323: Chapter 323 The True Genius

"That is not entirely correct," Lin Xiao said. "It is easy to dodge an open spear, but difficult to guard against a hidden arrow. Battlefield slaughter and bloody feuds in the pugilistic world cannot be spoken of in the same breath."

"That is true... that is why they say the pugilistic world is treacherous," Ding Cuihua agreed.

Leng Bingyan said very earnestly, "Uncle-Master Ding, I heard from Master that if you hadn't left the mountain early, the position of Sword Forest Sect Leader would not have been his turn. He holds your attainments in the way of the sword in the highest regard."

"Don't listen to his nonsense. He joined the sect after me, but he progressed much faster than us senior martial brothers and sisters. The position of Sect Leader would have been his sooner or later." Ding Cuihua naturally didn't take it to heart.

Leng Bingyan hurriedly said, "That's not necessarily true. Master progressed quickly only because he was obsessed with practicing the sword. You, Uncle-Master, traveled the world with your sword, rooting out the strong and supporting the weak, so naturally, you didn't have as much time to study."

Ding Cuihua recalled those years of her youth and looked back at the old man who was pretending to read a book.

It was also because of that time that the two of them met, and she gave up the fight for the sect leadership and left the mountain.

"Yaner, do you have time this afternoon?" Ding Cuihua asked.

Leng Bingyan nodded, "Yes, there is nothing going on. We came back to spend the New Year, so we will be here for these days."

"That is good."

"Does Uncle-Master have any instructions?"

Ding Cuihua rolled her eyes at her. "You have already praised this old woman so highly, how can I, your Uncle-Master, not show some appreciation?"

Upon hearing this, Leng Bingyan knew she was going to be given pointers on the way of the sword, and she happily said, "Thank you, Uncle-Master!" immediately.

Her current cultivation and realm were actually just one step away from becoming a Sword Master.

If she could receive guidance from Ding Cuihua, she would certainly gain a lot!

The key was that different Sword Masters had different understandings of the sword, and these were extremely valuable treasures.

"Lin Xiao, you don't mind if this old woman shows off and teaches my niece-disciple, do you?" Ding Cuihua teased.

Lin Xiao waved his hand. "Senior, why would you say that? It is Yaner's good fortune."

"Ahem!!"

Just at this moment, Zhu Ming, who had been left at the door, could finally no longer contain himself.

A group of people surrounding Ding Cuihua, was there no end to it?

Ding Cuihua looked back and said with disdain, "The children have come to see you, why are you putting on airs? You were looking forward to it every day, but now that they are here, you are pretending! No wonder they call you sour scholars!"

Zhu Ming's old face flushed red, but he dared not retort, so he could only say, "I was just coughing twice, you all go ahead and chat."

Lin Xiao picked up a long box and walked over.

"Elder Zhu, if I hadn't returned to the city late last night, I would have come over yesterday."

"It has been a long time, I have missed you dearly. I brought you some antique calligraphy and paintings as a small token of my appreciation."

Most of these items were looted from Prince Bai, so they were naturally good things.

Zhu Ming naturally knew his stuff; just by looking at the material of the scrolls, he knew they were old items.

"Lin Xiao, you are very thoughtful. Times have changed; you are now the master of the Six Prefectures of the Northern Territory, so you naturally have a busy schedule. You don't need to keep thinking of an old man like me."

Lin Xiao chuckled inwardly; this was clearly still displeasure!

He beckoned to Xiao Qingxuan, and the woman tacitly brought over a pot of wine.

"Elder Zhu, this is our northern white liquor, which we plan to launch in the future, called 'flying fairy'."

"This wine is a limited edition from 'Xinghua Village', with no more than one thousand pots produced each year."

"Except for the few of us, you are the first to taste this wine! Even those in the imperial palace don't have this privilege!"

On this wine pot, there was a pattern of a flying fairy, which was very exquisite.

Once the beeswax was knocked off, it immediately emitted the rich fragrance of high-proof liquor.

As soon as Zhu Ming smelled it, he felt as if his skull was about to fly off, and he instantly beamed with joy.

"This wine... it truly makes one feel like they are about to soar into the sky just by smelling it!"

"Wife! Wife, hurry and serve the dishes, today we will drink this 'flying fairy'!"

Ding Cuihua was also very curious and hurriedly called Su Wansha to go in and help.

Mu Wanying, Zhao Caiwei, and the other women were not good at kitchen matters, so they had to sit in the courtyard and chat with Zhu Ming.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Ding Cuihua called Leng Bingyan to an open space in the back.

"Yaner, you are practicing the 'Flying Cloud Sword Technique', right?" Ding Cuihua asked.

