Chapter 2: The Bamboo Forest Sword

  In the bamboo forest behind Shen's house, although it was quiet, it made Shen feel irritable.

  A small bird with green feathers, a painted eyebrow bird, made a strange cry of "zhi zhi jiao" and flew onto Shen Dou's shoulder. It flapped its wings "pu pu" several times, and surprisingly, it smoothed out Shen Dou's tightly furrowed brow.

  "Little poem, have you found out where Feilu is?"

  Shen Dou was actually talking to the Painted Brow Bird.

  The birds seemed to understand Shendu's language as well, chirping and tweeting in a strange dialect that no one else could comprehend, but Shendu somehow understood their language.

  "Shendu, don't be impatient, okay? With Feilu's great swordsmanship skills, it's not easy for a low-level spirit bird like me to find him. Moreover, he is far away in the Death City of Shacheng, where there are barriers everywhere, and I simply can't fly in."

  Shen Du heard this and his eyebrows furrowed again, adding a hint of melancholy to his originally clear and elegant face.

  "Alright, good luck to you little Shi, after three days when I've cracked the Shenmen Fifteen Swords, I'll go with you to Sha Cheng to see what's going on."

  "Ah!"

  The bird on Shen Dou's shoulder was so startled by his words that it almost fell off.

  "Pfft"

  It flapped its wings rapidly and barely escaped disaster.

  "Are you familiar with Shen Men's Fifteen Swords? It's a top-notch sword technique in the world. How confident are you?"

  "Alas!"

  Shen Du shook his head and said, "No guarantee."

  The painting bird can no longer stand still, flying back and forth on Shen Dou's head.

  "Don't be ridiculous! If you fight with Old Man Shen Xiang, aren't you just asking for trouble?!"

  Shen Du heard this, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He fell onto the green grass, his eyes calm, gazing through the dense bamboo forest at the cloudless blue sky, with an expression of contentment.

  "Hmph, what's the big deal? If I can't achieve something extraordinary, then it would be better for me to die now rather than spend my whole life as an ordinary person in the Shen family!"

  The painted bird was alarmed.

  "How can that be? You're my only good brother, if you abandon me like this, what's the point of my life?"

  "Haha!"

  Shen Dou was amused and leaned back with his hands behind his head, saying: "Don't worry, I have a wonderful plan!"

  "What a wonderful plan you have! Tell me, what is it?"

  The voice of this sentence sounds old, but it is thick and powerful, and comes from the foot of the mountain, not from the mouth of the painted eyebrow bird.

  Shen Du reacted instantly, jumping up from the grass and calling out softly: "Grandfather?"

  The Painted Brow Bird knew it was Shen Xiang who had come and hastily said:

  "Oh no, oh no! Old Shen Xiang is coming, I'd better hurry up and hide!" After saying that, he flew away from the bamboo forest at his fastest speed.

  At this time, Shen Xiang with a head full of white hair had arrived in front of Shen Dou, with a warm smile on his face, and in his eyes, there was only the love of a grandfather for his grandson.

  "Dou'er, tell me, how do you plan to break through the Shen family's Fifteen Swords?" Shen Xiang stroked his long white beard and pulled Shen Dou down to sit on the grassy lawn with him, just like brothers. His old but powerful right hand casually rested on Shen Dou's shoulder.

  Shen Dou was extremely accustomed to Grandfather's attitude, his hands naturally placed on his knees, his eyes firmly fixed on Grandfather.

  "Gong voiced: 'Grandfather, you also know that we usually don't have the opportunity to see Shenmen's Fifteen Swords' moves. Grandfather's request is really unexpected for me, but in order to achieve my own ideals, I will definitely think of a way.'"

  "Haha, so it seems you don't have any plans at all?" Shen Xiang raised an eyebrow and said with a smile.

  "Indeed, but don't worry, Grandfather. With this pair of iron arms I've trained since childhood, which are capable of both offense and defense, I can easily break through the Shen family's Fifteen Swords."

  Shen Du seemed to say confidently, but in his heart he was drumming, "Will this be a bit too much?"

  As expected, even Shen Xiang raised an eyebrow and said in a questioning tone: "Dour, your mindset is still too young, you haven't even seen the power of the Shenmen Fifteen Swords, how do you know you can break through it, let alone easily break through it."

  Shen Du's face turned cold upon hearing this, and he made up his mind "I must not lose", but he didn't respond.

  Seeing Shen Du as if he was deep in thought, Shen Xiang stood up and continued: "In Grandfather's youth, he also made the same mistake as you, so he never had the opportunity to leave the Shen family, go further, and see more powerful people."

  Shen Du heard this, furrowed his brow, and looked up at Grandfather with a shocked expression, asking in surprise: "Could it be that Grandfather also had the same thoughts as Dou'er when he was young?"

