Man on the ark, forced to become king

The Rat King made a sarcastic remark, while the Emperor jumped around beside him, fanning the flames: "Old Lin is right, if you keep praising him like this, someone's tail will be wagging from his nose!"

"Then I can't lie, can I?"

Lin Lu spread her hands, and seeing the children's confused expressions, she had no choice but to explain further.

The sword strike in the mental world just now wasn't fully executed. Even the Rat King probably didn't quite understand it, so the younger generation with insufficient strength would be even less able to discern anything.

"Old Wei just demonstrated the Crimson Sky Sword Technique, and I think I understand now. We have a big difference in our understanding of sword techniques."

"Think about it carefully, what is the essential difference between the so-called Crimson Sky Sword Technique and Originium Arts that rely on a staff?"

"Essentially..."

The Rat King's whiskers twitched, and a ring of fine sand hovered between his fingertips, swirling and turning, suddenly transforming into several tiny, sharp blades that vanished into thin air.

"From the outside, there seems to be no difference. The only difference is that we use a staff to activate spells, while the Crimson Sky Sword Technique replaces the staff with the shape of a sword?"

"Yeah, that's why I was really annoyed earlier. I was using moves that meant every strike hit the ground, but Old Wei gave me some kind of magic spell where you just throw the sword around. What does that have to do with swordsmanship?"

"But after thinking about it, it seems that this is the kind of swordsmanship you know, including the swords of Texas, so I didn't say anything."

Lin Lu smiled, her tone tinged with frustration. In the end, she couldn't hold back any longer. With a wave of her hand, golden mist filled the bar, and the scenery changed in an instant. In the blink of an eye, everyone was standing on a steel-cast city wall.

The golden glow shone from behind, while dark clouds piled up in front, the desert receded into the distance, and sandstorms swept across our faces.

"This is...Yumen?"

Of all the people, Qiu Bai was the most familiar with this scenery. Having lived in Yumen for many years, she recognized at a glance that this must be the outer city wall of Yumen.

"That's right, Yumen Pass."

Lin Lu raised her hand and pulled, conjuring up an ordinary iron sword out of thin air, exactly the same as the one she used in the mental world.

"Talking is too dry, it's more satisfying to just fight. I was feeling frustrated just now, so I need to vent."

After saying that, without waiting for Wei Yanwu and the Rat King behind him to react, he took a few steps forward, raised the iron sword in his hand, and a blue halo rippled from the blade.

Magic began to gather.

The magical energy enveloping the iron sword gradually solidified, covering the sword's body and expanding outwards little by little, at an increasingly faster speed. Pale icy mist gathered and rose from the air as the magic greatsword grew in size.

Boom!

A muffled explosion erupted from the layered dark clouds, and crimson lightning descended from the sky, striking the ever-rising magic greatsword, adding another layer of red lightning to the icy mist.

Ten meters, a hundred meters, a thousand meters—the greatsword, enveloped in ice and lightning, soared into the sky, clearly visible throughout the entire Jade Gate City. Terrifying energy fluctuations stirred the clouds, causing the sky to churn.

"cut!"

Holding the hilt of an iron sword that looked incredibly small beneath the giant sword, Lin Lu narrowed her eyes and slowly moved the greatsword that pierced the clouds, slashing diagonally down towards the boundless desert.

A piercing buzzing sound filled the air as a crescent-shaped blade of light, carrying icy mist and dragon lightning, shot out into the distance. The thousand-meter-high magical blade shattered with a deafening roar, all of which merged into that slanting beam of light.

As the crescent moon passed, it cleaved the vast desert into a deep, straight crack. The scorch marks from the lightning strikes and the frost and mist froze into ice crystals, which then sped away into the distance.

hold head high! ! !

Deep in the desert, a strange and piercing roar echoed from the shadows of the wind and sand. The receding crescent moon pierced through the dust, and a distorted black shadow flashed out from within.

In a fleeting glimpse, before anyone could see what it was, the distant clouds swirled and broke apart, transforming into a vast expanse of azure.

