Chapter 39: Chapter 37: Undercurrent, Whirlpool, and the Shock of Yang Chen and the Others
The three men Qi Hong invited over didn’t believe his exaggerated claims, nor did they think Zhong Ming was qualified to be compared to Xiao Yichen, the True Disciple of their generation.
But they all agreed that to be acknowledged by Qi Hong and receive an A-level Rating, Zhong Ming must have some talent.
And because of this, they arrived with a sliver of anticipation.
They hoped Zhong Ming’s talent could reach thirty percent of Senior Brother Xiao’s—no, even twenty percent would be enough.
Amidst this anticipation, Yang Chen, Shi Yun, and Lin Shuyu saw the utterly unremarkable Zhong Ming.
Zhong Ming also saw the three men.
What made him raise an eyebrow was that all three men were physically maimed in some way.
One limped, another was blind in one eye, and the third had half his face withered away, like a skull.
Noticing Zhong Ming’s surprise, Qi Hong shrugged and brought it up himself.
"Wondering why we’re all crippled, are you?"
"Er..."
Just as Zhong Ming was fumbling for a response, Qi Hong said nonchalantly, "There’s nothing strange about it. In a couple of years, when you enter the Demon Suppression Bureau, you’ll learn that for Sword Cultivators like us, it’s a place of both crisis and opportunity."
"Enemies everywhere, incessant life-and-death struggles, and the resources the Demon Suppression Bureau rewards for slaying Demonic Fiends... All these things drive any Sword Cultivator with a bit of skill and ambition to fight for their place there."
"The few of us wouldn’t be staying here if it weren’t for our grievous injuries."
Having said that, Qi Hong then pointed at his friends.
"This is Yang Chen, Shi Yun, and Lin Shuyu. They’re your senior brothers. They specialize in Longxi Swordsmanship, Water Technique, and Stepping Technique, respectively. What do you want to learn first?"
"Swordsmanship."
He could cultivate four Cultivation Techniques at once by relying on his Longxi Swordsmanship, so for Zhong Ming, the best path of cultivation was still Swordsmanship.
Of course, that was excluding the Longxi Sword-Drawing Technique... The latter consisted of only a single action—drawing the sword—making its cultivation method far simpler than any other.
...
Hearing that Zhong Ming wanted to practice the sword, Yang Chen immediately stepped forward.
With his half-withered face, he was hardly friendly toward Zhong Ming.
"Qi Hong says your talent is exceptional, but I have my doubts."
SWOOSH!
As he spoke, he brandished his longsword, his tone icy. "Show me everything you’ve got. I want to see if you’re worthy of our devoted tutelage!"
"Even half-crippled, I refuse to waste my time on mediocrity."
"I understand."
Yang Chen’s words didn’t make Zhong Ming angry.
The fact that they were willing to give him their all was, to Zhong Ming, a favor regardless of the circumstances.
As for only being willing to teach the gifted, that was just how this world worked. The gulf in talent was very real, and most people here only had patience for genius.
To show his respect for such a man, Zhong Ming chose to defeat him with everything he had.
WHOOSH...
After taking a deep breath, the Magical Power in Zhong Ming’s body immediately began to circulate at high speed.
As his Magical Power surged, he swung his two-handed sword, and the Sword Light it cast flowed toward his opponent like a rushing stream.
This time, no shimmer of water appeared.
For Breath of Heaven and Earth Stream, there had to be a stream or a water source nearby for Zhong Ming to be able to activate it.
Without one, Zhong Ming’s current level of Magical Power and cultivation wasn’t enough to conjure water vapor from thin air.
CLANG...
Facing the Sword Light, Yang Chen barely moved. With a casual flick of his wrist, he parried Zhong Ming’s attack.
He didn’t erupt with Magical Power to forcefully blast the attack away.
Instead, he followed the force of Zhong Ming’s blow, guiding Zhong Ming’s longsword to one side.
Zhong Ming understood that the essence of Longxi Swordsmanship was deflecting, borrowing, and building force, so he naturally resisted and immediately tried to withdraw his sword.
But... he couldn’t budge it.
At this moment, Zhong Ming felt as if his longsword was trapped in a whirlpool. The suction was so strong that, caught off guard, he couldn’t pull it out at all.
Unable to pull back, not only was his longsword guided to the side, but his body was also affected, and he couldn’t help but stumble sideways.
In the end, with his stance broken, he was easily defeated by Yang Chen.
This scene made Yang Chen, as well as the onlookers Shi Yun and Lin Shuyu, all frown.
A Zhong Ming like this was not enough to satisfy them, let alone be compared to Xiao Yichen.
Shi Yun said, "Qi Hong, this is the prodigy you were talking about?"
Facing his friend’s doubt, Qi Hong wasn’t angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "Don’t be hasty. In a moment, you’ll see why I said what I did."
