Chapter 564: 564
Elder Xuanji noticed Zhang Rouchen's distress and assumed he had demoralized him too much . He was about to console him .
But Zhang Ruochen, looking very solemn, instead gave a sigh . "Sword One is very difficult to understand . Your disciple is too dull-witted; I could only comprehend three-tenths of it . "
Elder Xuanji was stunned .
What?
He had looked through it once, and was able to understand three-tenths of the contents?
Elder Xuanji himself had not even understood one-tenth of it when he first read through Sword One .
He called himself dull-witted, after comprehending three-tenths of the book? This boy deserved a thrashing!
Elder Xuanji sized Zhang Ruochen up carefully and asked in disbelief, "You're certain you understand almost a third of it?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "I understood only three-tenths of its contents . Why are you so surprised?"
Elder Xuanji knew Zhang Ruochen would not lie . He could only sigh inwardly to himself . This youngest disciple had such astoundingly high endowments in sword skill .
Elder Xuanji stroked his white beard and smiled . "If you could understand three-tenths of Sword One, your level of understanding surpasses that of many Half-Saints . "
"But it only means you are highly qualified to practice the Tao of the sword . It doesn't mean you will necessarily master Sword One . "
"Understanding is just the first step . Only by mastering Sword One can you achieve the Beginner level of a sword practitioner .
Only now did Zhang Ruochen realize his achievement . It must be quite some feat for him to have understood three-tenths of Sword One .
But what Master said was reasonable . To understand the manual completely was not a big deal . The true achievement was to master it .
Zhang Ruochen said, "You said that many Half-Saints can't understand Sword One . Does this mean that only someone in the Half-Saint realm can successfully master Sword One?"
"Not really," Elder Xuanji replied . "If you are talented enough, you can master Sword One even in the Fish-dragon Realm . Then by the time you attain the Half-Saint realm, you could start practicing Sword Two . "
Zhang Ruochen asked curiously, "There's a Sword Two?"
"Of course . "
Elder Xuanji nodded . "Sword One represents 'oneself', while Sword Two represents the 'Yin and the Yang' . After that come Sword Three, Sword Four . . . After mastering each sword manual, a Monk's understanding of the Tao of the sword rises to a whole new level . "
Zhang Ruochen continued asking questions like a schoolboy . "What do you mean by 'oneself'? What do you mean by 'the Yin and the Yang'?"
Elder Xuanji shook his head . "I can't teach such interpretations . You can only comprehend them yourself . All I can tell you is that unless you master Sword One, you can't be considered a true sword practitioner . "
"Your Fifth Senior Sister is highly gifted in the Tao of the sword too . But she has practiced for several decades and has barely reached the Beginner level of Sword Two . Don't yearn for higher manuals at this level . Master Sword One first; that will help augment your actual strength . "
Zhang Ruochen recalled the sword skill mantra Fifth Senior Sister had recited when she defeated the Ember Kylin in the Xuanwu Primitive World . He repeated it now . "The two Qis of Yin-Yang divide the heaven and the earth; the natural Tao of the sword is the destination of all practices . "
This was the verbal formula that Fifth Senior sister apprentice had recited .
Elder Xuanji said, "Yes, that's a formula used in Sword Two . "
Zhang Ruochen could not help gripping Sword One tighter in his hands . "I will surely master Sword One in the Fish-dragon Realm . "
Elder Xuanji said with a laugh, "You must know that in the past thousand years, only 34 people have mastered Sword One in the Fish-dragon Realm . "
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Are you one of them?"
"Yes . "
Elder Xuanji looked rather proud of himself . After all, to have mastered Sword One at the Fish-dragon Realm was no mean feat .
"In addition," he continued . "Among the 34, there were two who also mastered Sword Two in the Fish-dragon Realm . "
Zhang Ruochen had seen the contents of Sword One . He knew how profound and abstruse it was .
One could deduce that Sword Two would be even more extraordinary .
To master Sword One was already exceedingly difficult . To think that people had managed to master Sword Two in the Fish-dragon Realm!
Could it be . . . him?
Someone from 800 years ago materialized in Zhang Ruochen's mind .
He was one of the Nine Emperors .
And Elder Xuanji's words indeed confirmed Zhang Ruochen's guess .
Elder Xuanji said, "The two people were the Sword Emperor and Empress Chi Yao . "
"I don't expect you to match them . I would be most content if you could master Sword One in the Fish-dragon Realm . "
The name Sword Emperor reverberated in Zhang Rouchen's ears like thunder .
Xue Hongchen, the true Sword Emperor, was the son of Fragrance City's governor . Matchless in talent and sword technique, he was also a most debonair figure . At the age of 36, he had surpassed his father, the city governor of Fragrance City and become the world renowned Sword Saint Hongchen .
He later attained higher and higher achievements in the Tao of the sword, finally hitting an unsurpassable realm . He became the Sword Emperor of his era .
And Xue Hongchen was the youngest of the Nine Emperors .
The reason Emperor Ming had given his son the name "Zhang Ruochen", was because he had wanted him to emulate Sword Emperor Xue Hongchen's outstanding achievements .
A saying had circulated in Kunlun's Field during that time: "Just as Sword Saint Hongchen mocks the Red Dust [1], one's own son ought to be like Xue Hongchen . "
Although Zhang Ruochen had not met the Sword Emperor, the latter had been his role model since boyhood .
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