Chapter 9: Battle! The Flaw in Swordsmanship

  (Ten Steps Rush New List, Urgently Need Recommendation Votes and Collection, Hope Everyone's Generous Help, Let Ten Steps Go Truly Achieve Ten Steps to Kill One Person, Thousand Miles Without Leaving a Trace, Killing into the Top Ten.)

  When Lu Qing came back to his senses, he found a big fat face in front of him, with round and chubby cheeks. If it wasn't Duan Qingyun, who else could it be?

  "What's on your mind, you little scamp?"

  Lu Qing rubbed his head somewhat awkwardly and said, "It's just that I had a sudden realization, and after thinking about it for a while..."

  Duan Qingyun was shocked by his words, but then immediately laughed and said: "I didn't think you had such a good understanding, alright, let's go practice swordsmanship——"

  After finishing, he pulled Lu Qing towards the main gate of Chaoyang Palace. Zhao Qianye and Yu Jihua were already waiting on the side of the road, and when they saw the two approaching, a faint look of surprise flashed across Zhao Qianye's face before quickly disappearing. On the other hand, Yu Jihua openly cast admiring glances at Lu Qing, his tone encouraging as he said: "Although it's not just you who can gain insight during their first morning practice, there aren't many like that either, and it's indeed precious. Keep working hard, I believe you'll quickly catch up." It was clear that he had noticed the changes in Lu Qing's swordsmanship during the previous morning's practice.

  Lu Qing scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed: "I'm still far from catching up with all of you senior brothers."

  "You don't have to belittle yourself," Zhao Qianye suddenly spoke up, his eyes fixed on Lu Qing, his pupils calm yet making Lu Qing feel a deep and inexplicable meaning. He continued, "Having ability is having ability, no need for any humility, otherwise it will only obscure your true heart. To advance bravely on the path of swordsmanship, you must have the ambition to stand out from the crowd. So, don't say such humble words again in the future. The strongest power is the heaviest, and it's the same here. I hope you can remember this." After finishing speaking, he looked at Lu Qing deeply once more, then turned around and walked away slowly.

  These words made Lu Qing feel a bit heavy-hearted, but after careful consideration, they were actually very meaningful. Just then, Duan Qingyun stepped forward and patted Lu Qing's shoulder, explaining: "Third Master is indeed a bit cold on the surface, but what he said is still quite right. Originally, I wanted to slowly guide you in the future, but Third Master was so direct. For now, don't think about it too much, as time goes by, you will gradually understand." Duan Qingyun's words made Yu Jihua roll his eyes, and the more he listened, the more he felt a creeping sensation on his back. Before Lu Qing could even react, Duan Qingyun pulled him away, walking ahead first. Yu Jihua could only hold back his laughter and follow behind them.

  Four people gradually walked together, out of the Chaoyang Palace, along a mountain path that was opposite to the upper mountain, winding down, passing through a lush maple forest. It was now in the midst of summer, and the deep green maple leaves blocked the scorching sun, making it very cool under the trees, which would be a good place for sword practice. At this time, there were already about ten people gathered here, but the four people's destination was clearly not here, nor did they stop to rest. They just exchanged greetings with their fellow disciples they met and then passed through the maple forest, continuing down until they reached about halfway up the mountain. After turning over several inconspicuous small roads, they gradually heard a faint rumbling sound.

  As the four of them approached, the rumbling sound grew louder and louder, gradually becoming deafening. Fortunately, even Lu Qing, who had the lowest cultivation base among the four, had three years of sword energy foundation, so he was not affected by the noise at all. After passing through a narrow path about three feet wide, their destination finally appeared before them. It was a magnificent waterfall, over 100 meters high and wide, with white water gushing out from a spring in the mountain wall. Under the sunlight, it looked like a majestic silver river, mixed with immense power, crashing down onto a huge black stone that was as smooth as jade. The splashing water droplets scattered into the air, turning into pearls-like drops that fell into a crystal-clear pool of water below. In front of the pool was a large expanse of green stone, about 30 meters wide, stretching all the way to where Lu Qing and his companions stood. Except for some green moss at the edges, the middle area was very clean, indicating that someone regularly cleaned it.

  Lu Qing, who had lived in Chaoyang Town for many years, was shocked by the magnificent scenery before him. "How's that? This place isn't bad, is it? I discovered it back then." Duan Qingyun couldn't help but say with a sense of pride upon seeing Lu Qing's expression.

  "You still have the nerve to say —" Yu Jihua was merciless in his attack on Duan Qingyun, "If you hadn't been so lazy with your sword practice back then and were wandering around in these mountains, would you have ended up being chased by a lowly three-toed macaque until you had nowhere to escape and fell off this hundred-foot waterfall? If it wasn't for me and Qianye arriving just in time, you'd be food for the fish and shrimp in Mingyue Pool by now."

  "This..." Duan Qingyun suddenly became speechless, scratching the back of his head with a meaty hand, and for a moment he was at a loss for words.

  Yu Jihua was just joking, and with a wave of his hand, he let the fat guy off. He turned around to face Lu Qing and said: "Come on, little brother, let's exchange a few moves. Although we usually have to cultivate ourselves, there is still time for us to point out a few things to each other in a day. Don't disappoint us." After finishing speaking, he tapped his toes on the ground and suddenly rose up three feet high. With a wave of his hand, a purple sword energy appeared from a nearby nanmu tree, taking off a section of branch about three feet long. He held it in his right hand, pointing diagonally at Lu Qing. It wasn't that Yu Jihua looked down on Lu Qing, but the Clear Wind Sword on his back was too sharp, and Lu Qing's black iron sword couldn't withstand two blows without breaking. At this time, a layer of fierce purple sword energy had already wrapped around the branch, protecting it with a flowing purple light that could rival an ordinary iron or copper sword.

