Chapter 75: Collapsing Clouds in Chaos
Everyone in the Wenshui Tang family knew that their young master had little patience for prolonged battles—not that he couldn't hold out or lacked stamina, but that he simply grew impatient.
Tang Thirty-Six displayed his impatience clearly tonight. He stepped forward with his right foot, the wild grass bending with the wind, and his Wenshui sword swept toward Qi Jian, carrying the light of countless stars across the sky. The sword aura tore through the night, with faint sparks of fire flickering in its wake.
"Evening Clouds Gather!"
Among the crowd watching from the stone steps before the hall, someone who recognized the sword technique cried out in shock.
Tang Thirty-Six poured out all his true essence, his sword aura spreading in all directions, as if it were truly burning beneath the night sky. The few wisps of cloud drifting slowly above the square were lit up by the firelight on his sword, seeming to catch fire themselves, like the blazing clouds at sunset.
More terrifying still, within that burning evening cloud lay an infinite sword intent, sharp and fierce to the extreme.
The crowd was stunned, thinking that this proud and unrestrained young man indeed had reason for his arrogance.
Gou Hanshi's expression also grew serious. He could tell that Tang Thirty-Six, having left Wenshui to cultivate at the Heavenly Academy in the capital for several months, had certainly improved beyond his former self. He was no longer merely the strength of the thirty-sixth rank on the Azure Cloud Ranking. Yet he hadn't expected such tremendous progress, reaching a level like this.
The evening clouds burned in the night sky, sword intent rushing toward him. Qi Jian's thin frame seemed on the verge of collapse, his small face pale, but no fear showed in his eyes.
With a soft shout, he swept his iron ruler sword horizontally before his chest, like two mountain peaks slowly closing together, blocking all the light of the setting sun outside!
Tang Thirty-Six pressed forward, fire spreading across the field as his sword moved through it, growing brighter and more domineering with each step. At the tip of his blade, a blinding white light condensed!
The pitch-black square before the hall, first illuminated by the evening clouds, suddenly blazed bright as day, as if the morning sun had risen early, or as if the setting sun had been dragged back into the world by someone!
"Sunset Hangs!"
Another cry of shock rose from the watching crowd.
Only at this moment did those knowledgeable experts finally confirm that Tang Thirty-Six had fully mastered the true essence of the Wenshui Tang family's sword technique!
Evening Clouds Gather!
Sunset Hangs!
A River of Maples!
The Three Moves of Wenshui!
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The Three Moves of Wenshui were the most powerful sword techniques of the Wenshui Tang family. This set of techniques consisted of only three moves, yet they were enough to overturn heaven and earth. Given Tang Thirty-Six's current cultivation level, even if he had learned this technique, he certainly couldn't unleash its full power, but it was already formidable enough.
With his lazy temperament, he had still devoted four full years to mastering this technique, and with the intense training of the past few months, he had finally achieved proficiency. He had planned to use it during the Ivy Banquet, either to cripple Tianhai Ya'er or at the most critical moment of his battle with Zhuang Huanyu, but never had the chance—until tonight, facing Qi Jian.
A buzz of shocked discussion arose before the hall.
Chen Changsheng was puzzled and asked Luoluo, "What's going on?"
"These three moves are very powerful—they're burning-kill techniques," Luoluo said. "But the reason everyone is shocked, besides that, is that no one expected Tang Thirty-Six to use his strongest move right from the start."
Chen Changsheng fell silent, thinking, what's wrong with that?
"No one unleashes their ultimate move right away," Luoluo said, knowing that her teacher lacked experience in cultivation and combat. After a moment's thought, she added, "That's... too unrefined."
Indeed, it was very unrefined.
On the stone steps before the hall, whether from the Ancestral Temple, the Azure Radiance Thirteen Stars, or the southern sects like the Saintess Peak, the senior masters were calmly preparing to explain the battle's details to their disciples. But who could have imagined that Tang Thirty-Six would unleash his ultimate move as soon as the fight began, with victory or defeat hanging in the balance?
Those teachers and elders from various sects and academies had no time to say anything, only able to sigh in admiration or stand in stunned silence.
In cultivators' battles, one rarely used their ultimate move right away. This wasn't about elegance or bearing, nor was it about refinement. The most important reason was that ultimate moves were the strongest techniques—they were the decisive blows. Using an ultimate move meant that victory or defeat would be seen in the next moment.
Such scenes only occurred in battles where the strength disparity was clear.
Extremely confident experts would choose this method, or those who knew they were outmatched and had nothing left to lose.
Tang Thirty-Six and Qi Jian were on similar levels. If this battle followed a normal rhythm, it would take at least several dozen exchanges to determine the outcome.
There was no reason for him to take such a risk, deciding victory or defeat with a single strike.
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...
Tang Thirty-Six wasn't impatient, nor was he overconfident, nor lacking in confidence.
