Chapter 512: Sword State

Pei Ye straightened his posture.

Cui Zhaoye had of course never seen his sword ladder. Today was only their first meeting; she hadn't even read the *Jade Emerald Sword*, and had only seen him use a few moves on the night lake.

Yet, with just a few words, she had pointed out the true meaning of this sword and the path upward.

Originally, although he knew this young lady had a very high reputation in sword criticism, sword criticism was, in the end, spoken to those who couldn't understand or see through the sword. On the surface, it evaluated the sword, but in the eyes of most people, it evaluated the person.

Therefore, sword critics were often insiders in the eyes of outsiders, but outsiders in the eyes of insiders. They were a channel for swordsmen to promote themselves, and another measure by the Immortal Platform to ensure the cultivation world did not detach from the common people.

However, Pei Ye now knew that this young lady was truly someone who spoke of the sword. Family prestige and age/appearance were originally just icing on the cake. Sword critics had always worked on "explaining the profound in simple terms," but only she truly strove to "delve deep."

Pei Ye said solemnly: "I would like to hear the details."

Cui Zhaoye smiled, looking at him: "I asked Young Hero Pei so many things about the past just now; is Young Hero Pei not a little interested in my past?"

"......"

Changsun Jue said calmly at this time: "What, if he isn't interested, you won't say it?"

Cui Zhaoye looked at her.

Changsun Jue lowered her head to eat snacks.

Cui Zhaoye composed her expression, took a light breath, and said earnestly: "Young Hero Pei, I have read countless sword classics since I was small."

Pei Ye looked at her.

"After passing the interest in wooden carts and paper kites in childhood, after seeing someone use a sword for the first time, after suddenly flipping to a book called *Discussing the Sword* while reading classics..." Cui Zhaoye looked at the withered winter trees beside her, "I plunged into this vast world and could never pull myself out."

She smiled at the youth: "Unfortunately, as Young Hero Pei can see, I cannot cultivate."

"Sword talent is logically even rarer than 'opening the veins,' but unfortunately I have this but not that." Cui Zhaoye said, "I can actually dance a good sword, but after all, I have no true *Qi*, and from then on, the path up the mountain was cut off."

"Fortunately, later, my family found a way to open such a pair of eyes for me, allowing me, although I cannot tread it myself, to have the hope of seeing the peak of this mountain from then on. From then on, the only thing I was obsessed with was absorbing all the sword knowledge I could reach. Many times, I feel that the true teachings of those famous sects are far less than the sword classics I have read, because they still have to practice the sword after all." Cui Zhaoye said, "Two years ago, feeling that there was nothing left to read at home, I went to the capital."

"Like many scholars from humble backgrounds, I took the sword theories I had written to visit those famous sects, sent my articles to many big figures in the sword world, and helped their sword sects deduce sword principles. Once they recognized me, I could read their sword classics in the Sword Collection Tower of the Sword Cultivation Academy." Cui Zhaoye smiled, "This experience was truly hard, but it was indeed worth the trip. In the past two years, I have happily seen many wonderful sword games in the Divine Capital and touched too many precious sword classics that I had never heard of before."

"But it was precisely after such experiences that I always felt..." She looked at Pei Ye earnestly and said softly, "'The sword' has not been used very well by this world."

Pei Ye was stunned.

He was already prepared to hear some earth-shattering words, but this sentence entering his ears still left him stunned and speechless.

It was too fantastical, too inexplicable, too arrogant. Even with the halo and experience from before, it was too much like a statement that would make people laugh.

However, the young lady had absolutely no intention of joking. Her eyes became even brighter, flashing with a certain scorching spark: "I have collected and organized the sword arts of the world, covering about one-third of what has passed through my hands, and covering over ninety-five percent of the sword sects... Everyone walks the same path. This also includes the Cloud Lang Mountain on the surface."

"It is said: Enter the Dao with the heart, and the sword releases the world."

Pei Ye frowned.

"Everyone who practices the sword is like this. The realm of clumsiness and spirit is the control of the sword. When it reaches 'intention,' it completes the first expression of oneself through the sword." Cui Zhaoye spoke eloquently, "What the *General Theory* says, 'Transmit my feelings to the world,' is precisely this."

She looked at Pei Ye: "Then I say, the heart sword is actually 'Transmit my heart to the world.' Is that appropriate?"

"..."

"..."

"Appropriate." Pei Ye said slowly.

The heart sword was not something that could be covered by such a few words, but using these two sentences to describe the application logic of the heart sword was absolutely correct. He himself was a successor of the heart sword; Pei Ye had no doubts about this issue. It was originally "heart reaches" first, then "sword transmits"—you must first understand the "solitude of leaving the group" in your heart before you can grasp 【Bright Mirror Ice Heaven Reflects Me】, and then be able to transmit it to your opponent with the sword in your hand.

