Sword Duel with Linghu Chong

Ji Boying called out, "Careful," and raised his sword to meet Linghu Chong.

His opening move was Welcoming Pine.

Linghu Chong drew his sword and stood ready. Seeing Ji Boying attack, he merely smiled.

Following his usual habit, he too assumed the stance of Welcoming Pine.

The Senior Disciple Brother and Junior Disciple Brother had a fine tacit understanding.

Without prior discussion, they began by exchanging moves through the five variations of Welcoming Pine.

Yue Lingshan watched without blinking. Though the two had already thoroughly explained those five variations, they took on an entirely different flavor in their hands.

Sword light flashed repeatedly. Before long, the five courteous exchanges were complete.

Ji Boying stopped holding back and unleashed his master-level Mount Hua Swordplay.

He paid no heed to Welcoming Pine, White Clouds Emerging from Peaks, Auspicious Phoenix Arrival, or Boundless Falling Leaves.

Having already trained the swordplay to perfection, he could summon every move at will and combine them as he pleased, flowing as naturally as drifting clouds and running water, without the slightest trace of contrivance.

Linghu Chong hurriedly used the same Mount Hua Swordplay to dismantle his moves, only to find himself flustered and overwhelmed.

After trading several moves, his starry eyes were filled with shock and doubt.

He quickly leaped backward. He could not continue.

"Junior Disciple Brother, you... you... you call this Mount Hua Swordplay?"

Ji Boying smiled. "Senior Disciple Brother, can't you even recognize Mount Hua Swordplay anymore?"

Linghu Chong shook his head.

"No, no. You used White Rainbow Piercing the Sun—how could you link it to Auspicious Phoenix Arrival? Neither the angle of the sword nor the positioning of the footwork is right."

Ji Boying smiled. "Why be so rigid, Senior Disciple Brother? After using White Rainbow Piercing the Sun, the sword tip points upward, so it truly cannot connect to Auspicious Phoenix Arrival. But if you simply draw it downward with the motion, won't it link up?"

Linghu Chong's eyes lit up. He truly was a prodigy with the sword.

At once, he forgot all about competing with his Junior Disciple Brother. Imitating Ji Boying, he first used White Rainbow Piercing the Sun, then shifted his footing and swept his sword along with the motion, seamlessly executing Auspicious Phoenix Arrival.

"Wonderful! Wonderful! Truly wonderful!"

Linghu Chong repeatedly praised it, his eyes shining with excitement, as though his Ren and Du Meridians had been opened. He casually performed another few sword moves, and they indeed flowed smoothly, turning and shifting as freely as he pleased.

Only then did he excitedly raise his head and point his sword at Ji Boying.

"Junior Disciple Brother, again! Again!"

Ji Boying smiled at the sight and, without further courtesy, closed in once more.

His feet stepped in rapid succession as he gathered his breath and thrust out his sword. The cold gleam of his blade once again pointed at Linghu Chong.

Linghu Chong did not dare be careless. He focused with all his might and warded off Ji Boying's sword moves.

The two iron swords danced ceaselessly through the air like two silver serpents.

Their angles constantly shifted, occasionally catching the sunlight overhead in dazzling flashes.

Ji Boying gradually enveloped the many vital acupoints on Linghu Chong's chest. Seeing that he was using Golden Goose Soaring Across the Sky, Linghu Chong hurriedly tried to respond.

Yet inwardly, he shuddered.

An ordinary sword move could at most cover three to five vital acupoints, and that was already remarkable.

But now, Ji Boying's Mount Hua Swordplay turned and flowed at will, linking together freely and changing without limit.

That meant he could change moves as he pleased and strike at whatever acupoints different sword moves could reach.

Linghu Chong felt tremendous pressure and had no idea how to respond. He could only use Auspicious Phoenix Arrival once again, because it was the move with the most variations.

