Martial Sage Dragging Saber Slash

"Junior Sister, what happened to...?"

Carrying a basket of large meat buns, Lao Denuo entered the courtyard and immediately spotted Yue Lingshan lying unconscious on the ground.

"Senior Sister was tired. She needed a good rest."

Tian Hao took out a large meat bun and explained as he ate.

"..."

Eyeing the large lump on Yue Lingshan's fair forehead, Lao Denuo was utterly speechless. He felt his intelligence had been insulted.

"But you can't leave her lying on the ground. What if she catches a chill and gets sick?"

Lao Denuo spoke helplessly, truly unable to fathom how Tian Hao's mind worked. She was a beauty, for heaven's sake!

"Good point!"

Tian Hao nodded, finding his second senior brother's words quite reasonable. He swallowed the rest of his meat bun in a few bites, then picked Yue Lingshan up and tossed her onto the courtyard's woodpile.

"..."

Lao Denuo's face twitched. He was utterly speechless, not even knowing where to begin criticizing this.

"Here's the situation. Since the war between the orthodox and demonic factions could start soon, Master told Senior Sister to train in Embrace Origin Force with me. Senior Brother, please give her some pointers on external training from now on, too."

Sitting back down, Tian Hao took out another large meat bun and spoke as he ate.

"Junior Sister's temperament isn't really suited to external training."

Lao Denuo took out a large meat bun as well, frowning. He could not understand what his nominal master was thinking.

Training both internally and externally could indeed greatly increase one's strength, but achieving anything in external training was far from easy. Above all, one had to endure hardship.

It was one thing for a man, but their junior sister was a woman and really wasn't suited to external training. Her temperament was unsuitable, too.

"It's fine. Master gave the word. If Senior Sister misbehaves, I can beat her as much as I like."

Tian Hao waved dismissively. He had already prepared for that. To upgrade his Senior Sister cheat as quickly as possible, he would show no mercy.

"..."

Seeing the savage look on his junior brother's face, Lao Denuo grew even more speechless. He also wondered whether Yue Buqun's brain had gone haywire. Why else would he entrust his daughter to a man as romantically clueless as black iron?

"The teacher, Eldest Senior Brother, and the others will be back soon, in three days at most. Be careful when they arrive."

As though remembering something, Lao Denuo offered a warning.

Their eldest senior brother was closest to Lu Dayou and had grown up with their junior sister. Once he learned what had happened, he would certainly come looking for trouble with Tian Hao.

"Then let them come back!"

Tian Hao paid it no mind. He had no affection for that eldest senior brother, but he was not afraid of him either.

After all, this was the Mount Hua Sect, with Old Yue presiding over everything!

Would Linghu Chong really dare come charging in to kill him?

Lao Denuo had been right. Linghu Chong did return, even earlier than the three days Lao Denuo had mentioned. He came back up the mountain the very next day.

Linghu Chong first visited Lu Dayou. After confirming what that junior brother had told him earlier, he stormed off to find Tian Hao.

"Junior Brother Tian, when fellow disciples spar, they stop short of injury. You went far too hard on Junior Brother Lu."

Linghu Chong's face was cold, his heart burning with anger.

He had just examined Lu Dayou's injuries. Every tooth in his mouth had been knocked out, his cheeks were still swollen, and his shoulder bone was the worst of all. He would need at least another two months to recover.

It had only been a spar between fellow disciples. Had such heavy blows really been necessary?

More importantly, this fellow even bullied Junior Sister. Didn't he know she and I grew up together?

He had long since seen that this man was no good. In the future, he would surely bring disaster upon the Mount Hua Sect.

"You want to stand up for him?"

With his greatsword resting on his shoulder, Tian Hao tilted his head, not bothering to explain.

Lu Dayou had surely embellished the story. That was human nature. It seemed he had gone too easy on him last time.

Clang!

"Please instruct me, Junior Brother!"

Forcing down his anger, Linghu Chong drew his sword and offered a swordsman's salute.

Although he wanted nothing more than to cripple the fellow, the sect's rules constrained him. He had to follow procedure.

This was also a chance to see what the so-called blacksmithing swordsmanship Lu Dayou had mentioned looked like. Ideally, he could discern the fellow's true origins from it.

"Please instruct me!"

Tian Hao returned the swordsman's salute, then let his sword trail behind him as he waited for Linghu Chong to attack.

"Martial Sage Dragging Saber Slash?"

