Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

Chapter 406: Chapter 39: 3 Swords vs 2 Swords, Dominating An Zhisu

An Zhisu and Ling Yunpo flew side by side on their swords, passing through mountain scenery resplendent with clustered blossoms, until they finally arrived above the Sword Pool.

Ling Yunpo suddenly remembered when he was first starting out, it was near the Sword Pool that Senior Sister An had taken him under her wing.

At that time, Senior Sister’s attitude toward him was quite indifferent, merely asking him, “Are you willing to enter Qingluo Peak’s gates?”

Once the clueless Ling Yunpo agreed, Senior Sister An immediately revealed a brilliant smile, her face changing as quickly as an actor in Sichuan opera.

After residing in Qingluo Peak for some time, what was originally a one-sided affection from Senior Sister toward her junior changed into mutual dependency… Ling Yunpo felt he hadn’t done much, but An Zhisu’s fondness for him grew unusually fast. Perhaps being her junior brother did come with some special bonus to his favorability.

She must have a thing for younger brothers.

As they landed by the Sword Pool, two guardian disciples immediately came to greet them, smiling and saying,

“How come we have the honor of the Flying Smoke Sword Immortal and Po Yun Sword Immortal visiting us?”

“Flying Smoke Sword Immortal?” An Zhisu was somewhat surprised, only to hear Ling Yunpo step forward and say, “We are here to select a sword.”

“Please follow me this way,” the disciples promptly stepped aside to clear the path.

The two continued toward the Sword Pool, and Ling Yunpo began to chat with his Senior Sister.

In the past, disciples of Shushan would not directly call the names of Sword Immortals out of respect, instead using their Life-bound Sword Artifact or an affectionate nickname as a term of address.

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For example, An Zhisu, originally her Life-bound Sword Artifact was the Frostfall Sword, so she should be called “Frostfall Sword Immortal.”

Of course, in reality, she ended up being called “Weed-Cutting Sword Immortal” much more often.

Now that her Life-bound Sword Artifact had changed to the Flying Smoke Sword, this information became known to the disciples during the major competition in January, so everyone started calling her “Flying Smoke Sword Immortal” anew.

In a sense, this meant that Senior Sister’s reputation within the sect was beginning to improve.

Hearing Ling Yunpo explain it this way, An Zhisu also felt a bit embarrassed and protested,

“Who came up with the nickname ‘Weed-Cutting Sword Immortal’? I’ve said it, the nickname isn’t accurate at all!”

“Senior Sister need not worry,” Ling Yunpo said with a laugh, “As long as Senior Sister’s reputation continues to improve, everyone will definitely remember the nickname ‘Flying Smoke Sword Immortal.’”

“Flying Smoke Sword Immortal, that name isn’t very pleasant either…” An Zhisu sighed.

Ling Yunpo was left speechless. At a time like this, to not focus on one’s reputation but instead consider whether a nickname sounds nice, it turns out Senior Sister also had such girlish inclinations.

Upon reaching the side of the Sword Pool, An Zhisu said with a smile,

“Go on, Junior Brother, see which Immortal Sword is fated for you.”

Ling Yunpo looked down at the water in the pool and called out in his heart,

“Qing Ping, bring forth an Immortal Sword. It must be of the Tenth Rank, don’t mix in any lower-ranked ones.”

“No problem, Sword Master,” Qing Ping Sword chuckled, “May I ask for the Five Elements Attribute? How about the Flying Sword features? Would you like a Sword Spirit?”

“Five Elements Attribute…” Ling Yunpo pondered for a moment, “Qing Ping corresponds to Water, Thunderbane to Metal, both of which overpower the Fire System and the Wood System respectively, but only the Earth System Daoist Magic is difficult to deal with.”

“Let’s go with a Wood System one first then. This time it is for the External Incarnation to use, so try to focus on flexibility and excel at entanglement as its features.”

“No need for a Sword Spirit. I can’t bear it if three Sword Spirits start chattering away.”

“Alrighty,” Qing Ping Sword agreed.

Immediately, the waters of the Sword Pool began to swirl and churn, a vortex throwing spray into the air, and a drop of water shot out, transforming into a verdant sword light in midair, halting in front of Ling Yunpo.

“Huh?” An Zhisu scrutinized it for a moment and said, “This seems to be the Myriad Bamboos Sword.”

“Myriad Bamboos?” Ling Yunpo asked in surprise.

“There was an ancient Sword Cultivator called ‘True Man Pinggang,’ and the Myriad Bamboos Sword was his personal sword,” An Zhisu replied, “It’s said that he gathered the essence of a thousand types of pine and ten thousand types of bamboo from the Divine Land, along with many secret ingredients, to refine it.”

