The Transmigrator's Cultivation Arc 17: Hengwu Small World | Chapter 326: Sword Practice

Arc 17: Hengwu Small World | Chapter 326: Sword Practice

Under the moonlight, a faint green light shimmered, and from behind this green light, an object appeared out of thin air.

This was originally a remarkable sight.

However, the onlooker’s thoughts were entirely elsewhere.

Yun Tiangang’s gaze was bright, focused on the long sword.

At first glance, Xu Ziqing seemed to see two bursts of sword light erupting from his eyes—

This was naturally just an illusion, yet at that moment, it caused his heart to tighten.

Yun Tiangang looked at the long sword and approached it, lightly flicking it with his finger: “This object resembles a heavy sword in form, yet it appears elegant and refined; it should also be called a ‘sword.'”

As he spoke, there seemed to be a spark of spirit in his eyes.

Xu Ziqing smiled slightly and said, “Indeed, this object is a ‘sword.'”

Yun Tiangang then lifted his head: “Are you going to teach me?”

Xu Ziqing nodded and smiled, “Yes, I will teach you.” With another motion of his hand, a piece of wood about half a person’s height appeared in his palm. The wood visibly transformed, gradually taking on the shape of the long sword. Except for the blade not being drawn, it was exactly the same as the previous sword.

Yun Tiangang took it in hand; although it was somewhat heavy, it was still bearable. He understood that this person before him had expended much effort, so he slightly nodded in grat.i.tude.

Xu Ziqing said softly, “Let’s begin.” After speaking, he parted his feet slightly, aligning them with his shoulders, and raised his right arm, tilting the sword tip slightly downward.

Yun Tiangang mimicked his actions, and as soon as he steadied himself, he exhibited not a hint of hesitation, completely unlike a novice in swordplay. Once he grasped the long sword, he seemed to feel something and unexpectedly swung down the sword.

His posture was indeed meticulous and remarkably accurate.

Seeing this, Xu Ziqing felt a mix of sadness and joy.

The sadness stemmed from recalling the day his Shixiong was gravely injured and reborn, while the joy came from the realization that his Shixiong’s primordial spirit was still unextinguished; even in rebirth, his desire for the sword had not diminished.

Continuing like this should benefit his Shixiong in repairing his primordial spirit.

When his Shixiong’s primordial spirit was intact, it could indeed accelerate the process.

Xu Ziqing took a deep breath and called out, “Tiangang.”

Yun Tiangang temporarily stopped and turned back. At this moment, he clearly saw Xu Ziqing’s expression and frowned slightly: “Why do you look at me like that?” Although he had seen this person’s expression before, he felt a vague awareness in his heart and was somewhat displeased. Although he was weak, he was clearly getting better day by day, yet this person appeared so sorrowful that it truly made him feel a sense of oppression.

Xu Ziqing was taken aback for a moment, then quickly restrained his expression: “It’s just me…” He sighed lightly, “Do not be upset.”

His Shixiong’s primordial spirit had not yet awakened, yet his six senses remained very sharp. He could not be so reckless. Furthermore, Yun Tiangang was also his Shixiong; he should focus on the joy of the present and not dwell on the sorrows of the past.

Upon hearing this, Yun Tiangang relaxed his brow slightly: “I will practice swordsmanship.”

Xu Ziqing gently said, “Only stop when you can’t hold on any longer.”

Yun Tiangang replied, “Okay.”

After they finished speaking, Yun Tiangang stopped saying more.

He swung the sword, and every strike followed the same sword path; each move of the sword showed no change whatsoever.

What he used was not sword technique, but rather the most common “chop” sword move, the simplest foundational sword move.

Xu Ziqing, witnessing this, thought back to his early days in the path of cultivation when he had Yun Xiong accompanying him in the storage ring, never leaving his side day after day.

At that time, he only knew that he held great respect for Yun Xiong, not realizing that feelings of affection would later arise. Yet, even so, Yun Xiong was immensely important in his heart. Ever since arriving in this foreign world, he felt that this one person was both a father and a brother to him, as well as a teacher and a friend. He never wished to part from him for a lifetime.

