Chapter 18: Talent vs. Temperament

"Junior Brother, apart from strength, why is the power of the same sword technique so different?" a senior brother nearby suddenly asked.

These days, they had returned to Qipan Mountain and would spar with each other when free. This was the first time they had seen Su Fan fight and use his sword technique.

They could clearly see that the opponent was using the Huashan Sword Technique, but the power of the same technique was different.

Senior Brother Lu Hua was only one year junior to Senior Brother Fan Ming, and in terms of strength, he was third among them.

As a result, he only lasted ten moves against Su Fan. Their judgment was naturally not poor, and they could see that Senior Brother Lu Hua had already used his full strength.

Although they had previously guessed that Su Fan's strength was not weak—after all, he was able to enter the inner sect and be entrusted by the Sect Leader to be the person in charge of establishing this Huashan Branch—his strength certainly couldn't be weak.

But as a result of this sparring, they saw his true strength.

It was likely that his strength was already no less than that of Senior Brother Fan Ming and Senior Brother Zhang Meng.

Su Fan's expression remained unchanged when he heard the question. Since he had revealed his strength, he naturally had the ability to answer questions.

Moreover, he had long been prepared. The outer sect disciples who came with him were all quite good; regardless of potential, at the very least, each of them was extremely diligent in their cultivation.

Don't think that every Huashan disciple cultivates diligently.

That is impossible.

Cultivation, especially day-after-day cultivation, whether it is internal energy or external moves, is not easy; it is boring and dull.

Even many inner sect disciples cannot persist. Otherwise, the inner sect would not only have twenty-something first-rate martial artists.

Of course, wanting to break through to the first-rate level is not that easy, especially opening the twelve standard meridians; this final hurdle is not that simple.

But in Su Fan's view, a person's aptitude is innate, but the tempering of willpower is forged through later training.

The people he chose all had medium-grade bone structure, but according to his Master's investigation, these people cultivated very diligently in their daily lives.

This makes them worth cultivating. Regardless of how the Huashan Sect fares in the future, he will treat this place as his future foundation. If the Huashan Sect doesn't experience the Sword-Qi conflict, that would be for the best.

Once it happens, this place could become the Huashan Sect's foundation.

Fan Ming and Zhang Meng are both in their forties, nearing fifty, and are at the peak of the second-rate level. As outer sect disciples, their cultivation speed is not slow.

It's just that their bone structure is relatively poor, so they couldn't enter the inner sect.

Especially Fan Ming and Zhang Meng, who have almost reached the critical point of the first-rate level. It is estimated that within ten years, the two of them are very likely to break through to the first-rate level.

The reason it is so fast is, first, that they have received Su Fan's guidance these days.

Don't look at Su Fan's internal energy cultivation, which is not even as good as theirs; in terms of cultivation experience, Su Fan absolutely exceeds them.

After all, he has a cheat, which is equivalent to having a top-tier martial arts grandmaster teaching him personally.

It is conceivable that after his pointers, their internal energy cultivation, especially in terms of opening meridians, has become much smoother.

Coupled with the fact that for nearly a year, Su Fan has provided Vitality Medicinal Soup, they have accumulated more internal energy.

Of course, the others are not bad either. With the medicinal soup provided by Su Fan, plus the fact that there is plenty of beef and mutton here in Liaodong, in less than a year, everyone's progress has been visible to the naked eye.

These ten or so outer sect disciples will be his future pillars.

Not to mention all of them breaking through to the first-rate level; even if only half of them do, that would be enough.

So now he has also begun to cultivate everyone.

Sparring is one of the fastest ways to improve strength, and he also guides them during the sparring process.

Regarding everyone's doubts, Su Fan began to explain in detail, especially regarding the sword path.

Su Fan pointed out directly: "Sword techniques are a means of killing. Since it is for killing, use the simplest and fastest method. You say my sword technique is unique; actually, it is very simple: one word—fast. Strike fast, and your sword moves will be one step ahead of others."

"In the Huashan Sword Technique, the move 'White Cloud Emerges from the Peak' is the fastest, but I have made it a few points faster on this basis. That is why Senior Brother Lu was caught off guard."

"As for why you think my sword technique is unique, it's just because I have practiced the Huashan Sword Technique to an extremely proficient level. You all follow the sword technique move by move when you strike."

"The Huashan Sword Technique, when performed consistently like this, is indeed powerful. When dealing with people whose strength is insufficient, they will struggle. However, once you encounter a sword expert, or someone very familiar with the Huashan Sword Technique, it becomes simple for them to deal with."

"Therefore, if you want to increase the power of your sword technique, you must either work on your internal energy, coordinating it with the sword technique to enhance lethality, or work on the moves."

"The sword technique I performed belongs to the latter. In terms of sword techniques, being proficient in performing moves is just the foundation. If you want to become a true sword expert, you must at least reach the level of doing as you please, where sword moves come naturally, no longer restricted to one move or one style."

"This is one of the reasons why I caught Senior Brother Lu off guard just now. As for the speed of the sword technique,"

"It is the reason I have been training from the very beginning. You can try it when the time comes..."

Su Fan said a lot, including his own understanding, and much of it was summarized by the inner sect elders of the Huashan Sect.

Lu Hua and the others are outer sect disciples. Although sometimes elders will give them a pointer or two, wanting to read the precious classics collected by the Huashan Sect like Su Fan is impossible.

Su Fan explained in detail, and Lu Hua and the others naturally listened even more seriously. They all knew that this was hard-won knowledge and would definitely help them improve their martial arts in the future.

Looking at everyone's appearance like elementary school students listening to a teacher's lecture, Su Fan shook his head inwardly.

He couldn't help but think that the teaching of Jianghu sects is truly unsatisfactory.

Outer sect disciples are almost left to fend for themselves. Apart from throwing down a Huashan Heart Method and some second or third-rate martial arts, there isn't much concern for them.

In Su Fan's view, this is simply too wasteful.

Inner sect disciples, apart from a few who are descendants or relatives of the upper echelons, are all those with relatively high talent and are indeed worth cultivating. But are there none in the outer sect?

In the martial arts world, Su Fan feels that the importance of aptitude doesn't need to be too high.

What really matters is temperament and willpower.

Most outer sect disciples, after experiencing Jianghu trials and tempering, and then being well-cultivated, have a greater possibility of breaking through to the first-rate level, Su Fan feels.

Although inner sect disciples also go down the mountain for trials, to be honest, it is far worse than the fighting and tempering that outer sect disciples experience in the Jianghu.

The Huashan Sect, or many sects, want to rely on competition to improve, but in Su Fan's view, it is not enough.

Even if there is competition, the outer and inner sects should be put together. Perhaps outer sect disciples could improve faster. Of course, the premise is that both receive the same degree of attention.

Obviously, that is impossible. Su Fan also knows that because the resources required for this are an astronomical figure, which is likely one of the reasons why many sects cannot do it.

After everyone calmed down, Su Fan took out a bundle and handed it to Lu Hua, asking him to take it to Shenyang City and give it to Fan Ming.

This was the Vitality Soup he had prepared; they could just take it back and boil it to consume.

He then returned to his courtyard, while the others went back to slowly absorb the content Su Fan had taught today. ===== CHAPTER 19 =====