Rise of Humanity

by <unknown>

  Zhong Yue locked his brows as he entered the Knowledge Teaching Pavilion and sat on Elder Pu’s spot, he glanced at the few dozens of upper house disciples below him while his heart palpitated in anxiousness.

  The upper house disciples below the stage were all startled, their tongues were wagging, curiously discussing about the identity of the young man on the stage that looked about the same age as themselves.

  Cold sweat rushed out of Zhong Yue’s forehead, he opened his mouth and not knowing what he should say, was getting more flustered. All of a sudden, he thought to himself, I’ve been through life and death situations, killed and slaughtered monster Qi Practitioners, traveled to the sun and walked on the moon, I’ve witnessed the coffins of the gods with my own eyes, is simply teaching a class of juniors really going to be where I falter?

  Just as his thoughts reached there, he regained his composure, smiled and opened his mouth, “Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to teach you the quintessence of the 【Spring Thunderbolt Sword Skill】. The 【Spring Thunderbolt Sword Skill】, a totem of thunder with twelve permutations, learning all twelve is merely understanding the form. But that’s not all you need to acquire the quintessence, you still need to grasp the imposing spirituality within. The thunder hails from the nine heavens; it is strong and powerful, imposing and majestic, its form ferocious, its rumble deafening, its spirituality like sword. All of you, come and follow me outside, I’ll demonstrate and let you all take a good look at it. Watch carefully and study the twelve permutations of the thunder totem. It will then be easier for you all to grasp the spirituality within it.”

  Zhong Yue strode out of the Knowledge Teaching Pavilion, the disciples were shocked and overjoyed at the time, but their hearts were filled with doubts, Can this new teacher really galvanize the power of thunder and show us? He can’t really be able to, can he? He only looks to be about the same age as us….

  The disciples walked out of the pavilion, Zhong Yue’s Great Sun Golden Crow Yuan Shen flew up into the air, to the lightning zone above Swords Gate; the lightning suddenly converged and with a sudden flash of blinding light, a thunderbolt struck towards his Yuan Shen!

  Zhong Yue quickly recalled his Great Sun Yuan Shen, the thunderbolt was drawn by his Yuan Shen and followed behind like a sword ray; it struck in a zig-zagged pattern while the thunderous lightning bolted right at his Yuan Shen!

  KA-CHA——

  Outside of the Knowledge Teaching Pavilion, a loud rumble of thunder could be heard, the sound echoed all around, vibrating the air particles with the resultant shockwaves impacting onto the ground.

  The upper house disciples were all shuddering and staggering when the sounds of thunder rumbling pressed down onto them, their psyche and soul were suppressed by the dominating aura of the thunderbolt; their eyes were filled with respect and admiration as they fixed their gazes at Zhong Yue.

  “What is the spirituality of the thunder? I believe it can be encapsulated into two passages, if you can understand them, then it’ll be very simple and easy to acquire the quintessence.”

  Zhong Yue said didactically, “The first passage is ‘The caves empty with the advent of the night spring thunder, the snakes slither and the insects swarm about; Earthworms contend with one another to leave the soil. They unburrow and touch upon the evergreen in exuberance! When the spring thunder strikes, every living being will be affrighted and the desolate winter will be banished!’ This is the aura you will need!”

  KRONG!

  He then drew in another thunderbolt, it struck down from the upper air above Swords Gate, the window lattices of the Knowledge Teaching Pavilion shuddered and threatened to deafen the ears of those around, “The second passage is, ‘Thunderbolts - fire of the heaven. Thunder that moves upon the land baptized by the sun .’ The thunder refers to the lightning, and their movement is characterized by Yang and an indomitable toughness. There are natural totem carvings intrinsic to the thunderbolts, grasp the air of the lightning, the Yang and the toughness in them ... and then you would have grasped the quintessence.”

  Each and every one of the disciples had their own enlightenment; the thunderbolts continued striking down perpetually right at the young teacher’s atman, but he seemed impervious to the ferocious destructive force of the thunderbolts , rather, they were extracted by him for the refinement of his atman.

  The disciples quickly settled down and attentively studied the thunderbolts, trying their utmost to understand and glean the abstruse profundity of the two passages while they corroborated their understandings with each other.

