Sushang didn't know what to say and just kept shaking her head.
"So, compared to our family's style, which one is stronger?"
"Neither is higher or lower. The one that suits you is best."
Qin Suyi shook her head. "If he were a swordsman, his blade would likely be invincible."
"Not a single moment of hesitation—this is a testament to absolute self-confidence."
Qin Suyi understood the strengths and weaknesses of this mental discipline quite well.
It was indeed suitable for a disciple of Yueyu. Born for battle, die in battle.
A temperament that would rather charge forth until it rotted than retreat a single step would undoubtedly bring out its full potential.
Sushang was about to say more when she saw the two who had just left walk back in.
"Lady Suyi!"
Feixiao, acting familiarly, led the two into the courtyard and raised a hand in greeting. "These are truly distinguished guests."
A long-haired man with a dashingly handsome face, who had been watching the mother-daughter sword duel from inside the house, immediately stood up upon their arrival, intending to receive the guests on his wife's behalf.
"I am Li Shen. It is an honor to finally behold the Arbiter-General in person today."
The man clasped his fists and bowed slightly.
Leon nodded in acknowledgment.
Then, remembering something, he took out his cigarette case and offered him one.
"You are too kind, sir."
Li Shen accepted it, flattered. "May I ask if the Arbiter-General has come seeking my wife for an important matter?"
He knew his own standing. He had some, certainly, but not much. Most of his fame and fortune were brought by his wife.
"We're here to request tutelage in swordsmanship," Feixiao said with a smile.
"Swordsmanship?"
Qin Suyi stepped forward, her gaze sweeping over the three of them. "From me?"
Feixiao nodded. "If we're going to learn, we should learn from the best."
"Who is learning?"
Qin Suyi didn't object, simply asking about the candidate.
Just as Leon was about to put March 7th's name forward, he felt a gentle tug on his sleeve. He looked down and met a pair of hopeful eyes.
"Hm?" Leon just wanted to ask what she meant.
"Hm, you want me to teach you myself?"
C'mon, sis, if I taught you my 'swing it around randomly' style, would you even learn it?
"I'll learn."
Leon figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to steal the techniques and then teach them to her.
"'Taixu.' That is the name of my school's sword art."
Qin Suyi glanced at him and said.
"This sword art comes from the hand of the Marshal herself."
"Because very few can grasp the basics, and even fewer can master it, this sword art has long been mistaken by others as my own original technique."
Qin Suyi explained.
"With the Arbiter-General's status, you could very well seek out the Marshal for personal instruction."
Qin Suyi did not agree to his request.
"Forgive me for not being able to accept your request. I dare not claim to teach you. If you are to learn, you must learn from the best."
"I can demonstrate the sword forms for you, but as for anything else, it would be better to ask the Marshal."
She didn't dare take on such a responsibility. Given Leon's status, he truly should seek instruction from the founder. And not from someone like her, who was merely echoing the wisdom of her predecessors.
"Huh?"
Feixiao hadn't expected this answer. "Lady Suyi's sword style was taught by the Marshal?"
She had never heard of this secret.
"Indeed."
Qin Suyi smiled. "A long time ago, the Marshal created a sword art and disseminated it across the various Xianzhou ships, hoping to improve the overall combat strength of the Cloud Knights."
"Sounds as magnanimous as that Sword Champion from the Luofu."
Feixiao hadn't heard of this matter, and Yueyu had never mentioned it.
"My sword is for anyone who wishes to learn it. I will teach them."
Qin Suyi nodded.
"The Luofu's Sword Champion is indeed a prodigious talent. From that statement alone, one can discern the path of her mental discipline."
After the praise, she brought the topic back on track.
"'Taixu,' it's no exaggeration to say that this sword art was once as common as stray dogs on the streets of the Yaoqing. You could find copied manuals at any street stall."
"It was only because practically no one could master it, and more and more people felt it was a pointless endeavor, that it gradually faded into obscurity."