"Yes, Uncle-Master. Master said my movement technique is agile, which is suitable for practicing this kind of elegant sword technique." Leng Bingyan respectfully replied.

"Elegant, that is actually just a beautification of this type of sword technique by scholars and poets. To be precise, this type of sword technique emphasizes explosive power."

Ding Cuihua said, "The sword itself is light and not as heavy and powerful as a saber or spear. Therefore, for a sword to deliver sufficient explosive power, it must rely on 'speed'."

"And the benefit that speed brings is being impossible to guard against, and it can replace defense with offense."

"The 'Thousand Moon Shadows' that I practice, and your 'Flying Cloud Sword Technique', are both Earth Grade sword techniques that pursue 'speed'."

"I have recently gained some insights, you might as well take a look, perhaps you will gain something..."

After speaking, Ding Cuihua casually picked up a tree branch and began to dance.

Although she was nearing sixty, her figure was agile, and her sword energy was like a rainbow.

Looking from afar, it was as if countless moon shadows were around her, layered and overlapping, making it difficult to distinguish real from fake.

Leng Bingyan watched without blinking, feeling as if something in her mind was constantly bursting forth!

If she had come to watch half a year ago, she would mostly only have thought the swordsmanship was incredibly exquisite, but now, with the improvement of her cultivation, she could understand more obscure things...

"Flying clouds roll over the earth chasing clear radiance, Moon shadows cut through the void with subtle sword intent. A thousand layers of cold gleam move with the shadows, A pool of autumn water flies through the clouds..."

After Ding Cuihua finished the set of sword techniques, accompanied by a few lines of insightful poetry, Leng Bingyan was mesmerized.

Lin Xiao and the women were sitting in the distance, also quietly admiring.

"Senior Ding's sword technique is truly beautiful," Xie Juner, who practiced both the zither and the sword, also benefited a lot.

"It appears elegant, but it is extremely fierce."

Lin Xiao narrowed his eyes. He discovered that in Ding Cuihua's attribute panel, the technique had changed, and her cultivation had also improved.

It seemed that this old woman appeared to be doing housework every day, but in reality, her cultivation of the way of the sword had not stagnated.

That was right, she had not yet reached sixty, so she had a good chance of stepping into the Great Grandmaster Realm before eighty...

"Yaner, how is this set of sword techniques?"

Ding Cuihua turned back, her words waking Leng Bingyan up.

"Uncle-Master, this is not 'Thousand Moon Shadows'. Although every move and every stance looks similar, in reality... it is much faster."

Leng Bingyan frowned and said, "But you clearly didn't swing the sword with much force, how did you do that?"

"Haha..."

Ding Cuihua said happily, "That you can see this is enough to show your talent; this is indeed not 'Thousand Moon Shadows'."

"Rather, it is a new sword technique I created, 'Flying Clouds Chasing the Moon', after I saw you and remembered the 'Flying Cloud Sword Technique', suddenly having an epiphany."

"Remember these eight characters: 'Clouds follow the moon, the sword is born from chasing shadows'!"

Leng Bingyan was surprised; had she actually inspired Ding Cuihua?

As soon as she heard the eight characters, she felt something flash through her mind, but she couldn't quite capture it...

"Uncle-Master, Yaner is dull-witted, could you... please perform it one more time?"

Leng Bingyan looked at the old woman longingly.

"Naturally, I can. I am at this age, and my children are not cut out for practicing the sword, so you can inherit this sword technique for me."

Upon hearing this, Leng Bingyan immediately wanted to kneel.

But Ding Cuihua flashed with her sword and blocked her knees.

"Hey, no need for formalities. I just want to find someone to inherit the sword technique for me, I am not looking to take on an apprentice."

"If you are willing, just come visit this old woman often in the future," Ding Cuihua said with a smile.

Leng Bingyan hesitated for a moment, then had to nod.

Seeing the old and the young passing on the art again, Lin Xiao and the women didn't watch any longer.

"'Flying Clouds Chasing the Moon'... Heaven Grade."

Lin Xiao looked at Ding Cuihua's attribute panel and couldn't help but sigh; this was a true genius, having comprehended a Heaven Grade sword technique on her own.

Unlike him, who relied entirely on the system.

He hoped that Leng Bingyan could also comprehend some things by following Ding Cuihua.

Because the other women did not study the sword, they returned to the city in the afternoon to prepare for the upcoming festivities to enjoy the New Year with the people.

Lin Xiao didn't need to worry about those things, so he stayed behind to keep Zhu Ming company a bit more and chat about this and that.

The two of them drank tea and played chess, and Zhu Ming asked as if casually:

"Lin Xiao, now that the Northern Territory has been settled, what are your plans for the next step?"