nagpurpolice Chapter 15 Deducing Sword Techniques
Chapter 15 Deducing Sword Techniques
The next morning, Zhou Tong arrived at the Dragon Tiger Martial Arts School on time.
The snow in the front yard has been cleared to both sides, revealing the compacted dirt ground.
Despite the frosty weather, dozens of trainees practiced until their bodies were steaming with heat, their shouts dispelling the chill of the winter morning.
As usual, Zhou Tong walked to the corner, took off his thick cotton robe, revealing a thin gray outfit underneath.
He took out a tin box from his pocket, scooped out the dark gold-colored ointment with his fingertips, and carefully applied it to several acupoints on his arms and legs.
The ointment feels slightly cool to the touch, but it quickly dissolves with body heat and penetrates the skin.
He assumed the perfect stance for the Dragon Tiger Stance and began practicing slowly.
Although he was eagerly anticipating the improved prescription and wished he could fly to Renjitang immediately, he knew the priorities.
Today, his senior brother is going to teach him the "Dragon Tiger Ruyi Blade," as promised yesterday, and he absolutely cannot break his promise.
About half an hour later, I felt a faint tingling sensation all over my body.
Zhou Tong slowly withdrew his stance, beads of sweat already appearing on his forehead.
He walked to the bench, picked up the thermos, poured himself a cup of lightly salted water, and sipped it slowly.
Just as he put down his cup, he saw his senior brother Chen Zong walk out of the moon gate in the front courtyard and head straight towards him.
He quickly stood up and went to greet him respectfully, saying, "Senior Brother."
Chen Zong nodded slightly, holding a dark wooden knife in his hand, only about the length of his forearm.
He handed the wooden knife to Zhou Tong: "Try holding it."
Zhou Tong accepted it with both hands.
The wooden knife is quite heavy, seemingly made of hardwood. The blade is not sharp, but its shape is smooth, and the guard is carved with simple cloud patterns.
Zhou Tong shook it; it felt steady and reliable.
"Knowing that my Dragon Tiger Martial Arts School's 'Ruyi Blade' is so short, why do you use it so often?" Chen Zong glanced at Zhou Tong and asked.
Zhou Tong thought for a moment and said, "So it's easy to hide and carry?"
Chen Zong nodded and said in a steady voice:
"That's right. The greatest value of a martial artist has never been to directly confront an army formation. When thousands of troops charge in and firearms fire simultaneously, no matter how high your martial arts skills are, you are still just flesh and blood. Our real advantage lies in 'concealment' and 'single strike'."
He looked at Zhou Tong with sharp eyes: "In this chaotic world, the ability to take lives amidst heavy guards and to decide victory or defeat silently is the fundamental reason why those dignitaries treat us as honored guests and are willing to pay huge sums to support us. The art of assassination is the foundation for a warrior's survival in this chaotic world."
Zhou Tong's heart skipped a beat, and he said solemnly, "What Senior Brother says is true."
"So, what I'm going to teach you today isn't actual combat," Chen Zong said, casually waving his right hand in front of Zhou Tong's eyes.
Zhou Tong only felt a blur before his eyes, and a short knife with a cold glint appeared out of thin air in Chen Zong's hand, the tip of the knife no more than half a foot away from his nose!
His pupils contracted slightly—he hadn't seen where the knife came from at all, nor had he noticed anything unusual in Chen Zong's sleeve.
He only felt the other person's arm sway slightly, and the knife appeared in his palm as if by magic.
Seeing his reaction, Chen Zong smiled slightly and handed over the short knife.
Zhou Tong took it and examined it closely. The knife was about 12 inches long, with a narrow and straight blade. The handle was wrapped with a dark-colored non-slip cord. The knife was light and sharp, clearly a meticulously crafted killing weapon.
"Watch closely." Chen Zong sheathed his short sword and began demonstrating and explaining at the same time.
How to conceal the knife close to the body in a specially made hidden sheath in the sleeve, and use the angle of the wrist to hold the handle in place;
How to tuck it inside the waist belt and cover it with the hem of the robe;
How to place it in one's bosom, using the action of taking something as a natural way to draw the knife;
Even how to hide and retrieve something by pressing it close to the inside of the forearm and taking advantage of the blind spot of the human body, in the instant when passing by someone.
Each hiding place corresponds to a different knife-wielding technique:
The knife hidden in the sleeve requires a sudden flick of the wrist; the knife at the waist requires the movement of the waist; and the knife in the bosom is used when reaching out...
Chen Zong explained it in great detail, breaking down how to rotate the wrist, how to exert force with the fingertips, how to coordinate the body movements, and even how to adjust the breathing rhythm.
Zhou Tong listened intently, his eyes fixed on every subtle movement Chen Zong made in his demonstration, repeatedly imprinting it in his mind.
Finally, Chen Zong sheathed the dagger in his sleeve, stood with his hands behind his back, and suddenly changed the subject:
"What I just described is only the first level of 'hiding the knife'—the concealment of martial arts, the overt concealment. This is certainly important, but there is a deeper level of 'hiding the knife,' which concerns one's life cultivation."
He spoke slowly and deliberately, staring into Zhou Tong's eyes:
"As the saying goes, 'He who possesses a sharp blade will naturally harbor murderous intent.' Martial artists, with their vigorous blood and energy, and who practice killing techniques, are often arrogant and disdainful of others."
But if one only knows how to be aggressive and ostentatious, and doesn't know how to restrain oneself and retreat, then one has gone astray and will inevitably suffer a crushing defeat sooner or later.
Zhou Tong seemed to be deep in thought.
