Everything Zhen Tingan did today, from blocking the door, threatening to kick down the door, and kicking a sword over in a challenge, made him appear arrogant.
Yet all this was ordinary in Changling. Zhen Tingan was the epitome of countless Changling youths. Everything was undeserved reputation, and everyone only respected true power.
After the swordsmen of the Qin defeated the Han, Zhao, and Wei dynasties, Changling showed hints of a trend with the sword being at the top. In the minds of the powerful, the reason that Emperor Yuanwu’s reformation succeeded and he managed to keep the entire Qin Dynasty in his hand was because of the undefeatable swords of him and some people around him.
So cultivators in Changling respected Xue Wangxu not because of his age, but because of the level he reached.
Zhang Yi turned to the side, reached out with a hand, and grabbed the hilt of the blunted sword flying towards him. He was familiar with the personalities of these young geniuses so he was not angered. He only looked at Ding Ning and said with a frown, “I really have to fight?”
Ding Ning looked at him and said softly, “Have a spectacular fight. I’m not the one who wants to watch.”
Zhang Yi heard the meaning in Ding Ning’s words. His conflicted expression finally disappeared and he nodded solemnly.
“You make even a fight so troublesome. No wonder White Goat Cave had to join Green Vine Sword School!” Zhen Tingan had lost his patience a long time ago and said rudely. Then he walked towards the middle of the street and held up the blunted metal sword in his hand. He pointed at Zhen Tingan’s chest with the blunted tip. The sword started to tremble gently and gave off the sound of waves hitting the shore.
Zhang Yi walked forward over cautiously and tried to be as far away from Xue Wangxu as possible. At the same time, he gave a look to Shen Yi, indicating for him to take good care of Xue Wangxu.
If this was any ordinary time, Zhen Tingan would raise his sword horizontally across his chest before attacking. But Zhang Yi was not the opponent he wanted to face, especially when Ding Ning and Zhang Yi appeared to be trying to delay.
So he attacked immediately.
The seal scripts on the blunted metal sword were filled quickly by the bright vital energy and primal energies of the universe. An indigo sword energy moved forward alongside Zhen Tingan’s steps and charged out.
This sword energy did not strike straight at Zhang Yi’s chest, but fell to the ground in a stream and spread into small indigo sword energies that looked like bamboo leaves.
Zhen Tingan was a member of the Clear Stream Sword School so his sword form was the famed sword form of Clear Stream Sword School, “Clear Stream, Bamboo Shadow.”
Zhang Yi hurriedly swung his blunted sword downwards. A slightly curved white sword light, like a curved white goat horn, blocked the leaf-like indigo sword energies.
But at this time, Zhen Tingan had already charged in front of him.
A tearing sound obscured the sound of sword energies that were in conflict. A terrifying power suddenly flooded out from the sword tip of Zhen Tingan’s blunted sword and stabbed towards Zhang Yi’s chest.
This was “Clear Stream, Surging Spring.”
Zhang Yi could sense the terrifying momentum of this attack. His expression changed slightly. His sword flicked upwards. With no time to delay, his blunted sword tip accurately stabbed at the tip of Zhen Tingan’s sword. The power of this blow passed over his head.
A hint of disdain appeared on Zhen Tingan’s face.
While Zhang Yi had deflected his blow with finesse, in the moment the swords came into contact, he could sense that Zhang Yi’s vital energy cultivation was lesser than him.
Without any hesitation, his vital energy surged out of his body into the sword. He swung down.
Zhang Yi’s body buckled and he took three steps back. The sword light coming from above split into two and advanced in front of him. Two distinct and deep sword marks appeared on the stone path in front of him. Dust sprayed out with a buzz.
Crack.
A tear appeared on Zhang Yi’s right sleeve.
Zhen Tingan had finished his sword move, but his disdain grew. He quickly drew back his sword before a vast surge of vital energy slammed out of his body and collided with the vital energy remaining on his sword and the primal energies of the universe.
This collision was like the blooming of a flower, and caused countless indigo threads to appear in the air.
Zhang Yi’s expression grew even grimmer. He firmed his stance and swung his sword upwards.
With another explosion, a slightly curved white sword energy rose up. This was the “White Goat Hanging Horn” of the White Goat Sword Manual.
In this moment, the numerous indigo threads pulled out numerous indigo blades of water that shot forward.
The thickest part of the white goat horn blocked the indigo blades like a shield. Zhang Yi did not move his feet but his body trembled slightly. Tears appeared on the shoulders of his robes, and fine beads of blood formed.
With a boom, the white goat horn disappeared, and Zhang Yi took another three steps back.
