-Third peak, Seven Saber Severing Peaks-
Zhao Li was standing next to a tree watching the leaves fall slowly. He didn't do anything and was just standing there with his saber in his hands.
A leaf detached itself from one of the branches, it swayed left and right while falling down and dropped to ground in a few seconds.
" Do you know the difference between a dry leaf and a wet one?" He asked the people standing behind him.
Three men and two women, they were the core disciples of Sect. Even though they weren't as talented as the Holy Son, they were still geniuses for a first rate sect, all of them at early-stage Soul Fusion Realm.
One of the people, Huang Zudi who had reached the 4th level Seven Severing Saber and was just behind Zhao Li and elders , stepped forward.
" Senior brother , dry leaves burn faster than wet leaves." He didn't know why his Senior brother would ask such a simple question but he didn't question him and said what was on his mind.
" Hmm, that's true . Why do you think it burns faster?" Zhao Li turned to him and kept asking.
" Because wet leaves are wet? Water and Fire are opposite in nature and suppress each other." Huang Zudi was confused as to why his Senior brother was asking such questions which even a person who doesn't Cultivate can answer.
"Think outside of the five-elements and tell me." He didn't let him go.
Huang Zudi thought for a while, " Because the leaf is protected by water?" He knew he sounded stupid but that's all he could say.
" Good " Surprisingly he was praised for this simple answer! He thought that his Senior brother had cultivated too much and maybe suffered qi deviation making him dumb.
Ji Ruoxi, the second among the core disciples, came forward, " Senior brother, please clear our doubts." She didn't think that Zhao Li was just playing around with them.
" Don't think of water as just water, think that you're the leaf and the water is your Dao, then what would you say?"
Ji Ruoxi put herself in place of the leaf and imagined her Saber Dao covering her, " Senior brother, do you mean to say that it's our Dao that protects us?" But it was something she didn't understand, wasn't the Cultivators supposed to protect their Dao?
" That's true, you don't protect your Dao but you have to nurture it and let it grow and it'll become the tree that will always protect you from any storms in your life. When two Cultivators are equal in strength and techniques, what differentiate them is their Dao.
Take this for example, again a dry leaf and a wet leaf, which would touch the ground first?"
Huang Zudi replied faster, " It's the wet leaf obviously."
" Why? Because the water adds to its mass? Or is it because the water reduces the friction against the air?" Zhao Li kept on asking while giving hints.
Ji Ruoxi smiled, " It's both."
" Your Dao is the same, even if two Cultivators have the same talent and same starting line , the one whose Dao is better will reach his goal first because it gives you mass in terms of belief, belief in yourself. And it cuts through any obstacles that come in your path.
What you have to love the most in your life is your Dao, everything should be below it. You should care for it like it's your own child and let it grow , and it'll let you walk your path as far as you want. The farther you walk on your path, the stronger your Dao heart becomes. And a person with a strong Dao heart can even pull down the sky if he wishes to."
His words made all of their sparkle , it didn't seem like a stupid question anymore!
" Thanks for the guidance, Senior brother." All of them expressed their gratitude with a light bow.
It's the duty of Senior disciples to guide their juniors in their Cultivation, even Core disciples can benefit from the Direct disciples sometimes.
Zhao Li gave a light nod, " It's okay, I want all of you to reach great heights and not be bound by the illusion of Cultivation Realms, even though that's the base of any Cultivator, we practice Saber Dao which is one of the Grand Dao itself.
What you should focus on is not merely Cultivation but more on Saber arts. Even though the core technique of our Sect is great, you'll reach the end of it someday. ."
His words sounded unrealistic for them again, reaching the end of Seven Severing Saber? They never thought about it. What was there to focus on if they even reached the end of it somehow? Should they find a better Cultivation Technique?
