Nie Qingyun and the Cloud Mountain disciples saw Lu Zhou flying toward them slowly before landing on the cloud platform. They seemed curious.
Sikong Beichen stood at his original spot while Yao Qingquan and Zhao Jianghe moved to stand at his side.
Nie Qingyun cupped his fists together and said, “Senior Lu.”
Lu Zhou nodded. He stroked his beard and said, “Nie Qingyun is a Ten-leaf cultivator, after all. It’s almost impossible for you to win him when you’re only a Nine-leaf cultivator. Why do you have to force yourself?”
Yu Zhenghai said, “I was so close… We’ve already fought to a draw.”
Nie Qingyun did not know how to feel about this statement.
Lu Zhou shook his head and said, “You’ve fought 11 times. Sparring is all about knowing when to stop… If it’s truly a contest of killing techniques, do you think you’ll have the chance to flaunt all your skills?”
Upon hearing these words, Yu Zhenghai lowered his head. He bowed and said, “You’re right, master.”
Then, Lu Zhou shifted his eyes to Nie Qingyun and said, “The saber represents courage. Ever since time immemorial, there have been many who cultivated the saber, and as a result, many saber techniques were created. This was how different schools and styles came to be. It’s not easy to create something new. However, the cultivation methods under the heavens are the means to the same end. Whether it’s the saber or the sword, they’re merely tools used by men. Give me your saber.”
Lu Zhou raised his hand.
Yu Zhenghai placed his Jasper Saber respectfully in Lu Zhou’s hand.
Lu Zhou was inwardly surprised when he felt a cool sensation as soon as he touched the Jasper Saber.
At this moment, it was as though Lu Zhou was surrounded by sabers. All creations could be used as sabers. The palm was a saber, the leaves were sabers, and even the wind was a saber.
“Both of you used the same saber techniques over and over again. Hence, when you fight each other for a prolonged period, you’d understand the characteristics of your opponents. The longer this drags on, the more difficult it’d be to have a clear outcome. Eventually, the one who manages to find an opening would be the victor,” Lu Zhou said.
Yu Zhenghai nodded. He agreed with his master completely. He was reminded of the time he had sparred with Yu Shangrong at Cloud Radiant Forest. That fight had lasted for three days and three nights.
Yu Zhenghai and Yu Shangrong knew each other very well. Sometimes, all they needed was a look to know what the other person was thinking and what the other person’s next move would be. With that, it was not difficult for them to come up with a way to counter the next strike. For all these reasons, it was difficult for either one of them to win.
Lu Zhou gripped the saber’s handle lightly. The saber’s will reached him. He felt the weight of the saber in his hand as he slowly said, “There are eight basic moves of the saber: sweep, hack, poke, pare, skim, slash, chop, thrust. Compared to the sword, saber techniques are heavy and fierce. The movements are huge and pack a huge punch. However, it lacks minute changes. The first strike depends on the user’s move, but the second strike depends on footwork. Once a saber is brought down, it’s often difficult to change its trajectory mid-swing. However, one can change it by adjusting one’s feet. As saber users, you should practice these basics over and over again…”
Yu Zhenghai and Nie Qingyun were not the only ones who understood this. Even the Cloud Mountain disciples present on the scene understood this.
This was how a teacher was supposed to be. With the simplest words, the disciples were taught the truth behind saber techniques. Lu Zhou was a true teacher!
The Cloud Mountain disciples appeared respectful as they listened carefully.
Lu Zhou continued to say, “Control your saber with Qi, and condense your Qi into energy. That way, you’ll have many alternatives. The two of you should understand these things so I won’t elaborate further.”
After Lu Zhou finished speaking, he let go of the saber.
The Jasper Saber spun upward from Lu Zhou’s energy until it was above his head.
This was a basic technique that most cultivators had mastered so the disciples present on the scene understood this.
However, Nie Qingyun and Sikong Beichen were perplexed. They did not understand why Lu Zhou was demonstrating these basic techniques.
Lu Zhou pushed his palm up, and the Jasper Saber continued to move up.
“There are four levels of the sword. Similarly, there are four levels of the saber…”
Upon seeing this, the Cloud Mountain disciples began discussing among themselves.
Meanwhile, Sikong Beichen nodded with an expression that showed he agreed with Lu Zhou’s words.
By now, These kinds of discussions were already common in the Ninth Temple and the Cloud Mountain.
“If you aren’t wielding a saber, you can use your palm as a saber.” Lu Zhou raised his hand before an energy saber appeared in it.
Yu Zhenghai and Nie Qingyun were taken aback. Both of them seemed as though they had been enlightened at this moment. Both of them recalled the scene where their palms had collided earlier.
Yu Zhenghai smacked his thigh as he exclaimed, “Why didn’t I think of that earlier?”
