Chapter 80: The Current Battle for the Ages?
A rustic hermit rarely walks the official road, and the Bell Mountain Wind and Rain Sword happens to carry an official’s aura. Those in the court who climb mountains, weary of hardship, can still find sword techniques to counter it. Yet Gou Hanshi softly uttered a single phrase, saying Guan Feibai’s sword was divine in its breaking, and in an instant, it shifted from rustic to courtly. The long sword was open and upright, noble in bearing—how could it be broken?
In that instant, countless possibilities flashed through Chen Changsheng’s mind, yet he could find no technique to break it. A fierce sword like the Wenshui Three Styles, which could burn and kill, might have been able to counter it, but he hadn’t taught it to Luoluo. And some of the esoteric, dangerous sword techniques he knew were beyond her current strength and realm to execute.
Only at this moment did he experience a feeling he had never known before, recalling a phrase he had thought would never apply to him: “When the book is needed, you regret having read too little.”
He had perused countless Daoist scriptures, yet his understanding of cultivation was severely lacking. Of course, the Three Thousand Great Paths encompassed all things in the world. Given two years, he had absolute confidence to convert the contents of those scriptures into cultivation knowledge, and even dare to claim victory against Gou Hanshi. But now, he couldn’t do it.
He had read too little, and ultimately, he had too little time.
If he had enough time, he could know more and teach Luoluo more.
But now, he couldn’t find a sword technique to help Luoluo break Guan Feibai’s Mountain Gate Sword.
Looking at Luoluo’s childish face, at the focus between her brows, at the absolute trust in her eyes for him, Chen Changsheng felt a pang of shame.
He didn’t think that this was because Luoluo hadn’t learned all the sword techniques he knew, for that would be shifting the blame to her. That night at the National Academy, when he first met this little girl, she had given him all her trust, and he had to bear all the responsibility.
If he could, he would stand before her, as he had that night, facing the descending net or sword.
But tonight, he could only stand behind her, helping her face the enemy.
Just then, Chen Changsheng’s eyes suddenly brightened for a moment.
He recalled that night at the National Academy, remembered that powerful demonic cultivator, and found a method.
If he couldn’t break the sword, then he would temporarily evade, just as Gou Hanshi had taught Qijian earlier. As long as he could avoid the opponent’s first sword, which shifted from rustic to courtly, the opponent’s sword momentum would inevitably wane, no longer as overwhelmingly powerful as now, its sword intent perfect and vast without flaw.
How to evade this sword was, of course, also very difficult.
If he couldn’t find a sword technique to break it, then he would use a movement technique to break it!
“Snow Clear!”
“Ice Pot!”
“Fish Spin!”
Chen Changsheng stepped forward into the arena and shouted three commands.
These were three stars in the night sky, representing three directions, and also three evasive stances.
Only one movement technique in the world could be so simple yet so precisely articulated.
Luoluo gripped her sword, her toes shifting slightly, her figure swaying gently.
A gentle breeze arose on the square before the hall.
Somehow, she appeared several zhang away!
Guan Feibai’s sword struck empty air!
A soft exclamation of surprise came from the stone steps before the hall.
Mao Qiuyu’s hand, stroking his beard, froze slightly.
Gou Hanshi’s expression grew extremely solemn, and he unconsciously stepped forward.
“Yaksha Step?”
The movement technique Luoluo had just displayed truly shocked many people.
Because it looked somewhat like the Yaksha Step of the demonic cultivators in Snow Old City!
Only in the next moment did Mao Qiuyu and other great figures realize it wasn’t the true Yaksha Step, but some simplified version, or a disguised, simple movement technique.
But it was enough to evade Guan Feibai’s sword!
Gou Hanshi’s expression remained solemn, deeply shocked.
Even if it was just a simplified version or merely imitative in form, being able to simplify or imitate it at least proved that person understood the Yaksha Step!
The Yaksha Step was a closely guarded secret of a demonic tribe!
Where did this youth learn it?
“Westward Thirteen Returns!”
Chen Changsheng paid no heed to the shocked gazes of the crowd, nor did he look at Gou Hanshi, and continued without hesitation.
Using the seemingly-but-not-quite Yaksha Step to help Luoluo evade Guan Feibai’s long-prepared Mountain Gate Sword, then it was time to counterattack!
When he uttered the five words “Westward Thirteen Returns,” his eyes were very clear.
Because his mind was very calm.
He was calm because he was certain that in the next moment, Luoluo would win.
Westward Thirteen Returns was a sword technique from a northern tribe. That set of sword techniques actually had no name. If one had to give it a name, in the records of the “Northern Return Records,” it was noted by a former sage of the State Religion as the “Frontier Sword.”
No one knew this sword technique. Even Chen Changsheng had only stumbled upon it at age ten, under a worn-out cushion in an old temple in Xining Town.
This book was not among the Three Thousand Daoist Scriptures; it was just a travelogue, a pure travelogue.
Earlier, Gou Hanshi had used obscure sword techniques from minor sects like the Eastern Forest Seven Star Sword to trap him and Luoluo in a difficult position. Now, he would use an even more obscure sword technique to defeat him!
At this moment, Luoluo and Guan Feibai were more than ten zhang apart, each at the Eastern Star position, their star positions corresponding—exactly the scene he had been waiting for.
Their positions were perfect for that Frontier Sword to burst forth with brilliance and cut through the prairie gale!
As long as Luoluo executed this Westward Thirteen Returns, with the skills she had painstakingly cultivated over these months, this match would be a sure win for the National Academy.
Gou Hanshi had been watching Chen Changsheng all along.
He saw the calm and confidence in Chen Changsheng’s eyes.
