Eternal Saber

Chapter 431 - 37: Viewing the Sky from the Bottom of a Well

"What a fine ’Yanguilai’ body technique!"

"Huanhua Swordsmanship, it’s ’Feiyanzi’ Yan Shu!"

Before the figure had even landed, many Jianghu guests recognized the lightweight swordsmanship and guessed the identity.

However, everyone couldn’t help but feel puzzled inside.

Even the people from Langya Pavilion and Peach Blossom Village hadn’t made a move yet, but why was the Huanhua Sword Sect’s Yan Shu in such a hurry, rushing onto the martial arts arena in front of everyone, shielding Su Muzhe?

Judging by her stance, it seemed as if she was protecting not just anyone, but her own lover.

"What, do you want to fight together?"

Xia Yuanxian said blandly, "I can give you that chance."

"Fine then!"

Yan Shu sneered, "Our double swords combined, let’s see how many moves you can take!"

"Yan Shu."

Su Muzhe quickly got up, stopping Yan Shu, shaking his head, "No need to fight, I lost."

Although unwilling, Yan Shu still came to Su Muzhe’s side, passed a wisp of inner qi, and helped him off the martial arts arena.

Seeing this, Madam Su snorted coldly, and her dragon head staff struck the ground heavily!

Su Muzhe sensed the commotion above Langya Pavilion but dared not look up.

Yan Shu noticed his embarrassment and said softly, "Take care of yourself, I’m going back."

Just as she was about to leave, a trace of struggle flashed in Su Muzhe’s eyes, but he suddenly grabbed her wrist.

"Brother Su..."

Yan Shu murmured softly, both surprised and delighted.

Su Muzhe held her wrist tightly, as if fearing she might leave, summoned the courage, and looked up towards the top of Langya Pavilion, as if declaring something.

Seeing this, many of the younger generation from Langya Pavilion kept their eyes straight ahead, not daring to make a sound.

Even the Pavilion Master, Shen Yuanlin, did not dare to look at Madam Su’s expression, pretending to be deaf and mute beside her.

Ye Taoyuan sighed inwardly.

Madam Su had some grievances with the founder of the Huanhua Sword Sect, setting a clan rule early on, forbidding any Wu State Su Clan member of her branch from having any relationship with the women of the Huanhua Sword Sect!

Seeing the stance of Su Muzhe and Yan Shu, they had clearly violated the Su Clan rules.

People wouldn’t have guessed that Madam Su had another reason for being so furious.

Yan Shu felt both happy, proud, and worried in her heart.

Back when she was wandering the Jianghu, she accidentally met Su Muzhe, and they had already privately pledged for life.

But because of the pressure from the Su family, the two never dared to make their relationship public, always sneaking around.

Even when meeting in public, they couldn’t say much, only occasionally pretending to unintentionally glance at each other, making eye contact, then quickly looking away.

Su Muzhe always asked her to wait a little longer, but it kept dragging on and on.

If she said there was no resentment in her heart, that would be a lie.

But she never expected, under the eyes of the crowd, Su Muzhe would be so bold!

If Langya Pavilion wins today’s battle, Madam Su might be pleased and let them go.

If they lose, the best choice for the two might be to run away together.

In the third match, Shen Zhiyuan took the stage for Langya Pavilion.

Earlier, when Xia Yuanxian made his move, many people saw that his horizontal training had reached the Opening Acupoints Realm!

Almost instantly, all the pressure fell on Shen Zhiyuan.

Madam Su didn’t have the mind to deal with Su Muzhe and Yan Shu, she just asked, "Zhiyuan, how confident are you?"

"I’ll... do my best."

Shen Zhiyuan hesitated.

"Zhiyuan, this match, you must win, no defeat!"

Madam Su almost said this but stopped herself, worried that giving her grandson too much pressure would have the opposite effect.

"The situation for Langya Pavilion isn’t good."

"Who would have thought Xia Yuanxian was hiding so deeply."

