Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 1692 – Scheming Battle

Jin Geng’s Sword Dao had not reached the level where he was able to slash the sky, but what was pitiful was that Qin Yu’s small world should also be labeled as ‘fake’.

There was not much to choose between the two.

If a comparison must be made, Jin Geng’s sword was slightly stronger. Therefore, after receiving the first sword attack, Qin Yu knew what he had to do.

Before, he was just acting in front of Rourou. But in the blink of an eye he was knocked to the ground and beaten up violently. Not to mention his reputation…cough, the plan has been for nothing.

In ruining Rourou’s plan, or more accurately, the plan made by both Rourou and Bull Dingtian, would there be any repercussions? Qin Yu felt that this was something that went without saying.

He had to take this seriously, for his reputation…no, for the plan!

With a thought, within the small world, a mighty force suddenly descended from all directions, like invisible hills pressing down on Jin Geng.

This was his privilege of being the master of this small world. Even if the title of being the master of this small world was fake, he was still very powerful.

However, it was a pity that these techniques were ineffective against Jin Geng. It was not that this Young Master Jin had any special defensive abilities, but that he was strong enough. There was an invisible sword aura all over his body that was strong and violent. He shattered these ‘hills’ that were pressing down on him.

By crushing Qin Yu’s attack, it was unable to even reach Jin Geng, and therefore, it had no effect on him at all.

At the same time, Jin Geng did not stop attacking as well. He was targeting a weak spot in the small world above Qin Yu’s head where a sword was already lodged. Another sword slashed out and it shone with bright golden rays. It caused the twisting and oscillating space to intensify even further.

Amongst the people watching the battle, there were some wise and intelligent elders who could read the battle situation. Zhang Xiashan had already ‘experienced’ the mightiness of the Opening Heavens Sword Sect’s small world. Jin Geng had managed to get past the first round and consecutively threw out two swords, which gave him the upper hand.

After all, the small world could not do anything to him whereas Jin Geng could continuously throw out swords. Furthermore, the power and effectiveness of the Jin Family’s sword skills were not a secret. Unless Qin Yu could unleash his trump card, he would end up in tragic defeat under these deteriorating conditions.

According to the Swallow Mountain sword sects’ rules, if the inheritor of the Opening Heavens Sword Sect was defeated by a challenger during the Question Sword process, it meant that the Opening Heavens Sword Sect had failed to reopen.

As for the inheritor who was defeated, not only would they not deserve any pity, they would also be ridiculed. The world of cultivators was always a harsh one where the strong dominated the weak. This had never changed.

Full of anticipation in their hearts to see their hopes turn into reality, there was lots of excitement in the audience’s eyes. Pity…there was none of that at all. Everyone needed to take responsibility for their actions. Since they wanted to reopen their doors, they had to be prepared for whatever the outcome was.

The third sword came after the second and the fourth sword came after the third. This was not an exaggeration, but it was very clear that Jin Geng was very strong. He did not get tired or soften his blows over time. Instead, he became even more ferocious, until the sword aura around his body started to vaporize. He no longer waited for hills to press down on him before shattering them, but he was now taking the initiative to go on the offensive instead, cutting through space until everything was a blur. He was incomparably fierce and violent!

Qin Yu had not shown a trump card yet; of course this could be him just biding his time…however, the chances of this were low. Things had already gotten to this stage, it did not make sense for him to still be biding his time.

Everyone had the same thought – that this inheritor of the Opening Heavens Sword Sect was bound to lose this time. Even if he was very outstanding and was very skilled, he had met Jin Geng who was evidently stronger than him.

As the saying went, ‘however strong you are, there is always someone stronger’ and ‘there will always be taller mountains to climb’. The meanings were the same – who in this world could really proclaim themselves to be the strongest? Even if there was someone like that, they would not be here. Coming face-to-face with someone stronger was always bound to happen, and it was just that the Opening Heavens Sword Sect had rather bad luck.

This time, it was not just a challenge that they were losing, but also Qin Yu’s own life and the last strand of fortune that the Opening Heavens Sword Sect had.

On the other hand, outside of the entrance gates, the peak swordsmen in Swallow Mountain who were watching through the projection light curtain looked disappointed.

The Opening Heavens Sword Sect was powerful enough to break the status quo and harm their interests, but they still hoped that they could see a former companion return to their team. This was because many years into the future, their descendants might have to walk on such a difficult path as well.

The passing of time was ruthless. Even if one was in one’s glory days now, one would not know when in the future one would have to sympathize with a like-minded person who was in distress too.

It was just the first round, yet they were already unable to pass. Furthermore, the real Question Sword had yet to truly begin. The Opening Heavens Sword Sect’s performance was such a disappointment.

This ancient sword sect was going to be completely extinguished after today. Those ruins would also be taken over by a new owner.

When a sword sect chose to reopen, they had to choose a mountain to place their tablet on. The process of choosing a mountain gate’s location was not a simple matter of just picking a place that was pleasing to the eye. It involved many other things, and compared to ordinary sects, the sword sects in Swallow Mountain were more particular about this and viewed it with more importance.

As one of the ten sects in the past, the Opening Heavens Sword Sect once occupied the leader position for a period of time, so their territory was naturally extraordinary. In recent years, it was highly coveted by many other sword sects, but because their Sword Spirit’s luck had not yet run out, this place still belonged to them.

After today, however, these other sword sects felt that it was time to come up with a scheme to take control of this place.

The disappointment and lament in their hearts quickly disappeared and they resumed their positions as the elders of Swallow Mountain, who strategized to maximize their own interests.

