Debating Feng Qingyang

"Hmph! You won't admit it!"

The swordsman grew angry again.

In his eyes, a swordsman ought to have integrity and backbone. Even when angered, he should maintain them.

Ji Boying's behavior now clearly dissatisfied him.

Seeing the swordsman angry, Ji Boying was not afraid.

He merely smiled casually.

He had probably guessed who this swordsman before him was.

Ji Boying had seen Yue Buqun's swordplay at the foot of the mountain. At the time, he had thought those bandits were utterly helpless before Yue Buqun, and that Yue Buqun's swordsmanship was truly superb.

Yet now, in the eyes of his proficient Mount Hua Swordplay, Yue Buqun's Mount Hua Swordplay no longer seemed so profound and unfathomable.

But this swordsman's mastery of Mount Hua Swordplay was so exceptional, far surpassing even his master Yue Buqun.

There was only one person on all of Mount Hua capable of such skill. Even Feng Buping and the other true descendants of the Sword Faction could not have opened such an enormous gap.

And this man had clearly been drawn here by Ji Boying's seeming disparagement of swordplay and the Sword Faction during the day.

This person had to be Feng Qingyang!

"Senior, please don't be angry. It isn't that I refuse to admit it, nor am I trying to flatter you. I simply do not believe that was disparaging swordplay. I was merely putting swordplay in the place where it belongs!"

"You!"

Feng Qingyang was both furious and amused! This little brat was not flattering him and did have some backbone, but that backbone was used to look down on swordplay. How could that not make him angry and amused?

"You little bastard, and you still say you don't look down on swordplay? Isn't this looking down on swordplay? You truly don't take swordplay seriously! You should know that with your current martial arts, swordplay is what you rely on against opponents. What gives you the right to look down on it?!"

Faced with Feng Qingyang's fury, Ji Boying remained calm and composed.

"Senior, I said it already. I do not look down on swordplay. But swordplay should only be one kind of martial art, not everything. Inner cultivation, or rather one's internal power, should be the foundation!"

Feng Qingyang glared at Ji Boying.

"Fine! Fine! Yue Buqun certainly taught his disciple well. You people of the Qi Faction truly have impressive methods!"

"Senior, please don't lose your temper. I don't know what you mean by this Qi Faction business, but judging by you, could it be that you favor some Sword Faction? Heh..."

"What are you laughing at?"

In anger, Feng Qingyang seized Ji Boying's shoulder blade with one hand, making a sharp pain shoot through Ji Boying's body.

His face twisted in pain, but he did not cry out once.

"Senior, you really are being unreasonable. Tell me, in all the martial world, whether it is Wudang, Shaolin, or the Demonic Cult, which sect does not cultivate inner power? Among the top experts of the jianghu, who does not train internal energy? Even the occasional exception still has to practice some external hardening, or else they would have no strength behind their blows."

"Yet I have never heard of Shaolin or Wudang dividing themselves into those who train qi, swords, staves, or fist and palm techniques. From your words, those of us who value qi cultivation are the Qi Faction, but wouldn't that make more than half the world the Qi Faction? You seem to revere the Sword Faction, yet I have never heard of any Staff Faction or Saber Faction in the world."

Feng Qingyang was left speechless by the retort and became somewhat flustered. He snapped, "How can staves and sabers compare to swords? You seem quite knowledgeable, but do you know the realms of swordsmanship?"

Though his shoulder blade throbbed with pain, Ji Boying still forced out a smile. He panted heavily but did not yield in the slightest.

"Ha... ha... Senior, I have heard my parents tell old tales. They told the story of the Condor Hero too. How could I not know the realms of swordsmanship? They are simply the four realms of the Sharp Sword, Soft Sword, Heavy Sword, and Swordless."

Feng Qingyang glared fiercely at Ji Boying twice, snorted coldly, and finally released him.

