Chapter 193 Senior Brother, are you going to kill me too?
Mei Liangyu was amused by the banter between the master and apprentice. He flipped the chair over and lay back down, beckoning to Yu Sui, "Come here."
Yu Sui clasped her hands together, and a wisp of golden five elements energy emerged from her palms, moving with her will and forming a painting with a single stroke as she waved her hand.
The five elements' energy had barely taken shape when Mei Liangyu shattered it with a flick of his finger, saying, "Too slow."
Yu Sui was not annoyed and continued to gather her energy and transform it into form. She did this dozens of times, each time faster than before. Mei Liangyu did not hold back and shattered her first each time.
"Senior brother, could you specify a timeframe for the spell to take shape so you won't shatter it?" Yu Sui asked.
Mei Liangyu raised his head and said, "No."
Yu Sui blinked, and then heard Mei Liangyu say, "The speed at which the incantation is formed is crucial. Although you can form it in one stroke, if you are too slow, others will already be right under your nose."
The sage Chang Gen also said: "The spell word should not be remembered only for its shape. As long as it is a 'spell', it must have a corresponding form. A mountain spell can be known as a mountain, and a water spell can be known as a water spell. When you can be aware of the form of the spell, you can be one step ahead of others."
In other words, one must use the introductory mental technique of the Ghost Daoist school: emptiness of the seven senses.
It can sense the energy and form of all things around it most quickly and accurately.
Yu Sui did as Chang Gen Sheng Zhe said and used the incantation mountain again. The speed at which the five elements of Qi took form was visibly faster than before.
The power of the incantation was only shattered by Mei Liangyu at the same time it was unleashed.
Mei Liangyu sat up halfway in the recliner, smiling as she looked back at Yu Sui: "This time it was not bad."
Yu Sui smiled and squinted, gladly accepting his praise.
Mei Liangyu had shattered this simple spell dozens of times, and she felt a great sense of accomplishment every time she succeeded.
With his master's guidance, Yu Sui made rapid progress. After several practices, he was able to successfully unleash the power of the incantations in Mei Liangyu's hands and began to learn more complex incantations.
Mei Liangyu sat on the recliner and sparred with her. Only when Chang Gen Saint made a move could he knock him off the recliner.
Yu Sui's current goal is to overturn her senior brother's recliner.
After sunset, Mei Liangyu took Yu Sui to the military guild.
They did not choose the star chart trial of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Field.
If they were to use the star chart to open an array at the Yin-Yang family's home, Yu Sui would open the top-tier armored array Shura Hell, and Mei Liangyu would open the tenth-realm armored array, neither of which would be conducive to their practice.
Mei Liangyu chose to go to the military strategist's office to set up his own military formation. This way, he could be secretive, control the situation inside the formation, and avoid being attacked by the evil spirits within the formation.
The Nine Grounds of Military Strategists are places specifically for disciples of military strategists to practice mastering military formations.
Nine lands confine the four directions, and the four directions confine heaven and earth.
Yu Sui walked through the stone forest path, and at the end of the road was an endless grassland.
The grass was lush and green, almost obscuring any other scenery. Only by gazing intently into the distance and changing direction could one discover the ancient trees situated in the four cardinal directions.
In the spring of the East, there is a pink and white peach tree.
In the summer of the South, there is a verdant elm tree.
In the autumn of the West, there is a deep red maple tree.
In the winter of the North, there is an ancient tree covered with snow and covered with icicles.
In the very center stands a giant, withered tree.
The area surrounding the Nine Military Grounds is filled with a rich balance of the five elements, which helps to maintain the equilibrium of the five elements within the Nine Grounds and extends the duration and stability of the training formations of the disciples.
Mei Liangyu led Yu Sui through the formation into the Nine Lands Grassland. The stench that hit them made Yu Sui raise her hand to cover her face. The moment they entered the Nine Lands, it sounded like thousands of horses galloping in their ears. The sky outside was relatively clear, but once inside, they felt an overwhelming sense of oppression, as if they were shrouded in thick smoke. The entire grassland was filled with the grim atmosphere of a battlefield.
There were many people in the nine military formations. At a glance, people kept coming out of the formation and then turning back into it.
Just like the military training ground, it's not only military disciples who come here.
Yu Sui spotted Kong Yiyi and Nian Qiuyan from afar.
The two of them must have just come out of the formation of soldiers. Kong Yiyi was looking at Nian Qiuyan with a face full of suspicion, while Nian Qiuyan looked helpless.
