Chapter 76: The Sparring Match and Enlightenment

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: The Sparring Match and Enlightenment

Chapter 76: The Sparring Match and Enlightenment

With only two days until New Year’s Eve, Kyoto’s markets were much more lively than usual. The bustling crowds were interspersed with the loud cries of street vendors, adding a touch of everyday life to this already prosperous city.

To cheer up Da Niu, who had been looking downcast for days, Xiao Qing and Qin Luo took him to the market early in the morning. Seeing the brightly lit buildings on both sides of the road, a glimmer of light finally appeared in Da Niu’s previously lifeless eyes.

In just eight months, Da Niu and Qin Luo had transformed from country bumpkins into seventh-tier powerhouses. Their cultivation speed was nothing short of terrifying. The higher level of cultivation not only brought them immense power, but also subtly altered their state of mind.

If an ordinary person had such a rapid cultivation speed, even if they had extraordinary talent, the intense changes in their Qi Sea in a short period of time would inevitably lead to them going into a state of demonic possession.

Qin Luo had cultivated his mind since childhood, so he had always maintained a good state of mind. However, Da Niu still did not know what mind was, so the reason why he had never gone astray could only be attributed to the mystery of the Overlord Manual.

Ever since Jiang Qingyu had her first time with Da Niu in the fishing village, she had become addicted to the taste. In recent days, she had often used the excuse of taking care of her two fellow disciples to secretly have sex with Da Niu. However, after all, she was the ruler of a country. If Jiang Qingyu did not visit the princess’s residence for two or three days, Da Niu, whose desires could not be satisfied, would fall into an extremely restless and agitated state.

At these times, Xiao Qing could feel Da Niu’s gaze sweeping over her delicate body like a blazing flame. That tangible gaze made her heart flutter. Especially lately, she often heard lewd moans coming from Da Niu’s room at night. Sometimes, she could even hear clear sounds of flesh colliding. Coupled with Qin Luo’s increasingly ambiguous gaze recently, Xiao Qing vaguely felt that the day seemed to be coming much sooner than she thought.

The three walked side by side. Perhaps because of Da Niu’s manic and unapproachable demeanor, pedestrians on the street gave way, and the three were completely alone in the crowded street.

Turning to a familiar tailor shop, Qin Luo suddenly felt a sense of disorientation. This was the place where he and Lin Shuying had bought clothes together. Now, revisiting the old place, the two were separated by thousands of miles.

"Young Master Qin, Young Master Huang, this way please."

The tailor shop owner had a shrewd look on his face. He had only met the two men once two months ago, yet he could now accurately call out their surnames. Qin Luo sighed inwardly, thinking that they were indeed businessmen from the capital, with such good memories.

As the three stepped inside, the shopkeeper smiled and introduced them to the newly arrived fabrics. Knowing that the two men were not interested in these, Xiao Qing took it upon herself to buy each of them a new set of clothes.

Da Niu, who was leaning against the counter, seemed to remember something. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he looked at Qin Luo and said, "Senior brother, do you remember...?"

"I remember." Qin Luo nodded, already guessing what Da Niu was about to say.

"Another match?" Da Niu raised an eyebrow at Qin Luo.

This was a very tempting suggestion for Qin Luo. Since he started listening to the tide, he had never made a move. Now, seeing Da Niu’s eager expression, he couldn’t help but feel a little impulsive.

After patiently waiting for Xiao Qing to confirm the style of the clothes, the two of them led Xiao Qing quickly toward the city gate and arrived at a low hill where the two of them had fought before.

What was once a barren hill was now covered in snow. Xiao Qing looked puzzled, but then she heard Qin Luo whisper to her, "I’m going to have a spar with Da Niu. You can be the referee."

"Sister-in-law, don’t be biased." Da Niu, who was extremely excited as the fight approached, seemed to be in a much better mood and teased Xiao Qing, who was standing between the two.

Although Xiao Qing was a little worried, seeing that the two of them looked excited, she thought about it and decided not to stop them.

Stepping through the white snow, they arrived at the old spot. After bowing to Qin Luo with clasped hands, Da Niu began to slowly gather his energy.

The snow beneath their feet melted quietly, and a surge of heat rose from the ox’s body, which was dressed in only a thin cloth.