That strange sword-dragging posture made Linghu Chong's heart tighten. Recalling the information gathered through their secret investigation of Tian Hao, he guessed that this was likely Guan Family Fort's signature technique, Martial Sage Dragging Saber Slash.

Without hesitating further, he observed cautiously for a moment, then circulated his internal qi throughout his body. Using his lightness movement technique, he crossed thirty feet in an instant and thrust his sword.

His opening move was the lethal Phoenix Comes in Splendor from Mount Hua Swordsmanship. He also infused the blade with internal qi, giving it matchless sharpness.

At the same time, Tian Hao moved. His slightly bent legs snapped straight and his waist and hips twisted, driving the meteoric iron greatsword trailing behind him into a sudden horizontal slash. Its explosive speed was astonishing, far beyond Linghu Chong's expectations. Even he could see only a streak of swordlight.

Rather than meet it head-on, he instinctively pulled back and retreated sharply, narrowly avoiding the sweeping blade.

But before he could thrust again, Tian Hao turned, swinging his greatsword through a full circle and into another horizontal slash.

The move was crude and simple, with quite a few openings, yet paired with a greatsword fully four feet long, it left Linghu Chong struggling to respond.

After all, his own sword was only two and a half feet long. If he thrust forward, he would be struck first.

Helpless, he could only keep retreating and dodging, waiting for an opportunity.

Thus, Tian Hao spun and swung his sword, using the greatsword's superior reach to force Linghu Chong back step by step, while Linghu Chong searched for a way to counter him.

Linghu Chong truly deserved to be called a swordsmanship prodigy capable of quickly mastering the Nine Swords of Dugu. In the blink of an eye, he found a counter.

"Phoenix Comes in Splendor!"

He thrust with Phoenix Comes in Splendor once more, his sword tip striking the flat of the greatsword with pinpoint precision.

His powerful internal qi erupted, forcibly stopping the greatsword's momentum.

However, his refined-steel sword could not withstand that violent burst of internal qi along with the Embracing the Origin Inner Force transmitted by Tian Hao. The blade bent into a perilous arc before finally snapping.

Ignoring his broken sword, Linghu Chong seized the chance to surge forward and throw a punch.

As the Mount Hua Sect's eldest senior brother, he naturally knew more than swordsmanship. He also practiced Jade-Breaking Fist. Although he had only reached minor mastery, its power was not to be underestimated when backed by his abundant internal qi.

Bam!

The lightning-fast punch struck Tian Hao squarely in the chest. The force formed by internal qi surged into his chest and abdomen, making him bare his teeth in pain.

"Caught you!"

Tian Hao seized Linghu Chong's wrist, a savage expression on his face.

Eagle Claw Stele-Smashing Hand!

Not good!

Realizing the danger, Linghu Chong was just about to swing his left fist down when tremendous force surged through his wrist. His entire body was swung up and hurled toward the ground.

Alarmed, he hurriedly adjusted his balance and landed firmly on both feet to avoid suffering internal injuries from the slam.

But before he could steady his breathing and counterattack, that tremendous force came through his wrist again.

Bam!

After this repeated more than a dozen times, Linghu Chong finally made a mistake and failed to steady himself. His body slammed heavily into the ground.

Bam, bam, bam...

As though possessed by the Hulk, Tian Hao gripped Linghu Chong's wrist and repeatedly used Eagle Claw Stele-Smashing Hand to swing him up and smash him down. In that position, no matter how fine Linghu Chong's swordsmanship or fist techniques were, he could not use them.

Despite the internal qi protecting his body, Tian Hao's beginner-level Eagle Claw Stele-Smashing Hand left him spewing blood. He suffered considerable internal injuries, and even several of his ribs were broken by the repeated slams.

"Pah! Competing with me in hand-to-hand combat? Dumbass!"

Tian Hao spat, then turned to bow and greet Yue Buqun, who was approaching with a dark expression.

"Master!"

Linghu Chong was indeed strong, the undisputed best among the Mount Hua Sect's disciples. Even among the younger generation of Southern Ming's martial world, he ranked among the finest.

But ninety percent of his skill lay in his sword. Abandoning it to fight Tian Hao barehanded was like an old god of longevity hanging himself-utterly idiotic.

"Master!"

Linghu Chong also saw Yue Buqun arrive. Hastily enduring the agonizing pain, he struggled to his feet.

Smack!

Yue Buqun approached with his aged face grim and slapped him.

"Master!"

Clutching his cheek, Linghu Chong stared in disbelief, unable to understand why his master had slapped him.