Chapter 397: Advice on Bladesmanship
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The venue of the Ying City martial arts demonstration this ti was finally decided, after several twists and turns, to be the practicing field of the Six Fan School. Firstly, the location was suitable for spectating and comntary, as well as large enough to accommodate the warriors of Jianghu that had flocked to the city. Secondly, the venue had been the subject of animosity between aristocratic families, the Yuehua Sect and Book Lu Academy. They all wanted to hold the event in their own territories to raise their prestige. No one wanted to give in, so the venue was eventually relegated to the bystander, Six Fan School.
The event this ti called for young warriors, so there were no Exterior Scenery experts who accepted the challenge. However, they still paid close attention to the demonstration should their treasured disciples suffer disadvantages and ruin themselves by their own careless mistakes. So, ng Qi was pretty calm and did not worry about Gu Xiaosang’s warning that he should stay indoors. No matter whom it was targeting him, it was likely that they wouldn’t be able to escape after harming him. That was unless they had soone skilled at assassination or even a Half-step Exterior Scenery master. However, such masters were considered precious to the Wang family of River East. They would not sacrifice their masters on soone like ng Qi.
When he arrived at the practicing field, all the stands were already occupied by Jianghu n, young and retired. Most ca here to join the fun and gain so future conversation material.
On one of the stands, the center was vacant except for four black chairs separated by tables. On the tables were teapots, cups, and snacks.
“I wonder which seat I will be taking…” ng Qi thought absent-mindedly. Beside him, Wang Zai could not tell what he was thinking about at all.
“The four of us will be sitting there. We’re only responsible for instructing the contestants. The Mi family will take care of the rest,” Wang Zai explained dutifully.
ng Qi nodded and stepped onto the stand with Wang Zai. A hush fell over the place as the Jianghu folks on the stand stopped their discussions and cast their glances towards the two of them.
A person’s reputation was akin to a tree’s shadow. Right now, ng Qi could be considered as a person fad throughout the world.
After all, who had not heard of his impressive feat of stripping three masters off the ranking list in front of the temple?
“Pick any seat you want.” Wang Zai smiled, pointing at the chairs. He appeared calm and at ease.
ng Qi took a look at the chairs and chuckled. “I prefer the left side.”
He then walked to the second chair from the left, exuding an air of responsibility.
Wang Zai sat down next to him in the first chair from the left. He started an idle conversation with ng Qi since they were both early. The Unstoppable Yan Chong and Moving Stars and Moon Chu Yunyu were not there yet, neither was the Mi family.
A short while later, a tall and slender young man led two people to the stand. One of them was Yan Chong, whom ng Qi had t before. The other was wearing a robe and a crown. His eyebrows were short and thick and his face was long. His arms were drooping by his sides. He had clean and fair skin, as if it was carved out of jade.
Wang Zai stood up and made the introductions. “This is Mi Zijing of the Mi family, a good friend of mine. This is Killing Blade Su ng. I don’t need to elaborate, do I?”
Mi Zijing was impeccably dressed, carrying a subtle air of nobility. His appearance was the most standard look of the son of an aristocratic family, neither extravagant nor exaggerated. A polite smile appeared on his delicate face as he heard Wang Zai’s words, he then replied courteously, “Young Master Su, your na is known throughout Jianghu. How can I not know you? I’d love nothing more than to have your strength. That way, I could delightfully take revenge on those who do wrong, repay the kindness of those who help and eliminate all that stand in my way.”
Without waiting for a reply, he pointed at Yan Zhong and the other person. “‘The Unstoppable’ Yan Chong and ‘Moving Stars and Moon’ Chu Yunyu, Brother Yu,” he said, chuckling. “I don’t have to introduce them either, do I?”
They were all masters among the top 20 of the Ranking List of Young Masters. Their martial arts and battle records had already been analyzed thousands of tis.
“Though I’ve never t them, I’ve long heard of them.” ng Qi smiled, saluting them.
Yan Chong returned the salute. “I’ve long wanted to et you, Killing Blade, as well.”
Chu Yunyu laughed heartily. “You’re both masters of swordsn ranked in the top 10. We’ll soon be witnessing ferocious battles between you two great masters of the Saber Dao. Why be so courteous?”
Speaking of being the only two great swordsn, ng Qi and Yan Chong t each other’s eyes. They could see each other’s dense fighting spirit. Their glances seed to transform into strands of Knife Qi that tried to test and compete with each other.
Nevertheless, they both had self-control and understood that their battleground would be the Party of Happycloud. If they fought now, they would be drawing attention away from the event itself. So they simply exchanged smiles and settled into their seats.
