Blinking Sword Art explanation

“Specifically, these rare books are a combination of different techniques. In other words, there is no full set in here. They have all been pieced together from different martial arts styles,” Han Li slowly explained.

“Then what is the meaning of the name ‘Blinking Sword Art? Is it even an actual sword art? Why is the name so strange?” Li Feiyu was still unsatisfied by Han Li’s response, so he kept asking questions.

“Blinking Sword Art actually exists, but the manuals that pertain to it are only a small portion within the big mash up,” Han Li said with patience.

“As for the name of the Blinking Sword Art, there is a special reason for it.”

“What reason? Why can’t you say it all at once? Stop talking sentence by sentence, you are just like the old people in town.” Li Feiyu glared at Han Li; he couldn’t stand Han Li’s slow explanation.

At Li Feiyu’s urging, Han Li couldn’t do anything else but speed up his clarification.

“According to the books, this sword art manipulates light to affect the opponent’s eyesight, thereby giving the user a chance to land a decisive blow. It often makes your opponents lose their lives the moment they blink, hence the name ‘Blinking Sword Art’.”

“There is actually such a strange sword art? There are quite a few eccentric martial artists in this world!” Li Feiyu showed a lot of interest after listening, but quieted right after Han Li’s next sentence.

[...]

Thinking of the Blinking Sword Art, Han Li felt a wave of emotion.

Han Li did not tell any lies regarding the Blinking Sword Art to his good friend. This sword art truly did not suit Li Feiyu. However, Han Li did not reveal many of the details.

An essential rule of survival was that one should always keep a few secrets, regardless of who they were being kept from.

Although Li Feiyu and Han Li seemed to have a close relationship, it was hardly exceptional.

However, the contents written in these secret manuals were quite different from common martial teachings.

It seemed to Han Li that, rather than to say it was a sword art, it would be more appropriate to call it sword ingenuity. It was a complete integration of weather, timing, favorable positioning, and secretive assassination techniques against all kinds of factors and people; such a skill was rarely seen. It was pure killing skill; as soon as the sword was drawn, death approached.

These books described different environments, times of day, and the utilization of diligently practiced secretive sword skills. There were all kinds of sure-kill techniques that would cut down an enemy in a single strike.

The manuals taught those that learned these sword skills to make use of every tree and strand of grass in the terrain, as well as light rays of all intensities and angles, in order to hinder the opponent’s vision. During the split second the opponent was weakened, the user would take advantage  of it and kill them in an instant.

This was a mysterious technique that required much attention and skill to execute. Without the slightest talent, it would be impossible to understand this sword art.

Therefore, those who learned this mysterious technique must excel in the five senses.  Their vision and hearing must far exceed that of an ordinary person by many levels if there were to be the promise of even the slightest results.

Even if they had the requirements to achieve that stage, there would inevitably be a few disciples who would covet the Blinking Sword Art’s formidable power and choose to cultivate it immediately after reaching the minimum requirement.

However, mastering the sword art required an excessive amount of effort. In addition, it had even harsher requirements. Those who cultivated this mysterious technique could not possess pure inner strength. Otherwise, their body would suffer from complications when trying to execute the technique. This made cultivating the sword art quite difficult.

Even if someone with True Qi was lucky enough to succeed, if the True Qi in their body became too vigorous during actual combat, the sword maneuvers would unwittingly produce deformations. These deformities left large gaps for the opponent to take advantage of, thereby causing life-threatening calamities.

These requirements basically severed away the majority of those attempting to cultivate the technique. In Jiang Hu there was a common saying: “To practice the fist and neglect skill will end with one’s effort in futility.”

To not practice inner strength was an enormous taboo. Anyone who would abandon their cultivation of True Qi and spread their name with ineffable sword swordplay would truly be the laughingstock of Jiang Hu.

Therefore, only the remaining few still had the intention to continue cultivating the technique.

However, even if those individuals had plenty of talent and had no problem with abandoning True Qi, the final difficult barrier would thoroughly dispel their intentions of continuing down this path.

The final obstacle was the excessively complex nature of the Blinking Sword Art and the painstaking memorization of the meticulous conditions in which each of the sword maneuvers within the sword manuals could be applied.

Seeing such a large pile of thick secret manuals would intimidate any average person at first glance.

Each sword manual represented a sword maneuver, and each sword maneuver could be broken into hundreds of sword forms. Every sword form must be carefully selected for different environments and different times of day. To fully master the Blinking Sword Arts, one had to make complete use of different techniques for every situation.

The tremendous quantity of sword skills, let alone cultivation, could make one’s head ache. Not to mention that this further required the complete memorization and comprehension of every sword maneuver and sword form.

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