Cultivating Basic Saber Technique

Saturday, six in the morning.

The sky was only beginning to brighten.

Chen Mo woke naturally, full of energy, his body clock undisturbed.

Not wanting to wake his sister beside him, he moved gently, making as little noise as possible.

At that moment, Chen Wan'er was breathing steadily, the corners of her lips slightly curved as she dreamed sweetly.

Last night, his sister had insisted on sleeping with him, so he had no choice but to agree.

"I wonder if Spiritual Perception can let me clearly see what's going on inside my sister's body."

With that thought, Chen Mo decided to give it a try. He gently placed a hand on his sister Chen Wan'er's forehead and used Spiritual Perception.

When he had played with his sister yesterday, he had discovered that without physical contact, he could not sense the conditions inside her body.

Under Spiritual Perception, the state of his sister's body surfaced in Chen Mo's mind.

Her internal organs, bones, meridians, muscles, and more were all clearly visible.

"It really works!"

Chen Mo was delighted, but the moment his emotions surged, the image in his mind blurred.

He immediately steadied his mind and examined it carefully.

Before long, he found the problem.

Her internal organs functioned poorly, her qi and blood were severely deficient, and not only were her meridians thin, they were broken into disconnected segments. All three Dantians were shriveled, like underdeveloped beans.

The meridians were vital channels connecting the inside and outside of the human body, carrying qi and blood through it. Now, Chen Wan'er's meridians were not only thin but broken—how could her qi and blood possibly circulate?

When qi and blood could not circulate, the body's internal cycle became obstructed, leading to all sorts of problems: weakened immunity, atrophy in places deprived of qi and blood nourishment, and pain, swelling, and ulceration where harmful substances could not be expelled.

If not for the medication she took every month to keep it under control, Chen Wan'er's body would have collapsed long ago.

But the medicine could only suppress the condition and maintain her physical balance. It could not repair the broken meridians within her body.

"I'm still too useless!"

Chen Mo withdrew his hand with a heavy heart. Even though he now knew the state of his sister's body, he had no way to solve it.

His Spiritual Perception could only sense and see; it could not interfere. That was why he had no way to help his sister repair her broken meridians.

If he had the ability, he would have repaired her body immediately.

"I need to become stronger. Only then can I cure my sister."

"First, I need to become a martial artist, or gain strength equivalent to one. Then I'll be able to leave the city and hunt Fierce Beasts, earn more money, and get better medicine for my sister."

"Then I can ease her suffering."

Chen Mo told himself.

He gently tucked the blanket around his sister, his gaze firm as he silently left the room.

Passing by the kitchen, he saw that his mother was already making breakfast. After greeting her, he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face.

Five minutes later, having finished washing up, Chen Mo came out and glanced into the kitchen.

"Mom, I'm heading downstairs to train."

"Go on. Be careful when you train, and don't overdo it."

Lin Fang did not stop her son from training. Though he was fated to miss out on becoming a martial artist, he still had room to improve. She could not let him fall into despair.

"Mm, I know."

Chen Mo answered, picked up his weapon—a steel Tang Dao—and headed downstairs.

He was going to practice his blade techniques.

This Tang Dao had been with him for three years. When he entered his first year of high school and chose to train in blade techniques, his father had bought it for him.

It was an ordinary steel Tang Dao, not expensive, costing only a few hundred yuan.

Compared to alloy weapons specially made to kill Fierce Beasts, it was inferior in both sharpness and hardness.

In this High Martial World, carrying a weapon around was the most normal thing in the world.

No one knew what day a Beast Tide might strike. If one encountered a Fierce Beast without a weapon in hand, an ordinary person could only wait to die. Even a martial artist had no guarantee of killing a Fierce Beast bare-handed.

Of course, carrying weapons also made it easier for people to draw their blades when conflicts arose and settle problems through violence.

However, few people were that impulsive. Great Xia Nation had laws and regulations: fighting in public, using weapons in a fight, or injuring others would all bring severe punishment.

For minor offenses, one could be sentenced to three to five years and fined anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions. For serious offenses, one would be sent to the front lines to kill Fierce Beasts.

This law applied equally to everyone.

Whether ordinary people or martial artists, commoners or children of great families, anyone who violated this regulation would be punished.

Of course, whether martial artist or ordinary person, there were designated arenas for settling disputes. Once matters were resolved in the arena, there could be no backing out afterward.

No one would draw a blade at another person for no reason on the street. Only when a verbal dispute truly could not be resolved would they go to the arena.

Therefore, unless they were fugitives or lunatics, no one acted impulsively.

Chen Mo's school had set up just such an Arena.

Over his three years of high school, he had witnessed quite a few Arena battles.

Of course, deliberate provocation and bullying the weak with strength would be punished.

After arriving downstairs, Chen Mo went to the same spot as yesterday.

After stretching his limbs, Chen Mo began practicing the Basic Saber Technique.

The Basic Saber Technique was an entry-level saber art.

Chen Mo liked the saber's broad, sweeping style and its immense, heavy force.

The Basic Saber Technique's fundamental moves mainly included chopping, hacking, upward slashing, thrusting, cutting, wrapping the head, shielding the neck, and other core movements. These formed the basic framework for single-saber, dual-saber, and greatsaber techniques.

They could be divided into three categories: offense, defense, and transitions. Among them, chopping, hacking, upward slashing, and thrusting emphasized taking the initiative to attack.

Meanwhile, moves such as intercepting (cutting off an attack), blocking (a lateral parry), and shielding the neck (protecting the neck) focused on neutralizing the enemy's offensive.

Wrapping the head, snapping upward (a short, sharp upward lift), and circling the saber (swinging it in a horizontal arc) were used to transition between movements and keep them flowing smoothly.

It also incorporated some footwork.

Together, these formed an integrated system of offense and defense.

This saber art contained only basic moves, with no techniques for dual sabers or the greatsaber.

As for dual-saber and greatsaber martial skills, one had to at least reach the rank of Martial Artist before cultivating them.

Chen Mo cast aside his stray thoughts and began practicing the Basic Saber Technique.

First form, saber chop: swing downward in a straight or diagonal line, with force concentrated on the forward section of the blade—roughly the front third of the saber.

Chen Mo gripped the saber with both hands and raised it high, leaning his body slightly back. Then his toes gripped the ground, his heels lightly struck the floor, and power rose from his heels to his waist, where it was amplified.

Feeling the gathered strength, Chen Mo suddenly exerted himself and chopped straight down, as though splitting firewood.

At the same time, he activated Spiritual Perception, carefully observing the changes in his muscles, the entire process of exerting force through his body, the shifts in his center of gravity, the point where the chop landed, and so on.

Once Spiritual Perception was activated, he could see all these changes with perfect clarity.

Before long, Chen Mo found the key: the whole process of exerting force was continuous and orderly.

Through Spiritual Perception, he adjusted his chopping posture again and again.

"One chop!"

"Two chops!"

"Three chops!"

"..."

"Ten chops!"

With every correction, Chen Mo felt that he had improved a little. As time passed, his saber chops grew better and better.

And his talent, Diligent Heaven Rewards, was also taking effect, gradually solidifying his chopping movements.

Line after line of notifications drifted across the System Panel:

"You practiced saber chopping once. Basic Saber Technique proficiency +1."

"..."