"..."
His calm, unruffled demeanor made Shi Yun and Lin Shuyu raise their eyebrows, but they held their tongues for now.
Meanwhile, Zhong Ming wasn’t discouraged by his defeat. In fact, a faint light began to shine in his eyes.
’A vortex... or rather, an undercurrent. The Longxi Swordsmanship demands a balance between motion and stillness, but it’s not just about movement and rest. It’s also about the seen and the unseen...’
[You have gained insight into Longxi Swordsmanship. Cultivation Technique progress
71]
Having gained something, Zhong Ming immediately regrouped and attacked Yang Chen again.
And Yang Chen didn’t stop him.
After all, this was the person his companion Qi Hong had recommended, so he was willing to give Zhong Ming some more time to prove himself.
Zhong Ming was much more cautious with this attack, putting his full strength into a sudden tug when he tried to withdraw his blade.
Zhong Ming, erupting with his full power, pulled the sword back.
However, Yang Chen was more experienced.
This time, he showed Zhong Ming that "borrowing force" in Longxi Swordsmanship wasn’t just about diverting an opponent’s attack; it was also about following the force of their retreat to strike their body.
Caught off guard, Zhong Ming was defeated again.
Then the third time, the fourth, the fifth, the seventh...
Like Qi Hong, his opponent had practiced the sword for eight or nine years, fought thousands of battles against Demonic Fiends and all sorts of Cultists, and faced dozens of life-or-death situations.
Such extensive battlefield experience meant that Yang Chen’s mastery of Swordsmanship and combat experience far surpassed Zhong Ming’s.
Zhong Ming could barely gain an inch against him—it was the difference between a seasoned veteran and a high school kid.
But as the fight continued, Yang Chen’s expression grew increasingly grim.
The onlookers, Shi Yun and Lin Shuyu, also gradually wiped the disdain and disappointment from their faces.
At this moment, the only thing on their faces was the same shock that had been on Qi Hong’s.
"He’s improving too damn fast!"
In their eyes, Zhong Ming’s strength was not great, but with every clash, every swing of his sword, Zhong Ming’s Longxi Swordsmanship improved.
At the very beginning, Zhong Ming couldn’t even take a single strike from Yang Chen.
But not even ten minutes had passed, and Zhong Ming could already exchange several blows with him.
After half an hour, Zhong Ming could even trade blows evenly with a Yang Chen who was holding back his strength.
HUFF... PUFF...
SWOOSH...
In the clearing, Zhong Ming moved with his sword like a spinning whirlpool. He used the principle of the Flow of Water to redirect the force of Yang Chen’s attacks to the side.
Furthermore, the whirlpool he created with his blade concealed a dangerous undercurrent.
If an opponent let their guard down for even a moment, they would be caught by his Undercurrent Strength, unable even to withdraw their own weapon.
This kind of undercurrent could not only create an opening in the enemy’s defense, but also allow Zhong Ming to borrow the enemy’s strength.
Unfortunately, Yang Chen, having experienced too many life-and-death battles, simply did not make mistakes.
Zhong Ming used the Flow of Water to create a whirlpool, and his opponent did the same.
And the whirlpool he summoned was stronger than Zhong Ming’s, with a wider area of effect.
BOOM!
When their flowing whirlpools collided, Zhong Ming could only barely hold his ground, retreating step by step. He looked completely overwhelmed.
But the onlookers, Shi Yun and Lin Shuyu, did not look down on Zhong Ming in the slightest.
"How many moves has it been?"
"Thirty-seven. No, thirty-nine now..."
Shi Yun said, "Yang Chen won’t be able to defeat him within a hundred moves..."
At this, Shi Yun shook his head with a wry smile. "Before they started, Yang Chen would never have dreamed a rookie could last over a hundred moves against him."
Lin Shuyu replied, "It can’t be helped. Zhong Ming is just that strong. Under Yang Chen’s pressure, he’s integrated not just his Swordsmanship, but also his Breathing Skill, Stepping Technique, and even Water Technique into his Sword Techniques."
"He’s integrated them remarkably well. It’s not just Yang Chen—if either of us went up there now, defeating Zhong Ming would be no easy task."
At this, Lin Shuyu turned to Qi Hong, his expression a mixture of excitement and gravity. "Junior Brother Qi, are you absolutely certain he’s a new disciple who just joined Longxi Peak this year?"
These words made Qi Hong shrug.
"You’ve seen Zhong Ming’s progress with your own eyes, haven’t you... In the first exchange, he couldn’t even take a single move from Yang Chen."
"..."
Shi Yun and Lin Shuyu had no rebuttal to that.
And so, their gazes filled with amazement, envy, and... delight.
"To think that our Longxi Peak has actually produced another peerless prodigy."
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