The rear cliff of Qingyun Dao Sect.
Su Changyu had already struck his pose.
He stood atop a massive boulder, dressed in the long robe from yesterday. He looked every inch the transcendent Daoist immortal. His right hand held a sword behind his back; as the clear breeze blew, his long sidelocks fluttered, fully embodying the bearing of a sword immortal.
He was deep in thought.
Not about the Dao of the Sword, but about how he was going to fool this little junior brother of his in a moment.
Su Changyu understood that although he was going to fool him, he absolutely could not do so recklessly.
There had to be some basis to it, but on that foundation, he needed to exaggerate and embellish.
In other words, he had to boast with logic, not just make things up out of thin air.
It was somewhat difficult, but Su Changyu felt he could manage it.
And just as Su Changyu was thinking—
All of a sudden, a voice rang out, startling Su Changyu awake.
“Junior Brother Ye Ping pays respects to Eldest Senior Brother.”
Hearing Ye Ping’s voice, Su Changyu snapped out of his contemplation.
His expression was very calm, without the slightest ripple.
“Mm. Have you had breakfast?”
Su Changyu asked calmly, though he did not look at Ye Ping. It was not that he looked down on him; he was simply building up an aloof air.
“Replying to Eldest Senior Brother, not yet.”
Hearing this, Ye Ping finally remembered that he indeed had not eaten breakfast yet.
“It’s good that you haven’t eaten. We cultivators dine on rosy clouds and refine qi. Eating less coarse grain is good for the body.”
Su Changyu said as such.
Ye Ping nodded. He understood this. Coarse grains were full of toxins; after eating them, impurities would remain in the body, creating a certain hindrance to cultivation.
But right at that moment—
Su Changyu’s voice sounded again.
“Little Junior Brother, Master asked me to teach you the Dao of the Sword, but Senior Brother’s sword Dao is not something I pass on to just anyone. If you have no talent in the sword Dao, even if I teach it to you, it will be difficult for you to comprehend. So Senior Brother will ask you a question. If you can answer it, Senior Brother will teach you the sword Dao. How about it?”
Su Changyu sounded somewhat profound and unfathomable.
He had not planned to directly teach Ye Ping the sword Dao. Instead, he would first ask a question and build up the atmosphere.
If he casually taught Ye Ping the sword Dao just like that, wouldn’t it make him seem cheap?
Still, atmosphere was atmosphere. Su Changyu slightly glanced sideways at Ye Ping. If Ye Ping showed even the slightest displeasure, he would immediately say, “But I see that Junior Brother does have a bit of talent in the sword Dao, so never mind the question.”
The main thing was whether Ye Ping knew how to play along.
As for Ye Ping—
After hearing these words, not only did he not show the slightest displeasure, he instead nodded seriously and said,
“Junior Brother understands. The path of the sword Dao may seem simple, yet it contains the Great Dao within. Please ask, Senior Brother. If Junior Brother truly has no talent, I would not dare trouble Senior Brother.”
Ye Ping was feeling somewhat excited.
He had seen this kind of plot before.
Whenever an unparalleled expert passed down some secret art, they would not teach it directly. Instead, they would ask a question first.
And questions like these always seemed simple on the surface, but actually contained profound intent.
Thinking of this, Ye Ping could not help but feel a little nervous.
What if he could not answer?
After listening to Ye Ping’s words, Su Changyu could not help being slightly startled.
Aiyo, he understands the game this well?
He can even bring up the Great Dao?
Not bad, young man. You’ve got a future. Good, very good, extremely good.
Since you’re this cooperative, then don’t blame Senior Brother.
Su Changyu was in a pleasant mood, but on the surface, he maintained that aloof posture. He withdrew his gaze, looked out at heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers, then slowly spoke.
“Junior Brother, do you know what the Dao of the Sword is?”
His voice rang out.
Ye Ping fell silent.
His guess had not been wrong at all.
It really was this kind of question that seemed simple but contained supreme profound intent.
Ye Ping took a deep breath.
He began to ponder.
What was the Dao of the Sword?
If it were an ordinary person, they would probably answer something like, “Killing enemies is the Dao of the Sword,” or “A person like a gentleman is the Dao of the Sword.”
But this question was clearly not asking for something so shallow.
He had to put his own intent into it.
What was the Dao of the Sword?
Ye Ping pondered for a very long time, a full two hours, making Su Changyu, who was standing on the boulder, feel rather uncomfortable.
Big brother, I’ve been standing for two hours already. Can’t you just answer casually?
I’m so tired from standing. My hand is so sore. Can you answer a little faster?
I’m begging you!
Su Changyu was starting to regret acting so pretentious.
Ye Ping kept refusing to answer, and he did not dare change his posture either. He could only keep his back to Ye Ping, with his right hand still holding the sword behind him. Although he was a cultivator, he could not withstand standing at attention for two hours either.
Finally, after three hours, Ye Ping gave an answer.
However, Ye Ping’s voice was rather soft.
It was a tentative answer.
He did not dare answer recklessly, so he could only rack his brains and pick a few lines from novels he had read before.
“Eldest Senior Brother, is the heart the Dao of the Sword?”
After saying this, Ye Ping felt a little afraid.
After all, it was his first time cultivating immortality and also his first time practicing the sword. The other party was an unparalleled sword Dao expert. If his answer failed to satisfy him, wouldn’t he miss this opportunity for nothing?
Yet after Su Changyu heard this answer, he could not help being slightly stunned.
Hey!
This answer was somewhat interesting.
It was better than the answer he had given back then.
There was something to it.
However, although the answer was not bad, Su Changyu turned around and silently changed to another posture. Then he shook his head, his expression still aloof as he said,
“Wrong.”
That was right. Wrong.
He did not care what Ye Ping answered at all. No matter how Ye Ping answered, his response would be wrong.
If he directly acknowledged it, wouldn’t that seem too hasty?
“Then, is heaven and earth the Dao of the Sword?”
Ye Ping still asked tentatively.
“Also wrong.”
Su Changyu continued.
“Are the sun and moon the Dao of the Sword?”
“Still wrong.”
“Are all things the Dao of the Sword?”
Ye Ping once again asked tentatively.
He truly did not know how he should answer this question.
“Sigh.”
Su Changyu shook his head, looking at Ye Ping with a trace of helplessness.
“As expected, your talent in the sword Dao isn’t very good. Senior Brother will ask another question.”
Su Changyu said this.
It made Ye Ping feel somewhat devastated.
Although he had already prepared himself, he had not expected his aptitude to truly be so dull. However, since Eldest Senior Brother was willing to give him another chance, Ye Ping did not lose heart.
“Ye Ping, Senior Brother asks you: how strong do you think the ultimate realm of the sword Dao is?”
Su Changyu asked solemnly.
How strong was the ultimate realm of the sword Dao?
Ye Ping frowned slightly.
He had never even seen anyone perform sword arts before.
This answer had touched upon a blind spot in his knowledge.
However, after thinking it over carefully, although he had never seen anyone practice the sword, at the very least, he had read quite a few novels, hadn’t he?
Thinking of this, Ye Ping once again began to ponder.
This time, it did not take him long before he thought of something.
“Senior Brother, Junior Brother believes that at the ultimate realm of the sword Dao, a single blade of grass should be able to cut down the sun, moon, and stars.”
Ye Ping’s voice was not very loud, mainly because he lacked confidence.
But as soon as these words were spoken—
Su Changyu froze on the spot.
Fortunately, on the surface, he still appeared aloof and indifferent, so no great change could be seen.
But in truth, Su Changyu’s heart was already churning like overturned rivers and seas.