Chapter 14: Eight-Steps Frenzied Blade (1)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The moon was dark, the wind was strong, and the rain was heavy.

There were no longer any common people on Dye Workshop Street. The few shops were closed, leaving only the patrolling constables and soldiers. Occasionally, they would pass by in the rain with lanterns.

Ye Jingtang held an oil-paper umbrella and walked slowly on the dark road. The bird on his shoulder kept chirping. It was probably saying something like: Sister Little Watermelons is still the best. Poached eggs don’t attract this bird…

Ye Jingtang had touched Heroine Luo for a long time just now, and there were indeed waves in his heart. But he didn’t reminisce as he walked. Instead, he pondered over the move that Luo Ning had just taught him.

When it came to martial arts, no matter how varied they were, there was no departure from the original basis. Although it couldn’t be said that ‘one technique could lead to mastering all techniques’, the logic wouldn’t be much different.

Ye Jingtang used to practice martial arts in the escort agency. He always pursued the ‘form’ and heavy force, paying attention to the routine of breaking and countering moves. He had never thought about the ‘spiritual will’ before.

As for ‘qi circulation’, since his foster father hadn’t taught him, he didn’t even know that such a thing existed in the world.

But it didn’t seem right to say that his foster father had deliberately hidden it from him. His foster father had been extremely ‘concerned’ about him since he was a child. It was impossible for his foster father to deliberately abuse him by beating him and squeezing out his physical strength three times a day.

Since his foster father had solidified his foundation, he must have wanted him to become a ‘talent’. He didn’t teach him any saber techniques even until his death. It could only be said that his foster father had some reason for not wanting to teach him.

As for why he didn’t teach him…

Was he afraid that he would get into trouble because of this?

Or could it be that he had already taught him, but he had not discovered the profundity behind it before…?

Ye Jingtang carefully recalled the ‘moves’ that his foster father had taught him. There were only a few moves in total, and they were all basic skills. In the past, he had only focused on strength and speed and didn’t study them in-depth. If he studied them according to the methods of the Fourteen Dappling Cloud Palms…

Thinking of this, Ye Jingtang stood in the rain and moved his saber to his waist. He held the hilt of the saber with a reverse grip in his left hand and recalled the action of drawing the saber in his mind. Then he compared it with the qi circulation method of the Fourteen Dappling Cloud Palms.

Just copying it would definitely not work. Just now, when he came into contact with qi circulation, he discovered that qi circulation was related to the acupoints, muscles, breathing, posture, and almost all other aspects of the body.

The changes that could occur with every step increased exponentially. It was impossible for anyone to try all the paths. People could only follow the guidance of the move and figure out the qi circulation that this move should have.

It was extremely difficult to create a move out of thin air, but Ye Jingtang, who was standing quietly in the rain, quickly realized that the saber-drawing action that his foster father had taught him seemed to be the starting point of the move.

The ‘move’ only had the beginning, and the following was completely blank. If he wanted to perfect this saber move, he had to explore the paths of qi circulation himself and ‘add bricks and tiles’ to this saber move…

Ye Jingtang deliberated for a moment and closed his eyes in the rain. Based on the foundation of his foster father’s teachings as the beginning and drawing his saber as the ending, he deduced the middle process based on his intuition and imagined how to use this opening action as the starting point to maximize the lethality of the saber move…

Tap, tap, tap…

Soybean-sized raindrops hit the umbrella and slid down the umbrella ribs.

The bird stood on his shoulder. At first, it was a little confused, but after waiting for half an hour, its eyes gradually turned into panic: Tangtang is being cooked!

Ye Jingtang, who had closed his eyes for a long time, saw the blood vessels on his right hand slowly swell. Some raindrops landed on the back of his hand and quickly evaporated into a faint white mist.

This scene first appeared on the back of his hand, then his left arm, and then his entire body. Even the veins on his forehead bulged, and a faint mist rose.

Whoosh!

In the rain, a wave of heat appeared out of thin air.

The raindrops falling from outside the umbrella clearly shifted, as if they were moving with the wind. And in the center of the wind was Ye Jingtang under the umbrella.

Buzz! Buzz!

After an unknown period of silence, the long blade in the sheath let out a low cry like a dragon’s roar. It was like a hidden dragon trapped in a deep pool beginning to stare at the mouth of the pool.

The hidden dragon quickly accumulated its aura to the limit. Before the cold pool couldn’t withstand it, its body surged up like an azure dragon emerging from the water and shot into the sky!

Clang!

A cold light flashed across the silent street.

The rain on the street seemed to be disturbed by something and was pushed out a little.

The cold light flashed away, and in an instant, the street returned to calm.

Ye Jingtang was still standing quietly in the rain with an umbrella in his hand. His left hand was still holding the hilt of the saber in a reverse grip, and his saber was sheathed. It was as if he had never moved.

Not far from him, an old locust tree that was as thick as a waist made a soft cracking sound in the wind and rain.

Soon, the old locust tree couldn’t withstand the wind and rain. It broke in the middle and collapsed to the side.

Boom!

After a muffled sound, the old locust tree fell to the ground.

The raindrops landed on the new crack in the tree root. As if they were dripping on the surface of a mirror, they slid to the side, and not even half a drop of water remained!

“Chirp!” The bird’s eyes were full of shock.

Under the umbrella, Ye Jingtang opened his eyes and turned his head to look at the locust tree that had fallen to the ground. His eyes were full of admiration. The Eight-Steps Frenzied Blade is indeed powerful. It looks like Foster Father didn’t hide anything… But couldn’t he have just taught me directly? Why do I have to waste my brain thinking about it? Isn’t this unnecessary…

Ye Jingtang came to the locust tree and carefully examined it for a moment. Then with some doubts, he rubbed the cut and left Dye Workshop Street to go to the nearby market.

The bird was frightened just now. It kept chirping and jumping back and forth until Ye Jingtang bought a box of dried meat for it.

———

Soon, Ye Jingtang returned to Double Osmanthus Alley with two oil paper bags and an earthen pot in his hands.

The courtyard was silent, but there was light.

Ye Jingtang pushed open the courtyard door with his shoulder. Before he could close the door, he found that there was a little bamboo hat person standing behind the door, holding the hilt of a saber and staring at him. “What took you so long?”

Ye Jingtang threw one of the oil paper bags to Zhe Yunli. “Dye Workshop Street doesn’t have any restaurants. Do you expect me to run back and forth?”