60: Chapter 59 The Bailiff’s Sword Play 60: Chapter 59 The Bailiff’s Sword Play Jin City was embroiled in a storm, fierce as fire.

Hou Niao, however, was submerged in his Soul Realm, unable to extricate himself, for he had fortuitously encountered yet another Sword Soul!

This Sword Soul was much weaker than the first, but to him, it remained an insurmountable entity.

He named this Sword Soul “Sword Two” in honor of the assistance that “Sword One” had provided him.

Sword Two’s Soul Body strength was significantly greater than that of Sword One, which is why he had only encountered it now, but its understanding of swordsmanship was incomparable to Sword One.

Hou Niao and this sword, receiving three strikes and only able to return one, were at an absolute disadvantage; however, it wasn’t entirely unmanageable—he could still barely struggle on.

If he used the same methods against Sword One, relying on the strength of his Soul Body to prevail, it would likely not be difficult to overcome this challenge.

It was merely a matter of enduring and using the Soul Body Energy to seize an opportunity.

But he was unwilling to do so.

Only a month or so had elapsed between his two encounters with the Sword Souls.

If he resolved this one, he had no idea when the next would appear, which was detrimental to his training in swordsmanship.

Thus, he decided to defeat this Sword Two in an upright and honorable manner, regardless of how much time it took; he would pause here and not proceed further for now.

The process was arduous, yet joyful.

The concepts of Quanzhen Sword Skills he had recently learned could be calmly tested here in real combat, and this was precisely what he desired.

Even if doing so slightly affected the efficacy of Energy Induction in his external body, he considered it a necessary sacrifice.

The struggle was strenuous.

As soon as he faced Sword Two, he would fall into a disadvantage, fighting back desperately using various methods.

He might hold out for some time, but inevitably, he was struck in critical areas, theoretically signalling death; however, he would not use this opportunity to trade injury for injury but would regroup and start anew, until such critical blows had been repeated dozens of times, and his Soul Body Energy could no longer endure.

He might as well use Sword Two as his touchstone.

Three times a day, morning, noon, and evening, he would fight these life-and-death battles.

Having already stopped concerning himself with the concept of life and death, even when facing the Sword in the Soul Realm, he could dispassionately think of ways to break through, study the opponent’s moves, and consider how to avoid or minimize damage next time.

This method of sword training was quite unique, naturally arising in this special environment without any deliberate planning on his part.

To a normal person, when danger approaches, the first human reaction is to dodge, close one’s eyes, startle, possibly followed by regret, annoyance, resignation, or a surge of adrenaline willing one to risk life—all uncontrollable emotions.

These emotions and subconscious reactions are obstacles preventing humans from becoming stronger!

In terms of bearing arms, when the weapon strikes the body, these reactions are of no help but only cause more panic and confusion, depriving one of the best opportunities to introspect; of course, in reality, such introspection is futile because you’re about to die.

Being “veteran in battle” means having extensive combat experience, allowing one to shed these negative reactions and make the most correct, calm, and rational decisions even in the most critical moments!

This is the most crucial factor determining a warrior’s strength.

It is the same for cultivators.

When facing weapons, Magical Treasures, or Techniques, how many can still analyze the angle of the opponent’s weapon?

The function of the Magical Treasure?

The composition of the Techniques?

When you can do this, the battle becomes meaningful.

You will grow from it, rather than merely going through the motions without understanding anything.

The most meaningful help that Soul Realm combat provided Hou Niao was that it allowed him to observe his final reactions before death without blinking an eye or skipping a beat, thereby learning what actions were useless and which were purposeful.

With such experiences of death accumulating, naturally, he was able to make the correct response before the imminent arrival of death.

Counter-killing his opponent!

…

With a ‘clang’, a sword fell to the ground, accompanied by Wang Mian’s expression of despair.

In the courtyard were six people, five of whom were sunk in despair and helplessness.

None of them could withstand Hou Niao’s ten strikes even when Hou Niao was not in a slaughter mode.

If it were a real kill, it likely would have been a matter of two or three strikes!

This fact proved that Hou Niao’s strike at Tianxiang Building was not due to luck but was based on a solid foundation in swordsmanship; it was inevitable.

Jiang Nanying just scratched his head, “Brother Hou, with you like this, is there even a necessity for us to practice swordsmanship?”

Hou Niao was also at a loss for words, “I thought Quanzhen Sect was a Sword Cultivation Daoist Sect, isn’t it?”

Yu Guanglie, however, noticed something, “Brother Hou, haven’t you practiced any Techniques?”

Hou Niao nodded, “No, since stepping into the Energy Induction Realm, aside from the Six Consciousness, I have focused only on swordsmanship, neglecting everything else.

That’s how I have made some progress in swordsmanship.”

The group nodded in understanding.

That made sense; to focus on a single path without distractions is easy to say but hard to do.

Wang Mian felt this most keenly; he too was a passionate swordsman, but after entering the Energy Induction Realm, he found himself lost regarding the direction in battles.

The choice of direction in battle could essentially be boiled down to two aspects: specialization or versatility?

Specialization is certainly good, be it Extreme Sword or Extreme Skill, but for the Quanzhen Sect, Extreme Skill is unrealistic; no matter how extreme, it can’t surpass the Daoist Sects.

Therefore, the only option is Extreme Sword, which is also why Quanzhen Sect would eventually form this particular faction.

One issue with Extreme Sword is whether one can really achieve the extremity.

It’s a direction that heavily depends on talent; if one focuses on it but fails to reach a certain level, it would be a waste of time, accomplishing nothing.

The practice of balancing both magic and swordsmanship emphasizes versatility, aiming for a cooperative blend.

Though one might not reach perfection in a specific area, it’s possible to compensate through their combination.

There are several subdivisions within this, such as the Magic Sword Pulse that focuses more on sword than spell, and vice versa.

From there, countless combinations can arise…

Whether it’s the Sword Sect or the Magic Sword Pulse, the advantage of this faction is that you can always find a way to strengthen yourself.

If you hit a bottleneck in swordsmanship, you can learn several spells to enhance your power through different combinations; once you have learned enough spells, you can then improve your swordsmanship.

In this complementary manner, as the Realm improves, your strength can grow endlessly, because there’s always a new, more powerful spell to learn.

Since stepping into the Energy Induction Realm, Wang Mian had been vacillating between the path of the Extreme Sword and the integrative path of Magic Sword, still undecided.

This is a mental journey every cultivator must undergo.

Nobody is born knowing what is best for themselves; thinking is useless, and so is demonstrating determination.

The key is to experiment, to find your future direction in battle, and then devote a lifetime to practicing it.

Looking at Hou Niao, he genuinely admired this senior brother who, despite coming from the Daoism-prosperous Anhe Country, possessed such a gift in the Sword Dao,

“Brother Hou, you should be following the pure path of Ancient Extreme Sword, right?”