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1443 Gentle but Fierce 1
“Good, good, good!”
“Good!” Mei Siren said this three times in a row. With a smile on his face, he quickly stepped forward and helped Xu Xiaoshou up, “Get up quickly. I told you not to be so formal.”
Even so, Mei Siren could feel Xu Xiaoshou’s dedication to the Way of the Sword and how serious he was about being his disciple.
Although he had students from everywhere, when he travelled round the world, he did not reveal his actual face to people in case it caused unnecessary trouble. Thus, very few people knew what he truly looked like.
Most of the time, even after he taught a student the sword, the so-called ‘sword person’ was just an Ancient Swordsman who had fallen into despair. He was just looking for a legacy.
If they managed to obtain the information that the Teacher’s surname was ‘Mei’, it meant that the student was very talented. Mei Siren was willing to reveal some facts.
If they knew that the person who taught them the sword was the ‘Seven Sword Deity, Mei Siren’, it was impossible that Mei Siren was the one who revealed it. It would depend on whether the student was smart enough to realize it on his own.
The best portrayal of Master Siren’s swordsman mentorship was that he hid his achievements and fame.
He was afraid that someone would use the statement ‘Master Siren was my teacher’ to stir up trouble everywhere and then this might lead to disaster for himself and others.
And when the few students realized that he was Mei Siren, one of the ‘Seven Sword Deity’ and learned the sword, they were either ‘ecstatic’ or ‘fearful’. In short, it was difficult for them to keep calm and continue with their studies.
When such a situation happened, the expectations and reality were always very different. Mei Siren had never seen this type of student make any progress in their Ancient Swordsman cultivation.
Of course, the benchmark Mei Siren had for this kind of progress was based on Bazhun’an and Weng Ting.
Xu Xiaoshou was very different.
After he gained so much knowledge, Mei Siren could see his sincerity in his ‘acknowledgment of a master’ and in terms of ‘seeking the sword’, even if this was not really a ‘teacher apprenticeship’ in the true sense.
He didn’t care about anything else and only yearned for the Way of the Sword. This quality was rare and valuable.
Sword practitioners lacked this kind of calmness the most.
“I don’t know how to make small talk, and I don’t care about those unnecessary and elaborate formalities. I treat every student in the same manner. I just want to see them achieve success, so I won’t waste any time. Let’s get straight to the point.”
Mei Siren said with a smile as he helped Xu Xiaoshou up and saw the enthusiasm and excitement in Xu Xiaoshou’s eyes for the upcoming sword practice.
He had taught many students, and most of the time, he would stop at a point. The longest time he had accompanied a student was for a month, and he had almost given everything he had.
That was a very talented student…
However, a year after he left the student, he heard the news of the latter’s death.
Smart people always die faster, and Mei Siren only felt sorry and helpless when he heard. This situation served to strengthen his resolve to teach the sword.
Too much is too late and he should stop before he went too far.
Therefore, even if they met Young Master Xu, Xu Deye in the First Pavilion in the Sky and if he did not want to learn, Mei Siren would not force him.
Even if the talented Xiao Wanfeng was there, Mei Siren only gave him a few pointers. Most of the time, he only took the initiative to give him pointers when they happened to meet by chance.
During these sort of circumstances, or simply because they happened to meet each other, or because they were in the mood, it was easy to give them some brief pointers and then they would leave.
Mei Siren had never mastered the art of the long foreshadowing between the personal masters and disciples of those families and sects, so he usually went straight to the point.
“When I was young, the first sword technique I practiced was the ‘Heart Sword Technique’. I’ll teach you this technique from now on!” Mei Siren then drew out the second stone sword on his back and slowly stepped forward and spoke as he walked.
“Heart Sword Technique.” Xu Xiaoshou followed behind him and in his mind a terrifying ‘Sword Image’ appeared. He nodded his head vigorously and said, “Good. The Heart Sword Technique. I love it.”
“I like it too.” Xiao Kongtong took a step forward quietly as the lesson started. In his heart, he thought that Master Siren’s Heart Sword Technique and his Teacher’s Heart Sword Technique were vastly different. “It belonged to a different school of thought and I really don’t want to like it too much!”
“The eyes are the windows of the body. The heart is the residence of the will.’ Mei Siren stepped forward and began to teach.
“Most of the time, when we train in the art of the Heart Sword Technique, we find our ‘original heart’, our ‘original intention’.”
“The visualization of the heart and the appearance of the will can condense these abstract ‘wills’ into a ‘entity’ in the false sense. It can create a considerable ‘image’ in the eyes of others, which can then cause mental damage.”
“This… is the Heart Sword Technique.”
After a pause, he continued. “The Ancient Swordsman’s interpretation of the ‘Nine Major Sword Techniques’, was also known as the ’18 Sword Forms’; this realm was defined as the first realm. The first realm of the Heart Sword Technique is the Present Gods and Buddhas.”
With that, Mei Siren stopped and turned around.
At this moment, in the vast Giant Kingdom, the long street was silent and filled with dust and sand.
In Xu Xiaoshou’s eyes, Master Siren had clearly not done anything, but he inexplicably felt that he was more than a level lower than him.
Correspondingly, when Master Siren’s image was enlarged in his pupils, the ferocious and strange giant Sword Image behind him once again rose high into the sky.
“Roar!”
An intangible terrifying roar seemed to resound in everyone’s heart.
“Colorful illusion of clothes, nine in number, a body full of red dust that watches the decay of love. Ghosts resist the tower and worship it, carrying the Azure Mo Swords in their palms. The poor and lonely were nurtured in its heart, while its body became as dispirited as old wood. Consciousness and will are hidden in the Four Seas, how can I teach the others the truth?”