The Sword Art That Wanted to Be Born

Lu Shuangyan drifted backward.

As he landed, the branch in his hand made a soft crackling sound and then exploded into powder.

"So easily, you've broken my Fourteenth Sword."

Lu Shuangyan looked at her palm, a smile on her face, "I didn't make a mistake coming here!"

Chu Tianshu was looking at the tiny hole in the ground.

There were actually two holes in the ground in front of him.

One of them was caused by Lu Shuangyan releasing Sword Qi from her feet, which altered her body shape. The opening was about half the size of a palm, and its depth was also relatively easy to see.

The hole created by the Fourteenth Sword was only the size of a bird's eye.

It's hard to tell how deep it's buried.

"If you were using a sword, this move wouldn't be so easily countered by me."

Chu Tianshu could sense that when Lu Shuangyan unleashed her power, the Sword Qi emanating from his body was almost seamlessly integrated with the sword he held in his left hand.

The iron sword, on its own, did not possess any mysterious aura.

However, over the years, the sword's quality has been imbued with Lu Shuangyan's Sword Intent Sword Qi countless times, making it the most suitable weapon for unleashing Death-Claiming Sword strikes.

This is somewhat similar to the process of refining magical artifacts.

If the sword's owner continues to raise it for a few more years, even if Lu Shuangyan dies of old age one day, the sword he leaves behind can probably be used to ward off evil spirits and protect the house.

Don't you also have a sword at your waist?

Lu Shuangyan seemed thoughtful. "Although you don't seem to be good with a sword, that sword must have a way of being used more suited to you."

"But you didn't use that power just now."

Chu Tianshu smiled and tapped the hilt of the Sanqi Divine Sword with his finger.

Just now, facing the Sword Intent of the Fourteenth Sword, the Weapon Soul was somewhat eager to try it out.

Xiahou Feishan's voice drifted over softly.

"If you two want to discuss martial arts, say something of substance, instead of just bragging to each other."

Chu Tianshu laughed and said, "As the saying goes, those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly. Why don't you first share your impressions from what you just observed, as a starting point for our discussion?"

Xiahou Feishan took a few steps closer.

The monks in the woods also moved closer, although most of them were a little pale, and a few couldn't help but press their hands to their chests.

But they were also eager to hear what these experts had to say about the battle they had just fought.

Let's start with Chu Tianshu.

Xiahou Feishan said thoughtfully, "The feeling you give off is quite different from when you killed Chen Zuqi that day."

"Originally, your Thunder Qi Subdues the Waves, in my perception, was simply the internal energy flowing from your entire body towards your palm, relying on the rapid changes in your meridians to converge into a silent beam of light."

"And that move you just made, as I sensed, was like a small patch of the surrounding environment converging on you, then transforming it and bursting forth again to form...Gang Qi is a type of internal energy)?"

Chu Tianshu nodded.

Most martial arts in the world can be used for both offense and defense when the internal energy is not outside the body; one can exert force forward or withdraw it in an emergency.

However, once it leaves the body, it becomes difficult to control, and it is basically impossible to bring it back into the body.

The "Sky-Spanning Divine Art" allows internal energy that has been dispersed outside the body to return to the physical body within a certain period of time.

Chu Tianshu then had an idea: to release his internal energy, interfere with the air, and then retract it into his body.

In this way, the interfered air will also gather around him along this trend of return.

The air density around him will quietly increase, gradually like Submerged Current.

When he unleashes his power again, the resulting gale-force winds and currents will be even stronger and more powerful.

This is also a form of "Thunder Qi Subdues the Waves".

If this method were used to fight against Chen Zuqi, the effect might not be very good; instead, it might lead to a long battle that tests endurance.

However, it is very suitable for dealing with agile and sharp swordsmen.

Xiahou Feishan's heart stirred slightly upon hearing Chu Tianshu's explanation.

"My Sword Intent Red Maple, is also the type that can be retrieved after being released... but its ability to interfere with airflow is far inferior to your internal energy."

Xiahou Feishan then said, "It seems that Lu Shuangyan has been more inspiring to me."

He didn't say much, but simply drew his sword.

Snap!!

His sword flashed upwards from the lower left, and his figure suddenly appeared three steps away.

Only a sound like tearing silk could be heard in the air.

Sword Qi Sword Intent enveloped his entire body, moving through the air and transforming the airflow into buoyancy.

Although the movements are different, his move has the same meaning as Lu Shuangyan's first sword strike.

