The Hua Jin is even higher than the An Jin, and it is achieved after training the bones and marrow, and then training the tendons and the mind.
Hua Jin is a combination of hardness and softness, light and dark, and is formed by the soft mixture of light and dark forces. It can spread throughout the body and is difficult to break even if a master of dark force uses all his strength.
The Hua Jin penetrates the whole body and can control all organs, bones and muscles. In addition, each move is accompanied by the power of the mind. One person can defeat many masters of the Dark Jin.
"Hua Jin may be the limit of a warrior..." Xi Heng said softly: "But even if Hua Jin is achieved, it can only extend lifespan by a few years at most, and it cannot transcend the limit of lifespan."
"The path of a warrior in the mortal world has its limits. If you want to live forever, you need to find another way."
"Will you seek the path of immortality in the future? Or will you try to follow the path of evil like that tyrant?"
Xi Heng still had some morals at this time and was unwilling to go down this evil path.
And even if you want to take the path of evil, you have to sacrifice your own blood relatives.
Even a Hua Jin warrior cannot break into the Great Zhao Palace by himself and capture the emperor and throw him into the medicine pot, right?
"In any case, you should improve your strength first. Even if there is a way to achieve immortality in this world, an ordinary Ming Jin warrior cannot obtain it."
Xi Heng finally tidied up his clothes, took his sword and went to the sword training ground to continue practicing martial arts.
She has already mastered the second level of the Red Line Sword. If she can master the third level, she will have mastered the Ming Jin and can ask the elders to teach her the An Jin method.
However, this sword technique is more difficult with each level. It took Xi Heng only one or two months to master the first level. After that, even though he used the Life-Snatching Technique to replenish his energy and blood three times, it still took him a full four months to practice the second level.
I wonder how long it will take to master the third level...
Thinking so, Xi Heng took his sword and went to the yard to warm up for half an hour. Seeing that the senior sister finally came to the sword training ground, he approached her and asked about the doubts in his heart.
"How long does it take to practice the third most important thing?" The eldest sister thought for a while and said, "Ordinary people need to practice for five or six years."
"A long time." Xi Heng sighed.
"But since you used the Life-Taking Technique, your blood and qi are more abundant, so maybe the time can be shortened to about two years." Hong Miao answered Xi Heng's questions and suddenly talked about something that had little to do with martial arts training:
"In the recent days, I would like to ask you to pay more attention to the lower courtyard gate. Maybe someone will come to challenge us."
"Challenging the sect?" Xi Heng was quite unfamiliar with this term. The peace and tranquility of the past few months had almost made her forget that the Red Line Sword Academy was a martial arts school rather than a sect.
"Yesterday, I was invited to attend a gathering of local martial arts masters in Jinshi City. Although the content of the gathering was the same as before, such as being loyal to the court, developing local martial arts, and increasing tax revenue, a disturbance occurred during the banquet after the gathering." Hong Miao said helplessly:
"The owner of Qingsong Sword Hall drank too much and made a bet with other big martial arts halls in the city to prove that their Qingsong swordsmanship is the best swordsmanship in Jinshi City."
"So they want to challenge us?" Xi Heng asked.
"It is said that it is an invitation to fight, but it is no different from a challenge. I received a letter of invitation last night. The owner of Qingsong Sword Hall will bring a favorite disciple to ask for advice in the next few days." Hong Miao took out a letter from her waist and handed it to Xi Heng:
"His disciple is in the middle stage of Ming Jin, not much different from you. When he comes, I would like to invite you to fight him."
"it is good."
Xi Heng did not hesitate much. As a senior sister, she was quite considerate of her and did not reject her request.
Moreover, she had practiced a lot with other sisters and junior sisters in the Sword Academy, and she also hoped to meet some different opponents.
"I will do my best." Xi Heng said.
"Don't use your full strength." Hong Miao shook her head: "When the fight is almost over, just find an opportunity to lose. If you win, the one who will be pushed to the forefront may be our Red Line Sword."
"Can't defeat them?" Xi Heng frowned slightly.
"Other martial arts schools may gradually decline after their defeat, and even fewer apprentices will come to learn from them. However, it doesn't matter to our Hongxian Sword Academy. There are not many women's martial arts schools in the entire Jinshi City, and we are the only one that teaches swordsmanship. Even if we are kicked out, we will not be affected too much." Hong Miao explained:
"On the contrary, if you win, you will easily be caught in the center of the martial arts competition, be coveted by others, and bring other troubles."
"So just lose as you like, as long as one side is safe."
"But, every move of the Red Line Sword is a move that you must use with all your strength, right? It's not good to deliberately let it go."
"So I'll invite you to come out." The other party waved his hand: "According to my guess, among all the junior sisters, your strength is on the same level as that of the disciple from Qingsong Sword Hall, so it will be easier to fool her."
Is this what a senior sister should say to a junior sister?
Xi Heng sighed, and finally said:
"Okay, I'll take it. I'll be practicing swordplay by the gate these days."
