Urban Martial Saint

Shen Tianjun holding the Seven-Star Ancient Sword, said, ”After Brother Li San got the Seven-Star Ancient Sword, the Huangfu Household finally produced a remarkable person, which was Huangfu Ziyu’s grandfather, Huangfu Xiong. He revitalized the prestige of the Huangfu Household and restored it to its former peak state. He then personally went to the Northeast to find Brother Li San, willing to give up everything to trade back the Seven-Star Ancient Sword. Brother Li San was also a magnanimous man; knowing that the Seven-Star Ancient Sword was the Huangfu Family heirloom, he didn’t say a word and directly gave the sword back to them. However, the Seven-Star Ancient Sword had recognized Brother Li San, and no one from the Huangfu Household could tame the Ancient Sword any longer. So even though the Seven-Star Ancient Sword had returned to the Huangfu Household, not a single person there could wield it!”

When Shen Tianjun said this, he sighed softly. In fact, if someone from the Huangfu Household had been able to use the Seven-Star Ancient Sword at the time, their family might not have met with such a fate!

Ye Qing finally understood the situation with the Seven-Star Ancient Sword. Although Shen Tianjun didn’t elaborate, Ye Qing had roughly figured out what followed. Without a doubt, it must have been that great turmoil twenty years ago when the Huangfu Household was exterminated, and the Seven-Star Ancient Sword almost got snatched away. Shen Tianjun stepped in, took the Seven-Star Ancient Sword back, and it remained at Shen Family Manor, thus leading to later events.

Shen Tianjun reflected for a while, then suddenly turned to Ye Qing and said, ”Right, I heard that when you got hold of the Seven-Star Ancient Sword, it immediately recognized you?”

”Yes,” Ye Qing nodded, when he got hold of the Seven-Star Ancient Sword, he could immediately wield Sword Qi with it. At that time, both Old Wang Ba and Cui Yulong were extremely surprised, and even the people from Sha Men were astonished by this event.

”How is that possible?” Shen Tianjun couldn’t help but express his surprise, ”Famed instruments have always found their destined wielders. Even for those truly destined, it usually takes at least a few days for a famed instrument to recognize them. Zi Yu is among the most talented and capable young people I’ve seen. Yet she also took two full days to barely get the Cold Moon Blade to recognize her. Never have I heard, since ancient times, of anyone who could have a famed instrument recognize them the moment it was handed to them!”

”Is…is that difficult?” Ye Qing was suddenly stunned, if this came from the mouth of Shen Tianjun, it must be true. In that case, no wonder Cui Yulong and the others were so amazed at the time!

”Famed instruments have their own spirits, their own pride. It’s said that they typically won’t recognize a new owner unless their last owner has passed. When Brother Li San was alive, not a single person from the Huangfu Household could get the Seven-Star Ancient Sword to recognize a new owner, and that was the reason. Even if the previous owner has died, without the instrument’s acceptance, no one could hope to control it. That’s why many families have famed instruments as their protectors, yet very few can truly wield them. If it weren’t so, how could those from Sha Men have stolen so many famed instruments? The Seven-Star Ancient Sword is the same. You managed to get it to recognize you the moment you took it, which probably only has one explanation.”

”What explanation?” asked Ye Qingqi.

Shen Tianjun said, ”Its previous owner was Brother Li San, and you are Brother Li San’s successor, training the exact same Martial Arts as he did. Or, it may have regarded you as Brother Li San, and that could be why it yielded to you!”

Ye Qing looked at the Seven-Star Ancient Sword, never having imagined that a weapon could seem to have thoughts of its own. However, he had to admit these events: the Seven-Star Ancient Sword had little effect in the hands of others, but in his hands, it could unleash incredibly powerful forces, which was truly miraculous.

”Let it be, as long as the Seven-Star Ancient Sword can be used by you, there’s no need to dwell on those things anymore!” Shen Tianjun gripped the Seven-Star Ancient Sword tightly, turned to Ye Qing, and said, ”An ancient saying goes, ’Among a hundred weapons, the knife is king, and among ten thousand instruments, the sword is the monarch.’ Swords have always been extensively used weapons in Huaxia since ancient times. Therefore, from antiquity to the present, many Swordsmanship sects have emerged. These sects generally favor a style that is light and graceful, the complete opposite of the domineering and unbound nature of knives. Thus, those who practice Swordsmanship emphasize the appearance of ease and graceful movements, the quicker the better.”

Hearing this, Ye Qing’s face turned a shade of red. Whilst in his hands, the Seven-Star Ancient Sword bore no nuances of method or graceful agility. In his grip, it was not much different from a chopping knife, hacked horizontally and vertically without much finesse. Now that Shen Tianjun spoke of these techniques, it made him feel quite embarrassed.

”However, I can tell you that all that talk about appearing effortless and agile is nonsense!” Shen Tianjun casually dismissed it with a wave of his hand, proudly stating, ”What appears effortless is indeed a state in martial arts. However, when Neijia Kung Fu reaches a certain level, the emphasis is not on appearing effortless, but on making the easy seem heavy. What does appearing effortless mean? It implies that a hundred-jin longsword in your hand feels as light as a stalk of straw. Do you think that’s difficult?”

