The Sum of Eighty-One Moves

Chu Tianshu was taken aback. "Old Huang, the Yellow Mountain Ancestor?!"

The old scholar stood to the side, showing no obvious shock, suggesting he had already heard the news beforehand.

"Yes, that's him, he's gone missing."

Xiao Liang said, "I didn't find many clues at the scene, and I suspect that it might be that his disciples colluded with outsiders to assassinate him."

The Yellow Mountain Ancestor was known as "the one who sits and watches over the Qiantang, Flying Smoke Divine Spear."

It was not only his superb marksmanship that was praised, but also his exceptional hearing and eyesight.

Legend has it that he could sit on Lotus Peak in Yellow Mountain and see the Qiantang River and hear the sound of the Qiantang several times.

Rumors circulating in the martial arts world may be exaggerated.

However, the Yellow Mountain Ancestor is still recognized by all Attaining the Dao people as the most difficult to attack by surprise.

Moreover, he is very family-oriented; if he were to go out on his own, he would definitely leave some instructions for his disciples.

Therefore, the most likely reason for such a person's disappearance is that they were murdered through collusion between insiders and outsiders.

"I spent over a month investigating and testing all the disciples of Yellow Mountain."

Xiao Liang said, "Ha, there really are more than a dozen, each harboring filth and treacherous intentions."

The old scholar, holding his wine cup, said regretfully, "I've heard that the Yellow Mountain Ancestor placed great importance on character when accepting disciples, and that his school was known for its upright conduct and profound kindness towards its students. I never imagined that there would still be scoundrels among them."

"A teacher being good to their student doesn't guarantee that the student won't go astray."

Xiao Liang's expression was somewhat indifferent at this moment. "I've said it before: instead of carefully selecting, it's better to cast a wide net and set clear rules. The proportion of scum might even be lower with the latter."

Chu Tianshu pressed on, "So, who exactly colluded with the traitor to harm the Yellow Mountain Ancestor?"

Xiao Liang shook his head.

"Those dozen or so scoundrels deserved to die, mainly because they deserved to die somewhere else; not one of them wanted to harm Old Huang."

"I've completely run out of leads, and considering how long I've already delayed, I might as well come and meet you first."

Xiao Liang sighed, then rallied his spirits and smiled, "I think Old Huang might not die so easily. Let's talk about our business."

"I heard you want to exchange cultivation techniques?"

Chu Tianshu was still pondering who was behind the Yellow Mountain Ancestor's affair and whether it would have any impact on him, when he heard this and gathered his thoughts.

"Indeed, I have gained considerable experience in refining the power of the Moon Turbidity."

Xiao Liang sized him up and nodded, saying, "I can see that. With such a strong foundation, your ability to influence the power of heaven and earth must be far more extensive. You must have unique insights into dealing with the Moon Turbidity."

"You want to exchange skills, but what you value is probably not my mastery of internal energy, but rather my reputation in combat techniques?"

When Xiao Liang first met someone, he discussed such an important matter as exchanging martial arts techniques, but he wasn't serious at all. As he talked, he started pouring wine into his bowl again.

Chu Tianshu was also relaxed. He took the bamboo chopsticks from the tube, picked up a piece of donkey meat, and put it in his mouth.

"Let's be frank. I've also practiced swordsmanship, and its power is quite good, but I've reached a bottleneck in terms of artistic conception. If I want to elevate it further, I would have to devote myself entirely to it and neglect my internal strength, and I don't know how long that would take. It's really not worth it."

"Why not exchange the secrets of Moon Refining for some promising techniques, a mutually beneficial exchange?"

Xiao Liang took a sip of wine, swallowed it slowly, and then looked at the oil lamp beside him.

"Brother Chu, what kind of moves do you consider to be ultimate moves, super moves, or legendary moves that can significantly enhance killing power with just one practice and far surpass normal abilities with just one use?"

Chu Tianshu began to seriously consider it.

"Whether it's a signature move or an ultimate technique, there may be different standards, but a legendary move is definitely not an isolated technique."

"It must be connected to a solid foundation, with a vast and complex accumulation of knowledge."

"Only in this way can future generations also achieve enlightenment through similar spiritual practice and accumulation."

"To truly be considered a legacy, one must utilize renowned techniques to unleash one's full potential while also ensuring that old techniques maintain their formidable power."

The old scholar nodded repeatedly as he listened.

Xiao Liang smiled and pointed to the oil lamp.

