Although Zhang Ding Tian found Liu Yi Shou's state strange, he still did as instructed. "This is one of the nine forms the student comprehended from the Sword Stele: the Body-Slaying Form." As he spoke, he moved with the slash of his blade. Though it was a blade that struck, his entire body seemed like a blade as well. The sensation was similar to Leng Qing's—transforming one's body into a blade.
Lu Yin immediately withdrew from the fusion. The blade's edge landed right where he had been. Liu Yi Shou's awareness returned, and he thought nothing of it. With a clang, the blade was knocked aside. "The Nine Forms. You have comprehended six of them. Though simple, they contain the essence of the blade. Only when you have mastered all nine will you have truly touched the Way of the Blade."
Zhang Ding Tian pondered this. Though he found Liu Yi Shou's earlier state strange, he said nothing, assuming his teacher had simply been lost in thought.
"Again!" Liu Yi Shou shouted.
Zhang Ding Tian raised his blade high and brought it down.
Elsewhere, Lu Yin let out a breath. Liu Yi Shou's memories were vast, given how long he had lived, even though his cultivation wasn't particularly high.
Most of his memories concerned the Way of the Sword. By merging with them, Lu Yin felt that his understanding of swordsmanship had deepened somewhat.
He had also learned that the Liu Family held Yixian Academy in exceptionally high regard. It wasn't just the Liu Family; the Nong Family and even the Four Sides Heavenly Balance all seemed to value Yixian Academy to an unusual degree.
But Liu Yi Shou didn't know the specific reason.
Lu Yin pondered. The last time he'd visited the Tree Starry Sky, the Four Sides Heavenly