Zhao Li could guess what they must be thinking, he shook his head " You're thinking in the wrong direction. Imagine Cultivation as a vast Infinite Ocean, then the Cultivation Technique would be the boats that let you cross the ocean slowly , but no matter how strong or durable a boat is , it'll reach its limit one day and you won't be able to go any further. What you need to do is learn to swim, so you can keep going as far as you want on your own without any help. Do you understand?"
All of them gave a light nod, they understood the concept but there was still something missing.
Gu Chen , the third core disciple asked what everyone wanted to ask, " Then how do we learn to swim?"
Yes. All of it sounded great but how do you learn something you don't have any idea of?
" Hmm, what else just keep practicing Saber arts. Not the Saber Cultivation Technique but the very essence of Saber arts. Most people say Sword Dao is greater than Saber Dao, that is half truth. Saber Dao is a rank lower indeed, but that's just because No one had walked the Path of Saber Dao to extreme.
Dao and Cultivators always have similar traits, Sword Dao users are Sharp, precise and unyielding just like Sword Dao itself.
They don't look back once they start walking, once the sword is drawn out its sheath, it'll either break or kill its enemy. There's no stopping in between.
Whereas Saber Dao users are Overbearing and arrogant. They can't stand being below someone. They don't like to take a loss even more than anyone. Every attack of theirs is filled with their 100% without caring about exhausting themselves.
I won't say that it's a flaw but Overbearing doesn't mean being a Madman. What Saber users lack is a lack of Control over their Raw strength and simply waste their qi . "
His words made the disciples feel weird, they all were Saber Cultivators and their Senior brother himself was one too but now he's calling them Madman.
Huang Zudi said seriously, " Senior brother, if we control our strengths then how are we supposed to give our Hundred people while fighting."
Zhao Li went near the shallow water which filled a small pit making it a small pond.
He picked a pebble lying near it and threw it horizontally over the surface of the water. It glided on the water at a high speed and crossed the pond in less than a second.
The water was still as calm as before with no ripples, but the disciples were confused except Huang Zudi and Ji Ruoxi, both of them were shocked.
Gu Chen saw their expression and couldn't help but ask, " Senior brother Huang, what's the matter? I can throw a pebble like that too ."
Huang Zudi turned to him, " You can do that too? In your dreams!!" He cursed him out loud.
Was he a fool? Can't he see that it's not as simple as just throwing a pebble! There were no ripples on the water surface! That means that there was not even a little force shifted to it! All the force was just used to give the pebble velocity!
Zhao Li took back the pebble meanwhile and gave it to Huang Zudi, " What do you see?"
Huang Zudi examined it, " I-it's completely dry! There's not even a drop of water on it! " His hands were shaking a little by now.
Zhao Li nodded, " That's because the pebble didn't touch the water surface. It was gliding less than 1cm over it the whole time. Of Course I had to cover it with a little Saber Intent so there was practically zero Air drag otherwise the disturbance in air itself might form water ripples."
The more he spoke the more shocked it made all of them. Less than 1cm? That's almost touching!! And what did he say, Saber Intent?!!
Huang Zudi was taken back, the only person in their Sect who could use Saber intent was their Great Elder, and now Zhao Li had reached that height too?!!
Ji Ruoxi asked just to make sure she had heard him right, " Senior brother, did you just say Saber Intent? The same thing as our Great Elder uses?"
Zhao Li gave a light hum, " Well it's not upto the level of Great Elder, he's already at Advanced level while I'm just at Beginner level."
' What's the difference!!" they all screamed in their minds. Those who could even use any Weapon Intent in this world were no more than ten!! And only three of them had reached the Advanced level even though there is a gap of only one level, other than their Great Elder only the Sect Master of Azure Dragon Spear and the Sect Master of Sword pavilion itself had reached that level.
You don't have to compare yourself with them! They all are monsters of their own generation and have high Cultivation too. There is no one that has even reached the beginner level in the younger generation. Even the Holy Son of the Sword Pavilion is behind you!!