Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 315 Staying True to the Character, A Whirlwind Unsheathed

"The legacy of Chi You is quite impressive..."

Zhou Ming sighed inwardly.

Even in today's era, the move that Tong Zhan used can be considered a top-notch skill.

It's hard to imagine that this move was created thousands of years ago, yet it still doesn't seem outdated.

Amidst the layers of illusions, several strong gusts of wind swept in.

Whether it's a fist, a palm, a finger, or a leg, the time difference between each attack is extremely short. People with poor perception might think that the attacks were launched at the same time.

Sword energy swirled around Zhou Ming, his five fingers dancing wildly as if playing a zither, and bursts of sword energy erupted forth.

Whether straight or curved, sharp or concealed, they swiftly blocked every attack from Tong Bo.

However, Tong Bo was very familiar with this set of martial arts. With a few flashes of movement, the attacks of the phantoms did not falter under Zhou Ming's counterattacks at all, but instead became even more fierce.

Under these circumstances, Zhou Ming was forced to retreat step by step, to the point that he was almost out of the hunter's cave.

In fact, the simplest solution in this situation is to simply switch to a different martial art to fight the enemy.

After all, the two are about the same strength... at least the strength of Zhou Ming's projection is about the same as Tong Bo's.

Tong Bo's advantage stemmed entirely from his familiarity with the Sword Qi Finger technique.

If Zhou Ming were to switch to a different martial art and lose this advantage of prior knowledge, Tong Bo would naturally not be able to perform so powerfully.

However, Zhou Ming did not intend to do so.

When he is role-playing, he always adheres to one principle: to fully embody the role, not to use martial arts skills beyond the character's abilities, and never to break the character's established persona.

At this moment, although he is out in the presence of his true form, it does not mean that he is representing his true identity!

Think about how far away the ancient Shu Kingdom was from the Ming Dynasty.
To travel from the capital of the Ming Dynasty to the Imperial Sword Manor of the ancient Shu Kingdom, one would likely have to cross the lands of two entire kingdoms, and the time required would be unknown.

Zhou Ming must have had nothing better to do than spend so much time just to attend a ceremony.

So he projected it directly.

However, this created a problem: his physical body was still in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, but at the same time he appeared in the Imperial Sword Manor of the Ancient Shu Kingdom.

If this gets out, wouldn't it directly expose his abilities?
Therefore, Zhou Ming had already made the divisions from the very beginning.

What he is now playing is actually a mysterious person who has come to Yujian Manor in his appearance and identity.

As for the identity of this mysterious person... it doesn't matter, since it's not Zhou Ming himself anyway.

Therefore, Zhou Ming is currently sticking to his persona and will absolutely not use any martial arts techniques that could be related to his true self.

As for the Sword Qi Finger, its innate part was already passed down outside, and the master part was personally taught by Yin Hao after arriving at the Imperial Sword Manor, so it's not a big deal to use it.

The price of maintaining her persona is being suppressed by Tong Bo.

Their strengths are similar.

However, his opponent understood his martial arts style and had even fought against Yin Zhong, who was more mature and experienced in this area.

Being suppressed is something that can't be helped.

Fortunately, since Zhou Ming had thought of this, he naturally made some preparations.

The firelight inside the cave gradually receded into the distance.

The moonlight from outside the cave bathed me.

Zhou Ming was about to be knocked out of the hunter's cave by Tong Bo.

Suddenly, a sword rang out, followed by a strange gust of wind.

A beam of sword light suddenly leaped from Zhou Ming's hand.

In an instant, a gale swept in, accompanied by a long sword slashing down. The gale howled, and streaks of sword energy followed closely in the wind.

Tong Bo was shocked and quickly retreated into the hunter's cave.

The whirlwind, carrying sword energy, swept away all the illusions.

Zhou Ming stepped back into the hunter's cave and said, "Do you know why so many people in the martial arts world are frantically fighting for divine weapons? Because a divine weapon can really greatly enhance their strength!"

His long sword was pointed directly at Tong Bo, which made Tong Bo's eyelids twitch and a sense of crisis arise out of nowhere.

"Our strengths are roughly equal, but your martial arts are far more refined than mine, which is where I fall short. However, this sword will reverse the power imbalance between us!"

The sword is two feet nine inches long and is entirely blue-green in color.

The hilt of the sword is bluish-gray in color.

A faint breeze swirled around the entire sword.

This is the Whirlwind Sword, one of the Seven Swords!

The Rainbow Sword uses overlapping projections of molten iron, while the Ice Soul Sword uses a bed of cold jade.