"Thank you, thank you. Don't damage the courtyard wall when practicing sword." Hong Miao yawned, gave a reminder, and then naturally walked to the other side, as if this was just a trivial matter to her.
Xi Heng looked at the other person's gradually moving away from his back and shook his head slightly.
After experiencing two lifetimes and living together for nearly a year, she still couldn't understand the temperament of this senior sister.
……
There is no time for cultivation, and three days passed quickly.
Xi Heng took a false step forward, leaned forward and stabbed, and when the tip of the sword was swung, a faint blood-red color appeared.
She turned the sword and raised it, then moved sideways and raised the sword again. A red thread appeared in the air and made a sharp sound.
Xi Heng naturally retracted the sword in his left hand, turned it into a sword flower, and put it back to his waist, then he exhaled.
"Third level, fifth form. I've been practicing for almost a whole day and finally succeeded."
"It takes at least a hundred repetitions to fully master it... After that, you need to practice the connection between various moves and the coordination of the body movements until the moves are integrated into the body and completely coordinated."
"It's really complicated." She said to herself, "At this rate, it will take several years to achieve full power."
"Take your time. As long as there are no accidents in this life, you should be able to hone your skills successfully."
Xi Heng put away the sword and was about to go aside to rest and continue practicing after his body recovered.
At this moment, a steady sound of footsteps came from far away outside the gate, as if a group of people came to the gate of the Sword Academy.
Xi Heng's ears moved slightly and he looked back.
There are few visitors to the Hongxian Sword Academy, let alone groups of guests like this, so they must be the people who came to challenge the academy as mentioned by the senior sister.
"I'm finally here." She calmed her breathing, went to the gate of the courtyard, and opened the faded mahogany door.
Several carriages were lined up in front of the Sword Academy, and many middle-aged men and women wearing brocade robes, with bright and beautiful faces and crowns on their heads got off the carriages.
At the front stood two or three young men wearing green warrior uniforms and carrying long swords, each with a different appearance.
The person knocking on the door was one of them. He had a thin face, sharp eyes, and a hint of cruelty in his expression. At first glance, he didn't look like a gentleman.
When he saw Xi Heng opening the door, he suddenly clasped his fists and made a loud noise, and spoke loudly:
"I am the second disciple of Qingsong Sword Academy, Yingmiansong! I come to your academy to learn sword techniques! Please open the gate!"
This person's tone sounded like an order, which was unpleasant.
Xi Heng did not respond at first. He glanced past this person and looked at a middle-aged woman in brocade clothes who was getting off the car behind him.
She knew that person. He was one of the men in black robes who wanted to capture her in her previous life.
She also remembered the other party's name and title, Zhang Luoyi, who was one of the leaders of the Jinghong Sword sect stationed in Jinshi City. He was also a warrior from the Huangmei Mountain who was opposed to the imperial court.
As soon as he saw this person, Xi Heng felt a little threatened.
With this person involved in the current challenge, perhaps it is not just as simple as asking for advice on swordsmanship.
However, Xi Heng himself could not guess anything, so he followed the steps to open the gate, asked others in the courtyard to notify the eldest sister, and welcomed everyone outside the gate into the courtyard.
After welcoming these outsiders into the living room, serving them tea and exchanging greetings, the eldest sister brought nearly ten guests and went to the vacated sword-fighting arena with Xi Heng.
"Disciples in our sword academy rarely practice with outsiders, so when you are fighting with friends from Qingsong Sword Academy, please try to stop when you see a winner." On the way, Senior Sister Hong Miao showed her friendliness first.
"How can you show weakness before the duel?" Zhang Luoyi in the crowd encouraged, "It is said that women are closer to their souls when practicing martial arts. Although it is more difficult for women to enter the energy than men with strong blood and qi, their upper limit is higher after entering the energy, and they can better understand the meaning of martial arts, so they will not necessarily lose."
"Senior, you are too kind. Our Red Line Sword is just an ordinary sword technique and cannot be compared with the Green Pine Sword of Jinshi City." Senior Sister Hong Miao was still being modest.
Others who came to witness the competition, including senior executives from various famous martial arts schools in Jinshi City, were mostly in a friendly mood, as if today was really just a boring event of making friends through martial arts.
However, during the walk, an old man in a white robe among the witnesses suddenly talked about something unrelated to the competition:
"Come to think of it, I heard that your institution seems to have a good relationship with the imperial court."
The man smiled and said, "I wonder if the lady could tell me a little bit about how you got in touch with the imperial court? In recent years, there have been wars and chaos everywhere, and all the martial arts schools, big and small, want to find a stable way out."
Others around also responded: "Yes, if your hospital has some connections, I would like to ask the lady to help make the connection."
"You elders are all joking. There is no such thing as a way." Hong Miao simply said, "It's just a matter of following the rules."
"Eh." The other party sighed softly: "Who dares to break the rules in this world? Maybe one day the court will be in urgent need of money and will find a small misunderstanding to send people to the school to cause trouble. If you are not careful, the old accounts will be dug up and a large number of special approvals will be made. In the end, they will spend half a year's income before they are willing to let it go... It's difficult to run a martial arts school like ours."
