Pei Ye first regarded it with a dismissive frown.
Because that was how swords worked. Swordsmanship was an intricate art; the breakdown of its moves, the sword theory involved, the key points of execution-all had to be clearly written out for a student to practice. The more exquisite and complex it was, the more ink it required. Even the Opening Gate Sword had forty pages, and the Willow-Supporting Sword had ninety-seven. If someone brought out the Jadeite Sword, it would be a mountain of a tome.
But this little booklet... with only these few pages, what could it possibly contain?
Pei Ye opened it with a frown-and, well, the characters were enormous too!
Yang Yan watched him with cold brows and drooping eyes. "Pei Ye, what's that look supposed to mean?"
Pei Ye smiled. "Do I have to learn all of it?"
"...You really are a petty man drunk on success now!" Yang Yan sneered. "If you can learn all of it in these next few days, I'll kowtow to you!"
Pei Ye perked up. "You said it!"
He sat down at the table, lowered his head, and began studying the book in earnest. He still followed the process Ming Qitian had described: first skim it, then read closely, then break it down, and only take up his sword once it all flowed smoothly in his mind.
Yet half an hour later, the boy closed the book. The bright, uplifted expression on his face had visibly settled into a heavy frown.
He had not understood it.
Yang Yan stood beside him, cradling his saber and sneering coldly. Pei Ye ignored him.
The fool had not set any stakes for failing to learn it anyway.
As for this sword art, it truly was... different from other sword arts.
Even without having