Starforce Warriors

Chapter 258: Skyward Staff Technique And Eight Secrets Of The Heavenly Blade

Li Xiaofei's eyes lit up as he said, "Of course."

Ning Wuwo carefully examined the bull horn once again and said, "Five pieces of the Bull Demon’s Inscribed Treasure Bone."

Li Xiaofei handed over five pieces without hesitation.

Ning Wuwo explained, "If these are embedded within the blade, it will unlock the weapon's lightning attribute. It will prove incredibly useful in battle. You’ll discover its subtleties over time, President Li."

Li Xiaofei was now convinced that this seemingly idle old man truly had some extraordinary skills. Soon, the Xuanku Gang posted a notice indicating that their clinic was temporarily closed. The online appointment system was also entirely shut down. The defenses around the back courtyard were tightened. It looked relaxed on the surface, but it was heavily fortified within. However, with Li Xiaofei standing guard, there was little concern about any unexpected incidents.

Ning Wuwo took the horn and entered his underground workshop. Four of his stunningly beautiful female disciples followed him inside to assist. Meanwhile, Li Xiaofei waited in the courtyard. As he considered the time, he realized it was about time for the Secret Time Pavilion to open. After some thought, he decided to enter the Secret Time Pavilion for cultivation.

The grand white temple was peaceful and serene. The Secret Time Pavilion significantly boosted the effectiveness of cultivation for martial artists, much like the blessed lands described in the ancient Great Xia martial lineage.

"Dog Box, can I draw a cultivation technique?" Li Xiaofei asked casually.

"Woof, you can."

It was a surprising answer.

Li Xiaofei’s face lit up with joy.

What am I waiting for? Let’s draw straight away!

A swirling blue vortex appeared before him, and he plunged his hand into it. After a bit of fishing around, he managed to pull out two technique scrolls. He tried to grab a few more, but to his dismay, the vortex had already begun to shrink.

Damn. This Dog Box had suddenly become stingy.

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Reluctantly, Li Xiaofei withdrew his hand. He unrolled the first scroll and saw three bold words written across it: Skyward Staff Technique.

"Hmm?"

Li Xiaofei stared at the scroll in a daze. He hadn't expected to draw this technique. This was the second non-Jin Yong martial arts technique he had obtained.

The Skyward Staff Technique was created in Wen Rui'an's[1] martial universe, crafted by Huaiyin’s Zhang Hou after he combined a thousand and one moves from the Wind Blade Frost Sword technique. In the original story, this staff technique was an invincible divine skill.

Its most famous wielder was the elderly eunuch Mi Cangqiong, who was Zhang Hou’s direct disciple. The emperor had granted him the name Mi Youqiao, and he was known as the most powerful martial artist within the imperial palace. Though he rarely took action in the martial world, the few times he did, he shocked and subdued an entire group of martial world elites.

The Skyward Staff Technique was primarily a staff technique, but it could also be applied as a finger technique. While it was different from the Six Meridian Divine Sword, each had its own merits. After all, they hailed from different martial universe dimensions.

One thing was certain, the power of the Skyward Staff Technique far surpassed that of the One Yang Finger. The One Yang Finger technique had become rather redundant in Li Xiaofei's martial arts repertoire. However, it still possessed miraculous healing powers.

Back then, Huang Rong had nearly been killed by Qiu Qianren's Iron Palm, only to be saved by the One Yang Finger of the Southern Emperor. Its unique value was the reason Li Xiaofei hadn’t completely abandoned the cultivation of One Yang Finger.

As he skimmed through the manual of the Skyward Staff Technique, Li Xiaofei realized that it started with a detailed breakdown of all 1,001 moves from Wind Blade Frost Sword. Only at the very end did the manual reveal how to merge all those moves into a singular, ultimate technique, the Skyward Staff Technique. To master Skyward Staff, one had to first cultivate Wind Blade Frost Sword.

After reading it, Li Xiaofei realized that while this manual wouldn’t significantly boost his combat abilities, it would deepen his understanding of martial arts. There was no rush to cultivate it; he could take his time. It might even serve as an excellent textbook for Red Flag High School. He’d pass it along to Old Chen later.

With that in mind, Li Xiaofei unrolled the second scroll. He focused and started reading carefully. The first six words on the scroll read, Eight Secrets of the Heavenly Blade. Li Xiaofei’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately started getting excited.

Could it be? Did I really just draw a technique from this martial world?

He quickly unrolled the scroll to find a detailed description of the Eight Secrets of the Heavenly Blade, a blade technique personally created by Song Que [2] from Huang Yi's high-martial universe, Heavenly Blade.

It’s Huang Yi![3]

Li Xiaofei was overjoyed. He had long been hoping that the Moonlight Treasure Box would have martial arts techniques from Huang Yi's martial universe, since it featured characters capable of shattering the void. Compared to Jin Yong’s martial arts universe, the martial arts techniques from Huang Yi’s universe were undeniably more mystical and far stronger.