"Master—Sword—Guest" was originally a sword structure that applied everywhere. The heart sword was like this, the intention sword was also like this. In fact, all swords were like this...

Pei Ye suddenly froze.

He stared fixedly at Cui Zhaoye, suddenly understanding what she was saying.

"If Young Hero Pei had read more of my sword theories, you would be able to see that I always have a complex attitude toward those perfect swords that are close to the Dao. I cannot help but be obsessed with them, yet I am unwilling to admit that this is my 'reed across the shore.' I always favor swordsmen who rely on spiritual *Qi* and intuition too much, even if they often just have an unstable foundation; and I love and hate swordsmen like Yan Feiqing and Yang Zhenbing, who can be counted on ten fingers, even if they are already near the ultimate." Cui Zhaoye looked at him, "I always add the sentence 'the sword is the sword of man' in many articles, precisely because under this sword-practicing structure, if you want to reach the ultimate, you must gradually cast aside the human part, including human mistakes, impulses, flashes of inspiration... and everything else, making yourself as powerful as the 'Dao.' That is the ultimate realm of the sword that people pursue."

... Yes.

"Master—Sword—Guest." If people want to exert a more powerful influence on the target object they desire, they naturally need to cultivate the "Master" and the "Sword."

Just like the "Heart of Gu She," it is of course far more powerful than the ordinary heart of the red dust.

Pei Ye was still a long way from the peak of the high mountain of the sword path, while the young lady in front of him had almost not taken a single step. But at this moment, the two stood under the mountain covered in clouds and mist, and a certain arrogant thought actually coincided.

—In this way, if a person casts aside themselves so that the sword can reach the ultimate, then, is the sword used by man... or is man used by the sword?

Cui Zhaoye looked at the youth in front of her with bright eyes. Just seeing his constantly changing expression, she knew he had understood her in a single sentence. This feeling of a "soulmate" almost swept away the gloom of her years of solitary thinking in an instant.

"Young Hero Pei..." She said softly, a little nervously, "What do you think is right and what is wrong?"

"... How would I dare to talk about right and wrong." Pei Ye came back to his senses and smiled blankly, "It's just... although I have read few books, I have actually seen many novel or seemingly correct viewpoints. Miss Cui's statement is the one that has shaken my heart the most, but if a hypothesis wants to become truth, I fear it must go through a very long and difficult verification process."

The more the youth spoke, the more earnest his expression became. Clearly, there was no polite or euphemistic language for a new friend. Cui Zhaoye smiled upon hearing this: "Then Young Hero Pei at least acknowledges that this is a path worth trying, right?"

"Naturally."

"Then Young Hero Pei... are you willing to try it with me?" The young lady looked at him sincerely, her eyes seeming to be embedded with stars.

Pei Ye was slightly stunned: "This... how to try?"

"Try, 'Transmit the intention of the sword to my heart.' Try the sword-practicing path of 'Guest—Sword—Me'." Cui Zhaoye said, "Try what the 'sword' looks like after casting aside the moves, try not to rely on divine insight into the entire battle situation, and rely only on a heart and a sword to defeat all powerful enemies."

"... Miss Cui, have you thought about it?"

"I think about it every moment, but no one has ever been able to verify it for me." Cui Zhaoye looked at him, "Is Young Hero Pei willing to try to climb this precipice with me?"

Pei Ye froze. This was of course a precipice, and also a somewhat presumptuous invitation.

It certainly did not require the youth to change his sword path, and it would inevitably require a lot of energy, and everything was just existing in a hypothesis.

But the young lady's words just now had indeed struck him.

He suddenly remembered that there were indeed such swords. He had seen them with his own eyes and held them with his own hands.

... 【Naked Heart Sees Blade】, is it precisely the star of the wolf on this path?

"It would be my honor." He said softly, "Thank you, Miss Cui, for your favor."

Cui Zhaoye's eyes narrowed with a smile. She tilted her head and said: "It is only Young Hero Pei who has shown me the hope of this path."

She suddenly raised her teacup high and said heroically to the youth: "Having a soulmate on this journey, I don't feel the Shu road is difficult! Cheers!"

Pei Ye stood up with a smile. The seventeen-year-old youth and young lady raised their cups high in the thin, steep winter forest, and the tea soup that had already cooled sprinkled a cool line of water in the air.

This day was the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the *Renwu* year of the *Suolin* era. Only Changsun Jue watched this scene with some sleepiness.

Cui Zhaoye's ability to act far exceeded Pei Ye's imagination. Seeing that it was already dark, he was just about to set another time to meet, but the young lady had already impatiently put away her paper and brush and said: "Let's go."

