Chapter 138: On the Fingertip

Pei Ye watched with considerable regret as this direct disciple of the Cuiyu Jianmen left the martial arts field, suppressing the urge to test his skills.

Today, Pei Ye had reported to the instructor that he would not follow the scheduled training, instead running off to the tree to ponder the two forms of the Clear Resonance. It just so happened that Zhang Dingyun was away, so Chang Yue and Zhang Junxue could practice together.

To tell the truth, after the morning's attempts, Pei Ye felt as though he had been trapped by these two sword forms again.

The gap between "learning" and "using" seemed even deeper and wider than the one between "not knowing" and "knowing."

He had originally thought that after mastering these two sword forms in one go, he only needed to familiarize himself with them for a while longer to find the trick to building momentum in actual combat. But now, he began to doubt whether such a trick truly existed.

Facing a strong enemy, one's margin for error is already razor-thin. Now, to have to bind one's own hands and feet and try to build momentum under the opponent's fierce offensive—this seemed like an impossible task.

Pei Ye had originally thought this sword form would contain the answer to this problem, but now it seemed it did not.

But since someone had designed such a sword move... Pei Ye frowned, doubting his own talent for the sword path for the first time.

For the entire day that followed, Pei Ye wrestled with these two sword forms.

Although he had used a "shortcut" when learning these two forms, that was only because the shortcut belonging uniquely to him was right there. When it came to practicing solidly and steadily, the youth never lacked the patience and perseverance to fail and try again.

Once, twice, ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times...

Pei Ye had almost entered a state of self-forgetfulness, with only these two sword forms in his eyes. He felt he was rapidly becoming familiar with them, and that resonance grew increasingly clear and crisp.

But the trick never appeared.

It was not until he thrust out a sword and there was no longer a flash on the blade that Pei Ye discovered he was shrouded in a black curtain.

The martial arts hall had long since cleared out.

In the corner, the woman, her body steaming with heat, was placing the stone lock back in its original position.

"What time is it?" Pei Ye asked.

"It is the Hour of the Bo."

Pei Ye looked at the sword in his hand, somewhat silent.

He firmly believed that a sword technique capable of winning against the strong while being weak must be usable in front of a strong enemy. This was a basic logic.

Certainly, there were explosive sword techniques that relied on magical artifacts or the protection of others to build momentum, but this sword move was clearly not one of them. Pei Ye could feel that the person who wrote the sword manual had tried their best to compress the time for building momentum and was also striving to liberate the body while doing so.

He had put a great deal of effort into this, just so the wielder could use this move while enduring the enemy's attacks.

He had gone to such painstaking lengths just to have this sword pierce the throat of a strong enemy.

How could it be impossible to use?

Zhang Junxue looked at the youth, who was frowning and lost in thought, and said in a muffled voice, "Do you want me to practice with you?"

Pei Ye turned his head. The woman, almost the same height as him, stood to the side, her bangs stuck damply to her brows and eyes, sweat sliding down her face like flowing water.

"No need." Pei Ye frowned slightly. "You really should take it easy."

"It's fine." Zhang Junxue said more than usual, a rarity. "My body is strong; it doesn't break easily."

She slung her broadsword onto her back and left with heavy footsteps.

Pei Ye did not leave; he raised his sword once more.

This time, he placed his focus on the "parry" he had realized—perhaps he could only solve the problem from here.

Pei Ye turned to perceive the state of his body at that moment, wanting to reproduce that state of enduring external force without breaking his internal Qi, while still building momentum.

This was actually a much harder path to walk, but at least it was passable.

Pei Ye did not wait until tomorrow, because this kind of realization required a quiet environment even more.

At this moment, the night was deep and quiet, and Zhang Junxue had already left the martial arts field. There was only the starlight, the blowing wind, and the distant moon. Pei Ye stood still with his sword, slowly mobilizing his body, attempting to return to that moment.

When his breathing had completely calmed down, Pei Ye lightly extended his arm, once again wielding 【Spreading Wings】, attempting to find that flawless moment.

He did not succeed.

Pei Ye was not discouraged. For the whole day, he had been trying to walk the main road designed by others, which he later suspected was a dead end; now, although he was walking a sheep path, it truly existed within his own body, a realm he confirmed he could reach.

It was another series of attempts with a calm heart and steady breath, attempt after attempt. But unlike before, Pei Ye gradually felt that the realm he was pursuing truly existed; it had left traces in his body.

It was not the realm of the "Cicada-Sparrow Sword," but the realm of the "sword" itself that was rising.

Pei Ye did not know when he had closed his eyes, chasing it amidst the flow of muscle power and Qi. He did this I don't know how many times, until after he sheathed his sword and stood still once more...

Pei Ye truly felt sleepiness surging up.

He had indeed not rested at all today.

Pei Ye stopped his movements, intending to just make do for the night under this tree.

However, when he opened his eyes and turned around, a green figure was quietly leaning against the doorway, not knowing how long she had been watching.

