"Ah?"
Hearing Huang Rong's suggestion, Master Mo first froze. Then he looked at the cold swordsman beside Huang Rong, dressed all in black, a longsword in his arms and a conical hat on his head, with only the area below his nose exposed, giving off an unfathomable air. His mind immediately went blank:
She wanted him to fight this swordsman who looked like trouble incarnate?
How had he offended Miss Huang?
After standing there dumbfounded for quite a while, he finally asked cautiously:
"With... with real swords?"
Huang Rong smiled faintly:
"We came to spar, not to kill each other. Of course we'll use wooden swords."
Wooden swords were fine.
Master Mo breathed a sigh of relief, though he was still somewhat apprehensive:
"Miss Huang, with Mo's meager skill, how could I dare spar with this Swordsman Lu... ah, Swordsman Lu? How about..."
"Don't worry. My Brother Lu will use only your school's Maiden of Yue Swordplay."
Huang Rong waved the stack of Huizi in her hand like a fan and said brightly:
"And he'll suppress his internal strength to your level."
He would only use their school's Maiden of Yue Swordplay?
And suppress his internal strength to the same level as his?
Then what was there to fear!
Master Mo perked up. Glancing at the full hundred strings' worth of Huizi in Huang Rong's hand, he said solemnly:
"Then we shall do as Miss Huang says. Brother Lu, please enlighten me!"
Lu Chen said nothing, maintaining his cold swordsman persona. He merely nodded slightly, handed his real sword to Huang Rong, picked up a practice wooden sword from the martial arts school, and stood facing Master Mo seven paces apart in the training yard.
Master Mo placed himself in the lower position, and he dearly wanted to win those hundred strings of Huizi. Naturally, he would not yield the initiative. With a low shout, he said:
"Swordsman Lu, forgive my offense!"
With that, he moved his feet, darting forward in quick broken steps until he was before Lu Chen. His wooden sword rose, and he opened with his most practiced and proud move—a chain of three consecutive strikes aimed at Lu Chen.
Though Master Mo's martial arts did not impress Huang Rong, he was still capable enough to run a martial arts school in the prefectural city and make a living from it. At the very least, in a one-on-one fight against any one of the Four Devils of the Yellow River, he would have a decent chance of winning.
But in Lu Chen's eyes—having endured Huang Rong's relentless pounding and now able to withstand three hundred moves without defeat when she went all out—skill at this level was simply not worth mentioning.
Facing Master Mo's three linked strikes, Lu Chen did not rush to counterattack. He stepped back and easily avoided the first sword, leaned his upper body back slightly to evade the second, then flicked his wrist and slashed diagonally with his wooden sword. With a crack, he effortlessly intercepted Master Mo's third strike.
Master Mo had never expected to defeat this unfathomable conical-hatted swordsman in a single move. He was not discouraged when his opening three strikes were easily neutralized. His feet shifted swiftly as he moved to Lu Chen's left side, slashing at his ribs.
Lu Chen casually blocked, easily knocking aside Master Mo's wooden sword. Master Mo changed techniques again, his wooden sword shooting out with seven rapid thrusts that covered Lu Chen's upper body. Lu Chen remained unmoved, casually parrying and deflecting with his wooden sword, blocking every one of Master Mo's attacks.
Though he had neutralized Master Mo's attacks in succession, he did not launch a counterattack. He was still observing and testing Master Mo's skill.
Master Mo, however, thought he had Lu Chen suppressed. Growing braver as he fought, he grunted and shouted with great vigor, unfolding all thirty-six moves of the Maiden of Yue Swordplay one by one, fighting to his heart's content.
After testing him for a while, Lu Chen had a clear measure of him.
In terms of mastery of the Maiden of Yue Sword alone, Master Mo was considerably stronger than Rong'er. After all, he had practiced it for many years, and it was how he made his living.
But in every other regard, he was truly nothing special. His overall strength was far inferior to Rong'er's.
Since that was the case, Lu Chen could not be bothered to continue humoring him. His swordplay, which had remained defensive all along, suddenly changed. He first used the same chain of three consecutive strikes Master Mo had used, easily breaking Master Mo's offense and forcing him onto the defensive, retreating again and again. Then Lu Chen flashed to Master Mo's left side in a single step and slashed at his ribs.
The move was exactly the same as one Master Mo had used, yet the speed, precision, timing, and even some mysterious, ineffable bearing behind Lu Chen's sword were far beyond Master Mo's. Cold sweat instantly broke out all over Master Mo's body, and he had to exert all his strength just to barely block the strike.
But Lu Chen immediately followed with a sequence of thrusts, using the very same moves Master Mo had used earlier.
This time, Master Mo could no longer withstand them. He barely blocked the first two strikes, but by the third, he could no longer keep up with Lu Chen's rhythm. Lu Chen slipped past his guard, and the tip of his sword lightly touched his chest.
