The deepest affection in Gu Long's world

Chapter 146 A Sword in the Breeze - Ethereal and Boundless

Inside the carriage, Sun Baifa sensed the opponent's sword intent, but his brows furrowed unconsciously.

"Your sword is evil! No, it possesses an extreme demonic quality!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the pipe in his hand pointed at his opponent. The Heavenly Secret Staff he used was characterized by its versatility, and his moves were no longer bound by fixed techniques.

With just one strike, it seemed as if dozens of phantom images were created, completely enveloping Fang Yunhua!

But Fang Yunhua broke through all these illusory images in an instant!

His sword speed seemed to suddenly slow down, and this slowing down caused the dazzling staff shadows to lose their illusory characteristics. The scabbard seemed to be handed over lightly, but it forced Sun Baifa's Heavenly Secret Staff to defend with both hands.

As the sword sheath and pipe lightly touched fifty-eight times, a dark, evil wind suddenly rose up, tearing apart the illusion of the extremely slow standoff in an instant, and pointing directly at Sun Baifa's neck!

Boom!
The pipe that had been lying across his neck blocked this fatal blow, but Sun Baifa's hand trembled a few times.

Fang Yunhua suddenly stopped at this moment.

Sun Baifa also understood the true conditions of the other party's transaction.

"Your sword move just now contained the Yin-Yang transformation of the Wudang School's Yin-Yang Divine Sword. As the saying goes, when Yin reaches its extreme, Yang is born. When the sword momentum is about to end, it is precisely the moment when the killing move is first revealed. Then there is the slow cycle of the forty-nine moves of the Returning Wind and Dancing Willow Sword. The downward, brushing, rolling, sweeping, flicking, entangling, and stabbing movements are all executed flawlessly."

But none of that is the key. Originally, its core seemed to be the Thirteen Styles of Qingfeng from the Huashan School, and also had the shadow of the Secret Sword of the Demonic Sect. You used the Returning Wind and Dancing Willow Sword to promote the accumulation of the essence of your own swordsmanship, and then let the Two Elements Divine Sword complete the final transformation from slow to fast. This is already the prototype of your own unique sword style.

If the old man's prediction holds true, I should be the first person to see your swordsmanship evolve to its current form.

Fang Yunhua nodded slightly.

"The ethereal breeze and the single thought of gods and demons" is his path of martial arts. The former is the evolution of the moves, in which he also integrated two of the three great sword techniques of the Xuanmen, namely the "Seventy-Seven Forty-Nine Hands Returning Wind and Dancing Willow Sword" obtained from Yuan Suiyun, and the "Two Elements Divine Sword" which was the spoils of war from killing Shi Guanyin.

These days he has been studying the concept of the divine and the demonic, and naturally he has not forgotten this ethereal breeze.

What just happened was the first prototype of its derivation, an invisible and formless sword that breaks through the limitations of techniques by gradually increasing speed, also known as a sword of gentle breeze and boundless etherealness.

Sun Baifa continued his sermon.

"The key to your move is to build up momentum through slow, lingering combat in order to deliver a fatal blow in the fast phase. I don't need to give you any further pointers on the technique itself; you've already reached the state of having no moves. The real issue lies in the speed at which the sword momentum accumulates and is combined with the demonic intent to achieve an instantaneous transformation."

As the foremost martial arts theorist in "The Sentimental Swordsman and the Ruthless Sword," Sun Baifa can be considered the best teacher. He then pointed out some oversights that Fang Yunhua had not noticed, and further perfected the first move for him—"A Sword in the Breeze: Ethereal and Limitless."

When Fang Yunhua sparred with him again, he could feel that the effect of his sword technique had improved significantly, and it had transformed from a rudimentary form into one that could be used in battles against experts of the same level.

This is the value of a good teacher's guidance.

Of course, for Fang Yunhua and Sun Baifa, this was also a purely transactional deal.

"Your second son is also in Baoding Prefecture."

Fang Yunhua refers to Sun Tuozi, whose identity is revealed in the original storyline to be Sun Xiaohong's second uncle and Sun Baifa's second son. He is a man who keeps his oath and has been upholding his integrity for fifteen years in a dilapidated shop.

“I know.” Sun Baifa’s expression was still somewhat surprised, after all, only a very few people in the Sun family knew that Sun Tuozi had been staying in Baoding Prefecture for a vow and had not returned to the family even once during that time.

“I know his promise and I have a way to get him to come home a few times while keeping his promise, so that at least he can reunite with you during the New Year before the agreed-upon date of the fifteenth year arrives.”

