Chapter 198: Cultivating Life and Nature, Mastering Sword Art in Record Time

Spirit refreshed, qi clear!

Li Rui pushed open the door with head held high, radiating the aura of a victor from within.

Can't beat Jiang Lin, but can't I kill Gao Zhen?

Good.

In his dream, he killed Gao Zhen over twenty more times—even though Gao Zhen was already dead.

No choice.

Dreams can only simulate masters one has seen.

A person cannot dream of anything beyond their own understanding.

Li Rui had only witnessed Ning Zhongtian and Gao Zhen fight at the sixth rank, and he understood Gao Zhen even better—so he naturally became the ideal target.

"Three hours for enlightenment, one hour for combat—that's perfect."

Creating your own martial art requires not only intense contemplation, but also practical combat.

Perfect.

Dreams provide both in abundance.

After last night's cultivation, Li Rui had already begun to form some ideas.

"Cultivating both life and nature is the true path!"

This principle had already been discussed in the Daoist scriptures Li Rui had studied.

Cultivating life and nature—what is meant by "life and nature"?

"Nature: the nature of the common people, the nature of life and death—ancient texts all wrote it as 'sheng,' not from 'woman' or 'heart,' but later generations altered it—it is the root of what is born."

"What is nature? The primordial true like, a single luminous spirit. What is life? The primordial essence, a single qi swirling in harmony."

Thus, cultivating both life and nature means refining both spirit and form.

In simple terms, you cannot focus solely on cultivating qi—your body training must not be neglected, or else strong qi with weak body will lead to spiritual-physical imbalance, making it impossible to attain the Great Dao.

Sitting in stillness alone, cultivating only true qi, will never make you a Great True Person—especially in an age of depleted spiritual energy.

Haven't you seen those old Daoists deep in the mountains, each with fists heavy enough to terrify, their bodies bulging with muscle when stripped bare?

As the saying goes:

"Though you may comprehend the true nature, you still cannot escape rebirth; when will you also cultivate the great elixir, and instantly transcend leakage to become a True Person?"

This is the principle.

Li Rui first cultivated life, then nature—only now has he suddenly awakened to cultivate both together.

Someone might ask: why not cultivate both from the start?

Easy to know, hard to do.

Practicing martial arts isn't something you understand just because your master says so or the technique manual says so—even if you tell yourself you understand, you still don't. Only when you walk it yourself and awaken to it do you truly understand.

Just as Li Rui daily shares his martial insights with his three disciples.

But those insights remain his, not Liang He's or the others'—in the end, this must be realized by oneself.

Li Rui must also gradually awaken through his own cultivation level to transform what's in books into his own.

"The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name."

The ancients already spoke the principles—but cultivation still depends on the individual.

Li Rui picked up the standard longsword leaning against the big tree in the garden, its blade still unsharpened from morning practice.

In an instant, blade light flashed forth.

A dense, layered net of blades enveloped Li Rui in an instant, impenetrable.

The men inside the house heard the commotion outside.

They all pushed open the door together.

"Master, this sword technique—"

Liang He and the others were martial experts—they could instantly see the power in Li Rui's swordplay.

They stared, eyes wide.

Every move, every shift, flowed with perfect ease.

They were all ranked martial artists themselves, all trained in the sword—they could recognize true mastery.

Yet Li Rui murmured softly:

"Not enough, not enough, still not enough!"

The wind ceased abruptly.

The longsword stopped as if commanded by thought alone—movement and stillness entirely under Li Rui's will.

Liang He and the others looked at each other.

"Still not enough?"

Master is truly invincible!

In that moment, their admiration for Li Rui deepened further.

Li Rui closed his eyes, standing still with the sword, recalling Gao Zhen's sword technique—especially that sword net.

Gao Zhen had been slain by him, but that didn't mean Gao Zhen's martial arts had nothing worth learning.

At least his sword technique was well worth Li Rui's study.

The Gao family was famed for its sword art; Li Rui killed Gao Zhen by overpowering him with qi—in pure technique, he was inferior to Gao Zhen.

One could even say:

The White Ape's Sword Art might be considered top-tier within the Huaqing Sect, but across the Yu Kingdom, it was merely average.

Since he was cultivating both inner and outer, his external martial skills could not be neglected.

"Practice the sword!"

Outside the imperial road, the Reception Pavilion.

Two groups stood outside the pavilion, sharply divided, leaving a three-foot gap between them.

Cao Wei and Zhuang Renhe stood at the head of their respective sides.

Behind them were officials from the Anning Guard and the Qinghe County government.

"Zhuang's information is truly swift."

Cao Wei regarded Zhuang Renhe with a faint, mocking smile.

Zhuang Renhe laughed it off: "Cao, you flatter me—I have old ties with the Divine Weapon Manor, and a friend informed me, so I had to come. Didn't expect to run into you, Cao."

He said it, but showed no intention of yielding.

"Old friend, eh?"

Cao Wei fell silent, his expression far from pleasant.

He and Zhuang Renhe had once worked together—but only because they shared a common enemy: Jiang Lin.

Remove Jiang Lin, and he and Zhuang Renhe had no real connection at all.

Just courtly pretense.

Assistant Regional Commanders and Assistant Administrators rarely get along—but neither do they get along well with local Prefects, Department Magistrates, or even Provincial Governors.

This was deliberately designed by the imperial court.

If the three parties were too harmonious, the court would grow uneasy.

Rebellion would become far too easy.

Thus, the court's secret agents even tracked how closely local officials and military officers associated. Those who went too far were scolded by the Emperor and immediately reassigned.

