Chapter 3: The disciple is a scholar!
Feng Qingyang shook his head and said, "Learning Dugu Nine Swords is not about memorizing by rote. The key is understanding."

Xin Zhen quickly went over the entire formula in his mind, pondered it and said: "This Dugu Nine Swords is not a sword technique in the general concept, it should be a complete set of systematic martial arts theory.

The sword styles of Dugu Nine Swords are not about how difficult the movements are, so difficult that they cannot be performed, but about whether the brain can achieve them or not. Therefore, it is easier to understand if we use the model of Zen enlightenment to compare it.

What exactly are the Nine Swords? ..."

Xin Zhen paused and said.

“…It should be similar to some things. No matter how they develop and change, certain laws remain unchanged.

Senior Dugu should have broken down all the movements a person can make, and through analyzing the opponent's posture and muscle signs, he could deduce what the opponent's next move could be.

This is "anticipating the enemy's moves", and anticipating the enemy's moves should be the true essence of the Nine Swords!

With the ability to "anticipate the enemy's moves", the basic skills of the Nine Swords are completed.

Therefore, according to the disciple's speculation, the content of this "general formula" can be mastered as long as one works hard.

The understanding you mentioned should be about: what to do after knowing the opponent's actions?

This is similar to the numerology of summarizing many calculation methods into several formulas. The Dugu Nine Swords summarizes the main common actions and situations into sword moves, which are the eight styles of breaking swords, breaking spears, breaking knives, etc.

That is why it is said that the entire sword style is embodied by using various variations of the general formula.

Judging from the arrangement of the names, when Senior Dugu created the Dugu Nine Swords, why did he go straight to "Breaking the Sword", "Breaking the Knife" and then "Breaking the Spear", "Breaking the Whip" and "Breaking the Rope"?
Obviously, swords are the most used and most common, so they were created first.

And judging by the fact that changes in the "Sword Breaking Style" will affect the "Knife Breaking Style", it is obvious that some of the sword and knife movements are repetitive and similar, and the methods of breaking are of course similar as well.

Later on, all long weapons, short weapons, soft weapons, and even fists, feet, and hidden weapons will be directly integrated.

So, after I understood, digested, and surpassed these moves, I could achieve ideal results no matter which moves I used.

Therefore, this sword technique emphasizes intention rather than moves. I would boldly guess that after reaching a fairly high level, one should be able to reach a state where no moves are better than moves. "

Listening to Xin Zhen's story, Feng Qingyang felt uneasy: "You really have never learned martial arts, are you lying to me? You are actually a hidden master, aren't you?"

Xin Zhen smiled when he heard this: "Master, I am a scholar."

Xin Zhen was a graduate of a prestigious university in his previous life, and after working he became a professional broker of a listed company through his own efforts.

His comprehension and reading abilities are beyond the reach of ordinary people.

With his comprehension and summarizing abilities, even if he had never read martial arts novels in his previous life, if the secrets of the Dugu Nine Swords were placed in front of him and he was asked to analyze them, he would always be able to summarize these principles.

Besides, he has read quite a few novels. If he uses the context to do reading comprehension, shouldn't he be able to solve this problem easily?
Feng Qingyang: "..."

Feng Qingyang felt that he had never been more speechless in his entire life than he was today, but it instead aroused his competitive spirit.

He snorted and said, “Everyone can talk about principles, but learning martial arts still depends on the skills of the hands.

Come, let me use the Dugu Nine Swords and see how much you can remember. "Xin Zhen nodded and said, "Master, please go slower and do the various movements more accurately. Don't do the combos yet. Follow the rules."

Feng Qingyang snorted, casually broke off a branch, and stroked it with his hand. The twigs and leaves fell off one after another, leaving only a bare branch that could be used as a sword.

Feng Qingyang indeed behaved well. He slowed down his movements and performed his sword moves one by one.

When performing sword moves, the names and key points of the moves will also be explained one by one.

For fear that Xin Zhen would not understand, he tried all kinds of variations.

Xin Zhen stared closely at Feng Qingyang's hands and feet and the movements of the sword in his hand. The more he watched, the more his brows furrowed, and his face gradually turned pale.

This is a sign of overuse of the brain.

Feng Qingyang was paying attention to Xin Zhen while demonstrating, but he found it funny in his heart and thought: How can learning sword be so easy?
Who doesn't learn sword skills under the guidance of a master, learning each move and posture, and learning each move and posture with the master's correction.

After learning the basic stances, the master will explain each move one by one, telling the disciple why this move should be stabbed in this direction, how the hands and feet should coordinate at this time, and how to deal with the opponent's counterattacks.

Finally, the move is fed to the disciples to create an opportunity similar to actual combat, allowing the disciples to understand how to use this move by themselves.

After completing this process, one must continue to practice until the sword moves are ingrained into the bones, so that they can be used in life-and-death battles.

If one wants to truly master these sword moves, one must practice them many times between life and death before they can truly become one’s own understanding!
These steps are more difficult than the previous one and take more time than the previous one, which is why warriors have to train in the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer.

Thinking of this, Feng Qingyang suddenly felt a little discouraged.

This disciple of mine is not interested in martial arts, but in imperial examinations.

If one passed the imperial examination, one would become an official. How could a civil servant have the time to hone his sword skills, or have the opportunity to experience life-and-death battles?
Without this time and selfless dedication, how can one become a top master?
Feng Qingyang immediately shook his head and thought, never mind, just let him pass on the skill. When he meets a disciple with good aptitude in the future, he can pass it on.

As for whether he can become a top master, there is no need to be too demanding.

But from another perspective, not having to experience life and death, not having to live on the edge of a knife, is actually a kind of luck.

Thinking of this, Feng Qingyang felt relieved, he stopped and said with a smile: "You don't have to rush, just take your time.

When the Dugu Nine Swords is reached its highest level, it is winning without any moves, but when one is first learning it, it is so complicated that it is frustrating.

Those disciples with poor aptitude would vomit blood after just a few glances at it, so only a few people have been able to master the Dugu Nine Swords even though it has been passed down till now."

Xin Zhen let out a long breath, and his body began to sway a little.

Feng Qingyang hurried over to support him and said, "Don't think too much. You're already showing signs of mental exhaustion. Take a good rest first."

Xin Zhen nodded, closed his eyes and rested for a while, then opened his eyes and walked slowly under the forest. After walking for a while, some white mist came out from the top of his head and his face gradually became rosy.

Feng Qingyang couldn't help but marvel in his heart, amazed at the high level of internal strength of his disciple.

(End of this chapter)