Chapter 211: Listening to the Sword, Controlling the Sword
Kill!
Xiao Chen stomped on the ground heavily and the ground started to tremble. He crossed his two arms. Immediately, the dragon and tiger intersected before merging into Xiao Chen’s body.
A faint golden glow flowed out of Xiao Chen’s body. A dragon and a tiger were moving around continuously on the surface of his body.
Xiao Chen’s aura became reserved. A horrifying energy was being stored up. Xiao Chen could feel all the muscles in his body bulging. It was as though a huge force would erupt out at any moment.
However, this horrifying energy was not released in the end. It slowly disappeared into nothing. In this wondrous state, Xiao Chen knew why he did not succeed in executing the Dragon Hisses Tiger Roars.
This was because the Great Dragon Tiger Fist used the Dragon and Tiger Body Sculpting Art as its foundation. If he did not cultivate till the fourth layer—Dragon Roar Covering the World, Piercing through the Sky—it would be impossible for him to condense the true might of a dragon. In order to maintain a balance, the strength of the fierce tiger had to be lower. Thus, the Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon could not truly achieve the Great Perfection.
“Shua!”
Right after Xiao Chen attempted to execute the Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, the wondrous state immediately vanished. He was thinking to himself that it was unfortunate. If he had managed to reach the fourth layer of the Dragon and Tiger Body Sculpting Art, it might be possible for him to comprehend the entire Great Dragon Tiger Fist in one breath, given that he was in that wondrous state.
Although Xiao Chen was no longer in that state, the comprehension abilities increased by the Flowing Light Flower did not disappear. It would stay forever, allowing him to benefit from it endlessly.
Xiao Chen picked another petal from the Flowing Light Flower and let out Xiao Bai from the Spirit Blood Jade. At this point of time, Xiao Bai was already sober. It looked at Xiao Chen fumingly; it was blaming Xiao Chen for locking it up.
Xiao Chen held out the golden flower petal and wanted to feed it to Xiao Bai. Who knew that that little brat would completely ignore Xiao Chen. It was as though it was angry with Xiao Chen.
“Stop being so petty. I’m giving you something good. After you eat it, I won’t lock you in there for no reason anymore.” Xiao Chen was tempting Xiao Bai with a smile like he was the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood.
Xiao Bai lay on the ground, pretending not the hear Xiao Chen. It did not even budge an inch.
Xiao Chen laughed helplessly. He could not do anything to this little brat. The Scarlet Crown Snake had bitterly stood guard for so many years, all for the sake of this Flowing Light Marigold. It was something that one could only wish for.
How wonderful, it actually ignored me. The Flowing Light Flower had a greater effect on Spirit Beasts compared to humans. Under certain conditions, it would even be possible for Spirit Beasts to change their form.
Hence, this Flowing Light Flower had to be given to Xiao Bai. Otherwise, it would be too wasteful. Xiao Chen walked over to it and called out a few times. The little brat simply lay on the ground pretending to be dead, ignoring him.
When Xiao Chen saw this, he could only make use of the final measure. He took a bottle of wine from the Liushang Pavilion out of the Universe Ring. Then he kneeled on the ground, opened the bottle cap, and shook it. A heavy wine fragrance wafted out immediately.
“Huang!”
Xiao Chen only saw a white shadow streak across before his eyes; it was like a white phantom. It was difficult to spot where it was, its movements were very strange as it headed for the wine bottle in Xiao Chen’s hand.
Fortunately, Xiao Chen was prepared. He quickly swapped the bottle to the other hand. Otherwise, Xiao Bai would have been able to snatch the bottle away when it moved suddenly.
“You really have become a little alcoholic. Eat this flower petal first and then I will let you drink this wine. Otherwise, you can forget about it,” Xiao Chen said as he patted Xiao Bai’s head.
