Immortal

8. Comprehending the Earth Skills

The Dreadgods Sect was coming, this was no small matter. 

After pondering for a while, Lachlan walked into his tent silently without making a sound and sat cross-legged on the ground again.

Now, he was no longer the martial arts leader of the past. His words were no longer influential. If he told others, no one would believe him. Maybe he would even alert the Dreadgods Sect in advance in doing so. 

Moreover, the four immortal sects were extraordinary conclaves of masters. It was impossible that they were not prepared. He could just stay vigilant and wait and see.

Lachlan silently recited the mental skills and started practicing again. However, the sudden appearance of the Dreadgods Sect had brought a heavy pressure on him and evoked his dusty memories. His meditation was interrupted and it was not so easy to re-enter that mysterious realm.

"But why did the immortal sects gave us low-grade swords and ordinary manuals before the trials? Could it be...?" Lachlan suddenly had an idea.

Seeing that it wasn't long before dawn, he decided to stop meditating and instead carefully study the long sword and sword manual in the package. With a swift movement, he raised the long sword and flicked it lightly with his fingers.

The action was smooth, but he could hear a faint sound when he listened carefully. It was indeed an ordinary long sword. There was nothing mysterious about it, and there was no mechanism on the handle. 

After flipping through it carefully, Lachlan put down the long sword and picked up the thin sword manual.

Like the long sword, this sword manual also looked very ordinary. It contained some common moves circulated among the warriors. There were only nine moves in total, including drawing the sword, sweeping horizontally, and striking diagonally. 

These were the moves used to enlighten children who have just started to practice martial arts. It was no wonder that martial arts masters lost interest in reading such common moves after taking a look at them, and even went to the grandmasters to ask if their servants had made a mistake.

Lachlan did not give up easily. He patiently read it over and over again. Slowly, he discovered some tricks.

The moves in this sword manual seemed ordinary at first glance, but if one stared at the diagrams intently, a mental method would slowly emerge under each of the figures in the diagrams. The moves in the diagrams were not important, and may even be just a cover to mislead people. The mental method beneath was the key.

Lachlan's eyes lit up. He memorized every section of the mental method and recalled it in his mind. He then went back and looked through the map again and made a new discovery.

After knowing the corresponding mental method, he looked back at the moves on the diagram and felt different. The seemingly simple moves had their own mysteries.

Some moves were simple, just a horizontal sweep or a straight strike, but there were many subsequent changes; some focused not on the moves, but on the feet, the body movements and footwork were the key. 

After pondering the mystery of each move, he carefully considered it and slowly discovered a greater mystery. A single move might not be a big deal, but the connection between the previous and next moves was very different.

The order of connecting the previous and next moves was different, and the effect was very different too.

The more moves were connected, the greater the changes and the more complicated it was to consider.

"Amazing! This is not just an ordinary sword manual, it is clearly a peerless magic skill! No, it is several magic skills, superimposed on each other in a disorderly manner using multiple tricks!" Lachlan's eyes lit up in awe. 

On the cover, the two words "Earth Skills" came into view. Strictly speaking, this should not be called Earth Skills, but Heavenly Skills. 

One needed to calm down and read it carefully to find the mystery. It was even more laborious to ponder and comprehend the mystery. In the four hidden immortal sects, this might not be considered a powerful skill, but for martial arts masters who have just entered the Innate realm, it was an absolute secret book. 

Without guidance and reminders, those who were not good at understanding or were careless in nature would probably miss the opportunity.

Lachlan sat cross-legged on the ground, slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, and flipped through the sword manual again, cutting off all distracting thoughts and meditating quietly.

Every time he read it, he had a different understanding, and his thinking became slower and slower, and more and more laborious.

After a long time, he finally put down the sword manual in his hand, stood up, pulled out the hatchet on his back, and started practicing in the tent.

Straight strikes, sweeps, high-speed attacks, and sudden turns...

Sometimes Lachlan ran fast, and his blade flashed like lightning; sometimes he stood still, and the hatchet in his hand was like a knife cutting water. It took him a long time to move slightly, practicing and comprehending at the same time.

At the beginning, Lachlan practiced each move in the sword manual in isolation, repeatedly practicing these nine moves until he was familiar with them; then, he began to try to connect different moves. 

Some moves felt awkward no matter how they were adjusted, but some moves were handy and the speed of the sword was getting faster and faster.

When he practiced to the point where he could do what he wanted, there was only the flash of swords in the tent, and Lachlan's figure faded away, leaving only a faint shadow, and he displayed his attainments in swordsmanship in his past and present lives without reservation.

When the speed reached the extreme, the blade did not make a harsh sound of breaking through the air, but a dull sonic boom. 

If Zastan was present, he would be so surprised that his jaw would drop to the floor, and the best swordsmanship ranking in the world would be remade.

After a dazzling burst of attacks, Lachlan suddenly stopped, spread his legs to shoulder level, slightly lowered his body center of gravity, held the hilt of the sword with his right hand, and made the first move in the sword manual, drawing the sword.

Inside and outside the tent, there was complete silence. In the sky, a dark cloud floated by, blocking the sky above dragon mountain, and the top of the mountain suddenly became dark.

Lachlan looked inwardly and every move in the Earth Sword Skills manual appeared in his mind one after another.