After glancing at his eldest son, who was still reeling from the blow, Lu Longjing handed the box in his hands to Lu Yuan. "Open it and have a look."
"What's this..."
Lu Yuan froze.
"A saber. I had someone forge it half a month ago. It cost eight hundred taels," Lu Longjing said calmly.
Lu Yuan opened the box and found a Miao Saber inside. It was about three feet seven inches long and combined the qualities of a saber and a spear. It could be wielded with either one hand or both.
The edge was sharp. Lu Yuan plucked out a strand of hair and let it fall. The blade sliced clean through it.
The whole saber was a dark bluish-black, its surface covered in dense patterns. It looked plain and unadorned, but when he touched it, he felt a chill radiating from it.
"What a fine saber!"
Lu Yuan loved it.
At a glance, it was clear that a master had forged it and poured a great deal of effort into it.
"Father, does this saber have a name?"
"Why don't you give it one?" Lu Longjing replied with a shake of his head.
Lu Yuan twirled the saber and pondered for a moment. "I'll call it Po Jun."
The saber was heavy, weighing about twenty pounds. An ordinary person would struggle just to hold it, let alone swing it. Without enough strength, using it was simply impossible.
But Lu Yuan was a Blood Refinement Martial Artist, far stronger than ordinary people. A twenty-pound saber suited him perfectly.
"Po Jun. That's a good name."
Lu Cheng took it and swung it a few times before handing it back. "Little Yuan, I have to leave Lingbao County tomorrow for three or four days. You'll have to take care of a few things."
"Don't worry. Go ahead," Lu Yuan said earnestly.
After Lu Longjing and Lu Cheng left, Zhang Zhi spoke up. "Little Yuan, how about I teach you a saber technique?"
Lu Yuan was delighted. "I'd be glad to learn."
They went into the compacted-earth yard. Zhang Zhi took down a wooden saber and said, "This technique is called the Great Gale Saber. 'Gale' means release, a kind of wild, explosive speed."
"Wind means speed. And 'great' means it reaches in every direction and leaves nothing beyond its scope."
"The Great Gale Saber is all about speed, ferocity, and violence. It strikes through every opening and leaves no room to slip through. It takes tremendous stamina to perform. Without enough stamina, you'll just make a fool of yourself."
Zhang Zhi surged forward with quick, linked strikes. His movements were swift and fierce; his body drove the saber, the saber followed his body, and his momentum was unstoppable. He roared:
"Faster! Faster! Harder! Harder!"
"That's the essence of the Great Gale Saber."
"Every strike should be faster! And heavier!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Holding Po Jun, Lu Yuan swung, each stroke cutting through the air.
Sweep, chop, parry, slice, skim, deflect, slash, thrust!
"This technique seems to value momentum over specific moves."
As Zhang Zhi taught him and Lu Yuan practiced on his own, he began to understand.
As the saying went, the tough feared the reckless, and the reckless feared those who didn't care if they lived or died.
Why did everyone fear those who didn't care if they lived or died? Because their presence was the most frenzied.
The moves of the Great Gale Saber weren't important. What mattered was its momentum: speed, ferocity, violence, striking through every opening and leaving no room to slip through.
"This kid... I haven't even explained it yet, and he's figured it out himself?"
Zhang Zhi stared in astonishment. He'd planned to guide Lu Yuan in a moment, but as he practiced, Lu Yuan somehow reached the point where he didn't need any guidance.
"Damn! Teaching a genius is just a process of getting your own confidence crushed."
Zhang Zhi remembered when his father had taught him this technique. He'd spent ten days practicing, blindly repeating the moves, until his father finally couldn't bear to watch and stepped in to guide him.
Lu Yuan had practiced for just the time it took an incense stick to burn, yet he'd already grasped that the Great Gale Saber emphasized momentum over moves.
"The difference between people is just too great."
Zhang Zhi's heart wept as he said those words to himself.
That evening, after finishing his day's training, Lu Yuan summoned his status panel with a thought. A new entry for the Great Gale Saber had appeared below.
