Destiny in Cinders

"True martialist combat?" An Jing was taken aback by that comment. He wouldn't be surprised if Ming Guangchen criticized him for having unpolished technique, fighting in too risky a manner or not having a better-thought-out plan. He himself knew that he could improve on those fronts. Yet, Ming Guangchen had gone for a completely different angle.

Not familiar with true martialist combat?! Apologize! Apologize to my Spark and my experiences learning martial techniques in both my lives! Though An Jing wanted to say that, he was too obsessed with all things martial. Instead, he eagerly asked, "What is it, then? What kind of fatal mistake did I make?"

"That's not it." Ming Guangchen shook his head. "Mistake? I never said there was a mistake. You did everything perfectly, utilizing your martial techniques to their full potential. Back when I was at the same level as you, I wasn't nearly as strong. However, your martial techniques are mundane, so to speak. Everything, from how you move your limbs, manage your breath, condition your muscles, skeleton and channel energy through your body to unleash all the force you can, was done incredibly well. When it comes to the mundane aspects of martial technique, I am impressed. Your footwork, angles of attack and even the way you exert force are all perfect. That's also why you aren't able to surpass the mundane to grasp the sublime."

"I am ready to learn more." An Jing didn't stubbornly argue and immediately bowed to his teacher.

Ming Guangchen smiled and began his stern lecture. "An Jing, do you know the key difference between a martial artist and a martialist?"

"Aura," he answered without hesitation. Then, it finally occurred to him what Ming Guangchen was referring to. "Wait, so the way I use aura..."

"That's right." Ming Guangchen nodded. "You use aura to strengthen your musculature and skeleton so that your body can exert an even greater force than it naturally can. While this allows you to perform superhuman feats, it's still rooted in mundane martial practices. That's the reason you were unable to counter the flame-wine armor and get close to him even though you're the more powerful one. You were forced to resort to an aerial attack with your ability to eliminate him through brute force. A proper technique of the martial path, on the other hand, isn't that complicated. Or, in a way, it's far more complicated."

He raised his hand and caused a branch to fall from a nearby tree. Catching it easily, he said, "Look at how I exert force."

An Jing watched Ming Guangchen's hand and the branch within it. All of a sudden, he heard an explosive pop, followed by what sounded like the resonance of a bell after it was struck, and then the hum of a drawn sword. The branch in Ming Guangchen's hand had turned into a wooden sword that seemed like it was made of metal. As it resonated, it created ripples of light in the air.

An Jing widened his eyes and saw three ways the aura was being used. First, the aura reinforced his physical body and filled in the gaps between the material that made up the branch, making the body as hard as metal and increasing the branch's durability. This way of manipulating aura was quite similar to wonders like Vajra Arms, Golden Attire and Bronze Skin. Wonders like those fixed how aura could be manipulated, allowing the reinforcement to be done instantaneously without conscious thought.

The second method was the source of the resonant hum of the sword. Ming Guangchen's arm didn't move in the slightest, yet streams of aura within the wooden sword caused it to vibrate at a high frequency. This wasn't the same as sonic blades or vibration blades as far as An Jing was aware. Thanks to his Spark, he knew that vibration cutting only really worked well against metallic objects, not so much against fleshy targets. The resonance of the aura wasn't used for destructive purposes. Instead, it was to promote circulation.

Put it in simple terms, it was similar to using aura resonance to strengthen the innards and stimulating the vitality within the bone marrow and further using it to temper every part of the body down to the blood vessels and meridians. Mastering this principle was essential before one could manifest wonders related to the innards like Dantian Ocean or Jade Marrow.

The third and most complicated application of aura was related to the soul. Soul was united with body just as mind was united with intent. The way Ming Guangchen held the sword and channeled the aura within his body with his will caused his body and soul to enter a profound state at the same time.

The body and soul were in a state of mutually supporting one another. With enough aura, one could maintain this state and continuously cultivate one's nature and hone one's destiny. Apart from that, the state also allowed one to refine aura to an even higher purity, improving one's resonance with the spirit qi in the environment!

Normal people wouldn't be able to notice the third way no matter what. The only reason An Jing was able to perceive it was because he managed to understand the selfless, wantless state and the Heaven's Child Art after experiencing the dao-comprehension state. Those contained concepts that were closely related to the soul.

So this is what it means to fight as a martialist! He finally understood what he had been lacking. Before this, the martial skill he had perfected in this life with knowledge from his past life's Spark was limited to the physical body alone. Even with supernatural elements like aura and spirit qi, he merely used them in the plainest way possible: reinforcing his body.

That in itself wasn't a bad thing, for it was the core objective of body refinement techniques. It was basically how he improved rapidly using Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal. While it was good to do things this way during cultivation, combat was a wholly different matter.

An Jing still wasn't too familiar with applying aura and spirit qi into his combat techniques. Ming Guangchen picked up on that fact and demonstrated the swordsong stance to him in hopes that he would be able to observe its intricacies himself, allowing him to gain that insight on his own. This way, he would come to understand how martialists properly used aura to hone their bodies and manifest wonders within.

"How is it?" Ming Guangchen let go of the branch. The moment it left his palm, it turned into ash that scattered into the air. "Do you get it now?"

"I understand completely! The three ways of using aura are strengthening the body, strengthening the innards and strengthening the soul!" An Jing exclaimed as he nodded eagerly.

However, Ming Guangchen's smile froze up completely. He furrowed his brow and thought, three ways? Didn't I only just show him two? Where did he get the third from?

An Jing realized the odd look Ming Guangchen was giving him. It was such an intense gaze that it was as if he had seen An Jing find an absolute steal of a deal.

Did the brat actually gain insight into Soul-Body Unification while he's still at the Aura Realm? That's something that you can only understand at the peak of the Fortification Realm as you break through to the Clearing Realm!