Ye Qing scratched his head and spoke softly, ”That... that doesn’t sound too easy either!”

”You think so, and indeed, many people do as well. Actually, this kind of thinking is only at the External Kung Fu level,” Shen Tianjun said. ”To easily lift something that weighs a hundred jin, one simply needs to train more in strength. Those weightlifters, for example, can do it; it’s not hard with more muscle. However, if I give you a straw and ask you to create the impact of a hundred-jin longsword, can you do it?”

”That…” Ye Qing was immediately taken aback. How could a straw possibly create the impact of a hundred-jin longsword?

”That’s what I call making the easy seem heavy!” Shen Tianjun declared. ”What appears effortless is an External Kung Fu concept, while making the easy seem heavy is an indication of Neijia Kung Fu mastery. Highly advanced Neijia Kung Fu allows one to harm another with the plucking of leaves and the tossing of flowers—that is the true demonstration of making the easy seem heavy!”

As Shen Tianjun spoke, he strolled into the courtyard, snapped off a dry branch from the large tree, turned to Ye Qing, and said, ”Come here.”

Ye Qing immediately rose to his feet and walked over, Shen Tianjun tossed the Seven-Star Ancient Sword to Ye Qing. Ye Qing caught the Ancient Sword, and immediately he was overwhelmed by a familiar sensation that spread throughout his body. Holding the Seven-Star Ancient Sword, he became incredibly self-assured. It was no wonder Cui Yulong would always carry the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade wherever he went; the reason was clear.

Shen Tianjun gently waved the withered branch in his hand, then slowly extended it towards Ye Qing, saying, ”Chop at me with one strike!”

Ye Qing hesitated for a moment but still lifted the Seven-Star Ancient Sword and slowly chopped down. He knew that with Shen Tianjun’s strength, it wouldn’t matter if he was holding the Seven-Star Ancient Sword or even a rocket launcher, he couldn’t hurt him.

Shen Tianjun gave a slight flick of the withered branch in his hand, precisely striking the side of the Seven-Star Ancient Sword. Ye Qing only felt a tremendous force coming at him, and his sword-wielding hand couldn’t hold on; the Seven-Star Ancient Sword flew out of his grip and crashed onto the ground.

Ye Qing was startled; he hadn’t expected the seemingly breakable withered branch in Shen Tianjun’s hand to possess such immense power. It was terrifying!

Shen Tianjun shook his head and said, ”Grip it tightly, and chop at me again!”

Ye Qing picked up the Seven-Star Ancient Sword from the ground, clenched his teeth, held the hilt with both hands, and forcefully struck down with the sword. This time, Shen Tianjun reacted just as he had before, striking the Seven-Star Ancient Sword with the withered branch. However, this time he didn’t aim for the side of the sword but for the blade of the Seven-Star Ancient Sword.

Ye Qing was amazed; the Seven-Star Ancient Sword was incomparably sharp, capable of severing a steel knife on contact. How could a withered branch hope to block this longsword?

However, just when he was sure the withered branch would be cut in two, the branch and sword collided. Just like the last time, a powerful force hit him, and the tremendous strength sent the Seven-Star Ancient Sword flying, numbing his hands from the impact. Looking at the withered branch again, it was completely undamaged, still intact!

This totally shocked Ye Qing; he looked at Shen Tianjun in astonishment and thought, could this be the principle of ’the heavy as if light’? A withered branch holding such power was beyond his wildest imaginations!

”Surprised, aren’t you?” Shen Tianjun smiled and said, ”I’ve told you before, a true master can injure others with falling leaves or fluttering flowers. Although the Seven-Star Ancient Sword is sharp, such famed instruments are not so useful in the eyes of a true master. What you really need to understand is a principle!”

Shen Tianjun continued to speak as he slowly took a step forward. A step that seemed effortless left a deep footprint on the ground, startling Ye Qing once more.

”Do you understand what you’re witnessing?” Shen Tianjun asked with a smile.

Ye Qing looked at the footprint on the ground and after a long silence, said, ”Senior Shen, there must be a hollow beneath here, right?”

”Hahaha…” Shen Tianjun laughed heartily and said, ”Correct, you are very observant. The ground underneath is indeed hollow. With this one step, I could easily make a hole in the ground. Even you could easily make a hole here!”

Ye Qing was puzzled; he didn’t understand why Shen Tianjun would suddenly say such a thing.

Shen Tianjun asked, ”But have you ever thought whether you could easily make a hole elsewhere?”

Ye Qing shook his head and said, ”Only where it’s hollow underneath would it be relatively easy!”

”Exactly!” Shen Tianjun nodded and said, ”While this is a very common natural phenomenon, there are few who truly understand it. Martial arts, when it comes down to it, is about maximizing the potential of the human body. But the human body has its limits, so what if one could fully unleash its potential? In the end, humans cannot defy the natural laws of this world!”