Chapter Twenty-Four: Practicing Sword in Water

  "After the age of 40, one is no longer confined by things; all grass, wood, bamboo and stone can be used as swords. From this point on, one refines their skills, gradually entering a realm where having no sword is better than having one."

  "It must be said that Dugu Qiubai is a genius in the way of the sword, and at the age of 40, he has already grasped the principle of 'no sword can defeat a sword'. Others may not even understand the concept of 'heavy sword without edge' or 'great skill is not necessarily good' throughout their lives. Even though Song Qing knew about Dugu Qiubai's story, when he truly faced him, he couldn't help but sigh and say, "Master Taishifu is a rare talent among the crowd, creating the legendary Taiji Sword that will be passed down for thousands of years, opening up a new school of thought. However, compared to Dugu Qiubai, even Master Taishifu might have to admit defeat."

  A slight sense of melancholy, thinking back to the days when Sword Demon was invincible and roamed the world, seeking a defeat that he could not get, and had no choice but to retreat to the depths of the mountains, spending his days with the divine eagle as his companion, and the sword path as his friend.

  Song Qingxue looked at the first sword again after finishing Jianzhong, this is the only useful thing in Jianzhong now, and also the purpose of his visit to Jianmo Valley this time, just...

  Just as Song Qing was in a dilemma, the divine eagle beside him suddenly let out a loud cry, lowered its head and picked up the three Qingfeng swords with its beak, placing them in Song Qing's hand. Following that, it cried out again and flapped its left wing, creating a strong gust of wind as it swooped down towards him. In an instant, Song Qing felt like he couldn't breathe, and after a brief moment of stunned silence, the eagle's wings came to a stop about a foot away from his head, where they remained still, letting out two more cries.

  "This is......" Song Qingchu was at a loss for what to do, but suddenly he had an epiphany and thought of Yang Guo's experience back then, secretly thinking "Could it really be like this?"

  "Brother Diao, are you going to give this sword to me?" Song Qing Shu suppressed the excitement in his heart and asked.

  The eagle cried out twice, as if in response, "Exactly so."

  Song Qing saw this and was overjoyed, as the saying goes 'a precious sword is given to a hero, rouge is given to a beauty'. Which swordsman wouldn't want a good sword for himself? Although Song Qing wasn't a dedicated swordsman, such an extraordinary sword that could cut hair and iron like mud, how could he not be moved by it?

  Song Qing Shu drew out the Three Green Edge Sword three times, but saw a green light flash by, and the three-foot-long sword emitted a cold glow under the sun.

  "Thank you so much, Brother Diao!" Song Qing Shu thanked with joy.

  Then Song Qing Shu wanted to continue playing with the treasure sword, but the divine eagle didn't give him a chance. It chirped twice again, pulled at Song Qing Shu's clothes, and then spread its wings and flew far away.

  "Hey, wait for me, Brother Chui!" Song Qingyu was in a hurry and didn't have time to admire the treasure sword anymore. He quickly made a sword move, put away his sword, and then used the Ladder Cloud Leap technique to rush down the mountain, chasing after the divine eagle's tracks.

  After walking for a while, I faintly heard a rumbling sound that didn't stop, and the farther I walked, the louder the sound became. It was obviously the sound of a large amount of water.

  "Could it be the waterfall where the Divine Eagle Hero Yang Guo practiced his skills?" Song Qingchu thought to himself.

  After turning over a mountain pass, the sound of water was deafening. Only a large white dragon-like waterfall was seen rushing down between the peaks, pouring into a stream, crashing and thundering, extremely turbulent, with branches and rocks in the water, disappearing from view in an instant. The surrounding air was misty, forming a spectacular sight.

  The divine eagle stretched out its beak and grasped his collar, walking towards the brook, as if wanting him to go down.

  "Am I supposed to be like Yang Guo, the Divine Eagle Hero, and practice swordplay in a waterfall?" Song Qingchu was perplexed. "But this isn't even a heavy sword!"

  The eagle spread its wings, let out a loud cry, and jumped into the creek, standing steadily on a rock in the middle of the stream.

  On the giant rock, the left wing was in front of □, and it hit back a boulder that had been washed down by the current. When the boulder flowed down again with the water, it swung its wings to strike it back, doing so five or six times, but the boulder could not flow past its side. On the seventh time the boulder was washed down, the divine eagle exerted itself and flapped its wings once, sending the boulder flying out of the creek water and landing on the rocky shore. The divine eagle then leapt back to Song Qing's side.