"Were you injured on the mechanical island?" Kong Yiyi asked. "I felt that your dodging movements just now were a bit off."
Nian Qiuyan shook her head and said, "No, you must have mistaken me."
Kong Yiyi: "Take off your clothes so I can take a look."
Nian Qiuyan reached out and adjusted her collar, sighing, "Yiyi, you're a girl, how could you say such inappropriate things to me?"
Kong Yiyi said irritably, "I asked you to show your shoulders, not your whole body."
“No, there really isn’t,” Nian Qiuyan said.
Just as Kong Yiyi was about to ask further, she saw Mei Liangyu and Yu Sui in front of her. Her eyes lit up, and she pointed at Mei Liangyu, saying, "Look who's that?"
As Qiu Yan turned her head, she caught a glimpse of Yu Sui out of the corner of her eye. Kong Yiyi grabbed his collar, pulled him in front of her, and tore open his collar to reveal an ugly scar on his left shoulder. The scar itself indicated that the wound was deep enough to expose bone.
"Yiyi." Nian Qiuyan said helplessly, grabbing her wrist and easily loosening her grip so that she could let go. Then she slowly and methodically straightened her clothes.
Kong Yiyi frowned and asked him, "Who did it?"
Nian Qiuyan shook her head without answering, then turned back to look at Mei Liangyu, but her mind was on Yu Sui, and she began to be wary.
He wanted to talk to Nangong Sui, but he didn't expect to run into her here, and he didn't want to talk to her in front of Kong Yiyi.
Yu Sui slowly followed Mei Liangyu toward the two of them, greeting Kong Yiyi with a smile: "Sister Yiyi."
Kong Yiyi responded and then asked Mei Liangyu, "Was he beaten up on the mechanical island?"
Mei Liangyu glanced at Nian Qiuyan, who gestured for him to find a way to help her so that Kong Yiyi wouldn't worry. But then Mei Liangyu said slowly, "That must have been Zhang Xiangyun who hit you. Where are you hurt?"
Nian Qiuyan: "..."
Kong Yiyi pointed at Nian Qiuyan's left shoulder from a distance: "This looks like it hasn't been scabbed over for long. The scab is quite thick."
Mei Liangyu turned to look at Nian Qiuyan: "Is it that serious? Why didn't you say so sooner?"
Kong Yiyi asked suspiciously, "You can't even beat Zhang Xiangyun?"
Nian Qiuyan said helplessly, "I had used up all three of my divination methods at that time."
"Was it a sneak attack?" Yu Sui asked in surprise, covering her mouth. "Zhang Xiangyun is really shameless."
Upon hearing this, Nian Qiuyan's heart skipped a beat, and she felt a burning pain in the wound on her left shoulder, making the pain even worse.
He tried hard to restrain himself from looking at Nangong Sui.
Kong Yiyi glared angrily at Nian Qiuyan. Although it was Nian Qiuyan who was hit, she was still furious and wished she could grab Zhang Xiangyun and punch him to the ground.
Nian Qiuyan could only whisper to persuade her, and Kong Yiyi said, "Come on, I'll take you to get revenge."
"Why are you fighting with him? I can handle this myself," Nian Qiuyan advised. "When the Hundred Families Night Parade takes place at the end of the year, I'll make sure he gets nothing. I'll beat him up every time I see him, okay?"
Kong Yiyi: "So you're just going to let Zhang Xiangyun have his fun now? What right does he have to hit you?"
Mei Liangyu casually remarked from the side, "That's right, why is Zhang Xiangyun completely unharmed?"
Yu Sui nodded in agreement.
Nian Qiuyan grabbed Kong Yiyi's hand and left, abandoning these two inhuman individuals who were desperately stirring up trouble.
Yu Sui turned her head in confusion and asked, "Senior brother, why did they leave?"
"Never mind him, he's getting desperate." Mei Liangyu ignored the two who had left and instead activated the armored formation.
The armor formation of the Ten Realms marches into the sky at night.
In the blink of an eye, Yu Sui went from the boundless grassland to a wasteland littered with corpses.
The endless wasteland was filled with yellow sand rising with the wind. Every three steps there was a corpse, and blood flowed like a river. Half-broken battle flags were stuck in the ground and burning. Swords were dulled, and yellow sand filled the sky, obscuring the moonlight.
