He paused, and his wooden sword suddenly accelerated, its tip flashing into three points of cold light aimed at Jiang Che's face, chest, and sword-wielding wrist.
The three thrusts came almost simultaneously, too fast for the naked eye to distinguish.
Jiang Che's pupils abruptly contracted. In that flash of lightning, he chose the most dangerous response.
He did not retreat!
Instead, he stepped half a pace forward, rotating the wooden blade inward against his arm and holding it upright before him, using its spine to intercept all three sword shadows at once.
Clink, clink, clink! The three crisp sounds almost merged into one. Jiang Che was driven back three steps, the web between his thumb and forefinger faintly numb.
"Not bad. Your reactions are quick enough." Chen Xin lowered his sword and stood still. "But if this is all you can do, you're still far from touching Sword Intent."
Jiang Che steadied himself and raised a hand to wipe the beads of sweat from his temple.
Those words did not discourage him. Instead, an even fiercer fighting spirit blazed in his eyes.
"You're right, Senior. I was only testing the waters just now. I wasn't giving it my all."
Chen Xin raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then show me whatever else you have."
Jiang Che held the wooden blade horizontally before him. A moment later, his wrist abruptly exerted force, making the blade flick through the air. The trail its edge traced became more solid and swifter than before.
As the edge cut through the air, an extremely faint, sharp sound could just be heard, as though the blade had sliced the air apart.
"Hmm?" Chen Xin's expression shifted slightly.
He saw it clearly. This stroke from Jiang Che was completely different from his earlier bladework.
His earlier strikes had been