Volume 1: Storm in the Western Region Chapter 39: Advancement
Ye Sanniang steamed some food in the pot, then wiped her hands, walked out of the kitchen, leaned against the door, and watched Zhao Rang practicing his knife in the yard.
Zhao Rang still listened to Ye Sanniang's serious words.
When he first practiced knife training at home, he only had one movement at the beginning, which was holding the knife.
Hold the knife in your right hand, raise it high above your head, across your chest, and finally extend it straight out.
When Zhao Rang can hold on to each of these three postures for two hours without moving at all, this first step is considered to be completely passed.
After all, sword training is not all about dazzling sword moves, it has to start with hard work.
As the saying goes, "Practice swordsmanship without practicing martial arts, and you will end up in vain!"
Pursuing too much gorgeous moves will only make the blade weak and weak.
What's more, Zhao Rang's knife is used to kill people, not just for the sake of good luck like those entertainers in the world of martial arts.
But of course Zhao Rang didn't have that much spare time at the moment, so he just reviewed it briefly and entered the second step.
I remember that after passing the first step, the second step also had three movements: vertical chop, horizontal chop, and straight thrust.
There is no time limit for these three movements, but each movement must be done in a standard manner, and you can rest after doing it for 3,000 times!
Zhao Rang started practicing step by step, starting with the vertical chop.
With his current strength, such an action was extremely simple. So he had already completed three hundred blows without spending much effort.
Then came the other two actions.
The three movements were performed extremely slowly, and each of them was completed three hundred times in a very standard manner, but it only took as long as one stick of incense.
Only then did Zhao Rang notice that Ye Sanniang had been watching him practice his sword.
Zhao Rang smiled sheepishly and asked:
"is that so?"
Ye Sanniang replied:
"That's right. Do you feel any changes?"
Zhao Rang practiced the three movements next to each other and said:
"There seems to be some feeling, but..."
After thinking for a while, he sighed and said:
"But I don't know what to say!"
Ye Sanniang nodded.
She knew very well that Zhao Rang's reaction was the most real and natural!
If he talks eloquently and speaks truthfully, he is just pretending!
"Okay, for the sake of your stubbornness, I'll teach you!"
Ye Sanniang said and turned back to the kitchen.
When she came out again, she had an extra pair of chopsticks in her hand.
This is a pair of ordinary bamboo chopsticks, except that the length is slightly longer than the chopsticks usually used for eating, there is no other difference.
Zhao Rang looked at the bamboo chopsticks in Ye Sanniang's hand with confusion and asked:
"What do you mean?"
Ye Sanniang said easily:
"Teach you how to practice swordsmanship! While your little sweetheart is still awake, we still have some time!"
After speaking, he winked at Zhao Rang.
The small scar at the corner of her eye looked like dewdrops on the petals of a flower in the morning light, vivid and beautiful.
"Just use these chopsticks?"
Ye Sanniang nodded and asked:
"Is it possible that you want me to draw my sword?"
Zhao Rang's head shook like a rattle...
Given the difference in cultivation between him and Ye Sanniang, they would definitely not be able to catch a single sword.
But seeing the pair of chopsticks in her hand, Zhao Rang always felt a little uncomfortable...
Are you really that weak? So weak that even a pair of bamboo chopsticks can teach you!
I originally thought that even though I was no match against a third-level martial arts master, it probably wouldn't be a problem to escape unscathed.
But after witnessing the battle between Ye Sanniang and the old archery guy last night, Zhao Rang realized that he was the frog in the well...
However, Zhao Rang decided to deal with it with all his strength.
If I could cut off the chopsticks in Ye Sanniang's hand, I would feel better.
Little did they know that in the hands of someone with Ye Sanniang's level of cultivation, even a chopstick could be used as a bone-penetrating nail, a hidden weapon such as a swallow, or a melee weapon such as a judge's pen or an acupuncture awl.
Of course, to use a pair of chopsticks to meet the knife in Zhao Rang's hand, there must be a huge gap in strength, and you must be very confident!
After all, the principle of an inch short and an inch dangerous applies to everyone!
Ye Sanniang waved the chopsticks in her hand in front of her face, and then waved to Zhao Rang, indicating that he could attack!
When Zhao Rang saw this, he no longer had any scruples. He laid the knife across his chest, stepped forward, slashed out with the knife, and went straight to Ye Sanniang's chest.
When facing an enemy, this place is actually the most heavily defended place.
The muscles and bones of the chest are also stronger than other parts, so few people would use the knife like this from the beginning.
Zhao Rang did this because what Ye Sanniang is using now is a pair of bamboo chopsticks!
A three-year-old child can distinguish between chopsticks and a knife blade. He wanted to see how Ye Sanniang could resolve his blow.
“Cleverness leads to mistakes!”
As soon as Zhao Rang's blade came out, Ye Sanniang suddenly said this.
Obviously, Zhao Rang's intention has been seen through.
But he was still curious about how Ye Sanniang would resolve the attack, so he did not withdraw his attack but continued to chop away.
As soon as Ye Sanniang finished speaking, she suddenly lunged forward and stabbed Zhao Rang's throat with the bamboo chopsticks in her hand like a sword.
Such short chopsticks still have to leap forward when facing the blade!
How is this different from committing suicide?
