Three Who Cannot Practice

The crisp swish of turning pages was pleasant to hear.

But Li Feiyu hated the sound.

He paid no more attention to Han Li, who was buried in his reading, and ran back to the edge of the pool. Pulling his long saber from the earth where he had planted it, he began practicing on his own.

Han Li glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Seeing how full of vigor he was, Han Li paid his actions no more mind and turned his attention back to what he held.

"Taking in ten lines at a glance" was probably meant to describe Han Li's astonishing reading speed. He soon finished browsing through a thick book, and, keeping his head lowered, reached out and grabbed another without looking, continuing to leaf through it.

His eyes narrowed as he read, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face from time to time. His gaze remained fixed on the pages, unwilling to leave them for a moment, and his head swayed back and forth as his eyes moved, giving him something of the air of a scholar nodding and swaying over his books.

Time flew by, and Han Li quickly browsed through the volumes of the Blinking Sword Manual one after another.

When he finished the eleventh manual, Han Li abruptly stopped his astonishing reading spree and tossed the book he had just finished back into the bundle.

He closed his eyes and rested his mind for a while.

Once he had recovered a little, he sat down cross-legged where he was and used the Eternal Spring Art to replay the contents of the dozen or so books he had just read in his mind.

Before long, a succession of expressions appeared on Han Li's face. At times he was tremendously excited, at others he frowned in thought, and at still others his face fell in dismay.

After an unknown length of time, Han Li finally opened his eyes, only to be given a tremendous fright by what was in front of him.

At some point, Li Feiyu had brought his head right up under Han Li's eyes, so close that their noses were almost touching.

"What are you doing? Weren't you practicing your saber techniques?"

"Junior Brother Han, what time do you think it is? And you're still asking such a silly question." Li Feiyu pulled back and curled his lip.

Only then did Han Li notice that the light around them had grown dim.

He looked up at the sky. It had turned a hazy gray; evening had arrived.

"Ahem! Time really does fly. I didn't notice at all that so much of it had passed."

Han Li stood up and stretched his arms and legs.

"Well? Did you find anything interesting in the books?" Li Feiyu watched him eagerly, hoping to hear the final result from him.

"Mm, not bad. It suits me quite well."

"What do you mean, not bad? Give me something more concrete," Li Feiyu said, somewhat dissatisfied.

"To be specific, these manuals are a hodgepodge. There's nothing complete among them; they were all pieced together from bits and pieces?" Han Li said slowly.

"Then what does Blinking Swordsmanship mean? Does that sword technique really exist? Why does it have such a strange name?" Still not quite satisfied, Li Feiyu pressed on.

"Blinking Swordsmanship really does exist. It's just that it's part of this hodgepodge, and takes up only a very small portion of these books," Han Li said patiently.

"As for why it was given that name, there's a reason for that too."

"What reason? Can't you say it all in one breath instead of always popping out one sentence at a time? You sound just like the old schoolmaster in our town." Li Feiyu glared at Han Li, unable to stand his slow manner.

Han Li really had no way to deal with him, so he had to pick up the pace of his account a little.

"According to the books, this sword technique uses different kinds of light and flaws in human vision to defeat an enemy. It often takes a person's life in the blink of an eye, which is why it's called Blinking Swordsmanship."

"To think there's such a bizarre sword technique! There really are plenty of extraordinary people in the world!" Li Feiyu was greatly intrigued, but Han Li's next words made him lower his banners and still his drums.

"There are three who cannot practice this sword technique: those who have made even a little progress with True Qi cannot practice it; those without great perseverance cannot practice it; and those without talent cannot practice it."

Upon hearing the first condition, Li Feiyu immediately gave up his interest in it. His internal True Qi had already reached a considerable level; surely he couldn't discard his cultivation to learn a technique whose power was still unknown.

Having lost all interest in the manuals, Li Feiyu no longer wanted to stay there.

He rose and prepared to take his leave. Before going, he told Han Li to copy the manuals as soon as possible; the next time they met, he would take all the originals back. Although no one else valued the manuals, if such a large pile of them went missing for too long, it would still attract attention.

Not long after Li Feiyu left, Han Li departed as well.

A thin layer of mist cloaked the entire mountain range, lending it a dim appearance. Stands of conifers grew on both sides of the narrow mountain path. When a mountain wind swept through the woods, it made a rustling sound, and the branches on either side took on an eerie look as they bared their fangs and brandished their claws.

Han Li hurried along the somewhat eerie mountain path toward Divine Hand Valley.

Because he had set out rather late, the sky had turned completely dark by the time he was halfway there.

If he had not relied on the Eternal Spring Art, which made his eyes even sharper at night, Han Li would never have traveled in such dim surroundings. The path was difficult to walk, with treacherous stretches twisting left and right all along the way. A single careless step could lead to an accident and cost him his life.