Chapter 21 - Daoist Guidance on Swordsmanship.

"Alright! I'll try to think that way. And then!! Can you get to the point?"

"Hmph, young people shouldn't be so impatient. You need to learn to enjoy this battle, enjoy the practice of swordsmanship, and enjoy the feeling when you swing your sword."

"Enjoy? I do enjoy it when I get stronger, but is that all you're going to say?" Xu Xuan might ponder Xiaozhuang's words later, but they seemed to offer no immediate help.

"First, forget all the sword techniques and skills you've learned. Then, attack by instinct. The more you forget, the stronger you'll become." Xiaozhuang said with a smile, "If you can understand what I mean, I'll give you the Daoist sword techniques. Hehe, if you can't understand it, then forget it, it would be a waste."

"What kind of enlightenment-based teaching method is this!! Seriously!" Hearing Xiaozhuang's words, Xu Xuan couldn't help but complain.

"Enlightenment? That's a good word. Learning Daoist swordsmanship requires enlightenment! After all, 'Great Talent Needs No Completion'."

"'Great Talent Needs No Completion'? From the De Dao Jing? I thought it was 'great talent matures late'."

"It's the De Dao Jing! You uncultured one. Virtue comes before Dao! You got it backward." Hearing Xu Xuan's words, Xiaozhuang on the upper floor retorted.

"You seem to think highly of this kid?" Looking at Xu Xuan below, Xiao Hui couldn't help but glance sideways at Xiaozhuang.

"You clever people, with a bit of brains, you love to overthink, and the more you think, the more troubled you become. You know, it's often precisely because of this that you clever people end up being exploited." Xiaozhuang sighed as he looked at Xiao Hui, "Is there a possibility that I just happened to run into him, saw this scene, and gave him a few casual pointers? After all, I got a meal out of him."

"The reason is that simple? No other purpose?"

"That's why you famous scholars are like this, always projecting your own thoughts onto others. It's like a sparrow always fears that the Kunpeng flying in the sky will steal its insects." Looking at Xiao Hui, Xiaozhuang smiled and said, "Live a simpler life, it won't be so tiring."

"Unfortunately, the world is full of sparrows. If you're not careful, one day the Kunpeng might be killed by these sparrows out of inexplicable fear." Looking at Xiaozhuang, Xiao Hui said meaningfully, "Everyone in the world is like this."

"When the Kunpeng flaps its wings, it's already tens of thousands of meters high. No matter how much sparrows think, they can't fly that high."

"Won't it be lonely?"

"Whether it's lonely or not depends on the Kunpeng's heart. How could it be lonely looking down upon the world from tens of thousands of meters high? Moreover, there will always be birds wanting to become Kunpeng, trying to soar to tens of thousands of meters high, listening to the silent music of the heavens."

"Hmph, in the end, isn't it your Daoist school that's best at self-preservation and constantly climbing higher?"

"That's the business of the Heavenly Sect and Human Sect. We, the Earth Sect, don't preserve ourselves, don't preserve our lives; we only preserve truth."

"What 'preserve truth'? Isn't that just slacking off?" Hearing Xiaozhuang's words, Xiao Hui said irritably, "I think you're intent on turning yourself into a good-for-nothing."

"What's wrong with being useless?"

"What's good about being useless? The other day, Gongshu Ban ordered a batch of timber from my side. In our forest, there was a large tree. It was twisted and crooked, couldn't be made into any template, damp and rotten, couldn't be used as firewood. Its inside was eaten away by insects, couldn't be cut into parts, its hardness was poor, and it gave off a foul smell when burned. Do you want to become like that? A useless piece of rotten wood."

"What's wrong with that? Precisely because it's useless, it wasn't cut down for timber, wasn't chopped into pieces, right? And precisely because of it, countless insects found a home, didn't they?"

"But it can never become a pillar."

"Honestly, if you were a tree, would you want to become a pillar? To be chopped down and then used to support a house?"

"Even if you avoid all that, you're just a rotten piece of wood, without any meaning."

"It does have meaning, you just haven't thought of it. Why not place this tree by the roadside, and then, when the sun is strong, take shelter in its shade? Used differently, it not only avoids the axe but also gains meaning."

"..." This time, Xiao Hui puffed out her cheeks in displeasure, looking annoyed at Xiaozhuang, "Alright, alright!! You're amazing, I can't argue with you. I've never won a debate against you anyway, I really don't understand who among us is from the School of Names."

"Huh? That kid down there seems to have some enlightenment; he's thought of it, but hasn't fully understood it yet." Looking at Xu Xuan fighting below, Xiaozhuang suddenly said with a smile.

In fact, after hearing Xiaozhuang's words, Xu Xuan began to ponder. Then, a certain wuxia novel he had read in his previous life suddenly came to mind, which contained martial arts concepts like "no moves better than moves" and "flexible use of techniques". Although he lacked enlightenment, he had seen many high-level martial arts theories in novels in his previous life. He then recalled a scene where someone learned Tai Chi Fist and Tai Chi Sword at Wudang, where the protagonist was also told to forget moves, becoming stronger the more he forgot.

