Flying Snow Saber Technique

As Escort Huang's voice rang out, everyone stopped what they were doing and began to gather.

Only then did they notice that, beside the two escorts who had never left, two baskets of wooden blades had somehow been placed there, along with a Giant Stone.

"It seems the head escort is preparing to teach us a blade art!" someone guessed, anticipation in his eyes.

Once everyone had lined up, Head Escort Liang swept his gaze around and declared, "You have trained for nearly ten days. It is time to study martial skills!"

Everyone glanced at the wooden blades before them and listened quietly.

The head escort continued:

"Practicing the Nourishing Life Technique strengthens your body and builds your power. Martial skills, meanwhile, are the means by which you bring your own strength to its utmost limit."

"What I will teach you is a blade art of our escort agency, called Flying Snow."

"Bring the blade."

At Head Escort Liang's command, Escort Huang immediately went to the weapon rack at the side of the Training Ground and drew out a standard black longsword.

To Jiang Ping, this Black Saber resembled the Tang Dao from his previous life.

After taking the blade, Head Escort Liang did not demonstrate it immediately. Instead, he said to the crowd:

"Among you, those who have lived in Yang City must have seen some Martial Artists. What kind of weapon do they carry most often?"

"A sword?" a local from Yang City ventured.

"That's right, a sword. It has always enjoyed the reputation of being the lord of all weapons. After many Martial Artists become famous, they also prefer to roam the martial world with swords at their backs."

Liang Sheng nodded slightly, then suddenly lowered his head and murmured:

"Actually, I prefer carrying a sword on my back too."

"..." Everyone.

They were dumbstruck, caught completely off guard by the head escort's remark.

Hey! This was a saber lesson, alright?

"However!"

The head escort abruptly changed the subject and chuckled.

"However, the saber also bears the title of commander of all weapons. Compared to the sword's lightness, ingenuity, and emphasis on technique, saber users value fierceness, directness, and broad, sweeping strikes. Their power is greater, their lethality stronger, and they naturally carry a kingly and domineering aura."

"The saber's moves are also relatively simple: chopping, hacking, hooking, shaving, lifting, slashing, and so on."

"And the Flying Snow Saber Technique I will teach you today is a Fast Saber technique among Overbearing Sabers!"

"Of all martial arts under heaven, nothing is unbreakable; only speed cannot be broken."

"The Flying Snow Saber upholds this very principle, placing emphasis on the word 'fast.' When its moves flow together and become fast enough, man and blade merge as one, producing inconceivable effects. The blade emerges, and its edge reveals itself."

"What kind of effect counts as man and blade merging as one?" Qian Dele blurted out instinctively. He quickly came to his senses. He had just been reprimanded, so why had he—

Head Escort Liang shot him a sharp glance, making him lower his head awkwardly. After a moment, he said, "Radiance!"

"Radiance?" Everyone was confused.

"You may understand it as a kind of Artistic Conception. Once a Sword Art is mastered, it can manifest Sword Radiance. A blade art, meanwhile, produces Blade Light with astonishing destructive power."

"Like this!"

With that, the blade in Head Escort Liang's hand suddenly swept out in a full moon arc. Escort Huang had already moved far away at some point, clearing space for Liang Sheng.

The Eighth-Rank Martial Artist wielded the Black Saber across the Training Ground. He did not seek lightness or agility in any move; every slash appeared simple, yet carried immense momentum, opening and closing with grand force.

Moreover, as time passed, the blade in the head escort's hand grew faster and faster, until no one could make out the Black Saber's trajectory. They could only hear the longsword's low cries as it tore through the air.

"Too fast! I can't see it, I can't see it!" someone cried out in alarm. Forget memorizing the moves—his eyes were already spinning.

"Look!"

At that moment, someone pointed at a spot beside the head escort, his face full of shock.

"This should be the radiance—the Blade Light!" Sun Qi stared solemnly at a streak of white light within the range of Liang Sheng's blade art.

Buzz, buzz!

The Black Saber gave a long cry. Everyone watched the head escort wield his blade with rapt attention, seeing more and more white Blade Light gather around him, like a sheet of white snow suspended in midair.

"So that is the origin of the Flying Snow Saber. Its Blade Light resembles snow, cold gleams scattering through the air," Liu Wensheng mused.

At a certain moment.

