In doing things, Wang Lu always emphasized on efficiency. Thus, in the afternoon, he agreed to meet with Wen Bao at the Misty Peak’s practice field.
Misty Peak has a total of three practice fields. The smallest one is located near the Teng Cloud Hall, which is the designated practice field for new disciples. A row of red wooden figurines filled with spells were neatly stacked on the side of the open space. Disciples could practice their variety of spells on them.
When Wang Lu rushed to this place, Wen Bao had already been there for quite a while, practicing his Black Iron Sword on the empty field. His whole body trembled as he sweated profusely. He obviously had given it all, but his sword move was still incoherent as before, and his sword power lacked the proper aggressiveness of the Black Iron Sword; he has no killer instinct.
After watching him practice for a moment, Wang Lu immediately intervene. “Stop it. This training is just a waste of time.”
Wen Bao’s face turned bitter. “But I lack in the intelligence department. If I don’t practice diligently…”
“That’s a wrong route. The more knowledge, the more reactionary [1]. You are already on the wrong team, so naturally, you will keep on making mistakes.”
“Huh?” Wen Bao was taken aback. “But what I did just now is indeed in accordance with the training method taught to me by my Senior Brothers. I never changed them arbitrarily.”
“Then what they taught you is wrong. If they’re right, why did you look for me then?”
Wen Bao stared blankly for a moment. “Senior Brother, that makes sense. How should I practice then?”
Wang Lu took two steps forward and pointed his Purple Soft Sword at Wen Bao. “Why don’t we exchange two moves first.”
Wen Bao hesitated for a moment, lifted up his sword and roared as he swung it down towards Wang Lu.
Wang Lu didn’t try to dodge. He just used his Soft Cloud Sword to deflect seventy percent of fatty’s force. Although the remaining thirty percent forced him to take three steps backward, it could not break through his Soft Cloud Sword’s defense, so it didn’t cause any real damage to Wang Lu.
Wen Bao wasn’t undaunted. He followed his move by a lunge to the chest. Wang Lu parried his attack sideways, but this time, he didn’t even move half a step backward. Wen Bao’s entire attacking force was deflected to the side, and he staggered forward because he lost his balance. The fatty wanted to turn around and attack again, but Wang Lu wasn’t interested in that anymore.
“That’s enough. Do you know why you lost just now?”
Wen Bao sincerely praised him. “Senior Brother, your swordsmanship is amazing, I am far behind you.”
“Amazing my ass! That’s nothing more than a mortal world’s sword art. But you, with your Black Iron Sword, should be able to absorb the spiritual energy from the soil, which could make you indestructible and steady as a rock. What you have is the real sword art from the Immortal Cultivation World; theory wise, how could it be compared to my Soft Cloud Sword?”
“Senior Brother, your cultivation is profound, even a mortal world’s martial art…”
“You’re a ninth level Qi Cultivating Stage cultivator, yet you praised my cultivation as profound, even though I am still in the second level of the Body Refining Stage?”
Wen Bao was suddenly at a loss. “This…”
“Strength-wise, you’re at least ten times stronger than me, while on the speed, we are at least the same, let alone you should be able to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy and turn it into your magical power, unlike me who can’t even absorb the surrounding spiritual energy. Against you, my only advantages are nothing else but my calmness and my tough bones. Overall, in almost any aspect, you hold all the advantage, but why did you still lost?”
Wen Bao was tongue tied. “Why?”
Wang Lu coldly snorted. “Because you’re a terrified c*nt, a spineless coward.”
“Em…” Receiving such a blunt assessment, Wen Bao felt as if he just ate sh*t.
“Except for your fat, you’re a useless waste. No other sects would accept you. Even if they are looking for someone to do odd jobs, they still need someone who is not clumsy and stupid, aren’t they? When the Spirit Sword Sect accepted you as an Inner Court Disciple, the Elders must have been confused because you obviously have dubious qualifications. No wonder the sect is in the state of decline day after day; this sect is rightfully called as the most unworthy of the title one of the five best sects in the Union of the Ten Thousand Immortals. Congratulations Fatty, your existence here drag down the entire sect.”
“I, I…” Although he had always been subjected to all kinds of criticism, in a sect that paid particular attention to harmony between disciples, this was the first time he heard someone hurl such a vicious insult at him! Moreover, that person, unfortunately, was Wang Lu, whom he admired the most. For a time, his mind went blank and then flustered.
However, Wang Lu’s viciousness wasn’t limited to this.
“Dead fatty, are you really the son of the teacher of the state of the Azure Billow Country? Siring such a waste like you, your father must’ve felt headaches for more than a decade, right?”
“Wang Lu, you, why!?” Hearing about his family, his whole body trembled. He couldn’t believe Wang Lu would go as far as that.
“Oh, that’s right! From another point of view, anyone who sired a waste pig like you must have had a bad seed. Perhaps while you’re here, your dad is questioning whether you’re really his son or not, hahaha!”
“Wang Lu, shut up!”
“Let’s talk about your mother then. Oh, I forgot to ask, is your mother your real mother? Hahaha!”
“Enough!”
Bam!
As he roared, the black iron sword pierced forward like lightning. Wang Lu had expected this, so he had already withdrawn half a step backward. He held his sword horizontally before him and let this Purple Soft Sword violently collide with the Black Iron Sword.