Zhao Rang didn't care at all and continued to move forward with the knife in his hand.
But he soon discovered that Ye Sanniang's bamboo chopsticks were pierced straight out, so they broke farther than he could chop.
Therefore, these pair of bamboo chopsticks will definitely stab me in the throat before the blade approaches.
As a result, Zhao Rang must use his knife to block!
He bent his arms and raised his elbows, lifted the entire knife diagonally from the handle, and held it in front of him.
Then he pushed hard on the back of the knife with his left hand, causing the tip of the knife to rotate and change from cutting to stabbing, still pointing directly at Ye Sanniang's chest.
Ye Sanniang bent her head to one side, used her chopsticks as a sword, and swept towards Zhao Rang's abdomen.
Zhao Rang had no choice but to retreat continuously to avoid it.
Seeing that he was forced to retreat by a pair of bamboo chopsticks, Zhao Rang was very dissatisfied! But he heard Ye Sanniang say:
"You could have just dropped the blade after blocking and pointed it at my neck, but you had to show off your ingenuity and thought you had calculated my next sword accurately. What's the result?"
Zhao Rang was speechless.
The result was of course obvious - he was forced back by a pair of bamboo chopsticks!
"But what you said is totally unacceptable!"
Zhao Rang said, scratching his neck.
"Why not? Is it because you can't use it?"
Zhao Rang continued:
"I have already raised the blade at an angle to protect my throat and face, so how can I slash your neck?"
Ye Sanniang didn't explain either.
He raised his arms, like Zhao Rang did before, holding the chopsticks diagonally in front of him, then flipped his wrist, raised the chopsticks high above his head, and then chopped down hard!
Her movements were very slow, but Zhao Rang was extremely shocked when he saw her!
This is something he couldn’t even imagine after racking his brains!
"Don't be constrained by the sword skills in your head!"
After Ye Sanniang finished speaking, she felt that she had not been able to express herself clearly and added:
"It means that you have to choose the most correct sword technique at every opportunity to use the sword! Don't accept death, as long as you can cut people!"
Zhao Rang pondered for a moment and went through Ye Sanniang's moves in his mind again. He felt that he should have mastered it, so he said:
"Come again!"
Ye Sanniang still asked him to draw the knife first.
Zhao Rang still slashed towards her chest.
Ye Sanniang did not change her moves, and still responded with the same method as before.
Zhao Rang was overjoyed and immediately responded with the moves Ye Sanniang had just taught him.
The blade of the blade came down from top to bottom, slashing straight towards Ye Sanniang's neck.
Just as he was about to approach, Zhao Rang suddenly felt a pain in his arm!
Only then did he realize that the bamboo chopsticks in Ye Sanniang's hand were standing vertically upward, like a flagpole. Just when he was cutting downwards, his arm hit him!
If this was a sword, Zhao Rang's right arm would have been cut off.
"Chasing the shape and cutting off the pulse, the last thing comes first!"
Zhao Rang didn't understand Ye Sanniang's words and asked:
"What does it mean?"
Ye Sanniang explained:
"This sword of yours is all about speed, but you forget to be accurate!"
Zhao Rang thought for a while and retorted:
"Although I will be hit by your sword, at worst I will trade my life with you with one of my arms, but in the end I still win!"
But Ye Sanniang shook her head and said:
"If you continue to cut, my sword will penetrate your forearm, and then I will only need one side of the sword to break off your arm!"
"Unless you are invulnerable, indestructible, or don't even know pain, how can you still have the energy to chop?"
Zhao Rang was convinced by these words and began to think about Ye Sanniang's previous words.
"That is to say, speed alone is not enough. The main thing is to be accurate! With this knife just now, you obviously struck later than me, but because you were accurate enough, you were able to strike last and arrive first!"
Ye Sanniang smiled and nodded, with an expression like "a child can be taught".
This sword, Sanniang Ye actually told Zhao Rang again, even if he knew the opponent's flaw, don't rush to use the sword.
Unless the speed of the sword is so fast that the opponent has no reaction, you have to watch the timing of the sword strike and then ask you to enter the urn.
Only when the opponent has completely fallen into the trap can it be considered safe. At this time, speed and precision go hand in hand, and the sword will definitely draw blood!
A duel between masters can often be decided by one sword strike, so it is extremely important to grasp the timing of the sword strike.
"But if your reaction is a little slow, wouldn't you just stand and wait to die?"
Ye Sanniang smiled and said nothing.
The key to martial arts is understanding.
If I tell him everything, it will not be of any benefit to Zhao Rang's future cultivation.
"Come again!"
Zhao Rang felt that he was still a little short of the state of enlightenment, so he persevered and wanted to continue fighting Ye Sanniang.
But Ye Sanniang also wiped the bamboo chopsticks in her hand, put them away, and said:
"Your little sweetheart is awake, why don't you go check on her?"
Zhao Rang replied awkwardly:
"She is not my lover! Stop talking nonsense!"
Before he could put away the knife, Yuan Kexin walked out of the house. Her face was indeed much better than last night!
"Okay, I won't disturb you two anymore! I'm going to see if the food is ready!"
When Ye Sanniang passed by Yuan Kexin, she stopped and looked twice more, and then let out a burst of laughter like silver bells.
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