“The most marvellous feature of this sword is its ability to replicate into thousands, launching a mass assault.”

“Among them, only one Immortal Sword is the real body; all the other Flying Swords are transformations of Sword Qi. As long as the real body isn’t locked on and severely damaged, or bombarded by large-scale Daoist Magic, the other Sword Qis won’t be extinguished and can always be regenerated with True Yuan.”

“I see,” Ling Yunpo nodded, thinking to himself that this sword was quite suitable for manipulation by an external incarnation.

“Shall we go back and give it a try?” Seeing that Ling Yunpo had obtained an Immortal Sword, An Zhisu also seemed eager to try.

“Alright.” Knowing he couldn’t refuse, Ling Yunpo readily agreed.

Leaving the Sword Pool, the two rode Sword Light down the mountain peaks and found a flat area in a valley nearby to prepare for sparring.

The reason they chose the ground was that both had mastered the Cloud-Parting Eight Trigrams Step, which made their movements more agile on the ground than when using Sword Control.

Ling Yunpo drew out the Green Duckweed Sword and Thunder Punishment Sword, holding them aloft on either side, ready for battle.

The Azure Spirit Divine Bead was attached to the hilt of the Myriad Bamboos Sword, also concealed behind Ling Yunpo, ready to launch a cunning surprise attack at any moment.

An Zhisu, with a beaming smile, cast out her Flying Smoke Sword and Harsh Cold Sword, one red and one blue, arrayed to her left and right, waiting for Ling Yunpo to make the first move.

“I’m coming, Senior Sister!” Ling Yunpo declared loudly.

“Come on,” An Zhisu replied with a smile.

The Thunder Punishment Sword shot out, only to be intercepted by the horizontal barraging Flying Smoke Sword.

The Green Duckweed Sword made an arc to attack but was promptly blocked by the Harsh Cold Sword, as if it had anticipated the move.

Both were using the Two-Handed Sword Control Technique, their four streaks of Sword Light—red, blue, white, and black—zinged through the air like lightning, striking and sparking against each other, shaking the area for miles.

Such was the daily sword practice between Ling Yunpo and An Zhisu: no use of Sword Dao Techniques, just swordsmanship clashing, comparing their reaction speed, rhythm control, and even psychological gaming.

After all, the Flying Swords were extremely fast; a slight mistake could immediately result in defeat.

However, Ling Yunpo had his external incarnation, possessing an extra sword, so An Zhisu had to fight very conservatively, always on guard against her junior brother’s potential sneak attack with the third sword.

Ling Yunpo pressed the attack briefly but, seeing that his senior sister remained composed and flawless, could only subtly change his strategy, causing the Myriad Bamboos Sword to suddenly spring from behind, transforming into a vast array of Sword Qi raining down on An Zhisu!

Her expression unchanging, An Zhisu’s Flying Smoke Sword soared upwards as she activated its Sword Dao Techniques, propelling huge flames in every direction.

Where Sword Qi met flames, there was a cacophony of popping sounds everywhere.

“Senior Sister, you’ve used your Sword Dao Techniques,” Ling Yunpo said with a laugh.

“Without using Daoist Magic, I couldn’t withstand so many Sword Qis,” An Zhisu replied honestly.

“So that’s how it is.” Ling Yunpo quickly formed a Daoist Formula, activating his Green Duckweed Sword’s Sword Dao Technique “Green Mist Veil Over the Mountains.”

A boundless fog immediately rose, within which the power of Water System Daoist Magic was halved, so much so that the Fire System Daoist Magic on An Zhisu’s Flying Smoke Sword was instantly suppressed by a large margin.

An Zhisu was silent for a moment, then suddenly said,

“I concede.”

Two swords against three—her disadvantage was too great, not something she could overcome with her Innate Sword Heart and expertise in swordsmanship.

The only way to break the deadlock was to utilize Sword Dao Techniques to disrupt the tempo of the fight and then overpower with a surprise attack, but that would make the fight too intense and uncontrollable, risking injury, so it was unnecessary.

“Why did Senior Sister concede so quickly?” Ling Yunpo pondered for a moment before adding, “How about I don’t use my external incarnation this time and spar with Senior Sister using two swords…”

“Junior Brother,” An Zhisu said softly, “With this external incarnation, Qiu Changtian will surely be no match for you.”

“What you need to do now isn’t to keep honing your swordsmanship with me but to get familiar with a three-sword fighting style and technique as soon as possible.”

Ling Yunpo fell silent for a while, then smiled and responded,

“Indeed. Will Senior Sister continue to practice with me?”

“Of course,” An Zhisu replied with a gentle smile.