  This time Song Qing Book finally understood, the Divine Eagle really wanted him to practice sword in water like Yang Guo did back then.

  "Diao Xiong, I'm different from Yang Da Xia. He uses a heavy sword, but I use the Three Chi Qing Feng Sword, which isn't suitable for practicing in water." Song Qing Shu explained to Diao Xiong with a bitter smile.

  Unfortunately, the divine eagle didn't pay attention to him. Seeing Song Qingchu hadn't gone into the water for a long time, it suddenly flapped its wings and brushed against Song Qingchu's buttocks. It stood very close, catching Song Qingchu off guard, and his body fell straight down towards the creek. He quickly used the "Thousand Catty Fall" technique to land on the huge rock where the divine eagle had been standing. As soon as both feet entered the water, the waterfall's current shook him back and forth, making it difficult for him to stand steadily.

  "I didn't expect to be forced into this situation." Song Qing said with a bitter smile, but he also knew that Shen Diao was kind-hearted, and Song Qing wouldn't let down Shen Diao's good intentions.

  He gritted his teeth and secretly encouraged himself, "What's the big deal, it won't kill me, what am I afraid of."

  He immediately held his breath and exerted himself to the utmost, but when he wanted to stretch out his sword to stir up the rocks that were being carried along by the flowing water, it was beyond his power.

  Especially the three-foot green edge sword is not like the heavy iron sword, the sword body is narrow, relying on endless sharpness.

  But in such a strong current, even if Song Qingchu exerted his inner strength, it would still be like 'drawing a sword to cut off the water, but the water keeps flowing'.

  After spending a few moments, his strength gradually exhausted, he stretched out his sword on the stone and jumped to the shore. He hadn't caught his breath for a few moments when the divine eagle swooped down again. This time he was prepared and didn't get hit, instead jumping into the middle of the stream. He thought: "This eagle brother is indeed a strict teacher and friend, forcing me to practice my skills, not giving me any slack. Since it has good intentions, how can I not have the heart to improve? In the past, Duan Yu's arm was severed, but he could still persevere, and now I'm no better than him. Can't I even compare to that?"

  Then he sank his breath down to his lower abdomen, stood firmly in place, and after a short while, gradually grasped the method of using force with concentrated energy.

  Song Qing's mind said: "Although the three-foot green edge sword is very different from the Xuan Tie heavy sword, it can still be used to practice sword with water flow."

  It is said that 'blocking is inferior to dodging'. Although the three Qingfeng swords cannot strike the flowing water like the Xuan Tie heavy sword, there are still ways to find an opening.

  This is just like Jian and Xuan, the heavy iron sword is like Jian, it's about cutting off the flowing water from the rolling stream, using force to break cleverness, making the heavenly river reverse its flow. The three times Qingfeng Sword is like Xuan, used to explain the flowing water, following the natural law of heaven and earth, and the natural way.

  Having understood the underlying principle, Song Qing Shu couldn't help but let out a long sigh. His body stood still in the water like a pillar, unmoving and unwavering. As his heart gradually calmed down, the sword in his hand naturally unfolded its power.

  At this moment, a green snake appeared in the water, and Song Qingchu was shocked at first, but later found that the green snake did not intend to attack, but he dared not to be careless. He carefully guarded against it.

  But Qing She didn't have time to reason with him and instead kept moving her body against the current.

  "Boom!"

  Seeing the green snake's movement, Song Qing felt a burst of thunder in his mind. The sword in his hand involuntarily followed the green snake and rose up.

  One moment, two moments... one hour, two hours.

  Song Qing felt that the resistance in the water suddenly decreased. Song Qing was overjoyed and knew that he had found the right method.

  But now it's not just internal energy that's exhausted, even physical strength can't hold on anymore. Song Qing knew that he couldn't practice today. But there was no hurry for the time being. So he jumped ashore.

  He sat quietly by the stream for a moment, and his strength was restored. He looked around and found that the divine eagle was no longer by the stream, and he didn't know where it had gone. He didn't mind, after all, with the divine eagle's ferocity, there was basically no possibility of danger. He still sat down to recover his internal energy first.

  When Song Qingchu woke up again, his internal strength had recovered, and although it hadn't increased, it had become even more refined.