"Brother, what you said is absolutely right." Someone responded with a sigh, "Take our Jinsha Palm for example. Some time ago, a disciple was having dinner at Yanxiang Tower and was provoked by a playboy from an aristocratic family. He accidentally killed an attendant, and then the government came to our door and asked us to hand over the person. In the end, we used three or four hundred taels of silver to barely suppress the pressure. The person was also taken away for a few days, and when he came back, he was covered with bruises. What a dog official—"
"Hey! Please don't call us that. Although we are ostracized by the government, they are doing well." Someone else said sarcastically.
"Why can't I say it? I think it's not unfair to call them dog officials. They are mad dogs! They were walking on the road and got themselves some meat to eat. If you don't cover it up, it will sniff and run over to you and howl. If you dare not give it half, it will bite you!"
"That's right. Those corrupt officials not only eat our taxes, but also abuse our people. We martial artists are oppressed. Who wouldn't be a little angry?" The deputy owner of Qingsong Sword Hall also joined the conversation.
"Who in the martial arts schools nowadays dares not to follow the rules... But some people can get benefits by following the rules, while others can only be oppressed and harmed by following the rules." His words seemed to imply something else.
"Yes, I believe that the Red Line Sword Academy will definitely not be suspected by the government as a spy of the Huangmeishan Army...but we are being treated like thieves, alas." Zhang Luoyi fanned the flames.
As Hong Miao listened, her brows furrowed even more.
"If you have any advice, please tell me directly." She stopped, turned around and asked directly.
"What advice can I give? Everyone is just sighing and lamenting." said the bearded old man in white at the beginning.
"Rather... we hope your hospital can give us some advice."
Hong Miao snorted coldly, turned around and didn't say anything else.
Afterwards, they came to the sword-training field, and everyone finally started talking about the actual martial arts competition.
A simple competition began, and the deputy head of Qingsong Sword Hall walked to the front and introduced to everyone the disciples who came to ask for advice today.
The person who wanted to fight Xi Heng with swords was the one who had knocked on the door hard and had an unfriendly look on his face.
"Tsk."
Xi Heng didn't really want to fight with that guy. Just by looking at his face he felt that he was not a good person and might use some shady tricks.
If the opponent wants to win, he can be allowed to win, but if he uses some insidious moves, Xi Heng is afraid that he will not be able to control himself and use a killing move.
Senior Sister Hong Miao had a gloomy expression and no longer bowed to the witnesses. She just introduced Xi Heng in two or three simple sentences.
"Let's get started without further ado." Hong Miao wanted to send these outsiders away as soon as possible.
"You are so straightforward." The deputy head of Qingsong Sword Hall naturally agreed immediately: "Yingmian Song, come on stage."
"Yes!" The swordsman at the side jumped up, and using the power of his legs to step up to a height of more than two meters, he landed directly on the sword-fighting field with Tai Chi patterns painted on it.
Xi Heng and Senior Sister Hong Miao looked at each other and walked forward.
Witnesses gathered outside the scene and watched, whispering as they watched the two men.
Xi Heng faced his enemy and slowly drew out the long sword from his waist.
The sword blade made a sharp sound, flashed a cold light under the dark clouds, and there was a faint blood color attached to the blade.
In the distance, Yingmiansong suddenly drew his sword with his right hand, then handed the long sword to his left hand and held it in reverse, with the tip of the sword pointing steadily to the ground. He hit his left fist with his right palm, clasped his fists and stared at Xi Heng, saying in a serious and solemn voice:
"I am Yingmiansong from Qingshan Sword Hall. I have come to your academy to learn from you, the female knight. Today we will decide who is better and who is better, and whether to live or die!"
"Oh……"
Xi Heng didn't listen carefully, but he didn't expect that this unfriendly-looking man could be quite polite, so he responded:
"Xiheng from the Red Line Sword Academy, please teach me."
Before she finished her words, a voice with an unfriendly tone fell into her ears:
"A fight between life and death?"
The eldest sister frowned and immediately turned her eyes to the deputy head of Qingshan Sword Hall: "There are no such three words in the letter of request for battle. Did you change the rules before the battle?"
"How can we determine the true winner if we don't fight the enemy with all our strength and life?" The deputy museum owner looked as if it was a matter of course.
After hearing this, Hong Miao knew that the deputy owner would not stop, and then said coldly to the witnesses around:
"Qingsong Sword Hall has broken the rules of the martial arts world. Cease fighting!"
"Don't worry, little girl." An old man with a white beard among the witnesses smiled and comforted him:
"Both of them are already on the field, so let them fight with swords first, and then call a halt when we know who is stronger."
The other witnesses all looked calm and said nothing, as if the old man had represented the opinions of all of them.
Zhang Luoyi smiled slightly, said nothing, but there was a hint of malice in his eyes.
"Get lost!" Hong Miao drew her sword directly. "So you and your martial arts schools are setting up this gambling game just to bully us. No one has ever dared to bully our Hongxian Sword School like this!"
