Horizontal Sword

When Lei Bei officially brought on, not only was Jin Chang pessimistic, but Zhang Xuezhou also thought it was unlikely.

They could hardly see any trace of a swordsman's aura in Lei Bei.

If you replace the sword in Lei Bei's hand with a hoe, it would be quite normal to see Lei Bei as a young man hoeing the fields in the countryside.

There was no sharpness, nor any carefree spirit or heroic air about Lei Bei.

Until Lei Bei drew his own sword.

There was no glint of cold light, no swordsmanship Divine Ability; Lei Bei's sword was wielded like a farmer wildly swinging a wood-chopping knife.

His sword wasn't sharp; the blade was even somewhat dull. But this sword blocked Mo Shengqi's frenzied flying flower sword technique.

"Scold!"

A thunderous shout rang out, and Mo Shengqi's body instantly transformed into two figures, the red Sword-Ray on his longsword sweeping out like thousands of flower petals.

"It's a sword Divine Ability from the Flying Flower Sword Art; it should enhance the precision of sword strikes!"

Dong Zhongshu murmured softly.

The greatest advantage of the Flying Flower Sword Technique lies in its high frequency of strikes, while its disadvantages lie in the power and accuracy of its strikes.

Mo Qifu's sword Divine Ability clearly possesses the ability to compensate for deficiencies in swordsmanship.

The raindrops fell in dense, persistent patterns, creating a continuous tinkling sound like pearls falling onto a jade plate.

But in just three seconds, Mo Qishi quickly retreated, clutching his longsword.

He stared in horror at his calloused right hand.

Drops of blood were dripping from the mouth of his hand, causing his hand to tremble uncontrollably.

For a swordsman, the most basic skill is to hold the sword firmly. If one cannot hold the sword steadily, no matter how strong one's sword Divine Ability are, they will be wasted.

When he looked at Lei Bei again, the condescending expression in his eyes was gone.

"Your swordsmanship is superb; I am completely convinced!"

Mo was easily angered, but when faced with Lei Bei's sword, he couldn't muster any anger.

His opponent was repeatedly hit under his relentless attack until he injured himself.

It's like slapping someone and ending up hurting your own hand.

There was no need to get angry and try again; he was well aware that his swordsmanship was completely inferior.

Moreover, he had a vague feeling that if he hadn't forcibly stopped, the crack might not have been just at the base of his hand, but his entire body.

"I'm ranked ninth in swordsmanship among the guest elders of the Prince of King of Huainan's Household; this position is yours," Mo Shengqi said. "If you want to advance further today, there are also Ning Yu, ranked fifth, and Duan Sheli, ranked third."

"And who's number one?" Lei Bei asked.

"Ninth Master, ranked first in swordsmanship, and Qing Lingzi, ranked second, had a sword duel last month, and both of them are still injured," Mo Shengqi said. "They don't need to do this kind of work; they're not responsible for the trials of the guest elder challenge. If you want to challenge them, you need to be ranked higher."

"I heard that first-class guest elders of the King of Huainan's Household can enter the 'A' rooms of the Wenying Pavilion," Lei Bei, patting his head. "Are you qualified as the ninth-ranked one?"

"The ninth-ranked person doesn't qualify directly; you need to be in the top three," Mo Shengqi said respectfully. "We still need to do some work to qualify!"

"Top three?"

Lei Bei, holding a blunt sword, glanced at Ning Yu before looking at the elderly Duan Sheli.

"He doesn't like me," Ning Yu said unhappily.

"Young man, being the ninth guest master in the sword sect is already quite good. You should know when to stop. Remember that swords have no eyes, so don't risk your life because of them," Duan Sheli said slowly.

"But I want a top-three spot!" Lei Bei scratched his head and said, "My cultivation level is a bit too low. I need to go to the top-tier room and find a good cultivation technique to practice!"

"That's it?" Duan Sheli asked in surprise.

"Yes, isn't that your purpose in becoming guest advisors?"

Lei Bei surprised.

He carried his blunt sword, Lei Bei felt that his needs were very clear.

He came specifically for the advanced cultivation techniques of the Wenying Pavilion.

A higher level of skill obviously corresponds to greater swordsmanship power, which is his most important need at the moment.

"How bad is your level of understanding?" asked the decluttering expert.

"I'm still in that Body Transformation Realm, and now I want to develop a better cultivation technique to enter the Divine Ability Realm," Lei Bei. "Don't ask so many questions, just come and fight me. If I beat you, I can go to the Wenying Pavilion!"

"Fine!"

He decluttered, raised his sword, and stood up.

A slight smile played on his lips.

He couldn't see through Lei Bei's swordsmanship, but in their brief conversation, he had already learned about Lei Bei's skill level.

