Chapter 11: Heavenly Sound Falls
Without any opening remarks, without conversation, without buildup, without a sudden storm of wind and snow.
This battle, watched by countless eyes, began in such an ordinary, unremarkable manner.
Xu Yourong drew her sword very slowly, as if the motion had been broken down into countless individual movements, then reassembled into one.
As the Fast Sword left its sheath, the blade, infused with true essence, repeatedly struck the scabbard, producing countless metallic clashes that merged into a single, long, and weathered sword hum.
The sword was not yet fully drawn, but the strike had already been made.
Her sword was this very hum upon the Bridge of Helplessness.
The sword hum entered the ears, piercing directly into Chen Changsheng’s sea of consciousness—invisible yet felt with absolute clarity.
The people on both banks of the Luo River heard this wave-like sword cry. On the large ship, some students from the various academies with lower cultivation levels were affected by this sound, their faces instantly turning pale.
“The Southern Sea Sword Hum,” said the King of Linghai, gazing at Xu Yourong on the Bridge of Helplessness. “Ten thousand winds and waves rise with the sword. The Holy Maiden’s secluded cultivation in the Southern Sea last year has indeed borne fruit.”
Mao Qiuyu stood beside him, silent, only slightly furrowing his brow.
Hearing this sword hum drifting over the Bridge of Helplessness, Tang Thirty-Six and Zhe Xiu’s expressions shifted. If Xu Yourong had such momentum before even truly striking, could Chen Changsheng handle it?
Mo Yu raised an eyebrow slightly. Very few knew that Xu Yourong’s greatest skill was archery, but she knew. So from earlier until now, she couldn’t understand why Xu Yourong hadn’t used the Tonggong Bow, but instead the Fast Sword. Was it because she looked down on Chen Changsheng?
Suddenly, a possibility occurred to her: Xu Yourong intended to defeat Chen Changsheng on his own strongest ground—the sword path? To directly shatter his cultivation philosophy and destroy his chance of becoming the Pope?
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The sword hum echoed across the Bridge of Helplessness. The falling snowflakes were unaffected, but Chen Changsheng was different. Because of this sword hum, his sea of consciousness seemed to erupt with a violent storm, towering waves crashing down, making his divine sense extremely unstable, even showing signs of collapse.
Just a sword-drawing motion, and it had such power?
In the materials Chen Changsheng had reviewed, there was no mention of Xu Yourong’s preferred combat style. In the few recorded battles, she had displayed mastery of all methods.
Only now did he confirm that Xu Yourong’s skill in the sword path was also so profound. Though her realm was far below that of a grandmaster like Su Li, her understanding of the principles of heaven and earth was not inferior.
This sword hum embodied those very principles—a storm from the Southern Sea.
Chen Changsheng looked at her sword, mobilized his divine sense, and forcibly calmed the waves in his sea of consciousness.
In truth, Xu Yourong’s sword-drawing was not slow, but because it was so clear, the image seemed sluggish.
The Fast Sword leaving its sheath felt like a long journey.
Finally, the Fast Sword reached the end of this journey.
The wind and waves on the Luo River grew fiercer.
Chen Changsheng’s sea of consciousness, assaulted by this sword hum, was also becoming unstable.
Just then, Chen Changsheng moved.
Clang!
The Bridge of Helplessness fell silent.
The Stainless Sword left its sheath, thrusting straight at a snowflake in the sky.
This strike had no real target—it was a phantom slash. Even the snowflake at the sword’s tip was unaffected, still drifting slowly toward the bridge.
But the sword sound arose.
If Xu Yourong’s sword-drawing was a slow process, Chen Changsheng’s was extremely fast.
The Fast Sword calmly traveled tens of thousands of miles; his sword leaped from the ground to the sky.
Like a silver vase shattering.
A crisp ring.
This clear sword cry appeared abruptly, then merged into the Fast Sword’s hum.
The distant, calm hum, carrying the power of countless storms, paused for a moment.
As the Fast Sword left the sheath’s mouth, the sword hum resumed, even brighter than before.
Chen Changsheng withdrew his sword, gently swinging it at his side like brushing away a sleeve, flicking off a snowflake about to land.
Another phantom sword, from the sky back to the shore, shattered the spray.
Wind entered the mountain hollows.
Howling echoed.
Two sword sounds, and the sword hum ceased.
The Bridge of Helplessness fell silent once more.
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Mao Qiuyu, the King of Linghai, and the others watched the bridge a mile away, the boy and girl upon it, their emotions complex.
This battle had only just begun; Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong had merely drawn their swords from their sheaths. Yet the subtlety and danger hidden within were no less than a battle at the initial Star-Gathering realm.
The people on the large ship asked themselves: if they had been in their place back then, could they have been their match? The conclusion left them sighing with emotion. Perhaps they would have lost during Xu Yourong’s sword-drawing. As for those who cultivated the sword path, watching this scene stirred their minds and hearts, filling them with endless frustration. They thought to themselves, compared to Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng, could their own swords even be called swords?
“What sword is that?” someone in the crowd asked.
No one answered.
Mao Qiuyu said with emotion, “Chen Changsheng’s response is truly genius.”
People like them could naturally see that Chen Changsheng was using the Southern Creek Sect’s Heavenly Sound Falls.
This sword technique, named Heavenly Sound Falls, was actually the sword dance used during the Southern Sacrifice Star Ritual on Holy Maiden Peak. It had no real combat power and was rarely used in actual battle.
But Chen Changsheng used it at this moment, and it was the perfect choice.