There was nothing to be done. Even though Hua herself felt she had already reduced the difficulty enough. But the entry barrier for "Taixu" was still incredibly high, a threshold many could not touch in their entire lifetime.
"I will demonstrate the sword forms for you. For the rest, you should still ask the Marshal."
Saying so, Qin Suyi took down the ancient Xuanyuan sword from her back, not daring to handle this hot potato.
"Alright."
In truth, Leon felt that just learning the sword forms would be enough. Actually mastering this thing wouldn't be very useful to him anyway.
"Arbiter-General, my mother's sword style is very difficult to practice."
Sushang watched him curiously and spoke up. She had started practicing as a child and still hadn't truly gotten the hang of it.
"I don't think so," Leon shook his head.
He never skimped on his own stats. As he had said before, he gave everyone a chance to chase his shadow, until his shadow disappeared from everyone's sight.
"Ah, at a time like this, I just need to believe, right?"
As Sushang was led away by her father, she thought of the philosophy he always adhered to. It might not work for her, but it should work for him, right?
"Yes, so believe."
Leon felt she was a teachable child.
A smile of absolute confidence in him spread across Feixiao's face as she and March 7th retreated a good distance.
"Confidence is a good thing."
Qin Suyi said nothing more, simply assuming her stance.
"Defend, Transform, Initiate, Open."
Qin Suyi raised Xuanyuan.
"The four stances of 'Taixu' comprise twenty-one forms. This is the most basic content."
Qin Suyi danced with Xuanyuan, executing a simple turn and diagonal slash, followed by a reverse sweep to the throat!
"These are the three forms of the Initiate stance."
After the reverse sweep, her movements abruptly changed, perfectly transitioning into a horse-stance cleave, immediately followed by a spinning thrust.
"Waning Moon, Sundered Sea, Rending Sky."
Although the movements were unremarkable, when performed by Qin Suyi, they possessed an indescribable form and rhythm in the eyes of others. Just like the names of the forms.
A waning moon, a sundered sea, and a rending sky appeared vividly in the onlookers' minds.
"Flying Crane, Black Tortoise, Swift."
Qin Suyi's movements did not stop.
"Startled Goose, Cloud Eagle, Moon Heron. These are the six forms of the Transform stance."
She continued demonstrating the twenty-one forms of "Taixu."
"Weeping Willow, Secluded Orchid, Resilient Bamboo."
The direction of the Xuanyuan sword's swings was unpredictable as the forms were revealed one after another.
"Black Chrysanthemum, Pure Lotus, Green Pine."
A straight thrust turned the blade, a diagonal thrust pushed it forward, and the upright blade spun downward. "These are the six forms of the Defend stance."
After demonstrating fifteen forms, Qin Suyi temporarily sheathed her sword.
"Boulder Shatter, Thunder Barrage, Quaking Bolt."
She took a deep breath, sinking her qi to her dantian, and after adjusting her state, the sword danced out in an instant.
"Mountain Crumble, Flash Guard, Wind Tremor."
As the names of the forms were called out one by one, Qin Suyi's movements constantly changed, and the final six forms of the Open stance were soon revealed to the world.
"These are the twenty-one forms of 'Taixu'."
Qin Suyi exhaled lightly, formally sheathing her sword and looking at him.
"Well? Have you perceived the mysteries within?"
Feixiao answered for him.
Observing Qin Suyi's swordsmanship was actually beneficial for her own performance in the upcoming Martial Decree Ceremony. After all, Qin Suyi had never performed a complete set of her sword forms in public, so the contestants had absolutely no intelligence on this opponent.
Feixiao was fired up; today's demonstration of the twenty-one forms was a huge help to her. Unsurprisingly, she would spend the next round figuring out how to counter each one. With Leon around, she believed this challenge wasn't a challenge at all!
"Yes."
Qin Suyi nodded. "The art of 'Taixu' has five realms."
"Heart, Form, Intent, Soul, and Spirit."
"'Heart' is the state of mind, 'Form' is the stances and techniques, 'Intent' is imbuing your stances with resonance, and 'Soul' is the pursuit of swordsmanship that transcends fixed forms."
