Chapter 513

"What's wrong?" Zhangsun Jue blinked as she looked at him.

"Nothing, it just sounds like a book published by Yunlang Mountain."

But she rolled her eyes, then rested her chin on her hand and said, "When the Liuli Sword Master comes to Changan next year, I really must find a way to meet them."

Pei Ye did not answer; his thoughts had also drifted to the spring and summer of next year, a time of clear skies and flourishing flowers and trees, when the Five Seas and Nine Continents Feather Scale Trial would be held here, and after this gathering... would be his Shenjing Wu Ju.

Where would those opponents be now?

Sword Academy, Yi-4 Sword Arena.

Pei Ye pushed open the door. At this hour, the young man's figure practicing his sword was indeed on the arena, as if he had grown here day after day, forming a sharp contrast with Pei Ye himself, who would either forget to eat and sleep for two or three days or be nowhere to be seen for days on end.

The thin sweat on Yang Zhenbing's forehead had not yet dried. He turned his head and saw Pei Ye walking in with two young ladies, his expression inevitably startled.

"Friends from outside," Pei Ye introduced with a smile.

Cui Zhaoye was clearly not seeing this descendant of the Sword Demon for the first time; she actually asked two very precise questions about his sword practice progress. Zhangsun Jue, however, seemed a bit curious; she stood behind Pei Ye and whispered, "Why is he carrying six swords on his back?"

"They're for dismembering different parts of the body," Pei Ye tilted his head and said.

Zhangsun Jue stared, as if she had been frozen in place.

"What time does Sword Master Yang usually practice until?" her fearless close friend was still chatting away.

"Half past midnight."

Cui Zhaoye turned back to look at Pei Ye, blinked, and said, "Young Master Pei, how about we stay until that time today too?"

"...... Fine."

Pei Ye actually wanted to say that his serious injuries had not yet healed, but after thinking about it, testing some "Sword State" was clearly not as demanding as his own high-intensity sword practice and comprehension, so it should be relatively easy. Moreover, he truly wanted to see this unheard-of path of sword practice.

Yang Zhenbing was allocated a quarter of the arena. Pei Ye said it was divided by the number of people, and Yang Zhenbing looked at him without raising any objections. In reality, this young man truly never occupied much space when practicing his sword; he could spend an entire day honing his sword art within a space of just a few feet.

The content on Pei Ye's side was more complex. Cui Zhaoye said that in her current "Human Sword" thinking, 【Sword State】 was a system that was relatively complete in conception and waiting to be verified, but how to step onto this path was a problem with absolutely no precedent to refer to.

Pei Ye adjusted his state, the unsheathed 【Mountain Feather】 carried behind his arm. Cui Zhaoye explained her train of thought earnestly, while Zhangsun Jue sat on a cushion further back with her knees hugged, watching with great anticipation.

"Sword moves are when a person condenses their inner cognition into the sword, and then in turn uses it to influence the world; Sword State, on the other hand, is when a person draws observations of the world from the sword and reflects them back onto their own heart, making 'me' the object influenced by the sword," Cui Zhaoye said slowly. "In my conception, after success, the person and the sword coexist in a wondrous state; this state must still be maintained by holding the sword. At this time, the swordsman is 'controlling the sword with the heart,' and the two complement each other, coexisting as one."

"Whether this realm can be reached depends mainly on two qualities of the swordsman: first, sensitivity to the 'sword.' Those who are dull and obtuse regarding the sword might not even understand what the sword in their hand is saying for their entire lives, wasting their whole life in the Clumsy Realm, so how could they complete the 'Heart-Sword Connection'? Therefore, one must have extraordinary sword talent; this is the first." Cui Zhaoye originally had a noble temperament, but when discussing sword matters, her words became even sharper, not leaving any room for the dullards she spoke of. Fortunately, no one else here was being attacked, except for the young lady sitting with her knees hugged to the side.

"Second, being sentimental and quick-witted. Those whose hearts are like 'asking the heart amidst the fire,' observing the world with their own heart, are certainly insightful and never make mistakes, but they are also difficult to be moved by external things. 'State' takes the heart as its foundation; a human heart must inevitably feel sorrow and joy, know worry and fear, be capable of love and hate, and have confusion... It can have a clear and constant will, but it should not have a heart that is unmoved by all things. It is easily touched by people and objects, and completes a resonance with one's own sword."