As for the concept of decluttering, his cultivation level in the Sole Self Realm was enough to intimidate this hothead.

Even though he has only recently reached the Sole Self Realm, the two-level difference in his realm gives him the potential to intimidate his opponent.

In a swordsman's duel, even the slightest slowing of the pace could be fatal, not to mention being intimidated to the point of mental breakdown.

He walked slowly, sword in hand, having decluttered his mind.

Stepping into the center of the arena, he gestured a salute, which Lei Bei by raising his hand in return.

But as soon as Lei Bei lowered his hand in return, his body trembled involuntarily, and he immediately began to sweep his blunt sword wildly.

Compared to when he dealt with Mo Shengqi's Flying Flower Sword Technique, his swordsmanship now had more sword moves and looked somewhat sharp.

The corresponding sword technique is decluttering and letting go.

"He is Chen Fengcheng, the Nine Palaces True Person of Nine Palaces Mountain, and this is the Nine Palaces Sword Technique!"

While Jin Chang was still staring wide-eyed, Dong Zhongshu had already revealed the true identity of the "decluttering" persona.

On the arena, Duan Sheli's sword strikes nine times, each strike unleashing a nine-stage combo.

It may seem that the act of severing ties only involved one sword strike, but that single strike would inevitably produce nine crisp, ringing sounds.

This means that at the moment of impact, the act of decluttering had already exerted its power nine times in a row, and each of these impacts would inevitably correspond to increasingly stronger swordsmanship.

"How should one deal with this kind of swordsmanship?" Jin Chang asked with great interest.

"Maintaining distance and maneuvering is the best strategy; using a swift sword to attack and force the opponent to defend is a second-best strategy; and forcibly resisting is the worst strategy," Dong Zhongshu said.

"You mean that when defending against the collision, the defender has already used up their old strength and hasn't generated new strength, making it difficult to withstand his nine consecutive waves of collisions?" Jin Chang asked.

"That's how it is normally!"

Dong Zhongshu nodded.

This is the normal procedure, but something unusual has clearly happened on the stage.

No matter how Chen Fengcheng, the Nine Palaces True Person who had become a guest advisor and severed ties with others, drew his sword, Lei Bei simply cowered in one side and stubbornly resisted.

Lei Bei's swordsmanship did not appear perfect; it was even full of crudeness and flaws, and he was often booed by some swordsmen in the audience.

But it was precisely this kind of swordsmanship that blocked the path of decluttering.

"How could this be?" Dong Zhongshu frowned.

"That sword strike of 'Severing Attachments' could have clearly killed the opponent, but unfortunately, it wasn't aimed in that direction!"

Jin Chang would occasionally sigh and murmur a few words.

As experts, they could see that the swordsmanship of decluttering and letting go was extremely advanced.

However, even such a master could not defeat Lei Bei, and even Mo Shengqi, a swordsmanship master at the Divine Ability Realm, had been defeated before.

Jin Chang and Dong Zhongshu's conversation focused on the concept of decluttering, mainly because they hadn't yet seen through Lei Bei's swordsmanship.

What do you think?

"To fight against someone one realm above them is the mark of a true master of swordsmanship; to fight against someone two realms above them is probably just technique..."

"Class A swordsmanship?"

Jin Chang harbored doubts, and when Dong Zhongshu made his guess amidst his hesitation, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Could this be the horizontal sword technique, which prioritizes defense?"

Jin Chang's doubts correspond to his fear of decluttering.

The more he was attacked, the more entangled and inseparable he became with the other party.

His strength, his swordsmanship, his level of mastery—he had many strengths, but he couldn't overcome even one of his opponent's.

With a blunt sword, his opponent blocked all his attacks and gradually reduced their effectiveness by deflecting the force of the blows.

The detached master could even sense the increasingly terrifying power accumulating within the opponent's blunt sword. If he were to abandon his attack and allow the opponent to retaliate, that sword strike could very well cost him his life.

"Isn't the purpose of a sword to fight? How can you defeat an opponent through defense?" Zhang Xuezhou asked, puzzled.

"This sword technique seems to retaliate more fiercely the stronger the opponent's killing intent, according to rumors..."

Before Dong Zhongshu could finish his explanation, a snapping sound rang out. Duan Sheli, whose face was still beaming with joy, had half a broken sword pierced his throat.

He stared at the remaining hilt of the sword in Lei Bei's hand, utterly bewildered as to why the broken, flying blade had pierced his throat and severed his life.

"If you try to stab me here, it will fly away involuntarily..."

Lei Bei met with a low, explaining voice, and Duan Sheli's eyes widened.

In his final moments, he finally remembered the legendary Horizontal Sword Technique.