  Not far away from them, Elder Pu was surprised and contented, he covertly nodded, then turned and left, This child, his Dao pedagogy is even better than mine, what a good seedling in the field of teaching. After his class, there won’t be an insignificant number of these little disciples that will go on to grasp the quintessence of the 【Spring Thunderbolt Sword Skill】….

  Zhong Yue wholeheartedly taught the upper house disciples, not long later, a number of them have successfully grasped the quintessence; and after another few moments, there were more upper house disciples to have also succeeded.

  An hour had passed before Elder Pu finally returned, he smiled and said, “Junior Martial Brother Zhong, that person agreed to help, come, follow me!”

  Zhong Yue rejoiced as he quickly followed behind and asked, “Elder Pu, how should I address him?”

  Elder Pu hesitated, he pondered for a moment and answered, “Just call him ‘old man’, don’t worry about addressing him in any other ways.”

  Old man? What is this weird form of address?, Zhong Yue was baffled.

  “Old man doesn’t have many rules or customs, but he holds an exalted seniority in Swords Gate, it would be unwise if you were to offend him.”

  Elder Pu led Zhong Yue into the inner hall, he then flew in the air above Swords Gate for a period of time. There were mountains abound on the Swords Gate Mountain, ridges and valleys wreathed around the mountainside; not long after, they alighted onto the ground and hiked past a few mountains and arrived in front of a steep precipice. From the top to the bottom of the precipice, its color was entirely jade-white as it was indeed an unearthly huge clump of fine jade!

  The air around turned warm and gentle as they walked to the side of the precipice, the rays reflected sheened their skins white.

  “This is the Yu Jade Ridge of Swords Gate, the old man is waiting for you in there.”

  Elder Pu stopped down, he smiled and said, “You should go in now.”

  Zhong Yue thanked him and walked forward along the path, there were marble pillars made of jade beside the road engraved with all sorts of art; on some were beasts, and on others were carved celestial beings, floras and also mythical creatures.

  Regardless of the engravings, they were all made of totem carvings, inanimate items but real and genuine-looking nonetheless.

  After a while, the distinctive sounds of sculpturing could be heard, he followed the sound to its source to find a wizened and ashen-haired elderly man sculpting a dazzlingly beautiful woman that was about the same height as an adult. But she does not look like one from the human race as she had three heads accompanied by a pair of wings; her countenances were stunningly beautiful, one impish and elfin, one solemn and dignified, and another demure and sweet.

  The air around the elderly man was old and bleak, like the twilight that slowly faded away in the dusk; in between his fingers flitted a Sword Qi, thin like a thread. It was revolving around the huge jade stone sculpture, even carving out the finest details of the tiny feathers.

  Zhong Yue waited patiently, the sculpting speed of the elderly man was very slow, no one could possibly know when he would complete the sculpture.

  A few moments he waited, and Zhong Yue thought to himself, Elder Pu would not bring me here without rhyme or reason, there must be something that I’ve missed. The old man has devoted all his attention to the sculpture, he won’t be stopping anytime soon. Could it be that he wants me
to look at him sculpturing, could this be the way to eliminate the hidden danger of bypassing the Spirit Nurturing stage?

  He meticulously scrutinized the elderly man’s sculpting skill, it appeared ordinary and mundane at first, but slowly, the nuanced abstrusity revealed itself to him, and he was greatly moved. The elderly man’s Sword Qi moved around with the vigor of a dragon and the agility of a snake, even the finest textures of the feathers began to resemble nature itself. It was as if they were in fact, natural totem carvings!

  Wait a second! This will of sword….

  Zhong Yue’s heart quaked, the abstruse totem carvings and the sculpture of the dazzling beauty receded from his vision. The only thing left reflecting in his eyes ... was the Sword Qi, thin like a thread of spider’s silk in between the elderly man’s fingers.

  It frolicked waltzed about freely, it elicited the scene of a man splashing ink around unrestrained to his own heart’s content. The Sword Qi danced around in a regular and ordered pattern and yet, what was reflected in Zhong Yue’s sights was a chaotic scene of Swords Qi piercing through the heavenly firmament!

