Death… and me

"It seems that you did not move away from that spot while training for up to 5 hours." Master stared deep into the eyes of his second disciple. After much contemplation, he said, "It seems that you have been training your sword skills continuously."

"Indeed, Master!" Chu Yang replied while giving a slight smile. Towards his master, regardless of this life or his previous life, he will always be respectful towards him.

Although Meng Chao Ran had a stoic personality, no one dared to bully him. He always seemed to be uncaring about the issues in the world, yet none of the issues could be kept from his knowledge. In his heart, he always held a strict criteria to weigh the issues he knew.

To be able to weigh the world!

People who were able to do so were truly outstanding individuals no matter where they go.

To Meng Chao Ran, there was always something he had to protect. That was Beyond the Heavens Sect! That was why when the sect was being attacked, he would rather fight to the death than to retreat. And not just that, in the battlefield filled with blood, he would always look out and protect his disciples.

Maybe he had some sort of regret, just that Chu Yang was unaware of it. All Chu Yang knew was that master would always stand alone in the middle of the night under the strong winds looking into the distance, like he was thinking, reminiscing about something.

"Not only are you training your heart, intent and speed of your sword, you also train to minimize the sound produced by your sword as it leaves the sheath." Meng Chao Ran asked with his arms folded across his chest, "Who taught you to train like this?"

"Nobody taught me this. I figured that when training my sword, each stroke should be filled with intent in order to train efficiently." Chu Yang continued, "I used to train only by swinging my sword, that caused me to really fall behind…"

"Hmm… You are right." Meng Chao Ran nodded. With a move of his hand, he placed a bucket of water on Chu Yang's hand.

"After your sword training, you immediately collected your sword intent and dispersed the sword qi in your heart before talking to me. Your martial state is now stable. You can now rest and drink some water." Meng Chao Ran smiled while saying.

"After intensive training, one should not drink water immediately. If you were to drink water immediately, not only would it cause all your efforts in training to go to waste, it might also harm your body."

Since Chu Yang was resting while collecting his sword intent, it should be fine for him to drink water now.

Chu Yang listened to his master and took a few small sips of water. Although he was extremely thirsty, he knew he should not drink too much now. Although many knew about this theory, not many had the willpower to restrain themselves from succumbing to their thirst.

Meng Chao Ran had been looking at him all this time. Only now did he sigh and smile while explaining. "Only by using your heart to train in the way of the sword will one acquire sword heart. After which, one could train his sword courage. Only when one has acquired sword courage, will he be able to travel the world unhindered. Although many disciples know of this theory, not many were able to achieve it. Today, you have achieved this, that is not bad. However, you still need to work hard."

After pausing a while, he continued, "I do not care how you train your sword. However, why are you training to control the sound your sword makes?"

Chu Yang smiled modestly and replied, "Master, all the swordsmen or knife users under the Nine Heavens uses weapons that require a sharp edge. These sharp edges are made of steel, or if one is rich they will use gold or silver or even legendary materials. Regardless, they are all metal, and metal is sturdy, not easily corroded by repetitive use and could last for a long time. Not only that, when in desperate times, the sharp edge could also be used as a blunt weapon. All these are advantages, but when metal rubs against something it will produce a sharp sound."

"That is right." Meng Chao Ran acknowledged while nodding.

"When there is sound, it will give the enemy time to prepare for the attack! I believe that this is the disadvantage of using the sword." He continued "The reason why we train in the way of the sword is to kill. If we just want to train the body, there is no need for the sword. Since we intend to kill, it is pointless to give the enemy time. With a single strike, I shall kill the enemy!"

"Training a silent sword technique is to attack while the enemy is unprepared! When killing in the martial world, there will be lots of enemies. The best is to kill without a trace!"

"To kill silently and without warning? Like how you dealt with Shi Qian Shan?" Meng Chao Ran tilted his head, his gaze becoming fierce.

Chu Yang was shocked. He did not expect that master would see through his plot. "To be honest, it was refreshing to deal with Shi Qian Shan" Chu Yang admitted with a smile.

Then he said with a quiet voice, "If he did not lust after beauties or thirst for power, he would not have fallen into my trap."

Meng Chao Ran stared deep into Chu Yang's eyes then let out a heavy sigh before changing topic. He said while turning around and walking away with his hands behind his back, "Learning the sword just to kill is a little extreme. In this world, there are a lot of things to love and cherish. To learn the way of the sword is not only just to kill, but also to protect."

Meng Chao Ran continued with a long sigh, "Human life is precious. If u can choose not to kill, it is best not to kill. Even if you are completely ruthless, every time you kill, you are also killing a small part of yourself. No matter how evil the other person may be, he still has parents or he may be another's parent, sibling or loved one."

"I agree with master's idea of learning the sword to protect. However, if others try to hurt what we protect, in order not to let those we protect cry…" Chu Yang continued walking behind his master and spoke firmly, "Then I could only cause the enemy's parents to cry. My enemy will have to die!"

Meng Chao Ran said, "If you can choose not to kill, then spare your enemy."

"If I were to spare my enemy, my enemy will not spare me. This is the truth of the world. All enemies and the dangerous situation must be resolved as quickly as possible."

Meng Chao Ran sighed, "Your thirst for blood is too strong! That is not good for you."

He shook his head and said while lamenting, "If revenge breeds revenge, when will it end?"

"Then all we need to do is to kill everyone involved, to remove the root of the problem and ensure that no one will be able to take revenge. Master, you are too soft. You do not seem like someone from the martial world." Chu Yang said bluntly.

"To practise a silent sword technique is to perfect a sneak attack. This goes against the rules of the martial world. People from the martial world will definitely criticize you and cause you to have a bad reputation."

Chu Yang laughed, "Rules are rules while I am me. Why should I follow the rules? I only follow a single rule and that is to ensure my own life. Without your life, even if you were to follow rules set by others, that would just be meaningless!" After pausing for a brief moment, he laughed again, "In any case, how many in the martial world still follow these rules currently? These rules have now become the cause of death for the honest people!"

Meng Chao Ran is unable to deny his disciples words.

Both of them were unable to convince each other. Yet on the inside, they both had a strange feeling. In his previous life, Chu Yang never argued with his master, always listening to him with respect. However, now both of them were debating on the issue of killing yet on the inside they could feel a kind of warmth.

Even though Meng Chao Ran did not agree with Chu Yang's ideas, he was unable to show that his philosophy lacked logic. The reason he did not say much was because he did not like to force anyone to follow his way of life. Everyone had their own lives and their own choices. It was up to them to decide.

"Master, there is something I cannot comprehend" Chu Yang sought for his master's opinion.

"Is it the case about Shi Qian Shan?" Meng Chao Ran laughed loudly. "About why I let Shi Qian Shan scheme against the two of you and allow him to control the resources within the sect right?"

"Yes," Chu Yang replied with his eyebrow raised. "This issue has been very suspicious. Although master knew of the situation, why did he not do something about it? If Shi Qian Shan was his disciple, are Tan Tan and I not his disciples?"

Chu Yang was not unhappy, he knew that his master had his reasons for doing so. He was just asking to clarify such that when he was to kill Shi Qian Shan it would not get in the way of his master's plans.