Cui Zhaoye turned her head to look at Pei Ye when she reached this point, the joy in her eyes undisguised: "Young Master Pei possesses both of these qualities at the top level; I was certain of it when I saw that hidden style of 'Early Moon, Chuyue Chuyue Beiyu' at West Pool."

That sword of "sentiments" was indeed very smooth for Pei Ye to learn, and he liked it extremely much.

"In my conception, if a swordsman is already familiar with this path, then by observing things while carrying the sword and contemplating and meditating between heaven and earth, they should be able to obtain this true meaning," Cui Zhaoye had clearly thought about this countless times. "But now, when it comes to getting started, let's start from the sword arts Young Master Pei has already mastered."

"What do you mean?"

"Sword arts originally contain cognition of the world. Before, we only projected outwards after obtaining their essence, but now we can try to extract a certain true meaning that fits ourselves from them, using the sword to connect with me, and complete an 'endowing of the heart'," Cui Zhaoye said. "Just like the transformation of the cicada and bird in the 'Jade Jade Sword', I feel that Young Master Pei has... some special feelings for this sword art?"

"......"

"In short, what I mean is roughly that Young Master Pei can immerse your heart into the sword arts you have already mastered and complete a tempering," Cui Zhaoye extended a finger and said. "Specifically, we can first meditate on the imagery within them, and then abstract a certain kind of heart-sword resonance... sentiment? Or 'reason' from multiple sword arts. I think it's the same."

"It sounds somewhat profound..." Pei Ye frowned in thought, slowly straightening the sword in his hand.

"Indeed," Cui Zhaoye sighed lightly. "This is an attempt with a very high intent to begin with; it requires the heart and sword to be in harmony from the start. If it weren't for this, no one would have been able to try it for me until today."

Pei Ye smiled slightly: "No matter, the first step I took onto the sword path was precisely 'heart and sword in harmony'."

Cui Zhaoye looked at him with bright eyes: "Good! Then let's start right from the 'Jade Jade Sword'—Young Master Pei, think as you speak, and I will help Young Master Pei deduce which direction to comprehend."

This was a pleasant process. Pei Ye recounted his sword arts in detail as he sorted through them without any concealment, while Cui Zhaoye took up a pen and recorded everything meticulously on paper, eyes fixed in deep thought, striving to find that gateway that would elevate a person.

"Snow Sword", "Jade Jade Sword", "Early Moon, Chuyue Chuyue Beiyu", "Yang Flower"... the young man's sword was extremely romantic, filled with colorful imagery.

It was still somewhat of a fantasy to comprehend the true meaning from a few sword names. Cui Zhaoye carefully arranged every sword move and sword principle, and strove to push deeper into the young man's feelings for these swords and his state of mind when using them. The mass they finally condensed into was hazy in her heart, and she could not see its shape for a moment.

Pei Ye finally finished going through all the swords in his heart, stopped speaking, and paused: "How is it, Miss Cui? —Sorry, although I don't know many sword arts, they are somewhat mixed..."

"Hmm..." Cui Zhaoye tapped her chin lightly. "I feel... 【Flying Feather Immortal】 doesn't seem as prominent as I imagined, but 【Immovable Dangerous Wind】, 【Cloud Cold】... ah, don't open your eyes... have a sense of central command."

Pei Ye had no choice but to close his eyes and stand still, listening to the young lady say: "Comprehend it earnestly, the snow, the sword, the cicada and bird in the cycle of life and death, find the wind and clouds within them..."

Pei Ye stood quietly.

Cui Zhaoye looked at him with sparkling eyes.

"... A-and then?" Pei Ye tilted his head blankly with his eyes closed.

Cui Zhaoye was also somewhat blank: "Then just... comprehend it."

"...?"

"..."

"I comprehend... no... wait..." Pei Ye was stunned. "What should I comprehend?"

"..."

Zhangsun Jue couldn't help but "pfft" with laughter.

