Morning.
In the training grounds of Meng's Mansion near Jinghu Lake, Liu Qiyue practiced archery, while Meng Chuan practiced his blade techniques in a corner.
"Whoosh, whoosh."
His blade techniques were elusive, mysterious, and difficult to predict.
And they were incredibly fast. This was the pinnacle of fast blade techniques that could be learned by mortals, known as "Falling Leaf Blade."
He had been tested by his family at the age of six and was identified as having the greatest talent for fast blades. He also loved practicing fast blades the most because... they were fast!
After practicing basic blade techniques at home for two years, at the age of eight, his father, Meng Dajiang, sent him to Jinghu Taoist Academy, one of the eight major academies in Dongning Prefecture. Although the headmaster of Jinghu Taoist Academy, Ge Yu, was of average character, he was the fastest blade in the entire Dongning Prefecture.
At nine, Meng Chuan had perfected his basic blade techniques, with a solid foundation, and was taught advanced blade techniques, "Chasing Wind Blade."
At eleven, he perfected "Chasing Wind Blade," and the headmaster personally taught him his most proficient top-tier blade technique, "Falling Leaf Blade."
At thirteen, he had mastered "Falling Leaf Blade" to a high level and became a member of Shanshui Tower at Jinghu Taoist Academy. Shanshui Tower was where the most outstanding students among the thousands at Jinghu Taoist Academy could enter. Even now, there were only twenty-two students in Shanshui Tower.
Now, he is fifteen years old.
"Unfortunately, my Falling Leaf Blade is still only at a high level, not yet perfected," Meng Chuan stopped, looking at the blade in his hand, slightly frowned. "How can I comprehend the secret technique of Falling Leaf Blade and reach the first major realm of blade techniques, 'Unity Realm'?"
Blade techniques, sword techniques, spear techniques, and so on...All skills.
The first major realm is the 'Unity Realm,' which refers to the unity of body, mind, and technique, capable of unleashing incredible power.
The second major realm is called 'Momentum,' where the world has great momentum! Mountains have mountain momentum, water has water momentum. A blade technique should be like the world, mountains, rivers, wind, and fire, with blade momentum. A sword should have sword momentum! That would be an even higher realm.
However, Meng Chuan had been in the foundational stage for so many years. Of course, his foundation was extremely solid, and his blade techniques were only a step away from the 'Unity Realm'.
But that last step... was the hardest!
"Even throughout Dongning Prefecture, there are very few who can reach the Unity Realm in blade or sword techniques," Meng Chuan was well aware of this. "Only by reaching the Unity Realm can one be considered a true expert. Otherwise, one is just an average practitioner."
Those average practitioners, even with abundant internal energy, are just targets with greater strength and speed.
In the hands of a true expert, they would be defeated instantly.
"According to the description of Falling Leaf Blade, it consists of eighty-one forms. If one perfects all eighty-one forms to an extraordinary level, one will naturally grasp the secret technique 'Autumn's Leaves,' and then reach the first major realm of blade techniques, 'Unity Realm.'" Meng Chuan felt helpless, as the entire book only had a small paragraph about the Unity Realm.
There was no further description, not even what the moves looked like.
'One will naturally grasp the secret technique,' it seemed too ambiguous. His "Falling Leaf Blade" had been at a high level for two years, and he practiced it every day, yet he had never 'naturally' comprehended the secret technique.
"Mortal cultivation is divided into five stages: Foundation, Internal Refinement, Marrow Washing, Transfiguration, and Impervious. To reach the Impervious Stage from the Transfiguration Stage... one must reach the Unity Realm in blade or sword techniques. Only by truly unifying body, mind, and technique can one fully integrate all the strength of the Transfiguration Stage and break through to the Impervious Stage in one go." Meng Chuan thought, "In great families, with enough medicinal pills and treasures provided, reaching the Transfiguration Stage is not difficult. But reaching the Impervious Stage is rare!"
Meng Chuan started his foundation at six years old.
He entered the Internal Refinement Stage at nine, the Marrow Washing Stage at twelve. According to his estimation, he should be able to complete the Marrow Washing Stage and enter the Transfiguration Stage around June this year. This speed is normal among the core disciples of the divine family. Like Yun Qingping, who was lazy in her cultivation, even after consuming many medicinal pills and treasures, she reached the Marrow Washing Stage at fifteen, which is considered relatively behind.
