Chương 19: Meng Chuan's Cultivation Path
Meng Dajiang looked at his son and thought about the battles at the Demon-Slaying Meet two days ago. He understood. Although his son was still young, it was indeed time for him to be independent.
"Before Meng Chuan cultivates a Godfiend body, bring him to me to get the Godfiend Jade Marrow Liquid." Fairy Meng exhorted.
"Yes," replied Meng Dajiang.
That drop of Godfiend Jade Marrow Liquid was incomparably precious.
Even for geniuses from some ancient Godfiend family clans in the imperial capital, they were unable to obtain a drop of Godfiend Jade Marrow Liquid to forge their Godfiend foundation. Generally speaking, only one-in-a-century geniuses would receive intense grooming by an ancient Godfiend family clan. For Godfiend family clans with limited heritage, how could they possibly bet everything on one child like the Meng family?
"Meng Chuan, you can ask me if you have any questions regarding your cultivation," said Fairy Meng with a smile. "You can also talk to me if you encounter any trouble."
"Grandaunt." Meng Chuan immediately said, "I do have something I am rather perplexed about."
"Let me guess. How do you reach the next stage for saber arts?" said Fairy Meng with a smile.
"Yes." Meng Chuan nodded. "I've asked the dean at the Dao Academy. He only said that he figured out Saber Force by creating a top-notch saber art."
"That's indeed a method." Fairy Meng nodded as she looked at Meng Dajiang. "Dajiang, how did you break through?"
Meng Dajiang was taken aback as he reminisced. He said, "Back when I served in the military, each member of a team was delegated with particular tasks. I was responsible for holding back demons. Therefore, I mainly cultivated three saber moves. I stayed at Qinyang Pass for ten years. I later returned to our hometown and traveled the surrounding prefectures along the way. I happened to encounter a battle between a woman and a demon."
Meng Dajiang looked at Meng Chuan and smiled. "That was your mother."
Meng Chuan's heart trembled. Mom?
"Your mother was very pretty. I will never forget your mother's figure fighting demons under the sun. Pumped with energy back then, I rushed forward without any thought and used my saber art to easily hold back demons. My saber art felt especially ethereal and extremely easy. I actually figured out Saber Force just like that," said Meng Dajiang with a smile. "The first time I met your mother was the day I figured out Saber Force. How coincidental."
"Dajiang accumulated ten years of experience on the battlefield before breaking through that very day," said Fairy Meng. "Dajiang simply cultivated three moves, while the Mirror Lake Dao Academy dean created a top-notch saber art. Your dean focused on breadth, and Dajiang focused on depth. Neither one is better. In fact, when it comes to holding back enemies, your father is better."
Meng Chuan nodded as well. "I've read Godfiend biographies. Regarding Godfiend Deng Feng, he trained his saber alone in the deep mountains. He drew his saber ten thousand times every day, for twenty years. The moment he left the mountain, he killed a Impervious realm cultivator in one strike while being at the Marrow Cleansing realm."
"That's right. To be able to achieve that feat, that one strike would have exceeded the realm of Saber Force. He is a perfect example of depth, just that his talent is much higher than your father's. That saber strike was so stunning he was directly recruited by Archean Mountain. There's no need for him to go through a test," said Fairy Meng. "However, having no guidance meant a fatal flaw in his saber arts—he only knew a single move! If others understood him completely and targeted his weaknesses, he would have been in trouble. Of course, he was recruited by Archean Mountain the moment he showed the tip of the iceberg, so he quickly fixed that weakness. He became even more powerful, becoming truly invincible in that era."
Meng Chuan nodded slightly.
"I spent a long time at Calm Sea Pass and received guidance from King Calm Sea," said Fairy Meng. "It's hard to estimate how strong King Calm Sea is; he has an extremely high status in Archean Mountain. In terms of strength, he is definitely not inferior to the Godfiend Deng Feng that you mentioned."
Meng Chuan obviously knew that King Calm Sea was very powerful.
In Eastcalm Prefecture, ordinary mortals would go to Qinyang Pass for military service! As for the Godfiends of Eastcalm Prefecture, most of them went to Calm Sea Pass. The commander at Calm Sea Pass was King Calm Sea. Even the imperial family of the Great Zhou Dynasty respected him greatly, directly conferring him the title of king.
"King Calm Sea once told me"—Fairy Meng looked at Meng Chuan and continued—"that cultivation requires one to follow one's intuition and follow what one likes the most before forging forward. You will go further and further. When you look back after a few decades, you would've far surpassed your former self. I'll share this saying with you as well. Follow your heart and proceed down what you like the most."
"Okay." Meng Chuan nodded.
…
Meng Chuan returned to the Mirror Lake Meng Manor training grounds. He ate some fruit alone as he sat there, contemplating.
