Chapter 5 - The Shadow’s Sword Intent
After sitting on the stone table and drinking some wine, Wu Chi’s mood had finally stabilized.
Looking at these men coldly, Wu Chi changed his mind and then spoke up.
“All right, come here. Tell me your plans”
After being beaten up violently by Wu Chi, these men became obedient. They cleaned up the whole courtyard, but when they heard Wu Chi’s words, some of them couldn’t help but tremble.
“Mister Wu, we dared not have any ideas, we just wanted to have some fun. We were blind that we had offended you today. As long as you are magnanimous and let us go, we will not appear in your sight again.”
The leader approached Wu Chi carefully, a cold sweat still on his forehead, he begged for mercy.
“No plans?”
His eyes turned indifferent, Wu Chi’s hand fell on the hilt of his sword and said calmly, “So you’re useless then? Why should I keep you alive?”
As soon as he said this, these men were scared to death.
“We’re useful! Mister Wu, we didn’t have any thoughts on the sword. We just wanted to get some information and see if we could reap some benefits from the current situation.”
“Who asked you to gather the information?” Wu Chi was moved and he asked.
“Luo Kun, the disciple of Tian Shan.” Exposed by Wu Chi, they had nothing to hide anymore and answered honestly.
“Not only us, but many people have also been bought over by Luo Kun. We were just inquiring for information, these people would definitely make a move after Zhou Yuanting’s burial.”
“Luo Kun…” Wu Chi repeated the name and fell silent.
In fact, Wu Chi had expected this outcome since the first day he saw Luo Kun, but what he didn’t expect was that their actions would be this swift and ruthless.
Looking at Wu Chi carefully, the man quickly added, “Of course, we will help you since we meet you today, Mister Wu. As long as you say a word, we will never back down no matter what you ask us to do.”
“Never mind. I was almost slaughtered by that girl of Zhou’s family just now. Why don’t you kill her for me?”
“…”
Sweating profusely, they hastily shaked their heads.
To kill Miss Zhou at the Shadow Sword Villa? That must be a joke! If you wanted to die, you should find a better way to do so.
Wu Chi looked at them disappointedly, he pouted his lips and said.
“How about killing Luo Kun instead?”
“Please don’t play jokes on us, Mister Wu!”
The fingerprints on his face still visible, the leader said with a bitter smile, “We are just some insignificant characters. All we can do is follow other’s instructions, even if we want to get the Shadow, we don’t have the strength to fight for it.”
Rolling his eyes, Wu Chi yawned and said while laughing, “Okay, don’t act pitiful with me! Relax, I clearly know my own ability, the Shadow is not what I can touch either.”
Wu Chi stood up and continued, “I told you earlier that I came here to eat and drink for free. I don’t care what you’re going to do! Just don’t drag me into this mess.”
Speaking of this, Wu Chi’s voice suddenly turned cold and threatened them.
“Of course, I can’t afford to provoke Luo Kun either. But, it’s not difficult to take the lives of yours too. What do you think?”
Before these men could give him an answer, Wu Chi added, “You should know what to do! Now, get out of here!”
Looking at these men crawling out of the yard, Wu Chi scratched his head and gave a wry smile.
“Miss Zhou, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but there’s nothing I can do!”
…
It’s been a long time since Wu Chi had woken up so early, and after accompanying Zhou Boyan to practice the Shadow Sword Technique, he noticed that the sun had just risen.
“Let’s take a break. You can take a rest and use the morning sun to temper your body.”
Looking at the sky, Zhou Boyan calmly put down her sword and motioned Wu Chi to stop.
“Ah?” After a pause, Wu Chi stopped and excitedly asked.
“Are we done? Can I go back now?”
“What?” Slightly frowning, Zhou Boyan shook her head and said, “My father said that every morning when the sun had just risen, the spiritual energy is at its strongest, so you should take this opportunity to practice.”
“Are you for real?” Half-believing and half-doubtful, he looked at Zhou Boyan and asked, “Then why don’t you practice?”
“I’ve already stepped into the Transcendent Mortal realm, so this period means nothing to me.”
“…” Wu Chi became speechless. He received a huge blow!
Wu Chi reluctantly sat cross-legged. Having been stuck in the Marrow Cleansing realm for a long time, whether this statement was true or not, there was no harm in practicing for a while.
When Wu Chi opened his eyes, Zhou Boyan had already prepared breakfast and placed it on the stone table in the pavilion, she was waiting for Wu Chi.
“This treatment is good.”
Standing up, Wu Chi looked at these meals with great interest. They were the perfect combination in terms of appearance, aroma and taste; the fragrant of the food can make anyone uncontrollably droll, Wu Chi not being the exception.
“Let’s eat together and continue the sword practice after that.”
When Wu Chi had arrived at the table, Zhou Boyan picked up the dish and started eating.
“You haven’t eaten yet?” Feeling a bit moved, Wu Chi asked in surprise.
He had been practicing for almost two hours, and the meal time had long since passed. It was very considerate of her to prepare breakfast for him, but how come she hadn’t eaten yet?
