Chapter 202 The Order, Movements and Sword Spirit

Seeing the regained pictures about swordsmanship, Qi Ning was shocked and put them in his pocket conveniently. Then he jumped out of the window and stood behind the room.

As soon as he fell on the floor, he heard a voice. “Who?” Then he saw two black figures rush over from a hideout. Qi Ning knew that they were guards in the mansion, so he said in a deep voice, “It’s me.”

The two rushed over, and one of them was Qi Feng. He asked in surprise after seeing Qi Ning, “Marquis, you…”

“Didn’t you find anybody else?” Qi Ning asked with a frown.

Qi Feng and the other looked at each other and shook their heads. Qi Feng frowned. “Marquis, did you find anything? We are guarding at the back, and there are guards around the courtyard…”

Qi Ning knew that Duan Canghai had strengthened the defense and that Qi Feng might not be powerful in martial arts but was highly alert as he had been a guard in the mansion for many years, so he would have noticed if somebody came.

However, the missing pictures about swordsmanship showed up on the table mysteriously which was by the window, and the closed window was opened. Obviously, somebody had appeared here.

Qi Ning was clear that Qi Feng and the other guard didn’t notice it. He didn’t even notice that somebody opened the window, and the last sound emerged not because he had sharp ears, but it was obvious that somebody intentionally made him hear it. The comer came and went without leaving a trace, so he was horribly powerful in martial arts.

“Marquis. Marquis?” Seeing that Qi Ning was in a trance, as if lost in thought, Qi Feng called in a low voice several times involuntarily.

Qi Ning came back to reality and said with a smile, “It’s nothing. I might have misheard.” He didn’t say more but returned to the room. Then he closed the window and lit an oil lamp.

It was cold. Qi Ning draped a coat over his shoulders and then sat at the table. He took out the pictures about swordsmanship and checked them carefully under the lamp.

The pictures about swordsmanship were the missing ones undoubtedly, and the paper was still old. Qi Ning scanned them and looked surprised.

Although most pictures about swordsmanship he got from the courtyard with a ghost in the old house were complete, some pieces were broken, and they might be too old, so some ink marks were vague and he couldn’t see them clearly.

However, Qi Ning checked them from beginning to end, to find that the broken ones were missing, and there were some new pictures. Obviously, the pictures about swordsmanship which were too broken and couldn’t be seen completely were drawn again and added into them. Moreover, some pictures which had been vague were outlined again and became clear.

It surprised Qi Ning more that there were eight or nine more pieces of pictures about new movements added besides the new pictures which replaced the broken ones.

After Qi Ning got the pictures about swordsmanship for the first time, he had certainly checked the movement in each picture carefully. He had a good memory. Although the movements in the pictures were weird, he could remember them with difficulty.

However, Qi Ning had never seen the new added movements in the pictures before.

The comer seemed to know that Qi Ning was interested in these pictures about swordsmanship, so he specially added the missing ones. Qi Ning counted them carefully and found that there were sixty-four pieces of paper. If nothing else, it must be a complete series of swordsmanship.

Qi Ning looked at the stack of pictures about swordsmanship in a daze. After a while, he murmured, “Beigong Liancheng.”

Qi Ning was always curious about why there were such weird pictures about swordsmanship in the courtyard with a ghost in the old house, which was a mystery confusing him all the time before he knew Beigong Liancheng’s existence.

Especially after he defeated Bai Yuhe in the Temple of Great Light at one blow, he knew that the pictures about swordsmanship he got from the old house were a unique swordsmanship guide which might come by something with luck, but not by searching.

Bai Yuhe was a disciple of the owner of Baiyun Island Mo Lancang who was one of the top great masters. He was engrossed in swordsmanship and his skills in swordsmanship could be imagined, yet when Qi Ning reflexively used the movement in anxiety that he remembered most clearly, he defeated Bai Yuhe and even injured his wrist. That movement was so powerful.

Qi Ning even thought that if he practiced all the movements in the pictures about swordsmanship skillfully and then competed with Bai Yuhe, wouldn’t the latter end up with death only?

Bai Yuhe had practiced swordsmanship hard for decades, but he was defeated by Qi Ning with a movement that he had practiced randomly for merely several times. Such a wide gap in swordsmanship made Qi Ning feel that it was unimaginably queer.

However, after he got the information from Duan Canghai that Beigong Liancheng was the second elder lord of the Qi family and knew that he was Sword God, one of the top great masters, he realized that the pictures about swordsmanship from the old house must have something to do with Beigong Liancheng.

Only Beigong Liancheng knew such magical swordsmanship, while he was a member of the Qi family, so it was reasonable that he could enter the old house.

Was Beigong Liancheng the one who came to send the pictures about swordsmanship tonight?

Even the ordinary great masters couldn’t come and go freely into the mansion of the Marquis of Honor without leaving a trace which was heavily guarded.

