What the Hell, He Was Eleven?

Just from Gu Shaoan's sheathed-sword strike on the training ground, quite a few Wudang disciples could tell something was off. Their expressions abruptly turned serious.

Putting themselves in Song Qingshu's place, some Wudang disciples realized that if they were facing Gu Shaoan's lightning-fast move, they wouldn't know how to respond.

Once they realized this, the crowd could no longer hide the surprise in their eyes as they looked at Gu Shaoan.

There was no trace of their earlier contempt left.

But compared with the Wudang disciples around them, Song Yuanqiao, Zhang Songxi, and Mo Shenggu were no less astonished.

Their surprise was plain to see.

With their discerning eyes, how could they fail to see that what Gu Shaoan had just displayed was more than exquisite swordsmanship? He had mastered the flow of force, the transformation of power, and the timing of his moves to the utmost degree.

His sword moved as naturally as an extension of his arm, without the slightest impediment. He could shift between hard and soft at will, with perfect mastery.

Its power was countless times greater than when he had used palm techniques against Zhang Yuting.

Yet of everyone there, Master Miejue was the most astonished.

Watching Gu Shaoan's smooth, natural swordplay, his moves as light and fluid as swaying willow catkins, she paused for an instant.

Deep in her placid eyes, an unseen storm surged.

But a moment later, delight quickly spread through Miejue's eyes.

"In just over two months, he had already cultivated the Willow Catkin Sword Technique to the level of Perfect Mastery. Shaoan's talent was even greater than I had imagined."

Compared with Miejue and the others, Song Qingshu's pupils had shrunk to pinpricks.

His smug, disdainful expression froze as an intensely dangerous feeling washed over him!

How could he have expected an eleven-year-old child to wield such a fierce sword strike?

In his haste, he had no time to worry about keeping up appearances.

His left arm dropped, drawing his left leg back, while he twisted his body and drove power through his right shoulder. The sword in his hand burst from its sheath with a clear, dragon-like ring.

The swordlight was cool and clear, like the sound of a secluded mountain spring flowing through a ravine.

Song Qingshu's sword shot upward, its blade precisely meeting the end of the scabbard hurtling toward him.

Clang!

The dull, grating crash of metal on metal exploded through the air.

Song Qingshu felt a force even stronger than his own surge along the blade. His right arm went numb in an instant, and his blood and qi seemed to seize up.

He staggered back three steps before he could barely dispel the force.

The moment he steadied himself, Song Qingshu's eyes went wide as he cursed inwardly.

What the hell, he was eleven? Was this really the kind of strength an eleven-year-old child should have?

Taking in Song Qingshu's shocked reaction, Gu Shaoan chuckled inwardly.

Before a martial artist reached the Innate Realm, their inner power had yet to transform into True Qi and could not easily leave the body.

Even when inner power was combined with martial arts, it merely made the techniques faster and their force stronger.

Although Gu Shaoan still hadn't used the twenty years of power sealed within him, his inner power had become as fine as threads and reached the utmost purity because he had cultivated the second layer of the Emei Nine Yangs Technique to Complete Mastery.

It was in no way inferior to Song Qingshu's, despite Song having trained for several years longer.

As for physical strength, the Sword Drawn Like a Rainbow trait and the Bodhi Exquisite Pill had strengthened Gu Shaoan's bones and sinews, making them far stronger than an ordinary person's.

In sheer strength, he was no weaker than his eldest senior sister, Zhao Jingxuan.

How could Song Qingshu compare?

With one side gaining and the other losing, Song Qingshu's supposed advantage was nothing but a joke in Gu Shaoan's eyes.

Before Song Qingshu could steady himself and catch his breath, Gu Shaoan's second move arrived.

His figure appeared out of nowhere along Song Qingshu's retreating path, like a ghost, as if he could foresee the future. The sword was still sheathed, but its approach had changed!

The force of his sword shifted from fierce to lingering. No longer a heavy blow, it became thousands upon thousands of drifting willow catkins, layering into overlapping shadows.

It seemed gentle and powerless, yet it blocked every possible path of escape!

The ever-present shadows of the scabbard swept toward Song Qingshu's vital points in an unbroken flow!

Song Qingshu was startled and furious, his anger rising as he shouted.

He immediately unleashed Turbid Streams Clear Banks, a move from Wudang's Clear Wind Swordplay!

His sword slashed through the air, whirling rapidly as its light split into countless streaks, trying to forcibly sweep away the layers of "willow waves" around him and clear some space.

But Gu Shaoan's swordplay clung like a bone-deep curse. The dense afterimages of the scabbard seemed to stick to Song Qingshu's swordlight.

Blade met scabbard, and every collision produced a rapid succession of muffled thuds.

Song Qingshu felt an immense sticking force on his opponent's sword. His Turbid Streams Clear Banks had failed to sweep away the entanglement as he had expected; instead, he felt as though he were sinking into a quagmire.

Even more alarming, the force behind every clash was becoming difficult to withstand.

Song Qingshu forced himself to steady his mind, suppressing the panic that had crept into him unnoticed. His swordplay abruptly changed, turning from offense to defense!

His swordplay shifted to a pure, balanced style. Swordlight flowed around him like clear water, no longer paying attention to the clinging "willow catkins." He sought only to maintain a seamless defense and shut out every intrusion.

It was Wudang's Two Forms Swordplay.

A trace of barely perceptible mockery flickered across Gu Shaoan's lips.

On the way to Wudang, Miejue had told Gu Shaoan and Zhou Zhiruo about many of Wudang's martial arts.

Among them were the Clear Wind Swordplay Song Qingshu had just used and the Two Forms Swordplay he was now performing.

Like the Emei Sect, Wudang also used its Clear Wind Swordplay as a foundational technique for every disciple.

According to Miejue, if the Clear Wind Swordplay reached the level of Entering the Hall, its moves would sweep through the air like a gentle breeze brushing one's face, drifting gracefully onward.

Song Qingshu's swordplay was well-practiced, but it contained not a trace of the wind's gentle spirit.

Clearly, he hadn't yet reached the level of Entering the Hall in this technique.

He hadn't even mastered the martial art he used as a foundation, let alone any other swordplay.

He had learned a little of everything, but mastered none of it. Laughable.

The only area where Song Qingshu could surpass Gu Shaoan was his understanding of martial arts.

But unfortunately, Song Qingshu's own grasp of martial arts was merely average.

That was hardly befitting the foremost of Wudang's third-generation disciples.

As the thought crossed his mind, Gu Shaoan moved again. He circulated his inner power according to Three Manifestations of the Divine Dragon and shot upward, as if he meant to soar straight into the clouds. Song Qingshu's gaze sharpened, and he tensed to the utmost, immediately focusing on the impending thunderous strike from above!

But Gu Shaoan's figure, having leapt into the air, suddenly bent at an angle and plunged downward without warning.

Like a hunting eagle spotting prey off to the side, his trajectory carved a sharp angle through the air. With even greater force behind his descent, his sheathed sword turned into a bolt of lightning, stabbing at Song Qingshu's right shoulder from an incredibly tricky angle, just as his defense lagged.

"Is this... Three Manifestations of the Divine Dragon at the Entering the Hall level?"

Watching Gu Shaoan suddenly change direction in midair, Miejue's eyes flashed.

She had thought that the Willow Catkin Sword Technique reaching Perfect Mastery was already remarkable. She hadn't expected Gu Shaoan to have advanced his Three Manifestations of the Divine Dragon as well, reaching the level of Entering the Hall.

"Good, good! With talent like this, how could the Emei Sect's future be anything but bright?"