Under One Person: Starting with the Dual Cultivation of Body and Soul.

Lu Jin hesitated, unable to refute this statement. If Li Chang'an were to actually make a move, even if he held back his strength, Lu Xue's small frame wouldn't be able to withstand it.

The audience felt that the words were impeccable, but they still felt that something was wrong and that it was bullying.

Lu Xue let out a soft "Eek" and ran off the stage.

Lu Linglong quickly went over to support her, patting her shoulder to comfort her, "It's okay, it's okay. Think about your older cousin, he was in even worse shape last time."

Lu Lin also went over and offered a dry word of comfort: "It's much better now. He used to lift me up and down, left and right, and swing me around several times!"

"It's not scarcity that's worrisome, but inequality." Hearing that there were fellow sufferers among them, Lu Xue's mood finally improved. She sniffled and choked out, "..."

"Xue'er understands the saying that there are always people more capable than oneself and that there is always something beyond one's understanding. Brother Chang'an's methods are far superior to mine; it's just that I'm not as skilled as him. I don't take it to heart at all."

These words made Lu Jin, who usually paid little attention to Lu Xue, feel quite uncomfortable. He was the one who could empathize with this kind of discomfort the most.

Good boy, your great-grandfather will definitely make it up to you later!

Meanwhile, Lu Feng and the other members of the Lu family standing to the side exchanged bewildered glances.

"Brother Feng, should we still take turns going up to support Senior Brother Chang'an, just like we agreed before?" a member of the Lu family asked in a low voice.

Lu Feng swallowed hard and shook his head decisively: "What's the point of praising him! Let's not go up there and hinder Senior Brother Chang'an's performance. Let's just cheer him on from below."

Then, Lu Jin looked at Zhang Lingyu and said loudly, "Is there any other young talent who would like to learn from Li Chang'an?"

“Old Lu, I have to criticize you. Your behavior is too obvious!” the old master said.

Zhang Lingyu naturally noticed that Master Lu was speaking to him. He looked at his master, about to ask if he should go up.

"I'll do it!"

Suddenly, a figure leaped onto the ring. The newcomer was a little over 1.6 meters tall, wearing a black hoodie and a knitted hat, with a few strands of blue hair peeking out from under the brim.

She held a heavy, dark iron plate in her hand, slammed it onto the stage, and raised her chin slightly.

"Flowing Cloud Sword, Master Yuan, come and learn from my superior skills!"

"Yuan Shixiao! What are you doing up there? Get down here right now!" An old man carrying an ancient longsword shouted angrily from the crowd below.

Master Yuan smiled without turning his head: "Master, I remember you said that you had a match with the old master of the Li family. The Li family's swordsmanship is very powerful, and in terms of swordsmanship alone, they are even better than you, but you easily defeated them in the match."

"why?"

"Because our methods are far more powerful than those of the Li family. No matter how skilled their swordsmanship is, it cannot compare to our sword, which is our lifeblood."

"You also told me to stop studying those useless sword techniques and focus more on controlling objects with a sword, but I have a different idea."

Master Yuan smiled and weighed the large iron plate in his hand: "Master, you can't compare to Old Master Li in swordsmanship. It's because your swordsmanship is not fast enough, and not ruthless enough."

"But don't worry, with me here, my swordsmanship is superb, and so is my swordsmanship. We'll crush them under our feet in every way!"

As she spoke, she lifted her foot and stomped it on the ground.

This behavior caused an uproar among the audience.

"Wow, this tomboy is so arrogant. This is Master Lu's banquet."

"Flowing Cloud Sword, what sect is that? Is it very powerful? Why have I never heard of it before?"

"I have heard of it. It's a sect that specializes in swordsmanship. It was a major sect before the founding of the country, but it gradually declined due to war and other reasons."

"This girl dared to jump up like that, she must have some skills. If she didn't have some tricks up her sleeve, wouldn't she be as arrogant as a toad yawning?"

"But shouldn't the Flowing Cloud Sword be a sword? Why is she using a big piece of iron? Is she that poor?"

"Never mind that piece of junk for now, she seems to have a grudge against Li Chang'an's family!"

As Master Yuan spoke, everyone turned to look at the Li family members at the table.

The old man was grinning as he watched his grandson, dressed in white, on the stage, when the conversation suddenly turned to himself.

He was stunned for a moment, then realized that the tomboyish little girl was talking about him?

He turned to look at the little girl's master, and the two looked at each other. He couldn't help but recall the frustrating scene when he competed with her back then. She beat him and then made fun of him with her apprentice.

The old man turned his head and shouted at Li Chang'an:

"Chang'an, teach that arrogant brat a lesson."