Qin Suyi briefly explained.
"The swordsmanship I just displayed can only be achieved when Heart, Form, and Intent are one. It looks simple and unadorned, but upon closer inspection, it hides profound secrets."
"I am in the fourth realm. The Marshal should be in the fifth."
Upon hearing this, Feixiao quickly asked, "Then what does this fifth realm, 'Spirit,' refer to?"
"Simply put, no sword is superior to having a sword."
Qin Suyi summarized it in one sentence.
"The Heart is the foundation of martial arts."
"Its position as number one shows that by refining one's spirit and will, once it is forged into formlessness, one realizes that the sword is merely an external tool. That is when one reaches the fifth realm, 'Spirit'."
"At that point, the sword is no longer limited to a single form."
"Grass, wood, stone, and bamboo can all be swords. Acting according to one's heart and strength, one becomes free and unfettered."
Qin Suyi smiled as she described the legendary realm.
Feixiao nodded, only half-understanding.
Maintaining a youthful spirit was indeed crucial, even if one didn't practice swordsmanship. Spirit was not a renewable resource.
After all, as one aged, one's spirit generally tended to wane.
"How about it, Arbiter-General? Is there anything you don't understand?"
Qin Suyi wanted to offer more guidance, but the sight that met her eyes left her frozen in place.
Leon had silently taken down Vanquisher Arbiter. Using the bow as a sword, he replicated the twenty-one forms she had just demonstrated, one for one.
"No, there's nothing I don't understand. The instruction was quite concise and effective."
Leon nodded to himself, wearing an expression that said, "So that's how it is."
He preferred hands-on learning. For him, it was much faster than any tedious theory lesson.
"This..."
For a moment, Qin Suyi didn't know what to say. Leon's performance was far beyond her expectations.
She knew Leon was no simple man. How could someone who used a mental art like "Belief is Existence," which was akin to the philosophy of "I reckon this should work," possibly be simple?
Honestly, Qin Suyi had imagined a scenario where he might learn it at a glance. But she had never imagined a scenario where he would see it once, have a simple epiphany, and automatically max out the skill.
Qin Suyi was speechless.
Without a doubt, Leon had achieved the unity of all five realms in the art of "Taixu."
He used his bow as a sword. He had also slightly modified the twenty-one forms to better suit himself, but without losing any of the meaning contained in their names.
Heart, Form, Intent, Soul, and Spirit. The unity of the five—this was the Marshal's realm.
Qin Suyi drew a sharp breath. How terrifying.
But on second thought, it was actually normal. Leon could use that kind of mental discipline, so how could his spirit be weak?
"This sword art..."
Qin Suyi looked at him, who had achieved enlightenment through mere observation, and murmured: "I have practiced it for five hundred and seventy-eight years and forty-five days."
And I still haven't touched the spirit of the 'Spirit' realm. 'Soul' is my limit.
Qin Suyi silently completed the thought in her mind.
"You don't look it."
Leon slung Vanquisher Arbiter back over his shoulder and nodded.
Qin Suyi sighed.
Those who knew would understand he was saying her appearance didn't match her age. Those who didn't might think he was mocking her for practicing so many years in vain.
"This sword art can be taught to others, right?"
Just in case, Leon decided to ask one more time.
Qin Suyi nodded. "Yes. The Marshal never intended to keep it a secret."
"Alright. Thank you for your trouble today."
With that, Leon handed out another cigarette to everyone as a gesture.
"Wow! The Arbiter-General is not only a martial arts genius, but he's also so nice!"
Sushang, having just received a treat from her father, eagerly stepped forward to take it.
Li Shen felt helpless at her lack of manners.
"Well, now that our business is finished, we won't disturb Lady Suyi any longer."
Feixiao noticed a hint of hesitation on Qin Suyi's face.
"We'll take our leave now."
She pushed Leon's back, choosing to make a quick escape.
