Chapter 429 - The Mysterious Man

[Day 4 at the Cosmic Sailer]

'From the crashing waves, from the Heavens to the Earth, the bodies fall like a Waterfall made of Blood — A Red River flows from South to North — a trail of unending Calamity Connects from one life to the other as the path continues — The killing continued without an end, the blood dyed moon and formed the Blood Moon — From night till morning, from West to East it was a Sunrise filled with Blood — the sword hummed with demonic delight — the sword demanded the Life of Gods at the peak without insatiable delight — as every life was taken, the sword wept and cried blood.' Chang Ping recited as she danced with a sword.

A simple dance of the blade, from the heavens to the earth, from the south to the North, the world was connected to a blade that severs the lives of every living being. Chang Ping sheathed her sword as she finished the Eight Sword Movements of the Blood Seeking Sword.

With Wang Ling sitting on the edge of the stern and Chang Ping performing before him as sweat-drenched her body. The others from the Sword Tower and the Wang Family watched this with awe. The way she moved was too beautiful to not observe.

However, they heard none of her words. They could only see her moving her sword and the words she was reciting could only be heard by Wang Ling.

Wang Ling rested his head on his knuckles as he watched Chang Ping perform the techniques, 'Your transition from Blood Moon to Sunrise Blood is weak and uneven. Your Qi is unsettled and does not flow smoothly. The Blood Moon starts from the left in a frontal circular movement, and once it returns to your front then you swiftly direct your qi and intent to cross the world and form a horizontal swing. If we were to fight, I would have been able to stab your right torso, and then take your right arm or your right leg. You would die seven times three seconds if you meet a Master of any weapon.'

'I understand.' Chang Ping answered without any hesitation and then repeated her performance. She was far from perfecting the Eight Movements of the Blood Seeking Sword, but with Wang Ling's guidance and her sword qi already doused with sufficient bloodl.u.s.t and killing intent, she estimated that after 10 years, she'd be able to reach the level of mastery Wang Ling could show using an ordinary stick.

[I do not know how master managed to practice this sword to this extent, but this sword technique of his is beyond ordinary. Though it is more like an ordinary sword maneuver at first glance, it utilizes no qi combustion or qi wave only qi and intent concentration, its sharpness is still unrivaled. If he had the body and the qi to support its sharpness when we were fighting to the death… I don't think I would be able to pull my punches.] Chang Ping's analysis of Wang Ling's sword technique was spot on.

Wang Ling's sword was nothing special. Most Peak Techniques like the famous Celestial Crimson Blade of hers utilized the advantages of a Peak Expert's Massive Qi. It had several stabbing techniques that utilize qi blast, and several ethereal sword slashes.

But Wang Ling's sword relied on polished intent. An intent that had been hammered for thousands of years had become so sharp that adding qi to it makes it so sharp that it could make it seem like it could send out ethereal sword slashes.

[I now understand how that single stone of his lasted for so long in such a small and mundane vessel.] What Wang Ling gave Chang Ping in the past was etched in an ordinary sword and should have been destroyed upon contact because the composition of an ordinary stone would not have been able to sustain such an enormous amount of power.

But now she understood that Wang Ling's intent through this sword techniques of his. Fine and thin, still and tranquil, it seemed nothing but with a burst of bloodl.u.s.t and killing intent would it only show itself.

[A sword that hides its intent within an intent and compresses that intent to make a stronger sharper sword…] Chang Ping could not help but smile under that mask of hers, […even after claiming the seat of the Sword God I manage to still see that I am lacking before him. It seems like losing all that qi led me to a better path.] 

The large usage of her qi led to Chang Ping relying too much on its usage thus the current state of her Celestial Crimson Blade. But now, after being imparted by Wang Ling's sword techniques, she could finally see a higher peak of sword mastery thanks to Wang Ling.

'Do not rely on your qi instead use it to strengthen your sword. Qi can be utilized in supporting the body and your intent, but never let it be your second nature to rely on such a thing. Qi will dry out with time, but your intent does not. Even if your Soul is rendered to dust because of concentrating too much in Intent utilization, it will remain with you and never leave your being, that is because your intent is not borrowed from the Universe, but cultivated by your will, hammered by determination and perseverance. Now, once more!'

"Yes!" soon after finishing another set of sword movement, Chang Ping was ordered to return to training once more. Her voice now sounding out was heard by the others and hearing that response from her made the others look at Wang Ling who was quietly seated on his own.

Even Roan who was manning the wheel smiled at Chang Ping's little slip-up. Chang Ping bit her lower lip, 'Sorry, I got too excited, Master.'

Wang Ling sighed at the sight of his disciple losing her cool, 'Sigh, do not worry about it. I'll just use this as a cue to go and cultivate. As for you, you will continue training the sword movement, and lessen your qi usage.' Wang Ling then stood up and the others followed him with their eyes.

He was just walking calmly and then looked at Chang Ping who was in the middle of doing a maneuver, 'Stop.' He said with a silent message, and Chang Ping obeyed, stopping in the middle of a complicated movement.

'I have told you several times already to lower your right elbow when performing the Sixth Move: Demonic Tune to enhance the sword's hum.' Wang Ling said and then used his finger to ever so slightly push down Chang Ping's right elbow by three millimeters.

Wang Ling checked one last time, then just said out loud, "Proceed." Before walking away as Chang Ping continued her magnificent performance.

He could see that they had put two and two together that he and Chang Ping had been talking silently since earlier. Keeping up the act would just weigh on Chang Ping's mind that she slipped up. 

The others who saw Chang Ping as a fairy of the sword just watched Wang Ling return to his room with quiet steps. They who thought was but an escort turned out someone Chang Ping respected massively to obey his instructions and heed his corrections.

Wang Fu watched this mysterious man's back disappear into the sleeping area of the Sailer, his eyes slanted as his sword qi fluctuated.