The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 319 Exchange! Exchange!
In the dimly lit peach grove, the campfire flickered in the wind, and pink peach blossoms drifted down like a beautiful rain of flowers.

Zhou Botong, who had separated from Xu Xingchen, was so angry that he glared at him and shouted, "No, the Nine Yin Manual is really powerful, really powerful!"

Wearing tattered trousers, Xu Xingchen held the Dragon-Slaying Sword horizontally in front of him and said with a faint smile, "Seeing is believing. Since you have read the Nine Yin Manual and think the martial arts in it are very powerful, why don't you demonstrate a few and broaden my horizons?"

Zhou Botong scratched his head, somewhat at a loss for what to do, and said, "My senior brother won't let me learn the martial arts above, so how can I demonstrate them to you?"

Xu Xingchen shook his head and sighed, "Your senior brother is Wang Chongyang, the founder of the Quanzhen Sect. Before his death, he was truly the number one person in the world. If it was really him who prevented you from learning the martial arts in the Nine Yin Manual, it can only mean one thing."

"What is it?" Zhou Botong's round eyes gleamed with intense curiosity, then he shook his head and said, "My senior brother said that none of his disciples are allowed to practice the Nine Yin Manual because he doesn't want others to think that after obtaining the Nine Yin Manual, he only did so to make his Quanzhen Sect the only dominant force."

"Such a reason is rather ridiculous." Xu Xingchen knew, of course, that "Wang Chongyang did indeed say that," but he didn't agree with this approach. After pondering for a moment, a knowing smile suddenly appeared on his lips: "I understand. With your senior brother's martial arts cultivation, after reading the Nine Yin Manual, he probably thinks the same as me: what kind of nonsense are the martial arts recorded in it? They're not as powerful as the techniques he created himself."

"Your senior brother thought to himself, 'I, Wang Chongyang, have never been inferior to anyone in my life. Even if Huang Shang, the author of the Nine Yin Manual, lived in the same era as me, I am confident that I can suppress Huang Shang and continue to be the number one person in the world.'"

"Since his martial arts are superior to Huang Shang's, why would he allow his disciples to practice Huang Shang's Nine Yin Manual?"

"If his disciples learn the Nine Yin Manual, will the Quanzhen Sect then belong to Wang Chongyang, or Huang Shang?!"

"Zhou Botong, tell me, isn't this the truth?!"

These words truly reflected Xu Xingchen's thoughts. Huang Shang's Nine Yin Manual might have some unique and outstanding aspects, but Wang Chongyang's martial arts skills were not necessarily weaker than Huang Shang's.

Unless these two live in the same era and actually fight each other, it will be impossible to know who is superior.
When Xu Xingchen said those words, he slightly elevated Wang Chongyang's status, also in order to gain Zhou Botong's favor.

Zhou Botong indeed stood there dumbfounded, his eyes flashing with a sharp light, proving that his mind was working at a rapid pace.

For a long while.
He suddenly slapped his messy head and shouted, "You're right! You're absolutely right, kid. That's definitely what my senior brother thinks!"

"I knew it! Before he died, he entrusted me with the Nine Yin Manual and told me to hide it somewhere. It turns out he was afraid that his disciples and grand-disciples would steal it and then disown him as their founder, instead recognizing Huang Shang as the founder of the Quanzhen Sect."

Having figured out the reasoning behind it, Zhou Botong happily somersaulted and danced with joy: "So, my senior brother won't blame me for accidentally tearing off the lower part of the Nine Yin Manual, hahahaha!"

At this moment, Xu Xingchen suddenly spoke up and shouted, "Zhou Botong, tell me, is the Nine Yin Manual the greatest martial art in the world? Or is your senior brother Wang Chongyang's Innate Skill the greatest martial art in the world? Or is my Qiankun Great Shift the greatest martial art in the world?"

Zhou Botong's animated movements came to an abrupt halt. His long eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes darted around. After a moment, he clapped his hands, as if suddenly realizing something, and said, "I know the martial arts in the Nine Yin Manual, and I also know my senior brother's Innate Skill. You also know your Qiankun Great Shift."

"Since we both know the cultivation methods of these three martial arts, why don't we bring them out and have a competition?"

Although Xu Xingchen wanted to extract the Nine Yin Manual from Zhou Botong, he couldn't help but laugh and cry when he heard Zhou Botong suddenly come up with such an idea.

Ordinary martial arts practitioners keep their skills tightly guarded, fearing that others will learn them.

However, Hong Qigong, driven by his gluttony, passed on his famous martial art, the "Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms," to Guo Jing.
Driven by a competitive spirit, this old rascal even wanted to bring out all three of his divine skills for a comparison.
Are these things something an ordinary person could do?!

"Zhou Botong, your idea is truly brilliant!" Faced with such a brilliant person, what could Xu Xingchen say but to exclaim in admiration?
Zhou Botong suddenly shook his head and said, "No! No! My senior brother's Innate Skill is the Quanzhen Sect's most treasured technique. It cannot be used for comparison casually. If you were to learn it, I would have no face to see my senior brother in the afterlife."

"How about this, I'll just take out the Nine Yin Manual and compare it with you, a perfect one-on-one match."