On the earth, thunder danced, like giant trees reaching for the sky, their branches intertwined, red, blue, and white colors flashing and shimmering, turning the horizon into a hazy chaos.

call!

The wind howled and the fog rose. As Qiu Bai watched in horror, a torrential downpour began to fall at the edge of his vision, once again shrouding the depths of the desert.

"Why didn't you use that sword technique just now? If you had, it would have been Governor Wei's final strike—"

She couldn't help but ask, but stopped abruptly halfway through her question, glancing cautiously at Wei Yanwu not far away.

"Don't flatter me. I can't unleash such an attack. Even if I risked my life and used the Heavenly Crack technique, I wouldn't have such power."

Wei Yanwu waved his hand and smiled wryly, his dragon eyes fixed on the figure in front of him who was moving his wrist, his gaze full of inquiry.

He knew that Lin Lu had gone easy on him in the mental world before, but he didn't expect the difference to be so huge. This was not going easy on him, it was going easy on him.

If such a sword had fallen before, even if he used the Heavenly Crack technique, he could only barely defend against it in a small area; he definitely wouldn't have been able to withstand it head-on.

However, Lin Lu did not do that. He had some guesses about the specific reasons, but he still wanted to hear the explanation from her.

"So, that's where our differences lie."

With a single, cathartic strike, Lin Lu severely wounded something hidden deep within the desert. Her expression remained calm, as if she had casually done something insignificant. She turned and asked, "Do you think this is swordsmanship?"

"What's the difference between this and magic? Just because it's made with a sword doesn't make it swordsmanship! It's not at all!"

hum~

The air vibrated, and blue and white light converged, forming a two-meter-long, broad-bladed magic sword in his palm, causing the surrounding temperature to drop significantly.

With a pull of his arm, the greatsword slashed horizontally, and the icy mist blade flew dozens of meters away from the blade before disappearing, much like the Crimson Sky Sword Qi, only with a different color.

Click!

The magic greatsword shattered and disappeared. Lin Lu raised her hand and waved it, saying helplessly, "See? Even if I don't have a sword in my hand, I can still perform this with anything I can grab, or even empty-handed. Do you still think this is swordsmanship?"

"Doesn't count...?"

Qiu Bai hesitated before answering, not very confident, while the Rat King's answer was more straightforward: "No, this is magic."

"So, even though it was supposed to be a sword competition, I was the only one who actually used a sword. Old Wei's Crimson Sky Sword Technique's first few moves were basically just holding a staff shaped like a sword. If it weren't for the fact that there were actually some sword moves inside, that thing would have nothing to do with swordsmanship for me."

"It wasn't until he used his last move that I admitted it was indeed swordsmanship, so I didn't intend to use anything similar to block it."

“Even if what I use is swordsmanship in your eyes, if I don’t think so, then it isn’t. Using it is a violation of the rules. When we spar, I still value martial ethics. After all, it’s not a real life-or-death duel. Winning or losing doesn’t matter. There’s no need to break my promise over this.”

As she spoke, Lin Lu reached out and patted Wei Yanwu on the shoulder. The golden tree standing in Yumen City shone brightly, and beams of pure gold descended from its canopy, enveloping the bewildered old dragon.

"You've been enhanced, deliver him quickly!"

"What?"

"You didn't hold back your last move, so why don't you use it now and see what it is? Don't worry, with the Golden Tree's blessing, I guarantee you won't die on the spot after using it. This is a rare opportunity, don't you want to seize it?"

Lin Lu impatiently shoved the bewildered Wei Yanwu, her eyes carrying a hint of threat.

I just tricked him in my mental world and made him suffer, but he only got halfway through his move before it was over. Did he think he could get away with it so easily?

He absolutely had to see the full version of that move today!

Now that you mention it, it seems to make sense.

