Reversing the Evil-Warding Sword Technique: Not for Use During the Main Event

Lin Lang easily vaulted into the Lin family's old residence. There was no one inside.

The old residence was not large, and Lin Lang soon found the Buddhist shrine.

He climbed onto the roof and searched through dozens of tiles before finally finding the kasaya Lin Yuantu had hidden there all those years ago.

After glancing at the writing on it, Lin Lang quickly tucked it into his robes.

"My surname is Lin too. Five hundred years ago, we were one family. It's perfectly reasonable for me to inherit the Lin family's Evil-Warding Sword Manual, right?"

Lin Lang restored all the tiles to their original positions, swiftly left the Lin family's old residence, and returned to the inn.

After checking the doors and windows, he began reading the Evil-Warding Sword Manual written on the kasaya by candlelight.

As he read, he used his hand as a sword to practice its moves.

After practicing for only a short while, he felt his blood surge, as though a fire inside him were shooting upward from below, threatening to send him into qi deviation.

"System, reverse the flaws of the Evil-Warding Sword Technique."

[Evil-Warding Sword Technique: its flaw is that, without self-castration, practicing it causes lust to burn like fire, making qi deviation likely and leading to death from total bodily paralysis.]

[After reversing the flaw, practicing it without self-castration produces exceptional calm and prevents inner demons.]

Huh? Reversing the Evil-Warding Sword Technique's flaw actually didn't boost my virility!

Everyone else who practiced the Evil-Warding Sword Technique had to become a eunuch first. He did not need to, and it could even prevent qi deviation.

He practiced the Reverse Evil-Warding Sword Technique, and sure enough, that feeling of impending qi deviation never returned. Even his excitement settled considerably, as though he had entered sage mode after practicing the Child Skill with Xiao He.

Lin Lang did not rest that night. He practiced his sword technique the entire time.

Only at dawn did he stop. He had already reached the beginner stage of the Reverse Evil-Warding Sword Technique.

Host: Lin Lang.

Qi: ten years (Evil-Warding Qi).

Martial arts: Reverse Golden Body Child Skill (body hardening · peerless martial technique, major mastery); Reverse Evil-Warding Sword Technique (peerless martial technique, beginner); Five Tigers Severing Gate Saber (third-rate saber technique, major mastery); Basic Movement Technique (third-rate movement technique, major mastery).

Realm: peak first-rate martial artist.

Lin Lang saw that his qi had become Evil-Warding Qi, and his realm had risen to the peak of the first-rate level.

"Just reaching the beginner stage of the Evil-Warding Sword Technique increased my strength this much. If I reach minor mastery, I'll at least be a martial arts master. What about major mastery, then?"

No wonder those who practiced high-level martial arts were stronger than many people who had trained their entire lives, even at a young age. This made him even more interested in those supreme arts and peerless techniques.

"Unfortunately, my foundation in swordsmanship is too weak. It'll take a month or two to reach minor mastery, and who knows how long major mastery will take. I can put the journey back to good use and practice."

"This sword technique can also become my trump card. Who would imagine that a Jinyiwei who carries a Xiuchun Blade every day is actually an expert swordsman?"

"It's not just the improvement from the sword moves. My qi has also become Evil-Warding Qi, circulating more than twice as fast and making all my moves more than twice as fast too. Wait, won't that be twice as fast as well?"

Lin Lang thought it over. He could simply avoid using qi during the main event.

After eating something at the inn, Lin Lang mounted his horse, left Fu City, and headed toward Great Ming.

This time, he did not take the main road. Instead, he chose the shortest route, even deliberately taking some narrow trails.

He was positively eager to run into highway robbers. No martial arts master would stoop so low, after all, and even first-rate experts disdained such work.

That meant none of them would be a match for him, making them perfect for sword practice.

Only actual combat could help his swordsmanship improve faster. He also wanted to break through to the martial arts master realm as soon as possible.

Martial arts masters were pillars even in the great, prestigious sects. The Mount Song Sect's Thirteen Guardians, for example, were thirteen martial arts masters.

Over the past few days, Lin Lang had encountered three groups of highway robbers and two criminal inns. His wealth had grown considerably again.

Unfortunately, those people were all too weak. Many could not withstand even a single strike from Lin Lang, putting him under no pressure whatsoever. His swordsmanship had not improved as quickly as he had expected.

At this rate, his sword technique might not reach minor mastery even by the time he returned to Great Ming.

In the grass at the foot of a mountain, the second chief of the Black Wind Stronghold personally led his men in an ambush. His eyes lit up when he saw Lin Lang riding leisurely toward them.

There were no emblems of any prestigious sect on his clothes. Travel-worn as he was, he did not look like an expert either. Besides, he was so young that his martial arts could hardly amount to much.

As a peak second-rate martial artist, with several third-rate subordinates beside him, he had more than enough strength to take this fellow down.

"Stop! Get over here and let us search you, or we'll use your head as a kickball!"

After saying that, the second chief suddenly sensed something was wrong.

Why did the young man on horseback look not the slightest bit frightened by his words, but excited instead?

"Finally, more highway robbers. Are you the strongest one?" Lin Lang sized up the second chief. He still felt no pressure at all. Another weakling.

"How dare you! Is that any way to speak to our second chief? Get off your horse and kneel!"

Lin Lang leaped from his horse, his figure flashing past the nine bandits.

Falling Meteor, Buddha Appears Amid Blossoms, Swallow Pierces the Willow, Sweeping Away the Demons... Every strike was a different move from the Evil-Warding Sword Technique.

The Evil-Warding Sword Technique had seventy-two sequences, each containing dozens of variations. Against these bandits, however, there was no need for so many variations.

By the time he appeared behind the second chief, his sword was already sheathed. All the bandits stood frozen in place. They had not even managed to make a single move.

"This one's the second chief, so there must be an even stronger chief up on the mountain. I'll have to meet him and have them reimburse my travel expenses while I'm at it."

As his words fell, a succession of thuds rang out, and one head after another tumbled to the ground.

Lin Lang deftly searched the bodies. "Business isn't going well for this stronghold. Don't they know to work harder at their trade?"

He tethered his horse to a nearby tree and headed up the mountain with light steps.

"Is the second chief back? Who are you?!" A bandit appeared at the stronghold's gate.

Lin Lang shouted, "Hurry and tell the chief! The second chief has encountered a powerful enemy at the foot of the mountain. What are you standing there for? Go!"

The bandit was fooled into going to find the chief. Lin Lang waited where he was, and a short while later, the chief appeared with a dozen or so armed subordinates.

"Who are you? What powerful enemy has the second chief encountered? Hurry and lead the way," the chief said rapidly.

Lin Lang flashed his white teeth. "So you're the chief? I'm the powerful enemy your second chief encountered."

Only then did the chief realize that another outlaw had come to prey on them!

He was just about to ask where Lin Lang came from when he saw Lin Lang draw his sword and thrust at him.

A short while later, the bandits had become a scattering of corpses.

Lin Lang searched their bodies, then searched the rooms in the stronghold as well. It seemed these bandits had done fairly well in their trade before this.

Only after eating and even taking a bath did Lin Lang head back down the mountain the way he had come, hang his bundle beside the saddle, and ride away.

"That chief really was a first-rate martial artist, but he couldn't even withstand three moves from me. Among first-rate experts, I should rank at the very top."

"I wonder whether I could hold my own against a martial arts master."

As he muttered to himself, he suddenly heard the sounds of fighting in the woods ahead.

A clear voice rang out in all directions. "Elder Qu, the sect leader ordered me to bring you back under arrest. You'd better surrender without a fight."