At this point, a sly glint flashed in Zhou Botong's eyes as he thought to himself, "In this world, both Huang Yaoshi and Poison Master want the Nine Yin Manual. Today, I will pass this Nine Yin Manual on to this man before me. If I encounter Huang Yaoshi and Poison Master again in the future, I will simply say that this brat stole the Nine Yin Manual from me."

"Heh, heh heh, heh heh heh, then those two guys won't bother me anymore, they'll go after this kid instead."

"I can leave Peach Blossom Island and go play everywhere, hehe, hehehehe." Thinking of the wonderful idea, Zhou Botong couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle to himself, looking just like a mouse that had fallen into a rice jar, so smug and proud.

Xu Xingchen was completely bewildered by the old man's inexplicable actions. At the same time, he secretly wondered, "The process of obtaining the Nine Yin Manual for me is too easy. It feels even easier than Jing'er's."

"Could there be a trap here?!"

"The old rascal is unlikely to lie. If he doesn't want to compare, then he doesn't have to. Can I force him?"

Xu Xingchen has studied the Taoist canon and practiced martial arts for many years, and his mind is pure; Zhou Botong is like a child, playful and active, and he also learned Taoist martial arts from his senior brother Wang Chongyang.
Although the two had different personalities, they both shared a Daoist sense of tranquility.
Therefore, after the two met, the atmosphere gradually became harmonious.

Furthermore, Zhou Botong always acted according to his own heart and did as he pleased; otherwise, he wouldn't have made Guo Jing memorize the entire Nine Yin Manual in the book world just to repay a debt of gratitude and for fun.
Once you understand the reasoning behind this, you'll understand why Zhou Botong was willing to compare the Nine Yin Manual with Xu Xingchen's martial arts.
With their own thoughts in mind, the two quickly gathered together again and sat down by the campfire.

Zhou Botong's eyes darted around, he straightened his back, and coughed twice in a mock manner: "This comparison is of great significance, and we need to come up with a plan."

Xu Xingchen placed the Dragon-Slaying Sword back between his knees and deliberately said, "Zhou Botong, you decide the rules; anyway, I'm destined to win!"

"Hey, you've got quite the nerve, kid!" Zhou Botong rested his chubby left hand on his right elbow, his chubby right hand on his round chin, tilted his round head, and peeked at the bright moon in the sky with his round eyes.

The whole person is a round, chubby ball, which is very festive!

After thinking for a while, he spread his arms like a crab, placed his hands on his knees, and stared at Xu Xingchen with a sly look in his eyes: "How about this, you first recite a section of the Qiankun Great Shift mental technique, and then I'll recite a section of the Nine Yin Manual; if we take turns, neither of us will lose out."

But in his heart he was thinking, "Let me first hear if your 'Great Shift of the Universe' technique is truly miraculous; if not, I won't reveal the Nine Yin Manual; if it is, then I'll tell you. Ah, I'm so clever, hehehehehe."

Xu Xingchen saw through the old man's scheme at a glance, and couldn't help but chuckle, nodding and saying, "Alright, I'll follow your arrangements!"

He traveled through three worlds and learned numerous divine skills. Although some modifications were needed due to the different laws of heaven and earth, the concept behind each divine skill was extremely high. After his modifications and improvements, no matter which world it was placed in, it could cause a bloody struggle in the martial arts world.

In the following time, he didn't hold back and directly explained the first level of the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, which had been modified and was applicable to this world.

Zhou Botong possessed two unique skills and had a high level of cultivation, so he naturally understood the profoundness of this divine skill. As he listened, his eyes couldn't help but light up, and his face sometimes showed a thoughtful expression, and sometimes a look of surprise and admiration.
After Xu Xingchen finished explaining the mental cultivation method, he saw Zhou Botong with his eyes lowered, his beard and hair swaying, and his clothes heaving. He knew that the other party had involuntarily begun to cultivate.

He smiled dismissively, picked up a few pieces of wood, dried them with his firepower, and then threw them into the campfire.

Half an hour later.
Zhou Botong suddenly leaped up from the ground, somersaulted in the air, and shouted joyfully, "I've succeeded! I've mastered it! Hahahaha!"

Xu Xingchen asked with a smile, "How is my Great Shift of Heaven and Earth?"

Zhou Botong landed on his feet, clapped his hands and praised, "Wonderful! Truly exquisite, it's in no way inferior to the martial arts in the Nine Yin Manual."

"Hehe!" Xu Xingchen chuckled lightly, gesturing with his hand, "Next, it's my turn to hear about the martial arts from the Nine Yin Manual."

Although Zhou Botong was usually muddle-headed in his daily life, he was quite capable when it came to doing serious business.

He sat down and first looked around furtively, as if afraid that Huang Yaoshi was hiding in the shadows spying on him.

He then coughed and, mimicking his senior brother's manner when explaining martial arts to him, began to speak in a low voice.

Zhou Botong recounts the secrets of acupoint striking and releasing techniques from the internal energy cultivation section of the first part of the Nine Yin Manual.
The Nine Yin Manual is, after all, a divine skill that brings together the culmination of all martial arts in this world. Every word and phrase contains a subtle explanation of the ultimate principles of martial arts in this world, making every word profound and every sentence mysterious.
(End of this chapter)