Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Chapter 946: The First Day

The sun rose over the jagged peaks of the Heavenly Sword Sect. The air was cold and incredibly crisp this morning. Li Yu opened his eyes and finished his morning Qi circulation before deciding to move. He stepped out of his austere guest room and joined the rest of the Li Clan. They walked together in silence toward the main gathering hall, each having their own thoughts or expectations for the day.The massive structure was already packed with cultivators from all across the Myriad Realms. The atmosphere was charged with heavy anticipation and the fifteen day conference was officially beginning.

An elder of the Heavenly Sword Sect stood on the raised black stone platform as he struck a large iron gong with a heavy mallet. The deep sound washed over the crowd and silenced the murmurs instantly.

"We will begin the morning with demonstrations as mentioned yesterday." The elder announced clearly. "Who wishes to step forward and present their path to the assembly?"

A young man from the Blazing Edge Empire vaulted onto the stage almost instantly. He wore heavy red and gold armor while carrying a broadsword that was nearly as wide as his own torso.

"I am Yan Bo of the Blazing Edge Empire." The young man declared loudly and proudly. "I will demonstrate the Heavenly Sun Cleaver technique."

Yan Bo gripped the hilt with both hands and widened his stance. He channeled his fiery Qi into the blade as the metal glowed white hot and flames erupted along the sharpened edges. The ambient temperature in the entire hall spiked immediately.

He let out a loud shout and swung the broadsword downward in a massive vertical arc. A wave of condensed fire crashed into the reinforced stone floor as the impact shook the platform. A deep scorch mark was left behind on the stone. It was an impressive display of destructive power.

"We welcome critiques." The elder stated calmly from the side of the stage.

A disciple from the Freeblade Alliance leaned against a nearby pillar and laughed. He did not bother to step onto the stage to give his thoughts.

"It is certainly flashy and hits hard." The Freeblade member called out loudly. "But you poured almost all of your Qi into a single downward strike. What happens if your opponent simply dodges out of the way? What if they manage to block it with a defensive artifact? Your forward momentum carried you completely off balance. You would be entirely defenseless against a quick counter attack while trying to recover your stance."

Yan Bo frowned deeply and he wanted to argue with the mercenary but he knew the critique was accurate. It was a technique designed as a final blow to final off the opponent but that didn’t mean the critique was wrong, it did have that weakness. While the critique was correct, it wasn’t really useful either. He offered a stiff bow to the crowd and stepped down from the platform.

A young woman from the Violet Gale Clan stepped up next. She wore pale green robes that fluttered without any wind and she held a sleek and narrow sword in her right hand.

"I am Feng Lin." She introduced herself quietly. "I will demonstrate the Whispering Gale Draw."

She dropped into a low crouching stance as her hand hovered over the hilt of her sheathed sword. A sudden burst of wind Qi swirled around her feet and she vanished from her spot completely.

She reappeared at the other end of the platform in the blink of an eye. A thin silver line hung in the air behind her. A second later a loud sonic crack echoed through the hall. She had drawn her sword and struck extremely fast.

"Excellent speed." A senior elder of the Heavenly Sword Sect spoke up from the front row. "Your mastery of wind Qi is highly commendable. However, you rely too much on velocity. You sacrifice the foundational weight of the blade to achieve that blistering speed. What happens if you encounter an opponent with an incredibly dense Qi barrier? Your blade lacks an unyielding core. It would simply bounce off a solid defense and shatter your own wrist from the recoil."

Feng Lin bit her lip and considered the words of the elder. She bowed respectfully to the elder and left the stage. The demonstrations continued for several hours. Some got helpful critique for their techniques while some got critiques they already knew about but no real solution was offered.

Various cultivators showcased their unique arts to see what kind of feedback they could get. The critiques from the crowd were often blunt and border line harsh. However, they were always rooted in practical combat logic though. Li Yu watched closely and learned a great deal about the mechanical flaws in different fighting styles.

The morning session eventually concluded. The attendees filed out of the main hall and moved to the expansive outdoor courtyards for lunch. Long wooden tables were set up with roasted spirit meats, fresh fruits, side dishes, teas and other drinks.

The factions naturally separated into their own isolated groups for lunch with a few breaking rank because they had friends in the other fractions. The polite atmosphere of the morning was already beginning to crack under the weight of conflicting ideologies.

Li Yu sat at a table with a few other Li Clan disciples and he quietly ate a piece of roasted meat. He kept his ears open and listened to the conversations happening around him as it had been awhile since he was able to listen in on gossip.