"Indeed, a thousand-year-old dark room can be illuminated by a single lamp, but even this small flame requires a finely twisted wick, carefully prepared lamp oil, and a stable, fire-resistant lamp."

"A move that can unleash all the accumulated knowledge and experience in a single strike is a signature move, an ultimate move."

Xiao Liang asked, "You killed Fa Wendao, so did you see his swordsmanship?"

Chu Tianshu nodded. "His swordsmanship is actually quite good."

Xiao Liang said, "Back then, Old Huang chased after him but failed. He mentioned it to me, and I became curious about the swordsmanship of the Five Great Temples, so I went to ask him for advice."

"Shaolin's Burning Wood Saber is the most simple and unadorned. Of its eighty-one forms, if taken individually, it would only rank last among the saber techniques of the five famous temples."

"But, Brother Chu, please witness the power of my Burning Wood Saber technique."

Xiao Liang extended his right index finger and pressed it against the ground beside him.

With this downward stroke, the first joint of his index finger slightly curled up, the curve of the entire finger resembling a knife.

In an instant, Chu Tianshu vaguely sensed a rapidly changing, lightning-fast energy flickering within Xiao Liang's right arm meridians.

It travels from the shoulder to the fingertips.

A streak of crimson fire, about three feet long, suddenly sliced into the gap between the stone bricks.

A scorch mark appeared in the crack between the stone bricks.

Chu Tianshu's gaze followed the ground into the distance.

Pengcheng Tavern has three floors and one room.

They were in the main hall of the south building.

Chu Tianshu's gaze had already turned to the large house to the north.

Outside the long windows of the large house to the north, the river reflects the moonlight of the night.

Suddenly, with a loud bang, a crimson light exploded from the bottom of the river.

A three-foot-long red light burst forth from the water, soared into the sky, and then disappeared.

A large amount of coke fragments scattered in the air and fell onto the water's surface.

Those are all water plants from the river.

The Burning Wood Saber emitted by Xiao Liang's fingers pierced the ground and immediately changed direction, actually burrowing more than a hundred paces underground and diving into the riverbed.

The water plants grazed by the blade's energy were all reduced to dust, which was then carried out of the water and turned into charred fragments in the air.

Chu Tianshu looked at the ground, gently stomped his right foot, and listened to the echo from below.

Between the south building and the north building, there is a large courtyard, and the ground beneath the courtyard is just some soil.

However, the foundations of the south and north buildings were all made of tightly packed mountain rocks.

The blade of energy pierced through everything in the blink of an eye.

The destructive power of the bullets was so great that it made one's eyelids twitch.

"The skill you used is no more profound than that of the Fa Wendao, but..."

After clicking his tongue in amazement, Chu Tianshu pondered, "The amount and quality of the power of heaven and earth that you attracted when you unleashed that strike were both greater than those of the Fa Wendao."

"This thing... it's not Burning Wood Saber at all, is it?!"

Fa Wendao is based on demonic arts, and has mastered the sword techniques of the five major temples to a perfect harmony.

He must know perfectly well which of these sword techniques, when combined with the realm of Attaining the Dao person, is most capable of gathering the power of heaven and earth.

That day, the one that shattered Xiao Shexin weapon in one fell swoop was probably the most powerful sword technique that Fa Wendao could find.

But that move wasn't as effective as Xiao Liang's simple touch with his bare hands.

"Indeed, none of the Burning Wood Saber can attract and utilize the energy of heaven and earth to this extent."

Xiao Liang said seriously, "But this move of mine is the sum of all eighty-one moves of the Burning Wood Saber."

That sounds like utter nonsense.

In the martial arts world, it is generally believed that a single move encapsulates the essence of an entire set of martial arts techniques.

It usually refers to the improvements one makes to one's mind and body during the process of practicing the entire set of martial arts.

This move, by fully unleashing the results of the enhancement, is considered the essence of the entire martial arts technique.

The claim that "one move encompasses dozens of moves" is basically just rhetoric.

However, the results that could be achieved by practicing with the Burning Wood Saber had already been demonstrated in the Fa Wendao.

Xiao Liang's words just now clearly didn't mean the thing commonly used in the martial arts world.

The old scholar smiled and was about to explain something.

Chu Tianshu, who was frowning in deep thought, suddenly said, "Could you please relax your mind and stop protecting your right arm, and then use that move again?"

Those with profound mental states, even if they do not practice magic, can have their thoughts encompass their entire body, making them more thorough and agile than protective Gang Qi.

Chu Tianshu's statement was actually a bit presumptuous.

