In addition to the weapons, Nameless also presents the King a scroll with the word "sword" written. In his original version of events, Nameless requested that Broken Sword write this specifically with different brush strokes as it was known that the assassin's sword skill was tied to his calligraphy skill. Nameless intended to study this character in order to find Broken Sword's weakness before engaging him. (Traditional Chinese characters and calligraphy can bear more than one meaning and at this period in history there was often more than one way to "write" a word.) Ultimately, it's the King who deciphers the character as a three-step guide for mastering martial arts. The first step is "unity of man and sword" where anything including a leaf can become a weapon. The second is where the "sword exists in one's heart." Li describes this as stopping a fight before it begins. The last step is "absence of sword in heart and hand." In essence, the warrior is at peace with the world and his enemies, and their is no need to fight. Li's character goes through all three of these steps, which also have great meaning for him in real life.
I would like to incorporate teachings like this into my version of EPIII, but I'd also like to hear some thoughts on the subject as a whole.