At the celebratory feast, Lu Chen and Huang Rong only drank enough to feel pleasantly tipsy, but Li Mochou got drunk.
Lu Chen and Huang Rong had no choice but to rent a small private courtyard at the inn and stay there for the time being.
That night, Li Mochou went to bed early. Carrying the Profound Iron Heavy Sword, Lu Chen practiced in the courtyard, while Huang Rong sat beneath the eaves with her cheek resting on her hand, smiling as she watched him train.
After practicing several rounds of Heavy Swordplay and then Half-Move Sword One for a while, Lu Chen sat beside Rong'er to rest, sweat covering his head.
Huang Rong handed him a towel and asked:
"Why are you still keeping that sword?"
Taking the towel and wiping away his sweat, Lu Chen said:
"You mean that broken sword?"
Huang Rong nodded.
"Yes. It was only an ordinary steel sword. It wasn't worth much, and it's broken now. Why keep it?"
"That was the first real sword of my life."
Lu Chen looked at Huang Rong with a smile.
"And Rong'er bought it for me. I also used it to kill for the first time before Senior Huang, making him allow Rong'er to travel the martial world with me. A sword with such great significance—no matter how ordinary it is, I would never throw it away."
Huang Rong felt sweetness bloom in her heart at his words, but her face put on an indifferent expression.
"It's just an ordinary steel sword. I don't even care about it, yet you make it sound like some priceless treasure. But fine, keep it if you like..."
Though she said that, the corners of her lips rose uncontrollably, and her eyes curved into crescents.
The next day, the three of them did not leave Xiangyang. They spent half the day strolling around the city, then visited Wolong Ridge in Longzhong, where Chancellor Zhuge had once farmed in seclusion, only returning to the city at dusk.
That evening, the three ordered another feast at the inn. This time, Li Mochou did not get drunk. She only drank until she was slightly tipsy, stopping once her cheeks had turned faintly red.
After eating and drinking their fill, they returned to the private courtyard and walked off their meal a little. Huang Rong suggested that Li Mochou and Lu Chen spar in swordsmanship. Li Mochou also wanted to personally experience the formidable swordsmanship with which Lu Chen had defeated a Nine-Bag Elder of the Beggars' Sect in one stroke, so she readily agreed.
Lu Chen had the same thought as Huang Rong. He wanted to see whether, just as he had learned Heavy Swordplay, he could learn Li Mochou's Ancient Tomb Sect Swordplay through sparring.
The two each took a practice Wooden Sword and began exchanging moves in the courtyard.
After only a few exchanges, Lu Chen had already gauged Li Mochou's true level.
Her swordsmanship was far stronger than Rong'er's, since Rong'er was too distracted, wanting to learn this and practice that.
Her internal strength was about the same as Rong'er's. Although Rong'er had also been inattentive in cultivating internal energy, she had been lucky enough to greatly increase her strength by eating snake meat. Still, Li Mochou was far behind him.
Yet even without relying on internal strength, if they compared swordsmanship alone, he would need at most twenty moves to defeat Li Mochou with ease—
Every day, he contemplated the Sword Intent Imprint and studied the principles of the sword. His attainments in the sword path improved daily. Even the unremarkable Maiden of Yue Swordplay gained new vitality in his hands, while the already exquisite Falling Blossom Swordplay became ever sharper and fiercer.
With his current swordsmanship, if he sparred with Huang Yaoshi again, and Teacher Huang suppressed her internal strength to his level while using only sword techniques, Lu Chen felt that even by a conservative estimate, he could last two or three hundred moves.
Against swordsmanship of his level, Li Mochou—who had not inherited the Ancient Tomb Sect's supreme secret technique, Jade Maiden Heart Sutra Swordplay, and had only just entered the martial world—could not possibly compare.
Of course, Lu Chen was sparring with Li Mochou to study the sword path, so he naturally would not defeat her too quickly. He not only suppressed his internal strength to her level, but used only thirty percent of his swordsmanship. For a time, the two were evenly matched.
Li Mochou's Ancient Tomb Swordplay was graceful and swift, like a sword dance.
Lu Chen's Falling Blossom Swordplay was likewise elegant and resplendent, his bearing carefree and unrestrained.
Their figures darted and flashed across the courtyard as they swept and shifted about, rapidly exchanging sword moves. They seemed to be dancing together in flowing grace, making for a wonderfully spectacular sight that had Huang Rong watching with shining eyes, clapping and cheering from time to time.
Li Mochou displayed everything she had learned in her life, fighting to her heart's content.
She naturally knew Lu Chen was not using his full strength, but she felt no dissatisfaction at all. Instead, she saw it as an excellent opportunity for improvement.
