The Demon Hunter and a Panorama of Cangyuan Realm

Meng Dajiang looked at his son, recalling his battle with the demon at the Demon-Slaying Festival two days prior, and he came to a realization. Though Chuan'er's wings were still tender, it was indeed time for him to spread them and fly on his own.

"Before Meng Chuan begins cultivating the Divine Lord Physique, bring him to me to obtain the Divine Lord Marrow Essence," Madam Meng instructed.

"Yes," Meng Dajiang replied.

A single drop of Divine Lord Marrow Essence was incomparably precious.

Even among the ancient Divine Lord families in the royal capital, most talented youths would never have the chance to use a drop of Divine Lord Marrow Essence to lay their Divine Lord foundation. Only those with exceptional talent, the kind that appears once in a century within a family, would receive such extensive nurturing from the ancient Divine Lord families.

"Meng Chuan, if you have any doubts about your cultivation, you can come and ask your Grand Aunt," Madam Meng said with a smile. "If you encounter any troubles, you can also come and talk to me."

"Grand Aunt," Meng Chuan immediately responded, "I do have something that's been troubling me lately."

"How to reach the next level in your blade technique, right?" Madam Meng asked with a knowing smile.

"Yes," Meng Chuan nodded. "I asked the Taoist Academy Principal, and he only mentioned that he had created a top-tier blade technique before comprehending the blade's momentum."

"That is indeed one way," Madam Meng nodded, then turned to Meng Dajiang. "Dajiang, how did you break through?"

Meng Dajiang paused, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes, and said, "Back when I was serving in the military, each member of our squad had a specific role. Mine was to hold off the demons. So, I mainly practiced three blade techniques... I stayed at Qinyang Pass for ten years. Later, when I left to return home, I also traveled around the neighboring prefectures. It was then that I happened upon a woman battling a demon."

Meng Dajiang looked at Meng Chuan and smiled. "That was your mother."

Meng Chuan's heart trembled.

Mother?

"Your mother was very beautiful. The sight of her battling the demon under the sunlight is something I'll never forget. At that moment, I was filled with strength and, without hesitation, I rushed forward, using my blade techniques to easily restrain the demon. At that moment, my blade techniques felt exceptionally ethereal and effortless. And just like that, I comprehended the blade's momentum," Meng Dajiang said with a smile. "The first time I met your mother, I comprehended the blade's momentum. It was quite a coincidence."

"Dajiang has accumulated ten years of battlefield experience and made a breakthrough on this very day," said Madam Meng. "Dajiang has only practiced three blade techniques, while the principal of Jinghu Taoist Academy created a set of top-tier blade techniques. Your principal focuses on breadth, while Dajiang excels in precision. There is no superiority or inferiority between the two, and in fact, your father is even more skilled at harassing enemies."

Meng Chuan also nodded, "I've read the biography of Divine Lord Deng Feng. He practiced alone in the deep mountains, drawing his blade ten thousand times a day for twenty years. Upon emerging, he killed an Impervious Realm practitioner with a single strike while still at the Marrow Washing Realm."

"Indeed, to kill an Impervious Realm practitioner at the Marrow Washing Realm, that strike of his... transcended the realm of blade momentum. He is the epitome of specialization, though his talent far surpasses your father's. That strike was so astonishing that he was directly recruited by Primordial Mountain without even needing to undergo tests," said Madam Meng. "However, he had no guidance, and his blade technique had a fatal flaw—he only mastered that one strike! If others knew his weakness and exploited it, he would be at a disadvantage. Of course, as soon as he made a name for himself, he was recruited by Primordial Mountain and quickly addressed his weakness. He further strengthened his specialty, becoming truly invincible for an era."

Meng Chuan nodded slightly.

"I stayed for a long time at Anhai Pass and received guidance from the Anhai King," said Madam Meng. "The Anhai King's strength is immeasurable, and his status in Primordial Mountain is extremely revered. In terms of power, he is absolutely no less than the Divine Lord Deng Feng you mentioned."

Meng Chuan, of course, knew that the Anhai King was formidable.

In Dongning City, common mortals go to serve in the military at Qinyang Pass, while the Divine Lords of Dongning City mostly go to Anhai Pass. The highest commander of Anhai Pass is the Anhai King. Even the Great Zhou Dynasty's royal family holds him in the highest regard, conferring upon him the title of king.

"Anhai King told me," Madam Meng looked at Meng Chuan, "cultivation is to follow your intuition, follow the direction you love most in your heart, and move forward. You will go further and further, and when you look back decades later, you will have far surpassed your former self. I also pass these words on to you. Follow your intuition, follow what you love most in your heart."

"Yes," Meng Chuan nodded gently.

...

Meng Chuan returned to Meng's Mansion, to the training ground.

Sitting alone there, eating fruit, and pondering.

"The advice Anhai King gave to Grand Aunt shares some similarities with the fourth of my Nine Principles of Cultivation, 'The Craftsman and the Master,'" Meng Chuan realized. "Since it's about following intuition and what you love most in your heart, naturally, you can cultivate with more 'heart,' enjoy it more, become more deeply engrossed, and have a greater chance of becoming a master."

