Shortcomings

Duàn Yì was moved by Bái Xī Wén's advice. After thinking for a moment, he asked,

"Brother Bái, what do you think my martial arts are really like now? Could it be that, with my attainments in swordsmanship, I am not even a match for the seven swordsmen Lin Bohui defeated?"

The Tower of Hidden Martial Arts could be called a heaven-sent marvel. In a short time, it had allowed him to cross the beginner's threshold of martial arts. Added to that was his exceptional Innate Talent and extraordinary aptitude. Though he had trained for only a very short time, he had already reached a certain level.

In terms of true strength alone, even if Ruan Dong had gone all out that day, he would not have lasted ten moves beneath Duàn Yì's Songshan Swordplay. With the recent improvement to his movement technique brought by King Yue's Divine Arrow, the gap had become even greater.

Those seven swordsmen did indeed sound formidable, each possessing their own strengths. But Duàn Yì believed his swordsmanship was far from shallow, and with Ice True Qi, a superior internal art, within him, he might not be unable to contend with them.

"I have seen Huang Jing, one of those seven, once before. His swordsmanship might not be much stronger than yours now. His internal cultivation may be far deeper than yours, but the power of his true qi is absolutely inferior to Ice True Qi.

"So, your strength and Huang Jing's are not far apart. In my view, you may even be a notch stronger than him.

"But martial arts are martial arts. When it truly comes to a great battle, how much of one's strength can be brought out varies from person to person.

"Take Huang Jing, for example. He has gone through dozens of great and small battles and accumulated abundant real combat experience. Of his full strength, he can bring out eighty or ninety percent.

"But what about you? You have trained in martial arts for only a short time, and have done nothing but train painstakingly. Certainly, because of your talent and the superiority of the martial arts you have learned, your skill is not shallow. But if you were fighting someone to the death, it would already be good if you could bring out sixty or seventy percent of your own strength.

"The fact that you needed so many moves to defeat Ruan Dong is proof enough."

Bái Xī Wén knew little about that battle. He only knew that Duàn Yì had defended first before attacking, enduring dozens of moves before defeating Ruan Dong. He did not know that Duàn Yì had first used basic sword techniques against his opponent, tempering and testing his own strength before achieving victory with Songshan Swordplay.

After hearing this, Duàn Yì recounted the details of his battle with Ruan Dong that day, causing Bái Xī Wén to look at him sideways in secret astonishment.

A martial artist's talent could roughly be divided into two kinds. One was talent for cultivation. Such people cultivated at astonishing speed and often became experts in a very short time, something others could only envy.

The other kind was talent for beating people. At the same level of strength, such people could often perform far beyond ordinary men, even defeating the strong with the weak. Of course, this sort of talent could also be made up for through acquired experience.

Bái Xī Wén had originally believed Duàn Yì possessed the first kind of talent, but he had not expected him to possess both. Not only did he cultivate quickly, but whether competing on a stage or fighting for life and death, he was more gifted than ordinary people.

Still, after thinking it over, he shook his head.

"Perhaps your talent can make up for your lack of experience, but there is another thing you currently lack. In a duel, this factor is also extremely important: killing impulse, Killing Intent, killing will.

"Without these things, when it comes to a real fight to the death, you still will not be Huang Jing's match.

"So-called Killing Intent and killing will are not merely superficial ferocity and brutality. They refer to a trait that only comes when you have truly killed someone and your hands have been stained with blood.

"Do you know of the Golden Silver Den, the highly renowned assassin organization in Hebei Province? They say, 'If gold and silver decree your death by the third watch, who would dare keep you alive until the fifth?'

"The assassins trained by the Golden Silver Den may not have particularly high martial arts, but every one of them keeps their killing impulse restrained and their Killing Intent hidden. Once they strike, it is like a stone shattering the heavens.

"They can often kill experts whose martial arts surpass their own. It is truly terrifying. This is the enhancement that killing will, killing impulse, and Killing Intent bring to martial arts.

"If you truly wish to advance your martial arts another level within just a few days and become someone genuinely capable of contending with Huang Jing, then you must kill people and accumulate Killing Intent.

"But even so, you still will not be Lin Bohui's opponent. I advise you to give up."

At this, enlightenment flashed in Duàn Yì's eyes. Clutching the Cold Jade in his hand, he laughed heartily and said,

"So that is how it is. I understand now. Thank you for your guidance, Brother Bái. Perhaps today I will go down the mountain and make up for this shortcoming."

Though Duàn Yì was all smiles, Bái Xī Wén saw the savage violence buried deep in his bones and flesh. Especially those eyes, cold and grim as ice. Startled, his expression changed, and he said coldly,

"You want to go down the mountain and kill people? To accumulate Killing Intent and raise your swordsmanship another level?

"I taught you martial arts not so that you could commit evil and slaughter innocents. Abandon that thought at once, or I would rather cripple your martial arts."

After spending these days together, Bái Xī Wén had thought he understood Duàn Yì, only to discover that he still could not see through him. He was like a twisting, winding river whose end could not be seen at a glance.

Moreover, Bái Xī Wén's words rang like metal striking the ground. His attitude was resolute, and he showed no concern whatsoever for the relationship between Duàn Yì and Yuè Jiāo Nú.

From this, it could be seen that his character was not bad. At the very least, he possessed some chivalrous spirit.

Once a person possessed martial force that surpassed ordinary people, enabling them to take whatever they wished, their mentality would inevitably change. It could even lead to psychological imbalance and great chaos.