This whirlwind sword was also created through overlapping projection.

But to be fair, wind-attribute treasures are really hard to find, extremely rare.

Even if you find a few, their power is ridiculously weak; they're not even strong enough to be used as a hairdryer in the summer.

Fortunately, the organization has been working on deciphering the ancient runes, and they have made great strides, especially after obtaining information about the Water Moon Cave.

Among them were the wind-elemental runes that had been deciphered.

Zhou Ming created a huge object in his personal space, inscribed with countless wind runes, and projected this object onto the sword to forge the Whirlwind Sword as it is today!
Incidentally, many of the runes of other attributes were also deciphered, so Zhou Ming updated and replaced the other seven swords as well.

Hunter's Cave has always been impervious to wind and rain.

It is precisely because of this advantage that it has become the first choice for hunters in the vicinity to rest at night, and thus became a well-known hunter's cave.

But at that moment, a fierce wind swept through the cave.

Tong Zhan used one hand to shield his face from the sand and dust blown by the strong wind, and looked at Tong Bo with concern.

Tong Bo's expression was solemn.

Zhou Ming suddenly slashed with his sword, and the surrounding gale gathered and condensed into a sword aura that roared out.

Tong Bo immediately unleashed a finger technique.

True energy emanated from his fingertips; although it wasn't as sharp as sword energy, its power was still considerable.

However, this move only lasted for two or three breaths before being severed by Zhou Ming's sword energy.

The remaining sword energy continued to slash towards Tong Bo, but he blasted it away with a punch before it shattered.

Seeing this, Zhou Ming couldn't help but smile.

Tong Bo, however, looked grim.

Weapons do indeed greatly enhance the strength of martial artists, because the flesh and blood bodies of ordinary martial artists simply cannot withstand the steel bodies.

One person was empty-handed, while the other was armed.

So, an unarmed person can only dodge when faced with an opponent's attack, which will naturally put them at a disadvantage.

However, once one reaches the Innate Qi Realm, one can condense true qi into qi, which allows one to use qi to fight against steel.

In this way, the advantages brought by weapons will be diminished.

Moreover, the higher the realm, the purer and more refined the true qi, and the stronger the resulting protective qi naturally becomes.

Therefore, the higher the skill level, the less advantage a weapon can provide.

However, the above situations only refer to ordinary weapons.

Some divine weapons possess the sharpness to break through the protective energy.

However, even weapons of that caliber can only be effective when the two sides are extremely close to each other.

At this very moment, the sword in Zhou Ming's hand defied this rule. It was because it could actually amplify sword energy significantly!
Tong Bo had only seen weapons of this caliber in many ancient books.

I never imagined that I would witness it with my own eyes today.

However, it's in the hands of the enemy!
Zhou Ming's smile was due to the success of the sword in his hand.

The difference between using treasure projection and rune projection is that the effect of treasure is constant and uncontrollable, while the effect of rune projection can be controlled.

In addition, not only the projection has been updated and upgraded, but the Seven Swords themselves have also been updated and upgraded.

Previously, the seven swords, which were the physical entities, were all forged with high-quality steel and advanced technology, making them rare and powerful weapons in the world, but they were still just ordinary objects.

The current Seven Swords are inscribed with various different runes inside.

In other words, even without a projection, the Seven Swords can still exert their corresponding attribute power through these runes.

However, it certainly isn't as powerful as overlapping projection.

After all, how many runes can be engraved on a small sword?
With the current rune technology available to the organization, it is not yet possible to compress the area of ​​a rune. A rune that is to be fully effective must occupy at least three square centimeters.

Using overlapping projection, however, there is no limit to the area; it can be made as large as desired, and its power will naturally be enhanced accordingly.

That sword strike just now was nothing more than a normal attack.

Next, we will test the power of the Whirlwind Sword Technique!

This sword technique is based on the "Sword of All Things Become Me" from the Twelve Swords of Xuan Yin, and possesses the ability to control all things.

However, when creating the Whirlwind Sword Technique, this characteristic was reduced to an extreme degree, leaving only the power to control the wind.

At the same time, it continuously strengthens the remaining characteristic of controlling the wind.

This makes this sword technique even surpass the original in terms of wind manipulation.

First move: Calm and peaceful!
Zhou Ming swung his whirlwind sword horizontally with utter indifference.

The posture and movements were very similar to those before.

In an instant, the wind stopped.

Hunter's Cave has returned to its former tranquility.

Since the Whirlwind Sword was drawn, the flames that had been leaping and dancing with the wind suddenly stabilized.

