Chapter One: Perplexity

  Upon hearing Old Man's question, Gao Huaiyuan felt a surge of joy in his heart. After thinking for a moment, he immediately replied: "I still prefer the sword, isn't Master going to teach me swordsmanship?"

  The old man looked up at the sky and replied, "A knife, to be used for cutting and chopping. Its end is called a blade, which is as sharp as a bee's sting. Now that your foundation is established, it's time for you to learn some skills. I'll teach you a set of knife techniques, which are simple and consist of only five styles: chopping, dragging, sweeping, horizontal, and spinning. Take a good look!"

  As soon as the old man's voice fell, he sprang up and grasped a wooden stick in his hand. With the stick as a substitute for a sword, he made five consecutive cuts from various angles, each move accompanied by a faint sound of wind and thunder, with an aura that seemed to be unstoppable and unbreakable. Although it was just a wooden stick in his hand, it left people breathless, feeling that they could not resist at all. The whirlwind stirred up by the old man's stick swept away the leaves and dry grass on the ground, and danced wildly in the air with his movements, lingering for a long time even after he had finished his move.

  Gao Huaiyuan finished watching the old man's display of knife skills, and his heart was filled with joy. He quickly memorized the movements and began to practice them, but as soon as he started, he realized that the seemingly simple five-knife technique was not easy to master at all. Because each move required a precise and awkward use of force, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get them to flow smoothly together.

  Upon seeing Gao Huaiyuan's appearance, the old man suddenly smiled and said: "Don't underestimate this set of knife techniques. These five knives can be said to have condensed the essence of all knife techniques in the world. The five moves that are refined from them not only require extremely high strength but also extremely high speed. The speed of the knife must be fast, otherwise it will not be able to bring out the essence of the knife technique!

  Also, remember not to be bound by the style, there is no place in the world where you can use a set of knife techniques according to the routine, you must adapt to the situation and choose the most suitable technique to take out the knife, only then can you achieve surprising results, you must remember!

  So that's it! Gao Huaiyuan finally understood the wonders of this knife method, and he quickly nodded in agreement. He hurriedly asked: "Then this knife method must have a name, right?"

  "This set of knife techniques is called Frenzied War Knife! When the Frenzied War Knife is unleashed, every strike is fatal and irreversible. Once mastered, one can behead a high-ranking general in the midst of a thousand soldiers as easily as reaching into a pocket!" The old man replied with an air of grandeur.

  "I've got it! I'll definitely master this knife technique and won't let it down!" Gao Huaiyuan said solemnly to the old man with a deep bow.

  "Alright! I believe you can master this knife technique, but it's not something that can be accomplished overnight. You must practice diligently and patiently in order to gradually grasp the essence of this technique - don't rush a single step! In addition to this, I want to teach you another skill, which is how to use these flying knives!" As he spoke, the old man pulled out a leather case from his clothes, with multiple small pockets sewn onto it. Each pocket contained a small knife over three inches long. The old man drew one out and showed it to Gao Huiyuan.

  Gao Huaiyuan lowered his head to take a closer look, and what was this flying knife? To put it bluntly, it was simply a three-edged scraper, only slightly sharper than an ordinary three-edged scraper, somewhat resembling an arrowhead. This strange flying knife had a completely black body, with the front end being extremely sharp and triangular in shape, each side having a blood groove, all three blades were very sharp, and the rear end was round, making it easy to grip. At first glance, you could tell that this thing was very vicious, and anyone who got stabbed by it would bleed profusely, with the wound being difficult to heal.

  The old man shook his hand, and the flying knife in his hand flashed, and a "thud" sound was heard from afar. When he looked again, the flying knife had already been deeply inserted into the trunk of a large tree twenty steps away, with two inches of the blade completely buried in the tree. The old man didn't stop, and drew out three more from his leather bag, each finger holding one, and shook his hand again. Three dark shadows flashed simultaneously, and the three flying knives were nailed to the tree trunk one after another, forming a straight line with the first knife, as if measured by a ruler.

  Gao Huai's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the flying knives stuck in the tree, able to throw them so far and still embed them so deeply. The power of his wrist must be immense! It's almost comparable to a bullet, how awesome!

  The old man told Gao Huaiyuan the trick of using this flying knife, and let him try it too. Gao Huaiyuan threw it out with all his might according to what he said, but the result was very disappointing. The flying knife actually flipped over in mid-air, although it hit a large tree ten steps away, but it didn't stick to it, instead it bounced off and flew back out.

  "Don't worry, this flying knife is relatively heavy in the front and easier to control direction. You need to experience it well, follow the key points I taught you, use wrist strength instead of arm strength, and practice slowly to master it! When used at close range, it can make the opponent defenseless, and when facing a large number of enemies attacking together, this set of flying knives has 24 branches, enough to deal with them once, and may save your life!" The old man said to Gao Hua Yuan.

