Chapter 32: 31 One Yuan

31 One Yuan

That night, Tang Zhao did not rest, waiting quietly for the person who was supposed to come.

During this time of waiting, he discovered a small secret.

Previously, whenever he entered a state of visualization, he would instantly enter a world filled with blazing light, only emerging when his Spirit was burned away; but after trying a few more times, he discovered there was an intermediate state.

He could voluntarily linger in a layer of consciousness where faint firelight existed; with just a single thought, he could enter the flames, and he could continue like this, remaining in a state that was half-dreaming, half-waking, yet exceptionally clear.

This state gave him a strange sense of satisfaction, far more comfortable than being swallowed and scorched by the flames, though the training effect was certainly much worse; he reminded himself not to covet comfort and forget his cultivation.

"Set a rigid rule for yourself: you must visualize once before going to sleep at night. Add more later as appropriate."

At this moment, the wind stirred slightly, and a person entered the room without a sound.

"Lord Si."

After two days, he finally saw that cold face again.

Si Liyu was carrying a long, flat leather bag in his hand; he placed it on the table and said, "You have begun practicing martial arts, how is it?"

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "The first day of practicing martial arts was quite novel. Of course, it was also truly exhausting."

Si Liyu said, "It is only novel on the first day; one of the great enemies of learning martial arts is monotony. Once the novelty fades, the ability to persist day after day is the key."

Opening the long, flat leather bag, Si Liyu took out a wooden stick.

When he was rummaging through the bag, Tang Zhao could not help but be curious about what treasure was inside, and seeing that it was just an unremarkable wooden stick, he was very surprised.

Si Liyu handed it to him, and as Tang Zhao took it, his whole body jolted.

A surge of power rose from his limbs and bones, just like the sword that killed that day.

Compared to the impulsive and surging feeling the power gave him at that time, this time the power was very calm, merging into one with the power of his own body easily and without any extra burden.

He couldn't help but swing it, and the wooden sword made a "Whoosh—" sound.

Si Liyu suddenly said, "Look over here."

Tang Zhao looked over, and Si Liyu pinched a seal with one hand.

Tang Zhao stared at his hand, wondering what the intention was, when Si Liyu suddenly reached out to pull the wooden sword from his hand.

Tang Zhao instinctively tightened his hand, and since Si Liyu was not using real force, the pull did not succeed.

"It works."

"What does that mean?"

Si Liyu pointed at the wooden sword and said, "This is an Art Tool. It contains One Yuan Power."

"Is this an Art Tool?" Tang Zhao looked at the wooden sword repeatedly; was this an Art Tool? Was it the Art Tool mentioned in the same breath as the Mysterious Technique?

Although he did not know what One Yuan was, he assumed it was a unit of measurement.

Before he could continue to ask what he meant just now, Si Liyu continued, "Daytime cultivation is to improve your own foundation, but what concerns your success or even life and death a month from now is how much ability you have when you pick up a sword. Therefore, starting today, you must adapt to the changes in power."

Tang Zhao deeply agreed; suddenly obtaining powerful strength was certainly not easy to control, and there must indeed be corresponding training.

At this time, the night was deep, and no one was training on the drill ground. The rule of Black Spider Villa was a curfew, and even if there were youths doing extra training, they could only work hard silently in their rooms, while Si Liyu clearly did not take the local rules seriously.

He first told Tang Zhao to do the stretching again, then to hold the sword.

He involuntarily held the sword in the way Xing Ji had taught him, but Si Liyu corrected him, "Hold the sword with one hand, and keep the other hand free to pinch the Sword Seal."

Tang Zhao learned to pinch a Sword Seal just like he had done earlier, and Si Liyu said, "This is one type. There are nine ways to pinch seals, all of which are basic skills of Sword Art to help you release Sword Art. You will learn them later."

Holding the sword, he then swung it. Si Liyu taught Tang Zhao a Bow Stance Straight Chop movement, correcting him on every joint from hand technique, footwork, and body movement, then ordered him to repeat this one movement incessantly.