Xiao Bai looked at Xiao Chen with a grieved look. Its eyes were misting up, looking extremely pitiful. It stood up on its hindlegs and its white claws kept trying to reach for the wine bottle in Xiao Chen’s raised hand.
Xiao Chen felt it looked very pitiful and his heart softened, “Alright, I’m afraid of you. You are really spoiled. I can’t hit you nor scold you and I still feed you good stuff.”
Xiao Bai took a big gulp with a guzzling sound. Its tiny face turned slightly red. Then it suddenly took the Flowing Light Flower petals from Xiao Chen’s hand.
It made a face at Xiao Chen and then it quickly fled. Xiao Chen revealed smile as he extended out his Spiritual Sense to chase after it. When he discovered it did not go very far, he relaxed.
After he left Mohe City, Xiao Bai had been following him. There were quite a few times he had run into danger but Xiao Bai had rescued him every time.
Xiao Chen had forgotten his original purpose in capturing Xiao Bai already. In his eyes now, Xiao Bai was not simply a pet but his best companion.
Although after Xiao Bai cultivated the Mysterious Nine Heavenly Revolution Transformation, its growth was extremely fast and its combat prowess was equivalent to a Martial Saint, Xiao Chen had never thought of making it help him in fights.
There were quite a few times where Xiao Bai wanted to come out to help Xiao Chen. However, he would keep it trapped in the Spirit Blood Jade, not letting it out.
As long as Xiao Bai can live happily, then it would be good. If it got injured in a fight or an accident happened, then it would be too late for regrets.
Early the next morning, the first rays of the sunlight shined through the window from the east and struck Xiao Chen’s face.
Xiao Chen opened his eyes and let out a long breath. He slowly got up and stretched his body. He had spent the night cultivating and was now in high spirits. His spirit, Qi, and mind were all replenished, he was ready to start the day.
After Xiao Chen washed up, he headed for the dueling grounds in Qingyun Peak. Liu Ruyue had already promised to teach him Listening to the Sword and Communicating With It.
He finally was going to make a start on his purpose of coming to the Heavenly Saber Pavilion. His heart could not help but fill with anticipation, and his pace had also increased significantly.
“Pu!”
Just as he walked out of the gates of the courtyard, a white shadow came streaking over. A glossy body which reflected the sunlight, giving it a faint glow, nimbly leapt onto Xiao Chen’s shoulders.
Xiao Bai’s tiny body was easily ignorable to Xiao Chen, its weight did not place any pressure on his shoulder.
It was unknown how the Flowing Light Flower had changed Xiao Bai. Xiao Chen was curious. He could not help but pick Xiao Bai up from his shoulder and carry it in his embrace as he carefully inspected it.
There was a intelligent gleam flashing in Xiao Bai’s eyes. When Xiao Chen looked at it face to face, he felt that it had more Spiritual Energy than before. There was a hint of embarrassment in the depths of its eyes.
Embarrassment? I must have seen wrongly. It is not logical for such a humanistic expression to appear in Xiao Bai’s eyes.
Xiao Chen composed himself and took another look. That look of embarrassment was already gone. Xiao Chen smiled faintly, he had indeed seen wrongly.
Xiao Chen placed Xiao Bai back on his shoulder. Ten minutes later, he arrived at Qingyun Peak’s dueling grounds.
It was unknown when, but Liu Ruyue had already arrived and was guiding Liu Suifeng in Martial Techniques. There was a very stern expression on her face, and there was a look of mild disappointment in her eyes.
“You failed last year’s core exam. Your bone age indicates you are already 19-years-old. If you fail again, you will never be able to become a core disciple. Don’t go to the Jade Maiden Peak for now. I have already asked for leave on your behalf already,” Liu Ruyue said with a sullen expression.
Liu Suifeng had a bitter expression as he said, “Seriously? I’ve made an appointment with Miss Xinyun to do a sect mission together.”
