Mount Song Guardian Retreats in Defeat

"Could the Yue Lingshan you speak of be Yue Buqun's daughter, Yue Lingshan?!"

Tang Ying'e asked.

Ji Shu nodded, his expression solemn. "Exactly!"

"You, you, you are insulting us!"

Ding Mian flew into a rage. "Our swordsmanship may be inferior to yours, but that does not mean we are idiots!"

"Believe it or not."

Ji Shu's adaptability was still quite strong. Having recovered by now, he said with a cold face, "The Mount Song Sect came to my Mount Hua Sect without cause and killed people. Their crime is unforgivable. If you do not leave now, do not blame my sword for showing no mercy!"

"Do you think you alone can stop all the heroes of Mount Song?"

Ding Mian snorted. "You caught us off guard with a sneak attack before. In our carelessness, we suffered grievous losses. But now that we are wary of you, your sneak attacks will no longer work."

"Is that so?"

Ji Shu flicked the sword in his hand and suddenly charged toward Ding Mian.

Ding Mian had long been on guard against Ji Shu. Seeing this, he let out a roar, spun the precious sword in his hand, and unleashed the Mount Song Sword Style!

Clang!

The Mount Song Sword Style possessed an austere and majestic bearing, dignified and grand. Ding Mian's strength was exceptional, and he had already mastered the Mount Song Sword Style. The instant he unleashed it, Sword Qi surged in chilling waves, as though a thousand troops and ten thousand horses were galloping forth. In a daze, everyone seemed to see countless soldiers wielding spears and halberds, roaring as they fought bloody battles across a thousand miles of yellow sand!

Yet such a sword style was broken by Ji Shu's sword in but an instant!

All they saw was Ji Shu thrust his sword down. Amid the gleaming sword light, it was as though a sun had fallen upon the dark earth, destroying countless fiends with the force of withered wood and rotten branches!

Pfft!

A crisp sound swept past everyone's ears. Looking again, they saw that Ding Mian's wrist had already been severed, and the precious sword in his hand fell to the ground along with the severed wrist.

Lu Bai, Tang Ying'e, and the other Mount Song Sect experts were shocked and enraged. Without time to think, they rushed forward to shield Ding Mian.

They unleashed their sword styles and began fighting Ji Shu.

Clang!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Alone with a single sword, Ji Shu's swordsmanship was strange and unpredictable. At times, it was vast and righteous, like surging waves sweeping over a beach; at times, it was vicious and venomous, like a poisonous snake probing the way, a scorpion flicking its tail...

In Ji Shu's hands, one sword transformed into a thousand shifting illusions!

Amid their standoff and fierce battle,

bolstered by the talent of Supreme Comprehension, Ji Shu's experience against enemies and in combat grew at a terrifying speed.

At first, under the joint siege of Tang Ying'e and the others, he could only barely hold them off.

Yet in no more than a moment, he was already trading blows evenly with Lu Bai, Tang Ying'e, and the rest.

A moment later,

he had abruptly seized the upper hand. The sword in his hand moved with uncanny craftsmanship, leaving no trace to follow. One instant, it drifted unpredictably through the air above; the next, it struck from the left like a tiger bursting from its cage, unstoppable in its momentum!

Tang Ying'e and the others were hard-pressed on every side, and they could only watch as another Mount Song disciple was stabbed to death by Ji Shu.

Lu Bai was shocked and enraged beyond measure, and hurriedly shouted,

"Ji Shu, we admit defeat! We will leave at once!"

"If you force us, even if we cannot kill you, we can certainly drag one or two Mount Hua disciples down with us before we die!"

Tang Ying'e threatened.

Ji Shu stopped his hand. With a leap, he landed lightly to one side.

His eyes were icy as he looked at Ding Mian and the others.

"Why are you not getting the hell out already?!"

Ding Mian, Tang Ying'e, and the others were all renowned figures in the martial world. Yet now, reduced to such a plight on Mount Hua, they could not hide their shame and fury. They did not even dare collect their fellow disciples' corpses, turning and fleeing in disarray one after another.