Sun Baifa's eyes widened. He really didn't know the specifics of the agreement. As an old man, he naturally hoped to see his children and grandchildren gathered together during the New Year, but every year his second son was missing.

In the original storyline, he died before he could witness this happy moment of family reunion.

"Your guidance just now is only worth exchanging for knowledge of the agreement."

"I want to change!"

Sun Baifa then looked at Sun Xiaohong. He knew very well that there shouldn't be any extra people listening in on this kind of intelligence exchange.

Lin Xian'er was Fang Yunhua's woman, so naturally she didn't care about these things.

But Sun Xiaohong's words
“We’re all family, Little Hong, why don’t you listen here too?” Lin Xian’er, with her keen eye, pulled Sun Xiao Hong, who was about to get up, and winked at her deliberately.

The girl, who had returned to her usual lively self after witnessing Fang Yunhua and Sun Baifa's fight, blushed like a little quail.

Fang Yunhua glanced at Lin Xian'er with a hint of helplessness, and then spoke directly.

"The one who made the agreement with him was Wang Lianhua, the Thousand-Faced Young Master who is rumored to have already set sail to visit the Immortal Island. His agreement with your son was to protect his legacy within fifteen years, which is the 'Lianhua Treasure Mirror' created from his life's martial arts experience."

This martial art has now been entrusted to me and Xian'er for safekeeping by Sister Shiyin.

"Then you are his successor?" As soon as he asked the question, Sun Baifa rejected the idea himself. "So you mean to find a successor for this 'Pitying Flower Precious Mirror' and have him appear in front of my son, so that he can both keep the promise and return home at any time?"

"After all, the reason he stayed in Baoding Prefecture for twelve years was that the succession had never found a suitable person and had been gathering dust in Xingyun Manor. Now, to be precise, both Xian'er and I can be considered inheritors of this martial art."

I only focus on medical and astronomical skills, while Xian'er has learned mind control techniques, poison techniques, and a part of disguise.

"You can find someone else to inherit his mantle later, but for your second son now, what he needs to protect is me and Xian'er."

Sun Baifa understood everything. This was indeed a clever way to get his stubborn, simple-minded son to come home and stay longer during the New Year.

But if that's the case, wouldn't we have to invite these two people back for the New Year as well?

Sun Xiaohong's mind raced, and as if she had just thought of something, she lowered her head shyly again and chuckled softly a few times. However, her laughter was quite noticeable in the quiet carriage.

Sun Baifa looked at his silly granddaughter with a helpless expression.

Having reached this age, he naturally understands what young girls of this age might imagine. In fact, not only he understands, but Fang Yunhua and Lin Xian'er also understand.

The latter even secretly tightened her grip on Xia Yunhua's fingers, raising her delicate eyebrows at her with great pride. Just like Sun Xiaohong's current state, it was the result of her long-term efforts to train her.

This made Fang Yunhua roll her eyes.

When Sun Xiaohong realized that the other three people were looking at her, she blushed instantly. Especially after noticing Sun Baifa's somewhat speechless gaze, she blushed even more and shrank into Lin Xian'er's arms.

Fang Yunhua silently pulled his arm away from Lin Xian'er, because the little girl started grabbing his hand and moving it around. If she was just moving around on his body, that would be fine, but she also used his hand to suddenly attack Sun Xiaohong, who was huddled in his arms.

What kind of twisted sense of humor is this?!
As for Sun Baifa, he fell into deep thought. He belatedly realized that the other party had chosen to complete a teaching and intelligence exchange with him through a transaction, in order to shut him up in advance.

Originally, he had many questions he wanted to ask the master of Tianji Tower, but now his second son was being indirectly controlled by the other party, and the social demeanor the other party displayed was a blatant exchange of equal value.

Judging from the close relationship between Lin Xian'er and Sun Xiaohong, if the master of Tianji Tower wanted to ask him some questions about martial arts, he would definitely answer truthfully. However, this conversation turned into a transaction.

This undoubtedly prevented people from having any concerns about potentially exceeding the social distancing limit.

At this moment, Sun Baifa no longer regarded Fang Yunhua as a young man, because his behavior did not resemble that of a young man at all, but rather that of a mature successor from a major sect or a prestigious family.

"Hey"

Then he glanced at the silly granddaughter who was nestled in Lin Xian'er's arms, her big eyes secretly looking at Fang Yunhua, which made him sigh.

