The Art of War by Sun Tzu (Part 2)

  He unexpectedly met an old Taoist priest, and unexpectedly saw many Taoist classics. What was unexpected was that these classics recorded many annotations from previous Taoist masters. These things were really useful for Lin Heng at this time, especially some places that were different from what he had understood before, which broadened his horizons and gave him a feeling of sudden enlightenment.

  In the Taoist temple, Lin Heng's three-foot-long green sword flashed out with a cold light, its sharp blade cutting through the air in front of him and making a hissing sound. With a flourish, he drew a beautiful sword pattern, and then sheathed his long sword with a "shua" sound. He took a deep breath and asked the old Taoist priest who was watching from the side: "Master, what do you think of my swordsmanship?"

  "It's very sharp, but a bit too sharp!" The old Taoist smiled slightly, and his skin, like an ancient tree, seemed to be grinning. Lin Heng immediately understood what he meant. As a Taoist disciple, although he didn't understand martial arts, he could interpret the sword technique with his knowledge of Taoism. The Quanzhen Sword Technique that Lin Heng had just used was indeed full of killing intent, but it didn't match the profound principles of Taoism, so the old Taoist said that this sword technique was too sharp.

  "The Quanzhen Swordsmanship originated from the sword array, it should be majestic and powerful, but later on, the Patriarch of the Quanzhen Sect became a monk and transformed this swordsmanship into a Taoist sword art. Although I have practiced the Quanzhen Swordsmanship with great vigor, it seems that I still haven't grasped the underlying Taoist meaning within."

  Looking at the long sword in his hand, Lin Heng silently pondered, recalling the name of the sword technique to seek a new understanding of this Quanzhen sword technique by combining it with the profound meaning of Taoism.

  The first move of the Quan Zhen Sword Method is "Zhang Fan Ju Zhang", which comes from the sentence "Wu Li Tan Tou Feng Yu Ping, Zhang Fan Ju Zhang Jiao Chuan Qing". The meaning of this sentence is that the wind has gradually calmed down, the sails are raised, and the boat moves forward with the help of the wind, making the person rowing feel lighter. The meaning is very clear, it's about borrowing power, using this move to borrow momentum when striking out.

  The second move, "Rou Yao Bu Shi", also comes from the poem "Hu Xi Sha", which means letting go and flowing freely. That is, after borrowing power, when exerting the force of the incoming energy. The following five moves are all based on this foundation, gradually expanding until finally it becomes a vast expanse of waves, with a force like a thousand pounds.

  Lin Heng's swordsmanship at this time clearly did not reach the realm of the sword moves, but it was not difficult to understand, and yet when he actually used it, it had a completely different meaning.

  At the reminder of the old Taoist, he tried to incorporate his own understanding into the sword moves and let the old Taoist point out his mistakes. In this way, with someone constantly reminding him, Lin Heng was able to correct his mistakes in time, which allowed him to quickly gain new insights. He re-practiced the seven-style sword technique of the first sword. When he used the first sword's seven styles again, it was completely different from before. But Lin Heng knew that this time he should be right, because using the first sword felt very light and comfortable.

  With the experience of the first sword, Lin Heng immediately started the second sword and asked the old Taoist to help himself. However, although the old Taoist was knowledgeable in Taoism, he didn't understand martial arts after all. Therefore, he could only point out some mistakes but couldn't explain them with martial arts theories. He could only tell Lin Heng the Taoist terms, as for how to understand them, it still depended on Lin Heng's own comprehension.

  For over a month, Lin Heng had been studying the Quanzhen Swordsmanship. He combined his knowledge gained from Quanzhen teachings, the old Daoist's guidance, and what he learned from books, summarizing and practicing step by step. Now, he finally has some semblance of it. In the words of the old Daoist, your current swordsmanship has finally taken on a Daoist appearance.

  This progress made Lin Heng happy, because he could clearly feel that his current swordsmanship was very powerful. To say the least, you wouldn't believe it, but before, his swordsmanship looked very strong, anyone who saw it would have this evaluation, because from an outsider's perspective, his swordsmanship was indeed full of killing intent. But now, his swordsmanship looked much more calm and peaceful, with each move connecting smoothly, without any openings, but that sharp killing intent had disappeared. However, Lin Heng knew that the killing intent hadn't disappeared, it was just hidden within the sword moves. If anyone dared to underestimate his current swordsmanship, they would definitely suffer a great loss.

  Through his understanding of the Quanzhen Swordsmanship, Lin Heng gained insight into the profound Taoist knowledge of the old Daoist. He immediately showed great respect and began to learn from him about Taoist knowledge, asking questions about things he didn't understand, and seeking clarification on points that were previously unclear. Even regarding martial arts knowledge, he sought to ask a thing or two, to see if the old Daoist had his own understanding.

