That night, Sun Long sat alone in his room. As a direct Bloodline descendant of the Family and the Family's number one Genius, his treatment was quite good. He had a secluded small courtyard all to himself, complete with flowers and plants for appreciation.
Inside the room, Sun Yao, acting as a servant, was completely devoid of the arrogance he displayed towards Steward Qin. He bowed deeply, fawningly reporting the information he had gathered: "Young Master, I have been following your instructions, keeping a close eye on that good-for-nothing. He might have suddenly gained enlightenment recently and can now Cultivate. He definitely won't pose any threat. And rest assured, I have confirmed that he chose the 'Longitudinal and Horizontal Swordplay.'"
Meanwhile, Sun Long, who was still in his original spot, had shed his usual gentle and refined demeanor, his face turning grim. "If that good-for-nothing had stayed a nobody his whole life, that would have been fine. But he actually wants to overturn the heavens, like a toad wanting to eat a swan. Let's see how he handles choosing this swordplay."
However, Sun Long quickly paced a few steps, muttering to himself, "Taking the swordplay will at most cripple him, but he'll still be around. But what if the swordplay were to be lost? What would the outcome be?" As he spoke, he couldn't help but smile faintly, appearing quite warm, showing no hint of scheming against others.
After pondering the entire plan, he said to Sun Yao, who was standing nearby, "Oh, right, you can go find Sun Yang, Sun Yong, and Sun Ce. I think you should know what to do."
"Yes, yes, your subordinate understands." Sun Yao respectfully walked out of the small courtyard.
At this moment, Sun Bing was completely unaware that Sun Long had already set a plot against him so quickly. Instead, he excitedly went to the back mountain. Of course, he had now abandoned the dense forest, as that place was for disposing of bodies.
The back mountain was vast. With Sun Bing's familiarity with the back mountain, he soon found a cliff. The terrain was quite flat, and the area was large, more than enough for practicing swordplay.
Most importantly, this place was rarely disturbed by others, offering excellent privacy, which made Sun Bing quite satisfied.
The cliff spanned ten zhang, and being in a shaded area, it was quite cool, facing the distant mountain range.
"When you reach the Peak, all other mountains appear small."
Only by standing at the Peak can one appreciate the true scenery. Such beauty filled Sun Bing's heart with grand aspirations. Luoyun Town was merely a corner of the Divine Continent, yet it held such beauty. What then, would the entire continent be like?
However, Sun Bing's eyes quickly showed a determined look, for he knew that if he wanted to climb to the Peak and look down upon all living beings, there was only one way: sufficient strength. He was currently too weak and still needed to work tirelessly.
Even more outstanding Geniuses than him were still working hard. If he were to be content with his current Minor Achievement, what right would he have to climb higher? Only by enduring loneliness and solitude, and possessing unwavering perseverance, could one be called a master.
Those who believed that possessing a divine Secret Manual was enough to become a master were merely a bunch of clowns. Every master who was praised had gone through immense hardships and battles.
As soon as he thought of this, Sun Bing immediately cut off all the messy thoughts in his mind and began to diligently study the 'Longitudinal and Horizontal Swordplay' he had just acquired today.
Every martial arts Secret Manual that could be passed down had its unique aspects, gathering the wisdom of Senior experts. Sun Bing held great respect for such individuals.
Opening this ancient-looking swordplay manual, the opening lines exuded a profound grandeur:
'Longitudinal and Horizontal Swordplay' observes the Dao of Heaven and Earth, divided into Longitudinal Sword and Horizontal Sword: Horizontal Sword attacks with skill, seeking its advantage, which is 'Bai'; Longitudinal Sword attacks with Aura, seeking its essence, which is 'He'. 'Baihe' is the Dao of Heaven and Earth.
Such magnificent words made Sun Bing's heart yearn. In his mind, an expert seemed to be practicing this swordplay under the sun and moon, every move and every stance containing various profound mysteries.
But Sun Bing quickly startled himself awake. He looked at the ordinary swordplay manual in his hand, recalling the scene just now, and his first thought was that this swordplay was not simple. He immediately began to study it even more seriously.
Raising Qi, swinging the sword, turning, parrying the sword...
Because Sun Bing did not have a famous teacher to guide him, he could only rely on his own exploration. Therefore, the process of learning swordplay was quite boring. He would repeatedly practice each move and stance, and he also needed to compare it with the sword manual to find his shortcomings.
However, the difficulty of learning 'Longitudinal and Horizontal Swordplay' was even greater than he had imagined. Even though his Basic Swordplay had reached Perfection, there were still many areas he couldn't grasp. He could only rely on carefully comprehending them during the process of practicing the sword.
This greatly astonished Sun Bing. One should know that with the 'Clear Wind Swordplay' in the Merit Law Hall, he could even mentally rehearse several steps with a casual glance. If he were to get his hands on it, he could learn it within three to five days.
But just the first move took Sun Bing an entire afternoon, which shows its difficulty.