Qin Luo’s face was ashen, and he seemed to make no move while facing the ox, only the withered branch in his hand emitted a series of low hums.

With a loud shout, Da Niu’s figure transformed into an arrow released from a bow, accompanied by a shattering sound as it hurtled through the air, and in the blink of an eye, it had already approached Qin Luo.

The shadow of the Azure Dragon flashed, and Qin Luo, who was standing in place, suddenly disappeared. However, Da Niu, who was already familiar with Qin Luo’s technique, turned around instantly. From front to back, his speed did not decrease at all. His fist, which was covered with a faint golden light, roared out and brushed past Qin Luo, who appeared behind him.

The punch was incredibly powerful.

Although Qin Luo managed to dodge it without serious injury, he was overjoyed. Da Niu was able to clearly predict his location, which meant that Da Niu could now sense the flow of true energy around him and was no longer the reckless youth with only brute strength.

"Autumn Sounds."

Qin Luo wanted to test Da Niu’s current cultivation level, so he didn’t use Listening to the Tide right away.

In an instant, countless sword shadows pressed against Da Niu’s face. With a roar, Da Niu charged forward, shattering each sword shadow with a flurry of punches.

A series of deafening explosions of metal and stone shattered. Xiao Qing nervously gripped the hem of her clothes. She knew this was just the beginning. The two of them were now quite skilled and their strength was roughly equal. If they were not careful during the fight, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Listening to the tide."

Without giving Da Niu a moment to catch his breath, the instant he broke through Qiu Sheng’s attack, Qin Luo took a step back, but swung the withered branch in his hand forward. The sword energy that spread out with the sword’s edge actually created visible ripples, which floated in circles in the air towards Da Niu’s direction.

With a furrowed brow, Da Niu saw Qin Luo’s new move for the first time. Looking at the seemingly harmless ripples in the air, he dared not relax for a moment. He exerted a little force with his feet and rushed towards Qin Luo again. But as he approached the ripples, he suddenly found that the sword energy, which was originally like rippling water, suddenly surged like a tide, stirring up huge waves on the flat ground.

Carrying the white snow on the ground, the giant wave formed by countless sword shadows began to sweep towards Da Niu from all directions. Knowing that there was no way to avoid it now, Da Niu soared into the sky, preparing to break the Listening Tide technique from above.

But to his surprise, the giant wave seemed to have a life of its own, transforming into a waterspout as he leaped into the air. A series of terrifying dragon roars followed one after another, and the sword energy at its head actually coalesced into a clear dragon head, baring its fangs and claws as it pounced on the giant bull in the air.

"Supporting the sun and moon!"

Da Niu shouted, but when he reached the highest point, he suddenly stopped, his body radiating golden light, and he was suspended in the air.

The golden light grew brighter and brighter. Qin Luo, who was on the ground, frowned slightly. He saw a blurry figure appear behind Da Niu.

The figure gradually became clear amidst the golden light, clad in golden armor, with an emotionless face exuding boundless majesty. As the waterspout drew closer, the figure behind Da Niu grew larger and larger, until it was so vast that it seemed to engulf the sky, like a god or demon descending to earth.

"Overlord!"

Xiao Qing exclaimed in surprise. She hadn’t expected that the Overlord Manual that Da Niu had compiled was actually the mantle of the War God Overlord.

"Capture the Dragon!"

Da Niu shouted again, exerting a little force with his fists. The towering shadow moved accordingly, actually capturing the water tornado formed by thousands of sword energies.

But just when he thought he had broken Qin Luo’s Listening to the Tide technique, he suddenly felt the water dragon in his hand quietly changing color, gradually turning from transparent to cyan, and its power was also increasing little by little.

Finally, with a roar filled with rage, the Azure Dragon broke free from the Great Ox’s hands and soared into the sky once more, tightly binding the Great Ox in mid-air within moments.

Above the low, barren mountains, in what should have been a bright, sunny day, a golden figure and a blue dragon were locked in a fierce battle. Roars and explosions filled the air, and in the quiet winter, thunder rumbled outside the capital city.