King Calm Sea's words of advice to my grandaunt and the fourth commandment out of the nine commandments I figured out—"Novice and Grandmaster"—share some similarities, Meng Chuan mused to himself. Since I've to follow my intuition and do what my heart desires, I'll be able to put more heart into cultivation and enjoy it. This will deepen my love for it. I'll even have a chance of becoming a grandmaster.
After listening to the dean, Dad, and Grandaunt, I know how I should be cultivating next by following the nine cultivation commandments. Meng Chuan already had an idea. However, he still had to listen to his seniors who had achieved Force for validation.
Sixth of the nine cultivation commandments: Turn what you learn into a system. This way, there will not be any fatal flaws. What decides the life and death of an expert typically depends on his most fatal weakness! As long as he has a clear weakness, it would be targeted in the future. If he is restrained, he will lose his life! One failure will be equivalent to losing your life despite the hundred victories gained from using one skill to eat your fill.
Godfiend Deng Feng was only good with one move! Grandaunt also said that Godfiend Deng Feng had a fatal flaw. Fortunately, he was immediately recruited into Archean Mountain which made up for his shortcomings.
As a saber user, there are only three aspects—killing enemies, defense, and escaping. These three moves form a system. Next, I'll focus on these three paths.
Fifth commandment: Progress in the day, change over the months, success would ultimately come.
The ancients once said, "Piling up small quantities of earth daily, you can create a mountain with time. The mountain makes wind possible, which in turn brings in the rain. Channeling small streams and connecting them, you can create a lake—which in turn will bring about aquatic life. Continuously doing good deeds for people and being kind to them—no matter how small each deed may be—you'll have cultivated the heart of a saint. Take a few steps every day and you'll finish a journey of a thousand miles. The ocean is but an amalgamation of rivers. The mythical unicorn can't reach heaven in one leap. An old horse that does not cease running will bring you home. If you give up, you won't even break a piece of rotten wood. Persevering will allow one to carve gold into shape. Earthworms have no bones and claws but they can go up and down the earth. Hermit crabs—with their six legs and two pincers—can't even make their own homes without taking over holes already made by snakes and eels."
But there is a fatal flaw.
Even if progress is made daily, if one walks a huge circle, they will still end up in the same spot! Walking the wrong direction will not bring me to the destination a thousand miles away.
It's the same for cultivation as well… If there's no clear direction, and all one does is cultivate, it's very likely to be led astray. It's also possible that I'll just be going in circles. Even if it takes ten or twenty years, nothing will come out of it. This is also one of the reasons why Godfiend Deng Feng's cultivation in most saber arts failed.
Many juniors diligently cultivated saber arts like Godfiend Deng Feng! However, many of them met with failure—most giving up midway! That was because they had the guidance of their Dao Academies and the guidance of their elders. Who could ignore the interference from the outside world and waste eight hours every day to practice a single move?
Even if one really ignored all disturbances and cultivated only one move, it would be normal to end up going astray.
Of course, there were also successful cases. That led to the saying, "one skill to eat your fill."
I need a clear direction to ensure I'm progressing. By heading forward without any turns or detours, I'll go further every day. In the end, I'll be able to truly reach my destination a thousand miles away.
Why do I like the swift saber? It's because it's fast! So the direction I can confirm is speed!
…
Training grounds.
"Young Master, shall I begin?" A guard stood on a tree branch with a crossbow aimed at the ground.
"Begin." Meng Chuan stood still.
Swoosh.
The guard pulled the trigger and an arrow immediately shot downwards.
Meng Chuan instantly drew his saber and slashed out.
Pfft!
The flying arrow was sliced into two and a saber beam cut across the thick tree, leaving a mark on it.
As long as the mark left on the tree by the saber beam continues moving upwards, it will mean that my saber is getting faster. I will be able to slice the flying arrow in half earlier!
Killing enemies, defense, and escaping.
He only practiced a single move for killing. Following his intuition and what he liked the most, he chose the Saber Drawing Stance! He enjoyed the silence when he drew his sword and the hum when it sliced through the wind! Such a saber move was so beautiful that he was enamored by it every single time. He found the sound of wind being sliced through more pleasant the faster he drew his saber.
He only practiced one move in pursuit of speed!
Speed. He liked it since he was young.
The faster the better.
Swish. The guard on the tree shot another arrow again. The advantage of crossbows was that their shots were stable. Each arrow's speed could be guaranteed to be uniform! Only by doing so would Meng Chuan be able to confirm that the speed of his saber was increasing. Not only was he pursuing speed, but also accuracy. In that split second, he needed to split the flying arrows with one strike.
Every day, Meng Chuan cultivated the first stance—Saber Drawing Stance! He would draw his saber and strike the flying arrows for six hours, nearly eight thousand times.
The Saber Drawing Stance originated from the Falling Leaf Saber's Saber Drawing Stance. It was part of the syllabus decided by Archean Mountain for all of the Great Zhou Dynasty's Dao Academies because its moves were perfect.
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