"It's still a grudge match." Li Chang'an gave his grandfather an "OK" sign, then turned to look at Yuan Shixiao in front of him.

He hadn't expected to run into this person here. If he remembered correctly, this person was from the Quanxing faction in the story, quite skilled, and could even hold his own against Lü Ci.

However, the fact that she appeared at this banquet indicates that she has not yet joined the Quanxing sect.

Speaking so arrogantly and acting so recklessly, no wonder he's a promising talent of Quanxing!

At the main table, the old Celestial Master looked at Lu Jin and said, "Old Lu, you actually brought the Flowing Cloud Sword here. If I hadn't seen it, I would have thought that their lineage had been broken."

Lu Jin said, "Back then, the former sect leader of the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect also intervened in the matter of the Three Ones Sect, so there has always been a connection between them. However, it seems that they have a small grudge with the Li family of Chang'an."

At this moment, Yuan Shixiao's master came over and explained, "Elder Lu, there's really no grudge. It's just that my unfilial disciple is too competitive. He remembered me praising the Li family's swordsmanship a few times and now he insists on getting revenge. I'm really sorry."

Lu Jin waved his hand: "Don't mention it. It's normal for juniors to tease each other a bit when they're sparring. Don't take it to heart."

……

On the martial arts stage, Yuan Shixiao watched Li Chang'an make that gesture and laughed.

"OK? You think you can beat me? Your defensive techniques might not be effective against me. I advise you not to stand still; if you take one of my swords, you might die."

Li Chang'an wasn't angry. His mind was at peace, unaffected by delusions, and his emotions were unusually stable. He wouldn't be provoked by a few words.

However, not being provoked only means that he is not affected by delusions, but it does not mean that he lacks true feelings.

He tilted his head and glanced at Master Yuan, saying, "You talk a good game, but I heard my grandfather say that normal swordsmanship should be about the unity of man and sword, with man and sword being one, and man preceding the sword."

"And you, you take the shortcut of the sword, merging your life into the sword. The sword is your life, the sword is your death. The sword is more important than the person, the sword comes before the person. So it is the unity of sword and man. If that is the case, where is your sword? Just this big piece of iron?"

Upon hearing this, the younger generation in the courtyard burst into laughter. Yuan Shixiao had been too arrogant from the moment she appeared, and the general public didn't have a good impression of her, so they were naturally happy to see her get humiliated.

Chapter 82 A Game of Grudges

“This guy named Li Chang’an is quite interesting. Judging from his attire, I originally thought his personality was similar to Zhang Lingyu’s,” Zhuge Qing said with a smile.

"This person is so ethereal, but I never expected him to be so ruthless when he talks trash. What a contrast!" Feng Shayan made no attempt to hide the admiration in her eyes.

"Sis, you don't actually have feelings for that Li Chang'an, do you?" Feng Xingtong muttered softly.

"If I'm interested, are you, as my younger brother, going to ask for my contact information?" Feng Shayan rolled her eyes at him, annoyed.

Feng Xingtong reluctantly shut his mouth.

"Brother Chang'an, you're right! Let's teach her a lesson!" Lu Linglong loudly cheered for Li Chang'an.

"Chang'an, keep going!" Lu Xue waved her red and swollen dragon claw hand and shouted loudly.

Being called a "sword man" made Master Yuan laugh in anger: "You're good with words, but what you just said is true. We are indeed a sect that entrusts our lives to the sword. As long as the sword is there, we are there; if the sword dies, we die."

"However, the fact that you asked me why I didn't take a sword but instead took a piece of broken iron only shows that your vision is as vulgar as my master's."

"The Flowing Cloud Sword is a technique I learned from observing the ever-changing weather, but it ultimately binds a person to an object. I'm not like that. I want to tell my master that people are more important than swords, so I just randomly chose a large piece of iron to make my sword."

"How about it?"

"What else can we do?"

"That little brat!" Master Yuan clenched his fists in anger.

Looking at her arrogant demeanor, Li Chang'an laughed and said, "I also think that people should be more important than swords. You think that your sect is asking you to choose a good sword to entrust your life to, which is being attached to appearances and is unreasonable. You want to change this, which is actually very reasonable."

"But the way you changed it is by choosing a piece of scrap metal?"

"You think you're so refined and detached from worldly concerns just because you picked up a piece of scrap metal?"

"You deliberately chose the worst option, jumping from one extreme to another. Isn't that also being attached to appearances?"

"So what?" Yuan Shixiao sneered. "What can you do?"

Li Chang'an said, "It's all about appearances. You're not much better than your master. You just think you're awesome, so you're going against your elders."

