When I arrived at the palace, I saw Zhang Chengjian, and Haibao saluted. Zhang Chengjian asked, "How are you doing?"

Haibao said: "The strength has increased a lot. ”

Zhang Chengjian suddenly stretched out his hand, and while Haibao was unprepared, a punch hit him firmly in the chest. Although Haibao didn't dodge, he instantly concentrated his strength on his chest and took the punch, not moving at all, and he didn't feel the slightest pain. This beating was his strong point, and in the two years he was in prison, he was beaten by sleepy insects, but he felt that the master's punch was not as heavy as Uncle Du's. In fact, the strength of this punch is really not small, if he hadn't concentrated his strength on his chest, I'm afraid he would have been lying on the ground.

Zhang Chengjian laughed and said: "Yes, your strength has increased so much overnight, it seems that your comprehension is very high, and your body is suitable for martial arts." ”

Haibao said: "I don't sleep all night, I don't know if I'm sleepy, I don't feel hungry, what's going on?"

Zhang Chengjian said: "It seems that you have not only entered the door, but have already gone far. When you practice to a certain extent, you will enhance your ability to resist hunger, just as some masters can go without food or drink for several days and live only on fruit porridge for months. It seems that your body is suitable for martial arts. Some people can't reach this state in their lifetime, but you can achieve it with a little effort. You have to train diligently, and don't waste the talent that God has given you. ”

Haibao said respectfully: "Yes", and his heart was infinitely happy.

Zhang Chengjian said: "Come with me and take you to a place to see." ”

Haibao followed Zhang Chengjian, turning around and around to an attic. The attic was silent, and there was not a single figure. When Zhang Chengjian arrived, an old man immediately came out of nowhere, took the key and opened the door. Pushing the door in, you will see rows of tall bookshelves filled with books.

Zhang Chengjian walked to a bookshelf, took out a few, and said: "These are all books about the acupuncture points, meridians, medical theories, etc. of the human body, which are the basic knowledge necessary for people who practice martial arts, you take the time to take a look." There are also some books on weapons, martial arts, the art of war, etc., if you are interested, look for them. The books here are not allowed to be taken out, and if you come, Uncle Dai will open the door for you. Haibao knew that Uncle Dai was the old man who came to open the door just now.

Haibao looked at the library and felt that a magical and vast world had opened up in front of his eyes, from which he could draw endless knowledge. These books seem to be very common in the palace, but they are not easy to see among the people. If he didn't come to the palace, he might not be able to access this knowledge for the rest of his life!

In the days that followed, Hypertherm came to the library almost every day, greedily absorbing nutrients like a hungry child, and when he returned home, he trained at home and put what he learned into practice and pondered carefully. He is diligent and conscientious, meticulous in everything he learns, and asks the master for clarity on what he seems to understand. Zhang Chengjian patiently explained to him, secretly picking at Haibao's down-to-earth and serious attitude, and at the same time, secretly surprised by his speed of progress.

More than two months passed like this. One day, Zhang Chengjian came to Haibao and said: "You have almost learned these basic things, don't look at these today, let's go, take you to a place." As he spoke, he walked forward, not knowing where to go, and hurriedly followed. After walking a few steps, I arrived at the stable. The boy in charge of the horses hurriedly stepped forward, led each of them a horse, and prepared the saddle. The two jumped on their horses, left the palace, and went straight to the suburbs.

After walking seven or eight miles, I saw a racetrack. The two slowed down and went in one after the other.

The racecourse is estimated to be four or five miles in circumference, and is surrounded by thick trees that are fenced to prevent ordinary people from entering. As far as the eye can see, there is a large high platform in the far west, which is probably used for lookouts. Next to the high platform is a row of wooden houses with thatched roofs, simple and simple.

As soon as the two of them led the horse into the racecourse, they saw a man riding a horse in the distance, and shouted from afar: "Haibao—Haibao—" It turned out to be Saint Zuoyu. When he arrived, he struck the horse on the butt of the horse that Haibao was riding, and the horse galloped away in fright, and the holy left feather chased after him.

After running for a while, Haibao thought about the master and hurriedly reined in the horse. Saint Zuoyu said: "It's not enough fun!"

Haibao said: "I'm afraid the master has been waiting for a long time." When I looked up, I couldn't find Zhang Chengjian's shadow.

Saint Zuoyu said: "Don't worry, it must be there." Raising his hand and pointing to the row of houses, the two of them rode over.

When I entered the house, it was empty, and there was not even a chair. Sure enough, I saw Zhang Chengjian playing fists there.

Seeing the two of them coming in, Zhang Chengjian put away his fists and said: "The second prince is so naughty, don't take Haibao badly." ”

Saint Zuo Yu grinned and said, "Master is eccentric, why didn't Haibao take me badly?"

Zhang Chengjian said: "Okay! Haibao, you come with me." As he spoke, he pushed on the floor, and the seemingly seamless floor opened a square opening for one person to pass through. Zhang Chengjian jumped and fell below. Hypertherm jumped with it.

Underground is a passage, about four or five zhang long, and then there is a wide stone door. Zhang Chengjian twisted a few buttons in front of the stone door, and the stone door slowly opened.

