That Xu Xinhui had agreed to Wei Yuan's rematch the following day was not purely out of pedantry.
Wang Ziyan had been relentlessly pursued and hacked at by that young woman, falling completely into a disadvantage where not a single glimpse of victory could be seen. Though Xu Xinhui had the upper hand against Wei Yuan, his intuition as a sword cultivator was extraordinarily sharp. He instinctively sensed that Wei Yuan had not used his full strength, and defeating him would certainly be no quick affair.
Moreover, the two sides' cavalry had clashed for only a brief moment, yet over seventy elites of the Xu clan army had already fallen, with nearly a hundred wounded. Wei Yuan's fifty riders, on the other hand, were of exceptionally high caliber; most had suffered only light wounds. If the fight continued, even if they emerged victorious, this force of a thousand elites would likely lose more than half their numbers.
These clan troops had been trained by Xu Xinhui over many years, with boundless heart's blood poured into them. Losing even a few more would pain his heart, let alone half of them. Thus, Xu Xinhui had smoothly gone along with Wei Yuan's duel proposal.
Now that Wei Yuan had departed, the more Wang Ziyan and Xu Xinhui thought about it, the more amiss it seemed. The combat strength of those fifty riders was simply too terrifying—their equipment, magical artifacts, Dao arts, and cultivation possessed not a single shortcoming. Placed among an immortal sect's younger generation, each could be considered a decent disciple. How could such people become horse bandits, and fifty of them at that?
Pondering, Wang Ziyan said, "Eldest Brother, it seems we had an early contest against the Palace of Grand Beginning."
Xu Xinhui nodded.
"Tomorrow's battle—is Eldest Brother confident?"
Xu Xinhui smiled faintly and replied, "My cultivation is two realms higher than his. Even if there is a scheme, I have nothing to fear. If I still cannot win, this elder brother of yours might as well shelve his immortal sword."
***
At that moment, the fifty bandits were galloping toward the domain.
Most had sustained light injuries, but with the blessing of karmic luck, their wounds were naturally on the mend. Wei Yuan did not immediately withdraw the karmic luck, instead pressing forward for two hundred li in a single breath before halting to rest and heal.
Wei Yuan feared the other side might suddenly renege and pursue them. His concern was by no means unfounded; had he been in their position, that was precisely what he would have done.
The history books all proclaimed that all warfare was based on deception, a notion Wei Yuan fully embraced.
As the Heaven-Battling Gang riders rested and tended their injuries in a small grove, one young lady remarked, "Before coming to the Western Regions, who would have thought horse bandits could be so formidable! My clan uncle, a provincial commander, commands six battalions and thirty thousand troops, yet I don't think a single one could defeat that troop of horse bandits just now. But it's so strange—they've all formed immortal foundations, so why be horse bandits?"
Another young master asked, "Your clan uncle is already a provincial commander, so why did you come to be a horse bandit?"
Only then did the young lady realize. "Are you saying those people weren't horse bandits?"
"If horse bandits were all of that caliber, the Great Tang would have fallen long ago. By then, those horse bandits would be the government army, and the current government army would be the horse bandits."
The young lady's cheeks flushed red, looking rather dim-witted, which instantly stirred the hearts of several young masters.
Wei Yuan held half a spear shaft, studying the residual sword intent along the severed edge. Xu Yi sidled over and asked, "Boss, are you confident about tomorrow's battle?"
Wei Yuan was searching through his Dao Foundation for a handy weapon and replied casually, "Hard to say. His cultivation realm is far higher than mine; we will only know after we fight."
The sword intent of the immortal sword Shaohao was blazing and fierce, laced with a distinct metallic sharpness. It was somewhat similar to the Immortal Sword Great Sun, yet even sharper. However, the Immortal Sword Great Sun primarily nurtured a breath of the True Fire of the Sun, possessing boundless might upon completion, its conceptual realm slightly superior to Shaohao.
Yet Xu Xinhui was currently at the late Dao Foundation realm, wielded a supreme-grade magical artifact, and had an immortal sword Dao Foundation. Wei Yuan's two mid-grade magical artifact spears were utterly outmatched, unable to withstand even a few strikes. Before Xu Xinhui had even unleashed his lethal moves, Wei Yuan's spear had snapped.
At present, the piles of Dao Foundations within the Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains were all of mediocre quality, none capable of parrying a single sword strike. Wei Yuan looked back and forth until his gaze fell upon the tree branch standing in the platinum pool.
Jade Mountain was too heavy, and the One-Wondrous Treasure Tree atop it had only just sprouted, clearly unfit to block a sword. Only this immortal laurel branch had once pierced a Great Shaman's skull. An immortal sword shouldn't be able to sever it, right?
Wei Yuan's hands grew itchy; in the past, if he didn't pull the branch out a few times a day to check if it had sprouted, he felt as though something was missing.
Just as Wei Yuan stared at the branch, lost in thought, Feng Tingyu walked over. She knelt beside him, handed over her long saber, and said, "Use my saber tomorrow?"
Xu Yi was startled. "Doesn't the boss use a spear?"
Feng Tingyu said, "He can use anything."
Wei Yuan took the long saber and inspected it carefully. The young woman's blade was eight chi long with a two-chi hilt. The blade was long and straight, possessing only a slight curve; using it barely like a spear was not out of the question, though it lacked the lethal technique of launching a spearhead.
Having accompanied the girl for so long, the saber had taken on a wisp of primeval, ancient aura. Wei Yuan's perception was keen, and he caught the scent immediately, studying it closely and comparing it continuously with Shaohao's sword intent.
Wei Yuan checked the time and said, "There are still ten minutes left. Come, teach me how to use a saber." By now, everyone within the domain had grown accustomed to the timekeeping method from Xu Wenwu's world, finding it far more precise.
