Translator: CKtalon
The most difficult part of the Three Immortal Swords was the three forces delivered with one strike. It was hard and soft at the same time. It had three different ways of utilizing the forces and three different concepts.
One needed to combine the three forces and concepts ingeniously to be able to use the Three Immortal Swords well. If they didn’t do it well, not only would they fail to achieve the effect of defeating the enemy, but they would only fall flat on their face. It would be a good outcome if they weren’t injured, much less injure the enemy.
Uesugi Nao had trained for so long to master the Three Immortal Swords. How could someone who had never seen the Three Immortal Swords teach her?
Uesugi Nao’s goal for demonstrating this sword technique was to embarrass Zhou Wen. She wanted to let him know who was truly weak.
As no one had seen the Three Immortals Swords, Uesugi Nao wasn’t afraid of being recognized.
Zhou Wen didn’t know that so many thoughts were running through Uesugi Nao’s head. He only believed that Uesugi Nao was really asking him for advice, so he watched very seriously as he searched for anything amiss with the Three Immortal Swords.
Soon, Uesugi Nao finished demonstrating the Three Immortal Swords. Then, she looked at Zhou Wen and asked with a smile, “Do you need me to demonstrate again?”
“Alright,” Zhou Wen said with a nod.
A smile appeared on Uesugi Nao’s face before she demonstrated the sword art again. However, she thought to herself, Forget about demonstrating it once. Even if I demonstrate it a hundred times, you won’t be able to understand it.
Unlike straightforward and domineering sword arts, the Three Immortal Swords were mainly about the use of force and concepts. These non-superficial things couldn’t be understood just by looking at the sword moves.
Uesugi Nao had already made up her mind. After this round, she asked Zhou Wen if he wanted her to demonstrate again. If Zhou Wen overestimated himself and wanted to watch it a third time, she would directly ask Zhou Wen if he had found any problems after three rounds of demonstrations.
If you know what’s good for you, you should admit early that you can’t tell anything. That way, you wouldn’t be so embarrassed, Uesugi Nao thought.
Soon, Uesugi Nao demonstrated the Three Immortal Swords again. After stopping, she held the practice sword and asked Zhou Wen with a smile, “Do you want me to demonstrate again?”
“There’s no need.” Zhou Wen shook his head.
Uesugi Nao thought to herself, At least you have some self-awareness. If I were to demonstrate it a third time and you couldn’t see anything, it would only be even more embarrassing.
Uesugi Nao smiled at Zhou Wen, waiting for him to bow his head to her and admit that he couldn’t tell anything.
“There’s indeed a huge problem with your sword art.” However, Zhou Wen’s words left Uesugi Nao stunned.
“Oh, tell me. What’s the problem with my sword art?” Uesugi Nao looked at Zhou Wen with a faint smile. She imagined that Zhou Wen was just trying to put on a front.
From Uesugi Nao’s point of view, Zhou Wen’s actions would only embarrass him further.
“There’s a very serious problem with your sword art. The sword art you practice is incomplete,” Zhou Wen said.
“The sword art I’m practicing is actually incomplete?” Uesugi Nao pretended to be surprised, but she was sneering inwardly. Not complete my ass. The Three Immortals Sword Art is complete. I’ve already mastered it completely, yet you still dare to say it’s incomplete. Keep making up lies. Let’s see what you can come up with.
“Yes, the sword art is indeed incomplete. It’s also possible that you failed to grasp the essence of the sword art when you were practicing. You failed to draw inferences and comprehend the true meaning of the sword art,” Zhou Wen said.
“I see. Then can you give me some pointers on the true meaning of this sword art?” Uesugi Nao looked at Zhou Wen and teased him.
She was already so well-versed with the Three Immortal Swords to the point of being able to use them in reverse, but Zhou Wen had actually said that she hadn’t understood its true meaning. All Uesugi Nao wanted to know was how Zhou Wen was going to continue making up stories.
“Give me the sword.” Zhou Wen extended his hand in front of Uesugi Nao.
Uesugi Nao handed the practice sword to Zhou Wen before standing to the side with her arms crossed. She waited to watch Zhou Wen’s clumsy performance. Now, she was somewhat curious as to how Zhou Wen had managed to smooth over his ridiculous words.
Zhou Wen got Ya’er to stand by the side and walked to the center of the training grounds with the practice sword in hand. He said, “This sword art of yours has three uses of force and concepts. You have already used the three types of force and concepts very well. However, your method isn’t right, so you are only stuck at that stage. There’s no way to improve further and master a complete sword art.”
To be able to tell that the Three Immortal Swords is a combination of three forces and concepts, this Zhou Wen isn’t completely blind, thought Uesugi Nao.
However, Zhou Wen’s attitude still displeased her. Therefore, she asked with a faint smile, “Then how can I improve further and master a complete sword art?”
“That’s not difficult.” The practice sword in Zhou Wen’s hand began moving. The sword moves he released were actually Uesugi Nao’s Three Immortal Swords.
Uesugi Nao was surprised that Zhou Wen could use the sword moves of the Three Immortal Swords. Although he had only used one force, he was still able to produce the corresponding sword intent. She was already rather surprised and couldn’t help but raise her opinion of Zhou Wen.
“This is the first force and concept of the sword art,” Zhou Wen said as he used another move. It was the Three Immortal Swords sword move that Uesugi Nao had used. This time, Zhou Wen’s sword move contained the two forces and concepts of hardness and softness.
This surprised Uesugi Nao. To be able to use both hard and soft forces in one strike at the same time, she had practiced for nearly a month back then to master it.
“According to Daoist teachings, the so-called ‘one begets two’ can be seen as Chaos giving birth to Yin and Yang, or it can be said to be a division of hardness and softness.” As Zhou Wen spoke, he struck out with his sword. It was still the sword move of the Three Immortal Swords, but this time, he had already used all three forces.
Uesugi Nao widened her eyes as she looked at Zhou Wen in disbelief. She secretly suspected, Could it be that Zhou Wen has also practiced the Three Immortals Sword Art in the past? That’s impossible. The Three Immortals Sword Art was engraved on the stone wall of the Three Cave Immortal. After I saw it, the stone wall was destroyed. How could Zhou Wen have learned the Three Immortals Sword Art?
“One begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things. Your sword art stopped at three and didn’t continue expanding. It’s like the basic colors of red, green, and blue. You can use the three primary colors, but when the three colors are combined, they can form an even richer and more colorful color, forming a colorful world. I don’t know if your sword art is incomplete or if it’s because you haven’t figured out the true meaning of the sword art, but it has stopped at the three primary colors realm. You haven’t been able to demonstrate the true meaning of the world of the sword...” Zhou Wen demonstrated as he spoke. As for Uesugi Nao, she was already dumbfounded. Her face was filled with shock and disbelief.
Four types... Five types... Six types... Uesugi Nao saw more and more types of sword intent in Zhou Wen’s sword technique, but they were extremely harmonious. It was as though the Three Immortals Sword Art was supposed to be exactly what he demonstrated.
The first time she heard what Zhou Wen said did seem to make sense, but Uesugi Nao felt a deep sense of helplessness. Even if she understood this principle, she didn’t have that many sword intents to fuse together.