Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique

“Do you think you can master the broadsword martial art?”

Elder Mon asked.

“Yes. I think I can somehow make it my own.”

“You seemed to be reading several books and scrolls, but what did you ultimately decide on?”

“It’s the ‘Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique.’ But a few techniques from the ‘Phoenix Will Broadsword Art’ might get mixed in as well.”

“Oh? Are you saying you think you can master the ‘Phoenix Will Broadsword Art’ as well?”

“I only read a little of it, so it would only be mixed in to that extent.”

“Still, are you sure you do not need to be taught by an elder? What is written in books is mostly just the essential points of the techniques, and there should be very little about how to use them or apply them.”

There were no photographs in this world, so almost everything was written with text and simple drawings. That meant that as for applications and fine movements, one had to receive instruction from a master.

“I’ll think those parts through myself.”

When she heard that, Elder Mon widened her eyes.

“I see. Well, if that is the case… Kou, do you intend to take the test to become an inner disciple?”

“That is my intention. But it is impossible right away.”

“So that is why you wanted a broadsword manual. Do your best.”

With that, Elder Mon sent me out of the library.

I returned to the Wallside Hall and made a training plan. That said, I would begin with practice swings. To wield that heavy broadsword, I needed a body technique that used qi, and I also needed broadsword arts.

First, I began practicing the Phoenix Will Broadsword Art. The Phoenix Will Broadsword Art was a martial art based on swift movement, using qi to strengthen the muscles and defeat the enemy with sharp motion and a powerful broadsword strike. Its footwork was powerful, and it was devised so that one could swing the broadsword without the core of the body wavering.

By practicing this Phoenix Will Broadsword Art, my legs, hips, and core would be strengthened, and I would acquire the physical ability necessary to use a broadsword. But it would take time. It was not something one could learn overnight.

Once I had a general grasp of the Phoenix Will Broadsword Art, I continued practicing it while beginning my study of the Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique. The Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique used a special breathing method and key principles to raise the pressure of qi and pour it into the broadsword. When that qi overflowed from the broadsword, the blade’s sharpness was enhanced, and the emitted qi shone, making it look like a fox.

It seemed this technique was called “Fox-Flame.” After about three months of practice, I became able to use it. The Fox-Flame I saw in actual use looked like a shooting star trailing a long tail.

“Was this a failure?”

I wondered whether it had to look like a fox, but its power was tremendous. I thought the power of the Fox-Flame, which cleanly sliced through a tree trunk about thirty centimeters in diameter, was more than sufficient.

Unlike the Phoenix Will Broadsword Art, the movements of the Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique were slow, or rather graceful. It seemed to be fundamentally an art of softly deflecting the enemy’s attacks and then bringing them down using highly refined qi.

The ‘Broadsword Performance Forms’ was interesting as well. It seemed to be something that preserved methods of fighting with a broadsword in the form of a performance. It was said that within each and every movement, the secrets for defeating an enemy were hidden.

After finishing the water hauling that began early in the morning, I immersed myself in broadsword practice. But once the sun went down, I had no choice but to stop practicing. There was no place in the Wallside Hall where I could train at night. There was only a lamp in the dining hall.

Each room had a candlestick, but candles had to be bought with one’s own money. Since those candles were expensive, I could not afford to use them every night. That day as well, I was thinking in the dining hall, where there was lamp light.

“I really do want a lamp. But the dining hall lamp can’t be used outside where there’s wind.”

I had never seen glass products in this world. Even if they existed, they were probably luxury goods, not something commoners could afford. While I was muttering to myself, Zengu spoke to me from behind.

“Kou, what are you muttering about?”

“I said I want a lamp I can use outside.”

“Wouldn’t a lantern do?”

If there was nothing else, I would probably have no choice but to practice by lantern light. Still, lantern light was weak. Since I had the choice, I wanted a lamp instead.

“If you use a lantern where the wind is strong, it feels like it could cause a fire. More importantly, how is the Plum Blossom Spear Art going?”

After mastering the Girui Gong and the Immortal Foundation Qi Combat Art, Zengu was learning the Plum Blossom Spear Art.

“Little by little, I’m starting to get it. But I’m translating the ‘Plum Blossom Spear Art’ manual as I go, so it looks like it’ll take time. …Back when it was the Girui Gong and the Immortal Foundation Qi Combat Art, it went faster because you taught me, Kou.”

“Can’t you learn it from a senior outer disciple who has mastered the Plum Blossom Spear Art?”

“Senior Brother Xiaotan has mastered the Plum Blossom Spear Art, but he’s always in the library.”

I also felt that Xiaotan would probably be impossible. Besides, I had heard that the elders did not welcome outer disciples teaching other outer disciples.

“I wonder why the elders are against outer disciples teaching one another.”

“I asked Senior Brother Yingjie, and he said that outer disciples have shallow knowledge, so they can only give half-baked instruction. That’s why they oppose it.”

“That being the case, it’s not as if the elders or inner disciples teach us instead.”

“I heard that they used to.”

“In the past?”

“He said it was before Elder Tsuen was put in charge of managing the outer disciples.”

Elder Tsuen’s face floated into my mind. So that elder was the reason for the current situation, where the outer disciples were being neglected. I had thought it strange, because I had heard that in the past there were people who went from outer disciple to inner disciple.

“Kou, what did you learn after winning the Elixir Competition Festival?”

“A broadsword martial art.”

“I know that. What’s the name of the broadsword art?”

“It’s a broadsword art called the Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique. It’s definitely quite an amazing martial art.”

“Heh, I want to see it.”

“I’d like to see it too.”

Before I knew it, Xiaotan, who was nearby, said that he wanted to see it. Then Yingjie and the other outer disciples also spoke up.

“Kou seems to practice his broadsword in the mountains, so I’ve never seen it even once. Show it to us at least once.”

Yingjie said.

“All right. I haven’t improved that much, though. But if it’s just enough for you to understand that this is what a broadsword art is like, then that’s fine.”

After clearing away the tables and chairs in the dining hall to make space, I stepped forward before everyone with a practice staff in hand.