Green Lotus Sword Art

"Such confidence: Heaven gave me talent, and it will be put to use; though a thousand gold pieces are spent, they will come back again!"

In a corner on the second floor, the Grandmaster slapped his thigh, his face full of excitement. He felt that Yang Ming's poem had spoken straight to his heart!

The Grandmaster had endured a rough life. His awakened Martial Soul was useless, and his soul power had never been able to cross the threshold of Rank 30. He could only study theoretical knowledge of Martial Souls and had always been regarded as a useless man with a hollow reputation. Now, upon hearing this poem, he suddenly felt the bitterness in his chest roll away like the Yellow River surging eastward.

But...

The moment he thought of how Yang Ming, who suited his tastes so well, could not become his disciple, the Grandmaster suddenly found it hard to breathe.

What a heartbreaking regret!

"No! I can't just give up on such an uncut jade!"

A flash of determination passed through the Grandmaster's eyes as he secretly plotted:

"Isn't Tang San Yang Ming's good friend? I need him to have a proper talk with Yang Ming."

When Yang Ming finished reciting, everyone else wore different expressions.

The teachers were all full of admiration, while the wealthy students looked grim.

The companions from Room Seven who shared Yang Ming's table felt that he was standing up for them and encouraging them. After all, they had suffered far too much unfair treatment along the way!

That was right. So what if they came from poor families? So what if they were commoners?

Were they somehow inferior to those rich young masters and ladies?

Are kings, nobles, generals, and ministers born to their stations?

Wang Sheng sprang to his feet, excitedly raised his cup of clear rice wine with both hands, and bowed deeply to Yang Ming as he declared passionately:

"Boss, after hearing those words today, if you tell me to go east, I'll never go west. I'll follow any order you give!"

The other boys from Room Seven also stood up one after another and voiced similar sentiments.

As soon as they finished speaking, everyone downed their rice wine in one gulp.

The rice wine was not particularly strong, but to these fledglings tasting alcohol for the first time, it was still fierce enough. Their young faces turned bright red, yet every one of them stubbornly refused to cough for fear of losing face, making them look like oversized tomatoes.

Yang Ming smiled softly. This atmosphere with his companions felt quite nice.

Seeing Yang Ming chatting happily with the other boys, Xiao Wu's beautiful eyes shimmered with fascination.

By the end of the meal, Yang Ming had drawn much closer to everyone.

Many of them were drinking for the first time. Even though the rice wine had a low alcohol content, they became thoroughly tipsy and had to support one another on their way back to the dormitory.

After settling them in, Yang Ming left the dormitory alone, unaware that a little tail was following behind him.

Xiao Wu tiptoed after him without making the slightest sound. Looking at Yang Ming's retreating back, she wrinkled her delicate nose slightly, and a mischievous gleam flashed through her eyes.

"Hehe, going out this late at night... could he be off to do something bad?"

The thought made Xiao Wu feel thrilled. She became even more determined not to lose Yang Ming's trail.

Until...

When Xiao Wu saw Yang Ming arrive at the training grounds, she felt completely deflated.

"What kind of bad thing would anyone come here to do?"

Xiao Wu was utterly confused and annoyed. Why did this Yang Ming never play by the rules? Couldn't he let this young lady have a little fun for once?

Naturally, Yang Ming had no idea what Xiao Wu was thinking. In truth, he had been a lifelong bachelor in his previous life and knew nothing about romance. How could he possibly know what girls were thinking?

Yang Ming first closed his eyes and checked the system messages left from earlier.

"Ding!"

"Congratulations, Host, for speaking a classic line from the film The Big Shot. You have received one lottery chance. Would you like to activate the lottery wheel?"

Yang Ming had not expected that adapting the line "Young Master Zhao is picking up the tab tonight" would count as well.

The Big Shot was a crime action film. There was nothing particularly special about it, nor was there any equipment worth obtaining.

Yang Ming decided not to draw for now and save the lottery chance for next time.

