Longzang

Chapter 175 What is a Sword?

Xu Xinhui's agreement to fight Wei Yuan again tomorrow was not entirely due to pedantry.

Wang Ziyan was being chased and attacked by the girl, completely at a disadvantage, and couldn't even see a chance to win. Although Xu Xinhui was suppressing Wei Yuan, his swordsmanship was exceptionally sharp, and he instinctively felt that Wei Yuan was not going all out, and that winning the battle would probably not be a matter of a short time.

However, after only a brief battle, the Xu family's elite cavalry had already suffered over seventy dead and nearly a hundred wounded. Wei Yuan's fifty knights, on the other hand, were of extremely high quality, with most only suffering minor injuries. Even if they managed to win if the fighting continued, it was likely that more than half of Wei Yuan's thousand elite troops would be killed or wounded.

These tribal soldiers were all trained by Xu Xinhui over many years, and he had put countless efforts into them. He would be heartbroken if even a few of them died, let alone half of them. That's why Xu Xinhui readily agreed to Wei Yuan's challenge.

After Wei Yuan left, Wang Ziyan and Xu Xinhui became increasingly suspicious. These fifty knights were far too powerful; their equipment, magical artifacts, and cultivation were all flawless. They would have been considered decent disciples among the younger generation of immortal sects. How could such people become bandits, and there were fifty of them at that?
Wang Ziyan seemed to be thinking, and said, "Brother, it seems that we have already had a showdown with the Taichu Palace."

Xu Xinhui nodded.

"Are you confident about tomorrow's battle, brother?"

Xu Xinhui smiled faintly and said, "My cultivation is two realms higher than his, so I'm not afraid of any conspiracy. If I still can't win, I might as well seal away this immortal sword."

At this moment, the Fifty Thieves are rushing towards the border.

Most of them suffered minor injuries, but with the blessing of luck, their injuries naturally improved. Therefore, Wei Yuan did not immediately withdraw his luck, but instead ran two hundred miles in one breath before stopping to rest and treat himself.

Wei Yuan was worried that the other party might suddenly change their mind and chase after him. His concern wasn't unfounded; if he were on the other side, he would have done the same.

Historical records state that all warfare is based on deception, a sentiment Wei Yuan deeply agreed with.

At this moment, the group of warriors from the Battle Heaven Gang were resting and healing their wounds in a grove of trees. One of the young ladies said, "Before coming to the Western Regions, who would have thought that bandits would be so powerful! My uncle, who is a governor, has six battalions with 30,000 soldiers under his command, and I don't think any of them could defeat that bandit gang just now. But it's strange, they've all cultivated to the point of immortality, why do they still want to be bandits?"

Another young master asked, "Your uncle has become a governor, why did you become a bandit?"

The young lady then realized what was happening and asked, "You mean those people weren't bandits?"

"If all bandits were this bad, the Tang Dynasty would have been destroyed long ago. Back then, these bandits were the government troops; now, the government troops are just bandits."

The young lady blushed and looked rather dim-witted, which immediately made the young masters quite interested in her.

Wei Yuan was holding half a spear shaft, studying the remaining sword intent at the cut. Xu Yi came over and asked, "Boss, are you confident about tomorrow's battle?"

Wei Yuan was searching for a suitable weapon in his Dao Foundation at the moment, and casually said, "It's hard to say. His cultivation level is much higher than mine. We'll only know after we fight."

The sword intent of the Immortal Sword Shao Hao is blazing and sharp, yet it also contains a hint of the sharpness of metal, somewhat similar to the Immortal Sword Great Sun, though even sharper. However, the Immortal Sword Great Sun primarily cultivates a true solar fire, which becomes infinitely powerful upon mastery, and in terms of its realm and intent, it is actually slightly higher than Shao Hao.

However, Xu Xinhui was currently at the late stage of the Foundation Establishment realm, wielding a top-grade magic weapon. His Foundation Establishment cultivation also included a celestial sword, rendering Wei Yuan's two mid-grade magic weapon spears ineffective; they couldn't withstand more than a few strikes. Before Xu Xinhui could even unleash his killing move, Wei Yuan's spear broke.

At this moment, the Dao foundations piled up across the vast land were all of mediocre quality, unable to withstand a single sword strike. Wei Yuan looked around, his gaze finally settling on the tree branch standing in the white-gold pool.

Jade Mountain is too heavy, and the wondrous tree on it has only just sprouted; it's clearly not capable of blocking a sword. Only this laurel branch, which once pierced the Great Witch's skull, should be unbreakable by the immortal sword, right?
Wei Yuan felt a bit itchy to do it. In the past, if he didn't pull out branches several times a day to check if they had sprouted, he would feel like something was missing.

As Wei Yuan was staring at the tree branch in thought, Feng Tingyu walked over, knelt down beside him, handed him the long sword, and said, "Use this sword of mine tomorrow?"

Xu Yi was taken aback and said, "Doesn't the boss use a gun?"

Feng Tingyu said, "He can use anything."

Wei Yuan took the longsword and examined it carefully. The girl's sword had a blade eight feet long and a hilt two feet long. The blade was long and straight with only a slight curve. It could be used as a spear, but it lacked the deadly technique of a spearhead flying through the air.

Having been with the girl for so long, the sword had acquired a wisp of primordial, ancient aura. Wei Yuan, with his keen senses, immediately detected this aura, and then carefully studied it, constantly comparing it with Shao Hao's sword intent.