He had arrived early at the Reception Pavilion today because of Zhuang Renhe's "Divine Weapon Manor."

The Divine Weapon Manor was a renowned great house in Yunzhou.

It had once produced a Provincial Military Commander.

Xue, the current commander of the Annan Army, had once been a soldier under the old commander of the Divine Weapon Manor—close to his superior—and Cao Wei dared not treat him lightly.

"Great house" is not a title anyone can claim.

At least the Mingguang Sect or the Qingfeng Manor don't qualify.

Only the Huaqing Sect barely counts as a great house.

And the Divine Weapon Manor's reputation in Yunzhou was even greater than Huaqing's.

Zhuang Renhe glanced at Cao Wei and chuckled: "Cao, why isn't Jiang here?"

Cao Wei shot him a sidelong glance: "Jiang is on inspection tour. Are you concerned about Anning Guard affairs now?"

=9+book_bar

Zhuang Renhe laughed awkwardly.

He was about to speak again when he saw a caravan approaching in the distance.

At first glance, it looked like a unit of the Annan Army.

Over a dozen steeds, each clad in heavy armor, shook the ground with every step, thudding heavily.

Such formidable heavy cavalry.

Rare even in the Anning Guard.

Their armor was forged from divine iron—impervious to blades and spears, immune to fire and water; once unleashed on the battlefield, such a unit could match a thousand soldiers.

Moments later,

The heavy cavalry escorted a massive chariot of solid black iron, gleaming coldly under the sun, before Cao Wei and Zhuang Renhe.

The massive chariot used at least several thousand jin of black iron, sinking deep grooves into the road.

Leaving aside the cost, just the craftsmanship alone is a substantial expense.

No wonder it requires eight demonic horses to pull.

"No wonder it's the Divine Weapon Manor."

In all of Yunzhou, only the Divine Weapon Manor would dare spend such a fortune to forge such a magnificent carriage.

From the name "Divine Weapon," it's clear the Divine Weapon Manor is one of the rare martial sects focused primarily on forging weapons.

Its weapon-forging mastery is unmatched in Yunzhou.

It is even well-known throughout the Yu Kingdom—nearly thirty percent of the weapons in Annan Town come from the Divine Weapon Manor.

Thus, their relationship is extremely close.

Like weapon-forging, alchemy is also a highly profitable industry.

In terms of wealth alone, the Divine Weapon Manor may even be richer than Anning Prefecture—it's a walking god of wealth wherever it goes.

The heavy iron gate creaked open, and a burly middle-aged man with a chiseled face and muscular frame stepped out of the carriage.

The middle-aged man glanced at Cao Wei and Zhuang Renhe:

"Gentlemen, you've waited long enough."

Cao Wei and Zhuang Renhe burst into laughter together: "We've just arrived—Elder Shi, please come in!"

The middle-aged man before them was none other than Shi Zhou, Elder of the Divine Weapon Manor.

A fifth-rank expert, yet only an Elder.

Hmm, just look at the Divine Weapon Manor's depth.

Since the Divine Weapon Manor was already in Yunzhou and closely tied to Annan Town, it gained General Xue's approval to become the first major sect to settle in Qinghe.

Shi Zhou laughed heartily: "Tonight, we drink until we collapse!"

Saying this,

he walked into the Reception Pavilion with Cao Wei and Zhuang Renhe.

From the outside, the Reception Pavilion looked ordinary.

But inside, it was an entirely different world.

Crimson curtains filled the air, lanterns hung high, bathing the entire hall in a crimson glow that made the heart itch with unease.

A musician played music, while over a dozen beautiful women danced gracefully in the center.

"This is luxury—truly luxury!"

Shi Zhou was never a stuffy man.

He affectionately wrapped his arm around a beautiful girl's tiny waist, smiling as he drank.

His trip to Qinghe also carried a mission from the Divine Weapon Manor's lord.

To thrive in Qinghe, he must build strong ties with Cao Wei and Zhuang Renhe.

Late into the night,

the three were each escorted by two girls into the inner chambers of the Reception Pavilion.

Just as the Reception Pavilion fell quiet,

a slender, graceful figure appeared at Zhuang Renhe's door.

A slip of paper was slipped through the crack.

The person picked up the note.

"Jiang Lin is away—hurry!"

Anning Guard.

Deep night.

The Li residence was dark, swallowed by profound darkness.

Everyone slept soundly.

Li Rui lay in bed, covered, his eyeballs moving rhythmically beneath his eyelids.

In his dream,

mist drifted lazily, and distant streaks of purple-gold radiance bathed half of Li Rui's body in gold.

He sat cross-legged atop a cloud, eyes closed.

Around him, faint blades of light flickered; invisible blade intent surged, slicing the surrounding mist apart, only for it to reform again, endlessly repeating.

A knife rested on his knees.

Not Zang Feng—it was ordinary, utterly plain, the kind any blacksmith's shop could produce.

Gradually,

Li Rui's blade intent rose steadily, and he murmured under his breath:

"Creation reverses heaven and earth, swordplay divine, a coiling dragon lies hidden in the abyss, one cry startles the world."

"This blade shall be called the Six Cuts of Coiling Dragon."

The instant he finished saying "cuts," Li Rui's eyes snapped open—his blade intent instantly split the mist before him in two, and within his pupils, something faintly glided along the boundary of black and white.

It was the Yinglong!

He slowly spoke:

"First Form: The Dragon Lies Hidden, Do Not Use!"

(End of Chapter)