Thousand Swords, One Sword

A gleaming golden sword mark gradually vanished into Wang Xian's sea of consciousness, and from Wang Ruowang's sight as well.

Nalan Ming of Tianshan did not stop after his first sword strike missed.

Instead, with an angry roar, he slashed out another sword, pointing straight at the old Daoist ten zhang before him.

The instant Wang Xian opened his eyes, he saw that sword mark.

Or rather, amid the light reflected by the snowflakes drifting down from the sky, he saw one sword mark, then two, then countless sword marks!

Like willow catkins in March, they gradually multiplied before his eyes.

He was somewhat confused. Why had this fellow not struck his master with a single sword?

Why was he playing tricks instead? Was he weaving a net of swords amid the wind and snow, intending to trap his master within it?

More and more snow fell from the sky, and the sword marks in Wang Xian's eyes became increasingly clear.

He wanted to cry out, yet he did nothing.

Because his master had not moved.

To Wang Xian, it was merely something that happened in an instant.

But in Wang Ruowang's eyes, Senior Brother Nalan Ming had waited far too long for this sword—far more than ten years.

It was as if Nalan Ming was waiting even as he slashed out that sword into the wind.

Waiting for the countless sword marks he had unleashed either to become a heaven-shaking sword strike, or to become a sword formation that would trap the old Daoist to death.

Wang Xian could not understand why this elder from Tianshan could slash out countless swords.

He merely recalled the principles his master had taught him, wondering whether one day he, too, could unleash Sword Qi that filled the sky like this.

Before finally turning into snowflakes falling in the wind, leaving behind not a single trace.

He even thought that his master certainly would not be like this old man, wildly slashing out sword marks that filled the heavens!

If it were him, he would only slash out one sword!

"Alas!"

The old Daoist let out a long sigh. It was impossible to tell whether he was pleased, disappointed, or warning Wang Xian not to be bewildered by the other man's countless sword marks.

He knew very well that with him standing here, Nalan Ming could never achieve Myriad Swords Unification!

The only possibility was that this fellow wanted to weave a sword formation!

Since he could not use Daoist talismans, he intended to use a sword formation to trap him to death!

Gazing at the thousand sword marks amid the wind and snow, he suddenly said, "Not enough. Far from enough!"

Just as Nalan Ming swung his sword, at the instant he was about to achieve Myriad Swords Unification, the old Daoist made his move!

It was not because he feared this sword formation. He wanted Wang Xian to understand a principle: when it was time to act, one had to act. Never give an opponent the upper hand!

Myriad Swords Formation was the strongest sword technique Nalan Ming had devised after countless years of painstaking contemplation and training at Tianshan!

Back then, after he had been defeated beneath the old Daoist's sword, he had endured countless bitter years at Tianshan.

Until one day, when enlightenment struck him beside Tianchi, he began cultivating this move, Myriad Swords Unification...

Even if the old Daoist interrupted him in an instant, he could still turn those myriad swords into a cage. That was his calculation.

He had never thought of losing, nor had he thought he could defeat the old Daoist.

In Nalan Ming's eyes, even if he could trap the old Daoist for no more than a quarter of an hour, it would be enough to dispel the resentment that had accumulated in his heart over the years.

Yet that was only his own thought, not the old Daoist's.

The old Daoist's palm trembled slightly, and an almost imperceptible strand of Sword Qi slashed out in an instant.

To Wang Ruowang, it seemed the old Daoist could no longer withstand Senior Brother's move. His body could not stop leaning forward, as though his strength had run dry. He feared the old Daoist would be injured by this sword.

"Clang..."

A sword cry rang out, trailing a long echo.

But to Wang Xian's ears, it was as though thousands upon thousands of swords in the wind and snow had suddenly clashed, instantly bursting out in a chorus of ringing impacts!

In Nalan Ming's eyes, the old Daoist before him had clearly only slashed out one sword!

Yet that simple sword, in his eyes, became tens of millions of sword lights rushing toward him!

One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Swords!

In the instant Wang Ruowang inside the hall had yet to understand what happened, Wang Xian understood his master's intent.

One Sword No Trace!

It could also be a hundred swords, a thousand swords—leaving no trace!

If you made myriad swords into a formation, I could still break it with one sword!

"Boom!"

Startled, Nalan Ming gathered all his cultivation, causing the frozen earth beneath his feet to split apart in an instant!

As for the snowflakes filling the sky, they were directly blasted into a mist of snow!

He felt the terror of the old Daoist's sword!

In that instant, he turned himself into a spirit sword, his entire body seeming to blaze with ten thousand rays of light!

Even Wang Ruowang in the hall and Wang Xian beneath the snow pine could not see what Nalan Ming, hidden in the snow mist, intended to do!

Then a black object appeared before Nalan Ming.

In that lightning-flash instant, he no longer cared whether that sword formation could trap the old Daoist. He first had to shatter the sword that had slashed before him!

Thus, he could no longer care about a grandmaster's dignity!

He released a Heaven-Shaking Thunderbolt before him!

"Boom!"

A tremendous explosion shattered the old Daoist's traceless sword, making Wang Xian's ears ache!

Damn, this old man had no sense of fair play!

After that terrifying explosion, ice and snow danced throughout the sky, while the ground before Nalan Ming was scorched black.

At the instant the explosion sounded, he had shot backward more than ten zhang!

Even so, his face was slightly pale, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his lips.

The Myriad Swords Formation he had painstakingly cultivated for more than ten years had been broken by the old Daoist's One Sword No Trace.

It was something he had never imagined even in his dreams. Though his robes were torn and blood stained the corner of his mouth, Nalan Ming's face still showed neither disappointment nor even shock.

Instead, he smiled faintly. "Dao Brother, you are being unreasonable. You have broken the rules!"

After saying this, his face still bore an expression of unwillingness and pain.

Silently putting away the spirit sword in his hand, he wished to fight again. Yet it seemed that sword just now had consumed too much of his spiritual power, and he likely no longer had the strength to continue.

Even now, the old Daoist still had not drawn his sword!

Even if the two fought again, in his eyes it had already lost all meaning. It was better to stop while they were ahead.

The old Daoist shook his head.

He beckoned to Wang Xian beneath the snow pine, and Wang Xian immediately drifted toward his master as gracefully as a snowflake.

Seeing that Senior Brother was injured, Wang Ruowang hurriedly left the hall, took out a medicinal pill, and stuffed it into Nalan Ming's mouth.

He asked softly, "Are you all right?"

Nalan Ming shook his head. Looking at the old Daoist, he sighed. "Who would have thought that after ten years apart, Dao Brother's bearing remains unchanged!"

The old Daoist shook his head and pointed at Wang Xian. "This is my youngest disciple. He only began learning the sword from me a few days ago... In spring, he is going to the Kunlun Sword Sect to join the excitement..."

Nalan Ming froze, then stared at Wang Xian and was stunned speechless.

After thinking for a moment, he finally squeezed out a sentence. "You are letting a Foundation Establishment child take part in the Kunlun Sword Sect's spring recruitment tournament?"

"No."

The old Daoist looked toward the northern slope and said something to Dongfang Nishang, who stood there dumbfounded.

"I am only letting Wang Xian go watch the excitement. You are not allowed to let him risk his life against those favored geniuses!"

Dongfang Nishang was taken aback, then could not help smiling faintly. "No matter what, he counts as half my disciple... Are you afraid he will be hurt?"

The old Daoist shook his head and sighed.

With a bitter smile, he said, "I am afraid he will not be able to hold back and will injure the Sword Sect's guests!"