"You let me win."
Lu Chen withdrew his wooden sword the instant it touched, spun it in a flourish, held it point-down behind him, and cupped his hands to Master Mo in salute.
Master Mo returned the salute with a dejected expression:
"Swordsman Lu is truly skilled. Mo willingly admits defeat."
He was not disappointed by losing the spar. He simply ached over the hundred-string prize.
Huang Rong giggled, entirely unsurprised by the outcome:
"As agreed, these ten strings are Master Mo's!"
As she spoke, she counted out ten strings' worth of Huizi and handed them to Master Mo. Then, with a "Farewell," she waved her folding fan and left in dashing fashion with Lu Chen.
Though Master Mo had failed to earn the hundred-string prize, the ten strings of Huizi were some consolation. Stroking the banknotes, he watched Huang Rong's retreating figure and thanked her repeatedly, hoping Miss Huang would come again—and often.
Unfortunately, that hope was doomed to fail.
Miss Huang had already planned to challenge every martial arts school in the prefectural city today. Tomorrow, she would leave this place to seek out martial artists elsewhere and temper herself through real combat.
For the rest of the day,
Huang Rong took Lu Chen to every martial arts school in the prefectural city, using prize money as bait to have the masters of each school spar with him.
Though Lu Chen's internal strength was shallow, he recovered quickly. He could endure this string of challenges. By the end of the day, he had successfully fought through every martial arts school in the prefectural city, experiencing all kinds of martial arts, including swordplay, saber techniques, fists and kicks, spears, and staves.
Though none of these civilian martial arts schools had any experts capable of making a name for themselves in the martial world, and most were not even on the level of the Four Devils of the Yellow River, their various weapons and unarmed techniques still broadened Lu Chen's horizons. He gained considerable practical experience in facing different kinds of opponents, and by drawing inferences from them, his own swordplay improved slightly as well.
After winning every challenge that day, Huang Rong was naturally in an excellent mood. When they returned, she prepared a lavish meal to reward Lu Chen.
Just as the two of them happily ate and chatted at the stone table in the courtyard, a blue figure slowly entered the mouth of the alley where their small courtyard was located.
The figure was tall and thin, dressed in a blue cloth robe. His face was exceedingly strange. Aside from his eyeballs, his mouth, nose, and cheeks all carried the stiff, rigid feeling of wood and stone.
His pace was neither hurried nor slow. His footsteps made no sound, nor did they leave the slightest trace upon the ground, as though he were a weightless, drifting phantom.
His purpose was clear. From afar, he saw a great tree with a canopy like an umbrella and headed directly toward it. Before long, he arrived outside a small courtyard.
That great tree stood inside the courtyard.
The Azure-robed Man stood with his hands behind his back outside the courtyard gate and listened quietly for a while. When he heard the lively, crisp voice of a young girl from within, his stiff face showed no expression, yet a trace of relieved satisfaction appeared in his eyes.
But soon, he heard a young man's voice as well.
When he heard that voice call out "Rong'er," the Azure-robed Man's gaze instantly sharpened, and even a faint killing intent flickered within it.
Yet he did not act at once. He remained outside the courtyard, listening intently.
He heard the girl say:
"Lu Chen, next we'll travel around visiting and challenging renowned experts from various places. If you keep winning, you may well become famous in the martial world. Have you decided what nickname you'll use?"
That brat was called Lu Chen?
Hmph, such an ill-omened name. No seagoing vessel would ever allow him aboard.
Then he heard the young man say:
"I've only just begun tempering myself through real combat. Isn't it a bit early to think about a nickname now?"
The girl said with a giggle:
"It's not early at all. Decide on one now, and when you keep winning battle after battle, if people ask you, 'Who exactly are you, sir?' you can announce your name on the spot and make a name for yourself!"
"Uh, well, I'm not very good at coming up with nicknames. How about you pick one for me, Rong'er?"
He called her Rong'er again!
This boy had chosen death!
"Let me think... Hmm, that Ultimate Sword move of yours is incredibly powerful, and considering your origins, how about calling you the 'Heavenly Outer Sword God'?"
One Ultimate Sword move, incredibly powerful?
How powerful could it be?
And Heavenly Outer Sword God...
That girl Rong'er had truly been spoiled rotten. She actually dared give someone such an arrogant and overbearing nickname. She truly knew neither heaven nor earth.
"This title... well, it does sound quite good, but I'm not worthy of it yet."
A cold smile surfaced in the Azure-robed Man's eyes:
Not worthy of it now meant he thought he would be worthy of it someday?
Another one who knew neither heaven nor earth!
"All right, calling you that now is indeed a little too arrogant. You might get beaten up for it easily. Let me think of another one..."
Before the girl could come up with another nickname, the Azure-robed Man moved. Like someone stirred by a gentle breeze, he suddenly drifted into the air and, in an instant, leapt onto the courtyard wall.
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