Nie Qingyun said in slight contempt, “Senior Lu, what if both opponents didn’t possess sabers?”
After all, when they were sparring back then, Yu Zhenghai’s desolate-grade Jasper Saber was a huge pressure on him.
Lu Zhou looked up at the Jasper Saber spinning in the air. “What do you see in the air?”
“The Jasper Saber?”
With a whistle, the Jasper Saber dropped and stabbed into the ground with a loud sound.
“Look again,” Lu Zhou said.
There was nothing in the air.
Nie Qingyun did not understand this. He said tentatively, “Primal Qi?”
Lu Zhou shook his head. “Although Primal Qi can be condensed into energy, it’s still limited.”
Yu Zhenghai said, “A wind blade?”
“Apart from wind, what else is there?” Lu Zhou asked.
Yu Zhenghai and Nie Qingyun were stumped.
Lu Zhou bent his fingers. The moment the palm saber vanished, a finger-size energy saber appeared in the air. It was neither golden nor red; it resembled ice.
“Water?” Yu Zhenghai said in surprise. He was reminded of the time when he trained with the saber in the Evil Sky Pavilion when he was young. He had trained under the waterfall every day when his master told him that once he grew strong enough, he would be able to forgo the saber and use water as his weapon.
Meanwhile, Primal Qi gathered quickly.
Air contained water vapor. They could not be seen by the naked eye, but they could be captured by Primal Qi. With this, an energy saber was formed.
That was not all.
Countless energy sabers appeared in the sky in neat rows, looking like a saber Formation. Soon enough, water dragons created from energy sabers danced in the air.
Yu Zhenghai was overwhelmed with emotions as he watched this scene.
At this moment, Lu Zhou stomped his feet and flew above the Saber Formation. Then, he spread his arms and dove.
The water dragons roared.
Lu Zhou continued diving until he reached the lake below the cloud platform.
Splash!
A saber Formation much larger than the one before shot out from the lake and circled around Lu Zhou.
Meanwhile, the disciples watched this grand display from the cloud platform in awe.
Sikong Beichen and Nie Qingyun had never seen someone control a saber in such a fashion.
At this moment, Lu Zhou who was hovering in the air asked, “Nie Qingyun, can you withstand this technique?”
“Uh…” Nie Qingyun did not feel very confident at the moment.
Even Sikong Beichen, who understood how to use all creation as a sword, and understood the essence of this technique, was not confident he could withstand this technique, let alone Nie Qingyun.
Lu Zhou looked down at Yu Zhenghai and said, “Yu Zhenghai, do you understand?”
Yu Zhenghai who had been stunned into a daze by this display from the beginning finally regained his senses. He hastily replied, “I have no excuse to not understand this when you’re the one making the demonstration, master.”
Lu Zhou looked as though he was as light as a feather as he descended back on the cloud platform. After he placed his hands on his back, the water dragons immediately dispersed into drops of water and rained down on the ground.
Yu Zhenghai and Nie Qingyun did not react in time and were drenched. When they looked at Lu Zhou again, they discovered the droplets of water that fell had already turned into energy sabers again. There were countless of them.
Unlike the pure water energy sabers before this, the energy sabers formed by these water droplets were wrapped in golden energy seals!
Yu Zhenghai, Nie Qingyun, and Sikong Beichen were speechless.
“This saber technique is called Water Dragon Song.”
The dragon-like saber Formation’s power was greatly boosted by the golden energy seals.
At this moment, it was launched toward Nie Qingyun.
Nie Qingyun was shocked. He stomped his feet and raised his saber before himself with both hands.
The dragons roared. The Saber Formation moved up, looking like a dragon that was raising its head.
Bam!
The golden dragon pushed against Nie Qingyun’s saber and pushed him backward. As he defended himself, he was frantically thinking of a way to deal with this.
“Manifest!” Nie Qingyun’s red lotus avatar appeared before everyone’s eyes.
Currently, Lu Zhou’s cultivation base was only at the Nine-leaf stage. He knew that if Nie Qingyun manifested his avatar, the difference in their cultivation bases would give Nie Qingyun the advantage and the water dragon would be destroyed. Naturally, he could not let this happen.
Lu Zhou slowly raised his hand and said, “Remember… You must learn to deal an additional attack if the situation calls for it…” Then, he pushed his hand out.
A faint blue palm seal flew to the dragon’s head, and the saber Formation’s power instantly increased by several folds.
Boom!
“No!” Nie Qingyun drew his arm back to withdraw his saber and immediately retracted his avatar before he flipped backward.
Lu Zhou pushed his palm down.
The Water Dragon Saber Formation dove.
At this moment, several Cloud Mountain elders hurried onto the cloud platform and kneeled on the ground before they pleaded loudly, “Have mercy, Senior Lu!”
