Xiang Shaoyun finally opened his pair of sharp eyes, joy covering his face. He had spent about a month in total, and he had finally touched upon the concept of saber intent, understanding what exactly human saber unity was. The over 100 bamboo stalks neatly felled before him was the best proof of his comprehension.
Human saber unity relied not only on one's compatibility with the saber. What was more important was one's understanding on how to properly use a saber. It was with that understanding that one could better utilize the various saber techniques.
How should a saber be used? When to slash vertically, slash horizontally, slice, or stab? One had to know when to use which in order to perfectly make use of the saber. Upon reaching perfection in the way of using the saber, one’s hand would move in accordance to one's will, and the saber would move in accordance to the body, destroying everything that stood in the way of the saber. The saber was part of the body. One should be able to use the saber like one's own limb, doing what one wanted with the saber.
The Nether Soul Domain had contributed greatly to the relatively short period Xiang Shaoyun had used to gain this comprehension. Without the Nether Soul Domain capturing the scene of the saber expert slashing his saber in the forest before replaying the scene in his mind repeatedly, it would be very hard for him to catch on to the actual essence of the slash.
Of course, the leaf that had cut his face had also played a great role in helping him in his comprehension. The bamboo leaf had swayed along with the wind. In that moment, the wind was the leaf, and the leaf was the wind. Only by becoming one with the wind could the leaf cut his face.
The same concept applied to him and the saber, and by achieving human saber unity, he was able to unleash a greater power from his saber.
When Luo Yongcheng arrived and saw the uniformly cut bamboo, he was overwhelmed with shock.
"They are really the same! Brother Xiang, you have comprehended the saber intent!" Luo Yongcheng cried out in alarm.
Initially, he did not hold much hope in Xiang Shaoyun succeeding. He was 99 percent sure Xiang Shaoyun would fail to comprehend the saber intent. After all, so many people from the Green Bamboo Academy had failed. He found it hard to believe that a young man like this would be able to accomplish what so many had failed. But a miracle had indeed happened. Xiang Shaoyun had successfully comprehended the saber intent.
"It was just luck," Xiang Shaoyun said humbly.
"If that is luck, everyone in the Green Bamboo Academy might as well kill themselves," Luo Yongcheng mumbled. He then waved his hands and said, "Haha, this is great! Don't forget your promise! I'll tell the principal and the others about this!"
"Don't worry, I won't forget my promise. Give me three days. I need to consolidate my gains. Three days later, I will share my experience with the academy." Xiang Shaoyun nodded.
"Not a problem. Take your time," Luo Yongcheng said and left.
After Luo Yongcheng left, Xiang Shaoyun gently stroked his saber before swinging the saber around with lithe motions. He was still practicing the basic saber moves. But for some reason, his moves this time looked incomparably harmonious, giving off a feeling that he and the saber were part of nature itself. More importantly, the might behind his saber moves was now much more powerful than before, with each of the basic moves akin to a killing move.
Gradually, Xiang Shaoyun increased the speed of his saber swings, until eventually, he was akin to a berserk storm. Each of his slashes had tripled in power, and with the large increase in the speed of his blade, the tiny openings in his saber technique prior to this were no longer present.
This was the benefit of comprehending saber intent. It gave his saber technique a qualitative change. As Xiang Shaoyun practiced, he imprinted his current sensation into his mind. Finally, he stopped, pleased with his training session.
"Only now can I truly be considered a saber master." Xiang Shaoyun smiled in satisfaction.
He then proceeded to eat a large amount of food to replenish himself, as he had not eaten anything in a long while. Three days later, he was finally back to his optimal state. He stood there silently, waiting for Luo Yongcheng to come with the academy disciples to learn the saber from him.
As he stood there gazing at the Saber Forest, he muttered inwardly, "The saber master that once stayed here had most likely intentionally left the slash behind. It wasn't a slash left after gaining a new comprehension. He had probably reached the saber steering phase at that time. What a remarkable saber master."
At this time, Luo Yongcheng arrived with a group of people. There were young and old among them, but there weren't many of them. In total, only about a few dozen people were brought over.
For an academy, this was quite a low number of people to gather. Xiang Shaoyun originally assumed that he was supposed to hold a lesson to everyone in the academy, but looking at the crowd before him, that did not seem to be the case.
"Brother Xiang, this is the principal, these two are the vice principals..." Luo Yongcheng started introducing the people in an enthusiastic manner.
Xiang Shaoyun stepped forward and humbly greeted them one by one. No matter what, he was still a second-stage Transformation Realm cultivator. Thus, it was still not the time for him to put on airs.
"Haha, what a fine young hero. I never expected the person who had accepted the Redwolf Bandit bounty to be a young hero like you. You have even comprehended the saber intent here. Looks like we are truly getting old," said the principal.
The principal was a slim old man. As an eighth-stage Transformation Realm cultivator, he was the strongest expert in the Green Bamboo Academy.
"You are too kind, principal. I need to thank your academy for giving me this opportunity," Xiang Shaoyun said. He then broached the main topic, "So shall we start now?"
"Sure!" the principal agreed. He then turned and spoke to the people behind him. "Everyone, sit properly and listen well. This is the young hero who has comprehended the saber intent in the Saber Forest. He is going to share with us his experience in comprehending the saber intent."
Everyone was looking at Xiang Shaoyun with complicated gazes. The young man before them was not a disciple of their academy, yet he was the one who had managed to grasp the opportunity waiting right in their academy. They were envious and regretful at the same time.
Suddenly, a voice rang out, "I refuse to believe he has comprehended the saber intent. Unless he can prove it in front of us, we will have a hard time believing him."
The speaker was a middle-aged man with a medium build. He was also a Transformation Realm cultivator and was an elder of the Green Bamboo Academy.
"Eighth brother, look here. These are the cuts left by Brother Xiang. What is there to not believe?" Luo Yongcheng said gloomily.
"Hmph. How are the cuts sufficient to be proof?" the eighth elder snorted coldly. He then looked at the others and said, "Everyone, don't be afraid to voice your thoughts. Should we get him to demonstrate what he has comprehended? It would be way too embarrassing if we end up tricked by a young man like this."
With the eighth elder fanning the flame, the others started voicing their agreement. They demanded that Xiang Shaoyun demonstrate what he had learned. They would only be willing to listen to his lesson if they were convinced by his demonstration.
"Principal..." Luo Yongcheng looked to the principal, requesting for help with his eyes.
But before the principal could say anything, Xiang Shaoyun smiled and said, "Sure. Since that is the case, why don't we exchange a few pointers, elder. You will then be able to personally sense the existence of the saber intent. Who knows, you might even learn something from it!"
Xiang Shaoyun was not one to say no to free target practice.