Chapter 11

After the sparring match, Muhyang and Lightning Sword Emperor talked through the night. Most of their conversation revolved around martial arts, but they also discussed many other topics. However, there was no talk about personal matters or their surroundings. They sipped wine and talked until dawn, and everyone around them listened intently to their conversation. Their discussions were about extremely high-level martial arts, which were mostly beyond the comprehension of the listeners. However, Lightning Sword Emperor and Muhyang continued to talk enthusiastically, agreeing and disagreeing with each other's theories.

From where Lightning Sword Emperor lived, it was difficult to see the sunset, but the view of the sunrise was unobstructed. As the sun rose, everyone stopped talking and enjoyed the magnificent sight in awe. When the sun was fully up, Lightning Sword Emperor asked again:

"Do you think one must have a certain mindset to forge a good sword?"

Muhyang's expression suddenly stiffened.

"It's hard to answer that question. But I can give you a second-best answer. One must forget everything. A good sword will be forged if one can completely forget."

"Forget everything? That’s an impossible answer for an ordinary person. Then what is the best answer?"

"That is the preface to a sword technique I am currently conceptualizing, so I cannot tell you. I have no intention of teaching this sword technique to anyone."

"Even to your future disciple?"

"I have no intention of taking on disciples. I just want to know where the limits of martial arts lie. I plan to continue practicing until I grow old and die."

"Remarkable friend. If that’s the case, can you tell me the name of the sword technique you are conceptualizing? I’m very curious."

"It’s called the Supreme Sword Technique (無上劍法)."

"An incredibly grand name. Supreme (無上) means there is no higher sword technique... I’m even more curious about what it is."

"You’ll see it soon enough."

"Is the Supreme Sword Technique made up of a few moves?"

"There are no fixed moves."

"No moves? Then how can it be called a sword technique?"

"It contains the essence of moves without being fixed. If there were moves, there would be counter-moves. But because there are no fixed moves, it can be supreme."

"Then what form does this sword technique take?"

"So far, I have created four chapters. I plan to expand it further."

"Can you give me a brief overview?"

"Sure. Chapter 1 is Sword Qi (劍氣), Chapter 2 is Sword Wind (劍風), Chapter 3 is Sword Control (御劍), and Chapter 4 is Sword Strength (劍剛). In practice, it’s just using a sword, not a formal technique. But I named it this way because I wanted to."

"All legendary martial arts are included. I’m even more intrigued. You must be exhausted from waiting... Ling, bring me my sword."

The girl in red, looking surprised, asked:

"Do you mean your sword?"

"Yes."

The girl went inside and brought out an ancient, weathered sword, which she handed to Lightning Sword Emperor. He slowly drew the sword and showed it to Muhyang.

"I found this fellow by chance over thirty years ago and have cherished it ever since. It’s an extraordinary sword. I’m still grateful that it came into my hands. What do you think?"

"It’s a very fine sword. The straight blade carries the aura of mountains, making it a remarkable treasure. What is the name of this sword?"

"It’s called the Tyrant Sword (覇王劍). It doesn’t have the usual aura of a treasure sword, so it looks like an ordinary sword. At first, I didn’t recognize its true nature. But over time, I grew to like it, so I named it that. What about your sword?"

"Mine is just a regular sword made of fine steel. I’ve grown attached to it over a long time, but it’s not a treasure sword or anything. However, it’s a well-made sword that I like very much."

Muhyang took out his sword, Muhun, and said:

"You seem to prefer short swords."

"Not really. In the past, my sword hilt was about a foot long, and I enjoyed using it to confuse people. But now, I find it troublesome, so I cut it down to be slightly longer than a regular sword."

"A foot long, impressive. If the hilt is a foot long, it would be difficult for an ordinary expert to handle the distance. Now, I want to see your skills. Follow me."

As the two stood up, everyone else followed. Seeing this, Lightning Sword Emperor said to them:

"It’s better to watch from here. We’ll spar down there. Jing, even if I die, don’t think of avenging me. This is just a sparring match, nothing more."

"I will remember, Father."

"Xuzhen."

"Yes, Master."

"If I die, I want you to have this Tyrant Sword."

