Enemies Attack

On the back mountain of Mount Hua, Wang Ming sat cross-legged upon a bare boulder, cultivating the Purple Haze Divine Skill. During this period, through a frantic regimen of popping elixirs, he finally restored his reserve of true qi to its original level.

Wang Ming did not merely practice internal martial arts; he also drilled in the Illusion Sword and Thousand Flowers Scatter Money brought from the previous world.

The Illusion Sword ought to be considered the strongest swordsmanship in The First Under Heaven World, for Duan Tianya once stated that, purely in terms of swordsmanship, Nemuri Kyōshirō stood above Zhu Wushi.

This Illusion Sword was originally a martial art of the Central Plains, which was why Nemuri Kyōshirō had taught it to Duan Tianya.

Having practiced the Illusion Sword, Wang Ming truly understood this swordsmanship.

This set of swordsmanship was one that demanded speed, for only with great speed could afterimages be produced.

At the same time, the most crucial element was environmental coordination—namely sunlight—so the blade used had to be as smooth as a mirror.

A large portion of the mental formula for the Illusion Sword was dedicated to explaining how to calculate the angles of the sunlight, the sword blade, and the enemy's eyes, and how to temporarily blind people.

The moves of the Illusion Sword were actually very simple, yet the mental formula was the key. When employing the Illusion Sword, one could cause an instantaneous explosion of movement speed and hand speed.

To put it bluntly, this swordsmanship was about undergoing a series of calculations, injuring the opponent's eyes to blind them momentarily, and then erupting with extreme speed to eliminate the target in a flash.

The characteristics of this swordsmanship felt somewhat akin to the Evil Warding Swordplay, both being techniques that enhanced speed.

Only after practicing Thousand Flowers Scatter Money did he realize that it placed relatively high demands on internal energy and fine control.

The characteristic of this martial art was that it could often only be used once. Especially in battles against opponents of the same rank, every usage inevitably consumed the majority of one's entire body's true qi; what remained was not intended for launching a second strike, but rather for fleeing if the enemy refused to die.

Wang Ming suspected that the Traceless Gentleman had beauties carry him not merely to put on airs, but to conceal the fact that his internal energy was completely drained.

For one with inferior internal energy, using this Thousand Flowers Scatter Money was worse than scattering a handful of sand; at least sand could blur an eye.

Those who generally fell victim to this move were essentially dead. With dozens of holes all over their body, how could they be saved?

This was a wound akin to that from a shotgun.

Though this move was named scattering money, what Shangguan Haitang and her companions cast out were actually not copper coins, but specially crafted tiny metal fragments. Naturally, copper coins would work too, but they could not be launched by the hundreds all at once as hidden weapons, nor were they convenient to carry.

Wang Ming had no way to commission custom hidden weapons, so he simply carried copper coins on his person.

Hearing someone pass by his cultivation spot, Wang Ming opened his eyes and saw Lu Dayou hurrying toward Siguo Cliff in a fluster.

Junior Apprentice-Brother! Why are you in such a rush? Is something the matter? Wang Ming asked.

"Master! Mistress has returned." Startled by Wang Ming's voice, Lu Dayou steadied himself and replied.

Then you still needn't panic like this.

"Trouble has come. The Mount Tai, Mount Song, and Mount Heng sects have come to pay a courtesy call, claiming they want to seize the position of sect leader," Lu Dayou said.

Upon hearing this, Wang Ming remembered—the Sword Sect had launched an attack at this juncture. Wang Ming immediately rushed to the main hall of Mount Hua, preparing to go and help.

Arriving at the main hall and seeing that fighting had already broken out in the arena, Wang Ming walked toward Yue Buqun.

Just as he reached the front, he saw a man in his fifties with a vicious expression locked in combat with Linghu Chong. He figured this must be Feng Buping.

Wang Ming glanced at the surrounding people. There were quite a few from Mount Song, Mount Heng, and Mount Tai. This Zuo Lengchan was truly determined to take over the Mount Hua Sect!

Feng Buping's sword was fast and urgent, quite uncanny and perilous. His internal qi cultivation was thoroughly mediocre; Linghu Chong had fought him for so many moves without even managing to snap the bamboo broomstick in Linghu Chong's hand.

The only noteworthy thing was his swordsmanship. Yet exquisite though the swordsmanship was, it still failed to escape the framework of Mount Hua swordsmanship. All of these techniques were contained within the secret grotto on Mount Hua's Siguo Cliff, save that Feng Buping wielded them with greater fluidity.

Even as Wang Ming mentally offered a silent eulogy for Feng Buping, the match was lost on the arena floor. Linghu Chong suddenly unleashed the Sword-Breaking Form, and Feng Buping was instantly defeated and driven from the stage.

To be defeated by a junior in full view of the crowd left Feng Buping with virtually no face. Watching the triumphant Linghu Chong in the arena, he completely lost his reason and suddenly launched a sneak attack on Linghu Chong.

The very instant before the strike landed on Linghu Chong, a figure materialized before him. Before Feng Buping could even react, he was sent flying several zhang away by a powerful surge of internal energy, landing right beside Cheng Buyou.

"You despicable little thief, how dare you sneak attack my brother!" Cheng Buyou drew his long sword and charged toward the arena.

