Chapter 68: Sword Intent and Sword Technique

  Guo Fei, in his entanglement with him, gradually rose to a spiritual enlightenment. His willow leaf knife method was biased towards cunning and sinister, while his own sword moves were biased towards agility and sharpness, walking the vast and righteous path.

  In the past, Guo Fei always thought that speed was the key to victory, and his moves tended to be strange and obscure, without considering the combination of swordsmanship and sword intent. After verifying with Lin Shan's willow leaf knife method, Guo Fei found that he had strayed from the right path.

  Wen Shu once said that the sword is a noble and sacred object, its meaning is pure and its spirit is clear. Swordsmanship must be combined with the intention of the sword to achieve the highest state of unity between man, sword, and swordsmanship. The Flowing Light Swordsmanship is to cultivate a bright and upright energy in swift sword movements, like the radiant sun, sharp yet righteous. This is what suits oneself, taking a dark path is the intent of an assassination tool, not suitable for the Xuan Tie Sword.

  Guo Fei suddenly understood this point, and his state of mind changed abruptly. Although the sword moves did not change, the momentum was completely new. The attack direction changed from a direct charge to a radiant and all-encompassing one, like sunlight illuminating everything. Each move contained a vast and powerful aura, unlike the cunning and tricky moves he had used earlier. The Xuan Tie Sword emitted a soft hum, as if it were rejoicing and celebrating. At the moment when Guo Fei's swordsmanship reached its peak and his will merged with the sword, a faint white light appeared on the sword, suddenly shining brightly.

  Guo Fei suddenly felt that he had truly become a sword soldier, born for the sword and living with it. His body was vast and his mind was broad, he was like the sun shining on all things, looking down on all things, with one sword in hand, conquering the world.

  "Hum, hum, hum!" No matter how agile Lin Xuan's willow-leaf knife was, in the midst of Guo Fei's xuan iron sword dance, it couldn't find a gap to insert even a single thread of knife energy, every move being sealed off. On the contrary, as Guo Fei's swordsmanship unfolded, the intense and shapeless sword energy violently struck the continuous knife shadows of the willow-leaf knife, instantly turning them into scattered clouds that dispersed in all directions like fine rain.

  Lin Shan fell back and retreated, avoiding Guo Fei's invisible sword energy. The hard-packed earth beneath her feet suddenly cracked open with a series of fissures.

  "Hmph! As expected of the young mistress, you have a good eye for things. You actually grasped the sword intent during our duel, you're strong, I lost!" Lin Shanfei retreated and stepped down.

  "Boom!" Below, there was a burst of applause and cheers. This competition was extremely exciting. Many people who watched it just to see the excitement were also thrilled and cheered loudly.

  Ding Guo Gong Zhao An Yu's eyes showed a hint of approval, and he nodded slightly at Zhao Xue. A faint excitement appeared in Zhao Xue's calm smile, and his body even trembled slightly.

  Lin Shan's father, Lin Tian Nan, looked thoughtful and his gaze at Guo Fei deepened. He used to look down on military officers, thinking they were not cultivators, but just a group of rough men, whose lack of perceptivity would prevent them from going far on the path of cultivation. But Guo Fei's appearance changed this view.

  Guo Fei defeated Lin Shan, and in the following matches, there were hardly any chances to make a move again because many people directly conceded. In the end, he didn't encounter masters like Leng Jian, Zhao Ba, or Lin Zhen, so Guo Fei entered the second round with ten consecutive victories.

  From now on, Guo Fei's reputation directly stood alongside the young elites of Heishi County such as Leng Dao, Zhao Ba and Lin Zhen. Many people were disappointed that they didn't meet in the first round, leaving a deep regret. More people looked forward to knowing who would be the winner in the next duel.

  However, what excited Guo Fei the most was not the ten consecutive victories, but the fusion of sword intent and swordsmanship he gained from his duel with Lin Shan. It seems that not only do cultivators choose martial skills suitable for themselves, but they also need to choose weapons that match their martial skills, achieving a perfect match in order to unleash astonishing combat power.

  Under the urge of swordsmanship, the Xuan Tie Sword seemed to be even more agile. Guo Fei felt that the realm of intent and sword was actually using the intention of swordsmanship to catalyze the evolution of sword intent, which was implicitly pointed out in the book "Qi Dao Lian Shu", although it was not explicitly stated, it was clear that the author was also speculating and exploring without concrete practice.

  Guo Fei knew that this was just the first step, and the road ahead would be longer. After all, this set of Flowing Light Swordsmanship was only a sword technique that Wen Shu practiced when he was young, and it shouldn't be considered a profound martial skill.

  "Guo Fei, I'm treating you to dinner tonight and introducing you to a few friends!" Just as Guo Fei was pondering and summarizing the day's battle experience, Zhao Xue quietly appeared beside him with a smile on her face.