Pei Ye was slightly startled. Upon recognizing her, it was indeed that direct disciple of the Cuiyu Jianmen from the morning, Li Piaoqing.

Seeing Pei Ye look over, Li Piaoqing was also slightly startled. Her body sprang up from the door wall, and she stood straight, cupped her fists, and bowed. "Ah! I am truly sorry! I was wandering at night and saw you practicing your sword, and for a moment I forgot the taboos."

Pei Ye was stunned. "Oh, it's fine."

Li Piaoqing lifted her knees to cross the threshold, walked up, cupped her fists again, tilted her head, and asked curiously, "Is the young hero a member of the martial arts hall?"

Pei Ye discovered that there were two temperaments in this young girl. One was the reliability she showed when she calmly and powerfully said, "The Cuiyu Jianmen will always be here" in the early morning, possessing a leader-like charm. The other was when she was laughing and talking with the female master, and now, as she looked at Pei Ye's sword with moist, bright eyes, the young girl's spiritual energy almost overflowed.

Pei Ye looked at the young girl who had come before him; in reality, her age was indeed not very old.

It should be said that she was one of the only two people of the same age Pei Ye had met since leaving Fenghuai.

"I am a student in the Longmen Class. I saw Miss Li performing sword moves this morning."

"Ah?" Li Piaoqing's bright eyes widened. "Sorry! I am too blind!"

"It's fine, I sat further back," Pei Ye said. "Miss Li, have you not rested yet?"

"I also just finished practicing my sword. May I ask the young hero's name?"

"My name is Pei Ye."

"Oh! Nice to meet you, Young Hero Pei." Li Piaoqing's eyes were like bright stars. "I wonder... what is the name of the sword technique the young hero was just practicing?"

"The 'Cicada-Sparrow Sword.' Why?"

"'Cicada-Sparrow Sword'..." Li Piaoqing slowly chewed on the name a few times, pursed her lips, and said, "Could I... have the honor of watching the young hero use it a few more times?"

She looked up at Pei Ye, hope shining in her eyes, and the small wing pattern at the corner of her eye was even somewhat dazzling under the moonlight.

Pei Ye pondered for a moment. "No."

"..." The eye makeup didn't seem so dazzling anymore.

"Because Miss Li, you are too powerful." Pei Ye explained somewhat embarrassedly. "I think you should be in the Fifth Life Realm?"

"Yes."

"That's it then. If I face you in the martial arts competition, I must go all out." Pei Ye said seriously. "The Cicada-Sparrow Sword is my most powerful sword technique. If I reveal it to you, I will have lost one more chance of victory."

"Oh! Sorry, I was too presumptuous." The young girl remembered her identity as a competitor and felt somewhat apologetic.

In reality, she had subconsciously never regarded these students in the Longmen Class as opponents. Her asking and showing "Jade Shadow" all stemmed from this somewhat proud mentality.

Yet she hadn't expected there to be such an opponent among them.

For a moment, she even felt somewhat bad for showing "Jade Shadow" in front of him.

"Hmm. If it were any other time, I would be very willing to exchange ideas with Miss Li," Pei Ye said. "But this is my first time participating in a formal martial arts competition, and I want to get as high a ranking as possible."

Li Piaoqing nodded repeatedly to show her understanding. Since they were opponents of the same level, it was naturally inconvenient to reveal their techniques. She apologized again, "It was my presumption. Is the young hero also in the Fifth Life Realm? —Please forgive my shallow knowledge, I have never heard of your great name."

"No, I am in the Second Life."

"..."

"I am in the Second Life," Pei Ye repeated. "But before the martial arts competition, I will be in the Third Life."

"..." Li Piaoqing smiled politely. "Good."

"Then, I won't disturb the young hero's sword practice."

Pei Ye was just about to nod when he suddenly remembered the young girl's calm and composed sword technique from the morning. Suddenly, he felt somewhat reluctant to let her go. He pondered for a moment and said:

"Miss Li."

"Hmm?"

"May I ask, is 'Jade Shadow' your most powerful sword technique?"

"... Your question is also somewhat presumptuous."

"Sorry, I wanted to... because the Cicada-Sparrow Sword is my most powerful sword technique. If Miss Li is willing to exchange and show your most powerful sword technique, then it would be considered a draw in the martial arts competition, and we could also enjoy the pleasure of discussing swords and moves."

Li Piaoqing's eyes lit up.

"How about it?" This time it was Pei Ye's turn to look at her hopefully.

Li Piaoqing hesitated for a long time, but in the end, she nodded as if she couldn't resist the temptation. "Alright then..."

She was truly deeply captivated by the astonishing sword path temperament the youth had just revealed, which was why she had leaned against the door and watched for so long that she forgot her etiquette. And when the youth said they were opponents, she didn't feel anything was wrong at all.

—Such a sword was, of course, a dangerous opponent in the martial arts competition.