But a gentle breeze flew out from the Whirlwind Sword.

It seemed to have almost no imposing presence.

The wind seemed to be very weak, just enough to rustle the willow branches and ripple the lake water.

Tong Bo's body was tense.

He didn't believe that his opponent was wielding such a divine sword, yet suddenly used a move that had no power whatsoever.

This unusual situation is actually more alarming.

This is true.

Although it is only the first move of the Whirlwind Sword Technique, theoretically it is the weakest move.

However, it was ultimately a simplified version of the Twelve Swords of Xuan Yin, and the task was completed by Jian Yue, Mo Kui, and Xiao Ai.

Therefore, this move is the weakest in the Whirlwind Sword Technique, but it can be considered a superior sword technique in any other sect, and it could even be the strongest secret weapon in some smaller sects.

Moreover, because this kind of power is not great, it looks like just a gentle breeze, which can easily make people underestimate it and thus create a killing effect on first sight.

But in reality, this gentle breeze was far more terrifying than the gale that had just struck.

Just now, the gale transformed into sword energy.

At this moment, however, the sword energy transformed into a gentle breeze.

What appears to be an inconspicuous wisp is actually formed from the condensation of boundless sword energy.

Tong Bo tentatively used the same finger technique as before, unleashing a burst of true energy that was both solid and sharp.

However, the finger technique that had held out for two or three breaths was now shattered in an instant by that wisp of breeze.

Tong Bo's eyes widened, and he instinctively wanted to dodge, but he immediately realized that although the breeze was aimed at him, it also included Tong Zhan in the attack range.

If he hides, Tong Zhan will be in trouble.

He could only grit his teeth, unleash his true energy, and transform his arm into a dragon claw, striking out to meet the gentle breeze.

However, he used the Dragon God Technique, which manifested some supernatural phenomena.

With the power of the Dragon God Technique, although only a dragon claw was manifested, the attack power of this dragon claw had already reached the level of a Second Flower Grandmaster.

The sharp claws, carrying a strong gust of wind, collided with that seemingly insignificant wisp of breeze.

A sudden gust of wind howled.

All the compressed sword energy burst forth at this moment, displaying power far greater than before.

Dozens or even hundreds of sword marks instantly appeared on the surface of the surrounding rocks.

However, the dragon claws were not afraid of such power. Their scales were strong and their claws were sharp, which completely neutralized all the sword energy.

"What a trick!"

Zhou Ming said, "I thought you would just have to obediently accept your fate in the face of this move, but I didn't expect you to have such a killing move hidden in the dark. But it's good this way. If you died so easily, it would be a disappointment."

Come on, take another one of my moves!

The sword in his hand flashed, emitting countless wisps of sword energy.

Although each breeze was much smaller than before, their numbers had increased dozens of times.

In an instant, the entire cave was within the range of Zhou Ming's attack.

Tong Bo was quite helpless.

Such a wide-ranging tactic is inherently difficult to counter.

If it were outside, there would be enough space to dodge, but it's in a narrow environment like the Hunter's Cave.

Moreover, he also needs to be wary of child wars.

Judging from the power of that gust of wind just now, even if the power of dozens of gusts of wind at this moment has been reduced, it is still clearly not something that Tong Zhan can handle.

How to do?
Only he, as the older brother, could stand in front and bear the brunt of it!

Tong Bo dodged backward and came in front of Tong Zhan, using his body to firmly block Tong Zhan.

This way, one can protect Tong Zhan while also reducing the amount of Qingfeng sword energy one faces and minimizing the consumption of one's own true energy.

"elder brother……"

Tong Zhan was well aware of the current situation and said with a sense of guilt, "...I've dragged you down."

"What are you talking about? Aren't we brothers?"

Tong Bo didn't turn around, but his firm voice carried behind him.

Immediately, his true energy enveloped his hands, transforming them into a pair of dragon claws, which he actively grabbed at the incoming wind and sword energy.

With a series of booming sounds, these tiny sword energies were shattered by the pair of dragon claws, while more sword energies fell around, instantly cutting the surrounding rocks into pieces and turning them into rubble all over the ground.

Zhou Ming remained silent, only wielding his longsword, his swordplay changing once more.

The howling wind reappeared inside the cave.

But this time, it wasn't a simple gust of wind.

As the Whirlwind Sword danced, the gale also swirled, then surprisingly split into two whirlwinds, one to the left and one to the right, covering the entire cave, yet completely opposite in direction.

And right in the middle of these two whirlwinds were the two Tong brothers!
(End of this chapter)