Inside the palace, Jiang Qingyu gazed silently at the city walls. Behind her, Qinglian seemed worried and whispered, "Master, these two seem to be using their full strength... I’m afraid..."

With a soft chuckle, Jiang Qingyu shook her head and gently parted her lips to ask, "All out?"

"Hehe, it’s still early."

As soon as the Empress finished speaking inside the city, Qin Luo outside the city leaped into the air, holding a withered branch, and charged towards the giant bull in the sky.

In the sky, the Overlord battled the Azure Dragon, while in the air, the Great Ox faced Qin Luo. Although Qin Luo’s swordsmanship was incredibly sharp, the Great Ox was able to defend against it flawlessly, and even had the strength to launch an attack. Just as the Great Ox was beginning to gain the upper hand, Qin Luo smiled slightly, and suddenly disappeared from mid-air.

Da Niu was slightly taken aback. What appeared in front of him again were three identical Qin Luos.

Although they looked alike, the three had different sword styles. Da Niu was no longer as naive as before. He knew that among the three, only one was the real Qin Luo, and the other two were just illusions created by Qin Luo’s extremely fast swordsmanship.

Although he had guessed the essence of this move, he could only struggle to defend against the dazzling sword shadows. However, he also understood that if he continued to defend like this, defeat was only a matter of time.

...

"Master, what is true qi?"

"True Qi is the foundation of cultivation and the basis of all cultivation methods."

"What does true qi look like?"

"Formless and colorless."

"Then how can I see it?"

"It cannot be seen with the naked eye; you must sense it with your heart."

"induction?"

"Close your eyes and try to sense the objects around you."

"Master, I can’t sense anything except you."

"Try again."

...

Surrounded by three Qin Luos, amidst the sky full of sword energy, Da Niu suddenly recalled the moments he spent with Nangong Muyun on Xiuwen Mountain.

Looking towards the endless horizon, Da Niu continued to clench his fists, but slowly closed his eyes.

At first, there was nothingness. Da Niu remained calm and patiently sketched out the outline of the low, barren mountains in this void.

Next, there was Xiao Qing standing to the side, her face full of worry, and then there were the two huge figures in the sky.

Qin Luo knew that Da Niu was in a state of enlightenment, so he did not rush to attack. He maintained his original speed and swung his sword at Da Niu.

A quarter of an hour passed, and in that void, Da Niu gradually sensed that everything around him was becoming clearer.

Another fifteen minutes passed, and Da Niu saw the dead trees around him, the rubble on the mountain, and even the different shapes of each snowflake dancing in the air.

Suddenly opening his eyes, Da Niu smiled slightly.

"Senior brother!"

I see you!

A golden light, almost tangible, enveloped his fist. With boundless pleasure, he didn’t target any of the three figures, but instead unleashed a powerful punch at the empty space in front of him.

"boom!"

A deafening explosion rang out, and Da Niu saw that his fist was firmly pressed against the withered branch in Qin Luo’s hand.

"Haha, great!"

Qin Luo laughed heartily, genuinely happy to see Da Niu grow so quickly.

This was a thrilling battle. The scene of their duel in this same place was still vivid in their minds. In just two months, their strength had undergone earth-shattering changes. Xiao Qing watched with trepidation. Amidst the overwhelming sword shadows, the two fought a magnificent and colorful battle.

The clash of fists and swords, the collision of the Overlord and the Azure Dragon, filled the city with deafening roars. Looking towards the horizon, golden and azure lights shone brightly, and many pedestrians began to kneel in devout worship towards the outside of the city, believing it to be a divine miracle descended by celestial beings.

Finally exhausted, the two landed one after the other, then smiled at each other, and Xiao Qing finally felt relieved.

Although no winner was decided, both of them could feel the other’s rapid progress. Da Niu’s coarse cloth clothes were torn by countless sharp sword energies, and his strong upper body muscles were faintly visible. Xiao Qing only glanced at him before turning her head away, not daring to look again.

On their way back to the city, the Si Ming Pavilion, under the Empress’s secret orders, released a message stating that the strange phenomenon outside the city was an auspicious omen from heaven, signifying peace and tranquility for the coming year.

__________

Author’s Note:

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Records of Fragrant beauties is now complete and fully available on Patreon!

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