“You say you can win against me like this?” Zhen Tingan, who took a step back to avoid the remains of the White Goat Hanging Horn, pointed his sword towards the ground. He looked relaxed and casual, his face filled with scorn.
Ding Ning frowned slightly. He looked at the shallow bloodied wounds on Zhang Yi’s shoulders and said, “Senior Sect Brother, are you a masochist or a nudist that you are only willing to attack when your clothing is destroyed?”
Looking over his clothing out of the corner of his eye, Zhang Yi said, embarrassed, “I am afraid that Cave Master will say it is not spectacular enough if it is too short … I wanted to see if I can win with just the White Goat Sword Manual. I hadn’t expected my opponent to be so strong.”
Hearing the conversation between the two that clearly did not admit defeat, Zhen Tingan’s expression grew darker. He took a deep breath. He no longer wanted to speak, he only wanted to defeat Zhang Yi with his next blow.
He swung his sword once again. This time, he channeled even more vital energy as though he wanted to expend all the vital energy in his energy sea at once. This furious stream of vital energy had a unique rhythm.
Waves of vital energy being expended at different rates collided and piled up in his sword.
The pure black blunted sword in his hand started to shine with indigo light until it became completely indigo. An indigo flame sprayed out of his sword in a wave. His sword cut an exquisite path in the air with this sword move. Small whirlpools formed in the layers of indigo waves and tightened until they were shaped like oval rocks.
Zhang Yi’s expression grew serious again.
The Clear Stream Sword School had a secret art called the “Stream Stone Sword.” The flow of the stream would carry along thousands of stones that would grind like millstones. Even if one was able to initially withstand the blow, they then would be worn down to death. He thought that Zhen Tingan must be using the “Stream Stone Sword.”
Feeling the heavy energies inside each of the rolling stones, Zhang Yi knew he had no other choice.
He stabbed with the black sword in his hand. But he did not stab forward, but towards the sky.
At the same time, many of the lines he had comprehended in Ink Garden appeared in his mind.
Waves of energy charged out of his sword tip.
When intangible energy had charged into the sky previously in Ink Garden, it had caused wetness and a burst of rain.
When he stabbed the sword with its burning and murderous presence into the sky, what kind of change would occur?
Nothing seemed to change. The indigo sword light had risen and was flying over Zhang Yi as his eyes shone with unusual light. At the same time, he had a hesitant expression.
Ding Ning looked at him and said calmly, “Do not be so sentimental. Do you want to see the Cave Master angry?”
The moment Ding Ning spoke, Zhang Yi knew he had been wrong. The sword he held towards the sky cut forward.
In this moment, the energies of the entire alley changed abruptly.
Shen Yi, who had reached the peak of his anticipation, gave an involuntary exclamation.
Zhen Tingan’s breathing stopped.
He could feel countless sharp presences falling rapidly from the sky. He instinctively raised his head and saw glowing lines of rain suddenly appeared in the clear sky.
This was not ordinary rain.
The droplets of rain were connected like countless little hammers hitting each other to send the moisture to the ground as fast as possible.
Feeling the sharpness in the lines of rain, Zhen Tingan paled rapidly. He gave a shout and swung his sword up. The stream, carrying countless indigo stones, curved up towards those lines of rain.
It wasn’t that he wanted to block, but he could not dodge. Zhang Yi’s sword essence had filled the alley around him. He could not reach Zhang Yi.
The millions of rain lines landed in the alley.
Magically, the rain that landed on the eaves, the trees, and the other parts of the alley only created splashes of water when they landed. However, where Zhang Yi was pointing with his sword, the rain lines gave off terrifying energy, and became sharp and unstoppable small swords.
The dense rain lines stabbed through the stream of water and created ruler-straight white lines. The sharp sword essences collided with the small stones in the river, creating even smaller white blooms. Each small stone appeared to be steady and firm like the stones at the bottom of a stream, but these lines of rain were longer and had more momentum.
In the span of a few moments, the water wore through the stone.
Countless indigo stones exploded. The stream that was curving upwards collapsed and scattered.
Zhen Tingan was still powerlessly swinging his blunted sword as numerous drops of rain landed on his sword and his body.
Zhang Yi lowered his sword and pulled in his presence.
But these rain drops did not lose their momentum and clanged when they hit the blunted sword.
Countless pops sounded on Zhen Tingan’s body. The barrage of attacks pushed him to fall to the ground. Countless holes appeared in his clothing, and his skin showed numerous small bloody marks.
The rainwater flowed along his skin. His tattered clothing was soaked and his loose hair was dripping water as his body trembled uncontrollably in cold and terror.
“How is this possible? What sword move is this?” he looked up powerlessly at Zhang Yi as he asked with bloodless lips.