It was a big family business that they were running. No one lived on their own, so of course they had to think of ways to feed their descendants and disciples.

So what if there was a mountain gate there already? That was not a problem. By supporting an auxiliary sword sect, as long as they could gain good control of it, it could be a new and upcoming form of maintaining their power in Swallow Mountain as well. At the very least, if they managed to get their hands on the place, they might be able to sell it at an extremely high price.

One must know that there was still a Sword Spirit amongst the Opening Heavens Sword Sect’s ruins. Just this alone made the plot of land priceless. If they could use it for themselves, that would be the best-case scenario. Otherwise, that Young Master Jin was a rather good person to negotiate deals with too.

As for why Jin Geng decided to make a move and what role the Circling Heavens Sword Sect played in it, they did not know the specifics, but it was not hard to guess why. Hu Fu’s projection had descended before, and though he was able to hide this from ordinary people, it could not escape the elders’ eyes.

As for how the Circling Heavens Sword Sect was going to justify it after snatching the Opening Heavens Sword Sect’s ruins for themselves and what the consequences of this would be, that was their problem. It was not like Jin Family could come to Swallow Mountain and do whatever they wanted. If any one of the elders of Swallow Mountain had the guts to intervene, of course they were not afraid of the Jin Family, and even the Circling Heavens Sword Sect would not be a problem for them.

People’s hearts started to flutter as they thought about the benefits they could get after the Opening Heavens Sword Sect collapsed, and the elders were no exception. Because of how things were developing, like they predicted, Qin Yu’s predicament was becoming worse and worse.

The small world started to vibrate non-stop. Evidently, it was going to reach its breaking point. Once the small world was broken, its master was going to suffer from the backlash and fall into the mud. Then, it could easily be imagined what would happen to him.

Therefore, if he was not willing to just sit around and wait for death and wanted to fight for his life, now was Qin Yu’s last chance. He had to make a move, fast. They could only wait and see if he truly did not have a trump card or if he just had fantastic acting skills.

Hong –

The seventeenth sword.

Realistically speaking, the strength of Qin Yu’s small world had already exceeded Jin Geng’s expectations. However, shattering it was just a matter of time. In the depths of his eyes, there was a calm and collected look. He did not get complacent just because he had the upper hand. Even though it looked like he was about to win, he did not appear gleeful at all.

In this world, no one could accurately know what was going to happen until the end. There were many incidents where people in desperate situations managed to turn the tides in their favor and ended up killing the other party instead. Of course, whenever something like this happened, it was usually because they were stupid to give the other party a chance to retaliate.

Jin Geng was not stupid and he would not give Qin Yu any chances.

Right at this moment, light erupted in Jin Geng’s eyes.

Here it comes!

But he only saw Qin Yu, who was opposite him, step outwards, and in an instant, he disappeared.

The vibrating small world which had been thrown into chaos suddenly exploded and created an incomparably strong impact force, tearing a large crack in the sword aura around Jin Geng’s body.

Qin Yu appeared within it and stretched his arm forward.

The sudden turn in events caused the audience watching through the projection light curtain to feel shocked. Obviously, they did not expect that Qin Yu had been hiding such a sharp move until now.

His sudden shift in position meant that the sword aura barrier had been broken. He pointed a finger towards Jin Geng and it seemed like such an ordinary move, but how could it really just be ordinary? Everything happened in a brief moment; it was so fast that there was not enough time for the audience to react. Perhaps this move would change the ending of the battle.

The Opening Heavens Sword Sect was indeed capable…before anyone could finish this thought, there was another turn of events.

Jin Geng laughed loudly and coolly. Even though he did not say anything, his laugh was enough to convey his message – I have been waiting for so long.

He, too, had a trump card!

This thought swept across everyone’s mind.

Then, they saw Jin Geng move forward. Not only did he not hide from Qin Yu’s attack, he even took the initiative to move towards it. The bubbling sword aura around him erupted at this moment and suddenly became icy. It condensed to form a golden sword shadow.

Like a reflection on water, the sword shadow looked blurry. However, the audience could feel the strong destructive force and terrifying aura radiating from it.

Buzz –

The golden sword shadow slashed out!

Everyone gasped in delight as they knew they were in for an exciting battle and they also felt shocked at these two individuals. These two young men were very scheming and truly…very very cunning!

They fought to the last moment, and only took out their trump cards when everyone thought that the ending was pretty much decided. If it were the people in the audience who were in the battle instead, they would not be prepared and would have been killed already.

However, there was no doubt that the Opening Heavens Sword Sect was still going to be defeated.

The golden sword shadow’s terrifying aura could be felt from so far away even though it was not targeted at them.

Even the elders from Swallow Mountain felt that this sword was quite powerful. Qin Yu was being caught off guard and was standing such a short distance away. With the capabilities that he had shown, there was no way he was going to end up victorious.

Jin Geng’s eyes looked calm, but strong with conviction that he had made the right gamble.

Kill Qin Yu, obtain the Sword Pill within a year, and the position of family head would be his.

He just had a chance to have a glimpse of how vast and wonderful his future could be.

However, this chance would require the person in front of him to sacrifice his life for him to pave the way to becoming a Celestial.

Right at this moment, Qin Yu pointed outwards again. His finger made some gentle movements, drawing delicate but seemingly messy lines. An illusory script formed at his fingertips.

The next moment, when his fingertips made contact with the golden sword shadow, there was a soft ‘pop’ sound. The illusory script shattered and disappeared.