Chapter 397: Advice on Bladesmanship

The venue of the Ying City martial arts demonstration this time was finally decided, after several twists and turns, to be the practicing field of the Six Fan School. Firstly, the location was suitable for spectating and commentary, as well as large enough to accommodate the warriors of Jianghu that had flocked to the city. Secondly, the venue had been the subject of animosity between aristocratic families, the Yuehua Sect and Book Lu Academy. They all wanted to hold the event in their own territories to raise their prestige. No one wanted to give in, so the venue was eventually relegated to the bystander, Six Fan School.

The event this time called for young warriors, so there were no Exterior Scenery experts who accepted the challenge. However, they still paid close attention to the demonstration should their treasured disciples suffer disadvantages and ruin themselves by their own careless mistakes. So, Meng Qi was pretty calm and did not worry about Gu Xiaosang’s warning that he should stay indoors. No matter whom it was targeting him, it was likely that they wouldn’t be able to escape after harming him. That was unless they had someone skilled at assassination or even a Half-step Exterior Scenery master. However, such masters were considered precious to the Wang family of River East. They would not sacrifice their masters on someone like Meng Qi.

When he arrived at the practicing field, all the stands were already occupied by Jianghu men, young and retired. Most came here to join the fun and gain some future conversation material.

On one of the stands, the center was vacant except for four black chairs separated by tables. On the tables were teapots, cups, and snacks.

“I wonder which seat I will be taking…” Meng Qi thought absent-mindedly. Beside him, Wang Zai could not tell what he was thinking about at all.

“The four of us will be sitting there. We’re only responsible for instructing the contestants. The Mi family will take care of the rest,” Wang Zai explained dutifully.

Meng Qi nodded and stepped onto the stand with Wang Zai. A hush fell over the place as the Jianghu folks on the stand stopped their discussions and cast their glances towards the two of them.

A person’s reputation was akin to a tree’s shadow. Right now, Meng Qi could be considered as a person famed throughout the world.

After all, who had not heard of his impressive feat of stripping three masters off the ranking list in front of the temple?

“Pick any seat you want.” Wang Zai smiled, pointing at the chairs. He appeared calm and at ease.

Meng Qi took a look at the chairs and chuckled. “I prefer the left side.”

He then walked to the second chair from the left, exuding an air of responsibility.

Wang Zai sat down next to him in the first chair from the left. He started an idle conversation with Meng Qi since they were both early. The Unstoppable Yan Chong and Moving Stars and Moon Chu Yunyu were not there yet, neither was the Mi family.

A short while later, a tall and slender young man led two people to the stand. One of them was Yan Chong, whom Meng Qi had met before. The other was wearing a robe and a crown. His eyebrows were short and thick and his face was long. His arms were drooping by his sides. He had clean and fair skin, as if it was carved out of jade.

Wang Zai stood up and made the introductions. “This is Mi Zijing of the Mi family, a good friend of mine. This is Killing Blade Su Meng. I don’t need to elaborate, do I?”

Mi Zijing was impeccably dressed, carrying a subtle air of nobility. His appearance was the most standard look of the son of an aristocratic family, neither extravagant nor exaggerated. A polite smile appeared on his delicate face as he heard Wang Zai’s words, he then replied courteously, “Young Master Su, your name is known throughout Jianghu. How can I not know you? I’d love nothing more than to have your strength. That way, I could delightfully take revenge on those who do me wrong, repay the kindness of those who help me and eliminate all that stand in my way.”

Without waiting for a reply, he pointed at Yan Zhong and the other person. “‘The Unstoppable’ Yan Chong and ‘Moving Stars and Moon’ Chu Yunyu, Brother Yu,” he said, chuckling. “I don’t have to introduce them either, do I?”

They were all masters among the top 20 of the Ranking List of Young Masters. Their martial arts and battle records had already been analyzed thousands of times.

“Though I’ve never met them, I’ve long heard of them.” Meng Qi smiled, saluting them.

Yan Chong returned the salute. “I’ve long wanted to meet you, Killing Blade, as well.”

Chu Yunyu laughed heartily. “You’re both masters of swordsmen ranked in the top 10. We’ll soon be witnessing ferocious battles between you two great masters of the Saber Dao. Why be so courteous?”

Speaking of being the only two great swordsmen, Meng Qi and Yan Chong met each other’s eyes. They could see each other’s dense fighting spirit. Their glances seemed to transform into strands of Knife Qi that tried to test and compete with each other.

Nevertheless, they both had self-control and understood that their battleground would be the Party of Happycloud. If they fought now, they would be drawing attention away from the event itself. So they simply exchanged smiles and settled into their seats.

