The essence of the Asura Path All-Kill Sword lay in its bizarre method of exerting force. It originated in the Western Sect of ancient times, in a cultivation scripture called Yeyu Veda.
Its distinguishing feature was a threefold surge of power, each wave stronger than the last... But that was all there was to it.
If you didn't know about this trait and rashly tried to block it with a flying sword, you'd definitely suffer a major loss.
But with Qingping Sword's warning, Ling Yunpo naturally wouldn't fall for it.
With the aptitude of an Innate Sword Bone, he had exceptional control over flying swords. Qingping Sword explained it just once, and he mastered it completely on the spot.
Qingping and Shuangjiang crossed blades in midair with Kaiyue and Changbing, and the latter pair immediately began to struggle.
Ninth-order flying swords naturally couldn't match Tenth-Order Immortal Swords in a head-on clash.
Lin Duanshan's face was icy as he quietly used the secret method of exerting force from the All-Kill Sword. The power behind his two swords instantly grew heavier.
He hadn't expected the force behind the opponent's flying swords to surge as well. Kaiyue and Changbing were instantly driven backward, nearly striking Lin Duanshan himself.
Lin Duanshan: ?????
I only used it once. How did you suddenly learn it?
He gritted his teeth and said fiercely:
"The All-Kill Sword is simple and crude. Its method of exerting force is easy to imitate. There's nothing difficult about it!"
"Now watch my East Sea Jade Coral Sword!"
Before his words had even faded, Kaiyue and Changbing began darting nimbly through the air.
Qingping Sword drawled lazily:
"The East Sea Jade Coral Sword is a sword art from Penglai's Yuqing Temple. It's meant to be used with talismans and a Magic Array. Without those, it's just flashy moves. You can just go through the motions."
Without changing expression, Ling Yunpo quickly urged Qingping and Shuangjiang into action, easily breaking through the defenses of the opposing swords.
Lin Duanshan's eyes went wide with fury. He'd clearly talked himself up too much earlier, only to be shown all kinds of flashy moves by An Zhisu's junior brother in front of her. Now he couldn't back down at all, so he could only roar:
"Learning all that is useless! Now watch me use the Orthodox Xuanmen Kunlun Swordsmanship!"
Before Qingping Sword could say anything, Ling Yunpo's eyes lit up:
Oh, I know this one inside and out!
After only a few exchanges, Ling Yunpo drew on his exceptionally rich experience and used Qingping Sword alone to suppress Kaiyue and Changbing. Shuangjiang Sword seized the chance to circle behind Lin Duanshan and came to rest against his back.
Lin Duanshan stood frozen in place, lips pressed tightly together and eyes stretched wide. He seemed to want to offer some defense, but in the end, he said nothing.
An Zhisu, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally smiled and spoke:
"Junior Brother Lin, thank you for taking the trouble to guide us this time."
"Enough, enough." Lin Duanshan waved a hand dejectedly. Kaiyue flew back to his side, while Changbing turned into a streak of light and slipped into the sword case on his back.
He turned away so the two of them couldn't see his expression and muttered, "I, Lin Duanshan, am not the sort who can't take a loss."
"Senior Sister An, your junior brother is extraordinarily gifted. It's just that your master went into seclusion, and his swordsmanship talent is going to waste."
"He beat me in the way of the sword. But in the next match, that fellow Lou Zhizheng from Purple Cloud Peak won't hold back his cultivation and power."
"Trying to beat a Marrow-Cleansing cultivator with Qi Refining is impossible without an exceptionally powerful method. Anyway... take care of yourselves."
Kaiyue Swordlight settled beneath his feet, and Lin Duanshan soared away on his sword toward the distant sky.
"Thank you for going easy on me, Senior Brother!" Ling Yunpo shouted after him.
In the distance, Lin Duanshan's swordlight suddenly dipped half a meter, then wobbled back up. Soon, it vanished from sight.
"Senior Sister." Ling Yunpo turned around and asked with a pleased smile, "How did I do?"
"You did wonderfully." An Zhisu spoke gently. "Lin Duanshan is the eldest disciple of King Kong Peak, and he has a real gift for the sword. He can learn many other sects' sword arts at a glance, which makes him extremely proud."
"There are very few disciples throughout Shu Mountain whom he thinks highly of."
"You learned his sword arts during the match, and even got him to swallow his pride and admit defeat. That's proof that your talent in the way of the sword is outstanding too."
Ling Yunpo knew Senior Sister An was saying this because she was afraid Lin Duanshan's earlier words had shaken his confidence. He hurriedly laughed and said:
"Of course! So what if he's the eldest disciple of King Kong Peak? He still lost to me in the way of the sword!"
Seeing him so smug and pleased with himself, An Zhisu found it a little amusing. She wanted to reach out and pat him on the shoulder, but for no reason at all, she remembered the embarrassment of returning injured that night and having her junior brother take off her clothes to apply medicine.
Her thoughts grew tangled, and she awkwardly withdrew her hand halfway through the gesture.
Then she remembered the time Lou Zhizheng had dropped the sword talisman. She had panicked like a headless fly, even bursting into tears.
But her junior brother had calmly wiped away her tears for her.
At the time, his face had indeed shone with a confident smile that said everything was under control. That smile had stayed in An Zhisu's memory ever since.
He was her junior brother, but...
In the end, he was also someone she could trust and rely on.
At that thought, An Zhisu suddenly reached out again and took Ling Yunpo by the arm.
"Come on, Junior Brother!" she said, beaming. "To celebrate you learning the two-handed Sword Control Technique, I'm going to give you a treasure."
"What treasure?" Ling Yunpo asked curiously.
"A Tenth-Order Immortal Sword left behind by Master." An Zhisu blinked.
Immortal swords were often proud.
In other words, they were prone to developing sword spirits.
Once a sword had a spirit, it would choose its own master, making it much harder to use.
The flying sword left behind by True Lord Qisha, Su Jian, was called "Thunderbolt." It was a Tenth-Order Immortal Sword of the metal element.
It also had a sword spirit of its own.
Because the spirit had an extreme personality, when Ling Yunpo had asked earlier whether there were any Tenth-Order Immortal Swords in the Sword Pool, An Zhisu had hesitated. In the end, she hadn't told him the sword existed.
After all, it would be ridiculous to have a disciple who had only just learned the Sword Control Technique try to tame such a difficult sword spirit.
What if the experience crushed him and wounded his pride?
However, after seeing Ling Yunpo fight Lin Duanshan today, An Zhisu realized her junior brother had an astonishing gift for the sword.
And because of the earlier meddling by the Kunlun Mirror, his true nature had been exposed. Senior Sister An had realized that Ling Yunpo wasn't merely her well-behaved junior brother—he was already mature enough to have his own plans and schemes.
Since that was the case, why not trust him a little more and let him try to refine Thunderbolt?
"Senior Sister." Ling Yunpo's voice interrupted her thoughts. "You said this immortal sword had some kind of problem?"
"Thunderbolt," An Zhisu sighed. "It only recognizes immortals as its master."
"Immortals?" Ling Yunpo's expression turned strange. "How many immortals are there in this world?"
Above the Nascent Soul stage were the legendary immortals.
Immortals were extremely rare in this world. Many cultivators went their entire lives without hearing a single word about them.
But everyone guessed, without exception, that at least among the Three Pure Ones of the Orthodox sects, each school had an immortal-level Grand Elder presiding over it.
Why would someone like that take an ordinary Tenth-Order Immortal Sword like Thunderbolt as their own?
"Mm." An Zhisu shook her head. "That's why it still doesn't have a master."
Before you continue