The two stood up. Wei Yuan took a stance with the saber gripped in both hands, while Feng Tingyu continually corrected his posture, beginning with the simplest forward slash.
The young masters and ladies gathered around to watch and learn together. To have a prodigy senior sister from the Hall of the Bright King demonstrate blade techniques was an exceedingly rare opportunity.
Saber in hand, Wei Yuan executed dozens of slashes in succession, each carrying minor flaws of one sort or another. The young woman corrected him repeatedly until she finally grew impatient. She instructed Wei Yuan to extend the saber forward, pointing diagonally upward, and freeze in place.
Then, her hands seemed to blur. The saber frozen in midair abruptly descended, completing a crisp, clean slash in an instant!
This single strike brimmed with Dao charm, like lightning tearing through the heavens! After the slash, Wei Yuan remained motionless with the saber held outward for a long time, affording the young masters and ladies ample time to contemplate the Dao charm.
In truth, it was not that Wei Yuan did not want to lower the blade; he simply could not move.
In that split second, the young woman had pinched and flicked his body, manipulating nearly a hundred minute muscles in the blink of an eye. Only through this had Wei Yuan executed that slash, burned the entire correct method of exerting force into his memory, and grasped the saber's Dao charm in one stroke.
Yet this method came at a terrible price. Wei Yuan now bore over a hundred internal injuries across his body, feeling as though countless fine needles were pricking him all at once, leaving him entirely immobilized.
Wei Yuan held that posture for the span of half a cup of tea before slowly lowering the blade. The young masters and ladies watched with great satisfaction, each having gleaned some insight.
Once no one was nearby, Wei Yuan pulled Feng Tingyu aside and asked in a low voice, "Does your Hall of the Bright King always teach people like this? Are you sure nothing will go wrong?"
The girl replied, "Usually, after being taught once, one must take medicine, soak the body, and rest for seven days to recover."
Wei Yuan thought to himself that this finally made sense. Even with his physique, he had been paralyzed for half the day; those fellows in the Hall of the Bright King were hardly made of iron. If this teaching method were used too often, one would end up crippled if not dead.
Having grasped the saber's Dao charm, Wei Yuan gained another means at his disposal. In the future, when roaming the pugilistic world, he would not necessarily have to go by the name Li Zhi; posing as a saber-wielding expert cultivator was an equally viable alternative.
After a brief rest, the fifty Heaven-Battling bandits set off once more, soon vanishing along the periphery of Qingming.
***
In the blink of an eye, it was noon the following day.
Xu Xinhui ascended step by step, strolling leisurely onto the summit of the solitary peak.
This peak was not particularly tall, but it rose abruptly from the ground, exceptionally steep and sheer, resembling a sharp sword thrust into the earth. Xu Xinhui looked upon it with immense satisfaction, silently praising Wei Yuan for picking a good location. When they clashed shortly, he would make sure the young man lost with dignity.
At the summit, Wei Yuan stood with his hands clasped behind his back, four immortal swords planted around him, a silver ghost mask gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight.
Xu Xinhui was taken aback. Did this man also cultivate immortal swords? Sweeping his divine sense over them, he perceived that the Dao charm of each of the four immortal swords was entirely distinct. One carried a blazing flame, one held a trace of universal annihilation, one bore the sorrow of heaven and earth mourning together, and the last was primeval and ancient, mixed with a hint of sharpness.
Though these four immortal swords were of low grade, what made them rare was that each possessed a different sword intent with exceptionally elevated conception. Aside from the last, which was slightly impure, the sword intent of each was sufficient to carve out a path to heaven on its own.
For a moment, Xu Xinhui felt an urge to foster talent. He remarked, "These swords of yours are quite intriguing; several have already grasped the true essence of the sword. What a pity you have merely dipped your toes into each. Had you specialized in a single blade, your future achievements might not have fallen short of mine."
Wei Yuan appeared thoughtful, wearing a look of mild contemplation.
Xu Xinhui sighed. "Three of your four swords are magnificent, yet unfortunately, you cultivated all of them into the Mortal Tier. In truth, you cannot be blamed; it is solely because your teacher's sword Dao is too wretched to have taught you into such a state."
The moment those words left his mouth, Xu Xinhui suddenly felt the world before him turn to monochrome black and white, as though he had stepped into the underworld, on the verge of eternal separation between yin and yang.
Yet this sensation lasted only an instant, so brief that he could not tell whether it was merely an illusion.
Tossing the strange feeling to the back of his mind, the more Xu Xinhui looked at Wei Yuan, the more he took a liking to him. He suddenly asked, "Are you twenty yet this year?"
Wei Yuan was startled. Asking about age before a fight? Still, the question was harmless, so he replied, "Not yet."
Xu Xinhui nodded inwardly. At this age, entering the Sword Palace to recultivate was not too late. The Sword Palace possessed secret arts that could disperse a Mortal Tier Dao Foundation and cultivate it anew. However, if he wished to snatch a disciple from the Palace of Grand Beginning, he naturally had to display genuine skill to thoroughly subdue the youth.
Xu Xinhui drew his sword and said, "Today, I shall let you witness what a true immortal sword is!"
He wiped two fingers across the blade. Blessed by the immortal sword Shaohao, the longsword instantly ignited with golden-red flames! Yet these flames were exceedingly dim, as though even a slight gust of mountain wind might blow them out.
Xu Xinhui could hardly believe his own divine sense. He wiped the blade three times in succession, only for the flames to grow dimmer each time.
Only then did Wei Yuan retrieve an eight-chi long saber from behind a nearby boulder, his eyes shining brightly.
Chapter 174