Hearing the whispers behind her, Lin Qingyue slightly frowned. She didn’t like being disturbed while practicing her swordsmanship, especially by laymen.
However, she didn’t immediately turn around, but instead held onto her sword, bowed her head in thought, and reflected on the Sword Momentum she had just displayed.
The Sword Intent she cultivated was the utmost softness, but the ultimate in softness lies in “ultimate”, which is the extreme, and extremes are hard to grasp. If exceeded, the Sword Intent would dissipate; if not reached, the Sword Intent isn’t optimal and would leave vulnerabilities.
At this moment, as she reflected in her heart, she realized that her Sword Intent had indeed become a bit scattered, exceeding the limits of utmost softness. If such a mistake were to occur in battle, it would be a significant vulnerability.
However, to notice such a flaw, at least someone with swordsmanship comparable to hers would be required to catch it.
“Do you also understand swords?”
Lin Qingyue turned around, and her eyes, cool as the autumn moon, fell upon Li Hao, revealing a trace of skepticism.
If his Sword Dao could compare with hers, he would at least have to be at the Saint Heir level in the Holy Land.
How could such a person be seriously injured here and, by sheer coincidence, be saved by her? Was it a deliberate approach, or a simple accident?
“Uh, I was just saying.”
Seeing the skepticism in her eyes, Li Hao quickly changed his statement.
He had just blurted out the words, with good intentions, after all, the person was his savior.
But now, with his injuries not yet healed, if he revealed too much, it might instead lead to unnecessary suspicion and trouble.
“Just saying?”
Lin Qingyue raised an eyebrow. Just saying and yet you happened to pinpoint her mistake—such a story wouldn’t even deceive a child.
She gazed intently at Li Hao and asked, “How exactly did you spot it?”
Seeing her serious look, Li Hao knew that if he didn’t give a reasonable explanation, she would most likely suspect that he had ulterior motives for approaching her.
“Actually, it’s a feeling.”
Li Hao said.
“A feeling?”
“Yes, I like painting and am quite sensitive to gestures and lines. Just now, when I saw your sword-wielding posture, it was obviously too soft. As a Swordsman, such a soft sword is ineffective and easily becomes a vulnerability,” Li Hao explained, mixing truth and fiction.
“You think I will believe such a far-fetched explanation?”
Lin Qingyue slightly raised her eyebrows, a hint of chill appearing in her eyes.
With the Sword God selection in the Holy Land approaching, a matter of great importance, she had no choice but to suspect that someone might deliberately approach her.
“Was Qingfeng right?”
Lin Shanhai, hearing their conversation, also stopped fussing with his medicinal herbs, looked at them in surprise, and thought Li Hao’s offhand comment was just casual talk—he didn’t understand swords—but seeing his granddaughter’s reaction, it seemed Li Hao had hit the nail on the head.
Li Hao gave a wry smile and simply said, “Wait for me, I’ll draw it for you.”
Saying this, he got up to find paper and a brush, then took a wooden board as a makeshift easel and began to paint.
Soon, on the white paper, a figure emerged, as breathtakingly beautiful as a startled swan, wielding a long sword with a graceful posture.
Artistic Path Experience +32837.
Wow, truly worthy of someone at the Tao Comprehension Realm, even the painting experience given is so generous!
Li Hao put his brush aside. Lin Shanhai, who had approached to watch Li Hao’s painting, witnessed the process, and when he saw Li Hao’s pen and ink bring his granddaughter to life on paper—especially toward the end when the entire posture seemed infused with a soul as if a real person was dancing on the paper—was somewhat stunned.
Despite his interest only in Alchemy and tea, knowing nothing about the Artistic Path, Shanhai’s age brought wisdom, and he could recognize something significant.
This was no simple painting but had captured the immersive essence within the artwork.
“Hm?”
Lin Qingyue also came over, and upon seeing the figure on the paper, she couldn’t help but be taken aback.
That image she knew all too well, now meticulously captured in painting, and the sword’s posture even carried a semblance of her Sword Intent!
He had actually captured a semblance of her Sword Intent in his drawing!
Lin Qingyue stared in amazement, somewhat lost in the drawing. After a moment, she snapped out of it and suddenly realized something, a hint of embarrassment flashing in her eyes.
The drawing was too meticulous, as if memorized in his mind thousands of times over.
Although she didn’t understand painting, she knew that the first step in drawing was meticulous observation.
At this thought, her neck reddened slightly, and she couldn’t help but glare briefly at Li Hao.
Li Hao was puzzled by her glare, thinking she didn’t understand, and he immediately pointed to the drawing and explained:
“Look here, your arm lines, including your waistline, they’re overall graceful, as if boneless. But your sword is like your spine, supporting you. It’s just that when you swung to this point, the arc of the sword became a bit loose…”
“Stop talking!”
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Lin Qingyue’s face flushed with embarrassment. Although she and Li Hao had shared a roof for more than a month, they had barely spoken a few words to each other, not even familiar, and now he was discussing her body curves with her, pointing at her painting. If not for Li Hao’s earnest and pure gaze, she would have thought he was being a scoundrel.
“Uh…” Li Hao also realized that he might have been a bit offensive.
Lin Qingyue didn’t bother with him anymore, just staring at the drawing, scrutinizing it closely. Soon, she roughly understood why Li Hao could pinpoint the flaw in her Sword Dao.
He had judged through the painting, not through the Sword Dao.
Usually, cultivation is about using the Dao to shape the form, and here Li Hao was using the form to guide the Dao.
Lin Qingyue’s eyes flickered, glancing sideways to see him looking helplessly innocent. She quickly withdrew her gaze and fell silent.
Being able to capture Sword Intent through the Artistic Path, she wasn’t sure whether to consider this man a prodigy of the Artistic Path or a prodigy of the Sword Dao.