Lin Xuan's pupils contracted slightly. He clearly hadn't expected Su Yu to dodge his first move so easily.
He gave a cold snort. "You got lucky. Again!"
Before his words had even faded, Lin Xuan flicked his wrist and unleashed Spirit Snake Emerges from Cave once more. This time, however, his sword moved thirty percent faster, its tip tracing several afterimages through the air as it aimed straight for Su Yu's throat!
Su Yu's gaze sharpened, and his figure swayed lightly like willow fluff caught in the wind.
The sword's edge skimmed past his clothes without even cutting a single strand of hair.
"Second move." Su Yu's voice was calm—calm enough to make one's heart tremble.
Lin Xuan's face flushed red in an instant, veins bulging on his forehead.
He was the dignified Third Young Master Lin of the Lin Family. When had anyone ever dared treat him with such contempt?
"Looking for death!" he roared, and his sword stance changed abruptly.
Spirit Snake Wags its Tail!
His long sword drew a strange arc through the air, its edge sweeping in from an impossible angle like a venomous snake.
This move was unpredictable—that was the very essence of the Spirit Snake Sword Style.
A glint flashed in Su Yu's eyes. At some point, his right hand had settled on the hilt of his sword.
Wind Sweeps Clouds!
A streak of azure Sword Light suddenly appeared, sweeping out like a whirlwind.
The two swords clashed with a clear ring.
Lin Xuan felt a tremendous force hit him, and he stumbled back three steps before he could stop himself.
"You... you're actually at Qi Refining Level 5!" Lin Xuan stared at Su Yu, eyes wide with disbelief.
He clearly remembered that Su Yu had only broken through to Qi Refining Level 4 half a month ago.
Su Yu sheathed his sword, his expression calm. "The three moves are over. A bet is a bet. Pay up."
Lin Xuan's expression shifted between dark and bright. Suddenly, he let out a vicious sneer. "I was careless just now!"
Before his words had even faded, he abruptly sprang into action, unleashing all the spiritual power of Qi Refining Level 6!
Spirit Snake Dances Wildly!
His sword edge turned into dozens of afterimages, enveloping Su Yu like a writhing nest of snakes.
The move was vicious beyond measure. He was clearly trying to take Su Yu's life!
The onlookers erupted in an uproar. No one had expected Lin Xuan to go back on his word.
A chill flashed through Su Yu's eyes, and the iron sword in his hand shot from its sheath.
Sudden Storm!
Sword Light poured down like a waterfall, precisely blocking each oncoming serpent-shaped shadow.
The clang of clashing metal rang out without pause. Sparks flew, and Su Yu's figure suddenly blurred—
Swift as Wind, Fast as Lightning!
The sword followed his movement, and a streak of azure light instantly pierced through Lin Xuan's defenses.
Lin Xuan felt a dull thud in his chest. His whole body flew backward and slammed to the ground ten yards away.
"I never expected the dignified Third Young Master of the Lin Family to be so shameless." Su Yu coldly lowered his sword, undisguised mockery in his voice.
Lin Xuan struggled to his feet, his face turning pale, then green.
Gritting his teeth, he shouted at the attendant beside him, "Give them to him!"
The attendant hurriedly took out three Level 1 Mid-grade Beast Cores and tossed them over.
Su Yu caught them, inspected them carefully, then tucked them away.
"Just you wait!" Lin Xuan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and snarled.
"I'll break through to Qi Refining Level 7 soon. At the Grand Tournament in Skywind City, I'll make you kneel and beg for mercy!"
Su Yu turned and walked away without comment, leaving behind only his straight-backed figure.
The crowd automatically parted to let him through, their gazes now carrying a hint of respect.
Night deepened, and the din faded away.
Su Yu sat cross-legged in his room, his eyes half closed.
Moonlight filtered through the window lattice, casting mottled shadows before him.
Huu—
He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, then opened his eyes. Stars seemed to swirl in their depths.
Though he had won his fight with Lin Xuan by an overwhelming margin, it had given him a deeper understanding of his own condition.
So this was what a martial artist's battle was like...
His fingertips lightly brushed the iron sword's blade. Its icy touch made the memory all the clearer.
At the moment Lin Xuan's Spirit Snake Dances Wildly had struck, Su Yu had been able to see the trajectory of every strand of Sword Qi with perfect clarity.
That hadn't been sight. It had been the perception of Soul Power.
In his Soul World, the pale-yellow orb of light flickered faintly, as if responding to his thoughts.
The changes brought by the Soul Light Orb went far beyond improved comprehension...
Su Yu thoughtfully rubbed his chin.
Ever since he had transmigrated, he had noticed that he always maintained a remarkable calm.
Even when facing Lin Xuan's sneak attack and killing move, his heart hadn't stirred. It was as if... as if he were watching someone else fight.
That state reminded him of his life on Earth.
Back then, he had been a graduate student who stayed up in the laboratory until dawn. No matter what unexpected situation arose, he could always keep a clear head and analyze it rationally.
As for Su Yu of the Nine Heavens Continent, he had been a stubborn boy who kept cultivating amid endless mockery.
Two lonely souls...
He let out a soft sigh.
Su Yu of Earth had lost both his parents as a child and made it through university on government assistance.
Those freezing nights spent alone in the library, those days of studying desperately for a scholarship—those had forged his tough, prematurely mature nature.
As for Su Yu here, he had lost his mother in childhood, and his father had disappeared when he was ten. He had persevered in cultivation for five years amid cold stares and ridicule.
No wonder their souls had fused so perfectly.
Shaking off those thoughts, Su Yu turned his attention back to the sword techniques.
His fingers traced patterns through the air as he reviewed each move he had used that day.
At the turn in the third form of Wind Sweeps Clouds, his wrist had rotated half an inch too far...
The spiritual power in Sudden Storm could be distributed more evenly...
There was still room to improve the footwork transitions in Swift as Wind, Fast as Lightning...
In his Soul World, the orb flickered continuously as he thought.
The flaws in those sword techniques were now as clear as ink spots on white paper.
More remarkably, improvements came naturally to mind, as if he had already practiced them thousands of times.
So this was extraordinary comprehension...
Su Yu suddenly rose to his feet and drew his iron sword.
He didn't use any spiritual power, simply practicing the moves.
The sword's path through the air grew smoother and smoother. By the end, it even seemed to stir up the wind.
No. He suddenly stopped.
The essence of the Gale Sword Style wasn't in, but in. Su Yu closed his eyes.
He recalled the words in the True Understanding of the Sword Dao, the book he had found in the Library Pavilion: "A sword's momentum is like water. If it gathers without being released, it forms an abyss; if it surges forth, it can burst a dam."
When the iron sword swung again, the moves had changed completely.
Though the sword's path seemed slow, it contained astonishing explosive power.
As he executed the final move, Swift as Wind, Fast as Lightning, a whirlwind suddenly swept through the Quiet Room, sending the pages on the desk fluttering with a rustle.
So that's how it is!
A brilliant glint flared in Su Yu's eyes.
He finally understood. Before, he had been too fixated on the outward form of the moves and had neglected the gathering and release of the sword's momentum.
It was just like the physics experiments he had done on Earth.
Sometimes, the most brilliant discoveries were hidden in the simplest principles.
After sheathing the iron sword, he took out the three Beast Cores he had obtained that day.
In the moonlight, the crystals shimmered with a captivating glow.
Su Yu gripped the Beast Cores tightly, sensing the yearning that came from the Ancient Sword.
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