If Jin Yong’s martial arts heroes were high-flying, virtuous swordsmen, then the protagonists in Huang Yi’s world were practically superhuman. They were capable of defying gravity and battling entire armies alone. The martial techniques from Huang Yi’s universe were even more captivating.

Li Xiaofei knew that mastering the Eight Secrets of the Heavenly Blade would elevate his combat ability to an entirely new level. Li Xiaofei had often wondered how the various martial arts techniques from Jin Yong’s martial universe would perform in the modern era. However, martial arts from Huang Yi’s martial universe likely belonged to the realm of experts beyond the Five Spirits Realm. Perhaps their strength was akin to that of immortal cultivation.

He never expected that he would finally draw the Eight Secrets of the Heavenly Blade. The technique was famously wielded by Song Que, the head of the Southern Gates Clan from the novel Twin Dragons of Great Tang[4]. Song Que was an immensely popular character known for his charismatic personality.

His self-created Heavenly Blade technique, especially the Eight Secrets of the Heavenly Blade, was renowned for its brutal and dominating style. Song Que was known as the number one blade master under heaven. He had never known defeat and was ranked alongside the three great martial arts masters of the world. He was also the youngest among them.

When Li Xiaofei read the novel, he had been deeply captivated by Song Que’s character. To think he had drawn Song Que’s blade technique.

Is this fate?

Li Xiaofei wondered as he realized that he had just acquired the horn of the Bull Demon to craft into a broad blade, only to receive Song Que’s blade technique at the same time.

Huh? Wait a second. Maybe it wasn't fate. It was... dog fate. Did the Dog Box purposely hand over this blade technique?

"Thanks," Li Xiaofei said to the air.

"Woof, you're welcome." The Dog Box responded.

Li Xiaofei's eyelid twitched.

Damn, it really was dog fate.

When he realized that the Moonlight Dog Box had been secretly watching everything all along, Li Xiaofei suddenly felt that he ought to show the Dog Box more respect. After all, it was his golden cheat; his finger of fate, so to speak.

Li Xiaofei respectfully opened up the Eight Secrets of the Heavenly Blade and began to read and comprehend its mysteries. Each of the eight techniques contained ten moves, for a total of eighty. When executed, it was akin to an immortal riding the wind with boundless grace, carrying an air of mysticism and unparalleled brilliance.

Li Xiaofei quickly grew immersed in the scroll. The blade technique of Song Que, the Heavenly Blade, emphasized not only form but also intent. It focused on forgetting the blade itself and achieving a state where man and blade were one.

Song Que once said, "Having form is the realm of earth, but formlessness is the realm of heaven and earth. Form hides formlessness, and formlessness hides form. The highest level is the unity of heaven, earth, and man, where one reaches a state of formlessness within form and form within formlessness."

This demonstrated that Song Que’s understanding of blade techniques had nearly reached the level of Dao. Even with Li Xiaofei’s incredible comprehension, which was praised by one hundred and eight master instructors, grasping the Eight Secrets of the Heavenly Blade was not something he could master overnight.

For the first time, Li Xiaofei felt the true difficulty of understanding martial techniques. This was in stark contrast to his experience cultivating the martial arts of Jin Yong's world, which had come more easily to him. Fortunately, with the assistance of the Secret Time Pavilion, Li Xiaofei still managed to make progress.

In what felt like the blink of an eye, thirty days passed. Li Xiaofei had finally achieved a basic understanding of the Eight Secrets of the Heavenly Blade. As the time limit for the pavilion reached its end, Li Xiaofei emerged from the Secret Time Pavilion.

In the real world, not even a second had passed. Li Xiaofei sat cross-legged in the back courtyard of the Xuanku Gang as he continued to ponder and refine his understanding of the blade technique.

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, a day and a night passed.

Boom!

Suddenly, a surge of intense energy erupted from the underground workshop. Immediately afterward, an invisible blade energy shot up, breaking through the ground and soaring into the sky, slicing straight toward the constellation of Taurus.

It’s done!

Li Xiaofei was overjoyed.

1. Wen Rui’an or Woon Swee Oan is a Hong Kong-based Malaysian poet and writer of wuxia novels. Some of his best known works include Jingyan Yi Qiang, Buyi Shenxiang, and Si Da Ming Bu, which have been adapted into television series Strike at Heart, The Four, Face to Fate, and the film The Four, among others. ☜

2. The main character of Twin Dragons of Great Tang, a wuxia novel by Huang Yi ☜

3. Huang Yi or Wong Cho-keung, better known by his pen name Wong Yee or Wong On, was a Hong Kong writer of Wuxia and science fiction novels. He graduated from the Department of Fine Arts of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and once worked as the Assistant Chairperson of Hong Kong Museum of Art. ☜

4. The Legend of the Twin Dragons of the Great Tang Dynasty also known as Twin of Brothers is a Wuxia novel written by Wong Yee based on the background of the end of the Sui dynasty and the beginning of the Tang dynasty, which integrates history, military, and fantasy. The full set of books totals more than 5 million words. ☜