Chapter 305: Accepting the Sword Spirit as a Sworn Brother!
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The sword had slipped out of his hand!
This kind of setback would embarrass any average person enough to make them want to burrow a hole in the ground and hide in there for years.
But Xu Que was no average person! He was the most shameless and thick-skinned man in the universe, so shameless that the second most shameless person would still be miles and miles behind him!
After his sword fell, he maintained his indifferent look, and slowly lowered himself to the ground while keeping his cool with his hand behind his back. That special air of arrogance never left him.
Under everyone's gaze, he looked at the Sword Spirit and asked, "do you know why I did this?"
The Sword Spirit stayed calm and didn't move. He just stared at Xu Que.
But everyone there was already worried!
Dude, please don't say you did it on purpose! Everyone saw how it slipped pathetically out of your hands!
If you use that sorry excuse, then your skin may just be thicker than the crust of the earth!
"I did it on purpose!"
Sure enough, Xu Que gave that answer with the most nonchalant expression on his face.
The crowd almost choked at his shameless act. They could barely stop themselves from coughing up blood!
What a dirty, shameless liar!
They'd just never met anyone who could lie through their teeth so calmly!
...…
The next moment, Xu Que's face assumed an expression of deep focus, and he placed his hands behind his back to give himself an air of dignity and wisdom.
"The Way of the Sword," he began in a deep, solemn voice, "on the first level, requires the sword and the man to become one. The sword becomes the man, and the man becomes the sword. Once that happens, a blade of grass could become the sharpest sword!"
The crowd was stunned.
Xu Que continued.
"On the second level, it requires the sword to be absent in the hand, for the sword must be in the heart. Even with an empty hand, one can still kill enemies with one's intention." He nodded sagely. "And the highest level of the way of the sword, requires the sword to be absent from the hand, and absent from the heart, to have an empty heart and soul, free from any killing intent, free from violence, but full of peace! So… the sword slipped out of my hand just now because I had accidentally entered into the highest level of the way of the sword—with no sword in the hand and no sword in the heart!"
...…
The whole crowd was astounded.
Some of them were fooled by Xu Que's bullshit and even seemed moved by his words.
Some of them found them incomprehensible and looked confused. Maybe it was too profound for them to understand!
However, most people were hot with anger, yet at the same time they were impressed by his shamelessness.
Who was he kidding?
His sword had slipped out of his hand because he had accidentally entered the highest level of the way of the sword?
Then wouldn't all cultivators who had just started practicing with their swords have 'entered the highest level' as well?
Fujiwara was probably the only person in the world able to turn the embarrassing mistake of losing his grip on his sword into something that sounded so profound.
Impressive, really impressive!
...…
However, the Sword Spirit felt differently.
Xu Que's words might just be a jumble of nonsense, but they did in fact contain the essence of the Way of the Sword!
Xu Que might not have understood it himself, but to the Sword Spirit, what he had said was full of profound truth and poetic wisdom!
A swordsman's life pursuit was indeed the kind of process that Xu Que had described. From 'being one with the sword' to 'sword absent from the hand and from the heart'—these were all enlightening truths!
In fact, the Sword Spirit himself was entering the level of the absent sword.
But for many years, he hadn't been able to reach that higher level. After thousands of years of slumber, his level had decreased and now he was further away than ever from the highest level.
As a result, Xu Que's phrase 'no sword in the hands and no sword in the heart' had been a great inspiration to him. Now, suddenly, there was hope!
It was as if Xu Que had opened the last door that would take him to the highest level of swordsmanship!
This shocked the Sword Spirit, but it also made him immensely happy!
He looked at Xu Que thoughtfully.
He never thought that such a young human being would have such profound insights into swordsmanship. He might be a bit weak, but he was definitely a great genius that he should consider guidance from.
He reminded the Sword Spirit of the Immortal Emperor back in those years… perhaps, one day, this young man would also rise and become an Immortal Emperor as well!
...…
It was quiet in the lava cave, and the atmosphere had become tense. No one said a word after Xu Que.
The swordsmen were frightened of the Sword Spirit, so they didn't dare to make a sound.
The Sword Spirit was deep in thought, silent.
Needless to say, Xu Que had succeeded in this episode of acting tough.
He obviously knew nothing about the Way of the Sword, but he had remembered those random words about swordsmanship, so he had just spoken them with his usual acting tough air of nonchalance. He coupled that with his Oscar-worthy acting skills, and voila! Even the Sword Spirit was stunned!
The sound of notifications ringing filled Xu Que's head. He saw his Acting Tough Points were rising and it pleased him very much.
Whoosh!
The Sword Spirit suddenly moved. He struck the sword on the stone wall and carved out these words: You win this round. If you answer the previous question, I will follow you!"
Gasp!
Everyone was shocked to see this.
So this Sword Spirit was going to accept Fujiwara too?
Then what about the other Sword Spirit?
Would he still accept Fujiwara as his disciple?
Would they fight over him?
Holy shit, things might get complicated!
These swordsmen had been so well deceived by Xu Que that they still thought there were more than one Sword Spirit.
Xu Que was now very happy. These words by the Sword Spirit showed that not only had he successfully acted tough, he had also successfully tricked these people!
What was most important when you wanted to act tough? That's right, apart from being strong and powerful, one must also be very good at tricking people!
Now that he had a sworn brother who had served the Immortal Emperor before, his reputation would surely shoot up now!
Xu Que suppressed the joy in his heart and pretended to be calm and indifferent.
"Haven't you realized what the answer to the previous question was?" he asked.
Everyone looked at the question again—The Way, The Sword are unable change all, but the Way of the Sword can change all!"
No matter how they looked at it, they still thought it was just the addition of the word 'of' in the middle of the sentence that had changed the meaning.
Someone said, "The meaning of this sentence is that the way can't change all, the sword alone can't change all either. But the Way of the Sword can change everything. Meaning that 'of' can change the meaning of a sentence."
"Wrong," said Xu Que haughtily. "You're looking at it in a superficial manner."
Everyone got really curious again.
The Sword Spirit looked at Xu Que and waited for his answer.
"Acutally… you're all so close to the answer. But the closer you are to the truth, the more easily you get distracted. I do appreciate your tireless efforts to pursue the truth. But you know… you must learn to be like me… you must see from the subtlest details the profound truth that no one else can see. The real answer you've been looking for is actually very simple, and it's right before your eyes, yet you just can't see it yet…"
These few words from Xu Que had really tricked the whole crowd!
Some swordsman seemed to have stumbled upon an answer, yet they still doubted themselves.
At that moment, they all thought that if only they could know this answer, then it would dispel their confusion and help them break through the barrier and reach the higher level!
Suddenly, several swordsmen knelt before Xu Que and pleaded, please guide us, Fujiwara! Help us break through the barrier!"
Xu Que smiled and pointed to the stone wall.
"Look, the capitalization of the letters is also different!"