The so-called top players in any industry cannot sum up their superb level in just a few words.
Amateurs and beginners can see those dazzling techniques, as smooth and precise movements as flowing water; while those who have entered the mainstream may be unconvinced and think that they can "occasionally" perform such wonderful operations, and then He believes that the so-called 'top' is just an existence that is over-hyped by laymen, and loudly promotes his argument that 'the gap between it and the top' is not that big.
Ironically, this self-confidence is proof that they will never reach the top.
The top people in the industry are the trendsetters and the ones leading the progress of an industry.
They opened up rivers, accomplished things that were originally considered unachievable, and even went further to promote such things as new foundations and new standards.
And a certain 'honor' that these arrogant middle- and lower-class people work hard to achieve is just a 'standard' that these industry pioneers can easily grasp.
It is rare for them to achieve an excellent performance technically, but for the other party, it is just another meal and drink. So the gap is much wider than they claim - but that's not the fundamental problem.
What top people possess is not only comprehensive and powerful technical abilities.
And a deep and unique level of understanding of what they do.
——Kazuto's swordsman wields a wooden sword 90% of the time.
They use it to hone their body muscles in the air to memorize movements, and use it to fight with their opponents to master the sense of distance, physical control and footwork in sword fighting. The swordsmanship school based on the wooden sword has a long history and has even formed a fixed martial arts competition. Combined with the spear technique, a wooden stick was born, which is known as "one stick masters all the skills" and can simulate the stick skills of all weapons.
There is nothing wrong with this. A carefully adjusted wooden sword can have a center of gravity and feel close to that of a steel sword, and it is relatively less dangerous - this is exactly why swordsmen in the past promoted it - but it is not a sword after all. .
Our Luoan girl had just learned to wield a sword not long after she first came into contact with the sword, and the sage fought against her with a real sharp sword.
When the two swords clashed, she immediately realized the huge difference between the sword and the stick.
——And this is exactly what Kazuto's samurai lack at the moment.
Determined to learn anything available, Yajiro held the long sword tightly, and Henry on the other side did the same.
The surface of the bladed Japanese katana was as bright as water, and the cold front made some of the onlookers a little worried. Although they took some protective measures, it was still a sharp weapon after all.
The young master's forehead was sweating a little, and he didn't quite understand it - he felt that he already had some practical combat experience and currently had no problem with his swordsmanship.
But this is what he said. Since he has decided to trust the other party, he can no longer hesitate at this time.
The sage held the sword with one hand, because for him, the short handle of the sword was not suitable for use with both hands. At the same time, this was actually a part of teaching.
The sword technique that has gradually changed due to the need for competition during the thousands of years of peace, just like other things in this country that have gone through too long, has gradually become a kind of shackles.
The skills that imprisoned the samurai.
Even the soul.
"Please teach me!" Yajiro raised the sword upright, started with the extremely standard Crescent Island swordsmanship, closed the distance with a sprint, and then slashed straight with the sword - he did not hesitate, not only his reaction did not allow him to show mercy , but also because he believed that Henry could not avoid it.
But the wise man did not hide.
He stood there dumbly, not even raising his sword to block, which made the young master panic for a moment - the moment the thought 'Is this okay' popped up in his mind, his steps also changed. Suddenly - he was suddenly afraid of actually hitting the opponent, and at this moment of hesitation, Henry started to move.
"When--" Holding the knife in one hand, the two blades clashed.
For a moment of hesitation, Yajiro's long sword, which was still held high, was blocked by Henry with his hand guard, and then the sage took advantage of his height and physical strength to push his sword upwards.
The young master reacted at this time, but his speed was still half a beat slower. The sage pushed his knife to a high place with one hand, then used the handle of the knife to hit the back of Yajiro's unprotected knife-wielding hand mercilessly. .
The young master was in pain and immediately let go of his hand, but he realized that he was not too low and did not bother him anymore. He hurriedly kicked off the ground with his heels to release the long knife and at the same time pulled out the short knife with his left hand.
"Huh-huh--" The loosened waist knife fell on the dirt floor of the inn's courtyard, and Henry used his toes to slide it away without even looking.
"Not bad." While all this was going on, the sage leisurely commented on Yajiro's reaction to pulling out the short sword and continuing to fight. At the same time, he went against all the swordsman teachings and closed the distance. He did not take advantage of the long sword in his hand but instead followed the other. The flexible dagger started a close fight—but it was just a cover.
"!" The young master noticed Henry's tendency to close the distance from Henry's forward body, and according to the standard swordsman's teachings, he also closed the distance directly to get into the close range where the short sword can be better used.
"Yes, as long as you get closer, a longer knife will not be able to cut and it will be difficult to--" Old Qiao admired this judgment from the side.
But Mira and Joshua understood.
Yajiro fell into the trap.
"Choo-hoo!"
The speed was so fast that no one could see what was happening. Henry did not raise the knife or show any standard starting posture. He did not even stab the knife forward, but instead tightened his arms and put his elbows back——
The bright tip of the knife pointed at the tip of Yajiro's nose, causing him to break out in cold sweat. If he had rushed any faster, he would have been stabbed.
——In other words, he put his face on the tip of this knife.
But at this time, the short sword in his hand still had 20 centimeters to reach the sage.
"This." The swordsmen from New Moon Continent were stunned.
"Do you understand something?" Henry withdrew the knife, and the young master only then noticed that he was holding his breath because of nervousness. He gasped for air, nodded, but shook his head.
"I understand it, but it's hard to put it into words." He obviously had some understanding, and so did the other warriors, but they couldn't express it.
"The Point Guard Is Here"
"Most of Xinyue's sword skills are based on the imitation of wooden swords, and even more so, there are so-called short sticks that imitate hundreds of weapons."