"But it’s your treasure, how can a disciple like me..."

"This isn’t a symbol of the sect leader. It’s just a sword I cherished. You are still inexperienced, but your demeanor and aura remind me of my younger days. I want to give it to you. Use it to help Jing."

"Yes, Master."

Lightning Sword Emperor slowly followed Muhyang down to the field below the hut. The field was flat and spacious, providing a suitable area for a sparring match, about twenty paces wide. Lightning Sword Emperor walked confidently to a distance of seven paces from Muhyang and slowly drew his sword.

"Let’s start."

High-level experts often use powerful energy techniques to attack from a distance, so sparring matches usually begin at a slight distance. Muhyang also slowly drew his sword, pointed it at the ground, and assumed a stance, saying:

"There’s no need for formalities. I’ll use my killing moves from the start."

In a sparring match, there are formalities. When sparring is mentioned, peers usually give each other three seconds, and seniors give juniors three seconds before the real fight begins. As he spoke, a blue mist-like cloud began to emanate from around Muhyang’s body. Seeing this, Lightning Sword Emperor exclaimed in surprise:

"Sword Strength! Impressive. I’ve never seen someone use Sword Strength to protect themselves like this. Is this part of the Supreme Sword Technique?"

"Yes, this is Chapter 4, Section 3, Net Strength (網剛). It’s effective for defense."

Lightning Sword Emperor then charged forward, shouting loudly:

"Yah!"

At the same time, a powerful move was unleashed, and a whirlwind of energy from his sword shot straight at Muhyang at an incredible speed. The blue mist around Muhyang collided with the energy, sparking and producing a loud noise. However, the mist, which had been pushed back by Lightning Sword Emperor’s energy, soon returned to its original state. Seeing this, Lightning Sword Emperor groaned:

"Remarkable protective power. It will be hard to break through."

From the other side of the mist, Muhyang’s voice was heard:

"Older Brother, it won’t be that difficult for you. Don’t complain unnecessarily."

Lightning Sword Emperor closed the distance as he charged, extending his sword forward and shouting:

"Black Dragon Stance!"

From Lightning Sword Emperor’s sword, over a dozen powerful energy beams shot out like lightning, tearing through the mist. The collision of energy beams caused a massive explosion, creating a whirlwind of Sword Strength and Sword Qi. The thin and fine chains of Sword Strength were tightly connected, making it a powerful but difficult to penetrate Sword Qi. However, after successfully breaking through some of the energy chains, Lightning Sword Emperor approached Muhyang. He then thrust his sword at Muhyang and shouted:

"Dragon Body Stance!"

The Tyrant Sword hummed and glowed blue as it lunged at Muhyang. The blue light from the Tyrant Sword was so intense that it created an illusion of dozens of dragons attacking. In an instant, the Tyrant Sword stabbed at Muhyang’s vital points over a dozen times, accompanied by a powerful energy wave.

"Chapter 3, Section 1, Sword Control."

Muhyang’s voice rang out, and a blue light poured out of the ordinary Muhun sword. In this state, Muhyang raised Muhun to block the incoming sword moves, deflecting them slightly away from his body.

Although they didn’t directly collide, the slight touch between Muhyang’s Sword Control technique and Lightning Sword Emperor’s powerful energy caused a loud explosion and a whirlwind. Realizing the strength of his opponent, Lightning Sword Emperor used the rebound force from the whirlwind created between the two swords to leap back and shouted:

"Flying Dragon Stance!"

The glowing Tyrant Sword, without being thrown by Lightning Sword Emperor, left his hand and stabbed at Muhyang, who was about to pursue him, at the speed of light. Muhyang deflected the Tyrant Sword to the side and tried to follow Lightning Sword Emperor. However, the Tyrant Sword, deflected by Muhun, drew an ellipse and lunged at Muhyang again. Seeing this, Muhyang threw Muhun and said softly:

"Chapter 3, Section 2, Counter Sword Control."

The Muhun sword, emitting a brilliant light, moved in the air according to the Sword Control technique and collided with the Tyrant Sword. Muhyang, the moment Muhun left his hand, dashed towards Lightning Sword Emperor. As he did so, he raised his right hand and recited:

"Chapter 4, Section 1, Penetrating Strength."