During the practice, Tang Zhao finally understood what "monotony" meant.

Pure sword-swinging practice was not as interesting as pushing stones. Especially since he had increased a portion of his physical strength and could perform more swings, it became increasingly monotonous and repetitive. At the beginning, Si Liyu kept correcting his movements, but as the movements became proficient, all sounds disappeared, leaving only the "whoosh-whoosh" sound of the wooden stick buzzing in the night sky.

Gradually, sweat fell onto the drill ground, and Tang Zhao was so tired that his arms were numb and sore, and his feet felt light as if he were stepping on clouds. He just swung his arms numbly.

"Good, rest."

The sentence was like a celestial sound; Tang Zhao relaxed all at once, and the sword in his hand also loosened—

"Hold it!" Si Liyu shouted loudly.

Tang Zhao gave a start, and his fingers, which had already loosened, suddenly tightened again.

Si Liyu came over, grabbed his arm, and shouted sternly, "Remember, when I say rest or even finish, you can sit down or lie down, but you are not allowed to let go of the sword in your hand!"

Tang Zhao said solemnly, "Yes."

Si Liyu lowered his voice, his tone still serious, "Think for yourself, with your body, can you swing hundreds of times right from the start?"

Tang Zhao recalled his physical strength and shook his head.

Si Liyu said, "You can't do it yourself; it is the external force that leads you to do it. Your body receives excessive training and also bears excessive fatigue. You must hold the sword and wait for this power to lead your body to recover slowly before you can put down the Art Tool; otherwise, you will be paralyzed at best, or seriously injured at worst!"

Tang Zhao felt a lingering fear and hurriedly stood still holding the sword honestly, only sitting down slowly after a while.

Si Liyu took out a water bottle and gave it to him. Tang Zhao took two sips and suddenly said, "Lord Si, is this actually considered a cheat?"

Si Liyu did not understand, so Tang Zhao changed his explanation, "This is a bit like cheating, right? Borrowing external force to get abundant physical strength first and then training should be much more efficient than relying on oneself, right? And when learning moves, being able to practice more times must mean learning faster!"

Si Liyu gave a hum and said, "It is faster to learn."

Tang Zhao praised, "What a powerful method, truly worthy of the Inspection Division!"

Si Liyu paused for a moment and said, "This is the Town Guardian's private collection. Not everyone in the Training Camp can use it."

Tang Zhao was surprised, and Si Liyu said, "This one costs ten thousand taels."

Tang Zhao almost threw the wooden stick away and said, "Ten... ten thousand taels?"

Si Liyu said, "Even with money, you might not be able to buy it. That is how Art Tools are. This is only a One Yuan tool; stronger ones have prices that soar even higher."

Tang Zhao said, "Lord Xing really spent a fortune."

Si Liyu said, "It is much easier for him. You have the opportunity to be cultivated by him, so do not waste it."

Tang Zhao nodded. He rubbed the wooden stick repeatedly and couldn't help but say, "He gave me a treasure before, it had cracks on it and could release a wall; is that also an Art Tool?"

Si Liyu was slightly stunned, then immediately said, "I suppose so. Since it can release a wall, it is a Light Artifact. The one with cracks is a Yuan Artifact..." He said quite a few terms at once, leaving Tang Zhao confused, so he explained, "There are many ways to classify Art Tools. One type only increases strength without having an Art, which is a Heavy Art Tool; one type has an Art but does not increase strength, which is called a Light Artifact. One that both increases strength and can release an Art is called a True Artifact. If it were an ordinary person, they could only release a Light Artifact, but your Spirit Talent is high, so you should be able to release a True Artifact as well. But at that time, the Town Guardian did not know your talent, so he could only give you a Light Artifact."

Tang Zhao said: "Are Art Tools also related to Inspiration?"