But this world was different. Leaving aside the famous righteous sects in every region, the Great Xia's official organizations alone—such as Six Gates and Dragon Guarding Manor—were enough to make people hesitate before acting recklessly. Naturally, Duàn Yì did not dare act rashly either.

Otherwise, he could have directly killed Ruan Xiang, that root of disaster. Why would he still need to become entangled in a duel with Lin Bohui?

"Killing people does not necessarily mean slaughtering innocents. Brother Bái, could it be that you do not know there is a profession in this world that can kill people openly and honorably?"

Under Bái Xī Wén's furious gaze, Duàn Yì's hairs stood on end. Like a weak rabbit cowed by a fierce tiger, he did not dare make the slightest move.

The muscles, blood, and true qi in his body were all locked down by an overwhelmingly fierce Qi Aura. This showed just how terrifyingly strong the other man's martial arts were.

This felt even more different from when Duàn Yì had first met Bái Xī Wén. Duàn Yì had improved far too much since then, and the aura he could sense was therefore stronger and more frightening.

Fortunately, he still had a mouth with which to speak. When he spoke, he remained calm and unhurried, completely unaffected by Bái Xī Wén's actions.

"You mean an executioner?"

Bái Xī Wén reacted quickly and soon realized something. The aura he had raised slowly dissipated, and his entire body relaxed. He looked at Duàn Yì with a complicated gaze, not knowing what to say. This person's reaction really was fast.

Indeed, innocent people could not and must not be killed.

But those death-row prisoners in the great prisons, so long as they were not victims of wrongful convictions, were all laden with crimes too numerous to record on bamboo slips.

Killing them would not only be blameless, it would be meritorious. This truly was not a bad method.

However, it still meant killing people—not chickens or pigs, but living, breathing human beings. For a young man, it was truly somewhat cruel.

Back when he had been Duàn Yì's age, he had still been on the mountain training under his master, living carefree and happily. How could he have encountered such things?

Seeing that Bái Xī Wén had finally withdrawn his aura and clearly had nothing more to say, a smile rippled across Duàn Yì's lips.

He slowly walked over to the chair Liu Zhiwei had been sitting in earlier and took a seat. He placed the Cold Jade on the table, drew the Ten Refinements Sword, and gazed at its blade. Through the murky sword light, he could vaguely see his own face, as well as a pair of eyes sparkling like stars.

"Brother Bái, killing is something I will face sooner or later. From the first day I began practicing martial arts, I was destined to walk this road. I cannot avoid it, nor can I hide from it, unless I am willing to live an ordinary life.

"But you know that I do not want a life as bland as water. I want money, power, and women. That means I am destined to struggle, to fight, to kill.

"Of course, those are all secondary.

"What I truly want is to witness the various extraordinary arts and ultimate techniques within Great Xia—to see what their power is like, how profound and mysterious they are. It is truly irresistible.

"I think that, as someone who cultivates the Invincible Treasure Codex, you can understand me."

Duàn Yì's words were sincere and heartfelt, laying bare everything in his heart.

Money, power, and women—aside from monks and Daoists who had purged themselves of desire, and recluses who had seen through the ways of the world, who would not be tempted?

Duàn Yì was merely an ordinary person. It was entirely normal for him to harbor such desires.

As for the latter part, it was a thought that had gradually sprouted ever since he began practicing martial arts and obtained the scripture tower.

Whenever he thought of the thousands upon thousands of martial arts in that scripture tower marked with missing characters, Duàn Yì wanted to see every one of them for himself, even to record them within the Tower of Hidden Martial Arts and fill its emptiness.

That could be considered one of his ideals. Whether it could be realized or not, it was still a goal.

Besides, martial artists loved martial arts. If one truly possessed lofty ambitions, who would not wish to battle all the heroes under heaven and live one magnificent, earthshaking life?

These words truly moved Bái Xī Wén. He too had once wanted to experience the splendor of Great Xia's endless ultimate arts. Yet unlike Duàn Yì, he had not done so out of interest, but for fame, for the title of number one under heaven.

That was right. Beyond money, power, and women, there was another thing that martial artists truly dreamed of: fame.

Why had Lin Bohui challenged seven somewhat renowned swordsmen in Wei Prefecture one after another? Was it not for fame?

With fame, money, power, and women would come flocking in afterward.

This could also be seen in modern celebrities and all kinds of internet influencers. Fame and popularity were often tied to profit; this held true in both ancient and modern times.

"Have you truly thought it through? This battle will likely be extremely difficult. Even if you kill people and accumulate Killing Intent, with your martial arts, against Lin Bohui, who defeated Huang Jing in eight moves, your chance of winning is still less than twenty percent."

Bái Xī Wén understood Duàn Yì's true intentions, but that did not mean he could win this duel. Strength was strength, and ambition was ambition.

There were plenty of people who shouted every day that they wanted to become number one under heaven, but ninety-nine percent of them achieved nothing and remained unknown.

"Of course. But Brother Bái, you are wrong. My chance of victory is not twenty percent, but fifty percent—if things are truly as I expect.

"Perhaps I can do a few more things. Then my chance of winning will be more than seventy percent."

Duàn Yì answered firmly once more. With a clang, he sheathed the Ten Refinements Sword, his eyes brimming with confidence.

Perhaps his guess was wrong. Perhaps Lin Bohui had some other trump card. But so long as there was even the slightest chance of victory, he still believed he could win.

If he did not believe in himself, then who could he believe in?

Besides, a duel was not won merely because one's martial arts were a notch higher.