Sword Control Dual Seals

Sword Control Dual Seals

Zhang Yu had just focused his thoughts on the "Sword Control" chapter seal when he saw a faint light stirring across it. It transformed into two slightly smaller chapter seals, bearing the characters "Sword" and "Control" respectively.

This was also the first time he had encountered such a situation, and he was somewhat surprised. Fortunately, everything within the Turbid Canon was founded upon his own skills and abilities. With a turn of thought, he immediately understood the reason behind it.

There were, in truth, two variations within the technique of Sword Control.

The "Sword Seal" focused on the sword itself.

The Xia Sword in his hand was a magical artifact. Since he had slain the Yao Salamander with it last time, it had established a certain level of communication with him. This too counted as a kind of skill. So long as he was willing to continue putting effort into this direction and expend Divine Essence, he could further deepen the bond between man and sword.

The "Control Seal," on the other hand, was much simpler. It strengthened his grasp of sword principles and his adaptability with a sword.

This was an unexpected change. With the Divine Essence he had left, he could only examine one of them.

Which should he choose?

After thinking it over, he realized that, as far as the Great Dao Unified Text was concerned, whether it was "Verbal Resonance" or "Thunder Voice" before this, investing Divine Essence only improved upon the existing foundation, polishing what had once been rough techniques until they became smoother and more refined. But the prerequisite was that he himself already had a general familiarity with their key points and secrets. It was unlike a Profound Text, which also offered guidance through intent. Knowledge that did not originally belong to him would not simply appear out of thin air.

There was another consideration. His physique had already reached its limit. Even if he strengthened his use of sword techniques, he would still remain within the realm of mortals. The increase in combat strength might not be ideal.

The "Sword Seal" was different.

According to his teacher, once a person deepened their communication with a sword, all manner of wondrous effects could arise. Though this was not an ability that belonged to him personally and relied solely on a magical artifact, what he needed at this stage was merely the power to protect himself. So long as Divine Essence could still be replenished from outside sources, choosing this seal was in fact the better option.

Once he had made up his mind, he decisively fixed his gaze upon the Sword Seal and poured his thoughts into it. In an instant, a faint radiance appeared upon it and reflected onto his body.

At first, he felt nothing unusual. But after a while, a strange sensation arose in his mind, as if another presence existed within the room, keeping the same rhythm as his own breathing.

He rose to his feet, walked to the western wall, and looked at the Xia Sword hanging there.

That presence was emanating from the sword itself.

He reached out and grasped it. The moment he touched it, he felt as if the sword were a part of his own body. Its blade was astonishingly light, almost weightless as a feather.

When this sword had previously been in his hand, whenever his breathing aligned with it, he had vaguely felt as though it might fly from his grasp at any moment. Now, that feeling had become even stronger.

After considering it, he went into the rear courtyard of his residence. Quite a few green bamboo stalks grew there, their leaves rustling in the gentle breeze.

He lightly rested his hand upon the hilt. At that moment, the scabbard seemed to tremble softly. Looking up again, he saw half a stalk of green bamboo slide down three feet away, its severed surface incomparably smooth.

A glimmer appeared in his eyes. He had not actively swung his sword to strike just then. Merely because a thought had stirred, the Xia Sword had slashed out on its own before returning to its sheath.

He sensed it carefully. Though he had not used any physical strength, the act had not come without cost. The expenditure had mainly been upon his mind.

But that was nothing. A brief period of breathing adjustment would be enough for him to recover. He was rather satisfied with this.

Moreover, the radiance upon the "Sword Seal" had yet to reach its peak. This showed that, with his current physique, there was still room for further improvement. If he continued examining it, perhaps he really could make the sword soar into the air at his call and behead a man the instant a thought arose.

But he could not continue for now, because the Divine Essence he had accumulated was nearly exhausted. What he needed to do next was find more items that contained Source Energy.

After giving it some thought, his nearest target was undoubtedly the statue before the gates of the Profound Residence. It seemed to possess quite a large amount of Source Energy, but if he remained beneath it at a distance, it would still take at least two or three days, perhaps even longer, to drain it all.

Unless he could touch it directly.

But doing so would very likely cause the statue to collapse. The commotion would be far too great. After all, the statue was truly too close to the Profound Residence, and it was difficult to say what consequences it might provoke.

Of course, there was not no way around this.

His specialty was Ancient Natural History. If necessary, he could go there under the pretext of conducting research. Hmm, he could also bring Zheng Gao along as cover, which would speed up the collection.

Fortunately, this matter was not particularly urgent. He still had time to think it over slowly.

After returning to the inner hall, he hung the Xia Sword back on the wall. Then he took out paper and brush and, relying on his impressions from memory, drew the main gate and part of the Profound Residence.

Beneath his brush, the Profound Residence's entrance courtyard was broad and its halls and pavilions towered high, presenting an air of solemn majesty without losing its lofty status. Yet the dust-covered eaves, the shattered bricks before the gate, and the spreading weeds inadvertently revealed a sense of decay and old age.

After finishing the drawing, he looked at it a few times and put it away. Then he swallowed two Primordial Elixirs and went into the quiet room to meditate.

