Chapter 16: The Unspoken Secret

  Liu Jiao's advantage lies not only in his speed of chasing prey, but also in the wisdom he brought from later generations. He knows where Zhao Yun's weakness lies? Zhao Yun's weakness is Liu Bei.

  Zhao Yun was startled in his heart and instinctively turned his head back. Just as Zhao Yun turned his head, the defensive knife force weakened, revealing a gap on the right side of his waist.

  Liu Jue's long-accumulated power suddenly burst out, and he flew up like lightning, slashing towards Zhao Yun's right waist with one knife. The move was ruthless and swift, showing no mercy at all. If it were an ordinary soldier, this slash would have cut him in half at the waist, evoking a chorus of gasps from the 800 soldiers.

  Zhao Yun turned his head to see the emptiness, and he knew that he had been deceived. At this time, Liu Xuan's knife came like lightning, directly cutting through a weak point on Zhao Yun's right waist. Even though Zhao Yun's martial arts were extremely powerful, he couldn't help but slightly retreat, dodging the knife. Immediately afterwards, his long knife slanted and cut upwards, precisely cutting onto Liu Xuan's blade. With a "ka" sound, sparks flew everywhere, and Liu Xuan's knife fell out of his hand.

  A huge force made Liu Xuan stand unsteadily, retreating two steps back, and sat down on the ground with a thud, his arms numb all over, and Liu Xuan couldn't react for a long time.

  The soldiers all exclaimed in surprise, both at Zhao Yun's strength and at Liu Jue's ability to force Zhao Yun back a step, for in their minds, Zhao Yun was a god-like figure.

  This move also made Zhao Yun look at Liu Xun with new eyes, not because Liu Xun's one move forced him to retreat a step, but because his martial arts were not so strong that he couldn't even retreat a step. It was Liu Xun's wisdom that called out to his master and created an opportunity for battle.

  Zhoa Yun was never one to shy away from the brutal realities of war, and he deeply understood the unscrupulous tactics employed on the battlefield. Although he himself would never resort to such means, neither did he reject them as abnormal. On the other hand, Liu's quick wit left him in awe.

  "Come again!"

  Zhao Yun waved his hand, and Liu Xun returned to normal. He leapt up, picked up his sword, let out a loud cry, and rushed forward at high speed, striking with one slash.

  Zhoa Yun was still the same move, slanting upwards with a slash, speed and power completely identical, only to hear a "dang" sound, two knives clashing, but this time although the force was fierce, Liu Xuan endured it.

  Zhoa Yun's sword flashed once, a cold light, horizontally chopping Liu Xuan's neck. The sword's momentum was neither fast nor slow, the angle was sharp, grasping the timing accurately, making Liu Xuan unable to dodge, if he were truly an enemy, this one strike would have beheaded him.

  Liu Xuan was powerless to defend himself, and closed his eyes, but Zhao Yun's knife momentum suddenly stopped, resolving Liu Xuan's crisis. He took two steps back, smiled and asked: "What did you discover?"

  Liu Jiong hesitated for a moment, and indeed found something, so he leaned forward and said: "Brother, just now you slashed diagonally with one knife, from the speed and style, it's completely the same as the previous knife, but why is the power so different? Did brother intentionally slow down his strength?"

  Zhao Yun smiled slightly, and indeed his little brother was very clever, seeing the key point. He drew a knife flower and said: "The key is the application of strength, everyone's strength is certain, but the way of wielding the knife is different, and the power of the knife is also different. For example, chopping while sitting and chopping while jumping, the power is completely different. If you can find a way to apply your whole body strength to one point, the power of this knife will be several times greater."

  Liu Jue was overjoyed, he understood Zhao Yun's intention, which was to point out his own shortcomings. He immediately stepped forward with a flattering smile and said: "Such excellent skills, brother must teach me!"

  Zhao Yun tapped his head and smiled: "This is a secret that our school doesn't pass on, you can't even ask for it. However, I can teach you some incantations."

  He whispered in Liu Xuan's ear several times, "Do you remember?"

  Liu Xuan nodded repeatedly, he was naturally clever and only silently recited a few times, then firmly remembered the oral formula taught by Zhao Yun in his heart. He knew that Zhao Yun had truly passed on the secret teachings of the school to him, and he was moved in his heart. He knelt down on one knee and thanked him: "Thank you, brother, for passing on your skills. Liu Xuan will remember it in his heart."

  "This secret is called Luofeng Gongfa, a kind of power technique that requires bitter practice to appreciate its subtlety. Any weapon can be used with it, you just need to practice diligently."

  Here is the translation:

  At this point, Zhao Yun let out a sigh, pressed down on Liu Xuan's shoulder, and gazed into his eyes: "Remember, it's just a trick, can't replace real martial arts. For those with low-level martial arts, it might be useful, but for those with high-level martial arts... unless your martial arts are even higher, otherwise you'll end up harming yourself."