The next moment, Wang Lu’s body flew backward like he was just a sandbag.
When he landed on the ground, he staggered several steps backward. His right hand was numb, and his sword nearly slipped off of his hand. Ten meters away in front of him, Wen Bao looked at his own sword in a daze. He noticed that there was a crack in a flagstone, which was the result of the shockwave from the sword collision. He could not imagine that he was able to unleash such a powerful sword strike!
“I…” Wen Bao blankly looked at Wang Lu. He vaguely understood the reason why Wang Lu launched such a vicious verbal attack.
“You still need to ask? I just want to know why no one in the Misty Peak ever found this simple common sense: a warrior needs to accumulate anger!”
While he spoke, he shook his wrist and regripped the Purple Soft Sword; his entire right hand was numb because of that collision. Just now, under the influence of anger, the fatty was able to use the Black Iron Sword to the extreme; his innate strength and Earthly Spirit Root synergized, enabling him to utilize both the power within him and the spiritual energy from the outside. Thus, the destruction power was more than doubled. When the Full Moon Roar roared directly at Wang Lu, it failed to shook him. But just now, he couldn’t withstand that fatty’s sword strike, which showed how powerful that sword strike was.
On the other hand, the Non-Phase Sword Bone had its own wonders. Just one breath later, the shock on his body from that sword strike had already subsided… According to his Master, this eighth layer of the Non-Phase Sword Bone’s cultivation had only just begun. It was difficult to imagine how hard it would be to complete its training, or what would be the effect after that.
Wen Bao took a long time to understand that the previous sword strike contained the feeling of anger, which was a quite mysterious experience to him. When he wanted to reproduce the same thing again, he failed no matter how hard he tried. Thus, he felt incomparably disappointed.
“Senior Brother Wang Lu, that sword strike just now… Is that the true power of the Black Iron Sword?”
Wang Lu said, “What nonsense! Of course it is! Do you really think the sword art from the Immortal Cultivation World is just like the good-for-nothing swordplay that you previously displayed before that one? The Spirit Sword Sect contains the word “sword”, so it is natural that sword art is something that they heavily emphasized on, just like the other sects. For example, the Ten Thousands Arts Sect have countless methods and techniques. Your Black Iron Sword have neither sophisticated moves nor endless streams of abilities. If you want to defeat other people’s countless techniques, you need to unlimitedly enhance your destructive power to achieve the level of “no stronghold one cannot overcome” [2] … It’s the kind of level that you displayed just now.”
Wang Lu’s remarks flew Wen Bao’s thought to a place he longed for. Indeed, if he could master that sword strike, any spells would be useless before him. Let alone Zhu Qin who was still on the same level as him, even his Senior Brother Yue Yun would find it difficult to resist his sword strike… For it was the genuine one-sword-strike-overcome-the-countless-techniques!
“But, how come I couldn’t recreate that sword strike?” Wen Bao ruefully smiled and then looked at Wang Lu in anticipation.
“Nonsense, that’s because you’ve used up all your anger.”
Wen Bao was taken aback, thinking, “My anger was indeed vanished along with that sword strike. And when I tried to wield the sword again, I couldn’t recreate that sword strike’s power anymore. Is this Black Iron Sword Art mainly driven by anger? No wonder I don’t have any progress in this in two years; it’s not because of my lack of effort, but because no Senior Brothers had ever tried to do what Wang Lu just did, which was insulting my parents to incite my anger…”
Wang Lu continued, “Cultivator’s emotions and desires are also a form of energy, otherwise, how could mind cultivation be so important in every cultivation methods? The so-called mind cultivation is the power to control our state of mind and emotions. When we reached the peak Qi Cultivating Stage, we need this mind cultivation in order to break through the Foundation Establishment Stage.”
Upon hearing this remarks, Wen Bao was suddenly enlightened. He repeatedly nodded. “Senior Brother Wang Lu, you’re amazing. You know everything!”
Wang Lu sent his foot out to kick him. “You don’t even know what’s inside your sect? This is a f*cking common knowledge, you idiot!”
Wen Bao was kicked and scolded, but he was actually delighted beyond measure, thinking, “I didn’t pick my Master wrong! Previously, those several Senior Brothers who taught me could not even think of this trick!”
However, another problem arose. Since he had understood Wang Lu’s good intention, no matter how mean or how vicious Wang Lu scold him, this dead fatty’s face was still beaming with joy; he could not even produce an ounce of anger.
“It’s okay, there’s an easy way to overcome this. For a warrior, there’s a universal method to incite anger, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re intelligent or stupid, rich or poor, healthy or ill… As long as you’re not abnormal, this method will work.”
Wen Bao’s eyes lit up. “What method?”
“It’s this…” Wang Lu stared at Wen Bao with a deadpan look.
Moments later, Wen Bao couldn’t help but succumb to the pressure and start to sweat profusely.
Then, Wang Lu said slowly word by word, “If a warrior wants to accumulate anger, the easiest way is to take a beating.”
“What!?”
Before he could continue, Wang Lu suddenly punched him in the face.
No one wouldn’t feel angry if someone else suddenly punched him or her in the face!
...
[1] Absurd anti-intellectual slogan attributed after the event of the Gang of Four. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang_of_Four
[2] The ability to conquer every obstacle.