With that, it seemed self-study was the only path left.
But Bing Yekong obviously could not start from nothing. He decided to ask Shui Qingrou tomorrow and see if he could get his hands on a swordsmanship manual.
The next day.
"Swordsmanship?"
Shui Qingrou looked at Bing Yekong, her brows knitting slightly.
"Our Shui Family hardly has any Sword Soul Masters, and those we do have are not very highly cultivated. We do not have any useful sword techniques. I'll take you to the Feng Family. I heard Old Feng once had some ties with people from the Wind Sword Sect. Maybe they'll have some swordsmanship manuals."
Bing Yekong nodded, then followed Shui Qingrou to the Feng Family.
"Swordsmanship?"
Feng Tianlin looked at Bing Yekong and fell into thought.
"When I was young, I had some dealings with Feng Bailong, the current sect master of the Wind Sword Sect. Back then, we were both traveling the world. After meeting, we became acquainted because we were both wind-attribute Soul Masters."
Feng Tianlin spoke as he reminisced.
"As for swordsmanship, I had originally forgotten all about it. But now that you mention it, I remember something. Wait here a moment."
With that, Feng Tianlin rose and headed deeper into the Feng Family estate.
After several minutes, Feng Tianlin returned with a yellowed booklet in hand.
"Found it, found it. Feng Bailong gave this to me back then."
He handed the yellowed booklet to Bing Yekong. "Little Yekong, this is all Uncle Feng can do for you. This swordsmanship was Feng Bailong's improvement upon a basic sword technique. He said that if there were any juniors in my family with Sword Martial Souls in the future, they could learn this set of techniques."
A sect's inherited sword techniques were never passed on to outsiders. Feng Bailong's willingness to improve a basic sword technique and give it to Feng Tianlin showed that their relationship had indeed been quite good back then.
Bing Yekong accepted the booklet in delight and looked gratefully at Feng Tianlin. "Thank you, Uncle Feng!"
Feng Bailong was now the sect master of the Wind Sword Sect, a Soul Douluo-level powerhouse.
Even a basic sword technique he had improved in his youth was far beyond an ordinary basic sword technique.
Bing Yekong's swordsmanship was currently a blank sheet of paper, so that first stroke was exceptionally important.
Although Feng Bailong's swordsmanship could not compare to Chen Xin's, it was still the best Bing Yekong could access right now.
Besides, on the path of the sword, forging one's own path was what mattered most.
Bing Yekong was confident that he could use the Tianshuang Sword in his hand to create an entirely new swordsmanship style of his own.
After returning to the Shui Family, Bing Yekong impatiently opened the yellowed booklet.
There was no title on it. Clearly, Feng Bailong had not intended to name the booklet at the time.
Inside was a set of basic sword techniques, with Feng Bailong's unique insights written alongside them.
To achieve Soul Douluo cultivation at his current age, Feng Bailong's talent on the path of Soul Masters was clearly outstanding.
And from this improved booklet, it was apparent that his talent on the path of the sword was equally exceptional.
Bing Yekong gave the booklet a rough read-through and gained some preliminary understanding of the improved basic sword technique.
He went to the backyard and summoned the Tianshuang Sword Martial Soul.
A deep yellow Soul Ring circled beneath his feet.
Holding the Tianshuang Sword, Bing Yekong was surrounded by Ultimate Ice Soul Power, making him look as cold as an ancient iceberg.
Following the basic sword techniques recorded in the booklet, Bing Yekong began his first swordsmanship practice.
His wrist moved, and his arm followed. The longsword in his hand began to swing according to the techniques recorded in the manual.
It was his first attempt, so his movements were inevitably somewhat stiff.
Yet Bing Yekong seemed born for the sword, and he quickly got the hang of it.
After practicing only two or three times, Bing Yekong had mastered the basic sword technique.
After five repetitions, he could already perform the entire set smoothly.
And as he practiced it again and again, Bing Yekong felt that he had gained some additional insight into the technique.
He did not know whether gaining insight so quickly was normal, but it probably was not.
If Feng Bailong had been here and seen Bing Yekong grasp his modified basic sword technique in such a short time while even gaining new insights, his jaw would have dropped.
Even a swordsmanship grandmaster of Chen Xin's caliber would not have reacted much better upon seeing this scene.
But Bing Yekong knew none of this, and those two figures would not truly come here.
Bing Yekong only followed his instincts, swinging the longsword in his hand again and again.
In his hands, the Tianshuang Sword seemed to possess intelligence. Its movements were as graceful as a dance, yet it also exuded a fierce, chilling wind.
And so, Bing Yekong practiced swordsmanship in the backyard for an entire day.
His whole body was soaked in sweat, but an incomparably brilliant smile hung on his face.
Now that he had swordsmanship techniques, the Tianshuang Sword would not be wasted in his hands, nor would it be as useless as a fire poker.
Moreover, Bing Yekong could now sense that his talent on the path of the sword was likely far from ordinary.
A day of practice had not only allowed him to master this basic sword technique proficiently, but he had even touched upon the path toward expanding it further.
More importantly, during his final few rounds of practice, Bing Yekong sensed that the wind stirred by his swinging sword had changed.
That wind no longer felt like wind, but streams of air that flew alongside his sword.
This was clearly a sign that sword qi was about to take shape.
To cultivate sword qi in a single day—what kind of talent was that?
Putting away his Martial Soul, Bing Yekong dragged his exhausted body away, intending to take a bath before dinner.
When he emerged from the bathroom, his blue hair was still wet, dripping with water.
Just then, the door was pushed open.
"Little Yekong, look what I brought back for you!"
The moment Shui Yue'er pushed open the door, she saw Bing Yekong walking out of the bathroom.
Fortunately, Bing Yekong was dressed at the moment. Otherwise, it would have been awkward.
Shui Yue'er looked at Bing Yekong's face, damp with water and not yet dried, and froze completely.
His already somewhat cool and stern features gained a touch of melancholy under the adornment of a few droplets of water.
At that moment, Bing Yekong was the very image of a brooding male god in Shui Yue'er's eyes.
Bing Yekong picked up a towel, wiped the droplets from his hair, and looked at Shui Yue'er in confusion.
"What's wrong, Sister Yue'er?"
Only after Bing Yekong asked did Shui Yue'er come back to her senses. She raised a hand and wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth.
Then, she handed Bing Yekong the bag she was carrying in her other hand.
"I brought you something to eat especially for you. You haven't had dinner yet, right?"
Bing Yekong nodded and accepted the bag. "I haven't had dinner yet, so this is perfect. Thanks, Sister Yue'er!"
Meeting Bing Yekong's sunny smile, Shui Yue'er felt as though her heart were melting.
As Bing Yekong ate with gusto, Shui Yue'er simply sat beside him.
Normally lively and energetic, Shui Yue'er was unusually quiet at that moment.
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