  Liu Jiong nodded silently, understanding the principle of counterforce. Zhao Yun smiled slightly, knowing that Liu Jiong had not truly grasped his meaning, but there were some things he couldn't say to him yet, as the time was not ripe.

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  See Liu Xuan off, Zhao Yun kept looking at his back until he disappeared into the distance. Just then, a gentle voice came from behind him, "You seem to like Master Xuan quite a bit?"

  Zhoa Yun turned his head around and saw that it was Liu Bei. He jumped in fright, hastily knelt down on one knee: "Your humble servant pays respects to Your Excellency!"

  Liu Bei hastily helped him up, "You're injured, no need for formalities, get up!"

  "Let's go for a walk!"

  Zhao Yun nodded silently and followed Liu Bei as he walked slowly on the training grounds.

  "What's his qualifications?" Liu Bei asked with a smile.

  Zhao Yun nodded, "His talent is exceptionally high, especially his leadership skills are extraordinary, it's just a pity that he didn't have the opportunity to build his foundation and practice martial arts from a young age."

  "Didn't you tell me that you also started practicing martial arts from a young age?" Liu Bei asked with a smile.

  Zhao Yun let out a bitter laugh, because he had met his master, who had taken a different path, and had only achieved his current level of martial arts through him. But his master... Zhao Yun silently sighed in his heart.

  "Are you prepared to take him as your disciple?" Liu Bei changed the subject and asked what he really wanted to know.

  Zhao Yun shook his head silently, "I don't know!"

  He sighed softly, revealing his inner conflict. His master had explicitly warned him that the Luofeng Gongfa and Bai Niao Chao Feng Gun would not be passed on outside of their school.

  However, he passed on the Luofeng Gongfa to Liu Xuan, actually with the intention of accepting Liu Xuan as his apprentice, but he felt it was not quite right, and even he himself couldn't say what was wrong.

  Liu Bei pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "You can teach him martial arts, but I suggest not to take him as an apprentice. After all, he is Liu Jing's nephew. If we get too close to him, it will make Liu Jing vigilant and unfavorable to both him and us."

  Zhao Yun did not speak, he had already realized where the problem lay, it was his master, and found that Liu Bei wanted to use his relationship with Liu Xuan a little bit. Zhao Yun secretly worried that his master's exploitation would hurt Liu Xuan.

  Hesitating for a moment, Zhao Yun asked hesitantly: "Is the lord saying that Liu Jing doesn't believe in us?"

  Liu Bei looked up with his hands behind his back and gazed at the tall watchtower in Liu Biao's military camp in the distance, and couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. "I don't see it, where does he trust me?"

  Zhao Yun bit his lip, and Liu Bei's cold smile sent a chill through his heart. At this moment, he made up his mind resolutely - he could not harm Liu Xuan, nor could he accept Liu Xuan as his apprentice.

  Liu Bei took another look at Zhao Yun, wanting to ask again about Liu Xun's matter, but after a few turns of thought in his mind, he didn't ask.

  After a while, Liu Bei sighed again and said to himself, "Jingzhou is not just Liu Jing's Jingzhou, we still need to find other supporters."

  ．．．．．．．．．

  In the courtyard, Liu Xuan repeatedly practiced the secret of Jin's operation taught by Zhao Yun. Although there were only 98 words, the more he practiced, the more he felt that this Luofeng Gongfa was profound and vast, and it was not possible to reach Zhao Yun's level of mastery over the force in just a few months of hard practice.

  However, after practicing for more than a period of time, he had a harvest. He found that not only knives can be used, but swords can also be used. Spears and long lances can all use this set of gathering power techniques.

  Liu Xuan used the very short sword he had obtained from the skin bag, leaped high into the air, let out a loud shout, and with one slash of his sword, chopped down on the trunk of a tree. With a "ka cha" sound, the thick tree trunk was actually cut off by him in one stroke.

  Although the force of the counter-shock made his arm numb and the short sword almost slipped out of his hand, he was exceptionally excited in his heart. This was something he couldn't do before. The short sword was sharp, but cutting off this tree trunk was still impossible.

  Moreover, if it were a sharp and heavy battle knife, there wouldn't be such a shock to the arm, he felt that he still needed a good knife.

  In fact, in his previous life, he had a special fondness for knives. He once collected a replica of a Tang knife and treasured it like a precious jewel.

  The short sword in front of him was said to be the sword his father had left for him, with a dense texture, weighing three catties and eight taels, its blade extremely sharp, its body shining brightly with white light, and upon closer inspection, there were even several fine patterns on it, he really liked this sharp short sword.

  At this time, a low voice came from behind, "This sword is called White Dragon, one of the three treasured swords left by your grandfather."

