Willow Catkin Sword Technique

After an Incense Stick, as the Qi Foundation within his body made several more circuits through him, Gu Shaoan slowly opened his eyes.

Feeling the stream of Qi within him move according to his will, Gu Shaoan could not help but feel a few fresh sensations.

Unfortunately, although Gu Shaoan could sense this stream of Qi within his body, he found it difficult to control it flexibly.

It was as if invisible barriers surrounded him, preventing the Qi within him from moving anywhere except slowly along the route Professor Mie Jue had taught.

Gu Shaoan knew this was because his Meridians had yet to be opened.

While keeping part of his attention on the Qi Foundation within him, Gu Shaoan rose and immediately bowed respectfully to Miejue.

"Thank you, Master."

Seeing Gu Shaoan bow so respectfully before her, Miejue nodded inwardly in satisfaction.

Miejue was a traditional and rigid person, and thus placed great importance on righteousness and evil, as well as Rules.

Someone like her naturally favored juniors who understood and respected propriety.

"To sense the Qi Foundation on your first cultivation attempt is not bad."

Upon learning that Gu Shaoan had already sensed the Qi Foundation, Zhao Jingxuan and the others could not help casting astonished looks his way.

They had clearly been startled by Gu Shaoan's speed of cultivation as well.

After some thought, an idea suddenly came to Miejue.

Gu Shaoan's aptitude had already been tested, but being able to comprehend the Qi Foundation on his first cultivation attempt suggested to Miejue that his comprehension was likely not poor either.

Only, the exact extent of it remained unknown.

After considering it briefly, Miejue looked at Zhou Zhiruo beside her. "Zhiruo."

"This disciple is here."

"You have studied the Willow Catkin Sword Technique for a month now. How is your practice progressing?"

"Reporting to Master, this disciple is slow-witted and has only barely reached the Beginner Level."

Miejue nodded. "The Willow Catkin Sword Technique is one of Emei Sect's foundational sword arts. Demonstrate it once for Shaoan."

Zhao Jingxuan, Ding Minjun, and Bei Jinyi were all slightly surprised upon hearing this.

When they had first entered Emei Sect, they had all practiced the Breathing Technique first so as not to distract themselves.

Only after they had condensed their first trace of internal force did Miejue begin teaching them Martial Skills.

Yet when it came to Gu Shaoan, she was teaching him Martial Skills directly.

She truly favored him greatly.

At Miejue's command, Zhou Zhiruo nodded, stepped forward a few paces, and raised the Bamboo Sword in her hand.

Zhou Zhiruo was still young, only eleven years old. Naturally, she could not use a real blade; a light Bamboo Sword suited her far better.

Though Zhou Zhiruo was young, her talent was exceptional.

With the Bamboo Sword in hand, her robes fluttered as her sword moves flowed forth.

One stance after another was performed with the Bamboo Sword in Zhou Zhiruo's hand.

Perhaps because she was not yet sufficiently proficient, Zhou Zhiruo kept reciting the accompanying Mind Method Secrets as she performed the sword technique.

Gu Shaoan watched intently from the side.

Perhaps due to his transmigration, Gu Shaoan's memory had become exceptionally good, nearly to the point of photographic recall.

Whether it was the sword moves or the Mind Method Secrets Zhou Zhiruo recited, Gu Shaoan committed them all firmly to memory.

Zhou Zhiruo soon demonstrated all forty-nine forms of the Willow Catkin Sword Technique once.

After Zhou Zhiruo sheathed her sword and stood obediently to one side, Miejue looked at Gu Shaoan.

"How much do you remember?"

"I remembered all of it," Gu Shaoan answered truthfully.

"Oh?" Miejue raised an eyebrow slightly.

Then she flicked her sleeve.

Zhou Zhiruo suddenly felt an immense force seize one end of the Bamboo Sword in her hand. Caught completely off guard, the Bamboo Sword flew from her grasp and was swept over beside Miejue, landing less than three inches from Gu Shaoan's right foot.

That move alone showed just how exquisite Miejue's control over her internal force and power had become.

"Give it a try!"

"This disciple obeys."

As he spoke, Gu Shaoan reached out and grasped the hilt. He pulled the Bamboo Sword from the ground and walked more than ten paces forward.

After briefly recalling the moves in his mind, Gu Shaoan took a step forward, and the long sword moved with him.

Though his swings carried an obvious trace of clumsiness, the forms were indeed the Willow Catkin Sword Technique Zhou Zhiruo had just demonstrated.

Moreover, as he performed the sword moves, Gu Shaoan recited the Mind Method Incantation Zhou Zhiruo had just spoken.

After he had gone through all forty-nine sword forms and their accompanying Mind Method Incantation, Zhao Jingxuan could not help saying, "He remembered all forty-nine sword forms and the Mind Method Incantation? What an incredible memory."

Zhou Zhiruo could not help chiming in, "Yes! Senior Sister Bei taught Zhiruo seven times before Zhiruo barely managed to memorize all forty-nine sword forms and the incantation, yet Little Junior Brother remembered them after seeing them only once. He is so amazing."

Not only Zhou Zhiruo and the others, even Miejue was astonished by Gu Shaoan's memory at this moment.

Just then, Gu Shaoan, who had completed the forty-nine sword forms once, stopped.

Seeing this, Miejue was about to offer him a few words of encouragement.

But before Miejue could speak, Gu Shaoan raised the Bamboo Sword he had just lowered, leaving Miejue stunned.

He began practicing the Willow Catkin Sword Technique once more.

Only, compared to his earlier performance, his movements were much slower.

It was as if what he held was no longer a light Bamboo Sword, but a far heavier blade.

"Hmm?"

Zhao Jingxuan and the others also revealed puzzled expressions at the sight.

Yet since Miejue said nothing, they could only stand quietly to one side.

At the same time, as Gu Shaoan practiced the sword technique, he himself entered a unique state.

The feeling was especially wondrous.

It was as if he stood in a silent valley deep in the night, his mind exceptionally empty and tranquil, yet also as if he had lit a cigarette afterward, his thoughts incomparably active.

In this state, as the Bamboo Sword in Gu Shaoan's hand moved, the impression given by his sword forms began to change.

The heaviness of his earlier movements gradually gave way to lightness.

After he completed the Willow Catkin Sword Technique a second time, the third repetition gained an additional touch of density and continuity.

By the fourth repetition, Gu Shaoan's sword forms were still far from fast, yet they carried a peculiar feeling.

Those subtle changes made Zhao Jingxuan, Ding Minjun, Bei Jinyi, and even Miejue change expressions.

"This is... the Willow Catkin Sword Technique at the Initial Glimpse stage?"

The martial arts of the world were divided into five levels according to the power a practitioner could wield and their degree of mastery: Beginner Level, Initial Glimpse, Entering the Hall, Mastery, and Perfect Mastery.

Gu Shaoan's internal force had only just condensed, and his Meridians remained unopened. Even if he exerted himself fully, the sword he wielded would appear as slow as a crawling snail in Miejue and the others' eyes.

Outsiders watched the spectacle, while experts saw the craft.

Though his sword forms were slow, Gu Shaoan's movements now resembled swaying willow catkins—nimble and graceful.

It was clearly the charm that could only emerge after reaching the Initial Glimpse realm in the Willow Catkin Sword Technique.

Feeling that charm within Gu Shaoan's swordsmanship, Zhao Jingxuan's face revealed uncontrollable astonishment.

Even Miejue stared fixedly at Gu Shaoan as he wielded his sword, surprise gradually rising in her eyes.