“You’re here to help me with my sword practice so I should wait for you.” Zhou Boyan didn’t think much on this topic, and said casually.
Although it was only a simple sentence, Wu Chi’s heart was still warmed by her words.
“By the way, I watched your practice. Have you been stuck in the Marrow Cleansing stage for a long time?” Zhou Boyan seemed to have thought up something, she put down her dish and asked.
“For almost three years, I feel that I’m close to achieving a breakthrough, but something seems to be missing.” When it came to this fact, Wu Chi was somewhat depressed.
“You have a good talent, but your foundation is unstable. You didn’t lay a good foundation at the beginning, so achieving a breakthrough must be difficult due to your unstable foundation.”
Zhou Boyan nodded her head and agreed with him, “I will have someone bring a tempering elixir to you. If you take the elixir and practice every morning, you should be able to break through.”
“Petty woman, why do you suddenly treat me well?” After some hesitation, Wu Chi asked.
Zhou Boyan said in a cold voice with a harumph, “You said that I am a petty woman so it’s natural that I wanted something from you. If you don’t try your best when you practice sword with me later, I’ll have another reason to tell your senior brother.”
Wu Chi knew that he had said something wrong again. He smiled and dared not talk any more. He quietly ate the dish in his hand.
“Let’s begin when you’re ready. Don’t try to fool me.”
“…but I’m not full yet.”
“When it was the time to eat, you kept talking nonsense. Now you say that you want to eat? Sorry, it’s too late.”
“…”
“Miss Zhou, we can’t continue like this.”
In the past six hours, Wu Chi had thoroughly familiarized himself with this sword technique, but the more familiar he was, the more suspicious he became.
“What’s wrong?” Zhou Boyan asked.
“I always have a weird feeling about this sword technique. The sword technique isn’t that excellent itself and now that we are more familiar with the sword technique, we have to find a way to break through, else, we can hardly get any effect from practicing no matter how hard we try.”
Although Wu Chi was lazy, his talent in the sword was apparent, and he soon realized the problems of this sword technique.
“How do you want to practice?” Thinking about it, Zhou Boyan actually agreed with Wu Chi, but right now, she couldn’t find a solution to break through this sword technique either.
“I remember you said that this sword technique doesn’t depend on the form, but on the intent of the sword?” Wu Chi recalled something and asked again.
“Yes.” Nodding her head, Zhou Boyan explained.
“At the beginning, Dad told me that the essence of the Shadow Sword Technique lies within the intent of the sword. Only when we truly grasp the sword intent can we comprehend the Shadow Sword Technique.”
“That’s right.” Wu Chi nodded his head after hearing that and continued.
“The Shadow Sword Technique we are practicing now is only the stance, not the intent of the sword! If we want to break through, we must go in accordance with the sword’s intent, otherwise, even ten years of practice will not have any effect.”
After hearing this, Zhou Boyan hesitated for a moment, and then explained, “In fact, the Shadow Sword Technique needs the help of the Shadow to be truly comprehend. If we want to comprehend the intent of the sword, I’m afraid we have to resort to using this divine sword.
“That should be right. Instead of wasting time like this, you might as well use the Shadow to feel the intent directly.”
“No.” Shaking her head, Zhou Boyan helplessly explained, “My cultivation is insufficient. I can’t get the sword to recognize me as its master, so I can’t bring out the sword intent from it. What’s more, there are many people who are coveting the Shadow. Even I can’t easily enter the Sword Storing Pavilion , as to not give others the clue about the sword’s whereabouts and a chance to slip it away.”
Speaking of this, Wu Chi remembered what Zhou Boyan had said before that practicing the Shadow Sword Technique was one of the conditions for this sword to recognize its master.
“If the sword intent can only be felt from the Shadow, then isn’t it impossible to try comprehending the sword intent at all? Then what we’ve said before was nonsense?”
“Using the Shadow with the Shadow Sword Technique was just a shortcut to gain the sword’s recognition! In fact, if you want to refine this sword, you’d have to bear the impact of the sword’s intent. If your cultivation is not enough, then you cannot refine the sword. However, if you do know the Shadow Sword Technique before, you could directly make the Shadow recognize you as its master.”
Zhou Boyan did not want to hide anything, and explained everything.
“Was it also the idea of Master Zhou to practice the Shadow Sword Technique in order to gain the sword’s recognition?” Wu Chi had guessed the former master’s thoughts.
“Yes! Six months ago, my dad had a premonition that he’d face danger. Before he died, he taught me the Shadow Sword Technique, so that I can get the recognition of this sword. Unfortunately, my father is no longer here before I can grasp the sword technique clearly.” Speaking of this, Zhou Boyan couldn’t help but tear up.
Zhou Yuanting was heavily injured after he had killed his enemy and returned to Shadow Sword Villa. After killing his enemy, he was badly injured, and finally succumbed to the injury. He had died before he had time to make the proper arrangements after returning to Shadow Sword Villa.
If not, the Shadow Sword Villa would not be in such a predicament right now.