Chapter 368: A Formidable Opponent, Switching Techniques

Wangchuan held a Thousand-Forged Longsword in his hand;

Lu Ping’an caught a white-sheathed longsword tossed to him by one of his retainers, drew the blade, and at once a gleam like a pool of clear water flashed silver in the eye. The sword trembled lightly, giving off a faint cry like a silver dragon.

Wangchuan suddenly did not feel much like sparring anymore.

The other man’s weapon was of a higher grade, and once an expert made a move, it was immediately obvious whether he had the goods or not.

The realm of the other man’s swordsmanship had most likely reached a level beyond Perfect Mastery.

With a single flick of the sword, that oppressive force came surging straight at him.

How was this a third-rank martial artist?

To this day, he had never felt such a clear edge and such pressure from any other third-rank martial artist.

The aura surrounding Lu Ping’an was already close to Yin Xingtian’s.

But!

Since he was already here!

And it was only a spar...

An opportunity like this was rare!

If he waited until the martial tournament itself and only then ran into a disciple of a famous clan like this, and got caught flat-footed and disgraced the Caobang and the Sanhe Commandery hall, that would be the true loss that outweighed any gain.

With that thought, Wangchuan quickly cast aside all distractions, calmed his mind, and treated the match with full seriousness.

Lu Ping’an watched Wangchuan closely.

In truth, from the way Wangchuan held his sword, he had already seen that Wangchuan’s sword realm was below his own.

That little sword-shaking flourish just now had really been a warning to the other man.

For no other reason than that Wangchuan had saved his younger sister, Lu Ping’an had intended to leave him enough room to step back gracefully and would never have made him lose face.

And yet...

The fact that Wangchuan had broken free from that oppressive pressure so quickly genuinely surprised him.

This Hall Master Wangchuan really did have something to him.

One had to understand that this sort of pressure was not something one could endure just by being calm of mind.

Without real strength, it would crush you!

A glimmer appeared in Lu Ping’an’s eyes. He smelled the aura of his own kind on the other man.

Wangchuan raised his gaze and fixed it on Lu Ping’an, his voice steady and composed.

“Please instruct me.”

“Please!”

Lu Ping’an nodded.

The instant the words fell, the two men sprang from where they stood at the same time.

The ten-meter distance between them vanished in an instant.

Wangchuan activated 《Xuanwu Art》, and a powerful aura suddenly burst from his body. The otherwise unremarkable Thousand-Forged Longsword in his hand seemed, all at once, to be infused with explosive force. Its speed and edge leapt upward by more than an entire level.

Lu Ping’an reacted quickly.

Clang!

His treasured sword carved out a blossom of sword light.

With the ringing of steel, the two separated at the first touch.

Lu Ping’an had also brought the Lu Family’s internal cultivation method into play.

His internal cultivation method had not reached the realm of Perfect Mastery, but among third-rank and fourth-rank martial artists, Lu Ping’an’s internal method was by no means weak.

At the first exchange,

Lu Ping’an’s expression changed.

A fierce force transmitted through the body of the Thousand-Forged Longsword.

The clever force he had used had almost been shaken apart.

A strand of power extended from the other man’s sword body, wormed through the gap, and struck directly into the tiger’s mouth of his hand.

“Interesting!”

Lu Ping’an’s gaze changed.

He had thought this would be a guiding match, but unexpectedly, the other man’s internal cultivation realm was above his own, breaking skill with force!

A formidable opponent indeed!

Wangchuan turned and pressed the attack.

Lu Ping’an rolled the sword through his wrist, and his movements grew even more agile.

Since he had encountered a formidable foe with such profound internal cultivation, he had to switch to a gentler sword style and use softness to overcome hardness.

Lu Ping’an did not clash head-on with Wangchuan’s edge. His feet tapped rapidly, and his treasured sword lightly touched each path of Wangchuan’s attacks, cutting and striking before the other man’s momentum could peak.

Clang-clang! Clang-clang!

The two exchanged more than a dozen moves in quick succession.

There were collisions of sword techniques, but also deep contests of internal force.

Lu Ping’an appeared to be on the defensive, but in reality, he was guiding and controlling the flow of the fight, searching for a chance to counterattack.

At first, Wangchuan used 《Swift Sword Art》. After a flurry of sharp, rapid attacks failed to achieve anything, and he sensed that something was wrong, the style of his swordsmanship abruptly changed. He switched to 《Qingcheng Sword Art》.

