Mountain Splitting Saber

Lu Chuan hesitated no longer. Gripping the carefully chosen blade, he turned and walked toward Chen Mo Bai.

"Senior Disciple Brother, this one feels fairly comfortable in my hand."

Chen Mo Bai nodded:

"Good. I'll first demonstrate the Thirty-Six Basic Forms of the Mountain Splitting Saber. These are the foundation of the entire saber technique. Watch closely."

With that, he carried the saber to a small open space, sank his breath to his dantian, and said: "Watch carefully!"

In an instant, saber light flashed!

The Thirty-Six Basic Forms sounded simple, but as Chen Mo Bai performed them, they carried an extraordinary momentum.

When the saber technique unfolded, every move and gesture from Chen Mo Bai bore a force that could split mountains and crack stone! Clearly, he had immersed himself in this art for a long time.

Lu Chuan held his breath and focused, straining to catch every detail.

After completing the set once, Chen Mo Bai sheathed the saber and stood upright. He looked at Lu Chuan: "Of these thirty-six forms just now, how much did you remember?"

Lu Chuan smiled bitterly inside and answered honestly: "To report to Senior Disciple Brother, the variations in the forms are intricate... I'm afraid I've grasped less than a tenth."

There was no help for it. Though he had given his all, his mind simply couldn't keep up.

Even his comprehension was quite mediocre... Hearing this, Chen Mo Bai's tone turned somewhat cold:

"In that case, don't bite off more than you can chew. Start with building strength."

Lu Chuan was puzzled. Couldn't practicing the saber technique itself increase his strength?

But Chen Mo Bai had already brought over two heavy stone locks.

Each stone lock looked to weigh no less than thirty jin.

"Like this," Chen Mo Bai pointed at the stone locks, "Practice with these first. When you can lift this stone lock and stand steady for a quarter-hour, then we'll talk about saber techniques."

"A quarter-hour?"

Lu Chuan stared at the hefty stone locks, his brow furrowed.

How much time would that take?

And he had paid ten taels of silver—just to come here and move stone locks?

Before Lu Chuan could raise a question, Chen Mo Bai had already walked to the other side of the Training Ground.

A fair-skinned young gentleman was waiting there.

Chen Mo Bai's face had regained its earlier warm smile.

"Young Master Wang, sorry to keep you waiting. Let's pick up from yesterday. For this form, Splitting Mount Hua, when you start, your waist must..."

Lu Chuan stood rooted to the spot, his ears catching Chen Mo Bai's endlessly patient explanations to that Young Master Wang.

And that Young Master Wang—his movements were limp, his stance shaky, and when he swung the saber, there was no strength at all.

Why didn't he need to build strength?

Yet Chen Mo Bai taught him with utmost seriousness, even correcting the tiniest mistakes time and again.

Seeing this, how could Lu Chuan not understand?

He wasn't just being looked down on.

He was being toyed with!

This Chen Mo Bai had seemed warm at first glance, but once he confirmed that Lu Chuan had neither talent nor family background, he immediately lost all patience.

Telling him to move stone locks? It was nothing but a brush-off!

That, in itself, was understandable. Lu Chuan didn't expect everyone to like him.

But this bastard had taken five taels of silver from him!

That was blood money, earned by him and his father risking their lives!

A surge of rage rushed to Lu Chuan's head.

But his face remained expressionless as he forcibly suppressed the fury.

Chen Mo Bai was the Martial Arts Hall's Senior Disciple Brother. Even if Lu Chuan complained to Old Zheng, the most he'd get was a scolding.

But after that, Chen Mo Bai would surely retaliate tenfold.

"Besides," Lu Chuan thought, "I don't necessarily need you to teach me!"

He glanced at the thick-backed long saber in his hand, his heart full of confidence.

But once it was stored, the long saber would vanish. He couldn't do it here.

Just as he was about to find an excuse to leave the Training Ground, someone suddenly appeared beside him.

"This junior brother, you look unfamiliar. Newly joined?"

Lu Chuan turned around and saw a man with a simple, honest face.

"Not bad," Lu Chuan nodded. "I just formally apprenticed under Master Zheng today. He told me to learn the saber from Senior Disciple Brother Chen first."

"Senior Disciple Brother Chen Mo Bai?" The Honest Man lowered his voice. "Did he... tell you to start by lifting that stone lock here?"

Lu Chuan said nothing, which was as good as a yes.

"Ah," the Honest Man shook his head. "Senior Disciple Brother... he's got skill, sure, but... he's a bit too practical."

Lu Chuan's heart stirred. So Chen Mo Bai had pulled this stunt before.

The Honest Man introduced himself: "I'm Zhou Ming Chuan. Same rough background. I slogged here for years before Old Zheng took a liking to me and made me his seventh Inner Disciple."

"So you're Senior Disciple Brother Zhou!" Lu Chuan quickly cupped his hands in salute.

"No need for that." Zhou Ming Chuan waved a hand. "Since Senior Disciple Brother Chen has left you hanging here, he probably doesn't have time to teach you. If you don't mind me, how about I walk you through it first?"

A wave of warmth surged through Lu Chuan's chest.

So this Martial Arts Hall wasn't full of snobs like Chen Mo Bai after all.

He hurriedly said, "If Senior Disciple Brother Zhou is willing to guide me, this junior brother is deeply grateful!"

The two found a quiet corner. Zhou Ming Chuan asked a very basic question:

"Junior Brother, tell me—when we Martial Artists fight, what's the most fundamental thing for overcoming an enemy?"

Lu Chuan thought for a moment, recalling his scuffle with Lu San, and ventured, "Is it... strength?"

"Right!" Zhou Ming Chuan's eyes lit up. "One force conquers ten skills! No matter how flashy your moves, I'll just split them with one slash! That's the creed our Mountain Splitting Saber lives by!"

"So the top priority in martial training is to transform our physical bodies!"

"And how do we transform them?" Lu Chuan pressed. "It can't be... just lifting that stone lock every day, can it?"

"Haha!" Zhou Ming Chuan laughed. "Lifting a stone lock? That's the crudest way to train strength, meant for poor sods with no other path."

"The truly efficient method for Body Tempering is hidden right in our Mountain Splitting Saber!"

"The Mountain Splitting Saber?" Lu Chuan was surprised.

"That's right!" Zhou Ming Chuan confirmed. "The Mountain Splitting Saber Thirty-Six Forms look like techniques, but they're actually a complete set of body-forging methods! At higher levels, they temper your muscles, Bones, and internal organs, pushing your body past its limits bit by bit."

Seeing Lu Chuan listening intently, he continued, "So for us Martial Artists, a crucial step in Tempering Qi and Blood is advancing in our martial arts!"

"Only by reaching the Initiate level in the Mountain Splitting Saber Thirty-Six Forms can you truly start to effectively temper Qi and Blood and step onto the threshold of the Martial Way."

"Like other martial arts, the Mountain Splitting Saber has four stages: Initiate, Minor Success, Major Success, and Perfection. The deeper your understanding of the saber art, the better the effect on tempering Qi and Blood."

He patted Lu Chuan's shoulder reassuringly. "You just joined today, so no rush. With me guiding you, you should grasp the Initiate level of this saber art in about half a month."

"Half a month... Initiate."

Lu Chuan repeated softly, then followed up, "And what about... the Minor Success level of the Mountain Splitting Saber?"

"Minor Success?" Zhou Ming Chuan scratched his head. "That's still far off. For ordinary people, even training hard every day, if they've got decent talent, it'd take at least half a year..."

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