"After listening to the principal, my father, and Grand Aunt, and considering my Nine Principles of Cultivation..."

"I now have a clear idea of how to proceed with my cultivation."

Meng Chuan already had some thoughts.

But he still wanted to hear more guidance from seniors who had achieved mastery, to cross-validate his ideas.

"The sixth of the Nine Principles of Cultivation: What you learn should form a self-contained system. Only then will there be no fatal flaws. A strong person's life or death is often determined by their most critical weakness! As long as there is one obvious weakness, it will be targeted in the future. Countered, and thus, you may lose your life! Even if you rely on one trick to win ten or a hundred times, just one failure could cost you your life."

"That Divine Lord Deng Feng was skilled with that one blade! Grand Aunt also said that Divine Lord Deng Feng had a fatal flaw, but fortunately, he was immediately recruited into Primordial Mountain, which helped him overcome it."

"As a swordsman."

"Killing, defending, and escaping—these are the three aspects," Meng Chuan said. "These three techniques form a system. From now on, I will focus on mastering these three paths."

"The fifth of the Nine Principles of Cultivation: Daily progress, monthly change, and eventual success. As long as you make progress every day in your cultivation, even a little, over three, five, or ten years, you will achieve great things."

"The ancients once said: 'Accumulate earth to form a mountain, and wind and rain will arise; accumulate water to form a deep pool, and dragons will be born; accumulate virtue to form morality, and divine understanding will naturally follow, and a sage's heart will be prepared. Thus, without accumulating small steps, one cannot reach a thousand miles; without accumulating small streams, one cannot form a river or sea. A swift horse's leap cannot cover ten steps; a slow horse's persistence will achieve great distance. If you carve and then stop, even rotten wood will not break; if you carve without stopping, even metal and stone can be engraved. The earthworm has no sharp claws or strong bones, yet it eats the earth above and drinks from the yellow springs below, because it is single-minded. The crab has six legs and two pincers, but without the burrow of a snake or eel, it has no refuge, because it is restless.' This passage shares common ground with the fifth principle."

"But this path has a fatal flaw."

"Even if you progress daily, if you walk in a large circle, you'll eventually return to your starting point! Even if you accumulate small steps, if the direction is wrong, it's hard to reach a destination a thousand miles away."

"Cultivation is the same... Without a clear direction, just knowing how to train, you might take the wrong path or end up going in circles. Even after ten or twenty years, you might achieve nothing. This is also one of the reasons why most who study Divine Lord Deng Feng's rigorous sword techniques fail," Meng Chuan thought to himself.

There are indeed descendants who study Divine Lord Deng Feng's rigorous sword techniques.

Most of them fail and abandon their efforts midway! With the guidance of the Taoist Academy and their elders, who can ignore external distractions and dedicate four hours daily to practicing just one sword technique?

Even if they could truly eliminate all distractions and focus on one technique, it's normal to deviate.

Of course, there are also those who succeed.

Hence the saying, 'Master one move, and you can conquer the world.'

"You must have a clear direction, ensuring you are always moving forward," Meng Chuan thought. "Move along that direction without circling or detouring. Each day, go further. Eventually, you will truly reach the destination a thousand miles away."

"Why do I like fast swords? Because they're fast."

"So the direction I've determined—is speed!"

...

Training ground.

"Young master, shall I begin?" A guard stood on a tree branch, holding a crossbow aimed at the ground below.

"Begin."

Meng Chuan stood there.

"Whoosh."

The guard pulled the trigger, and an arrow shot downward.

Meng Chuan instantly drew his sword and slashed.

Puff!

The arrow was severed, and the sword's energy cut into the thick tree, leaving a mark.

"As long as the mark from the sword's wind on the tree keeps rising, it means my sword speed is getting faster, and I'm cutting the arrow earlier," Meng Chuan thought.

Three paths: killing, self-defense, and escape.

For killing, he only practiced one move, following his intuition and what he loved most in his heart—he chose the draw-cut technique! He loved the moment of drawing the sword, the silence as it left the sheath, and the sound of the wind as it cut through the air! Such swordplay was so beautiful that it captivated him every time. He loved drawing the sword faster, making the sound of the wind even more pleasing.

Practicing only one move, pursuing speed! Speed was something he had loved since childhood.

The faster, the better.

"Whoosh." The guard on the tree shot another arrow. The advantage of using a crossbow was its consistency, ensuring each arrow was equally fast! This way, Meng Chuan could confirm if his sword technique was getting faster. And it wasn't just about speed but also accuracy. In an instant, the sword had to slice through the arrow.

Meng Chuan's first daily training: the draw-cut technique! Every day, he practiced drawing and cutting arrows for three hours, eight thousand times.

Meng Chuan's draw-cut technique originated from the Falling Leaf Sword's draw-cut technique, which was taught in the Taoist Academies of the Great Zhou Dynasty by the Primordial Mountain Divine Lord. The technique was flawlessly perfected.