  Although the old Taoist couldn't solve all his problems, many of his doubts were dispelled by the old Taoist, who also told him: "In Taoist cultivation, one should act naturally and stop naturally. As long as everything goes smoothly, that's enough. If you deliberately seek it, even if you make progress, you will eventually come to a halt."

  This sentence suddenly pointed out most of Lin Heng's doubts. When he was in the Quanzhen School, he was indeed obsessed, but as a Daoist cultivator, one cannot be obsessed. Therefore, although he made progress, he still had more doubts. Now, with just one sentence from the old Daoist, he let go of his obsession and all sorts of doubts were either thrown aside or naturally resolved, making him joyful and happy.

  In such days, Lin Heng unknowingly passed about half a year. On this day, he was cultivating his true energy under the moonlight. The thick true energy in his body was joyful and surging, running freely. Suddenly, his body moved slightly, and an inexplicable white light rose on his face, disappearing instantly. Not long after, his body moved again, and a flash of white light appeared on his face... This happened seven times before he regained calmness. However, if you looked closely, you would discover that Lin Heng's face had an additional hint of mysterious radiance.

  "Ah……” Lin Heng stood up, looked up at the sky and let out a long whistle. His whistling was clear and loud, like waves crashing against the shore, endless and continuous. After about half an hour, Lin Heng stopped whistling, his face filled with joy: "Haha…… I didn't expect to gain so much in just half a year, and unknowingly entered the fifth layer of the Nameless Cultivation Method."

  The fifth layer of the Wang family's nameless meritorious method, which is also the realm of the small circulation of the twelve regular channels. The true Qi automatically circulates through the channels and meridians at all times, constantly increasing and accumulating.

  When he was in the Laughing Pride, Lin Heng was only at the second layer of the boundary. By the time he reached Shooting Eagle, he had broken through to the third layer. Before going up the mountain, he hadn't broken through to the fourth layer either. Today, he broke through to the fourth layer, where his true energy fully circulated through the twelve regular meridians. But what he didn't expect was that as soon as he broke through the fourth layer, he immediately entered the fifth layer, where his true energy circulated on its own, leaving him feeling astonished.

  Actually, this is not impossible for Lin Heng. To know that he is a reborn person, his spiritual body is originally stronger than ordinary people. Before, he couldn't break through because the true energy was insufficient. Now that he has broken through to the fourth layer, the true energy is already sufficient, so naturally he enters the fifth layer.

  These things, Lin Heng had thought about them before, but suddenly reaching this level, he was a bit unbelievable for a moment. Think about it, the Five Absolutes are also at this level, they just have stronger insight, true energy and experience than Lin Heng, but in short, they are all the same. But how old are they, and how old is Lin Heng? So, he was shocked. However, he seemed to be overjoyed and forgot that the Five Absolutes had also obtained the Nine Yin True Classics, and it's likely that at this time, they have already entered the realm of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.

  Excited for half a day, Lin Heng finally calmed down. He let out a breath and with a leap in the air, he landed inside the Taoist temple. It was deep into the night, and the old Taoist priest was fast asleep. Lin Heng didn't want to disturb him, but since he had been here for more than half a year, he also wanted to go out and take a look.

  Thinking of the old Taoist's teachings for half a year, Lin Heng sighed silently, then spread out paper and wrote a farewell letter. He left with his long sword on his back. What he didn't know was that the old Taoist woke up soon after he left. Actually, when Lin Heng let out a long whistle earlier, the old Taoist had already woken up, but he didn't want to disturb Lin Heng's enthusiasm, so he pretended to be asleep.

  "Such talent, truly rare! Perhaps this young one can break through to the legendary Innate Realm!" As he gazed at Lin Heng's gradually disappearing figure, the old Daoist sighed and muttered to himself, then reached under his bed and pulled out a book, gently stroking it in his hand. By the moonlight, you might be able to see that on the cover of this book were written four large characters - Nine Yin True Classics!

  That's right, this is the Nine Yin Scripture. No one knows that there is a copy of the Nine Yin Scripture in the Taoist temple on this nameless mountain, and it's even a complete version of the Nine Yin Scripture. Moreover, no one will know the identity of this old Taoist priest. He is none other than a descendant of Huang Zong, who survived by chance.

  "Grandfather, this Nine Yin Manual of yours is really harmful, but I truly..."

  The old Taoist's voice grew softer and softer until it was no longer audible. At this point, nobody knew what the old Taoist was saying or thinking about except for himself.

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