Xiao Liang, however, seemed to have thought of something and exclaimed with great interest, "Okay!"

He extended his right arm, gathering his thoughts.

Outsiders usually cannot perceive the enhancement that a master's mental state brings to himself. But when he deliberately restrains himself, they feel that his hand seems more ordinary than other parts of his body.

The texture of the fingers, the fine hairs on the back of the hands, all seemed more... ordinary.

However, this does not affect the flow of internal energy within the arm.

Chu Tianshu's eyes gleamed like a wheel as he unleashed his Insight Technique and activated the Nanhua Origin Canon.

Xiao Liang unleashed his power once more.

His arm appeared almost translucent to Chu Tianshu.

The white energy reached his shoulder and immediately transformed into the red, Burning Wood Saber attribute.

But it doesn't flow like air or cascade down like a long sword.

This crimson power instantly transformed into an extremely tiny human figure.

Each human silhouette is smaller than the diameter of a vein in the hand.

The red power poured out!

Eighty-one human silhouettes instantly formed a long line, flashing and changing within the meridians, wielding sword techniques.

Finally, when this power erupted from Xiao Liang's fingertips, the eighty-one silhouettes overlapped completely.

The blade's edge ripped through the ground!

"Ah..."

Chu Tianshu paused for a moment, exhaled, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

This move is actually the sum of eighty-one moves!

It's the sum of its literal meanings.

Eighty-one sword-wielding humanoid figures were all blasted away at once.

How the hell did that?

Xiao Liang's attacks were incredibly fast; he could practically unleash his blade the moment he thought of it.

However, a single thought is merely a single movement.

How could one possibly use the same thought to simultaneously unleash eighty-one variations?

"You seem to have figured it out."

Xiao Liang's eyes held a hint of surprise. "Did you figure out how my technique works?"

Chu Tianshu's voice was slightly hoarse. "I can see a little bit, but I completely can't figure out how you did it."

"I haven't even said anything yet, and you've already noticed something. Perhaps you really can comprehend this wonderful method."

Xiao Liang poured Chu Tianshu a glass of wine and said, "In my opinion, this is what a so-called ultimate move or special technique should be like."

"To condense a whole set of techniques learned before into a single move."

"With just the internal energy equivalent to a single move in the past, and with just a thought, the power of heaven and earth it stirs far surpasses any single move from the past."

Xiao Liang spoke eloquently.

"However, only those techniques must be from the same set of highly skilled methods to share the same underlying principles and be able to be combined."

"Therefore, the depth of your previous in-depth study and mastery of several advanced techniques, and the amount of foundation you have accumulated, means that you can condense several ultimate techniques."

As he spoke, Xiao Liang grabbed a bundle from the bench next to him.

Inside the bundle were two gray-white stone slabs, like pages of a book, joined together.

"As for how to condense the entire set of techniques into a single move, that depends on whether you can decipher the inscription on this stone tablet."

Xiao Liang patted the stone slab, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.

"When I was wandering in Pengcheng, I obtained half a stone slab. Later, following my intuition, I found the other half in Denglai Mountain Market."

"Before Attaining the Dao, I could only grasp a sliver of understanding; even after Attaining the Dao, it took me seven years to truly comprehend it."

"Old Huang observed it for a long time, but couldn't see even a trace of it. Even after I tried my best to describe what I was thinking, he could only admit that he was not destined to have this stone slab."

He pushed the stone slab in front of Chu Tianshu.

"Why don't you give it a try?"

Chu Tianshu was greatly moved upon hearing this. He circulated his internal energy and ate two more pieces of donkey meat. By chewing slowly and carefully, he completely calmed his mind before putting down his chopsticks.

Seeing how composed he was, Xiao Liang felt even more hopeful.

In the process of practicing the secret method alone, Xiao Liang also encountered many obstacles and insights. When he encountered obstacles, there was no one to discuss them with, and when he gained insights, he was also distressed because there were no fellow practitioners to share them with.

If you tell others about it, they won't understand which part is the most exciting.

This kind of loneliness is the hardest to describe.

Some people, like the Monk Qingsheng, might also have the opportunity to decipher the secrets of the stone slab.

But Xiao Liang was unwilling to let those kinds of people know about the existence of the stone slab.

Chu Tianshu got ready and extended his hand.

The stone slab, which was like the pages of a book, split open to reveal its surface, displaying hundreds of intricate patterns the size of fingernails, interspersed with lines of varying lengths.

(End of this chapter)