“Young Master Su, since you’re not even 20 yet, I’ll call you Younger Brother Su. Simply the mention of your fight at the temple would be enough to thrill me to the core and agitate me. I’d love nothing more than to be there and fight in your place.” Bypassing Yan Chong, Chu Yunyu spoke to Meng Qi in a familiar and friendly way.

He laughed self-deprecatingly and continued, “Of course, if I were in your place, I would be struck off the list instead.”

Chu Yunyu was currently ranked 19th on the list. He was conscious of the fact that it was strenuous for him to fight even the Flame-scorching Devilman on his own, never mind the stronger Cold Palm Specter or the Soul-losing Flute that was capable of affecting and controlling one’s soul.

One would be hard-pressed to find even several of the top 10 masters that could confidently say they could win against that line-up. After all, not everyone’s Kung Fu was suitable for group warfare.

Meng Qi laughed and replied politely, “Brother Chu sure knows how to joke. You’re dubbed Moving Stars and Moon and known for using your opponent’s strength against themselves and diverting attacks. Even if you can’t beat your opponent, you’ll still be able to find a way to flee.”

Chu Yunyu saluted, accepting the compliment without shame. “Thank you for your words of praise, Younger Brother Su. They’re just petty tricks unworthy of mention.”

The other Jianghu men on the stand nodded after hearing their conversation.“It seems that success in battles didn’t only depend on one’s strength. It also depended on whether or not one endangered or restrained his opponent. Moving Stars and Moon was actually stronger than rumored…”

“I was just being polite. This guy’s shamelessness is on par with mine…” Meng Qi thought, feeling as if he had found a match in Chu Yunyu.

Just as Chu Yunyu was about to continue talking, Mi Zijing clapped his hands, creating a sound that was crisp, loud, and far-reaching. The sound reached the ears of every Jianghu man on the stands. After hearing it through their enthusiastic discussions, they all became quiet.

“This person is pretty powerful…” Meng Qi was momentarily stunned. If Mi Zijing joined the Jianghu, he would most definitely find himself on the Ranking List of Young Masters, but he seemed to harbor no such desire.

Mi Zijing delivered a bombastic opening speech and said during his conclusion, “This time, we’ve invited the sixth master on the ranking list, ‘Killing Blade’ Young Master Su. the seventh master ‘The Unstoppable’ Young Master Yan, the 15th master ‘Right-guarding Sword’ Young Master Wang, as well as the 19th master ‘Moving Stars and Moon’ Young Master Chu. Everyone, feel free to challenge each other or perform your martial arts. We’ll have the four young masters give their comments.”

Just as he finished talking, a person leaped into the field and said with a clear voice, “I’m Mo Jing’an from the Sword-script Pavilion! Who will accept my challenge?”

From another side, a swordsman came flying into the field as he shouted, “I’m Hill-splitting Mountain-hacking Teng Qijiao of Ning prefecture. I will accept your challenge!”

They first bowed at the judges before exchanging salutes. They took out their sword and blade and began fighting closely with one another. Sometimes, sword light would flash brilliantly. Other times, it was as if snowflakes were sent fluttering in the air. The audience could not stop hollering as they watched the battle.

“Six Apertures opened with crude sword art…” After taking a look at the match, Meng Qi could not bring himself to feel any enthusiasm. He caught Yan Chong’s eyes when he shifted his gaze ever so slightly. Yan Chong looked as absent-minded as he was.

The match dragged on for a long time before a victor was finally determined. Mo Jing’an from the Sword-script Pavilion scored the victory in the end. He saluted the judges with a face full of smiles. “Please advise me, young masters.”

After a brief pause, Wang Zai said, “Young Master Teng’s sword power is fierce and utilizes its forte of ferocity well. Young Master Mo’s movement is exquisite, continuous, and smooth as if spilling and rapidly scribbling ink. Young Master Mo has shown a better grasp of the fundamentals. Earlier, he appeared to have fought bitterly for his victory but he had yet to use all of his strength. How could such sword art be used for defense rather than offense?”

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His comments hit right on the mark, prompting Mo Jing’an to smile even more widely. A thunderous applause rose around them.

“As expected of Brother Wang Zai…” Feeling impressed, Meng Qi coughed gently and said, “Brother Wang, you’ve stolen all my lines. I have nothing else to add.”

“It’s not like I can point out the flaw of his first move or the mistake he made in his second… Who knows if he would become enraged out of humiliation and smash himself to death in front of us…”

Seeing that the sixth ranked Killing Blade didn’t make any further comments, Mo Jing’an appeared a little disappointed. Subsequently, Yan Chong and Yan Chuyu altered some of Wang Zai’s comments and delivered it as their own.

“Young master Mo, you’ve just gained a victory. Go and take a rest first before you take on another match,” Mi Zijing said.

Just then, a swordsman appeared from one of the stands. “I’m Sung Jue. I couldn’t bear to share my nickname in front of four ranking young masters. I’ll now perform my bladesmanship. Please advise me.”