"No need to worry, past prodigies on the Wind and Cloud Ranking have had records of defeating those in the Opening Acupoints Realm with the Inner Core Realm."

"But Shen Zhiyuan is only eighth on the Wind and Cloud Ranking after all."

Amidst the discussions, Shen Zhiyuan stepped onto the martial arts arena, coming empty-handed.

Those familiar with him knew that his sword was with him.

Usually concealed, rarely revealed.

"You can still admit defeat now."

Xia Yuanxian spoke indifferently, yet uttered an extremely arrogant statement.

But this time, no one laughed at him.

Shen Zhiyuan shook his head with a smile, "It’s not certain who will win or lose yet."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Yuanxian already made his move.

His footsteps swept across the ground, his body technique like a phantom, instantly arriving in front of Shen Zhiyuan, a flash of saber light!

Almost the same technique, the same starting move.

Buzz!

The clear sound of a sword echoed.

A soft sword appeared out of thin air in Shen Zhiyuan’s hand.

Clang!

The saber and sword clashed, sparks flying.

Shen Zhiyuan used the momentum to retreat half a step, reopening the distance, wielding the long sword in his hand, sketching sword techniques in the air, like a web of heaven and earth.

This soft sword in his hand, seemingly not a sword, more like a giant brush, with inner qi as ink, writing large characters in the air!

Some characters were engraved deeply, penetrating the surface.

Some danced like dragons and phoenixes, unpredictable.

Some moved like writhing snakes, agile and free.

Some were like iron strokes and silver hooks, strong and elegant.

Initially, Xia Yuanxian could still use his phantom-like body technique, sharp fast saber, and the power of the Opening Acupoints Realm to continuously shatter the characters in the air, crashing through all obstacles.

But as time passed, these characters increased, arranged in some special order, coming together in a pattern.

Single characters, Xia Yuanxian can easily break them.

But once these characters are ordered together, they form an extremely powerful force, like an invisible cage, trapping him within, unable to break free!

Only a few people can recognize by memory that these characters arranged together form the "Riverside Preface"!

Although Madam Su was an Innate Martial Artist, she has aged, her Qi and blood have waned, and her combat strength is not as it once was, but her eyesight remains sharp.

She noticed the changes on the battlefield, and with a heart full of comfort, she repeatedly praised, saying: "This child Zhiyuan, has already comprehended the Riverside Preface to this level? Very good, very good!"

The "Riverside Preface" consists of three hundred and twenty-four characters, corresponding to three hundred and twenty-four sword techniques.

And each character, depending on its strokes, can be broken down into different variations.

In this way, the sword techniques of the "Riverside Preface" in fact have thousands of variations!

However, if one only comprehends to this level, familiarizing themselves with the thousands of variations of the sword techniques, it is merely grasping the surface of the "Riverside Preface".

To truly comprehend how to transform the three hundred and twenty-four sword techniques back into characters, and emulate the "Riverside Preface", borrowing the power of this timeless classic, one would have grasped the essence and divine charm within!

The First Realm is understanding sword techniques through calligraphy, penetrating martial arts.

The Second Realm is returning to calligraphy from sword techniques.

The Third Realm is the unity of book and sword.

Shen Zhiyuan has clearly touched upon the Second Realm.

Ye Xuan and Ye Taoyuan exchanged a glance, realizing it in their hearts.

It seems that the previous page of the book tip greatly improved Shen Zhiyuan.

Su Muzhe, seeing this scene, could not help but exclaim, "I didn’t expect Brother Shen has already comprehended such principles. With his current prowess, he is definitely above me."

"Ranking eighth on the Wind and Cloud Ranking seems too low; after this battle, he hopes to rank in the top three of the Wind and Cloud Ranking!"

Han Yue, seeing the exchanges between Shen Zhiyuan and Xia Yuanxian, was similarly left with broadened horizons, marveling, "Truly, the Sword-Hiding Scholar, Brother Shen not only hides a sword but also his edge and means!"