Liang Sheng suddenly swung his blade at the Giant Stone not far away, and the Blade Light around him swept forth with it.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Explosions rang out without end. Fragments of stone flew everywhere, and dust filled the air.

When the dust and smoke dispersed, everyone saw that the Giant Stone was covered in dense, inch-deep holes.

Quite a few people broke out in cold sweat. What would happen if those Blade Lights struck a human body?

At that moment, seeing Head Escort Liang stop, Fang Yong could not help asking, "Head Escort, how long must one train to reach your level, with Blade Light like flying snow?"

Liang Sheng glanced at him, paused, then answered, "It varies from person to person. I trained in the Flying Snow Saber for ten years before reaching Great Accomplishment."

"Ten years?!"

At those words, everyone drew in sharp breaths, their faces filled with shock.

"And that is only Great Accomplishment, not perfection, right? Doesn't that mean this Fast Saber is even harder to train than the Nourishing Life Technique?" Sun Qi's pupils contracted slightly as he spoke gravely.

Liang Sheng shook his head. "This Fast Saber truly depends greatly on individual talent, and it has no such thing as perfection. If one must speak of perfection, it would be another level of the Blade Realm."

"Oh? What level of Blade Realm?" Fang Yong's face was full of excitement and curiosity.

Unlike with Qian Dele, Head Escort Liang did not seem impatient with Fang Yong's question. He answered calmly:

"Let us speak of the Flying Snow Saber first. This Fast Saber has three levels in total."

"The first level is entry. Once you can fluently grasp the blade forms and initially comprehend the mystery of man and blade joining together, you may reveal ten streaks of Blade Light."

"The Second Level is Minor Accomplishment. The Blade Light increases by another thirty streaks. At Great Accomplishment, one can release a hundred streaks of radiance at once. However, as the level rises, the consumption of strength also becomes immense. Generally speaking, only after reaching the Martial Artist stage can one easily unleash it many times."

"Of course, whether you reach Great Accomplishment is not something you should be considering now. During these six months, you need only bring the Flying Snow Saber Technique to entry level to be considered qualified. This is also the second requirement for becoming an escort of our escort agency."

"As for that other level of the Blade Realm..." Head Escort Liang raised his brows. After pondering for a moment, he said:

"I trained in the Flying Snow Saber for ten years before I could be said to have fully mastered it. Yet over the following twenty years, I never comprehended that level of the Blade Realm."

"This Blade Realm is the Blade Qi Domain, formed from the transformation of Blade Light. Blade Light can barely leave the body by two or three feet, but Saber Qi can stretch for ten zhang or even dozens of zhang. Not only is its range vast, its power cannot be mentioned in the same breath. Even an Eighth-Rank Martial Artist's bronze skin and iron bones can be pierced through, killing people from a hundred meters away."

"So powerful?" Everyone listened with pounding hearts, utterly astonished.

"If it were not powerful, how could the head escort have failed to comprehend this realm for twenty years? In the entire Four Seas Escort Agency, only the Chief and another head escort have stepped into such a domain. Looking across all of Yang City, they are extraordinary figures," Escort Huang interjected at the right moment, longing visible in his eyes.

"Enough idle talk. These matters are far too distant from you. Now I will teach you the moves of this Fast Saber. Once you can perform the blade art in a continuous flow, you will already be formidable enough."

As Head Escort Liang spoke, he instructed Fang Yong and Jiang Ping to distribute the two baskets of wooden blades beside him.

Jiang Ping was somewhat surprised. He had always kept a low profile and disliked asking questions, yet the head escort had actually called on him by name.

Have I still been too high-profile? he muttered inwardly.

What surprised him even more was Sun Qi. His face was somewhat gloomy. Being called out was a small matter, but the two people the head escort had named happened to be the outstanding ones who had mastered two levels of the cultivation technique.

An unusual emotion rose within him. Clearly, he was the first person in Fist Force!

Fortunately, the head escort's next words made those feelings vanish:

"A wooden blade weighs three jin as well. Two people will still find it somewhat strenuous, so Liu Wensheng and Sun Qi, come out and help too."

Fang Yong alone struggled forward while carrying a large basket, his face flushed red. Jiang Ping, who had reached the fifth level of the Nourishing Life Technique, could only put on an act and pretend to be struggling as well.

With the other two helping, the wooden blades were quickly handed out.