30 WHEN NIGHT COMES (1/2)
08 SPRINGMONTH 1501 AFTERFIRE, 13 YEAR OF JULIAN ERA
FIFTH MONTH OF THE MIDGARD CALENDAR
It has been three days since Charles has been residing in the Calm Heart courtyard. As he woke up and walk outside he could not help but look at the roof of his room.
'Truly beautiful' he exclaimed
All the buildings in the temple have tri-colored glazed roof tiles.
The color and luster looked new; some monks in the Temple were diligent enough to clean up, maybe as a part of their training so that the tiles looked like this.
The buildings would be resplendent under the bright sunshine.
On the distance the Bell tower could be seen nearby a white stone plaza.
A shrine is behind the courtyard with a bronze statue of the Enlightened One apostles riding the back of a flood dragon.
The Righteous temple look imposing looking from outside and inside. The gateways of the higher temples has white stone steps, and powerful Monks scattered all around the Halls and shrines
Statues of the Apostles of the Enlightened Ones could be seen in each Hall and each shrines
Liu Yi yesterday tour around the Temples looking at the statues of the Apostles.
Some statues closed it eyes, some opened it eyes, some have wide and had protruding forehead, some with its eyes drooping down in self-defense, but one thing they have in common is that every single one of the statues is vivid and lifelike, no different from any living being.
The layout of the Temple is also spread in a clear and good order in the direction resembling the Eight Path Wheels.
Each Path is separated by wooded path that have different trees, creating a divine atmosphere that was solemn and serene.
Charles on the other hand went to the Martial Arts yesterday and discover to his surprise that the chanting of the sutras calm down his heart and as he meditate with his eyes closed he could feel his internal energy that has always flares up when he was practicing slowly calms down.
He shakes his head and walk toward a room. Coming out of the room, on his hand right now is a sword.
He took one of the swords that he borrowed from the Martial Arts Hall yesterday since the sword he borrowed before were too heavy.
Outside the courtyard the sound of sutra chanting could be heard as the monk recites their sutra in the Meditation hall.
He walk to the opening of the courtyard and took a deep breath, closing his eyes and calming his thoughts and relaxing his muscles.
Then he swings his sword. It was leisurely as he familiarize himself with the sword and his own body.
His movement was like the flowing water, serene and peaceful
Then slowly he pick up the pace of his movement as he performs cutting, slashing and stabbing maneuver swiftly as the air around him was cut, and the winds around him stirred.
His sword energy rises up, his movement is sometimes like a tiger pouncing and sometimes like a clawing dragon.
Charles has been honing his swordsmanship since the battle at Yuyang Mountain
His movement which is leisurely in the beginning has now become even more ferocious and aggressive.
After three days of practicing he experience sore wrist and pressure on his finger. He could not trained too intensely on the way to the Temple since he was being pursued.
Now, that he is safe without any external pressure he could practice without worrying.
The training he endured for these three days also makes him even more familiarized with the Severing the Heavens swordplay.
This swordplay is truly full of variations and at its ultimate form could repel any kind of weapon attack, making one almost invincible in the path of swordplay.
This time his internal energy no longer so easily roiled as he began to understands how to control his internal energy.
While it is not at an expert control he is slowly progressing in his martial arts training
There is still a long way to go but for someone so young as Charles to already practicing such high level martial arts and could even grasp the essence of the arts, one could only imagine the comprehension ability that he possess
It is no wonder that Lin Ziyan did not hesitate to send her only disciple to the martial arts world. She truly had the confidence for her disciple
As Charles continues his movement, he slowly switch between fullness to emptiness from emptiness to fullness in his attacks, evoking an almost leisurely way of swordsmanship which is at the same time could kill one with each slash.
If not for the limitation of Charles physical body that is still short and childlike, his attack would be even more ferocious and even more elegant.
Heaving a breath that harmonized with his movement he changes his stance as an air ripping sound break the chanting of sutra.
Charles opens his eyes.
His movement becomes even more carefree, lighter, swifter and deadlier, his eyes shows enlightenment.
Slowly this time his internal energy flows in harmony with his sword movement.
Since he practices this swordsmanship in the cave on Yuyang Mountain he never stopped practicing it until he reached Qi'an.
By now he could already harmonize his internal energy to flow with his movement, making his sword not only sharper but his movement become even more lethal.
'Swordsmanship without limits, vast as the sea, endless like the skies' he muttered remembering the prologue of this manual.
Charles did not let anyone read the manual and adhere strictly to the teachings and orders of his teacher.
If anyone dares look at it, then he would kill that person. Even Liu Yi knows of this matter making him fear to even saw the manual of the Jade Palace Gate.
Charles swinging grew even more vigorous, his steps were like an ethereal master stepping onto water.
Charles footsteps is the Twelve Steps of Heaven, his swordsmanship is the Severing the Heavens swordplay.
Charles finally understand why his teacher gave him these manuals. They are all in a way connected.
With the Twelve Steps of Heaven his movement was like illusory movement, unpredictable like the wind.
With the Severing the Heavens swordplay, his attack was swift like thunder, formless and all-encompassing and combining it with his feet movement, he could dodge and evade, attack and stab, cut and hack in any direction he wanted.
”Sword and Body become one, the sword move according to Heaven, to cut the heaven shackles” he did not forget the core teaching of Severing the Heaven swordplay.
After many months of training this swordplay, he is no longer easily feeling tired, as his breathing is still calm.
He is now trying to transform his spirit to be acclimated with the sword to create ethereal sword intent.
Trying to achieve harmonious with the world attainment is not easy and the fact that Charles could already move this far in only two months proves that he is a genius in martial arts,
This is what is called the fish could not climb waters thus mistaking itself as dumb on the ground.
Because of his frail body and his disease, Charles has never studied martial arts and has never interested in it.
After all why would Charles try to yearn for something that he would not be able to achieve?
Who would have thought that he is a martial arts genius? Even Lin Ziyan have never met such prodigious talent in martial arts in her journey.
Of course she did not say it to Charles fearing that the child will become arrogant and overconfident.
The sound of his slash create as tearing sound right now, each one deadlier than the last. This slash if directed into a human, it will surely kills.
Liu Yi who was still sleeping was awoken by the sound of the tearing sword and he startlingly waking up almost thinking an enemy has attacked the courtyard.