  "Oh. The young mistress has finally decided to treat me to a big meal, I've been craving for food these past few days." Guo Fei said with a smile.

  "Today is not the county master treating us as guests, but I'm inviting you to Linjia Fort to eat game." A person next to him smiled and flashed out from the crowd. This person was Lin Shan.

  Behind Lin Shan, a man with a golden spear on his back was following closely behind him. His build was similar to Guo Fei's, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his face had a dark red complexion, as if he had been living in the wilderness for a long time.

  "Come, let me introduce you. This is Lin Zhen, Lin Shan's older brother! He's known as the Invincible Golden Gun, thanks to his exceptional marksmanship skills." Zhao Xue said with a smile.

  "Hello!" Guo Fei nodded enthusiastically in response.

  "Good!" Lin Zhen replied coldly, saying only one word.

  "My brother is like that, very introverted and rarely speaks, don't take it personally." Lin Shan hastily said, fearing Guo Fei would misunderstand.

  "It doesn't matter!" Guo Fei smiled lightly and said indifferently.

  Lin's Manor was not within the city of Heishi County, but rather in a mountain stronghold fifty kilometers northwest of the city. The manor was built on the side of a mountain, enclosing a hill with three layers of tall stone walls, and on top of the hill were rows of buildings, pavilions, and towers. When Guo Fei and his companions arrived at the manor in a large horse-drawn carriage, it was already late in the day, and the sky was darkening. From afar, the lights of the entire hill twinkled like stars, resembling a silver dragon standing upright, looking magnificent and beautiful.

  "Guo Fei, you're in luck today. The Lin family's hunting team is the only one that dares to venture deep into the Black Rock Highlands to hunt for rare and exotic game. Last time I had a Pearl Chicken, it was cooked by them and tasted absolutely delicious. And there are also small animals like Green Deer and Green Monkey, all very tasty." Zhao Xue introduced with a smile.

  "Don't worry, County Princess, our hunting team should be back today and will probably bring back a lot of game, you'll have a good meal."

  The horse carriage entered the Lin family's mansion and stopped at a small square inside the third gate. Several people got off the carriage and immediately sensed that something was amiss, as dozens of people had gathered in the square, some of whom were injured. Upon seeing Lin Zhen and Lin Shan get off the carriage, they rushed over hastily.

  "Uncle Liu, what happened?" Lin Shan looked over and asked in surprise.

  "Reporting to Big Sister, today the Hunting Team lost three brothers!" A man in his 40s hastily came over to reply.

  "Impossible! Who dares to mess with our Lin family?" Lin Xuan was shocked and then said in a low voice, "What's the reason for this?"

  "For the sake of a single Blood Orchid!" The man's eyes scanned, saying in a low voice. Judging from his gaze, it was clear that they had failed to plunder the treasure and even lost men.

  Apart from Guo Fei, Lin Zhen, Lin Shan and Zhao Xue's eyes lit up when they heard the mention of the Millennium Blood Ganoderma, their bodies involuntarily trembling slightly.

  Guo Fei didn't know what it was, but it was obviously an extremely precious object.

  "Have you reported it to my father?" Lin Shan asked somewhat anxiously.

  "The old master has not returned yet!" The man bowed and said.

  "What are you still dazing about, gather the men and set off!" Lin Shan roared like a small female tiger. Her hand pressed on the willow-leaf knife at her waist, with an intimidating posture.

  "This...". The man looked at Lin Zhen and nodded repeatedly, unsure of what to do.

  "Don't be in a hurry, state your situation clearly!" Lin Zhen said calmly, rarely speaking up.

  "Yes. Young master!" The man composed himself and glanced at Zhao Xue and Guo Fei, unsure whether to speak.

  "It doesn't matter, the county lord and Brother Guo are all our own people!"

  "The other side had eight people, seven of whom were fully wrapped in bronze armor, their true faces obscured. One person wore a bamboo hat, and judging from the figure and voice, it should be a weak woman. Based on my many years of hunting beast experience, this person's breath does not seem human, should be a transformed demon. But my demon-tracking plate didn't show anything."

  "This Blood Spirit Mushroom was hidden in a dark cave, extremely difficult to discover. If it wasn't for the other party taking it out at that time, and not wrapping it up in time, its fragrant aroma and misty red fog would have attracted us, and we wouldn't have discovered it. Obviously, these eight people are extremely familiar with the Black Rock Highlands. Among the eight, one big man's cultivation is extremely high, and as soon as he saw our faces, he killed three of our brothers who went to capture him, broke through our encirclement, injured several people, and we realized things weren't going well, so we abandoned our plan to ambush and kill them, and immediately retreated back." The man explained in a low voice.