Because this sword technique shared the same origin as Xu Yourong’s Southern Sea Sword Hum, and it was best at calming the swordsman’s heart.
Heavenly Sound Falls descended, the sword sounds forming a rhythm, clashing and harmonizing with Xu Yourong’s Southern Sea Sword Hum. No matter how great the wind and waves, they would naturally subside.
Siyuan Daoist sneered, “Everyone knows that using Heavenly Sound Falls to neutralize the Southern Sea Sword Hum is the best choice. I don’t see what’s so genius about it.”
Mao Qiuyu said calmly, “The problem is, not everyone can learn the Southern Creek Sect’s sword techniques. And even if they had the chance, who would think to learn this sword dance for the star ritual?”
Siyuan Daoist fell silent.
This Six Great Figures of the State Religion was familiar with many of the Southern Creek Sect’s sword techniques and had even learned two of their most powerful sword formulas. But even he hadn’t learned Heavenly Sound Falls.
As Su Li and Chen Changsheng had discussed in the wilderness, learning a sword technique was not easy. It wasn’t just about seeing an opponent’s moves and memorizing them. You needed the corresponding true essence circulation methods to match those moves, merging them into one, before you could claim to have learned the technique.
Chen Changsheng didn’t have the true essence circulation methods for the Southern Creek Sect’s sword techniques, but he had another way. Starting from last year when he taught Luoluo, and later treating Xuan Yuan Po and Zhe Xiu, through his understanding of the demon race and the demonic humans, combined with years of his own thought, his alternative method had become very mature, even earning Su Li’s admiration.
Using that alternative method, the power of these sword techniques he executed was certainly greatly reduced, but in terms of sword intent, they were nearly perfect copies.
The Heavenly Sound Falls he had just used was all about the sword intent.
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One sword hum, two sword sounds.
On the Bridge of Helplessness, wind and snow continued as before.
Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong stood still on opposite sides of the bridge.
As if nothing had happened, nothing had changed.
But change had occurred—they had both grasped their swords.
Grasping the sword meant striking. Amid the gently falling snow, Chen Changsheng’s figure suddenly vanished, appearing the next moment right before Xu Yourong, extremely close.
From the distant ship came faint gasps.
Facing an opponent as powerful as Xu Yourong, any talk of foreshadowing or strategy was meaningless. He could only unleash everything he was best at and see if he could defeat her.
So he unhesitatingly used the Yashi Step, followed by the Heavenly Academy’s Linsword of Light.
This was the fastest sword technique he knew.
Just as the Yashi Step was the fastest.
Xu Yourong’s first strike had followed a path of subtlety.
His first strike demanded nothing but speed.
A tearing sound rang out.
It was as if the air on the Bridge of Helplessness had been pierced.
A bright sword light illuminated the falling snow and the dim sky, as well as the white gauze hanging from the edge of Xu Yourong’s veiled hat.
The sword tip thrust straight at Xu Yourong’s left shoulder.
From the distant ship came another round of gasps.
Chen Changsheng’s strike was incredibly swift; the sword tip tore through the air, faster than sound itself.
Yet… it was not faster than Xu Yourong’s sword.
At some unknown moment, the Fast Sword had appeared in the snowy sky, striking the Stainless Sword with precise and calm accuracy.
Clang! The sword rang out!
Truly worthy of the True Phoenix Bloodline—possessing unimaginable power, and thus unimaginable speed. How could the Heavenly Academy’s Linsword of Light be faster than a phoenix spreading its wings for ten thousand miles?
What surprised Chen Changsheng even more was that when the two swords clashed, he realized Xu Yourong had used the flat of her blade!
The flat of the blade facing the wind was naturally slower than the sword tip piercing the air, yet her sword had arrived ahead of time.
If Xu Yourong hadn’t blocked this strike but instead raced him for speed, would he have had time to withdraw his sword?
This hadn’t happened, so he didn’t know. And in that moment, he had no time to think about it.
The Stainless Sword and the Fast Sword met, the surrounding snowflakes caught in the turbulent air, scattering wildly.
The two swords separated slightly.
The atmosphere on the Bridge of Helplessness suddenly changed.
Because Xu Yourong’s aura had changed.
She, who had been standing quietly, suddenly seemed to grow taller.
Not physically taller, but in presence.
An aura like a god overlooking the mortal world from the heavens manifested upon her.
She struck a single sword blow at Chen Changsheng!
Unlike everyone’s ordinary imagination of the Holy Maiden, unlike the impression the people of the capital had of her.
This strike was not ethereal or transcendent.
Nor was it elusive or mysterious.
Xu Yourong’s strike was extremely simple.
Because it was simple, its edge was fully exposed!
She gripped the Fast Sword’s hilt with both hands, raised it above her head, level with her brow, as if offering a prayer to the heavens.
The next moment, the Fast Sword descended through the air, from her brow forward, carrying all her spirit, energy, and soul—charging forward without hesitation!
Seemingly endless reserves of true essence, an indestructible divine sense, drove a violent and unmatched sword momentum, slashing down toward Chen Changsheng’s head!
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( Yesterday, reader Haihe Jun came to say that the monthly votes had reached first place. I was very surprised, to be honest, because I hadn’t thought about that aspect for half a year. When I checked, it turned out to be true. I’m extremely grateful for everyone’s votes, and I’m genuinely overjoyed. But please understand, this month I returned to my home in Hubei to handle affairs, and time is indeed very tight, so I can’t update too much. I thank everyone again, and I will strive to make this part even more engaging. See you tomorrow.)