He knew that Qi Jian's true essence quantity and purity were slightly superior to his own. When it came to the subtlety and profundity of sword techniques, the Lishan Sword Sect likely surpassed the Wenshui Tang family as well. If the battle continued like this, he would still end up losing.
He wanted to win, so he had to seize the initiative.
The initiative in battle meant who established the momentum first.
Without hesitation, he used his trump card—the Three Moves of Wenshui. Evening Clouds Gather followed by Sunset Hangs, two terrifyingly powerful sword techniques surging forth like mountains and seas, directly enveloping Qi Jian.
This was what was meant by momentum.
He had studied the battle between Zhuang Huanyu and Qi Jian two years ago thoroughly and deeply. He knew what Qi Jian's weakness was.
He believed that although two years had passed, and Qi Jian must have grown stronger with a more stable mind, that weakness still couldn't be completely overcome.
Because a twelve-year-old child, after two years, was still a child under fourteen.
A child was still a child.
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...
Children were too young, had too little experience, and most importantly, couldn't bear as much pressure as adults—after all, not everyone was like Chen Changsheng, who had lived under the most terrifying pressure in the world since the age of ten.
Qi Jian was the youngest disciple of the Lishan Sword Sect, yet also one of the two people on the entire mountain who bore the most pressure. The other was Qiu Shanjun.
Before he was even twelve, he could fight head-on against the strongest student of the Heavenly Academy. Even if he lost, it was still astonishing. The most legendary grandmaster of Lishan, while wandering the world, happened to return to the mountain and learn of this. He commented: "With this child, Lishan will not decline for a thousand years."
What a high evaluation! And what heavy pressure!
Qi Jian cultivated and studied under this pressure, growing increasingly silent at such a young age, becoming more and more like a little adult.
But as Tang Thirty-Six thought, a child was still a child.
Tang Thirty-Six struck with the Three Moves of Wenshui from the very start, intending to push the pressure on him to its limit.
With this pressure alone, he wanted to crush Qi Jian.
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...
Except for senior experts like Mao Qiuyu, only Gou Hanshi understood Tang Thirty-Six's intention from the very beginning.
His expression grew increasingly grave. He knew that his junior brother was gifted, but due to his age, he always had weaknesses. When he lost to Zhuang Huanyu two years ago, the world thought it was due to inexperience and insufficient years of cultivation. But Gou Hanshi understood that his junior brother lost that final sword because he wasn't decisive enough.
The reason he wasn't decisive enough was that Qi Jian panicked. The reason he panicked was that the pressure was too great.
Sure enough, facing the sword momentum burning like evening clouds, facing the setting-sun-like white radiance at Tang Thirty-Six's sword tip, Qi Jian's expression remained calm, his iron ruler sword steady, his breathing showing no signs of disorder, the two invisible cliffs still slowly closing. But Gou Hanshi could see... he was starting to panic.
Gou Hanshi's brow furrowed slightly.
Some might consider Tang Thirty-Six's hidden intentions within his sword intent shameless, bullying the younger. But Gou Hanshi didn't think so. As he had said earlier, as long as it was one's own ability, it could be used. Since it was a battle, both psychological and pressure-bearing capacities could be attacked.
He just felt it was a pity. His junior brother was clearly stronger than his opponent, yet he was about to lose due to psychological reasons.
Tang Thirty-Six's figure had already reached Qi Jian.
The Wenshui sword ignited all the clouds in the night sky, and the wild grass in the cracks of the square's stone slabs had all turned jade-colored.
Fire spread across the field, the setting sun enveloping the earth.
Qi Jian's expression was resolute, his iron ruler sword gradually crossing like a cliff, guarding the clear stream in his heart, refusing to let it dry up.
Tang Thirty-Six gave him no chance.
With a clear cry, the Wenshui sword trembled violently. Countless streams seemed to flow across its blade, eventually forming a river.
The burning evening clouds in the sky, the setting sun at the sword's tip, the jade grass on the ground—all fell onto the sword blade, into that river, becoming over a hundred thousand gold coins.
The sword intent was fully gathered and contained. The river water gently lapped onto the shore, and the row of green trees on the bank blazed up fiercely, like red maples in autumn.
The final move of the Three Moves of Wenshui.
A River of Maples!
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A trace of panic appeared on Qi Jian's small face.
By now, many could see that he was about to lose.
This youngest disciple of the Lishan Sword Sect's master, before he could even fully display the exquisite subtleties of the Lishan Sword Art, was about to lose so frustratingly.
Seeing the confusion and pain in his junior brother's eyes, Gou Hanshi could no longer bear it.
He shouted toward the field: "Clouds come and go, mountains near and far!"
The sound reached Qi Jian's ears. The young man didn't understand why his senior brother would say such a thing at such a critical moment.
This phrase was an obscure part of the Lishan Sword Art, a very ordinary move. More precisely, it was from the Heart-Cleansing Sword Manual that all disciples learned after entering the sect.
