After leaving Heavenly Treasury Peak, Ning Ye took a stroll around Heavenly Collection Peak.
Heavenly Collection Peak was the Black and White Divine Palace's free market, where many of the lower- and mid-level disciples traded their spoils.
After buying a talisman brush, talisman ink, and talisman paper with spirit stones, Ning Ye also bought a piece of ten-year-old Gloomy Wood, then headed back.
Back in his room, Ning Ye began trying to make talismans.
The Heavenly Mechanism Sect's talismans mainly focused on controlling objects and crafting ingenious devices that were powered by talismans.
The Black and White Divine Palace's talismans, by contrast, were geared toward actual combat.
Compared with spells, talismans had the advantages of low consumption and being usable several at a time. In a fight, while someone else cast a single spell, you could bombard them with a whole stack of talismans. It was easy to see which side had the advantage.
For Ning Ye, aside from letting him conceal his strength legally, the Dao of Talismans had two other advantages: one was that it could make money, and the other was that it was a powerful complement to the art of mechanisms.
The Dao of Talismans was versatile, and could provide cover and support for many of his future actions.
Following the instructions, Ning Ye began making talismans. He failed a few at first because he was unfamiliar with the process, but after making one after another, he quickly got the hang of it.
By the time he drew his fifth, he had completed a talisman.
Looking at it in his hand, Ning Ye nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad. It's a Grade Eight talisman."
The Dao of Talismans was divided into three ranks and nine grades: Heaven, Earth, and Human, with nine levels within each rank.
The rank indicated the talisman's quality, while the grade indicated the skill used to make it. Neither had anything to do with the level of the spell.
Human-rank talismans were generally suited to ordinary spells, Earth-rank talismans to powerful immortal arts, and Heaven-rank talismans to divine abilities of Heaven and Earth.
The grade determined the talisman's power.
Even the most ordinary Grade Nine talisman was equivalent to a disciple in the early Cang Xiang Realm casting the same spell. A higher grade meant greater power.
Unfortunately, Ning Ye had dabbled in too many things back then, and his talisman-making skill had only reached Grade Eight. To improve further, he would have to study it more—he had no old foundation left to draw upon.
Ning Ye wasn't in a hurry. He simply kept drawing talismans, stroke by stroke.
Three days later.
Seven Killings Cave, Absolute Blade Valley.
Zhang Liekuang still stood in the middle of the valley, as steadfast as a pine.
Zhang Liekuang had always preferred to stand rather than sit whenever he could.
Because sitting made him a head shorter than others.
Zhang Liekuang couldn't stand being beneath anyone, and even though there were plenty of people stronger than him in the Black and White Divine Palace, he would never let anyone outmatch him in presence.
Standing there, his aura was like a blade, its edge pointed straight at Ning Ye.
His voice boomed like thunder. "I heard from Chenguang that after entering the sect, the cultivation art you chose was the Yang Talisman Scripture?"
Ning Ye lowered his head. "Yes."
"Why?" Zhang Liekuang's simple question carried the fury of wind and thunder.
"Because I want to learn it," Ning Ye answered without backing down.
Because you want to learn it?
That answer stunned both Yu Chenguang and Ling Wuyue.
They knew their junior had a somewhat rebellious nature, but his defiance had still taken them by surprise.
Lightning flashed in Zhang Liekuang's eyes, illuminating the entire valley.
Thunderous anger was brewing. Zhang Liekuang's voice seemed to drift from a frigid abyss. "You want to learn it? Just because you want to learn it?"
"Yes!" Ning Ye replied loudly. "Master once taught me that what one loves is one's Dao! This disciple wants to learn the Dao of Talismans, so I chose to learn it."
Zhang Liekuang clenched his fist. The boulders nearby shattered, sending up clouds of dust that swirled like an invading army.
"Why do you want to learn it?" Zhang Liekuang's words carried the force of wind and thunder.
"Because the Dao of Talismans is ever-changing and can make up for what the Seven Kill Blade lacks."
"Bullshit!" Zhang Liekuang roared, shaking the valley. "The Seven Killings Blade Intent charges forward without hesitation. If you keep looking back and weighing your options, how can you call it a killing blade? The Dao of Talismans is certainly useful in many ways, but that makes it easy to enter every battle looking for a way to profit, weighing gains against costs. You don't understand that in battle, only the brave win. If your spirit is weak, what will you use to kill?"
His roar seemed to have taken physical form, echoing through the valley until even the mountain walls rang.
At the eye of the storm, Ning Ye remained calm. "There are countless great paths in the world. There isn't only one way."
Zhang Liekuang was taken aback. He couldn't call those words wrong, so he only said angrily, "You didn't act that way in the Trial Battlefield."
Ning Ye raised his head. "That was because I had no choice then. It's not that I don't understand the meaning of the brave man's path. But I know even better that those who walk it have nine chances of death for every one of survival. Heaven cherishes life; we mustn't casually throw it away. If fate leaves no way out, then we must rise, fight, and kill. Whether we live or die, we fight until the end; we stop only in death. But if every time is like that, I fear we won't make it far. Sacrificing everything and staking our lives should be a last resort, not the way we fight every day."
Zhang Liekuang was momentarily speechless.
The blade-like aura that had pointed at the sky suddenly vanished, and Zhang Liekuang began to laugh softly.
Yu Chenguang and Ling Wuyue rarely saw him smile, and both were stunned.
Zhang Liekuang said, "Well said! As the saying goes, what is too rigid breaks easily; it cannot endure. Only when strength and softness complement each other can they bring out the best in one another. Perhaps that's why our sect has dwindled, and it's so hard to gather talent... I once had more than thirty senior brothers and junior brothers. Now I'm the only one left. I also took in more than twenty disciples over the years, and now only you three remain. Chenguang even gave up cultivating the Seven Killings path because of this. Alas, what can be done..."
He looked at Ning Ye. "Your master understands the reasoning behind what you said. But do you know why I insist on this despite understanding it?"
Ning Ye replied, "Because courage can be worn away. People are naturally protective of their lives. If we allow strength and softness to coexist, those who cultivate the Seven Kill Blade may use that as an excuse to hesitate and retreat. If that happens often enough, there will be nothing but softness and no strength, and the Seven Kill Blade will no longer be the Seven Kill Blade."
"Hahahaha!" Zhang Liekuang threw his head back and laughed. "Well said! People are weak by nature. If you give them an excuse to retreat, they'll cower whenever trouble comes. In every battle, they'll say it's not the final moment yet, that it's not time to risk their lives. If this goes on, all their edge will be worn away. Where will their will to fight and their killing intent come from then? That's why those who cultivate the Seven Kill Blade can only advance, never retreat! Since that's so, why did you still choose this path?"
Ning Ye answered, "Because there is hatred in my heart, an enemy in my eyes, and killing intent in my blade. I know when to advance and when to retreat... This disciple believes that cultivating the Dao of Talismans will never weaken the battle will in my heart!"
"Good!" Zhang Liekuang's roar rang out like thunder. "Then I'll wait and see. You can choose what you want, and I'll judge you by your actions. If one day you disappoint me, I'll kill you with my own hands, so you won't go out there and bring shame on me!"
Ning Ye bowed to the ground and cried out, "I will not disappoint you, Master!"
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