Liu Yingxiu chuckled lightly, her charming eyes glanced at Lin Mubai, and said, "Given the trend, Brother Shen has a chance to win this battle, don’t you think so, Brother Lin?"

Lin Mubai casually replied, "I, however, believe that Brother Shen’s odds of winning are not great."

In the Martial Arts Arena.

Shen Zhiyuan had already written more than a hundred characters.

With his cultivation realm, this has nearly reached his limit!

Each piece of writing needs to use inner Qi as ink.

To complete a full "Riverside Preface", at least reaching the Perfect Meridian Realm, breaking through the Ren and Du Meridians is required.

But just these hundred or so characters have already caused great trouble for Xia Yuanxian!

His Floating Light and Shadow, Moonlit Ten Forms were completely restricted by the "Riverside Preface", unable to exert their maximum power.

Xia Yuanxian could only rely on his formidable body and viscera strength, continuously cleaving apart the surrounding characters.

But soon, Shen Zhiyuan would immediately rewrite them.

Apart from the initial collision of blades and swords, the two had one direct confrontation.

After that, Xia Yuanxian had not even touched the hem of Shen Zhiyuan’s clothes!

Xia Yuanxian had initially appeared calm and composed, but at this moment, he was already showing a hint of agitation.

"Haha, I thought he was amazingly capable; yet he’s still trapped within the ’Riverside Preface’, unable to escape."

"What Horizontal Body Training, Inner Strength of the Viscera, it’s just a body full of brute force after all."

Many Jianghu travelers, seeing this scene, once again let out a burst of ridicule.

And not a few people were cheering for Shen Zhiyuan.

"Hmph!"

Xia Yuanxian suddenly called out softly, "A bunch of sky-gazing frogs making noise; you all have no idea of my powers!"

As soon as he finished, Xia Yuanxian waved both sleeves of his robe.

Two pill-like white pellets rolled out, turning into a flash of white light mid-air, shooting out, passing through the gaps between the characters, and instantly appearing in front of Shen Zhiyuan!

"Sword Pill!"

"Flying Sword!"

Above the Langya Pavilion, the crowd let out a wave of exclamations.

This is the Mystic Master’s technique!

Ye Xuan’s gaze sharpened.

The situation that Uncle feared still occurred.

This Xia Yuanxian is more frightening than everyone imagined!

Not only is this person trained in Horizontal Body Training, but he also possesses a Spirit Root, practicing the Profound Sect Flying Sword at the same time!

Black Tortoise Cultivators!

Mystic Masters excel at wielding flying swords and mystic skills, but their weaknesses are also quite apparent. Once a martial artist gets close, they can easily be countered.

But Xia Yuanxian’s choice to train a strong body and viscera strength silently compensates for this shortcoming!

This is not just an embodiment of talent.

It also means that Xia Yuanxian has to be more diligent than anyone else, not allowing even a slight bit of complacency.

To practice Horizontal Body Training, and train bones and muscles externally, one has to endure tenfold or a hundredfold the hardship!

It is also a testament to his strong willpower!

Having already mastered mystic skills and possessing the even greater killing technique of flying sword, who would still want to eat this kind of hardship?

This young man has done it!

Shen Zhiyuan sensed the crisis, his mind was greatly shaken.

The changes came too swiftly for him to react, so he had to hastily adjust his techniques, swinging out two swords in succession, barely managing to block the two incoming flying swords.

With slight neglect on his part, the characters of the "Riverside Preface" began to gradually dissipate and collapse, unable to trap Xia Yuanxian any longer!

Swish!

A sharp blade descended from the sky!

Shen Zhiyuan had just blocked the two flying swords, raising his sword horizontally to catch Xia Yuanxian’s long sword!

Executing these three swords was already his limit!

Trade him with others on the Wind and Cloud Ranking, and they might already have died three times!

Bang!

The next moment, Shen Zhiyuan felt a sharp pain from his dantian, being kicked by Xia Yuanxian and sent flying, falling out of the Martial Arts Arena.

The entire scene fell silent, not a sound could be heard.