At dawn the next day, light streamed in through the window, forcefully driving away the darkness within the room.

Zhang Yu emerged from meditation. When he opened his eyes, a faint radiance stirred within them.

The Origin-Nourishing Seal was even better than he had imagined. There truly had been reason for the Profound Residence to teach him this chapter seal. The effects of one night's breathing adjustment surpassed his usual practice by quite a bit. Thus, even a chapter seal that did not appear particularly outstanding could yield considerable gains if accumulated over time.

It was only a pity that his body's limit stood there. Unless he broke through it, he could only patch and mend the minute places that had previously been beyond his reach.

He stood, washed up in the courtyard, put on a spare set of assistant instructor robes, and left his residence.

There was something he needed to resolve today.

According to Fan Lan, the reason he had been able to enter the Profound Residence this time was mainly because Xin Yao had delivered his application slip for study. But where was the application slip that had been handed to the Learning Affairs Hall? Had it also been submitted, or was it still being kept within the hall?

If it was still there, then aside from demanding an explanation from the Learning Affairs Hall, he had to find a way to retrieve it.

After the incident in which his documents had been stolen and misused, he did not want things related to himself to remain scattered outside.

At that moment, someone who looked like an errand assistant approached from the opposite direction. Upon seeing him, the man could not help freezing, a look of amazement appearing on his face. Then, as though he recalled something, his expression brightened. He hurried forward several steps, bowed, and said, "Are you Assistant Instructor Zhang?"

Zhang Yu stopped, returned the salute with a raised hand, and said, "I am. May I ask who you are?"

The man hurriedly said, "I am Ren Yi, a purchasing assistant at the Academy. I came to Assistant Instructor's residence twice before, but you seemed not to be home?"

Zhang Yu said, "So it is Assistant Ren. I was out these past two days. Did you have some matter to discuss with me?"

Ren Yi respectfully said, "Does Assistant Instructor remember asking Assistant Instructor Qian to purchase some medicinal materials? They have now all been prepared. Before Assistant Instructor Qian left two days ago, he specifically instructed me to remember to deliver the items to Assistant Instructor Zhang. I did not expect my luck to be so good today, to happen upon Assistant Instructor's return."

Zhang Yu said, "So that is the matter. I must trouble Assistant Instructor Qian for it. He has gone out?"

Ren Yi said, "I do not know the details. Assistant Instructor Qian said he had received a letter from a local friend inviting him to visit, so he would be leaving the Academy for some time. He did not know when he would return, but he feared delaying the matter he had promised Assistant Instructor Zhang, so he instructed me to transfer the items on his behalf."

Zhang Yu nodded. "Assistant Instructor Qian was thoughtful indeed. Where are the items?"

Ren Yi said, "They are stored in the Academy's Miscellaneous Storehouse. If Assistant Instructor wishes to inspect them now, I can give the order and have someone deliver them at once."

Zhang Yu's heart stirred. "I still have matters to attend to today. Assistant Ren, tell me where the items are stored, and I will collect them personally later."

Ren Yi agreed. After telling him where the medicinal materials were kept, he added, "I will be at the Miscellaneous Storehouse these next few days. Assistant Instructor Zhang may come find me at any time."

Zhang Yu thanked him. After they politely took their leave of one another, he continued toward the Learning Affairs Hall.

It did not take long for him to arrive. He entered the main hall and saw that Assistant Instructor Song, who had received him last time, was still seated there. But Song's face bore a troubled look. The instant he saw Zhang Yu approach, his expression changed. He rose somewhat unnaturally and bowed. "Assistant Instructor Zhang, you have come."

Zhang Yu returned the gesture with one raised hand, directly dispensing with needless pleasantries. He asked, "Assistant Instructor Song, I came here today to ask whether the application slip for study I sent to the Learning Affairs Hall last time is still here."

Assistant Instructor Song's face stiffened slightly. He forced a smile. "This... I heard that Assistant Instructor Zhang has entered the Profound Residence. I have yet to offer my congratulations... As for the application slip... I imagine it should have been submitted..."

Zhang Yu said calmly, "Oh? As an officer of the Learning Affairs Hall, Assistant Instructor Song does not even know where an application slip for study has gone?" He nodded. "No matter. If I cannot obtain an answer here from Assistant Instructor Song, I can investigate elsewhere later. If nowhere else works, I can seek out the various Academy orders. Surely there will be somewhere that can clarify the matter."

Sweat seeped from Assistant Instructor Song's forehead. He had never imagined that Zhang Yu would truly enter the Profound Residence and become one of its disciples. Once he learned this news, he knew things were going badly. It meant Zhang Yu was no longer that rootless man from before, and any matter Zhang Yu insisted on pursuing could not be brushed aside so easily.

Under normal circumstances, he could still have pushed the matter of the application slip onto Superintendent Wang, since he had not done it himself. But now...

He gave a bitter smile. "I will not hide it from Assistant Instructor Zhang. When your application slip arrived that day, Superintendent Wang took it away. Where it went afterward, I do not know."

After hearing this, Zhang Yu pressed on. "Then where is Superintendent Wang?"

Assistant Instructor Song's expression grew even more bitter. "Superintendent Wang... died yesterday."