Shun's answer put Fu Hua, who had originally planned to pry some information out of him, in a difficult position for a moment. Clown Alpha she didn't even need to guess who that really was. Truly a lingering ghost, Otto.
"Shun, your master advises you to stay far away from that netizen of yours in the future. Don't end up getting sold out by him someday without even realizing it." Fu Hua spoke earnestly and solemnly.
Shun pretended to be ignorant and nodded. "Since Master has said so, I'll stop contacting her from now on. I also feel that person... how should I put it, has a bit of a schemer's vibe. If he hadn't leaked the news about the Red Kite Immortal, I wouldn't have listened to him."
Fu Hua nodded in satisfaction. "You are teachable." For her, Otto had already tricked her countless times, so naturally she didn't want her disciple to follow in her footsteps.
At the same time, though, she felt a bit of regret. She had hoped to learn something about her own past, but now that hope had fallen through. Nowadays she basically only remembered that she was the Red Kite Immortal and that her duty was to protect the people of Shenzhou.
"Alright, enough of these digressions. Your master will now begin imparting Taixu Sword Qi to you." Fu Hua shook her head, refocusing on what she should be doing now. Whatever gained by luck, lost by fate. Having accepted a disciple who at least seemed of decent character was already a good thing.
"Let me give you a brief introduction first. Taixu Sword Qi is a technique I created that utilizes Honkai energy, divided into the five aggregates: Heart, Form, Intent, Soul, and Spirit." Although Shun knew even more about the background of this technique than Fu Hua had imagined, he didn't remember all the details perfectly, so he listened even more seriously than he would to advanced mathematics.
"The Heart and Intent aggregates are internal cultivation, while Form and Soul are the sword techniques. Heart is the foundation of everything; both Form and Intent require a special weapon. As my disciple, I will give you one later. Soul requires very high comprehension, but with your aptitude it shouldn't be difficult. The essence of Spirit is to shape and extend Honkai energy. Heart and Form exist to allow the human body to control more Honkai energy, ultimately meeting the basic requirement to wield [Taixu Sword God]. However, given your Honkai adaptability, the demands on your Heart aggregate shouldn't be that high just focus on mastering Form."
"Got it. So for me, right now, practicing Form and Intent offers the highest cost-effectiveness? Soul depends on individual talent, and Spirit will naturally be mastered once everything else is integrated." Still, what Shun coveted most was Heart but the problem was that he was already an adult with a mature worldview. Trying to cultivate Heart now...
"You can understand it that way." Fu Hua nodded in acknowledgment.
Fu Hua continued her explanation. "In Taixu Sword Qi, Heart is the introductory aggregate and, aside from Sword God, the most difficult one. It has four realms: Still Water, Dustless, Clear Mirror, and Taixu. [Sword Heart Incantation] is a bizarre, inexplicable series of syllables totaling four hundred and sixty-two sounds, with no written record. It has no meaning in itself; its profundity lies in the fact that reciting, silently chanting, or listening to it refines the mind. When the mind merges with the lake, it becomes Still Water; when the mind-lake freezes, it becomes Dustless; when the mind-ice is transparent, it becomes Clear Mirror; when the mind-qi is formless, it becomes Taixu."
Then her tone shifted. "However, Shun, you're a bit too old now. Adolescence is the best time to temper the sword heart the earlier, the purer. An adult cultivating sword heart is like trying to scoop wind with your palm utterly futile. Even if the sword heart reaches great accomplishment, it requires lifelong tempering; the slightest wavering will shatter it."
"In simple terms, the so-called sword heart is a method to bring the body into a competitive state. Before a match, empty your mind, relax your body, and sense every subtle change within it. Ultimately, aside from the power flowing through your body, you know and feel nothing else. For someone like you with innately high Honkai energy resistance, the byproduct that sword heart brings is actually the most important." Fu Hua added.
"But don't worry your master has a way to let you cultivate sword heart." Fu Hua teased mysteriously and continued explaining to Shun.
This immediately rekindled Shun's previously abandoned idea of cultivating sword heart. What? There's still a way! He was genuinely looking forward to what surprise Fu Hua might bring him. However, Shun also noticed that what Fu Hua was currently explaining about Taixu Sword Qi was basically just reciting from the book.
This was probably a side effect of her amnesia. Even though she was the founder, Fu Hua could now only repeat the contents recorded in her own notes. Someday he had to try to resolve Master's memory issue, Shun thought to himself.
As for actually putting a bullet through Fu Hua's forehead, Shun couldn't bring himself to do it. The key to solving this lay in Fenghuang Down and in Fu Hua's currently damaged mind.
"Those who refine sword heart can regard heaven and earth as their dantian and transform their flesh into meridians. The qi regarded as the origin of martial arts no longer needs to be concealed. The limit a man can reach is Dustless. This is because men's Honkai adaptability is generally lower than women's. For Stigmata holders, reaching Taixu is not difficult so long as the sword heart remains unbroken."
"Because Taixu Sword Qi does not cultivate true qi (Honkai energy). Taixu Sword Qi turns the body into a channel for true qi. Once sword heart and sword form reach great accomplishment, one can draw true qi (Honkai energy) from the surroundings and let it flow freely through the meridians. Thus, compared to other martial arts, Taixu Sword Qi is more powerful, yet the practitioner's dantian does not store true qi (Honkai energy). For someone like you, a natural-born Stigmata holder, there's no need to wait for Taixu Sword Qi to further adapt your body to Honkai energy before advancing to the next realm."
Shun nodded. Anyway, right now he could absorb however much Honkai energy came his way and convert it all, so Taixu Sword Qi had very high compatibility with him. He wouldn't even need to divert attention to absorbing Honkai energy in battle he could just keep getting stronger step by step.
"Next is the Form aggregate of Taixu Sword Qi. The Form aggregate of the five aggregates has four categories Guard, Transform, Initiate, and Open totaling twenty-one forms. Initiate Sword Form has three styles: Remnant Moon, Sever Sea, Crack Sky. Transform Sword Form has six styles: Flying Goshawk, Mysterious Falcon, Rain Swallow, Vine Sparrow, Cloud Eagle, Moon Heron. Guard Sword Form has six styles: Drooping Willow, Secluded Orchid, Sturdy Bamboo, Ink Chrysanthemum, Pure Lotus, Green Pine. Open Sword Form has six styles: Rock Breaker, Chaotic Thunder, Thunderclap, Mountain Collapse, Instant Dust, Shock Wind. The 'Living Dictionary' Wu Jinglun sighed and said: 'One martial art encompasses all.' I hope that in the coming time you can learn these forms and integrate them into your own combat. When you graduate, I will test your results with a real spar."
What? Me fighting Fu Hua for real? Even though Fu Hua's current combat power was far from her peak, her words clearly meant she was going to test Shun's martial skills. In terms of pure martial arts, even Ancestor Kevin definitely couldn't match Fu Hua though little Sentience once saying she and Kevin were evenly matched was pretty funny.
But in pure martial prowess, Fu Hua indeed surpassed Kevin. After all, that numerical monster Kevin always relied on brute force flying bricks; two months of training let him surpass the naturally gifted Herrscher Elysia and become the foremost of the Previous Era.