Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Carefree Sword Path
At this moment, Ling Beixiao arrived. His graceful figure exuded Confucian elegance. Although he revealed the aura of a powerful figure, he remained calm and composed, showing no trace of arrogance.
Ling Beixiao laughed and said, "This must be Young Master Ma. He is truly a promising young man, full of vigor and ambition!"
Ma Pingchuan smiled and said, "This junior is Ma Pingchuan. I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Master."
Ling Beixiao: "It's getting late, and you've all traveled a long way. Why don't you rest here for a day? Besides, the day after tomorrow is our manor's triennial treasure appraisal event. Don't you want to witness this spectacle?"
Ma Pingchuan: "I appreciate your kindness, Master, but I have two friends who have already settled in Mianzhu Town. In order to avoid worrying each other, I must hurry back. Please forgive me, Master."
Ling Beixiao nodded and said, "Alright! Xi Shang!" Ling Beixiao called out to the side, and the steward Xi Shang hurriedly stepped forward with the money.
Ling Beixiao pointed to the money and said, "This is the money for the thirty-six fine horses. Young Master Ma, please take a look."
Ma Pingchuan gestured to his men to take the money and said, "Please, Master, inspect the horses!"
Ling Beixiao smiled and waved his hand, saying, "No need! Those horses are all good horses! Besides, it's not like your Ma family gang and my Xiyu Manor have never done business together before, so I trust you completely."
Ma Pingchuan replied happily, "Your Excellency is pleased, I admire you. Then I will take my leave!"
Ling Beixiao: "Xi Shang, see Young Master Ma off for me!"
Xi Shang: "Young Master Ma! Please!"
Ma Pingchuan: "Please!"
At the night, Xiaoyao Lang was practicing various sword techniques from the book with his bare hands when the old man woke up.
He stretched and said coldly, "What are you trying to compete with! With your aptitude, it's pointless!"
Xiaoyao Lang continued gesturing, saying calmly, "Old man, I'm annoyed with you! You know that?"
The old man stepped forward and chuckled shamelessly, "Alright, alright, so how's your learning going?"
Xiaoyao Lang said calmly, "I've memorized everything before, but I haven't memorized this 'Sword Sheathing Technique' yet."
The old man shook his head and said, "What's so great about remembering the 'sword sheathing stance'? The killing move is the key. Who cares how you sheath your sword!"
Xiaoyao Lang nodded and said, "That's true! Then I won't look at it!" After saying that, he returned the sword manual to the old man.
The old man put away the sword manual and laughed, "See? I told you you wouldn't understand it or learn it! I'll give you something else another day!"
Xiaoyao Lang scoffed at him, "How do you know I haven't learned it?"
The old man laughed loudly, "You haven't even drawn your sword in half an hour, and you've already learned it just by gesturing with your bare hands? How laughable!" The old man gestured as he spoke.
Enraged, Xiaoyao casually drew his sword and swung it. With a hiss, the wine jar on the table was sliced open, yet remained completely unmoved. The old man approached and lifted the jar with his right hand; the jar had been neatly sliced open without falling.
The old man exclaimed in surprise, "How is that possible! You don't have any internal energy at all?"
Xiaoyao Lang: "Internal energy? I don't have any!" After saying that, he was about to put his longsword back into its sheath.
The old man exclaimed excitedly, "Kid, come and have a go at me!"
In an instant, a palm strike was aimed at Xiaoyao Lang, but it carried no internal force. Upon seeing this, Xiaoyao Lang swung his sword! The old man was so frightened that he leaned back, then put his hands on his hips and said, "You only know this one move?"
Xiaoyao Lang's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "No, I've already learned it!"
The old man looked incredulous and said, "You've learned it all! Then why did you try to kill me just now? I just wanted to show you how it goes; you can stab, parry, or take my moves!"
Xiaoyao Lang scratched his head and said, "When you attacked me like that just now, my first reaction was to take advantage of this move!"
The old man pointed at him and cursed, "You little brat, it's just your instinctive reaction, isn't it! Then I'll use my internal energy and try it on you again!"
