Chen Yu looked at the child, who had been deep in thought for a long time, and asked, "Xiao'er, do you have any questions about what I just said?"
"Grandfather, I do have a few thoughts and questions."
"Oh? Let's hear them. Grandfather is here to answer your questions."
"What is sword intent?"
"Sword intent is the artistic conception of the sword, and also the realm of the swordsman. Intent is the unity of form, spirit, expression, and principle, the harmony of the illusory and the real, being and nonbeing. It is born beyond intent, yet contained within form. It is a very high realm.
"Sword intent means that a swordsman's understanding of the sword has reached an unprecedented realm. That realm is called sword intent. Sword intent is an extension of the source, and this source belongs only to the sword. It holds the sword's nobility, the sword's cold pride, the sword's sharpness, and the sword's true heart.
"This is tracing the sword back to its origin.
"For a swordsman, when he truly understands what a sword is, and can bring out the sword's essential traits, when everything comes from his true heart, he fuses with the sword and displays his own understanding of it.
"When you feel that your sword has come alive, that is sword intent."
"Our Chen Clan's five great inherited secret techniques—heart, body, eyes, intent, and technique—can I inherit them well?"
"You have a Top Sword Martial Soul, so you are equally suited to cultivating the five great secret techniques.
"As for compatibility, I do not think it will be low. Judging by the situation of our Chen Clan's Branch Families and Separate Lineages, they can all cultivate them to some extent.
"Among these five great secret techniques, aside from the Seven Kill Qi Concealment Technique, the other four are highly universal. The higher the martial soul's grade, the better their effects. You have a Top Martial Soul, so there is no need to worry.
"Especially the Upright Sword Qi Technique. There will be no problem at all. It basically suits all Sword Martial Souls. Ancestor Chen Xili, who created the Upright Sword Qi Technique, did not have the Seven Kill Sword as his martial soul."
"Then what martial soul did Ancestor Xi Li have?"
"The martial soul Ancestor Xi Li awakened was a mutated Top Martial Soul. Contrary to the Seven Kill Sword, it contained no killing aura. It was ancient, grand, open, and sweeping, and even had the effect of clarifying the heart and seeing one's nature. Ancestor Xi Li named it the Upright Sword. Later, it sublimated into a Super Martial Soul, becoming even more majestic and imposing, with the brilliant might of heaven. It was called the Upright Heavenly Might Sword.
"As I said before, before Ancestor Xi Li, the world rumored that our Seven Kill Sword lineage was bloodthirsty and violently murderous. Though that was not the truth, our original Seven Kill Meditation Method could only absorb and blindly suppress killing aura, which made our clan members prone to losing control of their minds.
"It was precisely based on the traits of this sword, as well as the revision ideas of earlier ancestors, that Ancestor Xi Li created the Upright Sword Qi Technique. It suppressed, for a time, the erosion of the Seven Kill Sword's killing aura upon us, greatly reducing the situations where our spirits went out of control, and in one stroke reversed the world's view of us.
"Relying on this achievement and his peerless cultivation, Ancestor Xi Li broke the ancestral precept left by the second-generation ancestor Chen Qian, entered the main hall of the Ancestral Hall, and was worshiped alongside the founding ancestor as a principal sacrifice, earning boundless reverence from later generations.
"In truth, our Starry Sword Eyes and Sword Shadow Body were first created by Ancestor Chen Qian. He himself was also a Level 97 Peak Douluo. The old man was being modest and did not dare compare himself to the founding ancestor Chen Ling. It is precisely by this comparison that the standard for being listed among the principal sacrifices is so high. In nearly two thousand years, only the Fifteenth Generation Ancestor Xi Li and the twenty-second-generation Ancestor Fei Yi have been included.
"Afterward, because the inheritance probability of a first-generation mutated Top Martial Soul was extremely low, Ancestor Xi Li's second son underwent atavism and inherited the Seven Kill Sword, while the martial soul of his eldest son, Chen Duanshe, only inherited most of the Upright Sword's power, or perhaps a weakened version of the Upright Sword, reaching the quality of a top lower-grade martial soul, which is to say a Seventh Grade Spirit.
"According to clan rules, he formed another Branch Family and Separate Lineage. To commemorate Ancestor Xi Li, his descendants also called their martial soul the Xi Li Sword. They changed their surname branch to Xi Li, becoming a minor branch of our Chen Clan, the Chen-surnamed Xi Li house, known to the world as the Xi Li Clan.
"Because the Xi Li Sword is a true sword of uprightness, neutrality, and peace, the Seven Kill Qi Concealment Technique's effect on the Xi Li Clan is greatly reduced.
