Riding the Tides
Thud, thud, thud!
Yu Ci took three rapid steps forward, and the sharp sword in his hand thrust out like an iron staff, whistling as it tore through the air. For a moment, it actually suppressed Senior Brother Bao De's thunderous palm force. Even though the qi wall formed by the Innate Qi Grand Grappling Hand was truly like copper walls and iron ramparts, Yu Ci's shrieking Sword Qi still pierced through it in a single blow. Seeing the sword's imposing momentum, Bao De had no choice but to retreat. At that point, he had already lost the initiative.
It was a cold winter day, yet Zhixin Temple was ablaze with activity. In the martial arena specially cleared out behind the main hall, Yu Ci stood bare-chested, his clearly defined muscles smooth and taut. Across from him stood Bao De, one of the temple's outer disciples who had been the earliest to form his Yin God and enter the middle stage of Spirit Communion. Though limited by his natural gifts, and only barely managing over the next twenty years to send his Yin God out of the body and enter the upper stage of Spirit Communion, his cultivation was truly refined. When his Innate Qi Grand Grappling Hand unfolded, thunder seemed to rumble between his palms and fingers, booming loudly enough to make halls more than ten yards away hum and tremble. Yet despite such fearsome might, Yu Ci forced him into defense within ten strikes.
Yu Ci had not used the sword intent of Half-Mountain Mirage. Instead, he employed the basic art of sword control through the Primordial Spirit. Every stroke was a frontal assault. Relying on the sharpness and solidity of his Sword Qi, he moved freely through Bao De's surging tides of dense true