However, Sun Bing's eyes sparkled with delight, full of pleasant surprise, because the difficulty in comprehending it indicated that the swordplay's power was immense. Sun Bing could even confirm that as long as he used this move, people of the same Realm would not be able to withstand a single blow.
Even those whose Realm was slightly higher than his could withstand one or two moves under such swordplay, allowing him to find their weaknesses.
In a blink of an eye, half a month passed quietly.
The setting sun shone upon Luoyun Town, making the small town exude a warm glow. On the cliff, Sun Bing stood alone, holding his sword.
In his hand was still the wooden sword that had accompanied him for ten years, but this wooden sword seemed even sturdier than an iron sword. As Sun Bing wielded it, it emitted a series of sharp whistles.
After a long while, a set of swordplay was completed. Sun Bing exhaled a long breath, sheathed his sword, and looked into the distance, sighing softly, "No wonder no one has ever successfully Cultivated this swordplay before. It took me a full half-month to even get a glimpse of its essence, even with my Basic Swordplay at Great Perfection."
Through this half-month of diligent Cultivation, Sun Bing had discovered that this swordplay was incomplete; it only contained the Longitudinal Sword and lacked the Horizontal Sword. Therefore, it could only be called the 'Longitudinal Sword Manual.' If the swordplay were complete, its power would be unimaginable.
However, even though the swordplay was incomplete, a single Longitudinal Sword could not possibly be merely a Low Grade Yellow Rank. It might be that because no one had successfully Cultivated it for too long, coupled with its incompleteness, it was gradually overlooked, which then benefited Sun Bing.
Now, Sun Bing was quite grateful to Sun Long. If it weren't for his words, Sun Bing would not have made up his mind to choose this 'Longitudinal and Horizontal Swordplay.' What if he had chosen the 'Clear Wind Swordplay' instead? He would have mastered it in two or three days, but it was ultimately too petty. By then, even if he wanted to switch back, he would only be filled with regret.
Moreover, good things came in pairs. His persistent sword practice for such a long time, coupled with ten years of accumulation, allowed his Realm to Breakthrough to Body Tempering Layer Three in one go. Furthermore, his Foundation was incredibly solid. As long as he diligently Cultivated, he would be able to generate Qi sensation in another step.
This made Sun Bing quite excited, and at the same time, a cold glint flashed in his eyes: "Sun Long, I didn't expect you to give me such an Opportunity. Don't worry, I will definitely use this swordplay to repay you for all these years of 'hospitality.'"
Seeing that it was getting late, it was indeed time to return. Sun Bing slowly embarked on his journey back under the afterglow of the setting sun.
On the other side, Sun Yong was almost driven mad. At that time, Sun Yao quickly issued a task. However, Sun Yang was already dead, considered missing, and Sun Ce was not present. Coupled with the generous reward, Sun Yong's greed grew, and he accepted the task alone.
Then he began patiently searching for Sun Bing, hoping to find an Opportunity to steal that swordplay.
One should know that while a Low Grade Yellow Rank Secret Manual was nothing much to the Sun Family, its loss would result in severe punishment.
Direct descendants of the Family would only receive a slight reprimand, while branch members would be confined, none of which was a big deal.
The most important were the servants. If they lost it, they would be lightly punished by having their limbs broken and being expelled from the Family, unable to Cultivate for the rest of their lives. Severely, they would be directly executed, with no human rights whatsoever.
As for Sun Bing, although he was nominally an adopted son of the Family, no one really took him seriously. If Sun Long were to manipulate things casually, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Unfortunately, Sun Bing had been too engrossed in the 'Longitudinal and Horizontal Swordplay' during this period. He barely returned to the Sun Family and simply stayed in the back mountain. Anyway, he was just an insignificant person, so whether he returned or not didn't matter.
Such instances of not returning had often happened before, but Sun Yong was suffering. Even though he searched the entire Sun Family, he found no trace of Sun Bing. He even went to the back mountain forest where Sun Bing liked to stay, but the person was gone and the forest was empty.
Even if he waited in front of Sun Bing's residence every day, he regrettably found that the other party had no intention of returning at all. At this moment, he suddenly remembered that in the past ten years, he had only seen Sun Bing basically when the monthly stipend was distributed.
This made him quite desperate. If he were to drag it out for a whole month, then it would be too late. Moreover, it would mean his mission failed. How would Sun Long view him then? This made him simply unable to imagine.
As time passed, Sun Yong's heart went from initially wanting to make a fortune to now regretting it, and eventually turning into resentment. In his mind, it was all Sun Bing's fault. Why wouldn't he come back so he could steal the Secret Manual? Did he want him to die?
As a servant targeted by the rising Young Master, the consequences were predictably miserable.
So now, Sun Yong was almost completely disheartened, wandering through Luoyun Town, quietly awaiting the coming judgment.
Suddenly, Sun Yong's eyes lit up, even tearing up a little, because he had found Sun Bing, whom he hadn't seen for a full half-month.