Chen Zong continued, "A true martial artist must gradually conceal his sharpness and arrogance within the worldly affairs. In dealing with people, in speech and action, only three-tenths of a martial artist's spirit should be visible on his face, while the remaining seven-tenths must be hidden. Let people feel that you are not to be trifled with, yet they cannot see through your true nature—that is how one enters the path."
"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother," Zhou Tong said respectfully.
Chen Zong waved his hand, looked at Zhou Tong, and asked, "Do you know why you still keep that facade intact?"
Zhou Tong pondered for a moment, recalling his understanding of "martial arts" from his past life, and combining it with what he had seen and heard over the past few months, before slowly saying:
"In literature, there is no first place; in martial arts, there is no second. The way of martial arts is to win. If one hides all one's sharpness and does not reveal a trace of it, then one has gone to the other extreme, lost the true meaning of martial arts, and become a mediocrity who simply compromises and makes do."
A clear hint of appreciation flashed in Chen Zong's eyes, and he nodded, saying:
"Well said. What a warrior needs is to be valiant and formidable when still, and aggressive and fierce when in action!"
The three-tenths of his face are a way of telling others – I have henchmen, don't try to deceive me.
Keeping the remaining seven-tenths hidden is to leave yourself room for maneuver and allow for flexibility in the situation.
He patted Zhou Tong on the shoulder: "You'll gradually understand the nuances of this later. Now, I'll teach you the first twelve forms of the 'Dragon Tiger Ruyi Blade'."
After saying that, Chen Zong lowered his body slightly.
The next moment, he moved.
The first move, "Dragon Emerging from Shallow Abyss," features a swift and powerful upward slash of the blade.
Immediately following the second move, "Tiger Crouching on the Hill," the sword's momentum suddenly dropped, shifting to a defensive stance;
The third move, "Three Appearances of the Cloud Dragon," is a series of rapid sword flashes, making it difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion...
Chen Zong began to execute his moves one by one.
Zhou Tong felt a powerful and domineering aura wash over him.
When the swordsmanship is fierce, it is like thunder and lightning; when it is agile, it is like flowing water and drifting clouds. The twelve moves are connected smoothly, combining offense and defense.
Zhou Tong watched intently, trying his best to memorize the starting point, movement, and landing point of each move, as well as the subtle coordination of Chen Zong's body shape and footwork.
Chen Zong demonstrated it several times, accompanied by detailed explanations.
A moment later, he sheathed his sword, his breathing as steady as ever, and looked at Zhou Tong: "Do as instructed."
Zhou Tong took a deep breath, recalling what he had just seen, and slowly assumed the starting stance.
The movements were stiff and awkward, and the transitions were fraught with difficulties.
As patient as he always was when teaching, Chen Zong stepped forward and personally adjusted his knife-holding posture, joint strength, and footwork, correcting him while explaining the key points.
Only after Zhou Tong could barely perform the twelve moves in a row did he nod:
"Practice on your own and experience the unity of swordplay and body movement. Remember, the sword is an extension of the arm; the power should be continuous and not stiff."
After saying that, he turned and left to continue inspecting the other trainees.
Seeing his senior brother walk away, Zhou Tong practiced on his own. His gaze swept around, and seeing no one paying attention to this corner, he focused his mind—
A transparent panel quietly emerged.
[Dragon and Tiger Ruyi Blade (First Twelve Forms): There are multiple deviations in the posture.]
Almost simultaneously, that familiar, clear information flooded his mind again, precisely pointing out the subtle errors in every movement he made:
The wrist angle was off by three points, the waist and hip rotation was not synchronized with the sword movement, and the breathing rhythm was disrupted during the transition to the third move...
Just then, Zhou Tong's eyes lit up—
At the very end of the section on the Dragon-Tiger Ruyi Blade, three small, shimmering characters appeared:
[Can be deduced]
Zhou Tong's heart skipped a beat. He suppressed his excitement and quickly focused his mind on it.
The text on the panel was slightly distorted, and a new message appeared:
[The Dragon-Tiger Ruyi Blade can be refined to a perfect version based on the host's mental state and physical condition. The refinement will take three hours. Would you like to refine it?]
It was indeed able to be deduced!
Although he had anticipated it, seeing it with his own eyes still made Zhou Tong feel a surge of heat rush to his chest.
The perfect version of the Dragon Tiger Stance has already brought him a promising future of "Golden Skin". What kind of transformation will this perfect version of the sword technique bring?
"Deduction!" he murmured to himself.
The words "[Can be deduced]" on the panel immediately changed to "[Deduced in progress]", and there were no other abnormalities.
At this moment, Zhou Tong realized that the panel only showed the deduction function after he had learned all sixteen forms of the Dragon Tiger Meat Training Posture.
However, this Dragon Tiger Ruyi Blade only has the first twelve moves, yet the words "deduction" have already appeared.
"I heard from Senior Brother Ji Chang that the subsequent moves of the Dragon Tiger Ruyi Blade can only be learned by mastering the first twelve moves, and only a Bone Forging Martial Master can unleash the true power of the subsequent moves."
Therefore, these first twelve moves can be considered a complete sword technique, which is why the panel displays the word "deduction".
Zhou Tong put on his thick cotton robe, thinking to himself.
The simulation will take three hours, so I'll use this time to take care of that thing I've been wanting to do.
He stepped out of the martial arts school gate.
Ah Fu's black car was already waiting at the alley entrance, its hood covered with a thin layer of snow.
He had planned to go to the pharmacy after learning the knife skills today, so he instructed Afu to wait outside in advance.
"Young Master, shall we go back to the manor?" Afu jogged over.
"No, let's go to Renjitang." Zhou Tong opened the car door.
"Okay!" Afu replied, giving the driver a briefing.