Then, Yang Ming abruptly opened his eyes. He spread open his right palm, and golden light gathered within it, forming the Mysterious Sword. He began to train with meticulous seriousness.

Ten thousand years was too long; seize every moment!

After the Cao Mengyun incident, Yang Ming had come to deeply understand the nature of this world. The jungle law meant the strong preyed on the weak. The weak would only be bullied by others. If he did not want to wait until someone trampled all over him and then find himself unable to do anything about it, the only path was to grow stronger without end—strong enough that others could only look up to him for breath!

The sword was the king of weapons, known as the lord of all arms.

A sword had a straight body, a pointed tip, and double edges. It could wound people whether swung horizontally or vertically, pierce armor with a thrust, and was exceedingly dangerous. It was born for killing.

In ancient times, there were treasured swords such as Gan Jiang, Mo Ye, Dragon Spring, Tai'e, Chunjun, Zhanlu, Fish Gut, and Jueque. Many assassins also left their names behind through the sword. Jing Ke's attempt to assassinate the King of Qin and the swordsman Wang Yue of the late Eastern Han were both outstanding figures of the sword path.

But the sword Yang Ming practiced now was vastly different from the sword paths of assassins and wandering swordsmen, because this was the sword path of the Sword Immortal Li Bai.

Green Lotus Sword Art!

When Yang Ming had obtained Li Bai's skill, Green Lotus Sword Song, he had also received this sword art. It contained nine true verses that encompassed its overall principles.

"I was once a madman of Chu."

"I soared up to the blue clouds."

"Two rivers divided around White Egret Isle."

"A drifting cloud, a wanderer's heart."

"My brush fell, startling wind and rain."

"A lone sail's distant shadow vanished into the blue sky."

"The waterfall plunged three thousand feet."

"There was another world, not of humankind."

"A thousand li to Jiangling, returned in a single day."

Each true verse was one of the sword art's nine stages:

Green Lotus Emergence, Green Lotus Turns to Qi, Sword Qi Like Lotus, Green Lotus Seizes Splendor, Green Lotus Opens Mountains, Green Lotus Fills the Sky, Green Lotus Gathering, Green Lotus Sprouting, Green Lotus Reaching Heaven.

According to the information the system had instilled in his mind, Yang Ming already understood that, in order to adapt to Douluo Continent, he had only learned the foundations of Li Bai's original ultimate skill, Green Lotus Sword Song.

Once he mastered all nine stages of the Green Lotus Sword Art and could bring the ultimate skill to its peak, perhaps it truly would be as the highest realm described—Green Lotus Reaching Heaven!

Of course, one had to walk step by step and eat bite by bite.

His immediate priority was to first master the first stage of the Green Lotus Sword Art, Green Lotus Emergence.

Under the night moon, Yang Ming wore a solemn expression as he danced with his sword.

The most important thing in practicing the Green Lotus Sword Art was that aura. The first principle, "I was once a madman of Chu," meant that every strike had to be sharp and fierce, carrying the arrogance of certain victory and the intent to cut down one's opponent.

The swaying moonlight draped the ground in a veil-like silver glow. It fell upon Yang Ming's resolute face and upon the Mysterious Sword in his hand, its blade flowing with dazzling sword light.

Chopping, slashing, flicking, lifting, parrying, sweeping aside, intercepting, thrusting, stirring, pressing, hanging, and sweeping—each move unfolded nimbly in Yang Ming's hands. At times they were incomparably fierce; at others, gentle as flowing water. He wielded them with perfect freedom and smoothness.

Dressed in white and stepping through Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, he appeared carefree and light, handsome and elegant, carrying a faint air of a Sword Immortal.

Before long, a group of girls gathered at the edge of the training grounds. Some were from his year, but even more were older female students. Watching Yang Ming's sword dance beneath the moonlight, they cupped their cheeks in their hands, their beautiful eyes brimming with admiration.

For a moment, they were utterly entranced.