Chapter 82: The Mountain Gate of Li Mountain (Part 2)
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Yes, the sword technique Liang Banhu used was none other than the most ordinary Mountain Gate Sword of the Li Mountain Sword Sect.
Any disciple who enters the Li Mountain Sword Sect must learn this sword technique in their first year.
Chen Changsheng had learned this sword technique, so he naturally recognized it. But it was only upon seeing Liang Banhu's strike that he truly understood: Li Mountain truly deserved its reputation as the ancestor of ten thousand swords. Even this basic, entry-level sword technique possessed its own essence and should not be underestimated. In Liang Banhu's strike, he caught a glimpse of the artistic conception of the Clumsy Sword.
Liang Banhu's iron sword met the sword of that expert from the Heartseverance Sect.
A dull thud rang out.
When violent sword intents clashed, which was stronger?
Naturally, the more stable sword intent was the stronger.
On the sun-facing slope, the field ridges ran straight and true, without any deviation.
Liang Banhu's iron sword and the Heartseverance expert's sword clashed and separated, but the next strike followed immediately.
His hand gripping the sword was too steady, his sword too stable, so much so that the transitions between sword forms seemed to have no pause whatsoever.
Over a dozen sword cries rang out atop the cold mountain. In just a few moments, Liang Banhu and the Heartseverance expert had exchanged several moves. The iron sword remained as steady as ever, pressing ever forward.
It was like walking between field ridges, but in truth, it was more like climbing the steep peaks of Li Mountain—not moving fast, but with steps so steady that one day, they would surely reach the highest point.
Dust and smoke spread across the stone platform, sword light flickering within. Suddenly, a clear ring sounded. Liang Banhu withdrew his sword, lightly retreating several zhang, his feet landing on the ground.
He held the iron sword, still steady, his expression still calm, like a farmer who had just finished his day's plowing.
The Heartseverance expert looked down at his chest in disbelief. At some point, a wound had appeared there.
The wound was not deep, and not much blood flowed, but it was very straight, as if it had been painted on.
This battle was decided.
Many had thought Liang Banhu might win. Although he was the least famous of the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom, he was still one of the Seven Laws.
But no one had expected him to win so easily... or more precisely, to win so steadily.
Only by completely controlling the situation could one give the opponent no chance, and only then could one give such a steady, natural feeling, like plowing fields or climbing mountains.
Even more shocking was that from start to finish, he had used only that most ordinary Li Mountain sword technique—the Mountain Gate Sword.
"I concede."
Liang Banhu sheathed his sword, bowed to the Heartseverance expert, and walked back to the Li Mountain Sword Sect's formation, his expression unchanged.
But Zhexiu, with his sharp eyes, noticed that when Liang Banhu sheathed his sword, his sleeve trembled slightly.
—Facing a powerful enemy, his hand holding the sword had been so steady. Now that he had won, why was his hand trembling?
It was naturally not nervousness or unease, but faint excitement, or rather, the relief of releasing pent-up frustration.
The wounded Heartseverance expert was helped back to receive treatment from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion. A wandering cultivator from the northwest, seeing his pale, despairing face, frowned slightly and looked toward the Li Mountain Sword Sect. Tianliang Commandery was in the northwest. Besides the Snow Mountain Sect, the tens of thousands of li of sects and wandering cultivators in the northwest all had countless ties to the Heartseverance Sect or the Zhu Clan.
Or rather, they all worshipped Zhu Luo as a god.
Clearly, this wandering cultivator was about to challenge the Li Mountain Sword Sect.
The Li Mountain Sword Sect did not give him that chance.
Guan Feibai walked to the center of the field, looked at the wandering cultivator expressionlessly, and said, "Come on."
—Since you're obviously going to challenge, let's make it simple. I'll pick you instead.
The Li Mountain Sword Sect was not a rigid sect with a uniform style, but Guan Feibai's style was indeed the most prominent one of the sect.
This style was direct, fierce, tough, and arrogant, originating from Su Li and lasting for centuries.
Hearing Guan Feibai's cold voice, the stone platform grew even quieter.
The wandering cultivator from the northwest's face turned somewhat ugly, but in the end, he had no choice but to stay where he was. He slowly walked out.
Guan Feibai held his long sword horizontally before his eyes, his expression indifferent, saying nothing.
The wandering cultivator slowly drew his sword, his expression solemn, his robes lightly fluttering, his aura spreading outward, his momentum rising.
A clear cry rang out!
Guan Feibai shot forward like a streak of lightning. His sword left its sheath and appeared in the lake wind, slashing toward the wandering cultivator.
The dust and smoke that had been slowly settling on the stone platform spread once more, and the lake water trembled even more violently.
Clang, clang, clang, clang! Four extremely clear sounds of a blade cutting through flesh rang out. Four streaks of sword light directly cut through the lake wind and lake water!
The wandering cultivator grunted, retreating repeatedly, but he simply could not block Guan Feibai's sword. Several bloody gashes appeared on his chest!
"Enough," Gou Hanshi said.
His voice was soft, but everyone around the stone platform heard it clearly.
Guan Feibai's sword momentum was at its most violent, but upon hearing his senior brother's words, he forcibly stopped in his tracks.
With a sharp crack, several fine cracks appeared on the bluestone beneath his feet.
The wandering cultivator had never expected him to stop just like that, and... to actually be able to stop just like that.
His own sword forms, already in a defensive stance, could not be released, and his true essence reversed, making it impossible for him to stop.
He stumbled backward like a drunkard, his steps growing more and more chaotic, until he finally lost his footing and sat down hard on the ground, looking extremely disheveled.
By then, Guan Feibai had already sheathed his sword and turned to walk back to the Li Mountain Sword Sect's position.