"... Where to?"

"The Sword Cultivation Academy." Cui Zhaoye tilted her head at him in surprise, "It's only *Xu* hour; Young Hero Pei wouldn't stop practicing the sword, would he?"

"..."

He indeed hadn't planned to practice.

In the comfortable and spacious carriage, the bright pearls emitted a soft light.

"Because the wonder of the 'sword' is precisely here."

"It can miraculously transmit a person's own intention, heart, and even Dao into the world. Other things like sabers and spears certainly also talk about 'intention' and cultivate the 'heart,' but that is only hoping to better control the weapon through self-cultivation. They cannot truly shroud the person they see with their own intention, nor can they truly enter the mind-spirit realm of a person." In the quiet carriage, the young lady sipped tea slowly, narrating, while the street lights flowed through the gaps in the curtains.

The Cui family's carriage was truly steady and comfortable. Changsun Jue and Cui Zhaoye sat in one place, while Pei Ye leaned on a small couch, closing his eyes and listening.

"Then I think, the reverse should also be equally feasible—that is, to transmit the 'world' into the 'heart' of the swordsman." Cui Zhaoye said, "Thus, the swordsman himself can possess a certain divine state, roughly similar to the 'great power returning to oneself' mentioned by martial artists."

Changsun Jue tapped her chin lightly: "Sounds a bit like 'The Six Classics Annotate Me' and 'I Annotate the Six Classics'."

"Not bad either. Confucianism hopes to touch the truth of the world through classics; how is that different from a swordsman hoping to pursue the Dao through the sword?"

Pei Ye said: "Classmate Changsun, what is 'The Six Classics Annotate Me'?"

Changsun Jue smiled: "You know we always want to interpret the Five Classics to obtain a standard for conduct. But there is a saying that classics are nothing more than the elucidation of the inherent conscience of my own heart. As long as I cultivate my heart, the Six Classics are all footnotes to me."

"... This sounds like a mad scholar."

"Not at all. We just said in class that Confucius said 'Heaven gave birth to virtue in me.' In fact, Mencius also believed that the benevolent heart is born of heaven. They wrote classics, which were originally elucidated from their own hearts. Therefore, 'The Six Classics Annotate the Saint' can naturally also be 'The Six Classics Annotate Me'..."

"You shut up first." Cui Zhaoye raised her hand to stop her, "So, Young Hero Pei, I believe that people can definitely also obtain certain changes in themselves through the sword. This is my first relatively complete conception, and we will try it tonight."

She looked at the youth: "I call it 【Sword State】."

"Sword State..."

"'State' means what the heart can do must be seen on the outside. I believe it represents all the wonders a swordsman can obtain after 'connecting the heart with the sword'." Talking about her conception, the young lady's excitement was visible to the naked eye, "If this attempt can succeed, it means our hypothesis is at least a path that can go very far!"

"Does Miss Cui have many such conceptions?"

"Reading more naturally leads to thinking more." Cui Zhaoye smiled, leaning back on the backrest, then pursed her lips and paused, "Young Hero Pei, I have a lifelong ambition."

"What?"

"I want to interpret the sword arts of the world, comb through all sword principles, and completely open up the path of sword cultivation from low to high... and then write a book." Cui Zhaoye's eyes were shining in the darkness, indeed like two bright pearls, "*General Theory of Six Dynasties Sword Art* is a combing of sword history, *Discussing the Sword* is only a high-level overview of sword principles, and *Talks on the Sword of the Washing Sun Pavilion* is clear and understandable, but it is both shallow and chaotic, close to a notebook... I want to write a classic that expounds on the 'sword' without any modifiers."

"..."

"Every word must be carefully considered, every question must be faced head-on, and it must be solved." Cui Zhaoye imagined, "The words I write must be passed down to future sword paths like classics."

Pei Ye felt a sense of respect. He himself had just learned to read and write, and his writing was still a mess. Just listening to it, he knew what a huge project this was.

"This must take a lot of words, right?"

"I think it's about between three million and four million."

Pei Ye felt a sense of respect again and couldn't help asking: "How much has Miss Cui written now?"

"Still thinking about the name."

"..."

"I currently want to call it *Sword Canon*, but I feel it might be mediocre..." She suddenly tilted her head and smiled gently, "Why don't Young Hero Pei help me think of one. If I can write this book, Young Hero Pei's assistance on the sword path will definitely be indispensable. At that time, we can co-author this book."

Before Pei Ye could speak, Changsun Jue extended a finger from the side: "Why don't you each take one character from your names—let's call it *Ming-Pei Sword Canon*."

"..." Cui Zhaoye looked at her silently.