Wei Yanwu stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and felt that this made sense. Since he mastered the Heavenly Crimson, he had never used it completely. On the one hand, at that time he was already the governor of Longmen, in charge of a city, and no one was worth him drawing his sword. On the other hand, that move was different from other moves, and to use it completely would be risking one's life.

With the Golden Tree's support, the side effects are negligible, making it a great opportunity to test the waters.

"Then try it!"

After figuring it out, Wei Yanwu straightened his body, stepped onto the edge of the city wall, raised his hand and clenched it, a sharp aura rising from his body.

At that moment, he seemed to become an extremely sharp sword, so sharp that just looking at him made one's eyes sting and unable to look directly at him.

woo-

The wind howled, and the sky seemed to drop several degrees, with the thick, dark clouds making the scene even more gloomy.

Lost in thought, Qiu Bai looked up and vaguely saw a pair of scarlet vertical pupils open from the sky and look down at the earth. However, when she focused her attention and looked again, she found that there was nothing in the sky except for layers of dark clouds.

A fierce wind swept across the desert, leaving it empty and desolate, seemingly unchanged.

No, there are!

Qiu Bai suddenly awoke, horrified to find himself enveloped by an invisible, sharp aura, his body stiffening as if countless invisible swords surrounded him, ready to strike at any moment.

"He has no sword in his hand, no sword in his heart; what he grasps is this space, and that is his sword."

Lin Lu licked her lips, a strange light flashing in her eyes.

In front of him, Wei Yanwu held his breath and concentrated. His body swayed, and his raised arm slowly fell down. His face suddenly turned pale and bloodless.

At the horizon, a dark gleam silently appeared. The distant view, shrouded in wind, sand, rain, and mist, seemed to be a canvas spread across the sky and earth, allowing invisible blades to crisscross and splash ink across it.

Zheng!

It seemed like an illusion, yet the clear, melodious sound of a sword echoed in my ears. Thousands of black threads converged into a single line, stretching across the heavens and earth. Behind the curtain of wind, sand, and rain, a huge, hazy shadow revealed its outline, collapsing to the ground. The sky opened up, and the sunlight hidden behind it fell down, accompanied by dust and mist, painting a bizarre and fantastical scene.

"Can you see the difference?"

Reaching out to support the swaying Wei Yanwu, Lin Lu glanced at the silent crowd.

However, before they could answer, someone else gave the answer.

"The previous sword had form but no spirit. Although it had the shape of a sword, it could not be called swordsmanship. Governor Wei's sword was formless but had spirit. The meaning was in it, and the skill was close to the Dao. It could be called the Dao of the Sword. I never thought that there was such a sword in the world."

Chongyue, clad in a long black and gold robe, strode over and exclaimed in a deep voice of praise.

"Big brother understands me, that's exactly what I mean."

Lin Lu gave a thumbs up and patted Wei Yanwu on the shoulder, agreeing, "Although I don't really understand what 'intention' and 'Tao' mean, I can't deny that those things do exist. The Crimson Sky Sword Technique is essentially a spell, but when Lao Wei uses it, he incorporates his intention, so it can be called a sword technique. If someone else, like Xiao Chen, uses it, it's just a mere imitation and doesn't count."

In fact, there are swordsmen like Wei Yanwu in the borderlands. One such swordsman is the Flowing Water Swordsman, the teacher of the Valkyrie Malenia, who once sealed away the Goddess of Corruption.

Running water does not stagnate, thus it is able to resist corruption.

However, the Flowing Water Sword Technique has not been lost. Many people know it, but none of them have been able to seal the Goddess of Corruption with its magical effect. What they lack is the most essential 'Flowing Water Sword Intent', which is something intangible and intangible, something that can only be understood intuitively and cannot be explained in words. Lin Lu can also use the Flowing Water Sword Technique, but he has never understood the meaning of flowing water. All he can use are some exquisite moves, without any other effect.

Wei Yanwu is different. Although he uses the Crimson Sky Sword Technique in the form of magic, he has his own unique sword intent, which he has integrated into the Crimson Sky Sword Technique.