  These disordered Sword Qi were the ones he once saw in the sword token – old and archaic like the ancient pines with dried branches and withered twigs protruding all around. Although the elderly man’s hands were sedated and steady and the Sword Qi was also controlled and ordered; the carvings in the sword token and the sculpturings of the elderly man contained the same and exact will of sword!

  He was the one who carved the【Geng Jin Sword Qi】sword token Qiu Jin’er gave to me!

  Zhong Yue then suddenly understood it all, he focused all his concentrations and gazed at the Sword Qi as it danced around like flowing waters with the abstruse sword’s will in it, it was as if he was looking at a peerless swordsman brandishing his sword.

  The ostensible scenery to the others would appear as an elderly man sculpting, but to him, he could see the Sword Qis that were crisscrossed splitting the heavenly firmament!

  The Sword Qi was free and unconstrained, boundless to any form, nimble, versatile and unpredictable; it made him think of the sword marks like tousled grass in the sword token. The mutual corroboration of the image in his mind and the scenery before his eyes benefited him a lot.

  Unknowingly to him how long has passed, Zhong Yue suddenly regained his consciousness; at this time, the elderly man has already finished his sculpture, he has kept away the Sword Qi that was flowing in between his fingers. Zhong Yue cast his gaze over to the jade sculpture, for a moment there he almost thought that the sculptured goddess has come to life, fluttering her sleeves and danced gracefully, her beautiful countenances smiled coquettishly, and in his ears he could hear the titterings of the goddess and indistinct chatters.

  “Zhong Shan Clan member, you’ve been staring at it for so long, you must have some understandings of your own in mind? Why don’t you try and sculpt something?” The elderly man smiled and said.

  Chapter 94: Sculpting the Sun |

  In front of Zhong Yue’s cave dwelling stood a young man and Ta Wuyou. The young man then asked, “Is this the place?”

  “Yes, this is it!”

  Looking ashamed, Ta Wuyou nodded his head and said, “Wulu, I was beaten by the Zhong Shan Clan member here. He mustn’t be underestimated….”

  “I will not make such an amateurish mistake. Although we, the Ta Lin Clan are not one of the top ten clans; but as your elder brother, I will avenge your defeat and reclaim the honor of the Ta Lin Clan.”

  Ta Wulu placed his hands on his back, his voice was indifferent, “He was the one who could stand equally with Shui Qingyan, they were both listed as the strongest disciples in the Swords Gate upper house. Shui Qingyan has already manifested her spirit and coalesced it with her soul, her improvements are staggering and she is now a Rebirth Qi Practitioner. How could I underestimate them when he was someone who could stand toe to toe with Shui Qingyan? I’d once dueled with Shui Qingyan, her skills were undeniably strong, and she is deserving of the accolade of the top on the inner hall Dragon and Tiger Challenger List.”

  “Ta Wulu of the Ta Lin Clan, what are you doing here?”

  Before Ta Wulu could sound a word, two young ladies walked over; the face of one of the young ladies was badly beaten up, she was the same person who got stomped into the ground by Zhong Yue. The other young woman appeared to be slightly older than her.

  “Huang Luoshi of the Huang Zhang Clan?”

  Ta Wulu frowned slightly, and said, “ What are you doing here?”.

  “My sister was humiliated in public by the Zhong Shan Clan member, I obviously have to seek justice for her, or otherwise the Huang Zhang Clan will be disdained on by others, they would say that the Huang Zhang Clan has no strong cultivators.”

  Huang Luoshi grinned and said, “At first, my sister wanted to have a match with the Zhong Shan Clan member to claim the sword token, at first I was of the mind that they were being frivolous in trying to fool around with their newly promoted junior martial brother. But now it seems like the Zhong Shan Clan member has quite some skills under his sleeves, he alone is worth my journey here. Sister, go ahead and knock on the door, let us meet with this Zhong Shan Clan’s member.”

  The young lady whose face was badly beaten up stepped forward and knocked on the door, but there was no response. All of a sudden, a black bull appeared from the woods around the Zhong Yue’s abode, it opened its mouth in fear and trepidation, “Dear masters, the Zhong Shan Clan member has went out and has yet to return”.

  “This bull looks like Brat Tan Xiao’s mount.”

  Ta Wuyou looked at the black bull and asked, “What are you doing here?”

