Chapter 6

Why don't I incorporate the poetic imagery from this poem into my sword technique?

A flash of inspiration struck Li Yang. He recalled that while reciting the poem and practicing his swordsmanship, there were three times when he felt his sword technique had unleashed tremendous power, far surpassing the 'Soft Finger Sword' he had learned before.

He sat down and began to reflect on his sword technique from earlier.

After a long while, he derived three sword techniques from "The Hard Road." Reading books made him wise, and the book spirit greatly enhanced his comprehension and creativity, allowing him to grasp new sword techniques so quickly.

First Technique: Draw the Sword and Look Around.

This technique is inspired by the line "Stopping my cup and throwing down my chopsticks, I draw my sword and look around in confusion." In this line, the poet is so distressed that he cannot eat, feeling lost and bewildered. However, when applied to sword technique, it has a tremendous effect.

He began to practice.

Gripping the hilt tightly, he drew a circle with his sword in front of him, then stopped it motionless. Although the sword pointed forward without making a move, the tip of the sword trembled slightly, as if it could attack the enemy from any direction... The enemy does not move, I do not move; the moment the enemy moves, I strike the vital point. This technique is about building momentum, waiting to find the enemy's weakness and strike decisively.

Second Technique: Snow Filling the Taihang Mountains.

This technique involves thrusting countless times at an extremely fast speed, each thrust being a fierce attack that forces the enemy to defend. The best defense is attack, and when this technique is used, the sword glows like snowflakes flying. Snow filling the Taihang Mountains—how much snow would it take to cover the mountains? Thus, this technique is like a blizzard, penetrating every gap.

This technique is inspired by the line "Wishing to cross the Yellow River, but ice blocks the way; about to climb the Taihang Mountains, but snow fills the peaks." His technique 'Snow Filling the Taihang Mountains' contains 72 attacks, or 72 strikes. This is the maximum number of attacks he can currently perform.

Third Technique: Long Wind Breaking the Waves.

This technique is an upward slash, where the body lunges forward while the sword slashes upward, as if cutting through a river and breaking the waves. This technique is not only majestic but also incredibly fast.

Having comprehended these three techniques, Li Yang was extremely excited. These three techniques were far superior to the 'Soft Finger Sword.' They were even stronger than some sects' sword techniques. As for how strong they were, he had not yet encountered advanced sword techniques, so he did not know.

With these three techniques, he could form a complete set of sword techniques. This was his own creation. What should he call it? After some thought, Li Yang decided to name it 'Scholarly Spirit Sword' since the scholars cultivated a scholarly spirit.

At that moment, a massive amount of information flooded into Li Yang's mind. After a brief daze, he regained his senses, and a scene appeared in his mind...

Under a clear blue sky, a few white clouds floated in the air above the peaks of the mountains. A middle-aged man stood in the air, appearing very casual and carefree. He wore a simple hemp robe, his hair casually tied up, and his feet clad in blue cloth shoes... He was about two meters tall, with a head that looked like undulating hills.

He looked like a lazy, burly man, but his eyes were bright like stars in the night, shining with wisdom. Standing there casually, he exuded a captivating presence, embodying the concept of returning to simplicity.

The first sage of Confucianism... Confucius! This information appeared in Li Yang's mind.

Facing him in the air was a sword-wielding warrior in white, tall and well-proportioned, with a handsome and fair face, giving an impression of elegance. However, his eyes were sharp and intimidating.

The God of War... Bai Qi!

Li Yang immediately recognized his identity.

It seemed they were facing off against each other. The sage of Confucianism and the God of War Bai Qi were both supreme experts from the pre-Qin era, one from the scholar lineage and the other from the swordsmanship lineage. Why were they facing off? Could this be a battle of sages? Li Yang was utterly shocked.

"Scholar lineage... swordsmen... sages... emperors..."

The two men's lips moved as if they were talking, but Li Yang could only hear fragments of their conversation, unable to understand the meaning. However, it was clear that the God of War Bai Qi was exceptionally stern, while Confucius's expression was very calm.

With a "clang," a clear sound rang out as Bai Qi drew his sword and slashed at Confucius through the air.

As the sword was drawn, the dense primordial energy of heaven and earth surged. In an instant, the clear blue sky turned to night, a bright new moon appeared in the sky, and the cold light illuminated the earth, with countless stars twinkling like diamonds!

A crescent moon-shaped sword light flashed towards Confucius.

What kind of sword technique is this!? It can even harness the power of heaven and earth! Li Yang was stunned by the powerful sword technique. Such a miraculous sword technique was beyond his imagination.

Book Spirit!