She also possessed exceptional talent in actual combat. During this "evenly matched" spar, her understanding of combat deepened. Although Ancient Tomb Swordplay was naturally lacking in killing power, she gradually grasped methods of defeating enemies through swordsmanship.
Many moves were withdrawn the instant they touched. It did not matter if their killing power was insufficient. Ancient Tomb Swordplay was fast enough. Other sword arts might be sharp and vicious, but in one instant they could only wound an enemy once. My swordplay may be light and drifting, but in two instants, I can wound an enemy three times.
And my Movement Technique is strong as well. I can capitalize on its advantages. Even if one strike misses, or even ten strikes miss, there is no need to panic. I can rely on my Movement Technique to ensure my own safety first, then patiently circle and fight.
As long as I keep studying and improving along the path of "lightness and speed," as long as my footwork is nimble and swift enough, my sword sharp enough, and my moves fast enough, I can turn small wounds into great ones, even make my enemy slowly bleed to death.
And in the future, I can study some powerful killing moves capable of deciding the battle in a single blow, making up for my lack of lethality. Of course, that was not something that could be accomplished in a short time.
Li Mochou had gained greatly, and Lu Chen also felt that he had benefited immensely.
This spar confirmed the conjecture he had formed after mastering Heavy Swordplay:
He possessed the Sword Intent Imprint and had a deep understanding of sword principles. From a higher perspective, he could perceive the mysteries of all kinds of swordsmanship and discern their essential meaning.
Even without the corresponding internal cultivation method, merely observing sword moves and sensing the force transmitted through the opponent's sword when their blades collided was enough for him to slowly reverse-engineer and deduce the cultivation method.
However, this method required a great deal of time.
The more exquisite the swordsmanship, the harder it became to reverse-engineer and deduce it solely from sword moves and force.
For swordsmanship as complex and varied as Ancient Tomb Swordplay, one sparring session would be nowhere near enough. Even ten or a hundred sessions would probably not suffice.
Of course, that was also because Lu Chen's current understanding of sword principles was not yet deep enough.
Once he gradually unlocked the Sword Intent of Extermination of Immortals in the future and obtained more Sword Intent Imprints such as Sword Two and Sword Three, gaining access to more and deeper sword principles, his comprehension of the sword path would certainly grow ever greater.
He believed that one day, any swordsmanship in this low-martial world, no matter how profound or exquisite, would hold no more secrets in his eyes. Whether sword moves or cultivation methods, all would be plain to see, ready for the taking.
But for now, he should honestly continue sparring and patiently dismantle and deduce them.
Lu Chen and Li Mochou sparred for more than an hour, only stopping when Li Mochou's clothes were drenched with sweat and her internal strength was nearly exhausted.
"I can't do it anymore! If we keep fighting, I'll collapse..."
Li Mochou's cheeks were flushed, her legs weak, and fine sweat covered her forehead as her chest rose and fell without pause.
Lu Chen, however, felt as though he had only just finished warming up. Not only was he neither sweating nor flushed, even his breathing rhythm had not changed in the slightest.
"Mochou, your endurance is a little lacking."
Huang Rong said with a mischievous smile:
"You need to train more in the future. Mm, spar with my Brother Lu Chen twice every day. After a month, I guarantee your endurance will improve greatly and your internal strength will advance by leaps and bounds."
Lu Chen secretly gave Rong'er a thumbs-up, then said to Li Mochou with a smile:
"Today's spar truly benefited me greatly. If Miss Li is willing, how about we have two such sessions every day from now on?"
Though Li Mochou was nearly exhausted, she felt that this spar had allowed her to improve at an astonishing pace and gain immensely. She immediately agreed:
"No problem. Two sessions a day, it's settled!"
The moment she finished speaking, a deep, hearty male voice rang out:
"You two little ones have quite good skills. I never expected that I would see the swordsmanship of two old acquaintances when I came here today..."
Hearing that voice, Lu Chen's heart stirred. With his current internal strength, there were not many people in the world who could approach this closely without escaping his senses. And just the day before yesterday, he had killed Elder Peng at the Hanshui Gang's headquarters...
Following the voice, he saw a beggar who looked to be only in his forties sitting atop the courtyard wall.
The beggar had a long square face and sparse whiskers beneath his chin. His hands and feet were large and rough, and he wore clothes covered in patches. He held a jade-green bamboo staff in one hand, while a large vermilion gourd hung from his back.
Lu Chen's sharp eyes noticed that the beggar's right index finger had been severed at the base, leaving him with only four fingers.
Looking again at the beggar's red gourd, green bamboo staff, and movement technique that had allowed him to approach without Lu Chen noticing, a resounding title was about to emerge—
One of the Five Greats of the World, the Northern Beggar, the Nine-Fingered Divine Beggar, Hong Qi!
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