To practice a sword art for 578 years, to temper one's spirit for centuries, only to be surpassed in a day by a monstrous talent. Who wouldn't have their Dao heart shattered by that?
***
The Xianzhou Luofu.
After receiving the cigarette, Modu, wracked with remorse, spent several days carefully drafting a surrender plan. Finally, he began to act.
And the first step was to win over his comrades.
The Borisin, who had been spared from the Xianzhou Alliance's purge only by Leon's command, held a rare gathering because their leader said he had something to discuss.
"Why have you called us here today, Modu?" asked Canglang, a Borisin disguised as a Foxian member of the Starskiff Commission.
"How are the preparations for Lord Hulei's rescue going? Any new developments?" asked Jianu, a Borisin disguised as a Cloud Knight, with urgency.
Modu didn't answer either question. He simply took out a pack of cigarettes Leon had given him. He took out two and distributed them.
"What's this?" Canglang didn't understand the gesture. "Since when did you pick up these fancy things the Xianzhou people are so fond of?"
He brought the cigarette to his nose and sniffed, his tone one of obvious displeasure.
"Don't tell me wearing a Foxian skin for so long has made you lose your own blood nature?"
"We are Borisin! Borisin! You don't need to adapt to human tastes. The only thing that should get our blood pumping is flesh and blood!"
Jianu said, and in a fit of anger, tried to snap the cigarette in two.
"Hey, what the hell is this thing?!"
He found that he couldn't break it no matter how hard he tried; it was as tough as a steel bar.
Modu ignored their words. After carefully putting the cigarette pack away, he spoke to them with a serious expression: "Let's surrender."
"Huh?" x2
The two Borisin were incredulous. They could never have imagined the word "surrender" coming from his mouth.
Jianu strode forward. "Are you joking?"
He grabbed Modu by the collar in a panic, hissing, "Surrender? You want me to surrender to this bunch of Foxians who are only fit to be our Borisin slaves?!"
"Don't joke with me like this, or I'll lose control and kill you!"
He warned him.
Modu was the current leader of the Borisin. With the plan to break Hulei out of prison about to be executed, saying something like this at such a critical moment... How was he any different from that weirdo who quits the band on the night of a torrential rainstorm show?
"You want to bow to them? What do you take the glory of the Borisin for?"
Jianu couldn't accept it, even if surrender was just a joke. "Have you been brainwashed?"
"Surrendering to these goddamn Xianzhou people, to the irreconcilable Foxians... you might as well just kill me. I'd rather die in battle."
Jianu shouted, his eyes wide with fury.
"Have you forgotten how many of our kin these people have killed? Are we not going to avenge the grudge from ten years ago?!"
Modu's expression remained unchanged. He let Jianu grab his collar and glare at him, as if his mind was made up and no one could change it.
"Are you out of your mind?"
Canglang began to suspect he had been replaced.
"The plan to rescue Lord Hulei was your idea, and you perfected it step by step, whether it was recruiting us or anything else."
"In short, you're the one who painstakingly built all this up on the Xianzhou."
Canglang couldn't understand it at all. "And now you're just calling it quits?"
"What do you take your own efforts for? A toy that you can just throw away?"
Canglang paused, then said very seriously. "Besides, those Dragon Masters have treated us well. How can we just betray them?"
Those Dragon Masters, who held a status second only to one person, had been nothing but devoted to them. "All they've done for us in the past... have you truly forgotten?"
Shelter, identities, appearances—they helped solve every major problem. How could all that they've done be so easily forgotten?
"All they've done for us in the past?"
Hearing those words, Modu's resolute face finally showed a change. "The past..."
Recalling how the Dragon Masters had treated them better than their own parents, clear tears involuntarily streamed down Modu's face.
"Are you speaking of the past?"
Modu looked as if his deep emotions had naturally turned to tears.
Yes, even if only for the sake of these Dragon Masters, they had to surrender.
If they didn't surrender and continued with their plan, their allies would surely be implicated and suffer.
We can't be ill-fated lovers! One person must bear the consequences of their actions!
