Chapter 641: Just Getting Started
"What happened?"
"Why did she break through?"
Nobody could understand what was going on. They were discussing Hong Mei's needle art. What did this have to do Zhou Ziyun's cultivation? All she did was use her brain to comprehend a few things. Was there a cultivation art like this?
The four so-called geniuses were also dumbfounded. The gentle scholar, Deng Lun, was perhaps the most affected. He had been directly challenged and lost out on pure ability. And on top of that, he had been slapped across the face by his opponent directly breaking through in front of everyone. Not only was this the greatest defeat of his life, he had no idea how he had lost.
Little Devil Tang Liang's thoughts were also turbulent but for a different reason. She had befriended Zhou Ziyun because of instructions from the house master. She had heard some old rumors about this person but she had never really believed them. Cultivation through comprehension, nobody thought it was real but she had just seen it with her very eyes.
The other two had sharply contrasting reactions. The cool and calm Brilliant Blue Ming Yuqi glared at Zhou Ziyun as if she was the most dangerous person in the world. It couldn't be helped that the Eastern Light Clan already had some animosity with Ten Thousand Flower Valley. But the ever-confident Prince Huang, Huang Yaoying, was staring at Zhou Ziyun as if she was the most attractive woman in the whole world. All thoughts of Ming Yuqi were forgotten. He looked like had suddenly found the most precious gem.
Zhou Ziyun didn't care about any of this. She barely even recognized her own breakthrough. The reason was that her spiritual sea was still buzzing with enlightened spiritual energy. Her mind was still filled with thoughts about the Great Dao.
She had been able to grasp the truth within another person's cultivation art. It had been amazing and unexpected. It had led to a small breakthrough in her cultivation. But she still wasn't completely sure if this was a one-time thing or not. She needed more information. She had to get confirmation and this stage was the perfect place to experiment.
She recalled the previous guests, their cultivations, and the advice they had received.
The first was an old man from the Falling Leaf Sect who wielded the Falling Leaf Sword Dao. Tang Liang had won that round. She had correctly identified the origin of the sword art and the matter was settled.
But was it really that simple? Was achieving the Great Dao so easy?
Thinking about this, Zhou Ziyun felt a burst of inspiration. She leaped to her feet and strode towards where the guests were seated. Shouts from the announcer and the event organizers followed but she ignored them. She found the old man among the sea of faces and pointed him out.
"Falling Leaf Sect! You do not have to return to your homes in shame!"
Her shout brought silence to the forest arena. If it was anyone else, they might have been met with jeers of displeasure. But the stage was still hers and she had not relinquished it.
"Miss Tang's analysis that your sword art originated from an immortal's sword art is indeed correct. Your sect's ancestor can be faulted for that but he can't be faulted for what he had done after that point. You see, simply going back to the Falling Leaf Sword Style from three hundred and fifty years ago is not the right path."
"Water flows downward but humankind strives upward. Your Falling Leaf Sword Dao has many flaws and missing pieces, that is all true. But it is still a sword art that countless members of your sect have studied and pondered for centuries. As a result, I have identified at least two movements where there have been substantial improvements from the original. Therefore, your sect is not without merit. You can be said to have improved an immortal's Dao and achieved your own contribution!"
"How... how..." The old man stuttered, unbelieving and unsure of what was going on.
Zhou Ziyun didn't relent and continued, "This is not something strange. An immortal may seem all-powerful and infallible to mortals but they can still make mistakes. After all, Immortal Autumn Leaf Liu Ye was just a Spirit Lord Realm cultivator. Why was he not able to make any more progress and reach higher realms? Simple, his immortal sword Dao still had many flaws and was not the complete truth!"
She paused for a breath and turned to a familiar face, "Now, I want to ask Miss Tang a favor."
"Me? Why?" Tang Liang's expression wasn't good.
It was natural since she had already won this round many hours ago. Nobody would appreciate a competitor digging up old matters. Even if she had been instructed by her father to befriend Zhou Ziyun, she wasn't so broad-minded.
Zhou Ziyun smiled lightly, "This involves an immortal sword art and whether or not it can be improved. Isn't this a great matter? For the metropolis and the subcontinent as a whole? You are the only one who can perform the original Falling Leaf Sword Style in its entirety. I sincerely ask that you can help and coordinate with me on this."
Tang Liang hesitated for a while before nodding slowly. She was still reluctant in her body language but it seemed that she had received fresh instruction from her superiors.
"Excellent," Zhou Ziyun said, "Your amazing memory will be essential to this demonstration. The original Falling Leaf Sword Style has ten forms and ten movements in each for a total of ninety-nine movements. The lesser Falling Leaf Sword Dao has eighty-eight movements. Do you remember them all?"
"Yes."
"Can you please replace the tenth movement of the Falling Leaf Sword Style with the ninth movement of the Falling Leaf Sword Dao and the fifty-third movement of the original with the forty-eighth movement of the other one?"
Tang Liang frowned, "Only these two?"
Zhou Ziyun nodded once, "Only these two. It is not easy to improve an immortal's sword art and they only managed to do so with these two."
Tang Liang's face became serious. She finally grasped the importance of the situation. All immortal arts were precious. The fact that this one resided in the central library meant that it could be learned by many. If such an art could be improved, it would mean an improvement to the overall strength of the people of the subcontinent that learned it.
"Alright, watch me!" Tang Liang declared and raised her sword.
She immediately began, her sword flashing and dancing to the same tune once again.
Experienced sword cultivators around the arena watched intently. They recognized the familiar movements one after another. Some were doubtful while some were eager to see what would happen.
When Tang Liang reached the tenth movement, she smoothly substituted it with the movement from the lesser sword art. Most of it was the same but there were some significant differences. She felt the change immediately and it almost threw off her concentration. The replacement movement felt smoother, quicker, and flowed better with the previous movement as well as the next one.
Pushing away doubts, she continued with the performance. When she got to the fifty-third movement, she once again experienced the same. The modified movement was much better and felt like it belonged more than the original.
Zhou Ziyun's smile widened. Although she was not some sword fanatic, she could see it clearly. There was no doubt that sword cultivators in the audience could see the same things as her.
Like the first time with the needle art, her mind and comprehension ability had revealed the truth of another cultivation art. Her words were true and this immortal sword art had really been improved!
Her spiritual sea surged once more. She felt unsuppressed excitement. She was just getting started!
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