A long, dragon-like blue energy extended from the palm of Muhyang’s hand towards Lightning Sword Emperor. Seeing this, Lightning Sword Emperor dodged to the side. The blue energy narrowly missed him, and Muhyang, seeing this, extended his hand horizontally and said:

"Chapter 4, Section 2, Cutting Strength."

A crescent-shaped blue object flew widely towards the position where Lightning Sword Emperor had dodged. Seeing this, Lightning Sword Emperor quickly leaped upwards. The crescent-shaped object narrowly missed his feet and cut through the trees at the edge of the field, causing them to fall. The power of the object, which cut through dozens of trees, was evident.

As Lightning Sword Emperor dodged the crescent-shaped energy by leaping upwards, Muhyang, as if waiting for this, quickly extended his hands towards the position where Lightning Sword Emperor was flying and said:

"Chapter 4, Section 1, Penetrating Strength."

Again, long, blue dragons shot from his hands towards Lightning Sword Emperor. Seeing this, Lightning Sword Emperor shouted:

"Good! Floating Dragon Palm!"

Lightning Sword Emperor quickly shot a palm wind upwards and, using the rebound force, fell to the side to avoid Muhyang’s attack. A high-level expert can perform the skill of walking on air. However, sudden, fast movements in the air are impossible, so they often use palm techniques to create the necessary rebound force. As soon as Lightning Sword Emperor landed, he extended his fingers towards Muhyang and shouted:

"Feather Plucking Finger!"

From each of Lightning Sword Emperor’s ten fingers, finger winds shot out and enveloped Muhyang. In response, Muhyang raised his right hand and said:

"Chapter 2, Section 1, Hidden Dragon Wind."

There was no visible reaction from Muhyang’s hand, but the ten finger winds from Lightning Sword Emperor’s hand shattered in the air with a loud noise. Lightning Sword Emperor, dodging to the side, shouted:

"Is it an invisible palm wind?"

"No, it’s just Sword Wind."

Lightning Sword Emperor, surprised, shouted:

"Then, all the techniques you’ve used so far are not palm or fist techniques, but sword techniques?"

"Once one surpasses a certain level, even a blade of grass can become a sword. Why can’t the bones in a human body become a sword?"

"Ah, remarkable, truly remarkable."

At that moment, Muhyang called Muhun, which was still fighting the Tyrant Sword. Muhyang and Lightning Sword Emperor controlled their mental and energy states well, so the two swords were still fighting and preventing each other from returning to their owners. As Muhun flew towards Muhyang, the Tyrant Sword followed. Muhyang, as soon as he caught Muhun, shouted:

"Chapter 1, Section 1, Bounce!"

At the same time, an immense energy burst from Muhyang, almost like a strong wind. The intense rebound force pushed the soybean plants and soil within three paces of the field outward. As Lightning Sword Emperor braced himself to withstand the force, Muhyang’s voice was heard:

"Chapter 1, Section 2, Absorb."

At the same time, Lightning Sword Emperor, already leaning forward, was pulled even more by the immense suction force and lost his balance, moving closer to Muhyang. Muhyang’s voice was heard again:

"Chapter 4, Section 1, Penetrating Strength."

Lightning Sword Emperor, knowing the meaning, jumped upwards as soon as Muhyang spoke. Feeling the energy from Muhyang pass under his feet, he broke out in a cold sweat. In a real fight, one wouldn’t reveal their moves and engage in combat. If Muhyang hadn’t given a slight delay between his command and the actual move, Lightning Sword Emperor would have already been dead.

As Lightning Sword Emperor was caught off guard and on the defensive, the Tyrant Sword, losing control, fell to the ground near Muhyang. If Lightning Sword Emperor had continued to use the Tyrant Sword to press Muhyang, he wouldn’t have been in such a disadvantageous position. As Lightning Sword Emperor was thinking this, Muhyang’s voice was heard again:

"Chapter 1, Section 3, Break."