But just as when practicing sword techniques on Lishan before, Qi Jian obediently followed his senior brother's guidance without any hesitation.
He lifted his right knee, slightly twisted his wrist, and rapidly withdrew his iron ruler sword, his figure drifting backward like a withered lotus in the wind.
With this retreat, the two collapsing cliffs stopped mid-air.
Tang Thirty-Six's Wenshui sword followed the opening, blazing brightly in the night sky, instantly reaching Qi Jian.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Several corners of Qi Jian's robe were cut off, and a fresh bloody gash appeared on his shoulder. He looked extremely disheveled, but he had actually managed to break free from Tang Thirty-Six's sword momentum!
No one could have predicted such an outcome.
People were certain that the key lay in Qi Jian's retreat.
What was so miraculous about that retreat? How could it evade the Three Moves of Wenshui?
Qi Jian knew very well that what had evaded the Three Moves of Wenshui was his body movement and sword intent.
But the prerequisite was that retreat.
He had to retreat first before he could stand firm again.
That retreat was an admission of inferiority, a yielding to the momentum.
Whether a mountain was near or far sometimes depended on whether the cloud at the horizon was drifting in or away.
What Gou Hanshi taught him wasn't a specific sword move, but how to correctly face pressure.
Because of his age, due to certain objective reasons, there would always be moments when he couldn't bear the pressure.
Forcing oneself to endure was certainly courageous, but learning to retreat was a form of wisdom.
With his own wisdom, Gou Hanshi dispelled the pressure brought by Tang Thirty-Six's Three Moves of Wenshui for Qi Jian.
Now it was Tang Thirty-Six's turn to bear the pressure.
Qi Jian's expression calmed slightly. His sword momentum rose again, sharp as the cliffs between mountains.
But unlike before, the iron ruler sword in his hand followed the momentum, riding the clouds upward.
Those two cliffs no longer slowly closed together as before, but directly... collapsed!
The night wind blew fiercely, his robes rustling. The young man charged forward with his sword, breaking through that setting sun, his sword momentum like a cliff suddenly toppling!
The cliff shattered, throwing the evening clouds into chaos!
Tang Thirty-Six grunted, withdrew his sword to block, and stepped back on the clouds, his movement indescribably casual and graceful.
A dull boom only then resounded through the night sky.
It was the sound of the Wenshui sword meeting the iron ruler sword.
In an instant, the situation had reversed.
In one exchange, a bloody gash appeared on Tang Thirty-Six's chest and abdomen.
He landed on his feet, holding his sword at his side, the hand gripping the hilt trembling slightly.
He knew he was at a disadvantage, but his mind showed no panic.
Just then, a voice sounded behind him.
"Retreat again!"
Tang Thirty-Six recognized it as Chen Changsheng's voice and thought, what the hell?
He stood there with his sword, calmly waiting for Qi Jian to attack—how graceful! Retreating another step would be so undignified!
That's what he thought, but for some reason, his feet stepped back several more paces.
The moment he left, a very deep crack appeared on the ground where he had been standing!
Tang Thirty-Six's expression changed slightly. Only then did he realize that Qi Jian's sword intent had silently hidden itself there!
Only now had the opponent's sword intent been exhausted!
The cliff had suddenly collapsed, cutting off the river, destroying the red maples on the shore, but the rocks that burst forth had flown farther than anyone could see!
If not for Chen Changsheng's warning, he would likely have been severely injured by now!
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Gou Hanshi was surprised and looked at Chen Changsheng.
The stone steps before the hall fell silent. Everyone's gaze landed on Chen Changsheng.
Tang Thirty-Six and Qi Jian had exchanged only a few moves in a brief moment, each facing great danger.
Gou Hanshi could see through the true meaning of the Three Moves of Wenshui, shout a single phrase to help Qi Jian counter with the most ordinary method of the Lishan Sword Art, and break through in reverse—such insight, such tactical wisdom, was truly admirable. But he was Gou Hanshi, so no one found it too shocking or unexpected.
But... how could Chen Changsheng see through Qi Jian's sword momentum? Why did he seem so familiar with the Lishan Sword Art?
Could it be that he, like Gou Hanshi, possessed extraordinarily broad knowledge?
No one could believe that conclusion.
Xiao Songgong didn't believe it either. Thinking of that old matter from hundreds of years ago, he looked at Jin Yulu across the square, his gaze even more venomous.
The silence in the field lasted only a short while before being broken again.
Chen Changsheng seemed not to feel the hundreds of gazes fixed on him.
He withdrew his gaze from Tang Thirty-Six and looked at Gou Hanshi across from him.
"Pouring the Golden Vase!"
"Ocean Qi Sinks!"
"Window Shadow Lamp!"
"Hanging Sword in the Long Forest!"
He spoke four words in succession.
They were the names of four sword moves.
Four moves from the Wenshui Tang family's sword technique.