's power was too great, and it was good for them to expend some of their strength.

Since Linghu Chong came to the mountain, Yue Fangxing had been practicing with Yue Buqun for three years. After a trip down the mountain two and a half years ago, he had gained a deeper understanding of horse stance and had been striving to reach that level. However, it was easier said than done, and it wasn't until a year ago that he barely found the feeling of horse stance, though he didn't experience the same natural insight as before. He realized that such a state was not easily attainable in daily practice.

Yue Fangxing did not force himself but continued to learn diligently. Now, he could easily hold a horse stance, breathe naturally, and relax his body, far surpassing Linghu Chong. Yue Lingshan could not compare to him at all. Yue Buqun was very satisfied with his stable foundation and taught him some basic footwork, which he had already mastered to some extent.

However, due to his age, Yue Fangxing's main focus was still on reading and writing. Over the past three years, he had mastered the Four Books and Five Classics and read many Daoist texts. After all, Huashan's lineage came from the Quanzhen Sect, and although it had evolved over the centuries, its roots were still in Daoism. The Quanzhen founder, Wang Chongyang, advocated the unity of the three teachings, and Huashan emphasized the integration of Confucianism and Daoism: the Xiyi Sword was subtle and profound, embodying Daoist principles; the Yangwu Sword was upright and dignified, reflecting Confucian values; and the Zixia Divine Skill emphasized the importance of qi cultivation. Therefore, to master Huashan's martial arts, one had to study Confucian and Daoist classics; otherwise, one would only grasp the form but not the essence, and it would be difficult to achieve great success.

Yue Fangxing understood this well. Therefore, he used his young age and ample time to study Confucian and Daoist classics and some medical and divination knowledge. He combined his past knowledge to gain many insights. However, he read mainly to improve his martial arts, focusing on useful parts and only skimming the rest. He did not neglect his martial arts practice, continuing to practice horse stance every morning and integrating breathing techniques into his daily life. He no longer deliberately trained "exhaling" and "inhaling" but adopted a natural breathing pattern that suited daily life. If not observed closely, his breathing appeared normal, but careful observation would reveal its depth, comparable to that of an internal skill expert, and it had a special rhythm.

Influenced by this, Yue Fangxing's self-cultivation and character had greatly improved. His demeanor, even unintentionally, earned praise from Yue Buqun, who found it hard to believe that a six-year-old could possess such qualities. Therefore, Yue Buqun no longer treated him like a child and included him in discussions about sect affairs with Ning Zhongze. Many of the martial world news Yue Fangxing heard came from conversations between Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze, and even Linghu Chong, the senior disciple, did not know many of these things.

After integrating breathing techniques into his daily life and creating a natural breathing method, Yue Fangxing also developed a set of breathing techniques based on the Twelve Muscle Changing Exercises. He practiced them diligently every morning and evening. Perhaps because of this, his body had become increasingly robust, resembling that of an eight- or nine-year-old. He was expected to catch up with Linghu Chong's physique in a couple of years, and his sister Yue Lingshan was already half a head shorter than him, which often made her feel frustrated, as if she were the younger one. This made Yue Buqun less worried that his son would become a weak scholar and, given his steady and dignified nature, considered him a worthy son, embodying the "Gentleman's Sword" spirit, which he found very satisfying.

One day, after practicing the Twelve Muscle Changing Exercises, Yue Fangxing felt unsatisfied and, seeing that it was still early, practiced again. This time, he couldn't stop and practiced five times. On the sixth time, as he began to move, he felt a surge of energy within him, as if a hot current was about to burst out.

Yue Fangxing was startled and almost shouted. However, his self-cultivation showed, and he remained calm, continuing to follow the feeling and completing the Twelve Muscle Changing Exercises. The energy grew stronger, and the sensation of it about to burst out became more intense. When he reached the last move, he involuntarily let out a loud shout, which echoed like thunder through the mountains. The hot current inside him finally burst out, about to spread throughout his body. Yue Fangxing quickly imitated Yue Buqun's post-practice movements, pressing his hands slowly to his lower abdomen, where the dantian was located. The hot current indeed followed and gathered in the dantian.