Many wandering cultivators approached Zhou Shu.
"Junior Brother Zhou Shu, how did you discern the essence of swordsmanship?"
"Yes, the slash of the flat sand and falling geese is easier to explain. Take the slash, for example. While there was a slash in the desert smoke, it was just a feint. The powerful slash that follows is the real move, right?"
"And in the Drinking Horses at the Ice River, there are at least thirty thrusts, each one different. Is yours the only one that holds the essence?"
Some asked questions, others argued. "Why don't you just learn swordsmanship like us? Why do you have to see the essence?"
But Zhou Shu simply shook his head. "It was just a coincidence. I can't explain why. I
apologize." They waited for a while and then quickly left. There was no point dwelling on it. After all, there were still the second and third levels, and many opportunities.
Li Aojian stood proudly in the distance, thinking to himself, "It's just the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm, and I'm still considered A-level. I'm the true A-level, no, special-level!"
Zhou Shu paid no attention to Li Aojian. He sat down quietly, resting quietly.
The sword moves he had just executed were the product of his deduction.
Those complex and bizarre movements, while difficult for a human to perform, were easy to deduce, and even quick.
In just half an hour, he deduced each move hundreds of times, analyzing and calculating each move individually, sequentially, and even simultaneously. Finally, he concluded that the slash, the thrust, and the thrust were the essence.
Perhaps the thrust and the thrust weren't truly physical moves, nor were they the most powerful, but they were the most crucial, the most essential core. Without them, the sword technique would be useless.
Those with good comprehension can instantly see through the essence, understand the principles, and know how to do it faster and better. Those with poor comprehension might need hundreds or even thousands of attempts to grasp this, or even never grasp it, and never be able to execute it effectively.
Zhou Shu's comprehension of the sword might not be exceptional; after all, he had only recently begun practicing sword techniques.
But now, he had deduction to make up for it.
His comprehension was built on analysis and observation, on countless hours of deductive experience.
But beyond the deduction, Zhou Shu also had a special feeling.
These three sword moves didn't fully demonstrate the essence of swordsmanship, leaving a sense of incompleteness. It felt as if there should be another move afterward, and that move's realm seemed several levels higher than the previous three.
Only when combined together could it be a complete swordsmanship.
This feeling was profound.
In his mind, that move seemed to be deducible, but he tried and couldn't.
If he had a deeper understanding of the way of the sword in the future, perhaps he would be able to do it, but not yet.
Zhou Shu was puzzled, so he asked Yun Li if he had a better answer.
Yun Li's answer excited him, and he thought to himself that if he could perform that move, he might be a top-tier master.
Zhou Shu gained more confidence in the way of the sword.
Yun Li kept an eye on Shi Chen, glancing at Zhou Shu from time to time, and then talking to Sun Hedao.
Sun Hedao's face was slightly flushed, and he looked a little agitated. The two seemed to be arguing.
Yun Li shook his head and took a few steps forward. "Time's up, prepare for the second level."
The wandering cultivators stood up, staring at Yun Li nervously.
Yun Li turned sideways and pointed to Lingyun Cliff not far away. "This is the second level. You need to climb to the top and then come back down. I will determine your evaluation level based on your performance. In addition, the first one to complete will receive an additional reward."
"It looks easy."
"There's actually a reward?"
some cultivators began to mutter.
Zhou Shu looked up. Lingyun Cliff was about a hundred feet high, not too high, but extremely steep, completely perpendicular to the ground. The cliff was covered with green moss and looked very slippery, obviously difficult to climb.
For mortals, climbing such a cliff would be extremely difficult, but for cultivators, it seemed nothing.
Many wandering cultivators laughed. To them, this level was a free pass.
Yun Li and Sun Hedao noticed the expressions of the casual cultivators. They shook their heads, a hint of disdain in their eyes. "Easy? You'll see once you get there."
Yun Li said solemnly, "A reminder, everyone. This stage tests more than just resilience. Begin now."
Upon hearing this, Li Aojian immediately rushed towards Lingyun Cliff.
"Resilience? This stage requires resilience too? The Heyin Sect is truly unreliable. But I'll grudgingly accept this first place!"
Unwilling to be outdone, the casual cultivators rushed over.
Li Aojian had already reached the cliff's base and glanced towards the top, his eyebrows raised slightly in a look of disdain.
He was confident, due to his highest level of cultivation and his practice of the Wind-Stepping Technique, a highly effective light-weight technique for those in the Qi Refining Realm. Even two round trips up this cliff wouldn't take him more than a quarter of an hour.
With a powerful push of his feet, he leaped nearly three feet high, aiming for a prominent rock on the cliff face and descending.
He used the spiritual power under his feet very skillfully, just about to release it, and at the moment of landing, he could burst out the spiritual power to reach another level.
Puff.
With a light sound, Li Aojian felt as if he had stepped into a ball of cotton. The burst of spiritual power disappeared the moment it touched the cliff.
He was out of strength.
Bang, he fell straight down from the cliff.
Fortunately, he put up the protective shield in time, otherwise he would have suffered a lot of injuries. However, even so, he looked extremely embarrassed.
Li Aojian stood up and looked around. Some people laughed, some laughed secretly, and some showed contempt.
"I just didn't stand firmly, what are you looking at!"
He shouted with a swollen face, and exerted force again. This time he was much more careful and chose the landing point more accurately.
However, as soon as he touched the cliff, the spiritual power disappeared immediately, and he fell down again with a bang.
But no one laughed this time.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
The sounds of falling objects filled the air all around.
Almost every cultivator encountered the same situation as Li Aojian: as soon as their spiritual energy touched the cliff face, it would vanish, their footing unstable and they would fall.
Zhou Shu, whose cultivation level was relatively low and who had arrived relatively late, saw this and didn't immediately attempt to climb. Instead, he reached out and gently touched the moss on the cliff face.
"Something's strange,"
he quickly noticed. This moss absorbed spiritual energy. As soon as any spiritual energy was applied to any part of the body that came into contact with it, it would be drained away like a flood.
Yun Li slowly approached. "This is Yin Marsh Moss, it absorbs spiritual energy. With your Qi Refining Realm cultivation, it's impossible to resist. Even talismans and magic weapons won't work. So, if you want to ascend this Lingyun Cliff, just treat yourself as a mortal and climb patiently,"
the cultivators exclaimed in unison.
"They actually used Yinzhao Moss... It's too insidious."
"No wonder it's used as a test, it turns out there
's a mystery behind it." At this moment, looking at the hundred-meter-high Lingyun Cliff, they felt like crying.