Ma Lin was most skilled at two sets of swordsmanship, one called Dragon-Slaying Swordsmanship and another called Melon-Cutting Swordsmanship.
Why have sword techniques?
In combat against specific enemies, some actions tend to repeat, and certain combinations are devised to exploit the enemy's weak points, making them worth practicing over and over.
For instance, with Dragon-Slaying Swordsmanship, the target is a dragon with extremely tough scales, so each stroke must be delivered with great force; normal chopping, slashing, and stabbing might be useless.
Ma Lin was a legendary ninth-level extraordinary individual whose opponents were often gods, with skin and armor possibly tougher than dragon scales, hence all movements in his swordsmanship needed to be powerful.
The Dragon-Slaying Swordsmanship was taught to Ma Lin by Eggflower in a single day. Egg thought it was very simple and crude, suitable for Ma Lin.