“Young Master Su, since you’re not even 20 yet, I’ll call you Younger Brother Su. Simply the ntion of your fight at the temple would be enough to thrill to the core and agitate . I’d love nothing more than to be there and fight in your place.” Bypassing Yan Chong, Chu Yunyu spoke to ng Qi in a familiar and friendly way.
He laughed self-deprecatingly and continued, “Of course, if I were in your place, I would be struck off the list instead.”
Chu Yunyu was currently ranked 19th on the list. He was conscious of the fact that it was strenuous for him to fight even the Fla-scorching Devilman on his own, never mind the stronger Cold Palm Specter or the Soul-losing Flute that was capable of affecting and controlling one’s soul.
One would be hard-pressed to find even several of the top 10 masters that could confidently say they could win against that line-up. After all, not everyone’s Kung Fu was suitable for group warfare.
ng Qi laughed and replied politely, “Brother Chu sure knows how to joke. You’re dubbed Moving Stars and Moon and known for using your opponent’s strength against themselves and diverting attacks. Even if you can’t beat your opponent, you’ll still be able to find a way to flee.”
Chu Yunyu saluted, accepting the complint without sha. “Thank you for your words of praise, Younger Brother Su. They’re just petty tricks unworthy of ntion.”
The other Jianghu n on the stand nodded after hearing their conversation.“It seems that success in battles didn’t only depend on one’s strength. It also depended on whether or not one endangered or restrained his opponent. Moving Stars and Moon was actually stronger than rumored…”
“I was just being polite. This guy’s shalessness is on par with mine…” ng Qi thought, feeling as if he had found a match in Chu Yunyu.
Just as Chu Yunyu was about to continue talking, Mi Zijing clapped his hands, creating a sound that was crisp, loud, and far-reaching. The sound reached the ears of every Jianghu man on the stands. After hearing it through their enthusiastic discussions, they all beca quiet.
“This person is pretty powerful…” ng Qi was montarily stunned. If Mi Zijing joined the Jianghu, he would most definitely find himself on the Ranking List of Young Masters, but he seed to harbor no such desire.
Mi Zijing delivered a bombastic opening speech and said during his conclusion, “This ti, we’ve invited the sixth master on the ranking list, ‘Killing Blade’ Young Master Su. the seventh master ‘The Unstoppable’ Young Master Yan, the 15th master ‘Right-guarding Sword’ Young Master Wang, as well as the 19th master ‘Moving Stars and Moon’ Young Master Chu. Everyone, feel free to challenge each other or perform your martial arts. We’ll have the four young masters give their comnts.”
Just as he finished talking, a person leaped into the field and said with a clear voice, “I’m Mo Jing’an from the Sword-script Pavilion! Who will accept my challenge?”
From another side, a swordsman ca flying into the field as he shouted, “I’m Hill-splitting Mountain-hacking Teng Qijiao of Ning prefecture. I will accept your challenge!”
They first bowed at the judges before exchanging salutes. They took out their sword and blade and began fighting closely with one another. Sotis, sword light would flash brilliantly. Other tis, it was as if snowflakes were sent fluttering in the air. The audience could not stop hollering as they watched the battle.
“Six Apertures opened with crude sword art…” After taking a look at the match, ng Qi could not bring himself to feel any enthusiasm. He caught Yan Chong’s eyes when he shifted his gaze ever so slightly. Yan Chong looked as absent-minded as he was.
The match dragged on for a long ti before a victor was finally determined. Mo Jing’an from the Sword-script Pavilion scored the victory in the end. He saluted the judges with a face full of smiles. “Please advise , young masters.”
After a brief pause, Wang Zai said, “Young Master Teng’s sword power is fierce and utilizes its forte of ferocity well. Young Master Mo’s movent is exquisite, continuous, and smooth as if spilling and rapidly scribbling ink. Young Master Mo has shown a better grasp of the fundantals. Earlier, he appeared to have fought bitterly for his victory but he had yet to use all of his strength. How could such sword art be used for defense rather than offense?”
His comnts hit right on the mark, prompting Mo Jing’an to smile even more widely. A thunderous applause rose around them.
“As expected of Brother Wang Zai…” Feeling impressed, ng Qi coughed gently and said, “Brother Wang, you’ve stolen all my lines. I have nothing else to add.”
“It’s not like I can point out the flaw of his first move or the mistake he made in his second… Who knows if he would beco enraged out of humiliation and smash himself to death in front of us…”
Seeing that the sixth ranked Killing Blade didn’t make any further comnts, Mo Jing’an appeared a little disappointed. Subsequently, Yan Chong and Yan Chuyu altered so of Wang Zai’s comnts and delivered it as their own.
“Young master Mo, you’ve just gained a victory. Go and take a rest first before you take on another match,” Mi Zijing said.
Just then, a swordsman appeared from one of the stands. “I’m Sung Jue. I couldn’t bear to share my nickna in front of four ranking young masters. I’ll now perform my bladesmanship. Please advise .”