“You chose this big piece of iron not because you value your life, but because you are being led by the nose by your delusions, indulging in your desires and being resentful.”

"After all, even the children in the village who use wooden sticks to clean the vegetable garden know that when choosing a stick, they should choose one that is easy to handle and straight."

Upon hearing this, Master Yuan was taken aback, then flew into a rage: "Are you lecturing me?"

"I'm not saying all this to lecture you, and I'm not speaking to you; I'm speaking to myself!"

Li Chang'an said, "Confucius said, 'By observing others' mistakes, one can know their benevolence.' This means that when I see others make mistakes, I should reflect on myself and try not to make the same mistake."

"This is a kind of knowledge, and also a kind of enlightenment. It is about seeing the nature of all beings and understanding one's own mind."

"See all living beings, see yourself, see the world!"

"As for you..."

Li Chang'an paused for a moment: "This is like drinking water; only the person drinking it knows whether it's hot or cold."

"Like drinking water, only the person drinking knows whether it is hot or cold." Many people in the audience unconsciously repeated this sentence.

“This young benefactor’s cultivation level is quite high,” Master Jiekong of the Ten Elders said in a low voice.

"He's really tall, a true genius with great comprehension," Zhang Zhiwei added.

On the stage, Yuan Shixiao, perhaps struck a nerve by these words, broke down and angrily retorted:

"You say you only know your own joys and sorrows? How could you possibly know how I feel?!"

"I'm not hot!"

She picked up the large iron plate and pointed it at Li Chang'an: "Quickly take out your sword, I want to have a sword fight with you!"

"Your Flowing Cloud Sword Sect is clearly known for its sword energy, yet you want to compete with me in swordsmanship?"

"Let me tell you, sword qi is my talent, but swordsmanship is also my hobby!"

"Very well, as you wish!" Li Chang'an beckoned with his finger: "Sword, come!"

The magic sword hanging on the wall of his meditation room trembled slightly.

"Whoosh!"

The longsword burst through the window, transforming into a white light that pierced the sky before flying into Li Chang'an's hand like a swallow returning to its nest.

He had nurtured the sword with his Qi for many days, and the two had long since developed a connection. Even though Li Chang'an did not have any special skills in controlling objects, he could summon it by simply using his mind to slightly guide it within a certain distance.

"Object manipulation? Flying sword technique?" Everyone in the courtyard exclaimed in surprise upon seeing this.

All eyes in the courtyard were focused on the weapon in Li Chang'an's hand on the field.

Li Chang'an wielded an eight-sided Han sword, 1.3 meters long and three fingers wide, its blade gleaming with light. His imposing presence and fluttering white robes made him appear truly like a sword immortal.

Across from him, Yuan Shixiao, holding a large iron plate and wearing a hoodie, was so angry that his eyes were crooked and his mouth was contorted, looking like a street thug who grabbed a weapon at random during a fight.

The difference between the two is obvious.

The contest began. Without saying a word, Yuan Shixiao bent his knees slightly, exerted force with his feet, and his shoes screeched as they rubbed against the floor. He charged toward Li Chang'an like a hawk soaring across the ground.

After closing in, the large iron plate thrust straight in, but halfway through, Yuan Shixiao's wrist suddenly flicked, and the iron plate burst forth with astonishing speed, heading straight for Li Chang'an's face.

At this moment, Li Chang'an flicked his wrist, and the Han sword slapped against her large iron plate sword, gently pulling it to the side.

"Clang!"

A crisp sound of metal clashing.

Yuan Shixiao did not continue his charge, but instead quickly retreated two steps, his heart filled with doubt and uncertainty.

Because the spot where Li Chang'an's longsword struck was precisely the weak point in her control over the weapon.

Although this large iron plate looks crude, it is a weapon that she has nourished with her Qi for more than ten years, and it can cut through iron like mud.

Furthermore, her faction members are all proficient in the ability to manipulate and control objects. They can wield these objects in close combat or throw them as flying swords. This sword is easier to use than an arm that is part of one's body.

Not long ago, she had a contest with a person with magnetic superpowers. That person could lift a vehicle with his ability, but he couldn't budge the piece of iron in her hand at all.

But today, I never expected that Li Chang'an would break my spirit with a casual slap.

The feeling is like throwing a punch, only to have your opponent hit a nerve, leaving you feeling soft and numb.

This seemingly casual move alone instantly put Yuan Shixiao on high alert.

Was it the exquisite swordsmanship, or simply the overwhelming force?

If that sword strike was a matter of swordsmanship, even disregarding the unique skills of the Sanyi Sect, in terms of swordsmanship alone, the opponent would definitely be far superior to her.