A chilling wind blew, and the overwhelming sense of desolation and defeat gave Yu Sui goosebumps.
She looked up and saw the city general on horseback, his figure barely visible amidst the yellow sand and wind, with a dense army of thousands behind him.
Yu Sui was like the last survivor in a defeated army, facing off against the enemy's massive force, fighting alone against thousands of soldiers, his fear and fighting spirit intertwined.
A skeletal warhorse, now just a white skeleton, slowly walked from the yellow sand to the two of them. Its body was covered with all sorts of weapons. Mei Liangyu casually drew a longsword and looked at Yu Sui, saying, "After three moves, you'd better summon your sword spirit."
Yu Sui rolled her eyes, examining the skeletal warhorse with a curious expression. She was selecting a weapon when she heard this and replied, "I don't think I need a sword spirit."
Mei Liangyu squinted and said, "Have you forgotten what I told you before?"
Yu Sui, still holding the sword hilt and not yet drawing it, turned to look at him and said, "Senior brother, I also have a second brother. He is a disciple of the military school and taught me swordsmanship when we were in Qingyang."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "My second brother has loved playing with Zhonglishan since he was a child."
Su Feng, the second son of Prince Nangong of Qingyang and a young general of great military talent.
Mei Liangyu had also heard Zhong Lishan mention it.
“My swordsmanship is actually not bad.” Yu Sui drew her longsword from the skeletal warhorse, its blade gleaming. She looked at Mei Liangyu with a serious expression and said, “After you can train, it will be even better.”
Mei Liangyu listened thoughtfully, then held his longsword upside down in an extremely casual posture. He said, "Junior sister, do you think that military swordsmanship is just about knowing how to make moves?"
Yu Sui thought to herself, "Of course not."
If it were a matter of life and death on the battlefield, Yu Sui would use the Divine Eye of Heaven to completely counter the swordsmanship of military strategists.
Mei Liangyu said, "Let's begin," after Yu Sui had chosen his weapon.
Yu Sui responded, gripping the sword hilt tightly with his five fingers. The two of them simultaneously activated their protective aura, but Mei Liangyu instantly disappeared from Yu Sui's sight.
That's too fast!
In an instant, Yu Sui lowered his brows, sensing the five elements of Qi around him. As his senior brother's afterimage flashed past the corner of his eye, he blocked with his sword. In his bright black eyes, he saw the heavy shadow of Mei Liangyu behind the sword light.
The moment the two swords clashed, Yu Sui felt no resistance whatsoever. There was only a flash of silver light, and her longsword was broken. Mei Liangyu's sword wind shattered her protective aura, and the cold, sharp blade was pressed against Yu Sui's left eye.
It seemed that he was just a hair's breadth away from killing her.
Yu Sui's eyelids trembled, and a long eyelash was severed by the sword blade, falling onto her cheek.
The longsword touched and then withdrew. Mei Liangyu sheathed his sword and retreated to create distance between them. He saw Yu Sui reach out and touch her face.
Yu Sui saw the eyelash stuck to her fingertip, her eyes showing a strange look for a moment, and then she rubbed her eyes.
"War is a matter of vital importance to the state; it is a matter of life and death, a road to survival or ruin." Mei Liangyu said, "The swords and spears of the military are not for chivalrous chivalry, but for the intent to kill on the battlefield. Therefore, they must be used with utmost speed and without delay."
Yu Sui glanced at the broken sword lying on the ground, stained with the blood of the dead.
The night wind stirred up yellow sand, and in no time the broken sword was buried under the sand. Like the soldiers who died on the battlefield, after their lives ended, they were buried under the sand and their remains were nowhere to be seen.
Yu Sui looked at Mei Liangyu. The two were separated by a thin layer of yellow sand, like a light and thin veil, making them both blurry.
“When a soldier makes a move, the sword energy always precedes it, just like a spell; you can sense it,” Mei Liangyu said. “Come on, the second move.”
Yu Sui had just drawn her sword from the skeletal warhorse when she heard these words and rekindled her protective aura. She spread her seven senses, but sensed sword energy rushing towards her from all directions.
Which direction is the enemy going to attack?
The sword energy was incredibly powerful. The moment Yu Sui made her judgment, she raised her sword, turned around, and swept it horizontally, deflecting the sword energy that was feigning an attack from behind. However, another long sword was already placed in front of her slender neck, its cold blade pressed against her skin.
