Sword Practice

"Two books?" Officer Huang frowned. "Didn't I tell you that you could only choose one?"

Gu Qingfeng opened the book in his hand and waved it in front of Officer Huang.

"I chose the One-Strike Solar Sword from the second floor, and this Golden Bell Shield is from the first floor. There shouldn't be any restrictions on the first floor, right?"

"There are indeed no restrictions on the first floor, but haven't you already mastered the Golden Bell Shield? Why would you take it again?"

Officer Huang looked puzzled.

Gu Qingfeng smirked, "Haven't you heard of 'reviewing the old to learn the new'? How else do you think I achieved mastery?"

"Reviewing the old to learn the new?!" Officer Huang's eyes lit up. This saying from Confucius was something he had never heard before. These few words contained profound philosophy, and the more he pondered them, the more meaningful they became.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice when Gu Qingfeng left.

After a long while, Officer Huang came to his senses. He hurriedly ran back into the library and found his Eight Wilderness Palm technique, starting to review it from the beginning.

After this review, he discovered many new insights in the Eight Wilderness Palm that he had previously memorized by rote.

And just like that, he achieved mastery of the Eight Wilderness Palm!

At this moment, Officer Huang's hostility toward Gu Qingfeng quietly dissipated, replaced by deep admiration.

Now he understood how Gu Qingfeng had managed to master both the Iron Cloth Shirt and the Golden Bell Shield. Besides his talent, it must have been through reviewing the old to learn the new!

Such a simple yet profound martial arts principle, and Gu Qingfeng had casually shared it with him. How could Officer Huang not be impressed?

In truth, Officer Huang hadn't harbored much hostility toward Gu Qingfeng to begin with. It was mainly because his superior, He Fenghua, disliked Gu Qingfeng, and as a subordinate, he naturally had to show the same stance.

But now he had been subtly won over by Gu Qingfeng.

"Wait, what did he say he chose as his martial technique?" Officer Huang tried to recall.

"Oh no, he chose the One-Strike Solar Sword! He must have chosen it just because of its high rank, but that won't work. It's not only difficult to practice but also dangerous."

Officer Huang was about to go find Gu Qingfeng to tell him about this, but suddenly stopped.

Would someone who could speak of such profound martial arts principles as "reviewing the old to learn the new" fail to see the drawbacks of the One-Strike Solar Sword? Besides, Gu Qingfeng was only at the third level of Qi Gathering, he couldn't practice martial techniques yet. Perhaps he just wanted to study it. Better not to meddle in others' affairs.

So Officer Huang went back to report to He Fenghua.

When he arrived at He Fenghua's office, he was nearly knocked back by the stench as soon as he entered – the whole room reeked of excrement.

"Lord... Lord He... ugh!" Officer Huang nearly threw up.

"What's that smell?"

He Fenghua said darkly, "Someone accidentally spilled the night soil earlier while emptying it."

"Who did that? It's so... ugh!"

"Never mind, I've already punished... ugh..."

He Fenghua almost threw up himself.

Actually, he was lying. Who would empty night soil in broad daylight?

The truth was that Gu Qingfeng had thrown the spiritual weapon Phoenix precisely into the cesspit. The weapon was so sharp it had pierced straight to the bottom.

He Fenghua didn't dare ask anyone else to retrieve it, fearing the incident would damage his reputation, so he had to do it himself...

"What brings you... ugh?"

"My Lord... ugh, I've completed the procedures with Gu Qingfeng, and he has selected his martial technique from the library."

"What did he choose?"

"The One-Strike Solar Sword."

Hearing this, a gleam of pleasure flashed in He Fenghua's eyes.

He thought to himself, "The One-Strike Solar Sword? Heh, out of ten who practice this sword technique, nine self-immolate, and the one who survives ends up with ruined meridians. He's seeking his own death.

Too bad he hasn't reached the Internal Energy realm yet, so he can't practice it."

"Good, you've done well. You may go." He Fenghua quickly dismissed Officer Huang, who fled the place as if escaping.

After everyone left, He Fenghua went to bathe again, but that slimy feeling on his skin seemed impossible to wash away.

...

In the training room.

Gu Qingfeng began practicing the Golden Bell Shield.

The reason he didn't start with the One-Strike Solar Sword to test his theory was that there wasn't enough space to practice in the room, and he might accidentally set it on fire.

He planned to practice it in the wilderness at night.

Opening the Golden Bell Shield manual, he spent the time of two incense sticks memorizing its key principles, then began practicing.

Four hours later, he achieved mastery of the Golden Bell Shield!

With his Diamond Body foundation, practicing external techniques was practically effortless.

Gu Qingfeng left the training room. It was deep night, and the surroundings were silent and empty, with only patrol teams moving through the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Taking advantage of the night, he went to the outskirts of Wutong Prefecture, where it was deserted and filled with craggy rocks, providing good cover.

Wutong Prefecture was vast, and due to the unstable times with demons running rampant, most of it was empty except for the bustling center.

After finding a suitable spot, Gu Qingfeng closed his eyes and began recalling the key points of the One-Strike Solar Sword, which he had already memorized while in the training room.

To be safe, he reviewed them again.

The first step in practicing the One-Strike Solar Sword was to spend long periods under the sun, absorbing solar fire energy through specific methods to infuse one's internal energy and change its nature. This was step one.

This first step alone deterred many people because the process of solar fire energy changing internal energy was uncomfortable, causing burning pain in the meridians as if one's heart was being scorched by the sun.

However, Gu Qingfeng could skip the first step because he had no internal energy.

The second step was to refine, compress, and nurture the internal energy infused with solar fire until it became as explosive as fire itself!

This step was even more dangerous. The sun's power was not something humans could easily control, even in small amounts. To achieve greater power, the internal energy had to reach an explosive state, but the more explosive it became, the more dangerous it was – like a powder keg next to a flame. One small mistake and you'd explode.

This step could also be skipped.

The third step was to concentrate the explosive fiery internal energy into the sword according to the manual's methods, swing it in a specific way, ignite it, and detonate it! Without extremely high control, one might self-immolate from the backlash before even completing the sword strike.

This third step was what Gu Qingfeng wanted to practice now!

He didn't have explosive fiery internal energy, but he had something even more powerful – the White Bone Demon Fire!

Gu Qingfeng wanted to experiment with using White Bone Demon Fire instead of internal energy, striking according to the One-Strike Solar Sword's methods. If successful, this version of the One-Strike Solar Sword would be far more powerful and faster than simply throwing White Bone Demon Fire!

After the time of one incense stick, suddenly!

Gu Qingfeng opened his eyes, drew the Wood King Sword, and struck according to the manual's instructions.

Whoosh!

A horizontal slash cut through the air.

Nothing happened except for the sound of cutting wind.

Gu Qingfeng wasn't surprised, as he hadn't absorbed any solar fire energy, hadn't refined it, and hadn't activated the White Bone Demon Fire. How could he possibly execute the One-Strike Solar Sword?

He was just practicing the manual's movements to achieve proficiency, avoiding accidents later.

And so, Gu Qingfeng continued swinging his sword again and again, each time using his mind to simulate the circulation path of solar fire energy, imitating the feeling of compression, concentration, ignition, and detonation.