The disciples of the Blazing Edge Empire were sitting nearby and they kept glancing over at the Li Clan delegation with clear disdain in their eyes.

"They just look soft." Yan Bo muttered to his peers. He did not bother to lower his voice much. "The Li Clan treats the sword like a dancer would almost. It is all flowing movements and elegant poses. It might look pretty but it lacks real power. Our fire arts would melt their delicate swords in a real fight."

The Li Clan disciples heard the insults clearly as Yan Bo wasn’t masking any voice at all. A few of them gripped their chopsticks tightly and glared back. They remained disciplined and did not engage verbally though. Li Mei sat at the head of the table and she completely ignored the provocations while calmly sipping her tea.

On the other side of the courtyard a different rivalry was brewing. The Violet Gale Clan and the Frostmoon Empire were staring each other down. It was a classic clash of fundamental styles. The Violet Gale disciples valued extreme evasion and blistering speed above all else. The Frostmoon disciples believed in defense and continuous parrying. They were loudly debating which approach was superior in a drawn out battle of attrition.

The deep gong sounded again mid afternoon. The cultivators returned to the main hall and took their seats on the cold stone floor. The atmosphere shifted from tense rivalry to respectful silence.

A very old man walked onto the raised platform. He wore a simple white robe, carried no weapons and he did not project any aura. He looked like an ordinary mortal grandfather that had wandered in from the street. Yet every single expert in the room leaned forward with focus. This was Elder Jian from the Heavenly Sword Sect. He was a legendary figure who had spent three thousand years meditating on the sword path.

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"A sword is just dead metal." Elder Jian began speaking. His voice was soft but it reached every corner of the massive hall flawlessly. "It does not matter if it is forged from mortal iron or divine steel. It is an object and it has no will of its own. The true edge does not come from the forge. It comes from the cultivator holding the hilt."

Li Yu listened intently and compared what he had learned from Master Tie and the heavy lessons on the anvil. Master Tie taught the physical reality of the weapon. Elder Jian was teaching the spiritual reality.

"The mind is the hilt." Elder Jian continued. He slowly raised his empty right hand. "Your Qi is the blade. Your intent is the edge. Many of you focus on making your Qi stronger or making your physical bodies faster. You completely neglect the intent."

Elder Jian pointed his empty fingers toward the ceiling.

"To cut the physical world, you must first be able to cut the spiritual world." Elder Jian lectured. "You must make your will absolute. When you swing your sword, you cannot harbor a single doubt in your heart. If you believe your blade might be blocked, then it will be blocked. If your intent is absolute, then the heavens themselves will part before your strike."

The ambient Qi in the hall began to hum and vibrate. The elder was not actively circulating his power. His mere words were resonating with the natural laws of the Sword.

"There are three realms of understanding on our path." Elder Jian advised gently. "The first realm is the sword in the hand. You rely entirely on the physical weapon to do the work. The second realm is the sword in the heart. The blade becomes a true extension of your soul and moves with your thoughts. The third realm is having no sword at all. Your very existence becomes the edge. The world itself acts as your weapon."

The truths echoed through the silent room. Li Yu felt a strange vibration deep within his Koi Sanctuary. He could sense the Firmament's End reacting slightly to the lecture. Li Yu gained a much deeper theoretical understanding of how intent was formed even though he did not walk the orthodox sword path himself.

As the lecture went on, suddenly, a loud cracking sound echoed from the Frostmoon Empire delegation.

A young woman in blue silk let out a sharp gasp. A powerful burst of cold Qi erupted from her body and swirled around the room. She had been stuck at a difficult bottleneck for five years. The lecture had suddenly cleared her internal doubts. She successfully broke through to the King realm right there on the floor.

A moment later another surge of Qi appeared from the Freeblade Alliance group. A rugged mercenary laughed joyously as his aura expanded and stabilized at a higher stage.

Elder Jian smiled warmly at the crowd. He offered a polite bow and stepped down from the platform. The lecture was over but the philosophical effects would linger in their minds for a long time. To have a master on the nearly the same path as you walk preach to you was a massive gain.

The sun began to set over the holy domain. The sky turned dark and the floating orbs in the hall glowed brighter. Dinner was served in the main dining pavilions shortly after. The atmosphere was much more rowdy than lunch. The afternoon breakthroughs had energized the entire crowd.

The tension between the top three factions finally began to show openly. The Freeblade Alliance members drank heavily from large clay jugs and they loudly mocked the host sect across the dining hall.

"They fight like statues holding sticks." A large Freeblade mercenary laughed while pointing his cup at the Heavenly Sword disciples. "It is all rigid forms and strict rules with them. They would not last a week out in the lawless territories of the real world. A real fight does not follow a textbook."

