A Man of the Martial World

"Your swordsmanship is exquisite!"

As Chu Tianshu landed, he faced the Flowing Cloud Manor Master and raised his eyes.

"How about this?!"

Colorless flames suddenly erupted from his eyes, mouth, and nose.

In an instant, flames engulfed his entire body.

The human figure had been completely obscured, leaving only a large, raging ball of colorless flame.

Splash splash splash splash!!!

The lake water lapped against the rocks, creating spray like arrows and white debris.

The flames, however, spread across the damp, juicy rocks.

In an instant, the flames swelled to the size of three or four wild horses.

They crushed towards the Flowing Cloud Manor Master.

Chu Tianshu's internal energy attributes underwent a subtle change, allowing him to more easily manipulate the condensed Mind Power within the Sanqi Divine Sword to create illusions.

Compared to the fleeting, deterrent illusions of the past, this is the only way to achieve the greatest effect.

Now his fire burns fiercely and will never be extinguished.

Within the colorless flames, dozens of palm prints appeared like muffled thunder.

All that could be seen were palm prints, not the figures themselves. They grabbed, chopped, stabbed, and slapped, raining down on every part of the Flowing Cloud Manor Master's body.

The palm techniques are so realistic they are hard to distinguish from illusions, yet each handprint can disrupt one's intuition and create a strong sense of threat.

Although the Bodhidharma Divine Sword is exquisite, it is difficult to use it in this situation.

Despite the danger, Flowing Cloud Manor Master remained calm and turned to the side.

His left side seemed to disappear into the Gang Qi, into the shadows.

No matter which direction people looked from, it seemed that at this moment, the Flowing Cloud Manor Master only had his right half of his body left.

That didn't look like a living person at all; it made one feel that the Flowing Cloud Manor Master was just half a corpse, making the scene extremely bizarre.

He used the right half of his body to thrust repeatedly with the iron flute.

The mutilated body appeared and disappeared, like a ghost or a demon.

All the palm prints were gradually broken by the iron flute's oblique thrust.

On a boat near the island, there was a tall, thin old man with a high crown and a face full of wrinkles.

Even though he had been affected by the flute music, he managed to control himself and prevented the ship from sinking or causing any cracks in the planks.

However, upon seeing the skill level of the Flowing Cloud Manor Master, the old man's hand, which was gripping his sword, suddenly clicked.

"How... how could he possibly have mastered this sword technique to its peak?!"

The old man's fingers crushed a ring of wood around the scabbard, and he nearly broke the extremely long and narrow sword in his grip.

He was the Supreme Elder of the Hainan Sword Sect, and had mastered almost all the secret manuals on swordsmanship, internal energy, and lightness skills that the Hainan Sword Sect had established since its founding.

The only technique he couldn't master was the "Heavenly Defect Thirteen Forms".

But he was not ashamed of it, because the Heavenly Defect Thirteen Forms seemed to be a sword technique that only people with severe disabilities could practice.

The leader of the Hainan Sword Sect, despite having mastered this sword technique, was far from being a match for the Supreme Elder, as he was missing an arm and a leg.

However, when he saw the Flowing Cloud Manor Master displaying the "Heavenly Defect Thirteen Forms," he realized that his previous understanding of this sword technique was a complete joke.

Human bones are heavy and muscular, preventing us from flying like seabirds; human breathing is fragile, making it impossible to breathe underwater.

This is the innate defect, the true meaning of "heavenly disability," that the founder of the Hainan Sword Sect School perceived.

This principle was already pointed out in the preface of the sword manual, but later generations of inheritors could not understand its meaning and only thought that the patriarch was exaggerating and talking some nice but empty words.

He then ignored the prologue and devoted all his energy to comprehending the strange sword techniques that followed.

In reality, the kung fu of the Hainan Sword Sect is mostly unorthodox and unconventional.

The Heavenly Defect Thirteen Forms is a first-rate method of breath regulation.

Harmonize internal and external breathing with light and Sword Qi, and use changes in sword posture to drive your movement.

The sword techniques such as binding hands and feet, iron hoops around the waist, and swallowing stones are merely methods for training Sword Qi and internal strength; they are not meant to actually simulate those incomplete techniques.

At this moment, the Flowing Cloud Manor Master was half in the light and half in the dark, and the distance and elevation of his position changed with the wind.

He had been breathing continuously, blocking hundreds of palm strikes from Chu Tianshu, and still hadn't reached the point where he needed to catch his breath.

Whoosh!

The indistinct, distorted, colorless flames roared violently, then began to contract.

Dozens of real and fake palm shadows suddenly disappeared, leaving only one palm.

The transparent palm print transformed into a real hand and struck out with a thunderous roar.

With a flick of the iron flute, it pierced towards the base of the ring finger of this hand.