Only then did Ji Boying feel as though he had been granted amnesty. Panting, he let out a breath and gently rolled his shoulder.

Feng Qingyang said, "These realms of swordsmanship were summarized by a great senior named Dugu Qiubai. This senior's swordsmanship was peerless. He fought throughout the world without finding a single rival, seeking defeat but never attaining it. When swordsmanship reached its highest realm, grass, stones, and rotten wood could all become swords. With no sword in hand, there was a sword in the heart. What right do you have to say cultivating qi is superior to practicing swordsmanship?"

Ji Boying looked at Feng Qingyang with a strange expression. "Then did this Senior Dugu not cultivate qi?"

The smug look on Feng Qingyang's face froze. "Y-you, what kind of question is that? What does cultivating qi or not have to do with anything? Besides, I said sword practice should be primary. I never said not to cultivate qi."

Ji Boying watched Feng Qingyang stubbornly refuse to concede and suppressed his laughter.

For such old bones to argue with him was truly asking for trouble.

"Oh, and what does that prove? When swordsmanship reaches its pinnacle, one gains a sword in the heart. If a wolf-tooth club technique reached its pinnacle, wouldn't that mean no wolf-tooth club in hand but a wolf-tooth club in the heart, and thus invincibility under heaven as well? There is nothing inherently superior about swordsmanship."

"Y-you brat, you're just twisting logic!" Feng Qingyang was full of indignation, yet he simply did not know how to respond.

"Senior, you say that Senior Dugu Qiubai, who practiced the sword, was invincible under heaven. But during the Song Dynasty, Beggar Gang Chief Qiao Feng's Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms were nearly unstoppable beneath heaven. Dali's Duan Yu's Six Meridian Divine Sword was likewise unparalleled, while Xiaoyao School's Xu Zhu possessed profound internal power. Further on, Quanzhen Sect Patriarch Wang Chongyang was number one under heaven. Among the other Four Greats, some practiced Toad Style, some One Yang Finger or Dragon Subduing Palm, while the lord of Peach Blossom Island was a peerless genius who created many supreme arts. Yet not one of them relied on swordsmanship."

"Later, the Condor Hero's swordsmanship was indeed formidable, but the Sorrowful Palms of Soul Dispersion he created were his pinnacle. True Man Zhang, the founding patriarch of Wudang, also created such exquisite sword techniques as Finger-Entwining Soft Sword, Thirteen Swords of the Divine Gate, and Taiji Sword, but who would ever regard True Man Zhang as a swordsman? Later still, Ming Cult Leader Zhang Wuji became famous through the Nine Yang Divine Skill and Heaven and Earth Great Shift, and he never practiced the sword either."

Ji Boying looked deeply at Feng Qingyang. He felt that this old man was as pitiful as Yue Buqun. Both were always tangled up in practicing swords or cultivating qi, their thinking rigidly fixed.

"Senior, this shows that martial arts under heaven come in countless varieties. One should practice whatever one excels at or likes. Why obsess over sabers, spears, swords, and staves? That is why I say I do not look down on sword practice. I simply do not think too highly of it..."

Feng Qingyang's voice was strained. He muttered to himself, and though only a little could be heard, it carried a sorrowful desolation. "Why indeed... why indeed... Why cling to practicing swords or cultivating qi..."

Seeing Feng Qingyang so sorrowful, Ji Boying softened his voice and spoke gently. "Senior... are you all right?"

Feng Qingyang came back to himself and swept a sleeve across his face. It was impossible to tell whether he had shed tears.

Then he put on a cold expression again, stiffened his neck, and looked at Ji Boying.

"Don't try to confuse me with all that nonsense about ancient predecessors!"

Ji Boying laughed. This stubborn old man had just recalled the past and nearly wept, yet he was convinced in his heart but refused to admit it aloud.

"Senior, you were the one who first brought up the story of Senior Dugu from a previous dynasty..."

That single sentence left Feng Qingyang's face flushed bright red!