The five major stages of mortal cultivation are Foundation, Internal Refinement, Marrow Washing, Transfiguration, and Impervious.
Above them is 'Divine Lord'.
The leap from Impervious to Divine Lord is a chasm!
Becoming a Divine Being is extremely difficult; in Dongning Prefecture, only a handful have become Divine Lords in a hundred years.
"I vowed at my mother's grave to become a Divine Lord in this life, to slay monsters, and to avenge my mother." Meng Chuan stopped his blade techniques, looking at the blade in his hand. As a child, he didn't fully understand, but now he realized how difficult it was to become a Divine Being. However, no matter how difficult it may be, he would not give up. "I must quickly master the first major realm of blade techniques, 'Unity Realm,' and in the future, master the second major realm, 'Momentum,' to have a slim chance of becoming a Divine Lord."
Suddenly—
"Chuan'er." A plump figure walked in through the courtyard gate of the training ground.
Meng Chuan turned his head to look,"Father."
The smiling, obese middle-aged man before him was his father, Meng Dajiang, a tavern owner! Of course, it was the number one tavern in Dongning City. He was also the next designated clan leader of the Meng family.
Meng Dajiang was extraordinary in strength, one of the strongest mortals beneath the divine lords, and he practiced the blade. Moreover, he was a peerless expert who had mastered the 'Blade Intent' and reached the Essence-Manifestation Realm (a high level of martial prowess). However, at forty-seven years old, his hope of becoming a divine lord was becoming increasingly slim!
"Uncle Meng." Liu Qiyue also walked over.
"The third day of the third month is the Jade Sun Palace Demon-Slaying Festival, right? Qiyue, as an archer, the Blazing Sun Dao Academy will definitely give you a spot." Meng Dajiang said, and Liu Qiyue nodded happily. Meng Dajiang looked at his son, "Chuan'er, what about you? There are only three spots for Essence-Manifestation students at your Jinghu Academy. Do you have a chance?"
"No chance." Meng Chuan was very self-aware and said, "The top ten Essence-Manifestation students at our Jinghu Academy are all quite close in strength. I have some hope of competing, but I might also fail. If I could comprehend the Falling Leaf Blade technique, then I would definitely have a chance. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do so. Father, do you have any special tips for cultivating techniques?"
"Your academy head is Dongning City's fastest blade, and he will teach you what is necessary." Meng Dajiang laughed, "As for techniques, I think it's just a matter of practicing more. Practice enough, and maybe you'll comprehend it."
Meng Chuan felt secretly helpless.
There was no shortcut.
"Don't think too much. Among the younger generation of Essence-Manifestation practitioners in all of Dongning City, no one has been able to comprehend a technique." Meng Dajiang laughed, "Your father, I, was the most outstanding member of the Meng family's generation, and I only comprehended a technique at nineteen."
"But the ancestor of the Zhang family, it's said that he mastered a technique at thirteen and reached the Unity Realm with his swordsmanship." Meng Chuan sighed.
"The ancestor of the Zhang family is the only one in Dongning City in the past hundred years who was able to enter the Primordial Mountain. Because of that, the Zhang family became the top of the five divine lord families in Dongning City." Meng Dajiang said, "You don't need to rush. The ancestor of our Meng family from five hundred years ago, Yu Shan, comprehended a technique at eighteen and became a divine lord at eighty. Late bloomers can still become divine lords."
Meng Chuan naturally knew this.
When he was a child, his mother would tell him many stories of divine lords' growth, and he would pester his mother and father for more stories!
Besides painting, listening to stories was his favorite thing as a child.
His parents bought many biographies of famous divine lords in history, specifically to read to him.
"Mother, one day, I will also become a divine lord." Meng Chuan thought silently.
...
That afternoon, Meng Chuan arrived at the academy, as there was a blade technique class taught by the academy head himself. Given the headmaster's status, he only taught once every five days.
The one-hour blade technique class ended.
"Still you can't make a breakthrough."
"I really don't know when my blade technique will reach the Unity Realm." Meng Chuan walked in the academy, and for the past two years, he had almost every day been pondering the 'Falling Leaf Blade technique', almost to the point of madness.