What's more, if they surrendered, they could take all the blame upon the Borisin. That way, the Arbiter-General wouldn't have to face the choice of executing his own people, right?
He loves his people so much. He even remembered an insignificant Cloud Knight like me and specially made up for the gift I never received.
He would surely be heartbroken to learn that the Vidyadhara were attempting to incite a rebellion, wouldn't he?
Modu didn't want to see such a person in a difficult position.
Thinking this, he glanced at the brand name on the cigarette pack. The Borisin were not the group the Arbiter-General needed to benefit, so... He would bear the weight of it all!
Canglang saw him crying. He thought Modu had realized how absurd his words were and had decided to change his mind.
So he stepped forward and pulled Jianu away from him.
"Alright, alright."
Canglang played the peacemaker, telling him not to be so agitated.
"Modu, you really shouldn't have made a joke like that."
"What should and shouldn't be said, I believe you know very well."
He held his ground, criticizing both of them in turn.
"And you, we're all in the same boat. Why would we fight amongst ourselves?"
Canglang felt that Jianu lived up to his name, always in hyper-aggressive mode.
"The Borisin's situation is already precarious after the last great war. We absolutely cannot have any internal strife now, don't you understand?"
"You and I have both witnessed Modu's dedication."
At this point, Canglang had a theory about Modu's surrender joke.
"He wants our Chieftain rescued more than any of us."
"How could he possibly give up so easily? Let alone in such a bizarre way as surrendering."
Canglang told him to use his head.
Hearing this, Jianu felt it made some sense. "You have a point."
His agitated mood gradually calmed down.
"I guess those Dragon Masters sent you to test our loyalty, right, Modu?"
This had all come too suddenly; it was the only possibility Canglang could think of.
Modu nodded, saying nothing else.
"Are they satisfied now?" Jianu asked coldly.
The Borisin hated being controlled by others. When Hulei returned, he swore he would ask the Chieftain to kill all these Vidyadhara too.
"See? It's all settled now, isn't it?"
Hearing that his guess was correct, Canglang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If Modu had truly defected, things would have become very troublesome.
At such a critical moment, it was best to avoid any further complications.
"I suppose those Dragon Masters also ordered you not to tell us the reason. If so, we can understand."
Canglang nodded at him.
"And you shouldn't be so hot-headed all the time."
After saying that, Canglang criticized his irrationality again.
"We are comrades. He rarely brings you something, and you scold him for it? Isn't the food you eat, the clothes you wear, and the things you use all from the Xianzhou people?"
Canglang led by example, popping the candy cigarette into his mouth, telling him not to be so dramatic. Did he really think he was still on a Borisin warship?
Jianu snorted and also put the candy cigarette in his mouth.
Seeing this, a "just as planned" smile immediately appeared on Modu's face.
"After much thought, I still believe that only surrender is the best way to repay the Dragon Masters and the Arbiter-General."
Modu pulled off a face-change faster than an opera master.
"If we go through with the prison break, I'm afraid most of us will fall there."
"Even with so many sacrifices, the probability of failure is still high."
Modu gave his reason. "Knowing it's a death trap, why should we walk right into it?"
"If we surrender, not only will we get three meals a day, but we can also live on properly."
"With our long lifespans, we are not afraid of waiting. Sooner or later, our time will come."
"The Dragon Masters will not be implicated because of us, and the Arbiter-General will not be forced into a difficult position."
He scanned the two of them, speaking word by word: "Do you have anything else to say?"
Canglang and Jianu recalled all that had happened in the past and, like him before, burst into tears.
"...We have nothing more to say."
The two were convinced, replying in unison. "Let us surrender at once."
Yes, surrender was a good outcome for everyone. They should indeed surrender.
"The sea of bitterness is boundless, yet a shore awaits your return."
Modu nodded, accepting their offer to join him.
"Next is to convince our other Borisin brothers to turn ourselves in with us."
"Tell them the plan for Hulei is set. Use my name to gather all the Borisin on the Xianzhou."
____
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