Xu Ziqing smiled again at this thought.

When Yun Xiong taught him back then, it was no different from how he was now teaching his Shixiong.

However, the Yun Tiangang of today was much wiser than he had been back then and was far more devoted to the sword path.

After Yun Tiangang had performed the “chop” sword move thousands of times, the sword intent shifted.

This time it transformed into the “slash” sword move, again requiring no guidance, mastering it instinctively.

Though his primordial spirit remained sealed, his instincts were still intact. He had once practiced swordplay in his youth, and now the more he swung the sword, the more familiar he became.

Soon, after the “slash” sword move, he proceeded to perform the “thrust” and “wipe” moves, each executed a thousand times before reverting to the “chop” sword move once more.

As he practiced in this manner, Yun Tiangang was drenched in sweat, yet his movements remained flawless, as precise as a finely measured action, without any hint of change.

Xu Ziqing stood by, his gaze gentle. He extended his spiritual awareness, attentively observing the changes in Yun Tiangang’s body, always ready to intervene to prevent any injury. While he trusted his Shixiong’s self-control, he had to remember that Yun Tiangang was still just a child and might not be able to judge his limits accurately.

He wondered if, during his own sword training back then, his Shixiong had also watched over him like this.

With that thought, a warm feeling arose in his heart.

An hour later, the night deepened.

Yun Tiangang’s clothes were completely soaked with sweat, yet his expression remained resolute, his movements steady, as if he felt no fatigue at all.

Xu Ziqing could see that his physical body had already been overexerted; if he continued like this, it might lead to injury. Just as he was about to speak up, he saw Yun Tiangang suddenly stop and stand still.

Xu Ziqing breathed a sigh of relief: “Tiangang?”

He then noticed Yun Tiangang’s body tremble, the sword having stabbed into the earth, barely allowing him to remain standing. Yet even so, he was stronger than Xu Ziqing had been at that age.

Xu Ziqing still remembered that when he was in peak health, he had fainted after reaching his limits during practice. Yet Yun Tiangang could remain conscious at this moment, which was no small feat. Thinking this, he walked over.

Yun Tiangang’s expression was cold, not uttering a word.

Xu Ziqing approached him and half-squatted down: “Tiangang, let me carry you back.”

Yun Tiangang remained motionless, seemingly contemplating.

Xu Ziqing smiled again: “Why must you be like this with me? Now that you’ve practiced to this extent, if you walk any further, your meridians may not be able to endure.”

After a few breaths, Xu Ziqing felt a weight settle onto his back, and his expression warmed as he supported Yun Tiangang, standing up.

His Shixiong had sacrificed so much for him back then; now, finally, he had a chance to repay him…

With this thought, he steadied his steps, releasing his wooden energy to shield Yun Tiangang securely.

Under the nourishing influence of this wooden energy, the pain in Yun Tiangang’s body gradually improved.

At that moment, Yun Tianheng also saw the two of them approaching. After Xu Ziqing called out to him, he withdrew his energy and stood up, returning to the manor with them.

He hadn’t witnessed the sword practice earlier, but seeing the two interact now brought a sense of calm to his heart.

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Three months later.

Xu Ziqing sat on a large rock on the desolate mountain, while beneath the rock, Yun Tiangang was practicing his swordplay.

From a distance, Yun Tianheng felt a surge of emotions in his heart. Before he began practicing his techniques, he had already dispersed the previous “Wind and Thunder Technique,” and the methods he learned afterward were quite gentle. After sensing his qi, his progress was not slow. Driven by a desire to grow stronger, he practiced diligently every day. However, upon seeing his cousin Tiangang, he felt a sense of shame.

For the past few months, Yun Tianheng had observed Yun Tiangang swinging his sword thousands to tens of thousands of times each day, exhausting all his strength until he could barely take another step before stopping. Just by watching, he could tell that the experience was far from pleasant. He recalled when he practiced his punches in the past, and no one in the manor had ever worked as hard as Tiangang. If it were just one or two days, it would be understandable, but doing so every day required tremendous willpower.