As he spoke, he directed a heated gaze at Yan Chong and ng Qi. They were universally-recognized as so of the best enlightennt period masters of the Saber Dao.
He demonstrated his bladesmanship, performing formidable movents that gave rise to the wind. Occasionally, his movents would turn tricky, but the combination oddly worked well for him. He had completely unleashed his killing intent. Compared to the two swordsn earlier, he was evidently stronger.
ng Qi nodded as he watched admiringly, but soon frowned. “There is a problem in Sung Jue’s bladesmanship , a big problem that he isn’t aware of!”
After completing the set of bladesmanship, Sung Jue returned his blade to its sheath and requested comnts.
Before ng Qi could speak, Yan Chong was already asking, “Young Master Sung, is your master or long-ti sparring partner left-handed?”
Sung Jue was stunned. “Young Master Yan, do you know my master?”
Yan Chong shook his head. “No, but I can tell that your bladesmanship is obviously influenced by left-handed blade movents. You would unconsciously make changes toward your right and neglect your left side. This has already beco a habit. It’s not typically conspicuous but if you encounter a similar opponent, this habit will be the cause of your downfall.”
Sung Jue stood there in a daze, thinking over all his previous battles. He felt a cold sweat trickling down his back. He finally saluted Yan Chong after a long ti and said, “Thank you for your instructions, Young Master Yan. I’ll never forget your great favor to .”
He spoke sincerely, for this advice was equivalent to saving his life.
“He could tell that just from his demonstration?”
“Yan Chong is indeed a great swordsman!” The audience once again raised an uproar, praising him non-stop.
Yan Chong turned to ng Qi and asked, “Do you have anything to add, Young Master Su?”
“You’ve already said all that I wanted to say…” ng Qi thought, feeling aggrieved, and shook his head in response.
After Sung Jue took his leave, soone saw how much he reaped and imdiately went up to the field. He didn’t give Mo Jing’an the chance to challenge another person.
“I’m Chang Hui. I don’t dare to ntion my nickna either. I’ll perform a set of my bladesmanship. Please don’t mind a novice like performing in front of you experts.”
The new participant was also a swordsman whose forte was the many changes in his bladesmanship. He pushed his demonstration to its peak as if spreading it like a net.
ng Qi watched intently and instantly opened his mouth when the demonstration was over, not giving Yan Chong any chance to speak. “Young Master Chang, there are glaring flaws in your seventh, 11th, 20th movents, as well as…”
In one breath, he pointed out mistakes in five of the participant’s movents.
Yan Chong nodded, showing that it was an obvious problem indeed.
“Though these five movents appeared in harmony with the rest, they fell short when it ca to the changes, resulting in a lackluster performance. Was this set of bladesmanship an incomplete art that was later restored?” ng Qi said slowly.
“How could he tell?” Stunned, Chang Hui responded, “Precisely. My family spent 10 years restoring this sword art with these five movents.”
There were sounds of gasping all around. The audience could not believe that ng Qi was able to grasp the reason behind Chang Hui’s mistakes.
Yan Chong’s expression was solemn. “Killing Blade’s eyesight was decent indeed.”
ng Qi smiled and said, “Try making this change in your seventh movent…”
He raised his hand to act as a saber and began mimicking Chang Hui’s seventh movent with his advice. No one had caught on but Yan Chong’s glance remained solemn.
After ng Qi started practicing the Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture, his Knife Dao seed to have improved again. Under the combined forces of the Eight Nine Mysteries technique and the stage of Enter Imperceptibility, Chang Hui’s changes in bladesmanship and flow of genuine Qi, as well as his Dharma Access were all unable to fool ng Qi’s senses. He could now imitate the movents of the original user down to the very last detail.
With such deep understanding as well as high Saber Dao cultivation, ng Qi was surely able to alter these five movents solely based on its preceding and following movents.
Chang Hui could not understand why but morized ng Qi’s movents and regurgitated them.
This ti, his demonstration burst with endless knife energy that filled everything between heaven and earth. The thick threads of knife energy enveloped him.
Even with the limited understanding of the intricacies of ng Qi’s alterations, the audience could still tell that the innate quality of his movents had been heightened.
The more Chang Hui demonstrated the movents, the more surprised he beca . “This is comparable to the original bladesmanship!”
“Had ‘Killing Blade’ Su ng’s Knife Dao reached this level?”
“He basically just invented a new sword art!”
ng Qi felt a sudden jolt as he was watching Chang Hui and swept his eyes sideways. He saw an attractive young lady looking at him with an admiring expression. Next to her was a familiar-looking, dark-faced young man.
“Gu Xiaosang?”
“That’s Senior Brother Qi next to her!”
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