Chapter 26: Suspicion and Alarm

In this world, the transcendent must ultimately return to reality and the material. No matter how vast or powerful one's spiritual strength may be, its power to interfere with the material world is zero. Even if your spirit is strong enough to battle the void and shift the heavens, you cannot stir a single grain of dust in the physical world.

The boundary between mind and matter is unshakably firm. To truly shatter the void of the mind and touch the reality beyond would be the realm of gods and demons, no longer belonging to the human race. Therefore, the most fundamental and authentic manifestation of kung fu is strength and speed! In swordsmanship, this manifests as the force and velocity of the strike. This is the most simple and objective measure of a person’s strength; forget about the "heart of man," "heart of heaven," "heart of the Tao," or any vague "true intent"—look only at the most primitive and honest data! High strength means power, and high speed means power. As for spiritual strength, if it is truly potent, it will naturally drive the body to unleash greater force and higher speed.

Li Qi certainly would not refuse such a test. Although he had his own estimations of his current strength, he had never actually put them to the test. Now that Li Changqing had brought it up, he was curious to see exactly what level his sword speed and striking force had reached.

Amidst the suspicious gazes of the crowd, Li Qi stood up and walked, unhurried and steady, toward the large room nearby. The others followed, eager to see what kind of power this man—who had received such high praise from Elder Li—truly possessed. Among them were one or two members of the Li clan of the same age as Li Qi. They recalled him from the past, and in their faint impressions, he had always been unremarkable, just as Li Changqing had described: a man of mediocre talent. In this world, ninety-nine point nine percent of people shared such a disposition. Though even a mediocre person could achieve something through diligence and single-mindedness, the latter was even rarer than raw genius.

The sun was bright, and the light streaming through the massive glass windows illuminated the room so clearly that one could even see dust motes dancing in the air. Upon entering, Li Qi stripped off his shirt, exposing his upper body, before heading to a nearby rack to select a weapon.

Unlike the wooden swords used for daily practice, the weapons on this rack were forged from top-tier alloys. Though they were unsharpened, their material quality was equivalent to the legendary blades of a century ago, fit to be kept as heirlooms. The designs were identical to the wooden blades Li Qi used for his daily training, differing only in material. Relying on his intuition, Li Qi casually chose one. This casual selection, however, turned out to be the one most suited to him—a result of his "Insight into Truth" working at all times.

In that brief moment, the Li clan members who had followed him inside felt their pupils constrict. Many showed drastic changes in expression, and a few who lacked composure let out small gasps of surprise. The only thought in their minds was: "It’s the Tiger Form!"

Those who practiced the Eighteen Tiger-Slaying Blades could not possibly be ignorant of the Tiger Form; it was precisely because they knew it that they understood its difficulty and its lethality. In their generation of the Li clan, the younger members were still too inexperienced, so very few had reached the "Entry Level." As for the previous generation, those with enough perseverance had managed to break through over time. Yet, even among them, few had mastered the Tiger Form.

This form was not something one could achieve simply by following specific methods to train muscles and bones. If it were that easy, it would be a simple matter. The essence of a "True Form" lies in the spirit's interference with the flesh. Only with a powerful mind, a deep understanding of the sword's essence, and perfect harmony with the technique could one turn the false into the true, allowing the form to manifest. This was the highest tier of kung fu and the core of the first thirteen blades of the Eighteen Tiger-Slaying Blades. A blade technique without the Tiger Form is merely an empty display.

"Entry Level" also has its grades: Entry, Veteran, and Peak. The Veteran level, beyond mere strength and speed, requires the mastery of the True Form. Of course, these grades are merely for the mediocre. True geniuses generally reach the fourth realm: Breaking the Limit! The Peak is the summit for mortals and the foundation for entering the Tao, but for a genius, even entering the Tao is just a foundation. The pursuit of a genius lies in shattering one's own limits, excavating internal potential, and opening the "Divine Treasury." In this age of the internet, such information is no secret, and the benefit of breaking the limit is the attainment of supernatural abilities!

It is said that if the Eighteen Tiger-Slaying Blades are cultivated to the point of "Divine Reflection," one can break two major limits, though no one in many years has reached this state. Rumors online suggest that certain god-tier arts can break four limits, but such techniques are so rare that their names—let alone their contents—are unknown in the information age. As for the major Taoist traditions, only a few martial arts labeled as "White-Extreme" quality claim to be able to break three limits.

The more limits one breaks, the stronger the final supernatural ability. Legend speaks of a powerhouse who broke five limits, birthing a supreme ability; he fought those who had entered the Tao while still at the Entry level, fought "True Men" while having entered the Tao, and even escaped from the hands of a Saint—the absolute limit in history.

As for how many limits exist, it is rumored there are six, corresponding to the six-dimensional attributes of the status panel, though no one has ever achieved this. These were far beyond Li Qi for now; his swordsmanship had not even reached "Small Success," and he was a long way from breaking any limits. However, he had experienced the power of the Divine Treasury for less than half a second. If a mere trace of it was that potent, what would it be like to truly possess a supernatural ability?

Meanwhile, seeing Li Qi manifest the Tiger Form, Li Changqing was the only one in the room who felt no surprise. He had sensed it earlier; the loose clothing might have hidden it from the others, but it could not hide it from the creator of the technique.

To possess the Tiger Form before even reaching the Entry level was why Li Changqing believed Li Qi had a great chance of entering the Tao. In cultivation, building a foundation is vital; the better the foundation, the easier it is to break through later. A tower of ten thousand stories begins on the ground. To master the Tiger Form before entering the Entry level is a completely different concept than mastering it afterward. Often, whether or not one can break through later depends on these tiny differences. If you begin your training always falling just a bit short, then at the critical moments later on, you will always be a bit short—and that, in the end, is the difference between heaven and earth.

On the other side, Li Qi gripped his blade and took a deep breath. His entire body turned crimson, his blood energy surging. On the massive machine before him, the countdown began: three, two, one.