Faced with the God of War's attack, Confucius did not dare to be careless and immediately summoned his book spirit.

An ancient, yellowed bamboo scroll flew into the air behind Confucius, instantly growing into a massive scroll, two zhang wide and five zhang long. The bamboo strips were clearly visible, and the characters on them turned golden.

"Great is the primordial energy, all nations are at peace!"

Confucius's vast scholarly spirit transformed into eight solid characters, each a large golden square, emerging from the book spirit and meeting the God of War Bai Qi's crescent moon sword energy. After several intense collisions, the sword energy was completely neutralized.

Suddenly, the sage Confucius descended rapidly and landed on the mountain peak. His Earthly Virtue power was the strongest, so the ground was his greatest support. At the same time, the God of War Bai Qi thrust his sword at him, the sword light carrying a heavy aura of blood.

He was the God of War, and his sword technique was filled with a strong aura of slaughter.

Earthly Virtue!

With a wave of his hand, Confucius summoned a vast sandstorm. It was like a severe sandstorm, with fine sand continuously falling, turning the sky yellow. If on the ground, he would have been buried by the sand. Earthly Virtue could turn the land into a vast desert.

Suddenly, the God of War Bai Qi delivered a strange strike.

With a "swoosh," Confucius was struck in the chest, a stream of blood spurting out. The blood fell onto the sandy ground, quickly disappearing into the sand, then re-entering Confucius's body through the earth, and his chest wound began to heal rapidly, forming a scar...

Standing on the ground, Confucius could use the 'Eternal Righteousness' power.

The earth is deep and carries all things, containing the virtues of benevolence, brightness, and greatness, allowing all things to grow smoothly. The virtue of nourishing all things is the essence of the 'Eternal Righteousness' power. With this power, Confucius was virtually invincible on the ground.

Although the God of War Bai Qi was powerful, it was not easy for him to defeat the sage Confucius. Confucius also had the 'Yellow Robe' power, which used the earth as his defense, providing the strongest protection.

Confucius was one of the strongest scholars, and the God of War Bai Qi was one of the strongest swordsmen. Why were these two great experts fighting to the death? Li Yang was puzzled by this scene.

At that moment, a scholar in a green robe suddenly appeared above the sandstorm. His eyes were like stars, his eyebrows slanted, and he was handsome and graceful. Holding a bamboo scroll, his sleeves fluttered, giving him an extraordinary aura.

Laozi Li Er? His name appeared in Li Yang's mind.

Another one of the strongest scholars, why was he here? Li Yang was puzzled.

Power—Heaven and Earth Bellows!

Laozi Li Er's expression was indifferent, and with a gentle wave of his sleeve, a massive hurricane formed in the air, dispersing the sandstorm and clearing the sky. However, his power did not stop there. Another giant hurricane came from the opposite direction, and the two hurricanes combined to form a rolling mass of sand.

In the "Tao Te Ching" written by Laozi, it says: "Between heaven and earth, is it not like a bellows? Empty but inexhaustible, moving and producing more. Much talk leads to exhaustion, better to maintain the middle!"

The bellows are like a windbox, and Laozi Li Er created this power by viewing heaven and earth as a large windbox. This power uses two powerful hurricanes to attack from both sides, continuously and without end, like pulling a windbox.

The continuous hurricane attacks could easily destroy a city into dust. Even if ten thousand soldiers were sucked in, they would be completely annihilated.

So powerful! So amazing! Scholars at the sage level can already harness the power of heaven and earth! Li Yang finally witnessed the strength of the scholar lineage. Of course, swordsmen were also powerful, and the God of War even injured the sage Confucius with his sword!

However, at that moment, the scene in Li Yang's mind suddenly disappeared. He had just obtained scholarly spirit, which was not enough to let him see more. Li Yang felt very disappointed because he wanted to know what happened next. Did the sage Confucius die? Was Laozi Li Er helping him or the God of War Bai Qi?

Now that he was a descendant of the scholars, Li Yang was very concerned about the sage Confucius, even though they were not the founder of Confucianism on Earth.

He must not have died! Li Yang suddenly thought. In the current Han Empire, there were seven major academies: the Confucian Academy, the Taoist Academy, the Military Academy, the Mohist Academy... The strong and sages of the pre-Qin era had their own lineages. In the philosophies of these academies, their first sages, such as Confucius, Laozi, and Huang Shigong, did not die but became immortals and went to another realm.

The status of the seven academies was equal to that of the major sects, although they found it difficult to recruit students from the scholar lineage, leading to a decline in talent.

In just seven days, it would be the day for the major sects to select disciples, and the heads of these academies would also come to watch, hoping to recruit one or two talented scholars.