Feng Buping and Cong Buqi looked at each other.

Cong Buqi decisively fled at a mad sprint, never daring to look Ji Shu in the eye again from beginning to end.

Feng Buping looked at Ji Shu, then at Yue Lingshan hiding behind Ning Zhongze. After hesitating for a long while, he asked again,

"Ji Shu, your master truly is Yue Buqun's daughter, Yue Lingshan?!"

"Exactly!"

"..."

Feng Buping was utterly astonished. But seeing Ji Shu's solemn expression, which did not seem to be joking, he suppressed the strange emotions in his heart and cupped his hands toward Yue Lingshan.

"Yue, Yue..."

For a moment, he did not even know how to address this "senior" who had taught such a shocking and extraordinary disciple as Ji Shu!

"You may simply call my daughter by her name."

Ning Zhongze led Yue Lingshan out. She glanced at Ji Shu, her eyes filled with gratitude, admiration, and pride.

She then turned to Feng Buping and said gently, "Ji Shu's achievements today have little to do with my daughter. His talent is simply too extraordinary. From ancient times until now, I fear it would be hard to find such a genius! It is a blessing for our Mount Hua Sect to have encountered Ji Shu! If not for him, I fear we would have met no good end today!"

As Feng Buping came to a realization, his old face reddened. He gave a dry cough and said, "I have always been proud and arrogant, yet open and aboveboard. I came here to seize the position of Mount Hua Sect leader through sheer strength. But since we have lost, I naturally will not mention the matter again. From now on, I, Feng Buping, will stay far from Mount Hua, choose some place at random to live in seclusion, and spend the rest of my days there. You may all rest assured. I, Feng Buping, keep my word and will never break it."

He paused, then said,

"It is only that after many years in seclusion, I created a set of Fierce Wind Swift Sword. I wish to exchange pointers with Ji Shu using this sword style. Would that be possible?"

"Do you not think you are going too far?"

Yue Buqun frowned. "Feng Buping. You came here with such fanfare and conspired with the Mount Song Sect against the Mount Hua Sect, resulting in several dead and wounded disciples of my Mount Hua Sect. We have not even settled that score with you, yet you still wish to spar with Ji Shu?"

Yue Buqun had recovered his senses by now as well. Though the matter between Ji Shu and Yue Lingshan was so absurd it sounded like a fantasy from the heavens, the facts were right before him. Believe it or not, he had no choice but to believe.

This piece of good fortune that had fallen from the sky had practically knocked him senseless.

Even though he was well-traveled and had weathered long years of storms and setbacks, his heart was still churning, impossible to calm. The reason he stepped forward to speak with Feng Buping now was also because he was the sect leader.

As the leader of the Mount Hua Sect, if he did not step forward now, what would Ji Shu think of him?

He could not let Ji Shu look down on him!

Ji Shu was too strong, and Yue Lingshan and Ning Zhongze were clearly both on his side. Yue Buqun understood Ning Zhongze and the others very well; they would never take the side of someone whose character they did not approve of. Since they all approved of Ji Shu, it showed that there was no problem with his character. In that case, Yue Buqun naturally instinctively regarded Ji Shu, this peerless genius who had turned the tide, as one of his own sect.

And someone like him was absolutely worth more than all the other Inner Sect and Outer Sect disciples combined!

Naturally, Yue Buqun valued Ji Shu's opinion greatly.

He wanted to perform well before Ji Shu and display the dignity and responsibility of a sect leader.

"I only wish to exchange pointers with Ji Shu."

Feng Buping said solemnly, "If I lose, I am willing to pass on everything I have learned in my life to Ji Shu."

Ji Shu's eyes brightened slightly when he heard this, and he smiled. "Fine. I will spar with you."

"Thank you."

Feng Buping smiled. "Ji Shu, you truly are straightforward. Shall we spar here, then?"

"Fine."

The two quickly took their positions.

Feng Buping launched the attack first. The sword in his hand danced faster and faster, and in merely a few breaths, his momentum had risen to its peak.