Name: Lu Yuan Age: 16 Talent: High-grade Talent Lifespan: 61 years (14 years remaining) Techniques: Ox Demon Fist (Perfected 25%), Great Gale Saber (Initial Glimpse 58%)
"Being a genius feels pretty great."
Lu Yuan felt like he could punch a cow to death.
He went outside the kitchen, wrapped both arms around a water vat, and heaved with all his strength. His face reddened as he lifted the entire vat, holding it for more than ten seconds before slowly setting it down.
The vat held a thousand pounds of water when full. Even nearly full, it weighed close to eight hundred pounds.
"I've only reached the Blood Exchange Realm once, and I'm already this strong. Even barehanded, more than a dozen grown men wouldn't be a match for me."
The next morning.
In the yard, Lu Cheng stood opposite Lu Yuan, eagerly gripping a wooden saber. "Come on!"
Lu Yuan twirled his saber and smiled. "Big brother, go easy on me. You started Blood Refinement before I did."
"Get out of here. I'm not going easy on you."
Lu Cheng laughed and scolded him.
"It's best to beat your little brother while you still can. At the rate you're improving, it won't be long before I can't beat you. I'd better win while I have the chance."
Lu Yuan took a deep breath and fixed his gaze on Lu Cheng. The next moment, he stepped forward, his wooden saber howling as it came down toward Lu Cheng's head with unstoppable force.
But Lu Cheng merely smiled. His wooden saber struck first, though he had moved second.
Lu Yuan's wooden saber was knocked high into the air. A powerful force ran along the blade and nearly sent it flying from his grasp.
After driving Lu Yuan back with one move, Lu Cheng laughed. "Little brother, be careful. I've been practicing martial arts three years longer than you, and I have far more experience."
Lu Yuan nodded. He had never fought anyone for real before; that was his greatest weakness.
In the next instant, he charged at Lu Cheng like a Fierce Tiger Descending Mountain, bringing his saber down in a killing stroke.
In a flash, Lu Cheng seemed to read his intentions. He slid aside, evading Lu Yuan's fierce blow, then glided strangely to his flank. His blade swept toward Lu Yuan's back like an antelope hooking its horns around a branch.
But Lu Yuan's wooden saber appeared behind him out of nowhere, blocking the strike.
"Big brother, you learn from your mistakes."
Lu Yuan laughed. His saber followed his body as he swung and slashed again and again, the attack carrying the force of a raging storm.
Lu Cheng, however, smiled with satisfaction. His blade turned, light as the wind, and he calmly blocked Lu Yuan's attacks.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
As time passed, Lu Yuan's saber grew faster and his transitions between moves more fluent.
Lu Cheng's expression turned serious. Half an incense stick later, he suddenly forced Lu Yuan back and shouted, "I'm done! I'm done! You're a monster! You just keep getting stronger the longer we fight!"
Lu Yuan had started out awkward, but with every passing moment he grew more skilled, his saber strikes ever more ferocious. Lu Cheng had been forced to fight with all his strength and couldn't afford to underestimate him. It even felt as if he were fighting for his life against a mortal enemy.
If he hadn't experienced it himself, Lu Cheng would never have believed anyone could improve their saber technique so quickly.
The change was simply inconceivable.
He now understood Zhang Zhi's words—"Sometimes the gap between people really is this great"—more deeply than ever.
They had the same parents. How could the difference between them be so enormous?
Lu Cheng was thoroughly frustrated.
Lu Yuan had enjoyed the sparring to his heart's content. He glanced at his status panel:
Great Gale Saber (Mastery 8%)
After sliding the wooden saber back into its place, Lu Cheng said, "I'm leaving Lingbao County in a little while. There are some fine materials in Qinghe Village you need to pick up."
The "fine materials" were valuable medicinal materials such as ginseng, Deer Antler, tiger bones, and Lingzhi.
The Lu Family had an Old Hunter in Qinghe Village with whom they'd worked for many years. He had extensive experience finding precious medicinal materials.
Usually, every two or three months, the Lu Family sent someone to collect them.
Money changed hands, and the goods were delivered.
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