The wandering cultivator stared at his back, his face pale to the extreme, filled with shame and pain. His mind was in turmoil, and with his internal injuries flaring up, he could not hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood.
The stone platform by the lake remained quiet, even quieter than before, as silent as death.
Tang Thirty-Six was silent, unusually refraining from mocking Guan Feibai.
People were stunned by Guan Feibai's sword cultivation and lethality, equally speechless, but they did not notice a detail in this fleeting battle.
Zhexiu noticed it, his expression sharpening as he said, "He still used the Mountain Gate Sword."
Just then, a furious shout rang out on the stone platform: "Your Li Mountain Sword Sect is going too far!"
By now, everyone could clearly see the situation: this was a battle between the Li Mountain Sword Sect and Tianliang Commandery.
The relationship between the Li Mountain Sword Sect and the cultivators of Tianliang Commandery was complicated, because Su Li had once killed half of the Liang Manor, because of the identities of Liang Xiaoxiao and Liang Banhu and what had happened to them, because of that rainy night in Xunyang City last year, and because of that letter that had burned Wanliu Garden to ashes this year.
The two sides had formed a deep enmity, impossible to resolve.
At such a time, anyone who would still stand up for the cultivators of Tianliang Commandery naturally came from Tianliang Commandery themselves.
Hu Shusheng was a strongman from Hanqiu City.
This man's cultivation talent had been recognized by both the Great Zhou court and the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion many years ago.
Everyone was certain that once he succeeded in Star Condensation, he would definitely enter the Carefree List.
In the north, he even had the reputation of being undefeated within the Thorough Illumination realm.
Now that Liang Banhu and Guan Feibai had both fought, the one he naturally wanted to challenge was Gou Hanshi.
The atmosphere on the field immediately grew tense.
Gou Hanshi had been well-versed in the Daoist Canon since childhood, excelling in wisdom, perseverance, and insight.
If not for Qiu Shanjun within Li Mountain, and Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng outside Li Mountain, he would surely be the most suitable leader of the younger generation in the human world.
Although Hu Shusheng's reputation was not as loud as his, he had many more years of cultivation experience, surpassing him in both realm and experience.
With two such strongmen about to clash at the Pill-Boiling Assembly, one could imagine how fierce and spectacular the battle would be.
Gou Hanshi walked to the center of the field, nodded at Hu Shusheng, but said nothing.
Hu Shusheng said the Li Mountain Sword Sect was going too far.
He did not answer, did not defend himself, because although he was good at it, he was unwilling to do so.
But to everyone, this calm and silence was itself a kind of insulting disregard.
Hu Shusheng said expressionlessly, "Don't you have anything to say?"
Gou Hanshi shook his head.
He had nothing to say.
From the storm in Xunyang City to the Heartseverance expert's earlier remarks involving Liang Xiaoxiao, this battle had been destined for today.
The mountain gate of Li Mountain was a real gate.
Push open that gate, and you could see Li Mountain.
The people of the Li Mountain Sword Sect had different temperaments, but they all liked to speak directly.
Gou Hanshi was a gentle person, but he was no exception.
He drew his sword from its sheath and thrust it forward.
Just one strike.
Hu Shusheng was defeated.
A crushing defeat.
This strike was called: Open the Door and See the Mountain.
The first form of the Li Mountain Sword Sect's Mountain Gate Sword.
...
...
The lakeside was silent.
People's gazes darted back and forth between the wounded, unconscious Hu Shusheng and Gou Hanshi, who had returned his sword to its sheath. They were stunned into silence, gradually growing bewildered.
Chen Changsheng was also somewhat bewildered, not because Gou Hanshi could defeat his opponent so easily.
He had always admired, even respected, Gou Hanshi. He had always believed that when he had defeated Gou Hanshi in the Grand Examination, it was not because he was stronger, but because he had more reason to win first place in the Grand Examination, because he had nothing left to cling to in this world.
That Hu Shusheng was praised as undefeated within the Thorough Illumination realm in the north—so what?
He could now defeat strongmen in the early Star Condensation realm, so of course Gou Hanshi could too.
What puzzled him and unsettled his mind was that from Liang Banhu to Guan Feibai to Gou Hanshi, they had all used the Li Mountain Sword Sect's Mountain Gate Sword.
This could be understood as the confidence of Li Mountain disciples, the pride of the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom.
But he felt that behind this choice, there should be some other meaning hidden.
"Because of Liang Xiaoxiao."
Tang Thirty-Six looked toward the Li Mountain Sword Sect's position, his expression not as frivolous as usual, but serious.
Chen Changsheng was puzzled and asked, "Liang Xiaoxiao?"
Tang Thirty-Six withdrew his gaze, looked at him, and said, "Many people have forgotten who won first place in the Grand Examination before your term."
Chen Changsheng remembered and said, "It was Liang Xiaoxiao."
"Exactly. Even among those seven, Liang Xiaoxiao's talent and strength were outstanding. Some only know that Guan Feibai's perseverance in studying sword techniques was astonishing, that he had practiced all the sword techniques in the Li Mountain Sword Sect's general formula to perfection. But they don't know that Liang Xiaoxiao was not inferior. He even turned the Li Mountain Sword Sect's Opening Sword into a true killing art."
Tang Thirty-Six said, "In the hearts of the Li Mountain Sword Sect's disciples, the Opening Sword... is Liang Xiaoxiao's sword. They fight with his sword technique, and the meaning they want to convey is very clear."
Zhexiu looked toward the Li Mountain Sword Sect's position, a hint of blood-red gradually appearing in the depths of his eyes.
Chen Changsheng thought for a moment and said, "I don't think so."