Sure enough, Ji Boying's Golden Goose Soaring Across the Sky hooked lightly through the air and transformed into the Intercepting Sword Style.

With a light block and flick, he broke Linghu Chong's Auspicious Phoenix Arrival, then followed the motion by pointing his sword at Linghu Chong's Tanzhong Acupoint.

Linghu Chong felt the sword intent pressing upon him, making every hair on his body stand on end. Trapped between advance and retreat, he could only leap backward again to evade the strike.

Unable to receive Ji Boying's sword, Linghu Chong could only imitate him by combining sword moves freely.

He truly was a swordplay prodigy.

Even in the midst of battle, he linked his techniques together with considerable ingenuity.

Sword light flashed continuously, elusive and unpredictable, truly bringing out the exquisite, strange, and perilous nature of the Mount Hua Sect's swordplay.

Ji Boying's eyes were full of admiration.

Watching the strange and dangerous swordplay before him, he knew that Linghu Chong had truly grasped some of the essence of Mount Hua Swordplay.

But such a level naturally could not withstand Ji Boying.

No matter how fierce or perilous Linghu Chong's attacks became, Ji Boying needed only a light flick to knock them aside.

Every strike of his sword pointed at the weak points and openings in Linghu Chong's techniques.

Had Feng Qingyang seen the two of them crossing swords, his expression would have been even more interesting. With the way Ji Boying wielded his sword, he truly had some of the bearing of the Nine Swords of Dugu—anticipating the enemy and attacking where they were compelled to defend.

Ji Boying was truly capable of such things; he did not need the Nine Swords of Dugu to force his growth.

Linghu Chong felt that his own swordplay was already exquisite enough, yet Ji Boying's Mount Hua Swordplay still seemed flawless and watertight.

Sword moves flashed in rapid succession, appearing incomparably dangerous.

Yue Lingshan could not help holding her breath as she watched from the side, her hands clenched before her chest as she worried over the perilous duel.

Yet this duel only appeared dangerous to outsiders. In truth, both Linghu Chong and Ji Boying knew that there was no danger at all.

Ji Boying's mastery of Mount Hua Swordplay far surpassed Linghu Chong's.

Linghu Chong's attacks appeared extremely dangerous, but they posed no threat whatsoever to Ji Boying. Ji Boying merely dispelled them with effortless ease, forcing Linghu Chong to organize another attack.

Ji Boying's Mount Hua Swordplay was light, nimble, and ingenious, like a returning swallow weaving and dancing freely among willow branches beneath the warm spring sun, soaring up and down, left and right, high and low as it pleased.

His swordplay was exquisite, and his bearing was graceful, without the slightest hint of worldly dust.

Others watching would only feel as though a spring breeze brushed their faces, like a pair of swallows playing amid the woods. They had no idea that within those seemingly graceful movements, every stance and every strike concealed boundless killing intent, able to deliver a fatal sword thrust at any moment.

All the danger of Mount Hua Swordplay was hidden within the swordplay itself. Such a threat was the greatest of all.

After forty consecutive exchanges, Linghu Chong could find no flaw at all in Ji Boying's swordplay, while every one of his own moves revealed three to five openings in Ji Boying's eyes.

Such an exchange placed him under immense pressure. He had no chance of victory.

Linghu Chong's gaze held admiration, regret, appreciation, and a touch of desolation.

In just over a month, his Junior Disciple Brother's grasp of Mount Hua Swordplay had surpassed the fruits of his own more than ten years of hard work. How could Linghu Chong not feel somewhat defeated?

It also stirred his competitive spirit.

He swept his sword horizontally, forcing aside Ji Boying's attack.

Then he assumed a stance Ji Boying had never seen before.

"Junior Disciple Brother, be careful. I'm going to use Xiyi Swordplay."

"Oh? Xiyi Swordplay?"

Ji Boying too became interested in this profound Mount Hua sword art he had never seen before.

"Please, Senior Disciple Brother, show me!"