Chapter 65: One Sword into Vajra |
“A dawn of blooming flowers and a dusk lit by moonlight, like riding rosy clouds into the blue ethereal sky,” Lei Wujie recited in a low voice.
Lei Wujie drew his sword in a flash and shook his finger at Li Hanyi. "The first sword, imparted by the sword immortal, Moonlit Night and Flowering Dawn."
The mountain peaks roared, but no flowers fell and no moonlight shone at them. This time, this sword of Moonlit Night and Flowering Dawn was pure and flawless. But although there were neither flowers nor moon, there was the intent of flowers and light from the moon!
This sword could be called the pinnacle of elegance!
Lei Wujie struck with his sword, and the blade of the sword began emitting a cold light. This was the fourth time he’d used this sword move, and this time, his sword intent possessed a measure of a sword immortal’s manner.
Li Hanyi nodded slightly, lightly hooked his finger and Armoured Glacier unsheathed itself. He whispered a sound, "Fall!" The Armoured Glacier sword cut downwards, shattering Lei Wujie's flower intent, and pierced through his moonlight. It brought on the chill between the mountain peaks with immense power, and the sword aura rushed towards Lei Wujie like wild horses rampaging through a wasteland.
Lei Wujie stood his ground, holding his sword, and refused to retreat. His right sleeve had been ripped to shreds but he stayed silent and clenched the Rainfall sword harder in his hand.
"A light rain that hastens the blooming flowers, with a gentle breeze accompanied by willows, they’re just as good as yesteryear. The misty reds and smokey greens, all compete zealously for early spring." Lei Wujie took a step back, waved a sword flower, and used his next sword move.
"The second sword, imparted by the sword immortal, Vivid Colours of Flora." Lei Wujie pointed his sword into the sky.
This sword move possessed an extreme warmth intent, and the graceful blade of the Rainfall sword began to emit a faint red light. The extreme cold that had been brought on by the Armoured Glacier finally receded a little. Lei Wujie didn't expect the power from his sword would be able to suppress the Armoured Glacier, and he was so overjoyed that he approached a few steps.
Li Hanyi nodded slightly. "Good. Vivid Colours of Flora was the sword move I created when I was young. Back then, I travelled across Jiangnan and saw the green shades of the weeping willows by the West Lake, so I created this sword. You are very good, you are from Jiangnan, so it’s not difficult for you to comprehend this sword.” After speaking, he lightly hooked his finger again, and the cold light from Armoured Glacier brightened again!
In Snow Moon City.
Sikong Changfeng walked out of his hall and looked in the direction of Cangshan.
"Third shizun, what are you looking at?" Tang Lian looked up and asked when he saw Sikong Changfeng walk out of the hall.
Sikong Changfeng smiled and said, "Your shidi is coming down the mountain soon."
"Coming down the mountain?" Tang Lian and Xiao Se exchanged a glance.
"Go quickly, and you might get there in time to see the last sword." Sikong Changfeng took a flying leap and headed towards Cangshan.
Tang Lian and Xiao Se followed hurriedly. That day, at the gates of Snow Moon City, Lei Wujie and Li Hanyi made an agreement. When he could meet his three swords, Li Hanyi would follow Lei Wujie down the mountain. But, it had only been three months. Could Lei Wujie do it?
Lei Wujie's second sword, "Vivid Colours of Flora," was accompanied by an orange glow of sunrise, and the snowflakes around Li Hanyi instantly melted into water, but the cold of the Armoured Glacier sword solidified the water into hard ice. Lei Wujie's body heat surged, and he stepped down hard, cracking the ice.
Blazing Arts, Garuda Realm!
Li Hanyi frowned slightly. Was this Lei Wujie's final card? He had underestimated a sword immortal’s sword. The Blazing Arts was never considered very powerful martial arts, not to mention a mere Garuda Realm.
Lei Wujie's eyes were blazing, and the qi in his body surged forth. The pupils of his eyes seemed like they were burning with a wildfire.
His Blazing Arts rose another level - Fire Source Realm!
"Very good, when Lei Hong was your age, he was not as good as you." Li Hanyi was slightly impressed. He hooked his finger again, and the Armoured Glacier shot into the sky with a power that seemed like it could destroy heaven and wipe out the earth.
"You have a blazing wildfire, but can you match my thousand feet of frozen ice?" Li Hanyi said haughtily.
Lei Wujie swung the sword with his right hand and just managed to block Li Hanyi's sword. He had to retreat more than ten steps. The biting cold aura from the Armoured Glacier suddenly made him feel a little dazed.
He thought of that scholar in his grey robes who was always sitting in a daze in the courtyard, and remembered that man had told him once, a sword is alive. If a person develops feelings with a sword, then that sword will become his friend. When the friend is in trouble, the sword can sense it. That’s why some swords will vibrate with a cry when they sense a murderous intent.
"I have passed you the Murderous Dread sword. In the future, while the man lives, the sword will live…"
"So, if the man dies, the sword will die?" Lei Wujie accepted the Murderous Dread sword and spoke solemnly.
"Sword return!" Lei Wujie suddenly opened his eyes and bellowed.
Above the gate of Snow Moon City, the Murderous Dread sword that had been stuck there for three months suddenly began vibrating with a cry.
Everyone below the city gate heard the violent noise, raised their heads and looked at the fiery red sword.
This sword was said to be forged with gunpowder and steel, and its blade was covered with flame patterns. The pommel of the sword was engraved with a fire-breathing dragon, and its name was the Murderous Dread sword. Because of its extraordinary power, it once swept through the martial world held in the hands of Lei Hong when he almost rose to the status of half a sword immortal!
Now the Murderous Dread sword was about to go look for its owner.