"How utterly shameless! Senior apprentice-brother defeated Feng Buping and spared his life, yet he cowardly launched a vicious sneak attack from behind. Is this the moral character of the Sword Sect disciples? I have never beheld such a brazen and shameless fellow."

Cheng Buyou immediately felt somewhat abashed, but at the thought of his junior brother on the ground, he cast aside all reason and raised his sword to kill him.

The person who had stepped forward was naturally Wang Ming. Knowing Feng Buping's character, he had kept a close eye on his movements precisely to prevent a sneak attack from behind.

Facing the incoming Cheng Buyou, Wang Ming knew the man possessed formidable swordsmanship. To defeat him in swordsmanship would require employing the counter-techniques from the Siguo Cliff secret grotto and the Nine Swords of Dugu, but pulling those out would only court trouble, raising suspicions that served no purpose.

"You claimed Master cannot teach his disciples. Today, I shall let you witness the supreme technique of the Qi Sect."

In an instant, purple Qi overspread Wang Ming's face. The standard Mount Hua long sword in his hand intercepted Cheng Buyou's blade, and the moment they crossed, the opponent's sword was firmly locked and absorbed, unable to separate no matter how desperately Cheng Buyou struggled to break free.

Wang Ming, having perfected the Purple Haze Divine Skill, possessed strength superior to Cheng Buyou's. This was a naked suppression of cultivation techniques.

Compared to Yue Buqun, Wang Ming still fell short.

His accumulation of time was insufficient; after all, Old Yue possessed the advantage of age.

"The Purple Haze Divine Skill?"

Catching sight of the purple Qi on Wang Ming's face, Ning Zhongze was instantly startled and exchanged a glance with Yue Buqun.

The long sword in Wang Ming's grip, suffused with purple mist true qi, churned and twisted alongside Cheng Buyou's blade. In a flash, Cheng Buyou's sword shattered into seven or eight pieces and tumbled to the floor.

"Ah!" The sight of the broken sword on the ground plunged Cheng Buyou into a well of terror, involuntarily forcing a cry from his lips.

Wang Ming had no intention of standing there stupidly after winning. He slashed a sword directly toward Cheng Buyou's face. The man spun and dropped into a crouch to evade it, but before he could even stand back up, Wang Ming struck his acupoints, rendering him utterly immobile.

Stepping forward a few paces, Wang Ming also sealed the acupoints of Feng Buping, who had tumbled to the ground earlier. He had held back with that palm strike, leaving the man only lightly injured. He hoisted the pair, one in each hand, and hauled them back toward the ranks of the Mount Hua disciples.

"Monkey Lu, find a place to take them down and keep a close watch."

Today, seeing Wang Ming—a fellow disciple who usually kept a low profile and showed no unusual traits—display such earth-shattering might to defeat the Sword Sect enemies left Lu Dayou utterly astonished. Still, he suppressed the turmoil in his heart and took the two men away to lock them up.

"Hold on! You cannot take these men away. Yue Buqun, doing this violates the code of a gentleman!" Lu Bai suddenly jumped out, demanding the prisoners from Yue Buqun.

Without waiting for Yue Buqun to answer, Wang Ming immediately chimed in.

"How could my Master ever act in violation of a gentleman's code? These two Sword Sect senior uncles were injured during a sparring match just now, and my Master, in his boundless benevolence, has taken them in on the mountain to recuperate from their injuries. What is wrong with that?"

"Quibbling! If you do not release them today, do not blame my sword for refusing." Brandishing the sword in his hand, Lu Bai strode up to Wang Ming and issued a threat.

Seeing this, Wang Ming smiled faintly. He looked at Lu Bai standing before him, and using a hand suffused with purple mist true qi, he bypassed the sword's edge to grab the blade itself. With a forceful vibration, this standard Mount Song heavy sword met the same fate as Cheng Buyou's weapon. Then, before Lu Bai could even register his astonishment, a single palm strike sent him flying several zhang away, where he crashed to the earth and vomited a mouthful of blood.

"Now your sword has agreed. Do you have any further objections?"

Supported by his disciples, Lu Bai spat out another mouthful of blood. His injuries were trivial, but he had lost all face.

"Ha, ha! The disciples of the Mount Hua Sect are one by one more formidable than their master. In my view, this sect leader Yue Buqun should just step down. A master who is so use... less..."

Before Lu Bai's voice had even faded, Wang Ming kicked out, sending the very sword tip he had shattered moments ago flying straight toward Lu Bai.

Having already sustained injuries, Lu Bai never anticipated that Wang Ming would disregard convention in such a manner. In the pugilistic world, one might lose a fight but must never lose face; spouting a couple of harsh parting threats was entirely normal. Yet Wang Ming simply attacked directly, utterly ignoring the rules. Thus, a section of broken sword sank deep into his right shoulder, blood welling forth continuously.

"You are still trying to sow discord at a time like this. Master is a gentleman who can tolerate your rudeness and refuse to bicker with you, but that does not mean I possess such magnanimity."

Wang Ming cut him off. In the original sequence of events, Linghu Chong had been tripped up by Lu Bai's glib tongue, and Yue Buqun placed an immense value on his own face; Wang Ming had no desire to be similarly plotted against.

"Consider yourselves ruthless! We admit defeat. Let's go!"

Crestfallen, Lu Bai rallied his sect members and retreated from Mount Hua.