  After trying several times, Kou Hyougo found that it was indeed not bad. The tip of this strange flying knife is relatively heavy and easier to control, and the flight path is very stable. With sufficient wrist strength, the power is quite impressive. Unless you're wearing heavy armor, ordinary leather armor can't withstand the lethality of this flying knife. It's really a great tool for killing people and goods, a must-have for traveling!

  After putting away the knife sheath given to him by the old man, Gao Huaiyuan always felt that his master seemed a bit different from usual today, as if he was suddenly teaching him these things in a hurry. He had a slightly uneasy feeling in his heart, so he opened his mouth and asked: "Master, why did you suddenly teach me so many things today? Won't you..."

  The old man listened to Gao Huaiyuan's question and a rare benevolent smile appeared on his face. He smiled, stretched out his hand and gently patted Gao Huaiyuan's shoulder, saying: "You are indeed very clever, your guess is correct, I do have something to attend to and I don't know when I'll be back. Today, we must bid farewell! Also, I want to give you two more things!"

  The old man took out a long bundle of cloth from behind the tree, and after untying it, two knives were revealed inside. One was long and one was short. The longer knife had a blade over two feet long and a handle four feet long. What was strange about this knife was that both sides of the blade were sharpened, with a sharp point at the tip, making it look like a broadsword with a long handle. The blade shone with a cold light, giving people a chill when they looked at it. As for the shorter knife, it wasn't really short either - its handle was almost a foot long and had a silk ribbon wrapped around it to prevent slipping, suitable for holding in both hands. The blade was straight, with a brass beast head at the hilt, and a black shark skin scabbard. Judging from the length of the scabbard, the blade was at least three feet long, slightly longer than the goose-wing knives used by the Song army. However, since the knife was still in its scabbard, it was impossible to see what the blade looked like.

  The old man first drew out the long knife, grasped it with both hands, and immediately showed a majestic air of looking down on the world. He looked up and down at this strange long knife, his eyes shining with a loving light, as if he were looking at his own beloved child. Then, he gently stroked the blade with his hand for a long time before handing it over to Gao Huaiyuan.

  "This sword is named Wei Sheng, it was used by a famous general of the Tang Dynasty, weighs 50 kilograms, and was forged by a great craftsman. On the battlefield, no one knows how many enemy generals were killed by this sword. The Xiongnu may be fierce, but in front of this sword, no one dares to face its blade head-on. After hundreds of years, this sword is still extremely sharp, just suitable for you to use. When fighting on foot and facing the enemy cavalry, as long as you wield it with all your might, you can ensure that the enemy generals and horses will be shattered! It's a good sword that can conquer anything, take good care of it!"

  Gao Huaiyuan took a deep breath, and it turned out that this long knife was the famous Tang Dynasty Mo Dao! The name of this knife had been familiar to him for a long time, but unfortunately, there was no real object left in the world, and even its shape and structure were speculative. As a result, countless Chinese descendants could only sigh with regret, never expecting that today he would have the chance to see the true face of Mo Dao. Moreover, the old man actually gave this rare treasure to him. With reverence in his heart, he carefully took the knife into his hands, examining it carefully from top to bottom. On the blade, there was still a faint bloodstain, which made one wonder how much enemy blood this knife had drunk in the past, so much that the blood had seeped into the blade itself.

  "This sword is called Longlin, made by a famous craftsman of the Later Liang dynasty in imitation of the Tang dynasty's sword shape. After being forged and refined thousands of times, it has acquired a dragon-scale pattern on its blade, making it extremely sharp. That's why it's named Longlin. It can be used as a personal dagger. Although I wouldn't say it can cut through iron like mud, generally speaking, other swords and knives are no match for it! Today, I'll give it to you too. Now that I'm old, these two swords will only be buried with me if they continue to follow me. As your master, I hope you can make them shine again on the battlefield, drinking the fresh blood of strong enemies! Don't let their glorious names fade away!" The old man said, handing over the short sword to Gao Hua Yuan as well.

  After listening to his master's words, Gao Huairen felt a surge of hot blood, and an uncontrollable impulse burst forth from the bottom of his heart. He put down Weisheng, took over the Longlin sword with both hands, grasped the hilt, and lightly pressed the trigger. The sword immediately emitted a clear ringing sound, and the blade popped out of the scabbard by an inch. A cold gleam flashed into his eyes, and as he drew out the sword body, this Longlin treasure sword only revealed its magnificence, making him involuntarily exclaim: "Good sword!"

  Gao Huaiyuan put the Longlin Treasure Knife back into its scabbard, then knelt down in front of his master with great sincerity and vowed: "Thank you, Master, for giving me this knife. Please be at ease, I will not let these two treasured knives collect dust from now on. If needed someday, I will make them drink the fresh blood of our enemies!"

  "But now his apprentice work is not yet complete and he still needs his master's guidance. Why must the master leave in such a hurry?"