Chapter 34 - Iaido (1/2)

Chapter 34 Iaido.

Ancient Strengthening Technique Chapter 34 – Iaido

Qing Shui assiduously started his practice to master the way of Iaido, he stood there as images of sword shadows flashed through his mind as he visualized the most simplistic of all sword movements.

After he became exhausted, Qing Shui would take a break and drink water from the pond, eat the wild beasts that he had hunted and even read his books. There were a few times whereby Qing Shui was tempted to pluck the Energy Enhancing Fruit and eat them, but whenever he saw the glistening red color of the fruit, he would unconsciously reject the notion. This unconscious rejection was not born out of the fear that the fruit would be poisonous, however the actual reason was unknown to Qing Shui.

“Why the rush? There is always time, let’s wait for a while longer before I consume the Energy Enhancing Fruits.” Qing Shui decided to temporarily shelve the idea as he started reading the <<Continental Medical Annal>>, <<10,000 Herbal Encyclopedia>> and <<Herbal Combination Formula>> again. This was already the second time he read them, not to mention the fact that he had already memorized all of the contents in all three books! However, despite that, Qing Shui knew that he should only stop reading them when he had reached the point of forming an opinion regarding the theories behind the contents! It was only when he reached the point of forming his own opinions that he would be able to review the old and gain new knowledge. Only then would he be qualified to be a teacher!

Of course, he did not neglect the <<Basic Swords Techniques>>, in fact, practicing his sword techniques became the main point of Qing Shui’s focus during this period of time. If people from the World of the Nine Continents knew that Qing Shui was so obsessed and expended such a huge amount of time and efforts in mastering the sort of simplistic movement of drawing the sword and returning it back to the scabbard, they would undoubtedly call him a foolish madman.

Qing Shui relentlessly practiced his Iaido Technique, he must have already reached the point of executing it hundreds of thousands to millions of times. Practice makes perfect, Qing Shui firmly believed that as long as he practiced this set of simplistic sword movements for a few hundred million times, he would definitely turn this ordinary looking technique into something miraculous!

What Qing Shui wanted, was exactly the effect of turning something ordinary looking into something miraculous! Because <<Basic Sword Techniques>>, formed the foundation of all sword users, as long as one assiduously practiced the basics to the pinnacle, the foundation they built would be tough and solid. This would enable them to reach greater and greater heights in the way of the sword in the future!

Another month passed, inside the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal Qing Shui had already been practicing the Iaido technique for 3 years… It could be said that in the whole wide world, only Qing Shui had this way of thinking. Only with sufficient determination would one be willing to expend this much time and effort on something like this.

Time after time he practiced the particular movement set of drawing and returning. Qing Shui had no idea how many wooden staves he had damaged over time. In the beginning, the wooden staves he used were only as thin as the width of a thumb. However, as he progressively improved, the wooden staff he used began to get thicker and thicker and now, it was the size of a wrist!

Everytime, he practiced the Iaido Technique, the amount of friction generated from the force of the movement would be too tough for a normal wooden staff to handle. Qing Shui had to forage for a long time before he found the rare Scryrius Ironwood and fashioned it into a sword. The Scryrius Ironwood was famed for its toughness. Back when he was in the Qing Clan, he remembered seeing furniture made from this type of wood, which was why he recognized this material when he saw it.

What Qing Shui didn’t know however, was that other than furniture, there were also plenty of other weapons out there which were created from Scryrius Ironwood.

After finding it, Qing Shui decided to practice against something instead of just solo practice the simplistic set of movements, He stood atop the peak of a high mountain, surveying all four directions, trying to find a good location for his sword practice. Now, it was already August. The climate had turned chilly, but despite only wearing a thin layer of clothes Qing Shui did not fear the cold at all. His constitution had improved to such an extent that, even if he was half naked, the chill would not bother him.

Qing Shui unconcernedly and casually strutted down the mountain, trying to look for a suitable place. He passed by a hillside where there stood a gigantic tree, so large that it would require numerous people to join hands before they could hug it. A gentle breeze blew over, making the yellowed and reddish leaves begin to flutter in the air, falling from the tree branches and landing all over the ground.

Instinctively, Qing Shui executed his Iaido technique and pierced a leaf with the wooden sword he had fashioned out of Scryrius Ironwood. Following this, he continued piercing leaves. A second leaf, a third leaf…… but ultimately, there were still plenty of leaves that fell to the ground.

Qing Shui’s current weapon was a wooden sword fashioned from Scryrius Ironwood, it looked simple and crude, but one could not question its toughness. Before this, he had been using staves to practice the sword techniques… However, in the end, a staff is still a staff and is unable to bring out the essence behind the sword arts. So Qing Shui, using his tyrannical strength, had fashioned the staves into the shape of a sword!

Qing Shui momentarily paused and extended his left fist, sending out a punch against the trunk of the gigantic tree. After which, the impact caused numerous leaves to flutter down from the skies as he brandished the wooden sword and charged towards them.

In the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, other than practicing his sword techniques, he had also been training his Ghostly Steps. Now, using the unfathomable mysterious Ghostly Steps technique in his footwork, Qing Shui was like a fish in water, fluidly moving amongst the leaves as he stabbed towards them from different angles.