This is a weakness in most people's palm techniques; if the little finger is stabbed, even if the finger is severed, it may not be able to stop the impact of the palm force.

If you stab the palm, that's where your palm strike is strongest, turning it into a contest of internal energy.

Only the base of the ring finger, though relatively weak, can instantly influence the overall flow of palm power.

Sword Qi enveloped the front of the iron flute, faintly forming a sharp, cone-like edge.

Laugh!!

The sharp cone pierced the palm, triggering Sword Qi, and the right hand immediately shattered.

However, the right hand shattered like a bubble bursting, without any blood mist.

Three inches behind, another right hand shot out like lightning.

The palm of that hand slammed directly into the front of the iron flute.

After Chu Tianshu gathered the raging flames, he did indeed only unleash one palm strike, but this strike was both an illusion and the truth.

The sword Sword Qi on the iron flute temporarily subsided, and a wisp of green energy shot out from each of the flute holes.

The flute's sudden blast was so loud it felt like it was going to rip your eardrums apart!

The craftsmanship of this flute was extremely ingenious; even under these circumstances, it managed to deflect 20% of Chu Tianshu's palm strike.

Even with its black iron material, it couldn't withstand the remaining 80% of the force.

The entire iron flute deformed violently, broke apart, and flew away.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!

Chu Tianshu alternated between his palms, flashing with blue lightning.

In the blink of an eye, he had already exchanged six blows with the Flowing Cloud Manor Master.

Sky-Spanning Divine Art, Thunder Qi Subdues the Waves.

After comprehending the Refining Spirit into Qi, the depth of his internal strength took another big step forward.

The damage from these six consecutive strikes was comparable to the ten strikes he had exchanged with Chen Zuqi.

Chen Zuqi's internal strength was much greater than Chu Tianshu's at the time. After receiving those ten palm strikes, his bones were penetrated by the force of the palm strikes, and his heart meridian was directly shattered.

Flowing Cloud Manor Master took the hit head-on, but his expression remained solemn, his eyebrows twitching, without the slightest injury.

Chu Tianshu sensed that although the opponent's total internal energy was not as great as Chen Zuqi's, it was very rich and the way it was used was also very special.

The martial arts techniques that can be called unique skills in the martial arts world must each have their own distinctive internal energy circulation routes.

Some martial arts techniques are incompatible with each other's internal energy, not because of their attributes, but because of their flow.

For example, the Wudang Sect's Two Instruments Mental Art requires internal energy to flow along the Du Meridian at midnight and noon.

Although the name of the Yoga Mental Art of the India Jiaxing Lineage is different, there is a meridian in it that corresponds to the Du meridian. At noon, the internal energy should flow against the Du meridian.

If someone practices both of these mental techniques.

Even if you master one technique before practicing another, it will still dissipate the residual effects of the first technique in your meridians.

This makes practicing the latter method much more efficient.

The former method will still have some delays when used in the future.

It seemed that the meridians inside the body of the Flowing Cloud Manor Master were divided into layers.

Within the same meridian, some are divided into two layers, and some into three layers, which can simultaneously accommodate several internal forces with different flow directions and speeds.

This was something he could only do after he comprehended the Divine Intent of "Flowing Cloud Heavenly Net".

Only the Divine Intent of the Flowing Cloud Heavenly Net can separate various internal forces, preventing them from penetrating each other, and can also protect the meridians, preventing them from bursting.

His body was as if it contained thirty-seven layers of netting, most of them overlapping.

As soon as Chu Tianshu's palm strike rushed forward, it was diverted and neutralized by the thirty-seven layers of netting.

A gentle touch concealing a sharp edge, initially cool then intense, leading the opponent to their doom...

These are all internal energies that have been circulating in the body of the Flowing Cloud Manor Master for a long time and are accustomed to, so there is no need to be distracted to control these changes.

These changes will occur naturally as long as he has the thought of resisting the movement in his mind.

No wonder he was able to neutralize the power of the Demonic Saber Technique and easily deal with Lu Shuangyan's first fourteen sword strikes.

"Drink!!"

Although he could withstand Chu Tianshu's offensive, Flowing Cloud Manor Master did not intend to fight head-on indefinitely.

He let out a low groan, his hands and sleeves billowing like clouds in a strong wind.

Two thick white clouds suddenly merged together, pressing down on Chu Tianshu.

Flowing Cloud Manor Master felt that Chu Tianshu's stamina was something he had never seen before.

The cyan internal energy surged and gushed, constantly replenishing its energy. With each collision, the force of the physical body also slammed through.

Even if Flowing Cloud Manor Master could withstand two or three hundred moves in a head-on fight against someone like that, he would most likely still lose.

As these two white clouds spread out, the Flowing Cloud Manor Master's hands moved in countless ways within the clouds.