A powerful whirlwind of energy rushed towards Lightning Sword Emperor’s abdomen as he soared upwards. Lightning Sword Emperor, in a split second, extended his hand downwards and shouted:

"Flying Dragon Break!"

A loud explosion occurred as the palm wind from Lightning Sword Emperor and the energy from Muhyang collided, causing him to rise even higher. At this moment, the Tyrant Sword, his cherished sword, flew up and returned to his hand. As soon as he caught the sword, Lightning Sword Emperor shouted:

"Dragon Breaking Stance!"

Dozens of energy beams shot towards Muhyang’s head. However, Muhyang didn’t dodge but remained still. Lightning Sword Emperor then heard Muhyang’s voice:

"Chapter 1, Section 4, Defend."

Lightning Sword Emperor saw that the numerous energy beams falling towards Muhyang were blocked about half a pace away from him, unable to penetrate further. The energy beams from Lightning Sword Emperor were as if blocked by an invisible, semi-circular barrier. The ground around Muhyang was covered in dust from the explosions caused by the energy beams colliding with the ground. After receiving Lightning Sword Emperor’s attack, Muhyang slowly raised his sword towards Lightning Sword Emperor and said:

"Chapter 2, Section 2, Breaking Wind. Chapter 3, Section 2, Counter Sword Control."

Muhun, leaving Muhyang’s hand, flew towards Lightning Sword Emperor with a fierce momentum. Although Lightning Sword Emperor knew Muhyang was using two moves, the new move gave him no particular feeling. Seeing the glowing Muhun charging at him, Lightning Sword Emperor paused for a moment.

'Chapter 2 is Sword Wind. Sword Qi and Sword Wind are invisible, unlike Sword Strength. Sword Strength is the strongest but visible, giving time to block. Sword Qi is weaker and can’t penetrate my protective energy. But Sword Wind, though invisible, is powerful... The weakness is its slower speed compared to Sword Strength. I understand what he’s trying to do.'

Without hesitation, he bent to the right, shot a palm wind with his left hand, and used the rebound force to escape from the dangerous position. As Muhun followed and harassed him, he threw his sword at Muhun and shouted:

"Flying Dragon Stance!"

As he landed, he picked up a grass stem and shouted:

"Black Dragon Stance!"

From the grass stem wielded by Lightning Sword Emperor, dozens of energy beams shot towards Muhyang. Muhyang dodged to the side and extended his right hand towards Lightning Sword Emperor.

"Chapter 1, Section 5, Bind."

He then extended his left hand.

"Chapter 2, Section 2, Breaking Wind."

Lightning Sword Emperor, hearing Muhyang’s words, paused for a moment.

'Another new move. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll dodge first.'

In an instant, Lightning Sword Emperor dodged to the side. However, his body was completely trapped as if by a sticky glue, unable to move. Lightning Sword Emperor was shocked.

'This must be Chapter 1, Section 5, Bind. It’s impossible to move, as if I’m captured. But now, the Sword Wind is coming...'

Lightning Sword Emperor, using all his strength, shouted:

"Wind Dragon Stance!"

At the same time, a powerful energy burst from the grass stem in his hand, colliding with the surrounding energy and causing an explosion. Lightning Sword Emperor felt his body become free for a moment. Using this opportunity, he leaped about five paces to the side and shouted:

"White Dragon Stance!"

Seeing this, Muhyang said softly:

"Remarkable. I thought no one could break through the Bind..."

However, Muhyang couldn’t remain calm. Dozens of energy beams, almost a hundred, shot from Lightning Sword Emperor’s body, extending in all directions and converging on Muhyang.

"Remarkable move. Chapter 1, Section 4, Defend."

Everyone watching from above was on the edge of their seats. Although they could hear Lightning Sword Emperor’s voice, Muhyang’s voice was inaudible. Only Lightning Sword Emperor’s shouts echoed through the valley. Their battle was truly remarkable. Most of the moves they used were of a high level, rarely seen in the martial world, and the collision of their sword energies and sword strengths caused the surrounding forest and land to be devastated. Seeing this, Lü Jing said to his fellow disciples:

"Watch carefully. These are invaluable martial arts that Father is showing us, risking his life. Father is remarkable, but so is this person. Don