"Fine blade art. I lost, but I am thoroughly convinced of my defeat."
Sword Obsessed's face remained expressionless, yet his eyes brimmed with the satisfaction of a wish fulfilled. With a surge of true qi, the wooden sword in his hand instantly turned into splinters that scattered on the wind, fully displaying a martial artist's true grace.
Neither arrogant in victory nor discouraged in defeat—this was an excellent quality of character, one that often forged extraordinary people.
"Not at all. This was not truly a battle, merely an exchange of what we have learned, a mutual sparring to explore a higher level of martial dao. It is this Xiang's honor to witness the Hall Master's cultivation and sword dao."
Xiang Yang likewise put away his broken blade with a slight smile, then casually flicked it out. With a whoosh, it tore through the air, gleaming like a meteor as it crossed a hundred zhang in an instant. After a dull thud, it embedded itself in the rock by Flying Waterfall Cliff, trembling without end.
This truly did not count as a real battle. What they had compared was not their strength, so there had been no earth-shattering devastation, no grand clash of sword qi and blade qi. It had merely been a verification of each other's sword dao and blade dao.
They had already walked ahead of the vast majority of martial cultivators in the world. Each possessed their own insights into the martial dao; they had simply lacked someone to test them against.
"You need not speak such pleasantries. After me, are you planning to go to the Blade Palace and debate the blade with my elder brother, Blade Obsessed?
If so, then I hope you will not go. Because this journey may not be a sparring match, but