“Dong!” Liu Ruyue rapped her knuckles on Liu Suifeng’s forehead violently. “You are useless, Chu Xinyun has already become one of Jade Maiden Peak’s core disciples long ago, she might even be a true inheritor. Look at what you are doing everyday, there is simply no difference from a piece of trash.
“In this Tianwu Continent, how can you protect the one you love if you don’t have great strength? Your strength is not even comparable to the girl’s, yet you still have the nerve to chase after her. I truly feel ashamed for you.”
Liu Suifeng rubbed his head and said, “Sis, you can’t put it that way. Otherwise, a strong and violent woman like you would never be able to find someone to spend your life with.”
“Are you looking for a beating?”
Liu Suifeng quick-wittedly dodged to the side. He continued to said, “Haha, Sis, I’m not wrong. Look at the Great Qin Nation. How many men could defeat you? They are difficult to find!”
“You still dare to talk back?! You will stay in Qingyun Peak until the end of the month,” Liu Ruyue Said as she glared at Liu Suifeng angrily. When she heard Xiao Chen’s footsteps, she could no longer be bothered with Liu Suifeng.
Liu Ruyue looked at Xiao Bai, who was on Xiao Chen’s shoulder, and her eyes lit up. She quickly walked over and said in a strange tone, “This little fellow… how come it seems like it has even more Spiritual Energy than yesterday?”
Xiao Bai seemed to have understood what Liu Ruyue said. It revealed a happy expression on its face as it blinked a few times at her.
After a while, it cried out happily and jumped down. It grabbed Xiao Chen’s leg with its paws and shook it continuously.
Xiao Chen knew what it meant by that and he took out a bottle of wine from the Universe Ring. Xiao Bai immediately grabbed the wine and excitedly ran to the side.
A rare warm smile appeared on Liu Ruyue’s face. “This little fellow… Will it be a problem if it drank too much?”
Xiao Chen said jokingly, “Just let it be, drinking a little wine is fine. As long as it does not get into a drunken fit it will be fine.
Liu Ruyue stopped smiling. She had not forgotten what she intended to do today. She said, “Come with me.”
Xiao Chen knew what Liu Ruyue was going to teach him. He felt somewhat excited and quickly followed. Liu Ruyue brought Xiao Chen to a rack of weapons filled with all sorts of sabers.
Liu Ruyue drew her small saber and the entire weapon rack started shaking. Then, all the sabers on the weapons rack were drawn out and flew into the air.
“Dang! Dang!”
Liu Ruyue shouted and all the sabers stuck themselves into the ground two inches deep in an orderly fashion; they were all densely surrounding the two of them.
When Xiao Chen counted them, there were at least 500. Xiao Chen was astonished. This was an exceptional technique. If he could control the opponent’s weapon in a fight, it would be half the battle won already, even before the fight started. After losing their weapon, they would lose a significant portion of their combat prowess unless they used Fist or Leg Techniques.
Liu Ruyue stood across from Xiao Chen, a gentle expression on her face as she sheathed her saber. She said, “Listening to the Sword and Communicating With It can be split into four states. From the lowest to the highest: Listening to the Sword, Controlling the Sword, Sword Heart, and Communicating with the Sword.
“That state I have comprehended up to is Controlling the Sword. The technique I exhibited earlier can be done after reaching the Great Perfection in Controlling the Sword.
Xiao Chen listened carefully. When Liu Ruyue stopped, he asked. “Actually, all long, I have a doubt about Listening to the Sword and Communicating With It. Why is it called Listening to the Sword and Communicating With It and not Listening To the Saber and Communicating With It? Why is it named using the sword?”
Liu Ruyue explained, “The Saber did not exist initially. Long ago, there was only one weapon—the sword. There were all sorts of swords. Later on, the saber was made using the sword as the base.
“Listening to the Sword and Communicating With It is a state derived from the sword. This state can fortunately be applied to sabers as well. Since this name has been used for a long time, no one bothered to change it.”