The Heavenly Sword Sect disciples sneered back at them with their expressions filled with contempt for the mercenaries.

"You are all undisciplined barbarians." A Heavenly Sword disciple replied coldly. "You flail your weapons around like wild beasts. You have no respect for the holy edge or the ancient forms. Your chaotic methods will always shatter against true orthodox techniques."

The verbal clashes continued through the meal. The minor factions kept their heads down and avoided the crossfire between the giants. Li Yu ate his food quietly while he enjoyed the excellent roasted meats and actively avoided the drama but was listening intently.

The evening concluded with the opening of the sparring arenas. Several large stone platforms were designated for combat in the outer courtyards. Glowing runes illuminated the rings while the elders of the Heavenly Sword Sect stood nearby as referees. They watched closely to prevent any fatal injuries from occurring.

The rivalries established throughout the day immediately bled into the arenas. Everyone was still technically respectful but the underlying grudges were clear.

The first major match was between the Blazing Edge Empire and the Li Clan. Yan Bo stepped onto the platform. He was the disciple who had demonstrated the fire cleaver earlier that morning. He pointed his massive broadsword directly at the Li Clan delegation.

"Send someone up." Yan Bo challenged loudly. "Let us see if your elegant dances can stop real power."

A Li Clan disciple named Li Shen was around the same cultivation level as Yan Bo accepted the challenge. It was an unwritten rule that only those of similar cultivation levels face each other, there would be nothing to gain to overpower another with your cultivation base here.

Li Shen drew a slender silver sword and stepped lightly into the ring. They bowed formally to each other as the elder signaled the start of the match. Yan Bo roared and charged forward instantly. He swung his heavy blade in a devastating horizontal arc. Bright flames trailed behind the weapon and scorched the air.

Li Shen did not attempt to block the heavy strike, he used a flowing movement technique to glide smoothly to the side. He tapped the flat side of Yan Bo's broadsword with his own blade. He redirected the kinetic energy instead of opposing it directly. Yan Bo stumbled forward from his own unchecked momentum as Li Shen gracefully spun around and placed the tip of his silver sword against Yan Bo's neck.

The match was over in seconds.

"Yield." Li Shen said calmly.

Yan Bo gritted his teeth and lowered his weapon in defeat. The Li Clan disciples clapped politely but did not throw back any words, at least not this time. The Blazing Edge delegation looked completely embarrassed by the swift loss.

The next spar featured the Violet Gale Clan against the Frostmoon Empire. Feng Lin stepped into the ring to represent the clan. She faced a young man from the Frostmoon group who wielded a long rapier.

The match became a blur of motion. Feng Lin used her blistering speed to launch dozens of rapid attacks from every possible angle. The Frostmoon disciple did not move from the center of the ring to receive the attacks. He simply planted his feet and used continuous defensive parries to deflect every single strike coming his way. His defense was so quick, it looked like a dome of ice Qi formed around him and absorbed the kinetic impacts.

Feng Lin eventually exhausted her stamina reserves and her speed dropped for a fraction of a second. The Frostmoon disciple seized the opening immediately as he unleashed a precise forward thrust that stopped exactly an inch from her chest.

A third match took place between a Freeblade mercenary and a Heavenly Sword Sect disciple. The Freeblade used a jagged and highly unpredictable fighting style. He attacked from strange angles and constantly shifted his grip on his weapon.

The Heavenly Sword disciple remained completely calm as he used rigid and perfect textbook forms to deflect the wild strikes. The mercenary eventually overextended on a wild swing and left a momentary gap in his defense. The Heavenly Sword disciple exploited the gap and disarmed the mercenary with a single precise strike.

The matches continued deep into the night and was the main draw for many of these cultivators. The cultivators fought hard but they maintained a baseline level of respect for the rules. They were all there to learn and improve their craft and at least on the first day, everyone was being more or less respectful.

Li Yu stood near the back of the crowd for the entire evening as he watched every single match with intense focus. He analyzed the footwork and the Qi management of the fighters. He noted how they handled victory and how they handled defeat. He was gathering an immense amount of combat data for his own future use.

The gong sounded one final time at midnight.

"The first day is concluded." An elder announced across the courtyard. "Return to your quarters and rest well. The holy edge demands a fresh mind."

The crowd slowly dispersed and the loud conversations faded into the cold night air. Li Yu walked back to the guest pavilion with his clan members. The first day had been incredibly useful. He had learned a great deal about the wider world and the different philosophies of the sword. There were countless paths to reach the peak of the sword path.