Combining these theories, Xu Xuan began a new round of attack methods. Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

In short, "random hacking and slashing."

However, what Xu Xuan didn't expect was that after abandoning deliberate attack methods and sword techniques, and attacking randomly purely by instinct, he actually stunned the eerie opponent...

The eerie opponent, having fought Xu Xuan for a long time, seemed to have developed a certain immunity and understanding of Xu Xuan's sword style. Each battle constantly accumulated combat experience with Xu Xuan. However, this time, Xu Xuan abandoned his usual attack methods, attacking instinctively without thinking, which instead baffled the opponent.

For a moment, the eerie entity was cut without any power to parry, because it simply couldn't judge what kind of move Xu Xuan would use next, and most of the time could only endure Xu Xuan's attacks.

"Is this your Daoist swordsmanship? It looks more like hysteria." Looking at Xu Xuan, who seemed to be going mad below, Xiaozhuang couldn't help but say. It was only because it was late outside and there were no pedestrians on the street; otherwise, people would have already called the officials.

"It seems he's thought of something, not fully understood it yet, but the direction is right. Hmph, this kid isn't as mediocre as he claims. And looking at the excitement in his eyes when he fights with a sword, he truly loves learning the sword."

"Never mind this kid, I'm leaving the Eastern Chu State." Looking at Xiaozhuang, Xiao Hui suddenly said, "The State of Wei invited me to be a high official, and I accepted. This time, acting as an envoy for the King of Eastern Chu is the last time I'll do anything for him."

"Huh? You're leaving? That's right, since the Eastern Chu State is in such a state, leaving early is a good choice."

"Internally, there are cults; externally, there are strong enemies. They ignore the common people, yet still want to conquer other states, a path to ruin." Xiao Hui said coldly, "If you accepted the conditions, perhaps I would have stayed to see if you could turn the tide."

"Fighting against such things is too troublesome." Hearing Xiao Hui's words, Xiaozhuang smiled and said, "I'm leaving too, going back to my hometown to farm."

"Your hometown is the State of Song, right? Going back now isn't a good choice. Come with me to the State of Wei."

"What, aren't you afraid I'll go there and steal your position?"

"..."

"Hahaha, just kidding. We'll meet again."

Just as the two were saying goodbye, Xu Xuan's battle finally came to an end. Using the Sword-Controlling Technique to make the longsword circle around his body and cut out at a peculiar angle, the Cursed Child was once again cut in half by Xu Xuan. It was at this moment that something flew towards Xu Xuan's location.

Xu Xuan subconsciously raised his hand and caught the item, only to find it was a bamboo slip.

"Xiaoxuanzi, your direction is correct, this is your reward." From the attic, Xiaozhuang's voice rang out, "Oh, I drew some butterflies on the palace wall. If you're in trouble, those butterflies can help you."

"Butterflies?" Hearing the other's words, Xu Xuan looked towards the attic above, but what surprised him was that a swarm of butterflies flew out from the attic. Xiaozhuang had already disappeared, and only Xiao Hui remained on the attic, cupping her hands towards Xu Xuan.

"Jianxuan, I also have matters to attend to, so we part ways here." With that, Xiao Hui was seen jumping directly from the building, then lightly landing on a white horse tied below. She rode the horse and galloped towards outside the city.

"Don't these people care about the city gates closing at night?" Looking at the empty streets around him, Xu Xuan's face involuntarily showed a puzzled expression, "But even at night, why isn't there a single night patrol?"

Looking at the surroundings, the streets were bustling with people in the afternoon, but by night, what puzzled Xu Xuan was that the entire city was eerily quiet. There were no pedestrians, nor any night watchmen or soldiers enforcing the curfew. Standing alone on the street, Xu Xuan inexplicably felt a sense of disorientation.

"There's a strange aura here." Just then, Chiyou's voice appeared in Xu Xuan's ear. Xu Xuan realized that Chiyou had reappeared and was now clinging to his back, "Why don't you use my power? Borrowing my power might help you completely destroy that thing, you know."

"I've changed my mind, I don't want to eliminate her anymore." Hearing the Chiyou Sword Spirit's words, Xu Xuan suddenly said, "Thinking about it, Xiaozhuang was right, she seems like a good sparring partner."

"Hmph, that girl is not simple at all. And if you want power, why not just use me?"

"Never mind, I don't want to end up like my master." Thinking of his master howling miserably, pinned to a certain metal mountain, Xu Xuan inexplicably clenched his fists, "Speaking of which, why haven't you appeared all day?"

"What, do you miss me?"

"If you don't want to answer, then don't."

"How unromantic." Hearing Xu Xuan's reply, the Chiyou Sword Spirit sighed, then slowly said, "Because, that girl named Xiaozhuang, she can hear me speak. She's a rare 'Heaven Listener' who can perceive the voices of certain special existences."