"However, because their martial souls are open and sweeping, upright and peaceful, and excel at chopping and cleaving, they actually proved remarkably effective in the business of building houses. On top of that, their clan members are honest people, so they have done exceedingly well."
"So that's where the Xi Li Clan came from." Chen Xiaojun cried inwardly, Sure enough, behind history there is always a layer of fog.
"Then what is our relationship with them now?"
Chen Yu smiled. "Very good. What? Do you think there is some filth between our main branch and them? You underestimate the wisdom of our ancestors too much. The Chen lineage has been passed down for nearly two thousand years. There have always been some mutated martial souls inherited, and we have a mature way of handling them."
"Although our Chen main branch has only thirty-odd people, we have quite a few Branch Families and Separate Lineages. It is just that, based on the lessons of past destruction, they migrated and lived separately to spread out the risks. They did not form great aristocratic clans, did not attract hatred, and became hidden families of their own.
"A great aristocratic clan not only inherits powerful martial souls and has great numbers and influence, but also occupies vast territories, seizes interests, and has obvious bonds, entanglements, and conflicts with all sides. In certain fields, it possesses unparalleled influence, but it is also where the whirlpools of the world gather.
"The highest institution of our Chen-surnamed clan group is the Council of Elders, composed of us and the heads of each Branch Family and Separate Lineage. It coordinates relations, and we advance and retreat together, sharing honor and disgrace.
"Xiaojun, remember this: do not look down on any family that can be passed down for a thousand years. None of them are simple!"
Hearing this, Chen Xiaojun lifted his head and praised, "I understand, grandfather."
"Any other questions?" Chen Yu continued asking.
"What is the illusory sword body that appears behind someone when they use Sword Shadow Body?"
"A phantom soul. A phantom soul is usually hidden deep within the sea of consciousness, difficult to find and manifest. With the wisdom of our ancestors, starting from the second-generation ancestor Chen Qian and through the efforts of more than ten generations, they compared the principles by which the Awakening Stone opens a physical martial soul and created Sword Shadow Body, allowing us to use the phantom soul ahead of time.
"Because we can become familiar with and use the phantom soul decades earlier than others, and because it accompanies our growth, we have an advantage in opening the Upper Soul Nest and in the step of fusing the illusory and the real. That is why our Chen Clan has had many Soul Sages and Soul Douluos in every generation, and Titled Douluos have never ceased from generation to generation."
"Grandfather, as the Clan Leader, you are a Titled Douluo, right? Grandfather Hong is too, right?"
"Haha, grandfather is eighty-two this year, a Level 95 Titled Douluo. I inherited the family's passed-down title: Sword Hero! Old Hong is ninety-two, ten years older than me, a level 94 Titled Douluo, the eldest of my generation. His title is Sword Might!"
"Grandfather is mighty, domineering, and not bald!"
"..."
"There must be a place for Grandfather and Grandfather Hong in Spirit Hall's Douluo Hall, right?"
"Why go there? What is there worth being formally conferred? We are a hidden family. It is enough to keep our heads down."
"... Our Chen Clan is so strong!" Chen Xiaojun praised.
"Our top-level strength is decent, but there are only these few people, and we have no real influence. We are merely a small hidden family. We cannot compare to those great clans and aristocratic families. At most, we have some friendly families who band together for warmth and borrow a bit of momentum." grandfather said calmly.
Chen Xiaojun suddenly felt that grandfather was really asking for a beating, so he changed the subject. "Then what is the domain secret method?"
"Haha, first you must understand what a domain is. The so-called essence of a domain is the mental level interfering with reality. Mental Power solidifies and combines with a portion of material rules to interfere with real Soul Power, energy, and matter.
"Then it must have a foundation, a foundation that carries the domain. This foundation is the phantom soul within the sea of consciousness.
"So, through the Mental Power tempered by the Upright Sword Qi Technique, the Seven Kill Qi Concealment Technique, and Starry Sword Eyes, with will as the core and the phantom soul as the supporting base, embedding, guiding, and using Heaven and Earth Rules is the domain of our Seven Kill Sword.
"Therefore, the domain secret method is not a single secret technique, but something naturally triggered when several great inherited secret techniques are cultivated to profound depths," Chen Yu said proudly.
"This really is false teachings filling ten thousand scrolls, while true teaching is just one sentence," Chen Xiaojun said with emotion after hearing it.
"I have just explained the general outline of our Chen Clan's cultivation to you. Next, I will pass on the formal cultivation methods to you."
As for your Recommendation Tickets and favorites, I am rubbing my hands in anticipation. Hehehe.
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