  Facing the challenge of Yu Jihua at this time, Lu Qing was not surprised but delighted. Now Xuanqing has not made any movement yet, and it is unknown when he will point to him. At this time, Yu Jihua's pointing to him will undoubtedly be extremely beneficial, how can he let go of this opportunity.

  He slowly retreated six steps, and the black iron sword was also slowly pulled out as he retreated. When the six steps were completed, Lu Qing's mood had completely calmed down, his mind more focused than ever before, staring intently at Yu Jihua's movements.

  Yu Jihua didn't move, but the aura on his body continued to rise, steadily pressing down on Lu Qing from a distance. However, when Lu Qing felt that he had reached the Sword Servant stage, Yu Jihua stopped, clearly not wanting to take advantage of Lu Qing, and suppressed his cultivation to the same level.

  As a junior brother, Lu Qing was not pretentious either. The sword yuan energy in his body rotated to the extreme, and a layer of purple gas instantly appeared on the black iron sword. The Tengyun Nine Styles that he had mastered as a Sword Servant suddenly unfolded, and the sword yuan energy shot out from the soles of his feet. In an instant, he traversed a distance of three zhang, his arm shaking rapidly as he directly activated the third style, Cloud Slashes Western Ridge. The long sword transformed into seven purple-colored streams of light that enveloped Yu Jihua's entire body from top to bottom.

  Yu Jihua was about to be injured by the sword, but Lu Qing's eyes did not show any joy, only a faint sense of crisis. He reacted quickly, his right foot stomping the ground, making a dull sound, and his body suddenly retreated backwards. At this time, Yu Jihua had moved, using the same move "Cloud Slanting Over Western Ridge", his body was just an inch away from Lu Qing in the blink of an eye, and the branch in his hand transformed into twelve sword shadows that pierced towards Lu Qing's vital points.

  The two exchanged blows in an instant, with the branches and black iron sword colliding to produce a series of metallic ringing sounds. The whistling wind blew up the scattered leaves on both sides, which fell into the pool, causing Duan Qingyun to repeatedly purse his lips. Even with his Sword Holder stage cultivation, he could only exchange blows with Yu Jihua for over twenty rounds. Although Yu Jihua was not as suppressed in her cultivation as she was now, Lu Qing's ability to exchange blows with Yu Jihua for over ten rounds without falling behind was enough to show that his swordsmanship comprehension could rank among the top thirty or so of Chaoyang Peak.

  But at this moment, Lu Qing was unable to express his frustration. In the brief exchange of blows, his movements and techniques were completely suppressed by Yu Jihua. Firstly, his swordsmanship was not as profound as Yu Jihua's, and secondly, although Yu Jihua had lowered her cultivation level, her mastery of the sword path still existed. The sword energy within her body flowed like a great river, ceaselessly circulating, and an invisible, dense aura silently suppressed Lu Qing's senses.

  A set of Tengyun Jiujian has only nine moves in total, and after using up all nine moves, Lu Qing is exhausted and can only change the sword move again, transforming into the fourth move "Ganxiang Lingyun". The long sword transforms into a purple blade that slashes down fiercely, cutting through the air with a whirring sound. Almost at the same time, Yu Jihua's body floats up, his right hand thrusting out a brilliant purple spearhead that almost touches Lu Qing's wrist as he holds the sword, just inches from his head.

  Lu Qing only felt a pain in his wrist bone, and the black iron sword suddenly couldn't be held on to. With a "pu" sound, it was inserted into the ground at an angle, still trembling non-stop. Lu Qing stared blankly at the black iron sword under his feet. From the start of the fight until now, he hadn't even been able to hold on for twelve moves. He thought about how Yu Jihua had just used his "Flowing Water" technique to counter his own move, which was clearly the fifth style of "Cloud and Water". Lu Qing had indeed felt a sense of crisis, but he couldn't retract his sword or dodge, and could only let Yu Jihua's sword pierce his wrist.

  "Do you know why you lost?"

  Lu Qing's somewhat dull gaze suddenly brightened as he stared intently at Yu Jihua's slightly ethereal eyes. After a brief moment of contemplation, Yu Jihua spoke up: "Your current swordsmanship is already quite good for your level, whether it's the integration and mastery or the grasp of force, you've achieved some success, what's lacking is only the timing, however——"

  "You're too rigid with your swordsmanship, the variations of your moves are limited to only connecting to a single style after finishing one move. You must understand that sword moves are dead, but people are alive. Only by using the most effective move at the right moment can you achieve the best results. Just like when I stabbed you just now, you could have used the sixth move of the Morning Sun Seven Styles, Cloud Dispersing Fog, to deflect my attack in a timely manner, without needing to consider that it's only a basic sword technique from the initial Sword Servant level with low power. This is what they mean by 'when impoverished, change; when changed, flow; when flowing, endure'."

  "When one is poor, he will change; when he changes, he will be smooth; when he is smooth, he will last," Lu Qing said in a low voice, with a thoughtful expression on his face.

  Ding nodded in agreement, and Yu Jihua continued: "For your current situation, I suggest that you practice sword fighting in the Mingyue Pool every day from now on. Let the water's resistance constantly temper your force control and perception. I believe that within two months, you'll be able to handle general changes in attack without being like the Qianyun Sword just now, using all your strength without any variation."