Inside is a large room, the walls of the house are made of stone, and there are ventilation holes around it, and light shines through these holes, so it is still bright even though there are no lighting appliances inside. The walls are full of weapons, swords, guns, halberds, axes, hooks and forks, you name it.

Zhang Chengjian said: "Haibao, you choose a weapon and see which one is handy." ”

Hypertherm looked at the rows of weapons, each of which looked like a fine product. When he saw a long sword hanging on the wall, his eyes lit up. Hypertherm dreamed of owning a sword. When he was a child, he was very envious of those knights who went all over the world with swords, and fantasized that one day he could have a real sword, but this was a very luxurious thing for a country child. He and his friends only crossed with a "sword" made of wood. Now, suddenly, there is a real sword in front of me, and I can keep it for myself, not to mention how happy I am.

Hypertherm hurriedly stepped forward and took the sword down. I saw that the scabbard was made of golden silk nan wood, with gorgeous and complicated lines engraved on it, with the word "Nine Swords" in the middle, and two lines of small characters below: "three feet six inches long, one inch and eight minutes wide", and the hilt of the sword was inlaid with an emerald green and smooth gem, which added a rich atmosphere to the whole sword. With a crisp sound, the sword was drawn out of its sheath, and the blade shone with a bright cold light. Haibao took the sword and waved it a few times, only to feel that there was flexibility in the strength, knowing that it was an excellent sword, and said to Zhang Chengjian: "Master, just choose this sword." ”

Zhang Chengjian nodded and said, "Okay, go up." After saying that, he walked out, and Hypertherm followed. Zhang Chengjian closed the stone door again, strode to the entrance of the cave, and flew up. Hypertherm followed, lifted his breath to the top, and turned around to close the entrance.

As soon as Haibao stood still, Saint Zuoyu stepped forward and said, "Nine swords! Let me see!" As he spoke, he snatched the sword from Haibao's hand, drew the sword out of its sheath, and pressed the emerald, and the sword body disappeared at once.

Haibao was taken aback, hurriedly stepped forward, and said, "This ......"

But he saw Saint Zuo Yu grinning and said, "This is what I like most about this sword." It's a pity that when I first saw him, my father said that I already had the 'Moon King's Sword', and he wouldn't give it to me. ”

Hypertherm took the sword, examined it closely, and tried to press the emerald, and the blade bounced out again. If you look at the sword body carefully, you still can't see any mystery, but this sword body must be divided into several sections, nested in sections, so that it can be expanded!

Haibao took the sword and examined it carefully, and Saint Zuoyu on the side looked anxious, and said: "Haibao, this sword is extremely cleverly cast, and the mystery in it can only be seen against the light." ”

Haibao hurriedly put the sword under the ray of sunlight shining in from the window, slowly turning the sword body, and suddenly found that under the illumination of the light, the sword body faintly flashed with shiny marks, carefully counted, there were eight in total, and the sword body was divided into nine sections by these eight marks.

Could it be that the name 'Nine Swords' came from this?"

Saint Zuo Yu shook his head and said, "I don't know about this." ”

Haibao muttered, "A sword can be made so delicately and skillfully, and this sword-forging skill is really amazing." ”

Saint Zuoyu said: "Of course. The one who forged this sword was the Wood Iron Cliff. When my dad got a piece of extremely rare metal, he wanted to make a good weapon out of it. I invited a lot of famous masters who smelted weapons to smelt, but they didn't refine it, and finally invited Mu Tieya, the most famous swordsmith in the world, to create this 'Nine Swords' after three months of hard work. ”

Haibao said: "I heard about it when I was a child. I didn't expect that I, Zhang Haibao, would one day be able to use the sword forged by the wood master, and I would definitely visit his old man if I had the opportunity. ”

Sheng Zuoyu said: "Visit, if I have the opportunity, I still want to see him! It's just that no matter how many celebrities in the world want to look for him, they can't find him." ”

Haibao was surprised: "Could it be that Senior Mu is in seclusion?"

Saint Zuoyu said: "I don't know about this. It's just that more than ten years ago, he suddenly disappeared, no one knows where he went, even his wife couldn't find him, and then he died and remarried. ”

Haibao was stunned for a while, and couldn't tell whether he was sad or lost, and said for a long time: "I must practice the sword well, otherwise I will be sorry for this sword, sorry for Master Mu, sorry for King Yun, sorry for Master." His last sentence was said to the master, he and Sheng Zuoyu have been admiring this sword, Zhang Chengjian just listened quietly, laughing and not saying a word, this patience and self-cultivation of being a teacher made Haibao extremely admired.

Zhang Chengjian said: "Yes, this is the right reason. ”

Haibao said: "This sword is so exquisitely made, is it just for the convenience of carrying?"

Zhang Chengjian said: "This is just one of them. This can not only increase the flexibility of the sword, but also play freely when defending against the enemy, so as to achieve the effect of doing whatever you want and taking it by surprise. However, dividing into several sections is bound to affect the hardness of the sword, so it is not without drawbacks. Actually, none of this matters, whether a weapon is good or bad depends on how you use it. ”

Hypertherm nodded.