After witnessing this over the days, Yun Tianheng developed a deep admiration for his cousin Tiangang.

He also looked toward Parmachist Xu, a person he respected as a teacher in his heart. Although he was young, he had encountered issues with his meridians early on that prevented him from gathering his strength, which made him more thoughtful than other children his age. He naturally understood that this elder was here for his cousin Tiangang, and he had coincidentally benefited because of him.

For Yun Tianheng, he didn’t mind the reasons, but after watching the elder’s actions for a while, he noticed the care he showed for his cousin.

Just looking at the matter of medical treatment, while it was true that Yun Tianheng wasn’t as urgent as his cousin, the elder provided daily guidance to Tiangang. If he were an ordinary person, unless they were blood relatives, who would willingly expend themselves like this? Furthermore, the elder’s teachings to Tiangang were not the same as when he taught Yun Tianheng, which only involved imparting techniques and guiding their execution. Instead, he was incredibly meticulous, never taking his eyes off Tiangang, and carried him back every day. The techniques Tiangang learned were also extraordinary; even though Yun Tianheng knew his own methods were quite remarkable, he couldn’t help but be captivated by those exquisite moves. He tried to scrutinize the intricacies but found them beyond his comprehension, and compared to the many punches he had seen before, they were far inferior.

Thinking of this, Yun Tianheng quickly withdrew his gaze. He still had some self-control and knew that it was crucial to operate his techniques and clear his meridians first. Realizing that he would be distracted by the sword moves, he decided not to look, fearing that it would impair his own practice.

In these days, Xu Ziqing had also sensed some of Yun Tianheng’s thoughts. Seeing him maintain such self-control, he nodded quietly in approval.

Then, his gaze fell again on Yun Tiangang beneath the rock.

At that moment, Yun Tiangang had just finished swinging his sword and was about to practice a set of sword techniques.

Over the past few months, Xu Ziqing had only taught Yun Tiangang to swing his sword, and after many days, his physique had indeed become stronger.

Then suddenly, one day, after Yun Tiangang had swung his sword ten thousand times, he actually began to perform a set of sword moves.

It was a series of sword techniques Xu Ziqing had never seen before, accompanied by the roaring sounds of wind and thunder, as if the sword strikes were like flashes of lightning and the sound of thunder.

After watching for a moment, he realized that there was actually some essence of the “Wind and Thunder Technique” in these sword moves.

He knew that Yun Tiangang had once seen Yun Zhenhai practicing punches. Could it be that this was the sword technique he had created himself?

In that instant, Xu Ziqing seemed to faintly see his Shixiong’s shadow in Yun Tiangang.

He thought to himself: My Shixiong truly possesses exceptional talent; even in the realm of swordsmanship, there is such profound understanding from the moment his primordial spirit was entrusted to this world!

Afterward, every day, Yun Tiangang would perform swordplay followed by rehearsing sword techniques, from one set to several, all of which Xu Ziqing had never seen before.

However, by this time, Xu Ziqing gradually began to understand.

These sword techniques were probably the techniques his Shixiong had honed during ten years of sword training when he first entered the realm of swordsmanship.

If it weren’t for those many years of insights and refinement of various sword moves, he certainly wouldn’t have achieved the comprehension of sword intent that he displayed later on.

Now, even though his Shixiong’s primordial spirit was damaged, he was already practicing sword techniques and re-entering the path of swordsmanship!

Indeed… it was worthy of being called my Shixiong.

Today, the sword techniques Yun Tiangang practiced were a set that Xu Ziqing was quite familiar with.

This was precisely: the Four Seasons Sword Technique.

Xu Ziqing observed closely, and suddenly, a dramatic change occurred in his dantian!

Translator: Lynn

Translations are not 100% correct. Please let me know if there are typos/mistakes in the chapter.

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