  Shen Xiang nodded and said, "Of course, at that time I was only 20 years old. When I proposed to the family that I wanted to break free from the family's restraints and go further afield to hone my skills, no one in the family agreed with me. At that time, I was the most outstanding swordsman in the family, and the future burden of the Shen family would be on my shoulders. My grandfather also told me that as long as I could decipher the Shen Family's Fifteen Swords, I could leave the Shen family freely."

  "Did Grandfather fail later on?" Shen Du hastily asked as he stood up.

  "It's failed." Shen Xiang said calmly, his eyes filled with regret or desolation.

  "How did our ancestors defeat your grandfather with just a few moves?" Shen Dou asked again.

  "Half an invitation!" Shen Xiang said, taking a deep breath. "Huh!" He then continued: "It's all because I underestimated the power of the Shen family's Fifteen Swords too much; otherwise, I wouldn't have lost so easily."

  Shen Du heard the words and nodded frequently, his heart full of curiosity about what kind of ability the Shen family's Fifteen Swords actually contained. If he could practice such a magical sword technique, wouldn't it be like adding wings to a tiger? However, he only let out a low "hmm" from his throat and didn't ask any more questions.

  Shen Xiang seemed to see through his thoughts, and casually pulled Shen Dou's right hand into his palm, gazing at him with affectionate eyes. In those eyes, it was as if a thousand words were stored, all of which were praise and concern for Shen Dou.

  Shen Dou looked at his grandfather with a smile, filled with respect and gratitude. He recalled the scene ten years ago when his grandfather had rescued him from the Devil's Mountain, which was still vividly etched in his mind. Unable to contain his emotions, he said: "Thank you, Grandfather."

  Shen Xiang was taken aback by his words, "Thank? Foolish child, what am I thanking you for?"

  "Thank you, Grandfather, for everything. My greatest wish in this life, apart from avenging my mother who was swallowed by the demonic beast of Mo Shan, is to bring the highest honor to the Shen family and make it stand at the pinnacle of Lingzhou." Shen Dou said with sparkling eyes, as if filled with beautiful prospects for the future.

  "Hehe." Shen Xiang heard this and his face lit up with comfort, lovingly rubbing Shen Dou's slightly protruding occipital bone: "Good"

  Bamboo Book Ballad's Eight Trigrams Pavilion

  "Kid, let's not bring up the past anymore. Once you have more strength, you can achieve all your ambitions and ideals. Actually, you're much luckier than me because you have a grandfather like me who is open-minded and generous." As he spoke, he picked up two bamboo sticks about the size of thumbs from the ground, each about one meter long, and handed one to Shen Dou with a serious expression: "Come on, let's exchange a few moves first."

  "What's going on here?" Shen looked at Grandpa with a puzzled face, unable to guess the intention behind his actions for a moment, but still couldn't help but wonder if Grandpa was planning to release water.

  As expected, Shen Xiang's right hand grasped the end of the bamboo stick, using it as a sword, and retreated ten steps behind him with a serious face: "The fifteen swords of the Shen family are the family's specialty, only the heir to the patriarch and the elders in the family have the opportunity to practice, but I'm making an exception today to teach you, you must keep this secret for Grandfather, can you do it?"

  Shen Du heard this and was shocked, kneeling on one knee, clasping his fists and promising: "Du'er will definitely keep this secret!"

  "Alright, get up!" Shen Xiang continued: "Ordinary swordsmanship emphasizes taking the initiative, with speed, accuracy and ruthlessness as the main tone. However, the Shen family's Fifteen Swords emphasize using softness to overcome stiffness, and using stiffness to control softness. When the enemy is strong, be strong; when the enemy is weak, be weak. Use your breath to control your sword, with your breath preceding your sword. Your breath moves and your sword stops, your sword moves and your breath remains. This is the most basic mantra of the Shen family's Fifteen Swords. You must remember it firmly."

  Shen Du heard this and his expression turned solemn. He repeated it silently in his heart several times before saying, "I've already memorized it, son."

  Shen Xiang nodded in satisfaction.

  "Alright, let's start with the basic sword technique of the Shen family." Shen Xiang took a stance, his legs slightly apart, his waist lowered, and his right hand gripping the bamboo staff horizontally at his side, the tip pointing directly at Shen Dou's face.

  Shen Dou also made the same gesture and shouted loudly: "Grandfather, I'm here!" Before his voice fell, Shen Dou flew up, his bamboo stick and body forming a straight line, shooting directly at Shen Xiang's face.

  Shen Xiang saw the situation, his mouth slightly raised, and suddenly changed his posture. The bamboo stick stood in front of him, just blocking Shen Dou's swift attack, and shouted: "First move, Air Sword!" Before the words fell, Shen Xiang's hand left the bamboo stick, his toes lightly touched the ground, and flew back dozens of steps.

  Shen Doujian was shocked, this was not the basic swordsmanship of the Shen family, but a subtle and exquisite sword technique that he had never seen before. His heart tightened, his arm muscles bulged, and his originally not-so-strong arms suddenly transformed into unyielding iron arms. The bamboo cane in his hand immediately emitted a sharp sword aura, chasing after Shen Xiang.

