408: Only by being extremely emotional can one be extremely skilled in swordsmanship

Ghost Country, on the banks of the Wangchuan River.

Amidst the overgrown flowers of the other shore, Zhou Ping was walking upstream along the Wangchuan River bank.

He had considered it for a long time and decided to come to the Ghost Country to seek Song Zhong's help in finding a way to counter Dao Assimilation.

After consulting numerous materials, Zhou Ping had a strange feeling; the more he read, the greater his worry became.

Zuo Qing had also privately advised him, "Now that the Great Xia Gods have awakened, there's no need for you to put so much pressure on yourself."

It wasn't that Zhou Ping hadn't had such thoughts; in the past, Great Xia had no Deities, and humanity could only protect itself.

But now, Great Xia was protected by Deities, and he seemed to have unburdened himself, yet an indescribable feeling always lingered in Zhou Ping's heart.

This was the first time Zhou Ping had felt lost since he was a child; he didn't know when his Lapis Lazuli Child's Heart had seemingly become covered in dust.

Walking among the flowers of the other shore, looking at the waters of the Wangchuan River, Zhou Ping's thoughts were complex: should he continue on the path he was pursuing?

Soon, a massive stone tablet appeared before Zhou Ping; it was the Wangchuan River Tablet.

Song Zhong, dressed in a black robe, leaned against the stone tablet, sitting amidst the flowers.

When Zhou Ping saw Song Zhong, an inexpressible complexity filled his heart; he slowly walked to Song Zhong's front.

Song Zhong looked up, smiling at him, and said,

"You've come!"

"I've come!"

"You seem troubled."

"I am indeed a bit troubled."

"Then, may I ask what troubles the Great Master Swordsman?"

Zhou Ping looked at Song Zhong's mischievous face, feeling a bit speechless; this guy clearly knew but deliberately wouldn't say.

"May I sit down?" Zhou Ping asked.

Song Zhong nodded, and Zhou Ping sat down cross-legged, placing his Dragon Elephant Sword between them.

The Dragon Elephant Sword lay upon the flowers of the other shore, looking somewhat old.

"This sword hasn't been unsheathed in a long time," Zhou Ping said with a hint of melancholy in his tone.

Song Zhong looked at Zhou Ping and said, "It's not that the sword cannot be unsheathed, but that your heart is no longer pure.

If before, you still had the possibility of Breaking Through the human ceiling, now..."

Song Zhong shook his head, not continuing.

"I know," Zhou Ping's voice carried a hint of bitterness, "Actually, my Lapis Lazuli Child's Heart was never pure from the start."

Zhou Ping was not lying; at least Guan Zai could attest to it.

Because of Zhou Ping's issues, Guan Zai had argued with Ye Fan more than once.

After Ye Fan discovered Zhou Ping, he always regarded him as the hope for saving Great Xia, and Zhou Ping, bearing this pressure, did not disappoint him.

From his initial contact with Mental Energy to his Breakthrough into the Klein Realm, Zhou Ping almost created Night Watcher history, nearly on par with the Geniuses recorded in historical annals.

But then, Zhou Ping's performance once again astonished everyone.

In just a few short years, he joined the ranks of humanity's ceiling.

Reaching this Realm, Zhou Ping was undoubtedly the strongest Genius in history; with such a low-ranked Forbidden Territory, he was actually able to step into the human ceiling. At the time, some asserted that Zhou Ping's talent even surpassed that of the Champion Marquis Huo Qubing back then.

Because compared to the "Dominating Emperor," the Lapis Lazuli Child's Heart was simply too ordinary.

However, Guan Zai went against everyone, strongly opposing Ye Fan's approach of pushing Zhou Ping to the human ceiling.

Because Guan Zai saw Zhou Ping's true inner self.

In his eyes, Zhou Ping was actually just a child who had been bullied since childhood, loved Wuxia stories, and fantasized about becoming a Martial Forest Great Master.

His childhood experiences had carved a deep wound into Zhou Ping's heart, a wound named disappointment.

In the depths of Zhou Ping's heart, he was disappointed with this world.

The world owed him too much, yet he repaid it with song.

Song Zhong, however, smiled at this moment, "Since you know your problem, then there's still hope."

Zhou Ping's eyes lit up slightly after hearing Song Zhong's words; he had indeed come to the right place.

Song Zhong continued, "Your rapid progress before, while astonishing, you yourself know that the greatest advantage of the Lapis Lazuli Child's Heart is its purity. Unfortunately, you yourself had Impurities from the beginning.

It's like a great dike with an ant's nest; once it reaches its limit, the collapse becomes unstoppable."

"Sir, then what should I do?" Zhou Ping now completely regarded Song Zhong as one of those reclusive masters from Wuxia novels, his attitude utterly respectful.

"Considering you are my believer, I can offer you some ideas."

With that, Song Zhong pulled out a somewhat worn book from his embrace and tossed it in front of Zhou Ping.

Zhou Ping picked up the book and, upon closer inspection, saw four large characters on the cover: "Fuyu Fanyun."

"This is... a Wuxia novel?"

Zhou Ping had read too many Wuxia novels; the ancient figures and swords on the cover clearly indicated a Wuxia novel style.

"Perhaps you can find the answer within it."

With that, Song Zhong left the banks of the Wangchuan River.

Zhou Ping looked at the old novel, and his interest was immediately piqued.

That long-lost feeling of joy spontaneously arose in his heart; in a trance, Zhou Ping seemed to return to when he was eight years old, the first time he encountered a Wuxia novel, secretly hiding under his covers, reading by lamplight late into the night.

He, once again, experienced that purest joy.

At this moment, Zhou Ping seemed to forget all his previous troubles.

The banks of the Wangchuan River were empty, with no one to disturb him.

There was only one person, one sword, and one book.

Zhou Ping couldn't help but open the novel and was immediately captivated by its protagonist.

Lang Fanyun, a strikingly talented character penned by Great Master Huang Yi.

His profound emotions, his broad-mindedness and freedom, his extraordinary wisdom, all deeply moved Zhou Ping's heart.

When he read about Lang Fanyun observing the ebb and flow of Dongting Lake and comprehending the "Fanyun Fuyu Sword," Zhou Ping's eyes seemed to conjure the magnificent expanse of the eight hundred li of Dongting.

Time passed by second by second; unknowingly, Zhou Ping had already reached the end of the novel.

Zhou Ping's eyes, he didn't know when, were already brimming with tears.

"Only by Exertion in emotion can one achieve Exertion in the sword... Only by Exertion in emotion can one achieve Exertion in the sword..."

Zhou Ping kept repeating this sentence, now shedding tears.

"Song Zhong, Song Zhong, is this what you wanted to tell me?"

Zhou Ping could not describe his feelings at this moment with words.

Ever since he met Ye Fan, he had been suppressing the disappointment in his heart, fearing that these negative emotions would slow down his cultivation progress and prevent him from fulfilling Ye Fan's expectations of him.

He even, at one point, believed that to eliminate the disappointment in his heart, he could only walk the path of ruthlessness.

Fortunately, Zhou Ping did not take this path, and even more fortunately, he met Song Zhong.

Zhou Ping closed the book and lay on the ground.

Facing the sky, spring was warm, and flowers bloomed; this feeling was truly wonderful!