"Aren't you... quite good at comprehending?" Cui Zhaoye frowned and bit her lower lip, whispering, "How did you learn 【Divine Palace Sword Washing】? Just put yourself in the world composed of the sword... go find the one true meaning that runs through your heart the most in your entire life of sword practice... have you found it...?"

Pei Ye frowned slightly, fell silent, and strove to enter the realm the young lady spoke of.

He had roughly understood the young lady's meaning. 【Sword State】 is a true meaning first endowed to the heart by the sword; after the heart obtains this meaning, it relies on controlling the sword with the heart to endow the sword-wielder with a wondrous state. It is indeed roughly similar to entering the realm of 【Naked Heart Seeing the Blade】.

However, how should he go about harvesting this true meaning?

The young man thought quietly. That sensitive sword sense indeed revealed its monstrous nature once again; he entered the sword realm described by the young lady very easily. Here, all the swords he had learned surrounded him, and every image was so familiar.

But what could he obtain from within this?

What did the heart, surrounded by ten thousand swords, look like?

Cui Zhaoye whispered from the side: "Young Master Pei... can you try imagining yourself as a cicada or a bird? You are amidst the dangerous wind and cold clouds... close your five senses, enter into it..."

Pei Ye subconsciously raised his head. For the first time, he felt that what the young lady said was absolutely not false. This feeling of the heart wanting to grasp a certain power was absolutely seized by him in an instant—

Just at this moment, Cui Zhaoye suddenly turned her eyes to look at Yang Zhenbing, who had been standing quietly to the side.

Yang Zhenbing immediately understood her meaning—at a certain node of enlightenment, a cold chill coming from the outside was needed. At this moment, he frowned slightly, actually feeling some hesitation in his heart, but his hand movements were not slow in the slightest. The 【Deer Head】 of the current generation's Sword Demon descendant unsheathed in the winter night. Zhangsun Jue, three yards away, felt her heart and lungs clench inexplicably for an instant.

An extremely fast and extremely sharp sword strike to the throat.

The young man with closed eyes had clearly closed all five senses, but his "heart's eye" opened suddenly at this moment. At the instant the long sword neared his throat, a bright sword light rose from his hand, while his body retreated like a ghost.

He opened his eyes abruptly, the hair all over his body standing on end:

"Fuck!"

This was absolutely a heart-sword connection, because without any thought from the young man's brain, the sword had already flown out of his hand.

Yang Zhenbing's pupils shrank, 【Four Bodies】 unsheathed instantly, and two equally stunning sword lights crossed suddenly in the air. The crisp clanging had already spread throughout the sword arena.

Only at this moment did Cui Zhaoye react and squat down while holding her head, while Pei Ye's sword drew a sharp arc in the night sky and nailed itself with a clang into the wall above Zhangsun Jue's head.

The elegant young lady in scholar's robes stared blankly at them, the long sword above her head still vibrating and clanging, and a strand of fine hair slowly drifted down from the air.

The arena was somewhat frozen and silent.

Pei Ye pursed his lips and looked at Cui Zhaoye.

Everyone knew what had happened at this moment—they hadn't found the legendary 【Sword State】, but had instead forced out the young man's 【Drifting Returning Wind】 and 【Holding New Corpse】 while his five senses were closed in a simulated desperate situation.

This person's sword talent and inspiration were indeed monstrous; he himself had never thought he could do this move either.

Cui Zhaoye pursed her lips and stood up, biting her fingernails lightly.

Beside her, Zhangsun Jue said blankly: "The things you guys are doing... won't explode, right?"

"... I imagined it as you said," Pei Ye looked at Cui Zhaoye and said solemnly, "The cicada and bird in the wind... that's just those two sword strikes."

Cui Zhaoye frowned and looked at the ground, as if she couldn't figure it out no matter how she thought about it: "Really? Did you put your whole heart into it? Simulating their state in the wind, simulating the stretching of the two wings... didn't your heart feel the true meaning of the cicada and bird in the wind?"

"I imagined it all," Pei Ye said solemnly, "I didn't feel it."

Cui Zhaoye was silent, hesitated for a moment: "How about, Young Master Pei... try imitating their chirping?"

"...?"