He heard the name of the sword technique Chen Changsheng called out, but couldn’t recall where it came from.
There was actually a sword technique in the world he didn’t know?
Gou Hanshi was somewhat surprised, staring at Luoluo’s hand holding the sword, preparing for the next move, yet he found himself feeling unconfident for the first time in this kind of contest.
The area before the hall fell silent, the wind on the square rising without sound.
Many sensed that this sword technique was the decisive move Chen Changsheng had unleashed.
Everyone looked at Luoluo, waiting to see what power Westward Thirteen Returns would display.
After an unknown amount of time, Luoluo finally moved.
She turned back to look at Chen Changsheng, pitifully saying, “Master, I don’t know that one either…”
A sigh from Mao Qiuyu sounded before the hall.
“Westward Thirteen Returns? … Long time no see.”
His face showed emotion, nostalgia, melancholy, and also a hint of a smile.
“If Her Highness knew this technique, the National Academy would probably have won tonight.”
…
…
There was no “if.” Luoluo hadn’t used that legendary Westward Thirteen Returns, so the battle had to continue.
It was just an interlude.
Chen Changsheng was slightly stunned, but felt no sense of defeat. Instead, this little interlude completely freed him from his earlier tension. He immediately called out another sword technique’s name.
And returned to the Bell Mountain Wind and Rain Sword.
Gou Hanshi smiled faintly, responding again with the Eastern Forest Seven Star Sword.
In that response, or harmony, the situation on the field returned to what it had been.
It was like slanting wind and fine rain drifting through a green forest, serene and beautiful.
Yet just as the spectators began to feel a bit calm, the wind and rain suddenly accelerated.
“Seventh Form.”
“Mountain Gate Sword Eleven.”
“Zhou Sect Sword Falling Return.”
“Golden Crow Sword Rising Momentum.”
“Inverted Golden Crow!”
“Third Sword!”
Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi’s voices grew faster and faster!
As soon as one issued a technique, the other immediately responded. Earlier, there had been occasional pauses needing time, but now there was no break, no interruption between their calls!
The spectators could barely keep up with listening—how could they have any time to think!
Their voices grew faster, and naturally, the speed at which Luoluo and Guan Feibai executed their techniques grew faster.
In a short while, the two had each unleashed dozens of techniques.
The sword techniques of the various halls and peaks of the Li Mountain Sword Sect were all displayed by Guan Feibai with a single sword.
The ancient swords from the yellowed papers in the National Academy’s library were revived today in Luoluo’s hands.
No pause, no rest.
Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi continued to call out techniques.
Luoluo and Guan Feibai continued to wield their swords.
Sword intent like wind, stirring the night; sword intent like rain, pouring down!
As time passed, countless sword techniques and movement techniques appeared on the square before the Weiyang Palace.
Some techniques clearly belonged to different sword styles, but as Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi called them out one by one, and Luoluo and Guan Feibai performed them one by one, they flowed together like a rainbow, as if born that way!
Some techniques were famous combo attacks, but Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi forcibly broke them apart, only having them reappear in Luoluo and Guan Feibai’s swords after more than ten moves, yet they were even more effective!
The spectators standing on the stone steps before the hall were dumbfounded, occasionally letting out exclamations.
“That works too?”
“What technique is that?”
“Teacher, that move makes no sense, right?”
“Uncle Master, do you know this move?”
The night was deep, stars shining brightly, sword light crisscrossing.
This unprecedented contest between the National Academy and the Li Mountain Sword Sect tonight left the teachers and students of the various Kyoto academies and the members of the southern envoy delegation utterly captivated.
The vast knowledge and ability displayed by Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi were awe-inspiring, and the two wielding swords in the arena earned everyone’s utmost admiration.
From the start until now, Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi had called out hundreds of sword techniques. Except for that Westward Thirteen Returns, Luoluo and Guan Feibai had executed every single one without any deviation, without any error, perfectly—how difficult was that to achieve!
Earlier, Dean Mao Qiuyu’s comments had already shamed the students of the various Kyoto academies. The Li Mountain Sword Sect’s training of its disciples had indeed surpassed that of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom were indeed extraordinary people of steadfast cultivation. But what about that little girl? As the supremely honored only daughter of the White Emperor, how could she endure so much hardship and learn so many sword techniques?
The sounds of exclamation gradually faded, and the murmurs slowly ceased.
Silence fell before the night hall, a silence of respect.
Mao Qiuyu looked at the arena and suddenly said, “That battle between the Zhou Emperor and His Majesty the Taizong Emperor in Luoyang back then was probably no more than this.”
Hearing this, the great figures near him changed expressions instantly.
Xu Shiji remained silent, not knowing what to say at this moment.
Prince Chenliu exclaimed in shock, “Dean, why would you say such a thing?”
Who was the Zhou Emperor? The universally acknowledged strongest person on the continent in a millennium! And His Majesty the Taizong Emperor was no lesser figure! Tonight’s battle between the National Academy student and the Li Mountain Sword Sect disciple, while splendid, how could it compare to that legendary battle in Luoyang back then?
“They are naturally far from matching the Zhou Emperor and His Majesty the Taizong Emperor now,” Mao Qiuyu said with emotion. “But back then, during the Luoyang battle, the Zhou Emperor and His Majesty were in their prime. And how old are they now?”
…
…
(Three strange cries. These past two days have been damn hard to write, exhausting this young man! Silent, but I’m very satisfied. Since starting “The Legend of the Seeker,” I’ve always wanted to write a plot-driven story, to write non-fictional plots. All my efforts are in the content you see; I’ve given my all. Time to rest now. Victory awaits us tomorrow! See you all tomorrow!)