Even though it was night, Yu Sui felt hot all over, yet a chill ran through her head.
"Warfare is based on deception." Mei Liangyu's voice rang in Yu Sui's ears. "You should know this."
As he finished his move, he said, "When you are capable, pretend you are not; when you use something, pretend you don't; then make it seem distant; and when it seems distant, make it seem near."
Yu Sui turned around and looked at him, making a mental note of his words.
The art of war is based on deception and change.
If you can fight, pretend you can't; if you want to fight, pretend you won't. If you want to attack from close range, pretend you can attack from a distance; if you want to attack from a distance, pretend you can attack from close range.
"In battle, you must conceal your thoughts and not be misled by your opponent." Mei Liangyu looked into Yu Sui's eyes and said, "I will ask you to sense the sword energy with your seven senses. Since you have done so, I can also make you believe that the direction the sword energy rushes first is where I will attack you."
Yu Sui pursed her lips: "Senior brother, do you mean I shouldn't believe you?"
“One should not trust when facing enemies on the battlefield,” Mei Liangyu said. “In military strategy, those who are good at defense hide deep underground, while those who are good at offense move high in the sky.”
Those skilled in defense conceal their strength in unfathomable depths. Those skilled in offense strike as if from the heavens, catching you completely off guard.
As soon as she finished speaking, Mei Liangyu raised her chin slightly, her phoenix eyes lifting slightly. Standing amidst the swirling yellow sand, Yu Sui's image was clearly reflected in her dark eyes. For a moment, Yu Sui, who was being watched by Mei Liangyu, seemed to be truly being observed by the enemy.
"It seems your second brother only taught you swordsmanship, but not military strategy."
The man's voice was soft and slow, carried on the breeze as he brushed past.
Yu Sui focused his mind and gripped the sword carefully once more.
Just as Mei Liangyu said.
No one taught Yu Sui these things.
While she was following Gu Gan around and reading books, she never saw Gu Gan reading any books related to military strategy.
Yu Sui witnessed firsthand how Nangong Ming applied these military strategies to others.
“The third move.” Mei Liangyu held the sword in one hand, his gaze suddenly sharpening. “You’d better be more serious.”
Yu Sui: "Mmm!"
She was ready.
My senior brother really doesn't hold back when teaching, even if the person he's teaching is her.
Perhaps it was precisely because his opponent was Yu Sui that Mei Liangyu was more serious than ever before.
The two simultaneously increased the force with which they gripped their swords, unleashing invisible sword energy and producing a sword cry. Yu Sui's seven senses spread out to perceive the surroundings, but he caught the killing intent emanating from the sword energy in front of him.
A direct and intense killing intent suddenly rushed into the realm of her seven senses, causing her soul to tremble. Mei Liangyu followed closely behind, appearing in front of Yu Sui in the blink of an eye.
Mei Liangyu was too fast, and his killing move was immediately revealed. He didn't give Yu Sui any chance to defend or attack. He directly cleaved down with his sword, and the broken sword did not stop.
When the sword broke, the sword did not stop its momentum as it did the first time, which caused Yu Sui's arms to go numb and he was knocked back several steps. When he looked up, the sword light was already upon him.
The killing intent was cold, real, and relentless.
Yu Sui's heart trembled. Because of the two potentially fatal exchanges before, the thought "Are you going to kill me too?" even crossed his mind.
Her hands, numb from the sword's energy, could barely grip the sword. At this moment, she was on the verge of death. Her shimmering eyes stared straight at Mei Liangyu, a slight glint in them.
A wisp of black energy shone from the silver blade, and a hand reached out from the void to grab the longsword that was about to be slashed down.
The hand resembled crisp bones, yet it was stained with the charred black of burning, and several crimson flame crystal flowers with thin white smoke sprouted from its wrist.
Mei Liangyu's eyes flickered slightly as he witnessed a hand emerging from the void, gradually completing its body amidst the black mist, and standing behind Yu Sui.
We finally managed to force this guy to come out.
As the black skull let out a sharp roar, it squeezed the longsword in Mei Liangyu's hand with all its might.
[Author's Note]
"War is a matter of vital importance to the state; it is a matter of life and death, a road to survival or ruin."
"When you are capable, make it seem like you are not capable; when you are useful, make it seem like you are not useful; then make it seem like you are far away; and when you are far away, make it seem like you are near."
"Those who are good at defense hide deep underground, while those who are good at attack move high in the heavens."
From "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu
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