Basic, beginner, proficient, mastery, grand achievement, pinnacle—these are the progressive standards for any swordsmanship.

“If I could reach the mastery stage, I wouldn’t have to prematurely stabilize my own qi and blood, nor would I have unleashed this strike ahead of time due to being unable to control my own qi, blood, and essence. After all, when fighting an enemy, they won’t give you time to prepare. Moreover, swordsmanship that you can’t even control yourself can hardly be considered as truly mastered.”

“Even so, this sword technique is already extremely terrifying. That strike of yours—if it hits, even a great swordsman-level expert would be slain by a single blow.”

“That’s impossible.”

Jane Howard shook her head. “The opponent would never give me the chance to gather my qi and blood, or my force. In battles at that level, opportunities vanish in a flash. The moment you intend to gather your qi and blood, the opponent may already have launched their fiercest attack, cutting you down before you even have time to succeed in gathering your strength.”

At this point, Jane Howard paused slightly. “However, you’re different. Your opponent, Samuel Grant, is somewhat arrogant. This duel is a mid-level swordsman against a high-level martial artist. If he makes the mistake of underestimating you and gives you time, you’ll have a great chance to stabilize your qi and blood.”

“All right, I’ll now teach you the method to gather your qi and blood. First, adjust your breathing, control your heartbeat, focus your mind to control the flow of your blood and force. You’re not a swordsman yet, you haven’t gathered force, but you have strength. Blood can carry qi, and qi can move blood. As long as you control the flow of your own qi and blood, stabilize it, and condense the strength contained within your blood, you’ve already succeeded by a third. Come, give it a try.”

“Train well. Your main task today is to stabilize your qi and blood. I have another class this afternoon. If you have any questions, wait until tomorrow to ask me. I’ve already paid for the room until six o’clock this evening. This whole afternoon, the entire training room is yours.”

Jane Howard clearly didn’t expect William Carter to be able to stabilize his qi and blood on the first try. She was a mentor, and even though William Carter was a genius of Biyue City, she couldn’t always be by this student’s side to instruct him. After giving her instructions, she didn’t linger and had already left the training room.

Very soon, only William Carter was left in the training hall.

Chapter 6: The Former Sword Dao Grandmaster

After mentor Jane Howard left, William Carter didn’t rush to start training.

At this moment, he closed his eyes. In his mind, like a movie replaying, the scene of Jane Howard performing the Burial Sword Technique played over and over again.

Stabilize the qi and blood, stabilize the force.

Pour all of one’s essence, energy, and spirit into the sword, achieving unity between man and sword, and pave the way in advance for the outburst of qi and blood and force.

Stimulate the spirit, use the mind as a guide, shift from utter stillness to extreme motion, pour the gathered force within the body into the sword, unleash it all in one breath, and finally form a thunderous, overwhelming, fatal strike.

It sounds very simple, as if it’s just charging up and then striking.

But in practice, it’s absolutely not that easy. The flow of qi and blood, the circulation of force—these things are extremely mysterious. Any martial artist can sense the power of qi and blood within their body, and even, through special movements, guide it outward to create powerful destructive force.

However, to have them control their qi and blood, to stabilize it, the difficulty increases exponentially.

It’s like anyone can feel a gentle breeze on their face, and some of their movements can even stir the breeze, creating a vortex of airflow. But to have them stop the breeze mid-flow, to hold it still in their hand—that level of difficulty is simply beyond ordinary human capability.

Stabilizing qi and blood is like this; pouring essence, energy, and spirit into the sword to pave the way for the outburst of qi and blood is the same.

The moment the stabilized qi and blood is released, the power already exceeds the limits of one’s control. If you don’t pave the way in advance and guide it into the sword, letting this power rampage within your body, you might not even need to fight—the force will injure your own organs, and you’ll die from the backlash of qi and blood, the so-called “going mad from cultivation.”

High-level swordsmen are a bit better; their force is refined into their organs, greatly enhancing their internal strength. But high-level martial artists...

And stimulating the spirit is the most difficult step of all.

Qi and blood within the body can still be controlled to some extent. Once it’s outside, poured into the sword, even with both hands gripping the sword as a medium, your control over the qi and blood becomes extremely weak. If you’re not careful and lose control, letting it dissipate in an instant, it would be laughable.

If the spirit can’t guide the qi and blood, and the qi and blood dissipate, then all the effort to gather it for this strike is wasted. At that point, your qi and blood are depleted, you haven’t harmed your target, and your only fate is to be at someone else’s mercy.

All three key steps—none can go wrong.

No wonder even some sword dao master-level experts can’t master this sword technique.

There’s no other reason—it’s just too difficult.

“Whew!”

William Carter let out a slight breath. That peerless sword strike unleashed by Jane Howard was already like a spiritual brand, deeply imprinted in his mind.

With a slight movement, William Carter’s right hand had already drawn the Ruosheng from his side.