He reached for the longsword on the upper right and, with a twist of his wrist, thrust it forward in a spiral motion.

Most of his internal energy seemed to be concentrated at the tip of the sword, making it more solid and rotating more slowly.

The blade had already twisted through more angles, but the tip hadn't twisted that much yet.

As a result, the entire longsword became twisted like a pretzel.

Stretch!!!

As Xiahou released his inner force, the longsword suddenly straightened.

In that instant, the spinning and thrusting of the sword tip was far more terrifying than any ordinary sword twisting technique.

A small section of the sword tip seemed to have turned scalding hot and red.

Taking advantage of the moment his longsword tightened, Xiahou flicked it and thrust again, leaving a faint afterimage as thin as a thread.

In the blink of an eye, he unleashed more than a dozen sword techniques.

The various nuances of swordsmanship, such as floating, condensing, releasing, finesse, explosiveness, and piercing, bear at least seven-tenths resemblance to Lu Shuangyan's Thirteen Death-Claiming Swords.

Even though their movements are completely different, if anyone saw the two of them fight, they would quickly realize that they were trained by the same master.

Strangely, the Thirteen Death-Claiming Swords should become increasingly difficult as you progress.

When Xiahou imitated it, it seemed that he became more and more familiar with it as he went on, and his movements became more and more fluent.

Chu Tianshu suddenly frowned, and a hint of doubt flashed in Lu Shuangyan's eyes as well.

At this moment, Xiahou Feishan had already used the thirteenth sword technique.

His sword hilt rested in front of his right chest, the tip pointing to the sky.

The crimson inner force wrapped around the sword, like swirling flames, obscured the right half of his face.

"Fourteenth..."

Xiahou Feishan's face suddenly turned as white as ice, and his left eye became jet black.

The crimson inner force instantly transformed into white, icy flames, all surging to the tip of the sword, like a star shining brightly.

"Wait!!"

Chu Tianshu roared and stomped his right foot heavily on the mountain path.

A powerful gust of wind swept outwards.

In the direction where Xiahou was, all the leaves and branches were blown backward.

Within a radius of six or seven zhang, fallen leaves fell from the branches like a heavy rain, blowing further away.

Xiahou Feishan felt as if the kick had struck his heart, and he suddenly shuddered.

Lu Shuangyan seized the opportunity to flash in front of him, and suddenly reached out and drew the scabbard from Xiahou's left hand, then sheathed it on his sword.

Thud!!

The scabbard slid down, encasing the entire blade.

Lu Shuangyan's right hand enveloped the hilt of Xiahou Baojian, and she stood motionless.

The two sides remained deadlocked for several breaths.

Xiahou gradually came to his senses, and the whites of his eyes and pupils became distinct. His complexion slowly turned yellow and returned to normal.

"Just now..."

Xiahou Feishan looked shocked. "What just happened?"

Lu Shuangyan took a few steps back, exhaled a breath of stale air, and slowly said, "After we met last time, have you been frequently studying my swordsmanship?"

Xiahou Feishan subconsciously admitted it.

"Yes, but the gains weren't significant, and I hadn't used it in battle before."

Xiahou Feishan said, "Watching your battle today, especially your Fourteenth Sword, has given me great inspiration and triggered my previous accumulation of knowledge in this sword technique."

"However, just now..."

Xiahou's speech slowed as he tried to recall, "The Fourteenth Sword just now didn't seem like something I had figured out myself."

Chu Tianshu walked over. "If you had used that sword strike just now, its power would definitely have exceeded that of the tree branch."

"However, there may be some unforeseen consequences."

Lu Shuangyan also solemnly said, "Indeed, if the Sword Intent of your sword strike just now were to reach its peak, I'm afraid it would attempt to advance to the Fifteenth Sword."

Xiahou Feishan looked on in astonishment.

Lu Shuangyan, despite his fame over the years, has only mastered thirteen sword techniques.

I only recently mastered the Fourteenth Sword, how come a fifteenth sword technique has suddenly appeared?

The world's top sword techniques all require more mental and physical exertion as you progress.

When Daoist Gu of Ba Mountain created the "Returning Wind Dancing Willow" sword technique, he was only thirty years old and already had forty-seven moves.

He will have his forty-eighth move when he is fifty, and his forty-ninth move when he is eighty.

After being passed down to his disciples, successive generations of disciples have generally failed to fully master the essence of these forty-nine moves.