Even with his experience, he couldn't quite see through this young man's true nature. And his silly granddaughter, at the age when her heart was just beginning to flutter, had encountered such an amazing person. Naturally, she would rush headlong into it.

Originally, Sun Baifa could have used the idea that Fang Yunhua and Lin Xian'er were a match made in heaven to stop his silly granddaughter from having some wishful thinking.

But just as he couldn't understand Fang Yunhua, he also didn't quite understand what Lin Xian'er was thinking. All he could say was that her interactions with Sun Xiaohong along the way seemed like she was deliberately pushing their relationship forward.

In addition, in the past few days, whenever he brought up his argument that "it's a perfect match for someone else, and you're just a monster causing trouble," his silly granddaughter clearly gained some confidence and almost refuted him directly several times.

Therefore, it seems that this Miss Lin made some promises to the other party.

But are there really any wives in the world who are so eager to find other women for their husbands?

This is so damn surreal.

With such complicated feelings, Sun Baifa did not take the initiative to talk to Fang Yunhua again during the rest of the journey. Fang Yunhua, on the other hand, continued to refine the first move of Qingfeng Piaomiao based on the other party's previous explanation.

On the contrary, Lin Xian'er and Sun Xiaohong started chatting happily.

The two talked about You Longsheng's matter and then about the current ranking of weapons, which inevitably led Sun Xiaohong to ask Sun Baifa about it.

"Grandpa, where do you think Brother Fang's strength ranks?"

“He’s the master of Tianji Tower, just ask him directly.” Sun Baifa wanted to pick up his pipe and take a puff, but when he remembered that he was in the carriage, he reluctantly put the pipe down. “Anyway, he kicked me from first place to fourth.”

He's so knowledgeable; he definitely knows better than I where I should rank.

"Old Master Sun still has some resentment about this ranking," Fang Yunhua smiled. "Actually, I'm just helping Old Master Sun out. With your martial arts level, you are naturally the best in the world. But youth has its own advantages, and more than ten years have passed since the ranking of the weapons list at that time."

Surely you're not still confident that you're better than you were more than ten years ago.

Sun Baifa grunted a few times, which could be considered as tacitly agreeing with the other party's statement.

Of course, the key point is that the other party praised him as the number one martial arts master in the world.

In truth, he still cared about the ranking, especially after witnessing Fang Yunhua's impressive combat skills with just one move from his initial creation. This made him realize that the martial arts world was no longer his era.

"Moreover, keeping you in the first place will cause you and the Sun family considerable trouble."

"You mean Shangguan Jin Hong, who is second?"

With the Sun family's intelligence network, they naturally discovered this undercurrent hidden in the martial arts world. Although the original storyline revealed that after the Plum Blossom Bandit incident, the Money Gang grew and expanded, thus covering the seven southern provinces and sixty-three northern provinces.

But it's clear that during its preparation phase, it's impossible for it to remain completely silent.

Not only the Sun family, but probably all seven major factions have noticed the Money Gang, which has begun to quietly accumulate power.

"He is a pure tyrant, and he personally admires martial arts to the extreme. He is able to stay at the second position on the weapon ranking list because the time for him to emerge from the shadows has not yet come. However, judging from the speed at which he is developing in secret, that day is probably not far away."

When the Money Gang reaches its limit in terms of development, he will naturally need a more powerful stepping stone to break through this bottleneck.

"Given that, does Mr. Sun think he can escape it?"

"Why should I hide?" Sun Baifa said, revealing the sharp edge and spirit of a martial artist. Before actually fighting, he did not think he would necessarily lose.

But at the same time, he didn't think he was sure he would win.

"You don't need to hide now, but when Shangguan Jin Hong makes his move, you won't be able to hide even if you want to. Just like I said before, he is a pure ruthless hero. Once he decides to make a move, it must be because he has a 100% belief in victory."

Well, in the original storyline, Shangguan Jin Hong insisted on seeing Li Xunhuan's flying dagger, because he felt he could definitely dodge it. As one of the few characters in Gu Long's martial arts world who doesn't have any neurotic traits and doesn't fall into a crazy love-hate relationship, he is a powerful overlord focused on his career.

In the end, he made the same mistake as the villains: he got carried away and squandered everything.

At this moment, Sun Baifa fell silent because of Fang Yunhua's words.

This silence was extremely shocking to Sun Xiaohong. After all, in her heart, her grandfather was the undisputed number one in the world. That's why, in the original story, when she begged Sun Baifa, she didn't think he would die at the hands of Shangguan Jin Hong.

But now, her understanding seems to be shattered bit by bit.

(End of this chapter)