  “I have received orders from Master Tan’s cousin, Master Tan Zhen, to keep an eye on the Zhong Shan Clan member’s movements, and to immediately report back to Master Tan Zhen as soon as he returns. Master Tan Zhen then plans to storm over to reclaim the honor of the Han Tan Clan,” said the black bull while smiling.

  Tan Zhen wants to seek revenge from the Zhong Shan Clan member too?”

  Ta Wuyou was startled and thought to himself, Tan Zhen, ranked 32nd in the inner hall Dragon and Tiger Challenger List, he is even higher than my elder brother.

  “Sister, the Zhong Shan Clan member is not here, what should we do?” asked the young lady with the bruised face.

  “We wait!” Huang Luoshi answered.

  Outside of Zhong Yue’s abode, a few Qi Practitioners sat in the lotus position with their heads lowered awaiting Zhong Yue’s return. But after days of waiting, Zhong Yue was still nowhere to be seen.

  Ta Wulu and Huang Luoshi clenched their teeth, they thought in their hearts, Where on earth is this Zhong Shan Clan member?

  In the jade forest, Zhong Yue was stunned and he asked, “Me? Sculpting? Elder, is sculpting also a way to cultivate?

  Although the elderly man looked old and was as skinny as a toothpick, his eyes were bright, deep yet gentle. He laughed and said, “Even walking, eating and sleeping are considered a form of cultivation, how is sculpting any different?

  “Walking, eating and sleeping are also considered cultivating?

  Zhong Yue’s heart skipped a beat, the underlying meanings behind the words dawned on him; what the elder alluded to were not the conventional modes of cultivation, but rather the states of subconscious and unconscious visualization!

  Zhong Yue had achieved the stage of unconscious visualization, his cultivation was unremitting, even in his sleep!

  Daily routines such as walking, eating and sleeping may have seemed to be very usual and mundane, but they are all potential avenues for cultivation, so maybe sculpting really does also have some profundities in and of itself.

  Zhong Yue settled his mind and immersed himself in his thoughts. After some time, he picked up a jade the size of a washbasin from the ground; the Xiang Dragon Sword Qi flitted out from his fingertips as he imitated the old man and started sculpting the jade.

  Chi——

  He exert
ed too much force, chipping away a big chunk of jade, he quickly reigned in the force he used; but this time the force was too weak, resulting in only a fine white nick on jade’s surface.

  He used to think that sculpting was hard, but as he started sculpting, he realized that it was actually way much more difficult than what he ever imagined. It required a very fine control over the sculptor’s strength, as every single strand of strength of the Sword Qi needed to be precisely exerted.

  After a short while, there was already quite a number of trashed jade chunks below Zhong Yue’s feet.

  “When we Qi Practitioners visualize something, it is equivalent to the process of sculpting.”

  The old man smiled and said, “Tales and legends were recorded down by our ancestors, so that we can visualize the godly figures in the records. In fact, it was nothing more than using our psyches to create sculptures in the image of these godly figures, and deriving the exceedingly exceptional power from within them. The psyches move like dragons and snakes, and so would the Sword Qi move like the dragons and snakes accordingly.”

  Zhong Yue seemed to have understood something and said, “What you are saying is that, when I visualize the godly figures in my psyche ocean bit by bit, my Sword Qi will also follow suit, essentially simultaneously sculpting the image of my visualizations. Visualizing and sculpting at the same time will allow me to precisely control the strength and direction of my Sword Qi.”

  The elderly man nodded and smiled, “This is a method used to discover the hidden potential hidden in one’s body through the control of Sword Qi during the level of the Spirit Nurturing. In the level of Spirit Nurturing, Qi Practitioners spend all their time and energy to elucidate the abstrusity and thereby comprehend them. But sometimes, what they were seeking could have been found in the places they often neglected.”

  Zhong Yue thought pensively, after a long time, he started to try and sculpt a thunderbolt that struck from the clouds residing at the upper reaches of the sky; the thunderbolt sculpture was entirely filled with the thunder totem carvings, there were a total of twelve thunder totem permutations. And all of these twelve thunder totem permutations would merge together and form the first style of the 【Spring Thunderbolt Sword Skill】 – the Thunderbolts of Nine Heavens.