"But a wooden stick is not a sharp weapon after all." The sage raised a finger and spoke concisely.
"Ah!" The first one to react was A Yong, and the other warriors also seemed to have some idea.
"If you want to knock down an opponent with a wooden sword, you need to strike with force and precision. This is especially true when simulating a stabbing, because the tip of the wooden sword is made of rounded wood. If it is not matched with a step, if it hits an opponent wearing armor, the opponent may not be able to notice it. Shock," Henry continued.
"So, the swordsmanship, which is mainly based on the pursuit of martial arts, was formed over a long period of time."
"Swordsmanship must be powerful and strong enough to create an impression of power." He hit the nail on the head, and the Luoan girl next to her also nodded fiercely - she had fought many Kazuto swordsmen since arriving in Crescent Continent. And one thing she discovered is that these guys particularly like to slash with wide open and wide strokes, as if they can't chop without raising the knife high.
"But sharp weapons don't need to be like this." The sage raised the knife in his hand and pointed with his finger from its tip to the blade.
"It's not a stick."
"Just by existing here, just by displaying it in front of the opponent, the sharp weapon has lethality." This man who has probably experienced more than ten million battles revealed his understanding of weapons without reservation: " A wooden sword needs to be swung with sufficient speed and force to have the ability to strike, because its rounded wooden blade is not threatening at all without these blessings."
"But even if the steel sword is at the closest distance, it will use the smallest movement to gently pull against the opponent's skin."
"It also makes people bleed profusely."
"There is nothing wrong with standard swordsmanship training, and those swinging methods can indeed cause the highest damage."
"But in actual combat, the opponent will not always give you the space to perform your best. What will happen if you are restricted to a narrow space where you cannot swing widely? If there is a friendly force behind the opponent in a melee between the enemy and ourselves, if you penetrate too much, you may hurt yourself. What should people do?" He asked word by word, and the warriors who believed that they had experienced a lot of practical combat experience along the way and had originally had some inflated confidence were silent.
"A sword is a sharp weapon. It does not need to be swung open and wide to exert its power."
"What you need is to forget about the wooden sword technique that is used to simulate steel swords but has gone too far." He said this: "To use a metaphor between you and others, it is called 'breaking and then standing'."
"Don't be bound by standards, thinking that the sword can only be swung according to the moves. But don't forget those standards. Remember that the weapon in your hand is a sharp weapon, not a stick, and use this new understanding to integrate the previous methods."
"After you master all this, we will come to the second lesson."
The short exchange and these words were like the final touches on a long-unfinished painting, which enlightened the young master who felt that he had some problems but was making slow progress.
He bowed deeply, then went over to pick up the long knife that fell on the ground.
Henry also put away the knife, and Mira came over and rolled her eyes at him.
"Teacher, you are too lazy. It's completely different from when you taught me. And wouldn't it be better to tell them such simple things earlier?" She said this in a tone that seemed to blame but was actually a little proud.
"Because he has a foundation." The sage shrugged: "It's just that some key nodes and cognition are wrong. The longer the practice time and the higher the level, the more solid and profound the cognition formed."
"Unless I have the intention to change, there is no point in saying it." As always, our wise man sees things clearly.
"That's true." The girl from Luo'an nodded. After such a long period of interaction, she finally understood the virtues of these Crescent Island people - they are extremely confident and stubborn about many things in their own culture. If I hadn't had the intention to seek knowledge, If so, talking about 'teaching' will only be viewed as showing off and lead to conflicts.
- But then she reacted.
"Wait a minute, why do I feel like I was despised just now?" She thought about what she had just said, and the more she thought about it, the more she thought about it. But the sage just shrugged: "It's not just the fact that you have no foundation."
"You're a terrible person." The Luoan girl jumped in anger and ran to the other side chasing her teacher. The young master in the yard had a brief discussion with the other warriors and then stared at the knife in his hand. Meditated.
As the sun sets and the moon rises, July slowly floats over this fishing port.
These are their last leisurely days.
On August 7, 4164 in the Great Lunar Calendar of that year, the New Moon Continent celebrated the beginning of autumn.
Taizhou, a strategic military town in Xinjing, is located in the north.
Plunged into darkness.
First, the liaison personnel who came and went at regular intervals missed the report, and then all the businessmen and tourists who originally came in a steady stream disappeared after entering Taizhou.
Sensing something strange, the scouts sent by Xinjing to investigate also disappeared one after another. No matter how elite the warriors were, they all lost their voices.
Anyone who enters the country will disappear.
It seems that even the turtle doves that carry messages cannot fly away from the sky above Taizhou.
The area north of Zhangzhou was painted bright red on the map of Xinjing - no news could come out from it, and they had no idea what was happening there.
On August 20, Xinjing had to send out the previously scarred witch troops again - in the face of this unexplainable phenomenon, these beings with divine power were the only ones to rely on.
But even they lost their voice.
On August 29, an anonymous letter from an unknown source was sent to Xinjing.
It says clearly above.
"The Crescent Sword has been broken."
Panic began to spread among high-level Chinese people, and the sense of uneasiness caused many of them to begin to increase security around their homes - at least on the surface.
Overnight, military uniforms were everywhere in the new capital.
The generals loyal to Xinjing led a small number of troops to Zhangzhou under orders, and the disciples of the Wu family who were having fun in Ziyun also received the Tianzi No. 1 summons order that they originally thought they would never have in this life -' Arm yourself on the spot and fight to the death for the emperor. '
Ziyun is going to become the front line.
Although Xinjing was worried about a series of problems that would result from a complete break with the feudal lord, Xinjing was still thinking hard about what excuse to use.
But the two major forces in the north and south finally took action.