Some people spend their entire lives at the level of the first forty moves, only learning the basic form of the later moves, unable to apply them in actual combat.

"How can there be a sword technique where the speed of new moves increases as you progress?"

Xiahou Feishan muttered, "Your swordsmanship is a bit strange."

Lu Shuangyan looked into the woods and spoke in a deep voice.

"I comprehended the Fourteenth Sword while assassinating the Flowing Cloud Manor Master."

"The Sword Intent of that strike, though at its peak, ultimately failed to harm him, yet it left none of the assembled Gan Jiang in time to react and pursue me."

"At first, I was overjoyed with the result of this sword strike, but soon after, I felt that this sword technique seemed... to have come alive?"

Lu Shuangyan's tone was also somewhat dazed, as if in a dream.

"Although I have loved martial arts since childhood, ever since I achieved some success in internal energy cultivation, I have been sleeping soundly and without dreams."

"After comprehending the Fourteenth Sword, I often saw shadows of various sword styles in my dreams. Some seemed familiar, while others were completely new to me, and all were quite exquisite."

"Every time I wake up from a dream, I feel a deep sense of anxiety and longing."

"Just like my swordsmanship, it's urging me to create the Fifteenth Sword; that will be the culmination of this swordsmanship, its most perfect moment."

Lu Shuangyan's gaze suddenly sharpened.

"That's what made me realize that my swordsmanship is based on the strengths of many schools, adapting to the world. How can it have an end?"

"Life is finite, but knowledge is infinite. Even if my talent and lifespan are limited, I still believe that I can retain a spirit of exploration until I die of old age."

"How could I possibly feel that I've reached perfection at this age?"

Chu Tianshu raised an eyebrow and smiled, "So you think this idea might not have come to you spontaneously."

"Under the strong influence of this idea, the Fifteenth Sword created might not even be the sword move you want?"

Lu Shuangyan nodded solemnly.

His trip to Dongying was an attempt to exercise self-restraint and use the Fourteenth Sword technique to a limited extent.

Let's see if, under the pressure and inspiration of the Dongying masters, we can create a new artistic conception for the Fourteenth Sword.

Unfortunately, Chen Zuqi wasn't there, so he didn't experience much pressure.

Fortunately, he heard about the existence of the Layman Tian.

"Your idea is correct."

Chu Tianshu didn't need to rely on intuition or dreams to guess.

He had truly seen it just now: when Xiahou Feishan was preparing his Fourteenth Sword strike, a Yanxia aura descended straight down from above his head.

Rather than saying that it was Xiahou Feishan who wanted to use his Fourteenth Sword.

Rather, it was those wisps of Yanxia that compelled him to unleash the fourteenth, or even the Fifteenth Sword.

The Yanxia color was predominantly pale, withered, and eerie, yet it was surrounded by some colorful light, like sharp claws.

The strange phenomenon of Yanxia entering the body is like a poisonous dragon that died in the womb, wanting to be reborn by borrowing a new body.

After Chen Zuqi died, an Evil Spirit was born, primarily from his own soul.

Lu Shuangyan's swordsmanship may have the potential to directly conjure up an Evil Spirit spirit using sword techniques.

When such signs appeared in his swordsmanship, a certain kind of light and color in the Mist and Rosy Clouds Realm Layer echoed him.

But he had only just begun; he hadn't yet decided whether he really wanted to go down that path.

That freakish off-the-charts was instinctively striving, trying to truly become...

"Born"!

If he couldn't influence Lu Shuangyan, he would try influencing others who had learned the Thirteen Death-Claiming Swords.

To make others feel that they can learn the Thirteen Death-Claiming Swords more easily.

But that's not right. Since Lu Shuangyan has been restraining herself, that freak shouldn't be strong enough to bewitch Xiahou Feishan.

"You mastered the Fourteenth Sword technique at the Flowing Cloud Manor."

Chu Tianshu asked, "Flowing Cloud Manor Master, are you skilled with a sword?"

The Flowing Cloud Manor Master is said to know thirty-seven extraordinary skills, yet he seems to have never used a weapon since his debut.

Upon hearing this pointed question, Lu Shuangyan was startled and pondered for a moment.

He wasn't carrying a sword at the time.

Lu Shuangyan said solemnly, "But I felt that when he broke my first thirteen sword strikes, there were traces of several sword techniques on his sleeves. His skill was very high!"

(End of this chapter)