Qingcheng Sword Art was likewise a style that used softness to overcome hardness.

But the further one went into the moves of 《Qingcheng Sword Art》, the more it gathered momentum! Its sword moves gradually grew more ferocious, and it began to suppress Lu Ping’an’s sword moves more and more savagely.

Lu Ping’an had practiced the sword from childhood. He was especially sensitive—almost obsessively so—to the nature of sword techniques and sword moves, and had studied the styles of the major sects.

“Hm?”

“《Qingcheng Sword Art》?”

Lu Ping’an’s expression shifted. He immediately realized that Wangchuan’s previously chaotic flurry of rushing attacks was transforming into sword moves that steadily accumulated momentum. His previous strategy for dealing with it had failed.

“Interesting!!”

Lu Ping’an laughed aloud. Suddenly, his sword style changed as well, and he countered with 《Qingcheng Sword Art》 of his own.

Clang-clang!

Bang-bang!

The ring of swords was crisp;

sparks flew.

Lu Ping’an’s sword moves were even faster. He lifted his sword high, then let the force of his swordsmanship sink. As he raised the blade and changed moves, he immediately erupted with a momentum like a great river surging endlessly forward!

Suppression!

An even stronger suppressive force burst forth from Lu Ping’an’s hand.

A degree of sharpness immediately vanished from Wangchuan’s attacks!

“This monster.”

“His realm in 《Qingcheng Sword Art》 is actually higher than mine too. Don’t tell me he has cultivated it to Perfect Mastery as well?”

Wangchuan clicked his tongue inwardly. The pressure on him was enormous.

Despite relying on the advantage of a higher internal cultivation realm, he was still being suppressed by the other man. Clearly, the other man’s realm could not possibly be stuck only at Integration.

Seeing that he was about to fall into a disadvantage,

Whoosh!

A sheet of watery ripples spread outward.

Clang-clang! Clang-clang!

Reality and illusion crossed and interwove.

Lu Ping’an cautiously answered with probing feints, then showed a look of surprise.

“《Water-Moon Sword Art》.”

This was one of the fourth-rank sword arts in the Caobang’s Armory Manual Vault. When he had been in Qinghe Commandery, he had sparred quite often with the Qinghe Commandery Hall Master, and he recognized the origin of the art at a glance.

It was only that Wangchuan’s 《Water-Moon Sword Art》 was clearly far stronger than that Hall Master’s.

Within those watery ripples was mixed a clean, carefree sharpness, making him unable to determine whether a deadly edge was hidden inside the feints...

Clang-clang! Clang-clang!!

Wangchuan and Lu Ping’an exchanged dozens more blows.

The occasional deadly edge, driven by the spitting force of internal power, was enough that even Lu Ping’an did not dare take it lightly.

The reason was simple.

Lu Ping’an’s fourth-rank sword art had not yet reached Perfect Mastery.

So even if he used the Lu Family’s fourth-rank sword art, it was only about on par with Perfect Mastery 《Qingcheng Sword Art》 and offered no great advantage.

And with a high-level internal cultivation method supporting it, 《Water-Moon Sword Art》 truly was a rather shameless style to deal with.

The watery ripples concealed killing moves. Reality and illusion shifted without pattern!

If they clashed head-on, both men would be wounded;

and Wangchuan’s movement speed was extremely fast. It was obvious at a glance that his lightness skill, 《Cloud Ladder》, had been piled up through a tremendous amount of effort. He constantly controlled the distance and kept the initiative over both attack and retreat.

The chance of circling behind and forcing out a flaw was vanishingly small.

Without realizing it, the two had already exchanged nearly two hundred moves!

Divine Physician Shen and Lu Ningshuang might not have understood what this meant, but the two fourth-rank martial artists from the Lu Family already had grave looks in their eyes.

They knew their young master’s talent and strength very well!

At third rank, he was almost without equal.

Even when they normally practiced moves with the young master, they had to bring out at least eighty percent of their strength to withstand him...

And yet, a mere Deputy Hall Master from a Caobang hall was actually able to fight him to a standstill.

“The heroes of the world truly rise one after another without end.”

“A mere Caobang Deputy Hall Master has this level of strength! At this martial tournament, the young master may truly encounter monsters even more monstrous than himself!”