Urban Martial Saint

Shen Tianjun saw Ye Qing and smiled, saying, ”You’ve come!”

Ye Qing walked over to Shen Tianjun’s side with Shen Qingyi, where Shen Lingwei was sitting beside Shen Tianjun. Although she could not see Ye Qing, she always wore a smile on her face and said, ”Ye!”

”Miss Shen.” Ye Qing returned the smile to Shen Lingwei, admiring the girl greatly. Although she was blind, her peaceful and tranquil mindset was among the best he had ever seen!

Shen Qingyi looked at Huangfu Ziyu with surprise and said, ”Grandfather, Ms. Huangfu came so early? She hasn’t eaten yet, has she?”

”The blade is the tyrant among weapons, and the wielder of the blade must embody its domineering and powerful spirit. Since ancient times, tyrants must not live too comfortably, or they will lose their resolve. Thus, it is best for practitioners of the blade to train while hungry, which is a principle of hunger. Just like the wolves of the wild, a hungry wolf is always fiercer and more domineering than a satiated one,” explained Shen Tianjun. ”In fact, in ancient times, skilled blade users would often train their disciples early in the morning. At that time, when one is hungry, it’s possible to truly bring out that domineering feeling. If one eats too fully, they would become too comfortable and unable to exert their full strength!”

”Is there really so much to consider with such things?” Shen Qingyi asked in amazement.

”Heh, human capabilities are limited, but natural laws are infinite. If one wishes to maximize their strength, they must follow these natural laws!” Shen Tianjun said. ”In a duel between experts, a small difference can determine victory or defeat. Timing, geographic advantage, and harmony among people all require careful study and are indispensable. Sometimes, even one’s mindset is the key to victory, and it must not be overlooked!”

Ye Qing, who was listening at the side, felt even more awe-stricken. Just yesterday, Shen Tianjun had talked to him about the laws of nature, and he thought it referred merely to reaching the optimal results by applying the correct trajectory and force, following physical laws. Little did he know, truly adhering to these natural laws involved such intricacies, and it opened his eyes to new possibilities!

”According to what you’re saying, Ye just ate, so isn’t it not good for him to practice swordsmanship now?” inquired Shen Qingyi.

”That’s different!” Shen Tianjun shook his head and said, ”The sword is the king of all weapons, and since ancient times, kings are expected to be peaceful and tranquil, unlike tyrants. To master swordsmanship, it is best to wield the sword when one’s mind is most tranquil. Thus, the best sword techniques throughout history have been created by those with calm mindsets, while the best of blade techniques tend to be born from the desperate struggles of valiant heroes at the brink of defeat!”

During the conversation, Huangfu Ziyu had already finished a set of blade techniques, sheathed her Cold Moon Blade, and walked over.

Seeing Huangfu Ziyu approaching, Ye Qing quickly stood up and said, ”Miss Huangfu.”

Ye Qing hadn’t had the chance to greet Huangfu Ziyu yesterday before she left. Today, he stood up to speak first, and though it felt somewhat awkward, he was still deeply concerned about Huangfu Ziyu.

”Hmm!” Huangfu Ziyu nodded, her gaze swiftly passing over Ye Qing without lingering. Her abrupt change in attitude towards Ye Qing filled him with a sense of desolation.

”Master!” Huangfu Ziyu looked at Shen Tianjun and asked, ”How was my practice today?”

”Better than yesterday, but you still have not reached the state I’ve described,” Shen Tianjun calmly stated as he observed Huangfu Ziyu. ”Zi Yu, your thoughts have been quite unstable these past two days, not suitable for blade practice. I think it’s best for you to rest for now. Once your mindset is steady, you can come back to train!”

Huangfu Ziyu’s face flushed slightly; her thoughts had indeed become unstable after Ye Qing’s appearance. Shen Tianjun’s observations were meticulous, and his discernment of these things left her feeling exceedingly embarrassed.

”Yes, Master. Then I’ll head back first!” Huangfu Ziyu bowed to Shen Tianjun and Old Madame Shen, sheathed her blade, and turned to leave the courtyard directly.

As Ye Qing watched Huangfu Ziyu leave, his heart was filled with a mix of emotions. Although his heart was fully devoted to Shen Qingyi, he could not deny his feelings for Huangfu Ziyu, who had helped and saved him so many times. But with both girls together, how should he choose?

Watching Huangfu Ziyu’s retreating figure, Shen Tianjun sighed softly, fully aware of the reason behind her emotional turmoil. Huangfu Ziyu was a woman with exceedingly high standards, and there were very few men in the world who could catch her eye. For over twenty years, other men could lose their lives merely by looking at her. Shen Tianjun even doubted if she could ever fall for any man in her lifetime.

However, Ye Qing’s arrival had completely changed everyone’s perception, like a stone cast into a calm lake, causing ripples that could not be stilled. And once the tranquil lake of Huangfu Ziyu’s heart began to ripple, it became difficult to calm again. Falling for a man, she would love him deeply and unchangeably. But she must also suppress these feelings, so naturally, her state of mind could not remain stable.

