Chapter 544 — The Bond of Brotherhood
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The Woodcutter Sage dismounted his donkey down the slope and preserved his dignity, but Zhe Huali sat astride a tiger's back with no donkey to step down from.
Cold sweat beaded on Zhe Huali's brow as he stared at his own right arm. Luo Wushuang had no right arm; he wielded his saber with his left hand, and the marvel of his saber technique was wrought through that left hand.
If Zhe Huali wished to execute Luo Wushuang's saber technique in flawless perfection, he would have to sever his own right arm! The cold sweat on his brow thickened.
His heart seethed with unwillingness!
He had not yet crossed blades with Shen Mu, and already he must cut off an arm — who could bear it?
Who would accept it gladly? Yet if he did not sever his right arm, his saber technique could never be as perfect as his master Luo Wushuang's; and to face Shen Mu with an imperfect saber technique — in his heart he truly had no confidence. "The state of mind has little effect on one's strength.
" Abruptly a voice came from behind him, waking Zhe Huali from the dilemma into which he had sunk.
Shen Mu raised his brows and looked toward the Asura of the Demon Clan who was walking over.
He had been forging iron all this while and did not know Jiang Yi. At this moment Jiang Yi was covered in blood — whether his own or another's, it was impossible to say — though judging by his wounds, his injuries were far from light.
He looked as though he had been sliced into fish fillets by a flurry of blades; the wounds, great and small, numbered a hundred at least. Despite the gravity of his wounds, his fighting spirit still blazed, his aura fierce, his blood-aura surging to the heavens.
As he came near, the stench of gore and rotting corpses struck them in the face; he seemed to bring with him a vast ocean made of dead bodies.
Jiang Yi's gaze slid off Zhe Huali and settled on Shen Mu: "The state of mind is not strength. The strength of one who wields divine abilities is embodied in the physical body, the primal spirit, and the Dao arts and divine abilities; the state of mind affects strength only marginally. The bystander sees most clearly — Zhe Huali, you have fallen into his trap.
Why do you not leap out of it? " Zhe Huali's eyes blazed bright, and his breathing steadied. Jiang Yi was one of the few friends he had in Taihuang Heaven. The two often exchanged insights; they were bosom friends, friends in life and death.
On the battlefield Jiang Yi had saved his life, and he had saved Jiang Yi's.
Jiang Yi went on: "What affects strength most is the physical body, the primal spirit, and the Dao arts and divine abilities. Zhe Huali, your body and mine are both stronger than his; your primal spirit is stronger than mine, and therefore naturally stronger than his. As for the Dao arts and divine abilities — your saber technique is inherited from the Divine Saber Luo Wushuang, and you have also studied the demonic arts of the True Demon Fuluotuo, combining the strengths of two schools, of gods and demons alike.
Could your Dao arts and divine abilities be weaker than his? He has not even succeeded in cultivating a true-god body — how high could his Dao arts and divine abilities possibly reach? " Zhe Huali's confidence returned in a rush, and his manner relaxed as well. He smiled and said, "Sometimes one who wields divine abilities needs a good teacher and a helpful friend. I already have a good teacher. Jiang Yi, you are my helpful friend! " Roused by Jiang Yi's words, he finally regained his confidence, and his state of mind, all unnoticed, climbed back to its peak.