Chapter 30: CH-30: Gotta attend Lectures?! (1)

The question hung in the air, a challenge and an insult in equal measure. Dong Mulan, who had been fuming quietly since the tofu comment, had now been completely silenced.

Gu Changsheng, however, stepped forward calmly.

"I will, Elder Jian. My apologies."

He spoke, his voice steady despite the humiliation his companions had suffered.

Picking up the discarded training sword, his movements were more natural than the others’.

Unlike the others, he didn’t immediately fall into a recognizable stance from their sect. Instead, he held the sword loosely to his side, his posture relaxed but ready.

His eyes were fixed not on Elder Jian’s sword... but on herself, trying to perceive every subtle movement.

Elder Jian raised an eyebrow, a flicker of interest in her otherwise impassive face.

"Thinking outside your little box, are we? Then let’s see if it’s genuine insight or just another pretty affectation."

"Here I come!"

...

Time stops for no one, a few days flowing by like nothing. The sun, in turn, had reached its peak of the day, just as it always did.

In the Sword Arena, a unique scenery was being seen. A group of youngsters were lying flat on the floor, breathing heavily.

They were none other than Gu Changsheng, Dong Mulan, Ye Che, An Jian, Su Mingyue, and Ning Rongrong, tired from the torture they had been going through for the past few days.

After being thoroughly disciplined by Jian Yulan, if not anything else, they had at least learned to shut their mouths up, finally understanding that a foul mouth brings more than just mosquitoes to its owner.

Jian Yulan had also let An Jian join them in the training session, saving herself much time to spar.

"Alright, rest time over. Now get up!"

She stated, her tone plain and stern, but equally authoritative.

And at her command, the ragged group pushed themselves up, their bodies protesting with every movement.

At her command, the six of them groaned internally, but their bodies responded anyway, falling into the stances they had been forced to repeat hundreds of times.

The training these days had been quite fruitful, with Dong Mulan even breaking through to the Qi Refinement Realm.

With An Jian joining, the group retained much hustle and bustle, Ning Rongrong being the closest to him.

Su Mingyue, too, had scratched her disgust away and became close, while Gu Changsheng felt complicated. He still helped his senior brother in wooing Su Mingyue, as she herself wasn’t repulsive.

And through Gu Changsheng’s help on several occasions, they had become good friends somehow, with most of the credit going to Su Mingyue for her own self-persuasion.

Elder Yulan, seeing everyone back to work, pondered for a while and stopped them.

"In your opinion, what is Sword Intent?"

She asked, trying to understand their view of swordsmanship, to which Dong Mulan replied,

"Isn’t Sword Intent... sword intent?"

She had gone from fearing Elder Yulan to fearing her a little less. But her answer, in a sense, was quite ragebaiting.

Gu Changsheng: "..."

Jian Yulan: "..."

The rest: "..."

Shaking her head in a speechless manner, she intoned in a heavy manner, sighing as she did so.

"Intent is a simplified manifestation of the mysterious laws, wielded only by those with exceptional talent. Its strength is directly proportional to one’s understanding of that particular way of cultivation!"

"Rather than stereotypical laws, intents are more varied, like Sword Intent, Battle Intent, Berserk Intent, etc."

"Sword Intent is a power born from a swordsman’s intention and understanding of the sword, carrying his own emotions in it."

Letting a moment of rest for the dumb ones to digest the info, she continued on.

"I also have cultivated a Sword Intent. I named it Remorseless Sword Intent."

A moment of silence followed. Dong Mulan understood none of it, as shown by her confused expression, while the others only understood a little.

Gu Changsheng had a thoughtful expression on his face, thinking of another matter.

His Salted Fish System’s main feature, which he had almost forgotten, included mental cultivation and law understanding, though he had refrained from using it after the last incident.

Sighing inwardly, he denied using it, or something more terrible might happen, especially losing control over his body.

"Elder Jian, are we going to try cultivating Sword Intent next?"

Asked Su Mingyue. She was almost certain this was the reason, or else Elder Jian couldn’t waste their time talking.

"Hmm, but only you four," Jian Yulan answered carelessly, then looked towards Ning Rongrong and Dong Mulan, saying, "As for you both..."

"You’re free."

Ning Rongrong almost jumped for joy at that, barely controlling herself, knowing it was rude to do so.

But Dong Mulan... She didn’t, taking off from the ground as she screamed loudly.

"Hurrey!!"

Gu Changsheng grimaced, looking towards Jian Yulan worriedly, only to see a gentle smile upon her face.

This was the first time he had seen her smile, by Mulan’s antics at that.

Truly, a woman’s mood hops on a trampoline!

"How are we... going to cultivate Sword Intent?"

An Jian asked the question he couldn’t quite find an answer to, looking for answers from the elder in front.

Watching the two lasses go away, Jian Yulan’s face returned to its usual seriousness. She answered solemnly,

"Sword Intent has nothing much to do with strength. Its essence is the understanding of the Way of the Sword, so we shall discuss the Way of the Sword."

She looked towards them with an analyzing gaze.

"Let me ask again, in your opinion, what is a sword?"

The question left all four puzzled. They looked at each other, but no one could answer her question, not the way she wanted, at least. They simply thought of a sword as a weapon, nothing more, nothing less.

Seeing their confusion, she didn’t wait for an answer.

"For a mortal, it’s just a tool for protection; for a warrior, it’s a tool meant to slay; and for a cultivator, it’s a tool that becomes their companion on their journey of cultivation. But for a swordsman, it’s not a tool... not just a tool!"

"It’s something that reflects their own life, gives meaning to their lives, strengthens their purpose! The sword gives form to their will, while their will gives meaning to the sword!!"

Her words resounded with a profound truth that none could deny.

"You don’t need to be the sharpest blade in the armory to have Sword Intent. All you need is understanding. Understanding of the path you want to walk upon, and understanding yourself."