  Liu Jue turned around and found that his uncle Liu Bei was standing behind him. He hastily sheathed his sword, stepped forward, and bowed down to pay his respects, "Nephew pays respects to Uncle!"

  Although Liu Biao was visiting him for the first time, they were already familiar with each other, and Liu Biao's eyes did not hide his esteem for this nephew.

  Liu Biao had three sons, the eldest Qi, the second son Cong and the youngest Xiu. The eldest son Liu Qi was gentle in appearance but weak in physique, unable to withstand wind and rain.

  Liu Cong, the second son, was robust in body and barely qualified as a man of both literary and military talents, but he was not tall, over sixteen years old, and still less than seven feet tall, which made Liu Biao very disappointed.

  But young Liu Xiu was a sickly child, who had been raised on medicine from a young age, and many doctors said he would not live to adulthood.

  All three sons were completely unlike Liu Biao, who was eight feet tall and had a sturdy build.

  Liu Biao had two other nephews, Liu Pi and Liu Fu. Liu Pi was a weak scholar with mediocre talent, timid and cowardly, while Liu Fu, although tall and strong, was reckless and unintelligent. Neither of them were liked by Liu Biao.

  But only this Liu Xuan was not only tall and majestic, but also wise and profound, very much like Liu Biao in his youth, completely inheriting the style of his grandfather's literary and military prowess, making Liu Biao extremely pleased.

  Moreover, Liu Jue's father Liu Bing was a biological brother of Liu Biao. As for the only flesh and blood left by his brother, Liu Biao naturally loved him even more.

  But liking is just liking, Liu Xuan was after all only a nephew and couldn't be mentioned in the same breath as his son.

  Liu Bei saw that he could cut down a thick tree trunk with one sword, and was quite surprised in his heart. He took the precious sword from his hand and saw that the scabbard had no decorations, simple and unadorned, and couldn't help but ask curiously: "I remember it wasn't this scabbard originally."

  The scabbard was lost in the struggle with Cao's army, but Liu Xuan did not dare to say that he had lost the scabbard, so he forced himself to say: "I thought the original scabbard was too flashy, a sword is a killing tool, not an ornament for women, so I put it away at home and didn't use it. If Uncle doesn't like it, next time I go back to my hometown, I'll change it back."

  "Well said!"

  Liu Biao nodded in approval, although his sword was merely an ornament, but Liu Xuan's young age could say 'the sword is a killing instrument, not a hairpin decoration', this kind of heroic words made him look at him with new eyes.

  Liu Bei sighed softly, "Although there are precious gems and beautiful silk, as well as gold and silver inlays, what's the use of them if they can't save the people of the world?"

  He returned the sword to Liu Xuan and smiled slightly: "Looking at swords is like looking at people, you're great, I wonder how your archery and horse riding skills are?"

  Liu Jiong's face turned red as he shook his head, "Tell Uncle, I've never practiced archery and horseback riding."

  Liu Biao smiled and said, "No matter, there's still time. In a few days, I'll have General Wang Wei come to teach you horseback riding and archery."

  Liu Xuan's heart skipped a beat, this Wang Wei he knew that in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms was just a soy sauce character, although having a loyal and righteous heart, but no power to protect his master, was killed by Yu Jin.

  This King Wei, who can't even defeat the forbidden capital, comes to teach his own martial arts. He is actually unwilling in his heart. In fact, he knows that Liu Biao has many famous generals under him, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Wen Ping, and Gan Ning are all mighty names of ten thousand enemies. Why not let them come to teach themselves?

  Liu Jing's lips moved, but he didn't know how to speak up.

  Liu Biao had such insight, he saw that Liu Xuan was not very willing to take Wang Wei as his master, so he didn't force him either. With a faint smile, he said: "Anyway, there's still a long way to go in the future, we'll find a suitable good teacher again."

  Stop for a moment, he said softly to Liu Xiang: "You'd better get familiar with Xiangyang City these days, we'll talk slowly later, if you need anything, just mention it, this is your home."

  "Thank you, Uncle!"

  Liu Bei took out his own sword and handed it to him, "The White Dragon Sword is an ancestral treasure that can only be displayed in the ancestral temple for later generations to admire, not for fierce fighting and killing. This sword I give you is also forged by a famous craftsman, named Xuan Lin, suitable for learning martial arts and practicing swordsmanship."

  He patted Liu Xuan's shoulder again, "Not only should you learn martial arts, but also read more books, especially understand etiquette, do you understand?"

  Liu Jue nodded silently, Liu Biao smiled slightly and turned to leave the small courtyard. Liu Jue stood at the gate with his sword in hand, watching his back disappear into the distance, a pang of regret in his heart - why didn't he want that good knife?

  At this time, a round face slowly emerged from behind the wall, a pair of eyes filled with jealousy staring tightly at the Xuanlin Sword in Liu Xiu's hand.

  。。。。。。。。。