Knives, guns, swords, palms, fingers, claws—all sorts of unique skills appeared.

Use sharpness to overcome force, and skill to overcome composure.

Chu Tianshu's eyes flashed, and at that moment, the sleeves of his clothes bulged.

His two blue sleeves, unlike his opponent's sleeves, did not billow out quickly yet gracefully.

It was as if two blue thunderclouds suddenly bloomed inside his sleeves.

The Zongheng threads that make up the sleeves are stretched so much that they are completely exposed, but because internal energy also permeates these threads, they remain stretched without breaking.

Thump!!!

The two colors, blue and white, are clashing together.

The four sleeves billowed and swayed incessantly, rolling and colliding.

To outsiders, the barrier of fabric seems to have disappeared.

The four sleeves formed a unified space.

Outside, the blue and white turmoil churned, indistinguishable from one another; inside, lightning flashed as they clashed, an endless and unceasing battle.

Even Chu Tianshu and Flowing Cloud Manor Master themselves couldn't see what was inside the sleeve at this moment.

They relied solely on their senses, using their hands, concealed in their sleeves, to strike, attack, and exert force at lightning speed.

The sound of the lake waves crashing against the rocks was not as deep and resonant as the sound that echoed around them.

Finally, after a deafening ripping sound.

The figure of the Flowing Cloud Manor Master drifted away like a wild goose flying into the void.

It landed on a pine tree that grew horizontally on a low cliff.

Although his sleeves were torn in several places, they were not shattered.

Chu Tianshu's large sleeves, however, were torn into shreds and fluttered in the air.

Beneath the wide sleeves, there were also narrow, light blue cuffs.

But these two narrow-sleeved garments are now covered with more than a dozen kinds of hidden weapons.

Money darts, dark blue bullets, barbed wire, death nails...

Chu Tianshu took a deep breath with a solemn expression, and his arms clenched, causing the blue silk to stretch taut.

All the hidden weapons, which originally seemed to be embedded in the surface, have now been shaken off without a trace of blood.

However, there seemed to be some redness and swelling on her arms.

"At such close range, you dared to launch so many hidden weapons? Aren't you afraid they'd bounce back and smash into your face?!"

Chu Tianshu noticed the eerie green poisonous glint on some of the hidden weapons and couldn't help but utter a sarcastic remark.

"Your skin isn't as resilient as mine; one scratch and your face would be ruined."

Flowing Cloud Manor Master silently pulled a few silver needles from his arm.

"If your silver needles were also poisoned, I should be using my internal energy to expel the poison now."

There are several acupoints on the forearm of the Flowing Cloud Manor Master, from which blood is gushing out.

Although the silver needles were not poisoned, the way they were inserted was strange.

As soon as the needles were inserted, the blood in several places on his forearm instantly felt like unusable blood.

If it is not allowed to flow out, it may actually affect the heart and lungs' breathing.

"That felt great!"

Flowing Cloud Manor Master sighed, "Sound skills, techniques, internal energy, hidden weapons, fighting spirit—it's been a long time since I've encountered an opponent I can compete with in every aspect."

"I am, after all, still a man of the martial world."

"Pity..."

Flowing Cloud Manor Master stared at Chu Tianshu, "There are so many pleasures in the world that can be destroyed, why do you insist on disrupting the family-run system?"

"If all you want is to Central Plains and dominate the world, I'm willing to spend another ten or twenty years."

"Let us have enough time to frequently exchange ideas and savor this grand spectacle."

Upon hearing this, Chu Tianshu looked at him with newfound respect and became more interested in talking to him.

"How did you know what I was going to do?"

Chu Tianshu laughed heartily, "Do you know how painful it was for me to go to school back then?"

"Learning those things is always quite boring because there's such a lack of empirical evidence."

"But now that I've learned it and have the ability, of course I should do something that allows me to fully utilize my strength and knowledge."

He scratched his eyebrows with his fingernail.

The corners of his eyebrows seemed to become sharper as a result.

"But I don't agree with your claim of being a member of the martial arts world."

Chu Tianshu gazed at the vast lake.

"The river rushes on, reckless, brave, and cruel; the lake is calm, patient, simple, and mundane."

"But the boundaries of the martial arts world are very thin; it's all fluid water, and once they meet, they will quickly merge again."

"I have never heard of any river that can lie on top of a lake for so long, touching each other without mixing."

"And those dynasties, like palaces created by human hands, only grow higher and higher, layer upon layer. The higher they go, the less they touch the ground, unless, of course, the entire palace collapses..."

Chu Tianshu stared at the Flowing Cloud Manor Master.

Your heart is no longer in the world of martial arts.

"I am the true hero of the martial world!!"

(End of this chapter)