As he spoke, he directed a heated gaze at Yan Chong and Meng Qi. They were universally-recognized as some of the best enlightenment period masters of the Saber Dao.

He demonstrated his bladesmanship, performing formidable movements that gave rise to the wind. Occasionally, his movements would turn tricky, but the combination oddly worked well for him. He had completely unleashed his killing intent. Compared to the two swordsmen earlier, he was evidently stronger.

Meng Qi nodded as he watched admiringly, but soon frowned. “There is a problem in Sung Jue’s bladesmanship , a big problem that he isn’t aware of!”

After completing the set of bladesmanship, Sung Jue returned his blade to its sheath and requested comments.

Before Meng Qi could speak, Yan Chong was already asking, “Young Master Sung, is your master or long-time sparring partner left-handed?”

Sung Jue was stunned. “Young Master Yan, do you know my master?”

Yan Chong shook his head. “No, but I can tell that your bladesmanship is obviously influenced by left-handed blade movements. You would unconsciously make changes toward your right and neglect your left side. This has already become a habit. It’s not typically conspicuous but if you encounter a similar opponent, this habit will be the cause of your downfall.”

Sung Jue stood there in a daze, thinking over all his previous battles. He felt a cold sweat trickling down his back. He finally saluted Yan Chong after a long time and said, “Thank you for your instructions, Young Master Yan. I’ll never forget your great favor to me.”

He spoke sincerely, for this advice was equivalent to saving his life.

“He could tell that just from his demonstration?”

“Yan Chong is indeed a great swordsman!” The audience once again raised an uproar, praising him non-stop.

Yan Chong turned to Meng Qi and asked, “Do you have anything to add, Young Master Su?”

“You’ve already said all that I wanted to say…” Meng Qi thought, feeling aggrieved, and shook his head in response.

After Sung Jue took his leave, someone saw how much he reaped and immediately went up to the field. He didn’t give Mo Jing’an the chance to challenge another person.

“I’m Chang Hui. I don’t dare to mention my nickname either. I’ll perform a set of my bladesmanship. Please don’t mind a novice like me performing in front of you experts.”

The new participant was also a swordsman whose forte was the many changes in his bladesmanship. He pushed his demonstration to its peak as if spreading it like a net.

Meng Qi watched intently and instantly opened his mouth when the demonstration was over, not giving Yan Chong any chance to speak. “Young Master Chang, there are glaring flaws in your seventh, 11th, 20th movements, as well as…”

In one breath, he pointed out mistakes in five of the participant’s movements.

Yan Chong nodded, showing that it was an obvious problem indeed.

“Though these five movements appeared in harmony with the rest, they fell short when it came to the changes, resulting in a lackluster performance. Was this set of bladesmanship an incomplete art that was later restored?” Meng Qi said slowly.

“How could he tell?” Stunned, Chang Hui responded, “Precisely. My family spent 10 years restoring this sword art with these five movements.”

There were sounds of gasping all around. The audience could not believe that Meng Qi was able to grasp the reason behind Chang Hui’s mistakes.

Yan Chong’s expression was solemn. “Killing Blade’s eyesight was decent indeed.”

Meng Qi smiled and said, “Try making this change in your seventh movement…”

He raised his hand to act as a saber and began mimicking Chang Hui’s seventh movement with his advice. No one had caught on but Yan Chong’s glance remained solemn.

After Meng Qi started practicing the Muscle-bone Strengthening Scripture, his Knife Dao seemed to have improved again. Under the combined forces of the Eight Nine Mysteries technique and the stage of Enter Imperceptibility, Chang Hui’s changes in bladesmanship and flow of genuine Qi, as well as his Dharma Access were all unable to fool Meng Qi’s senses. He could now imitate the movements of the original user down to the very last detail.

With such deep understanding as well as high Saber Dao cultivation, Meng Qi was surely able to alter these five movements solely based on its preceding and following movements.

Chang Hui could not understand why but memorized Meng Qi’s movements and regurgitated them.

This time, his demonstration burst with endless knife energy that filled everything between heaven and earth. The thick threads of knife energy enveloped him.

Even with the limited understanding of the intricacies of Meng Qi’s alterations, the audience could still tell that the innate quality of his movements had been heightened.

The more Chang Hui demonstrated the movements, the more surprised he became . “This is comparable to the original bladesmanship!”

“Had ‘Killing Blade’ Su Meng’s Knife Dao reached this level?”

“He basically just invented a new sword art!”

Meng Qi felt a sudden jolt as he was watching Chang Hui and swept his eyes sideways. He saw an attractive young lady looking at him with an admiring expression. Next to her was a familiar-looking, dark-faced young man.

“Gu Xiaosang?”

“That’s Senior Brother Qi next to her!”