Passing by an open space, he heard a scolding voice.
Meng Chuan looked over.
The school's Ma tutor was spitting and scolding a group of teenagers.
"Learning from the best, you will achieve the mediocre; learning from the mediocre, you'll only achieve the bottom. Do you understand?" Ma tutor scolded, "I'm telling you to learn from the good, not from the bad. Learning from the bad... will only make you more and more worthless! If you can't reach the Essence-Manifestation Realm, you will achieve nothing in life. If you can reach the Essence-Manifestation Realm, you must enlist in the army at twenty, to fight the monsters. If you don't sweat now, then you'll bleed later, and lose your life. Those who return alive from military service are barely half! Do you want to die on the battlefield, or come back alive and be glorious?"
"Look, that's Meng Chuan from the Meng family. He mastered the Falling Leaf Blade at thirteen and entered Shanshui Tower of our Jinghu Taoist Academy, taught personally by the headmaster! Mastering blade techniques has no shortcuts; it requires hard work. I hear Meng Chuan practices at home for several hours every day. What about you, look at yourselves?"
"Learn from the best, and you'll achieve the middle; learn from Meng Chuan, understand?"
Under Ma tutor's roaring, the group of teenagers didn't even dare to breathe heavily.
While shouting, Ma tutor also smiled at Meng Chuan who was passing by, and Meng Chuan nodded with a smile. But Meng Chuan's eyes lit up, and he quickened his pace to head home.
...
Returning to the residence, Meng Chuan immediately went to the study.
"Learning from the best, you will achieve the mediocre; learning from the mediocre, you'll only achieve the bottom. To learn, one should learn from the best!" Meng Chuan muttered to himself, his eyes getting brighter and more excited, "To learn, learn from the strongest divine lords! Learn from the most powerful beings in history. That's learning from the best!"
"The invincible heroes who left their names in history, many have returned to dust, but their biographies are still circulating, passed down for thousands and tens of thousands of years!"
"Their biographies contain their records."
Meng Chuan looked up at the books on the shelves, "Father and mother, when I was little, read me many divine lord biographies. They bought many books."
Saying that, he took one down at random and opened it to read.
This was about a divine lord who dominated an era, 'Deng Feng'. The biography recorded that Deng Feng grew up in the deep mountains with no master to teach him, and the only relative who taught him a move, 'Drawing Blade', died. He lived alone in the mountains, just a drawing blade... every day for four hours, he would practice drawing blades for ten thousand times. He didn't learn any other blade techniques.
But he lived alone in the mountains, every day for four hours, practicing drawing blades for ten thousand times, for twenty years.
When he left the mountains, he entered the human world, still naive, with Essence-Manifestation strength, a drawing blade move... killed an Essence-Manifestation Realm expert, his blade technique had reached an incredible level. The news spread, and he was immediately recruited by the legendary 'Primordial Mountain', becoming a disciple of Primordial Mountain, thus embarking on the path of divine lords.
...
The book was quite long, recording many of Deng Feng's deeds after becoming a divine lord, making later generations admire.
There was little about cultivation, only the so-called 'every day for four hours, practicing drawing blades for ten thousand times, for twenty years'.
For Meng Chuan, the most important thing in this book was just this sentence.
"A master, even if he performs the blade technique slowly, can draw the blade ten thousand times in an hour." Meng Chuan frowned, "He did it for four hours a day, which means every time to draw a blade was to be poised, very focused, and then drew out a blade! One blade after another... each blade was poised and then its power burst, ten thousand times like this, which takes four hours."
"Focused? Practicing the same move? A lot of times?"
Meng Chuan recorded with a brush at the desk, then went to look at another divine lord biography.
He needed to find from one divine lord biography after another, the 'common points' of divine lords' strength.
Learning from the best, you will achieve the mediocre; learning from the mediocre, you'll only achieve the bottom. To learn... I should learn from the strongest!
Learn those divine lords who were invincible in history!
"Uncle Qian." Meng Chuan suddenly called out.
"Young master." A voice came from outside.
"Take two people and go out, buy all the divine lord biographies on the market! And some family precepts of powerful divine lord families, bring them back, quickly!" Meng Chuan said.
"Alright, I'll go now." Uncle Qian immediately replied.