Shen Tianjun glanced at Shen Qingyi, who was sitting cozily beside Ye Qing, and sighed again. The matter of the heart is the most mysterious thing, uncontrollable by anyone. Even with his overwhelming power, he could not change the young girl’s thoughts; all he could do was watch how things unfolded.

”Ye Qing,” Shen Tianjun walked into the courtyard, broke off a piece of dead branch, and handed it to Ye Qing, saying, ”Try again, let me see how your practice went yesterday!”

”Yes!” Ye Qing responded, took the dead branch, and slowly walked to the side of the tree in the courtyard. He took a deep breath and then struck forcefully. Just as the dead branch was about to hit the tree trunk, he gave a slight shake of his hand, and the branch nimbly turned, dissipating most of its force, before hitting the trunk.

With a snap, the branch broke. However, the tree trunk seemed as if someone had lightly pushed it, swaying gently.

”Good!” A trace of surprise flashed in Shen Tianjun’s eyes, and he couldn’t help but praise, as he had not expected Ye Qing to make such significant progress in such a short time.

One must know, to make a tree shake with a dead branch already shows an understanding of the principle of making a heavy weight feel light. However, Ye Qing had not practiced for long enough and was not able to completely dissipate the force on the branch, which is why it broke. Even so, this was no small feat. Even others like Grand King Shen Tian’an, Cui Yulong, and the rest had not reached such a realm. How could they not be astounded when Ye Qing had managed to achieve this in merely one day?

Ye Qing looked at the broken branch and said regretfully, ”I am slow-witted and still can’t completely dissipate the force; the branch will still break.”

”Don’t be discouraged!” Shen Tianjun waved his hand, saying, ”The way of dissipating force is the finest skill in Neijia Kung Fu. The so-called ’Four Taels Shifts Thousand Catties’ sounds simple, but how many can truly achieve it? Your insight within just one day has reached a realm that many will never achieve in their lifetime. It is already quite remarkable. If you could prevent the branch from breaking within a day, what would there be left for me to teach you? With your insight, it would already be a miracle to achieve this in ten years.”

”That long!?” Ye Qing couldn’t help but exclaim.

Shen Tianjun smiled slightly and said, ”It took me a full fifty years to reach this stage, what do you think?”

Ye Qing’s eyes widened in shock. Shen Tianjun’s seemingly simple move from yesterday had, unexpectedly, taken so long to master, which was indeed quite shocking to hear.

What Ye Qing did not know was that what Shen Tianjun was teaching him included the essence of Shen Tianjun’s life-long insights. It had taken Shen Tianjun fifty years to realize this, and before he had a chance to pass it on to his own son, he had taught it to Ye Qing first, showing the great expectations he had for him. Ye Qing’s insight had truly surpassed his expectations; the progress made in just a day had made him look at Ye Qing with new respect.

”Now that you have reached this level of understanding, it’s just right for you to learn this set of swordsmanship,” said Shen Tianjun as he threw the Seven-Star Ancient Sword to Ye Qing, ”I will only teach you this set of swordsmanship once, so you must observe carefully!”

Shen Tianjun spoke and straight away turned and went back inside the hall to sit down, showing no intention of coming out to teach Ye Qing.

”Grandfather, what are you doing?” Shen Qingyi asked curiously, ”Didn’t you say you were going to teach Brother Ye swordsmanship? Why aren’t you going out?”

”To teach swordsmanship, one doesn’t necessarily need to go outside,” Shen Tianjun said with a slight smile, casually grabbing a handful of fried soybeans and addressing Ye Qing, ”Watch carefully!”

As Shen Tianjun spoke, he pinched a soybean between his fingers and flicked it. The soybean shot straight towards Ye Qing like a bullet.

Feeling the power of the soybean, Ye Qing was startled and quickly tried to dodge. Just then, Shen Tianjun flicked another soybean, blocking his retreat. At this point, it was impossible for Ye Qing to dodge.

The power of the soybean was strong. Although it was just a soybean, Ye Qing didn’t dare to take the hit head-on. With no other option, he raised the Seven-Star Ancient Sword in his hand to block the soybean.

Indeed, the move was effective; the Seven-Star Ancient Sword rose and blocked the first soybean. However, the impact of the soybean was so great that the Ancient Sword nearly flew out of Ye Qing’s hand, and his arm jerked backwards sharply, startling him once again.

Such power from a small soybean? Southern Fist King Shen Tianjun’s strength was profoundly unfathomable!

Before Ye Qing could react, a third soybean shot towards him. Knowing that dodging was futile, he vigorously raised the Seven-Star Ancient Sword again to block it. This time, he was more cautious and used more strength, enough to prevent the Ancient Sword from being knocked away by the soybean.