Si Liyu said: "Naturally. Just now, when you held the Art Tool, you felt the power directly, didn't you? People with average Inspiration need to be single-minded and concentrate their energy to feel the power. This is the difference in talent. Moreover, the fact that your power did not diminish while you were distracted is a sign of extremely high talent. In the future, spending less mental effort on Art Tools during combat will already be a major advantage."

Tang Zhao suddenly understood; back then, Si Liyu had abruptly snatched his Art Tool to test if he could maintain power while distracted.

There are many tricks to this.

"This is one way of classifying them. There is another way: those formed by a Sword Guest directly cleaving with a sword are called Primal Art Tools, while those carved out by a Talisman Sword Master are called Talisman Art Tools. Primal Art Tools are not easy to preserve and will dissipate quickly. If the Town Guardian gave you a Primal Art Tool, it must have been one he made himself."

Tang Zhao memorized this intently and said: "Can Officer Xing make Art Tools himself? Can all Sword Guests make Art Tools?"

Si Liyu said: "Only their own Sword Art. To truly manufacture Art Tools, one must be a Talisman Sword Master. They are even rarer than Sword Guests. The Land Inspection Bureau has some Sword Guests, but various Sword Masters can be counted on one's fingers."

Tang Zhao nodded and asked: "Is a Sword Guest a realm above a Knight-Errant?"

Si Liyu said: "A Sword Guest is just a Sword Guest; what does that have to do with a Knight-Errant?"

Tang Zhao was stunned and said: "Isn't it... that after Martial Dao is perfected, one can practice Mysterious Technique, and then be reborn to become a Sword Guest?"

Si Liyu raised an eyebrow and said: "Where did you learn these things? That's old-fashioned. It used to be like that, one step at a time, but now there are various Paths to ascend to the heavens. If one truly had to wait until the end of Martial Dao to switch paths, who would resist the Yin Calamity? There would be no one left in the world. Even the Town Guardian..."

Tang Zhao struggled to understand and said: "So you mean... one doesn't have to be a Knight-Errant to be a Sword Guest?"

Si Liyu said: "You don't need to know that much. You only need to practice martial arts. Practice your martial arts well, and you won't go wrong doing anything. Especially with the time limit ahead, you need to be even more single-minded and practice with all your might; don't think about anything else. Only after passing this hurdle can you talk about a 'future'. Otherwise, even I wouldn't bother putting effort into you."

What he said was very blunt, even very cruel. Tang Zhao straightened his back and said: "I know."

Regardless, although Si Liyu spoke in a utilitarian way, he still answered many of Tang Zhao's questions, all of which he could have chosen not to answer. Tang Zhao still appreciated his kindness and did not feel that he truly wasn't putting in effort.

Si Liyu said no more and closed his eyes to rest.

Tang Zhao sat quietly for a while, then quietly took out his Glasses and put them on to examine this Art Tool.

"Art Tool, Low Grade"

There really was an annotation!

"Primal Power: One Yuan (Full). Art: None. Base Material: Ten-Year Peach Wood Core."

There was only this line of annotation below, with no long-winded explanation.

Tang Zhao found it novel and touched the wood, thinking: Is this peach wood? I heard in stories that people with cultivation who catch ghosts use peach wood swords, so it's true. But this thing looks nothing like a sword!

This is a wooden stick—no, it's a wooden pole, because it's hollow.

He suddenly had a thought: Why is it hollow? Isn't it bamboo poles that are hollow? Does making a hollow one out of peach wood require special drilling?

According to general logic, things done with specific intent always have a special reason.

He picked up the wooden pole and closed one eye to peer into the hollow center.

There was a glimmer of light inside.

A row of tiny characters was carved on the inner wall of the wooden pole, glowing in the darkness.

That was not the light displayed by the Glasses, but light he could see with his own eyes, just like the light he had seen with his own eyes in the well water in the desolate courtyard that night.

Although this light was like a firefly compared to the bright moon, they were so similar.

That is...

"Rune Formula: Yuan—"

Whoosh—

Countless characters scrolled across the Glasses like a waterfall—

The Glasses, they were flooding the screen!