After a good while, Dugu Sheng emerged from his contemplation.
Seeing Huang Xiao staring intently at him, Dugu Sheng smiled slightly. "I suddenly gained an insight."
"Oh?" Huang Xiao asked. "You really are a genius with the sword."
"I have you to thank. If your words hadn't reminded me, I probably wouldn't have gained this insight," Dugu Sheng said.
"My words?" Huang Xiao thought for a moment, then asked doubtfully, "Sword forms?"
"Yes, what you just said about breaking my sword forms. Those words sent a flash of inspiration through my mind. Combined with some of the sword intent I comprehended from the Broken Sword Scripture, I finally understood which path I should take in swordsmanship," Dugu Sheng said, his face alight with joy.
"Is this something you can share?" Huang Xiao asked curiously.
"Of course," Dugu Sheng said. "In truth, being devoted to swordsmanship, I've always wondered what I practice the sword for, and what sort of swordsmanship I should practice to become invincible beneath heaven. Over all these years, countless ideas have crossed my mind, and I've tried many different directions, only to find that something seemed wrong with each of them. Now, though, I believe I've found my direction. At least for now, I think it's the right one."
"Then what does that have to do with my saying I could 'break your sword forms'? Before this, you seemed to want to merge and simplify the nine times nine, eighty-one moves of your Dugu Family's supreme art, the Nine Heavenly Sword Forms. To my mind, that's a direction you could take in swordsmanship, isn't it?" Huang Xiao asked.
"It has everything to do with it. Simplifying moves, as you mentioned, certainly counts as a direction, but ultimately, it has its limits," Dugu Sheng said. "You said that