  Shen Xiang saw the situation, and the corner of his mouth rose again. His hands made a series of movements in mid-air, such as waving, stabbing, chopping, and lifting. The bamboo stick that had originally left Shen Xiang's hand suddenly entwined itself with Shen Dou, following Shen Xiang's gestures.

  Shen Dou was shocked at the sight, but his face didn't change color. He quickly waved the bamboo stick in his hand and formed a stick curtain to easily block Shen Xiang's attack. Just as he was about to counterattack to Shen Xiang's side, he heard a "slap" sound, and Shen Xiang's bamboo stick actually hit Shen Dou's arm.

  "Awesome! So strong!" Shen Du's iron arms made a "ding ding" sound, and were actually hit until they felt a bit numb, but he didn't mind at all, continuing to advance forward. For more chapters, please visit.

  Shen Xiang was greatly surprised by this, and just as Shen Dou's bamboo stick was about to strike his Jianzhong acupoint, Shen Xiang had no choice but to retreat dozens of steps once again, still using his qi to control the sword.

  Now, Shen Xiang's bamboo staff reappeared behind Shen Du. As Shen Du was attacking Shen Xiang with all his might, another threat appeared behind him.

  Sensing the sharp sword energy coming from behind, Shen Dou let out a "whoosh" as he flipped his body and suddenly rose into the air, stepping on Shen Xiang's bamboo staff. Borrowing force to counterattack, the bamboo staff in his hand flew out of his grasp, shooting straight at Shen Xiang's face.

  Just as it was about to hit, Shen Xiang shouted from his mouth: "Crazy Sword Incantation!" Suddenly, the bamboo stick that was originally shot at Shen Xiang turned its head and reflected towards Shen Dou.

  "Ah!" Shen Du was shocked and pale, stepping on Shen Xiang's bamboo staff to meet his own flying staff at an extremely fast speed. He still couldn't dodge it, using his right arm to forcibly block his own staff, letting out a muffled "hmmph" sound, before falling heavily to the ground with a "thud".

  Shen Dou's right arm, which had been restored to its original state by Shen Xiang's powerful sword energy, dripped with fresh blood from his fingertips, but he endured the pain in his arm and stood up, his face calm as he said, "Grandfather, I lost."

  "No! You've already done great!" Shen Xiang said with a relieved face: "You used the basic sword moves of the Shen family to easily break through the first move of the Shenmen Fifteen Swords, it seems that Grandfather really didn't misjudge you." As he spoke, he took out a half-weathered and yellowed secret book from his bosom and handed it to Shen Dou.

  "Grandfather, this is the secret manual of Shenmen's Fifteen Swords!"

  "That's right, today Grandfather will officially pass on the Shen family's Fifteenth Sword to you. In the future, when you leave the Shen family, you'll also have to do another thing for Grandfather!" Shen Xiang looked at Shen Dou with a serious expression: "But Grandfather still has one more question to ask you, are you proud of being a descendant of the Shen family?"

  "Of course!" Shen Du replied affirmatively.

  "That's good, you must remember that as a descendant of the Shen family, you must prioritize the honor of the Shen family above all else. Everything must be done with the family's honor in mind, understand?" Shen Xiang looked at Shen Dou with a face full of expectation.

  "Don't worry, Grandfather. I will definitely make the Shen family stand at the pinnacle of Lingzhou and become your pride!"

  "Hmm, now open the last page of Shenmen Fifteen Swords." Shen Xiang commanded with a serious face.

  Shen Du did as he was told, but a look of surprise appeared on his face. He asked in astonishment: "Grandfather, why is there only the first half? Where's the second half?"

  "The latter half had been lost for hundreds of years, and there are things you don't know. In fact, the Shen family's initial power was renowned throughout the entire Spiritual State continent. No matter which member of the Shen family went to any place on the Spiritual State continent, they would receive the highest respect. But just because we lost the latter half of the Shen Family's Fifteen Swords, our family declined and has been unable to rise again in the Spiritual State until now. Alas!" Shen Xiang shook his head solemnly, while gazing at Shen Dou with eyes full of expectation.

  Shen Dou gazed at his grandfather's appearance, a surge of inexplicable determination filled his entire body. His left fist clenched tightly in front of his chest, and he firmly said to his grandfather again: "Grandfather, I will definitely find the second half of Shenmen's Fifteen Swords and restore the prestige of the Shen family!"

  Shen Xiang finally smiled and bandaged Shen Dou's wounded right arm. The grandfather-grandson duo walked out of the bamboo forest shoulder to shoulder.

  The fiery sunset dyed half of the sky red, and the light shone on the faces of the grandfather and grandson, incredibly carefree and beautiful!

  At this moment, in Shen's heart, he secretly vowed to find the evil person who took away the second half of Shenmen's Fifteen Swords and make the Shen family stand at the peak of the Lingzhou continent!