Wei Yuan checked the time and said, "Ten minutes left. Come on, teach me how to use the knife." By this time, everyone in the realm had gotten used to the timekeeping system of Xu Wenwu's world, as it was more precise.

The two stood up, and Wei Yuan held his sword in both hands and struck a pose. Feng Tingyu kept correcting his movements, starting with the simplest forward slash.

All the young masters and ladies gathered around to learn together. Having a genius senior sister from the Mingwang Palace demonstrate sword techniques was an extremely rare opportunity.

Wei Yuan, sword in hand, made dozens of slashes, each with its own minor flaws. The girl kept correcting him, but finally grew impatient. She first had Wei Yuan extend the sword forward, pointing it diagonally upward, and hold it still. Then, as if her hands had flashed, the long sword, suspended in mid-air, suddenly fell, instantly completing a clean and decisive slash!

This strike was imbued with Daoist essence, like lightning piercing the sky! After the slash, Hou Yuan held the blade still for a long time, giving the young masters and ladies much more time to ponder its Daoist essence.

In fact, Wei Yuan didn't want to put away his sword, but he was unable to move.

In that instant, the girl pinched and flicked his body, manipulating nearly a hundred tiny muscles in a flash, which allowed Wei Yuan to unleash that strike. It also allowed Wei Yuan to remember all the correct ways to exert force and to comprehend the Dao of the sword in one fell swoop.

However, this method has great drawbacks. Wei Yuan now has hundreds of hidden injuries all over his body. For a moment, it felt as if countless fine needles were pricking his body, and he was completely unable to move.

Wei Yuan held this position for the full time it takes to drink half a cup of tea before slowly sheathing his sword. The young masters and ladies watched with satisfaction, each gaining some insight.

Once they were alone, Wei Yuan pulled Feng Tingyu aside and asked in a low voice, "Is this how people are taught in your Mingwang Palace? Are you sure nothing will happen?"

The girl said, "Usually after being taught once, you need to take medicine and soak your body in water, and rest for seven days to recover."

Wei Yuan thought to himself that this made sense. Even with his physical body, he was unable to move for half a day. Those guys in the Mingwang Palace weren't made of iron either. If this kind of teaching method was used too often, they would probably be crippled even if they didn't die.

Having grasped the essence of swordsmanship, Wei Yuan gained another skill. He wouldn't necessarily have to use Li Zhi's name when roaming the martial world; he could easily switch to a high-level swordsman.

After a brief rest, the Fifty Great Thieves of Zhantian set off again and then disappeared at the edge of the Azure Netherworld.

Before we knew it, it was noon on the second day.

Xu Xinhui climbed step by step, as if strolling in a garden, until he reached the summit.

The mountain peak wasn't particularly high, but it rose abruptly from the ground and was exceptionally steep, like a sharp sword stuck in the earth. Xu Xinhui was extremely satisfied with the sight and secretly praised Wei Yuan for indeed choosing a good spot. When the fight broke out, he would make sure Wei Yuan lost gracefully.

At the summit, Wei Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, surrounded by four immortal swords, and a silver ghost mask gleamed in the sunlight.

Xu Xinhui was taken aback. Could this person also cultivate immortal swords? He scanned the four immortal swords with his divine sense and could see that each of them had a different Daoist aura. One was filled with blazing flames, one had a hint of the annihilation of all things, one was filled with the sorrow of heaven and earth, and the last one was wild and ancient, mixed with some sharpness.

Although these four immortal swords are not of high grade, what is rare is that each of them has a different sword intent and a very high purpose. Except for the last one, which is not pure enough, each of them has enough sword intent to open up a path to heaven on its own.

For a moment, Xu Xinhui was moved by his talent and said, "Your swords are very interesting. Some of them have already captured the true essence of swordsmanship. It's a pity that you only scratch the surface of each one. If you could specialize in one sword, your future achievements might not be inferior to mine."

Wei Yuan seemed lost in thought, appearing somewhat moved.

Xu Xinhui sighed, "Three of your four swords are excellent, but it's a pity you've mastered them all to the Human Rank. Actually, you can't blame yourself for that; it's all because your teacher's swordsmanship was so poor that he taught you to be like this."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xinhui suddenly felt as if the world before him had turned black and white in an instant, as if he had stepped into the underworld and was about to be separated from the living forever.

However, this feeling was only fleeting, so brief that he couldn't even tell if it was just his imagination.

Xu Xinhui pushed the strange feeling to the back of his mind and grew to like Wei Yuan more and more. Suddenly, he asked, "Are you twenty this year?"

Wei Yuan was taken aback. Asking about age before even starting a fight? But there was nothing wrong with answering that question, so he replied, "Not yet."

Xu Xinhui nodded inwardly. At this age, it was still not too late to enter the Sword Palace to start over. The Sword Palace had a secret method that could dissipate the human-level Dao foundation and start over. However, if he wanted to snatch someone from the Primordial Palace, he would naturally have to show his true abilities and completely subdue them.

Xu Xinhui drew his sword and said, "Today I will show you what a true immortal sword is!"

He ran two fingers across the sword's edge, and with the blessing of the immortal sword Shao Hao, the longsword instantly burst into golden-red flames! However, the flames were extremely dim, as if they could be extinguished by even a slight mountain breeze.

Xu Xinhui couldn't believe his own divine sense. He tried to strike the sword three times, but the flames dimmed each time.

At this moment, Wei Yuan took out an eight-foot-long sword from behind a rock nearby, his eyes gleaming.

(End of this chapter)