The first layer of attraction was the sword moves in the youth's hand. That sword gave her a very subtle feeling, making her hands itch, and she always wanted to perform the next sword move for the youth—even though she didn't know what the next sword move was.

The second layer was the youth's own sword path realm. Of course, she recognized the Clumsy Realm, and she herself was in the Clumsy Realm. But she had never seen that state of calmly adjusting one's body like entering meditation, with the body and sword simultaneously climbing toward a certain mysterious realm.

The attraction of what the youth had just displayed to her was actually much greater than the temptation of the "Jade Shadow" in her hand to the youth.

"Then, is this a gentleman's agreement?" The young girl said somewhat hesitantly. "We must exchange our strongest sword techniques, the strongest ones?"

Pei Ye nodded.

"Good." The young girl took a deep breath. "The 'Jade Shadow' from this morning was shown on my own initiative, so it doesn't count. That is indeed not my strongest sword. My strongest is the fourth form, 'Yellow Jade'."

"Mine is the Cicada-Sparrow Sword."

"But I am only roughly proficient; I am far from being able to say I 'know' it," Li Piaoqing said.

"I have only learned a little more than half."

"Good, but..." Li Piaoqing said somewhat cautiously, "I cannot show it to you directly... Can we first try a safer method?"

"What is it?"

"Hmm... Just now, the sword moves the young hero practiced touched my heart, which is why I wanted to see them again. I wonder what the young hero thinks about discussing swords with me?"

"I think the Jade Shadow you performed this morning also touched me, or rather, I want to see all the swords of your Cuiyu Jianmen," Pei Ye said honestly.

"That would be good." Li Piaoqing nodded. "To tell you the truth, I don't want to show this sword easily. Can we first spar in the way of 'Fingertip Sword'? If we truly gain something, we can discuss it further; if we gain nothing, we can stop early, and we won't reveal our trump cards to each other."

The method sounded quite good, but...

"What is 'Fingertip Sword,' Miss Li?"

"Ah? You haven't played it?"

"I haven't."

"It's just..." Li Piaoqing extended one hand and spread her five fingers in front of Pei Ye. "'The hand is the connection of the heart and intent, and the five fingers are like the five limbs.' The sword techniques our bodies have practiced can theoretically be manifested on the hands in another way without losing their original essence. This is a common game among us sword cultivators, and it is also a non-presumptuous way to spar."

"Hmm." Pei Ye nodded repeatedly. "This is really good."

"Then, you don't know how to play?" Li Piaoqing was somewhat disappointed.

"I can learn."

"How can it be that fast? The hand also needs a process of familiarization to guide the sword techniques out of the body," the young girl smiled somewhat helplessly.

"It's fine, I learn things very quickly. You teach me."

"Alright then." The young girl thought about how to complete this spar in a different way, and her hand had already taken a small copper strip from her waist.

Pei Ye looked closely and saw it was a small sword.

Looking again, the appearance of this sword...

"Look, this is the first form of 'Jade Shadow'." The young girl suddenly flipped her fingers, turning a beautiful flower shape on her fingertips, then hooked the sword hilt with her little finger, and the small sword drew a floating arc and returned to her palm.

Pei Ye's eyes lit up. This movement indeed didn't have much similarity to the Jade Shadow he saw in the morning, but the feeling was almost exactly the same.

"This, can you teach me?"

The young girl took another small wooden sword from her waist and handed it to him. "Actually, there is no trick. After you play with it until your hands are proficient, whenever you want to use a sword technique, you just need to remove its form and keep its intent, and you can manifest it on your hands."

Pei Ye took this wooden sword. This sword was of a common style, just without a crossguard, making it smoother and handier. It felt solid and heavy, heavier than he imagined, presumably with an iron strip embedded inside.

According to what the young girl said, playing this game required reaching two conditions: first, the hand must be very proficient in wielding this small sword strip; second, the body and mind must be very proficient in the sword techniques one knows.

Only then could one transform and apply it from the body to the hand, and others could not help with this process of transformation.

It could be seen that this game actually had a threshold that, while not too high, was definitely not low. It couldn't be played by anyone who wasn't an expert in the sword. No wonder it was a game unique to sword cultivators.

"You familiarize yourself with it a few more times." Li Piaoqing flipped the copper sword strip in her hand in a dazzling way. "After you are very proficient, you can try to transform and apply sword techniques into it—I'll give you this sword strip. You can turn it more when you have nothing to do. Your foundation is good; ten days or half a month should be no problem."

Pei Ye looked at the young girl's flipping fingers and lowered his head. The wooden sword strip turned slowly in his hand, gradually becoming faster. After about ten breaths, Pei Ye stopped his movements, and a straight, light sword move, with three parts of force and seven parts of movement, thrust out from between his fingers.

"This is the first form of the Cicada-Sparrow Sword, 【Breaking Ground】," the youth smiled.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 139 =====