Chapter 129 — The Divine Sword Hides Its Edge
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 4
In Hanguang Hall a man in a black robe sat kneeling, a sword laid across his knees—he was the Director of Studies of Hanguang Hall himself. His gaze was keen as a sword. He swept his eyes over the assembled scholars, then let them come to rest on Shen Mu; the corner of his eye twitched, and unhurriedly he said, "Hanguang Hall is the hall of sword learning. What is hanguang—hidden light? The Sage said: I have three swords; you may choose among them, but none of them can kill a man, and first let me describe them. The first is called Hanguang, Hidden Light. Look at it and it cannot be seen; wield it and it cannot be felt; where it strikes, all is merged into boundlessness; it passes through things and the things do not know it. This is the origin of the name Hanguang. Reach this realm, and you are a Sword God."
The scholars in the hall were astonished beyond measure. Hanguang Hall of the Grand Academy did not teach profound swordsmanship at all, but only the simplest fundamentals of the sword—the barest rudiments. Did a man need to enter the Grand Academy to learn such things as these?
The hall erupted in an uproar, and one scholar murmured, "To beat the teacher with a wooden sword—is this child a Sword God?"