Minor Art

However, the owner of that long sword was not so happy.

She was a woman dressed in martial arts attire, tall and muscular, with an unattractive face. Her body was much stronger than that of an average woman, so she lacked femininity.

She looked to be in her thirties, full of vigor and spirit. Although she wasn't particularly beautiful, she had a unique air about her and you could tell at a glance that she was more than just a pretty face.

She glanced at her broken sword, then at Li Qi, her brows furrowed with Qi Ingestion, and said, "You're only relying on the advantage of your weapon. Your knife is a ninth-grade weapon, isn't it? If you didn't have a weapon, you would be dead by now."

But Li Qi ignored her and turned to Shen Shuibi: "Miss Shen, are you alright? What happened? Why are these people causing trouble?"

"I... I just watched her practice swordsmanship and muttered a few words to myself..." Shen Shuibi said, feeling wronged.

She didn't tell anyone else, and besides... what she said wasn't wrong.

Hearing this, the woman whose sword had been broken by Li Qi frowned and raised her head. "Talking to yourself? Little girl, you have no cultivation, yet you clamor about my Swordsmanship. I'm just teaching you a lesson. Don't spout nonsense about things you don't understand."

"But... I understand." Shen Shuibi shrank back behind Li Qi and muttered softly.

"Alright, ma'am," Li Qi looked up, interrupting the conversation, "This matter ends here, I—"

Before Li Qi could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the burly woman, "Is this the end? I have practiced swordsmanship for twenty-five years, reached the ninth rank through Sword Way, and my swordsmanship has reached the realm of subtlety. Yet she comes up here and slanders my life's work of swordsmanship, calling it a minor skill. She must apologize."

Hearing this, Li Qi finally understood the whole story.

It turns out that this woman was probably practicing her swordplay when Shen Shuibi saw her.

Who is Shen Shuibi? Before she crippled herself, she was the Moon Essence Jade Rabbit, a spirit beast of Mount Luofu, one of the Ten Great Grotto-Heavens, and the beloved daughter of the Lady Luofu. She was also a fifth-grade practitioner of orthodox Xuanmen Cultivation Method!

A true immortal would definitely think someone with ninth-grade swordsmanship is a complete novice.

But when she muttered a few words to herself, the older woman overheard her.

This woman had practiced swordsmanship her whole life, and her pride was being challenged when someone said she was no good. Upon closer inspection, she realized the man was just a weakling with no real skill. Naturally, she wanted to demand an explanation and an apology.

Well... it seems like neither side is wrong; it's just a misunderstanding.

Moreover, the other party is a ninth-rank official, and a woman at that. Could this be the so-called deacon of the Martial Affairs Hall, Jing Yan?

Having figured all this out, Li Qi grinned awkwardly. He then cupped his hands and said, "Then I'll apologize to my elder sister on behalf of my younger sister. We misspoke. How about we let this matter rest?"

However, after hearing Li Qi's words, Shen Shuibi lowered her head, pressed her face against Li Qi's back, and mumbled, "I was just trying to kindly remind her that she had taken the wrong path..."

But the older woman overheard these words.

The woman's eyes widened, her face full of anger. "How dare you say that!"

After speaking, he reached out and grabbed Shen Shuibi!

Li Qi's expression darkened, and he immediately stepped in to stop him.

This time, neither side used weapons. As soon as they made contact, Li Qi felt a gentle force, seemingly weak, yet like a leech clinging to his bone, or like flowing water, pushing him away.

Fortunately, Li Qi was best at dealing with water currents.

The Carp Flowing Intent he practiced for more than three Chen every day, came in handy at this moment. Like a carp, he glided against the current in the water, carefully parting the current and swimming smoothly. He easily neutralized the soft force and took the opportunity to observe the progress bar. Seizing the moment when he was catching his breath, he pushed away the hand that the other party reached out, leaving the careless woman wide open and her center line exposed!

Li Qi once again channeled his inner energy, unleashing the Carp Flowing Intent, and with a single punch, the speed of his fist suddenly increased!

The Carp Flowing Intent is Cultivation Method that focuses on maneuvering and then suddenly bursting forth with the momentum of leaping over the Dragon Gate when the enemy is unprepared.

This caught the woman completely off guard, hitting her directly.

However, Li Qi knew his limits and didn't strike hard. Instead, he turned his fist into a palm and pressed it against the woman's face, using the force to push her away.

With a force of over 20,000 jin, and an explosive force at that, the woman immediately adopted a stance of squatting down to try to stabilize herself, but she was still pushed off balance by Li Qi and stumbled back several steps, leaving several footprints on the stone floor before finally stopping.

"Impressive skills. Who are you? Your swordsmanship isn't great, but your fist and foot Cultivation Method are decent, and you timed your attacks well." The woman was somewhat surprised by this loss, but she wasn't angry. Instead, she praised Li Qi.

With the progress bar, Li Qi's greatest strength lies in seizing opportunities. While others can only rely on intuition, he can intuitively see the progress of the opponent's moves and understand when the old force has waned and the new force has not yet emerged.

Li Qi sized up the other person. It seemed that this person was not petty, but rather truly valued the swordsmanship he had practiced all his life, which was why he was so angry.

"My Xia Li Qi. I was hired by Shopkeeper Jing to guard the caravan. Madam, could you be Jing Yan?" Li Qi replied with a cupped hand.

"I am Jing Yan, but trying to get close to her won't work. Your little sister went too far. Ask her yourself what she said! I started practicing swordsmanship at the age of seven, and after twenty years of training, I finally reached the highest level. Now I am thirty-two years old, and I have been practicing swordsmanship for a full twenty-five years. I am older than her. What right does she have to comment on my Sword Way?" Jing Yan still remembered Shen Shuibi. Although she was very polite to Li Qi, she was still very unhappy when she looked at Shen Shuibi. She insisted that Shen Shuibi apologize.

But Shen Shuibi refused to apologize, and the rabbit seemed proud of its own words, shrinking behind Li Qi.

He looks cowardly.

But she shrank back, speaking the most hurtful words in the most cowardly tone, "What talk of talk... Swordsmanship is nothing but a minor skill, just a weapon, yet you dare to praise it? You don't know your own limitations..."

These words completely enraged Jing Yan. Her eyes blazed with fury, and although she had no sword in her hand, she still took a step forward, seemingly about to make a move.

Seeing this, Li Qi immediately protected Shen Shuibi, then stepped forward, cupped his hands and said, "Elder Sister, please calm down. My little sister is not as weak as she looks. It's just that her cultivation Dao Path is not good at fighting. She was only kindly pointing out your flaw. As a martial artist, can't you even accept this?"

"Point out my flaws? With her?" Jing Yan raised her head, not believing it at all, but Li Qi stopped her, so she couldn't make a move.

"As for her, if you don't believe me, Sister Jing, how about we make a bet?" Li Qi said, his eyes darting around.

He had a solution that could both resolve the misunderstanding and bring them closer together.