Before he finished speaking, the old man attacked Xiaoyao Lang with a palm strike imbued with energy. Xiaoyao Lang met the attack head-on, but the old man only used some simple moves. However, Xiaoyao Lang's every move was deadly, and every sword strike was aimed directly at Xiaoyao Lang!
The old man shouted angrily, "Kid! You really think I'm your enemy? Then I won't hold back!"
The old man immediately channeled his inner energy, gripping the sword's neck with his left index and middle fingers, while preparing to subdue Xiaoyao Lang with his right hand. Seeing this, Xiaoyao Lang spun his right hand, the sword tip twisting rapidly. The old man was startled, realizing Xiaoyao Lang would likely seize the opportunity to thrust the sword straight at his chest. He then struck the sword's waist with his right palm. Xiaoyao Lang had anticipated this attack, so after the sword disengaged, he moved to the old man's right side, the sword swiftly slicing past the old man's right palm, causing a minor injury to his right arm!
Old man: "Ouch!"
Xiaoyao Lang turned around: "Old man! Are you alright?"
The old man cursed, "You should have thrust straight at me! Why did you swipe your sword backward?"
Xiaoyao Lang said aggrievedly, "I saw you strike me with your right palm! So I blocked it with my sword, but I didn't expect you to change your move and strike my sword!"
The old man said shamelessly, "I'm not competing anymore! I can't compete with you! All you know is how to kill, but I can't use any killing moves! This isn't fair!"
The carefree rogue said, "You just want to know if I've learned it or not, right? I don't need to compete with you, I can show you!"
The old man paused for a moment, then said, "That's true, why don't you try it!"
Xiaoyao Langxing's swordplay was swift and decisive, with each move swift and without hesitation. He could even switch between left and right swords. Sword shadows swirled around him, the sound of swords echoed endlessly, and sword energy scattered in all directions. In a short while, he had finished using all the moves of the Wuji Sword Technique!
The old man exclaimed in surprise, "You are truly a sword prodigy! You learn so quickly and so skillfully!"
Xiaoyao Lang laughed and said, "Looking at that book, the only killing techniques are the 'Sword Movement Style' and the 'Establishment and Interchange Style,' each with eight moves. What's so interesting about learning them!"
The old man nodded, then shook his head and said, "I now fully understand that you are completely ignorant of the concept of martial arts, but you have a good memory, high comprehension, and your own unique ideas about the way of the sword. Others dodge, block, deflect, break, and counterattack when they see a move, but you break and attack as soon as you see a move, without any concept of safety."
Xiaoyao Lang: "I don't understand what you're saying, but after reading this book, many sword techniques came to mind that weren't in the book, so I didn't use them."
The old man chuckled, “This is the Wuji Sword Technique. The blank content is entirely up to your own comprehension. Therefore, although we see the same things, apart from the eighteen moves, it’s difficult for us to master the other moves.”
Xiaoyao Lang suddenly realized, "That's right, I almost forgot about the blank page! It seems the essence of this book lies in that!"
The old man chuckled, “That’s right! But judging from your swordsmanship, you can’t wield a sword properly because you have no internal strength at all. So you need to practice holding the sword often to ensure you can wield it skillfully. As for that move just now, if you knew how to wield a sword, you would have had plenty of time to reverse your grip and slash, and my arm would definitely be gone!”
Xiaoyao Lang nodded and said, "It seems so. When I swung, my arm was very unnatural, so the force was much weaker."
The old man said, "That's good enough. I'll give you this sword. As for the sword manual, you've already memorized it completely, so it's useless to you." With that, he picked up his bundle and prepared to leave.
Xiaoyao Lang hurriedly said, "Old man, where are you going? Why don't we have a couple more drinks and discuss swordsmanship?"
The old man laughed and said, "You are a sword prodigy, and you seem to have a fondness for swordsmanship. If one day you become unmatched, you can go to Dumu Peak and challenge the greatest swordsman of our time!" After saying that, he opened the door and left, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Xiaoyao Lang hurriedly went out and called out, "Old man, what is your name?"
...
The carefree rogue, upon examining the longsword in his hand, discovered that the blade was jet black, such an obviously peculiar sword, that he had only just noticed it!
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