More importantly, if the swordsmanship was really from Beigong Liancheng, the broken and missing pictures could be repaired by him only. Otherwise, perhaps nobody in this world could add anything to this set of swordsmanship.

But if Beigong Liancheng was still alive, why did he avoid seeing anybody?

As Duan Canghai said, even though Beigong Liancheng’s family name was Beigong, he was really a member of the Qi family. It was said that the old marquis was nice to this brother, but when the old marquis died, Beigong Liancheng didn’t return to pray for him. As the saying went, the eldest brother was like the father. Beigong Liancheng didn’t come back to pay respects to the old marquis, so his act must be a deed of impiety.

Many people didn’t know if Beigong Liancheng was still alive, and even the family of the Marquis of Honor who was related to him by blood couldn’t give an answer.

However, when Qi Ning saw the added pictures about swordsmanship tonight, he believed that Beigong Liancheng must be still alive, while the person who came was most likely to be Beigong Liancheng.

Under the lamp, Qi Ning checked the pictures about swordsmanship carefully from beginning to end. As time passed, he was immersed in them.

After a long time, Qi Ning checked the last picture and heaved a sigh of relief.

Although this set of swordsmanship seemed to be complete, Qi Ning was depressed because the sixty-four pictures were out of order seemingly. After he got the pictures last time, he had sorted them out and could see the order with difficulty, but the regained pictures were in a mess and he couldn’t straighten them out although the missing and broken pictures were added.

He was gloomy and thought, “Since the second elder lord repaired the pictures, why didn’t he finish everything and organize them in order? I don’t know where to start.”

When he was helpless, he suddenly saw some black marks at the back of the last picture, and there seemed to be something. He turned to its back and then found two rows of handwriting.

He saw that the two rows of handwriting were not neat but sloppy. They were written forcefully and lively, showing that the writer was carefree. He thought that the handwriting was like the writer, so it appeared that Beigong Liancheng must show contempt for rules.

There were only a few words in the two rows.

“If there is an order, there will be no movement; if there are movements, there will be no spirit.”

Qi Ning frowned and pondered for a moment, indistinctly realizing what the words meant. The two rows of handwriting seemed to mean that if people cared too much about the order, there would be no movement. If they cared about the movements a lot, there would be no sword spirit.

It was no wonder that the pictures about swordsmanship the second elder lord had sent were in a mess. It appeared that the great master didn’t want Qi Ning to practice swordsmanship in order.

Qi Ning was smart. In fact, his comprehension in swordsmanship was wonderful. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have used that movement in time in the Temple of Great Light.

Beigong Liancheng just left a few words, but Qi Ning could understand his intention.

The words “if there are movements, there will be no spirit” were obviously too far away from Qi Ning. He had never practiced such swordsmanship in the past, and he had no foundation of swordsmanship. Under the situation, that man told him to comprehend the sword spirit without movements, and he was just forced to do what he couldn’t do. Qi Ning knew that he didn’t have the ability.

The task of top priority was to practice the swordsmanship in the pictures step by step. Since Beigong Liancheng didn’t want him to practice them in order, he would practice any move.

However, he had checked these movements of swordsmanship carefully and knew that they were weird and mysterious. Many movements couldn’t be performed by ordinary people. Even if the pictures were in front of him, he might not be able to finish the movements. A lot of them required high flexibility of the human body, and several even required some kinds of bones. Among the sixty-four movements of swordsmanship, only thirteen or fourteen were suitable for him for now.

Even so, as Qi Ning had competed with Bai Yuhe, he was confident about this set of swordsmanship. He planned to practice the more than ten movements to perfection that he could and then practice the movements one by one which required a more flexible body. However, after he could practice the more than ten movements skillfully, even if he couldn’t become a top swordsman, it would be more than enough to protect himself when he was in danger.

He was excited to regain the pictures about swordsmanship, so he couldn’t fall asleep. He took out the sword Vairocana he had kept and chose the pictures about swordsmanship movements that he could learn. Then he started to practice them in the room.

After he practiced for a while, he heard a voice from outside. “Marquis, do you need something?”

Qi Ning knew that the lamp was lit in the room and when he practiced swordsmanship, the guards outside must have seen his shadow, so he answered, “I am exercising and it will be helpful to my health. Don’t worry.”

The guard outside answered and then it was silent.

Although these more than ten movements were easier, they were just easier than the others. These movements were rare and strange. It was not easy to do the same movements as those in the pictures, not to mention practicing them freely.

However, Qi Ning knew that the outside world was dangerous. As he had become the Marquis of Honor, some people would harbor evil intentions toward him, and he couldn’t be protected by Duan Canghai and the others every minute. To be frank, if he met a top assassin, Duan Canghai and the others might be unable to ensure his safety. It was better to rely on himself than others. He would practice this set of swordsmanship to protect himself, which was more important.

If he lost his life, everything would turn into nothingness.