"Sword return!" Standing at the top of the mountain, Lei Wujie stretched out his left hand and shouted again.
The Murderous Dread sword finally broke free of the city wall and flew straight towards Cangshan, like a red light piercing through the sky.
Sikong Changfeng, Tang Lian and Xiao Se were on their way up when suddenly, a violent wind passed them. When they looked up, they saw the Murderous Dread sword.
Sikong Changfeng praised, "Man and sword have interlinked. To be able to do this, this shidi of yours has entered the pinnacle realm."
"Pinnacle realm?" Tang Lian was surprised.
Lei Wujie stretched out his left hand and caught the Murderous Dread sword. The flame pattern on the blade began to flow. Lei Wujie waved his left hand and threw off the Armoured Glacier sword.
"Last night there was a lightning storm, and the wind was like ten thousand crossbows. Again it blew in the concealing haze, making one feel like the gods had gathered. The third sword, imparted by Lei Hong, named Raging Inferno Roaring Thunder."
"After paper falls into smoke and we get drunk together, a poem turns into pearls and jade when we return to face it. The third sword, imparted by Li Hanyi, named Paper Falls into Smoke.”
Lei Wujie held the Rainfall sword in his right hand and the Murderous Dread sword in his left, the power not lacking in either. He slowly raised his two swords, the cold aura uninterrupted on the Rainfall sword, the inferno blazing on the Murderous Dread sword, one cold and one warm. He slowly said, "This is my third sword, shifu, please test it."
Li Hanyi nodded. "Very well." At that moment, he seemed to see his younger self. His master was the previous citymaster of Snow Moon City, Li Changsheng. All of his martial techniques were paired. Back then, Baili Dongjun ruled the martial world with his double-handed sabre-sword combination, and Sikong Changfeng also used the double-spear technique with a long and short uneven spears combination. He had also armed himself with two swords.
Li Hanyi lightly hooked his finger, and caught the hilt of Armoured Glacier in one hand. Just now, Li Hanyi had been using his fingers to manipulate his sword to block Lei Wujie's two sword moves, but for this third sword move, it was finally worth the effort of holding the sword hilt in his hand. It was a proper fight.
Because with this one sword move from Lei Wujie, he had stepped into the Vajra Mortal Realm.
"Let shifu also give you a sword. This sword has a name, called." Li Hanyi said slowly, "Sudden Thunderclap."
*
Poetry notes for all the sword moves:
花晨月夕，如乘彩云而登碧落。
A dawn of blooming flowers and a dusk lit by moonlight, like riding rosy clouds into the blue ethereal sky.
A line from a poem 《画舫约》 (Appointment on a pleasure boat) by late Qing dynasty writer Han Bangqing. The first four words are now used as an idiom which means beautiful scenery and good times. The rearranged words are the name of Li Hanyi’s first sword move: 月夕花晨 yue xi hua chen (Moonlit Night and Flowering Dawn).
*
催花雨小，著柳风柔，都似去年时候好。露红烟绿，尽有狂情斗春早。
A light rain that hastens the blooming flowers, with a gentle breeze accompanied by willows, they’re just as good as yesteryear. The misty reds and smokey greens, all compete zealously for early spring.
A line from the poem 《泛清波摘遍》 by Song dynasty poet, Yan Jidao. These two lines depict a beautiful imagery of early spring with a light spring shower and gentle spring breeze, while the flowers and trees seem to fight for dominance to be the first to greet spring. The four words are now used as an idiom to mean that the colours of flowers and trees are bright and vivid. They’re also used as the name of Li Hanyi’s second sword move: 露红烟绿 lu hong yan lü (Vivid Colours of Flora).
*
昨宵殷其雷，风过齐万弩。复吹霾翳散，虚觉神灵聚。
Last night there was a lightning storm, and the wind was like ten thousand crossbows. Again it blew in the concealing haze, making one feel like the gods had gathered.
These are two lines from the poem aptly titled, 《雷》 (Thunder) by Tang dynasty poet Du Fu. The general tone of the poem is bleak as it describes a land suffering from severe drought and other calamities. This is the preamble for Lei Hong’s sword move: 烈火轰雷 lie huo hong lei (Raging Inferno Roaring Thunder). It’s an idiom that means ferocious as a raging fire that cracks with the sound of thunder. Incidentally, the hong lei are the same characters as Lei Hong, Wujie’s master, which means literally, explosive thunder.
*
纸落云烟供醉后，诗成珠玉看朝还。
After paper falls into smoke and we get drunk together, a poem turns into pearls and jade when we return to face it.
This is a line from the poem 《次韵答满思复》 by Song dynasty writer Su Shi. Paper falls into smoke is an idiom that means a literary work is complex and profound. The metaphor is that when ink falls on paper, it’s like smoke which is varied and changing forms. Pearls and jade are also used to describe beautiful writing. The name of Li Hanyi’s third sword move: 纸落云烟 zhi luo yun yan (Paper Falls Into Smoke) is translated literally.
*
凤衔金榜出门来，平地一声雷。
The Phoenix Edict with the golden list came out, a sudden rise in fame.
This line will appear in the next chapter, but I’ll include it here so all the notes are in this chapter. This is a line from the poem 《喜迁莺·街鼓动》 by late Tang dynasty writer Wei Zhuang. The full text is about the scholars who came back from taking the imperial examinations. The Phoenix Edict is the imperial decree that announces the golden list, that is, the candidates who passed the imperial examinations. The name of the sword move: 平地一声雷 ping di yi sheng lei (Sudden Thunderclap) is literally a sudden clap of thunder on a peaceful ground, but it’s an idiom that means there was a sudden change in status, for example, a sudden rise in fame or reputation.
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