Zhang Chengjian said: "Since you have chosen this sword, then I will teach you a set of swordsmanship, which is called the 'Drunken Immortal Sword'." ”

Seeing that the master began to talk about swordsmanship, Haibao hurriedly listened attentively, and Saint Zuoyu's expression became solemn, and he listened respectfully on the side.

Zhang Chengjian continued: "This set of swordsmanship was learned by my master from an overseas stranger. My master is a swordsman who loves to travel everywhere. He was still young, and he was sailing on a small boat when he was caught in a storm. The storm came too violently, and the master didn't have time to take countermeasures, so he was swept in, and the master thought that he was going to be swept into the bottom of the sea, and he couldn't get out again, but he suddenly got out of the storm, and found that the storm was rolling away with huge waves behind him, and he was on the calm water, with the coast in front of him, and a small island on the shore. Master went ashore and came to the island, where he saw a bright spring with red flowers and willow green, and a thatched hut not far away. The master felt strange in his heart, so he walked to the hut, thinking that if there were people living in it, he would go and inquire what kind of place it was, and how he would find his way back. When he got closer, he saw an old man with a crane hair and a childish face sitting on a wicker chair basking in the sun, so the master stepped forward to greet him. The two sat down to chat, and my master said that he was a swordsman, so the two began to talk about swordsmanship, and the more they talked, the more speculative they became. Later, the old man passed on this set of swordsmanship to my master. Later, with the help of the old man, Master returned from a stormy day. After coming back, my master no longer traveled all over the world, but retreated to concentrate on practicing this set of "Drunken Immortal Sword", practiced for many years, although the practice is superb, every sword move can exert great power, but still feel that I did not realize the mystery, the master passed this set of swordsmanship to me, and I, for so many years, have only practiced a skin, can only pass the sword spectrum and sword moves to my disciples, including you. The mystery is still up to you to experience. In this way, it has been passed down from generation to generation, and one day, someone will realize the mystery of this set of swordsmanship, and they will not disappoint the master and the old man!"

Hearing this, Haibao felt amazing, and asked, "Did the master go to that ancestor again?"

Zhang Chengjian said: "I have looked for it, but I haven't found it." The master couldn't understand the mystery of studying that set of swordsmanship, and hoped to ask the old man again, but he didn't know where the island was, so he had to go to the sea where he encountered the storm, but he couldn't find the way to the island again. On several occasions, Master waited for another storm to break out there, and ventured into the storm and almost lost his life. Later, the master said that the old man was a master of the world, maybe an immortal, and we couldn't find him, so we gave up the idea of looking for him again. ”

Haibao said: "In this way, Master and Master He and that Master have great expectations for us juniors. It's just that I'm dull by nature, and neither Master nor Master can do it, how can I do it?"

Zhang Chengjian said: "People have different qualifications and different circumstances, and the things they can do are naturally very different. Those so-called smart or dull are just the eyes of the world, just try to do your own thing well, and leave no regrets. ”

Haibao nodded and said respectfully, "The apprentice understands, please teach the master." ”

Zhang Chengjian nodded slightly, and said, "Listen!" As he spoke, the long sword was unsheathed, and he made a move, chanting:

"Leaning on the dangerous building, the wind is fine. Looking forward to the extreme spring sorrow, gloomy sky. In the afterglow of grass-colored smoke. Speechless, who will rely on will.

I plan to get drunk with a crazy picture. When it comes to wine, strong music is still tasteless. The belt gradually widened, and I never regretted it. For the sake of Iraq, the people are haggard. ”

The uninhibited and uninhibited meaning of the sword move and the sword book just matched, and the blood of Haibao was boiling, and after the master finished demonstrating, he took the sword and tried to practice it, and it was like a seven-point god.

Saint Zuo Yu applauded on the side and said, "Haibao is really a wizard of martial arts, he can dance the 'Drunken Immortal Sword' like this the first time!"

Zhang Chengjian said: "The second trick 'Wangji Spring Sorrow' is not smart enough, and the trick of 'intending to get drunk with madness' is not strong enough. The overall speed is slow, and there is a lack of speed and sensitivity. ”

Haibao said: "Master has taught me a lesson. ”

Zhang Chengjian said: "There are skills in each of these tricks, and the more skilled you are, the more you can understand the mystery." ”

Haibao said: "Yes, the apprentice must practice more." ”

After Zhang Chengjian left, Sheng Zuoyu pulled Haibao to ride a horse again. Although Haibao was worried about the newly learned sword moves, seeing the second prince's happy appearance, he couldn't bear to spoil his interest, so he accompanied him crazy for a long time.

Tired and sweating profusely, the two got off the horse and rested for a while. Saint Zuoyu pulled Haibao to the stable and asked him to pick a horse. Haibao said: "What are you doing?

Saint Zuoyu said with a smile: "This horse is your own, and it will be more convenient to have a leg strength in the future." Otherwise, why do we practice so many rides?"

Hypertherm suddenly realized and picked one. The stable, who had been waiting on the side, brought a brand new set of harness to Hypertherm.