Chapter 236: Su Youwan's Palace Intrigue Tactics
Chapter 236: Chapter 157: Su Youwan’s Palace Intrigue Tactics
Qiu Yuehan’s slender brows furrowed slightly.
‘Someone else wants to test my sword?’
‘This Bu Lingyun is clearly only at the Fourth Realm, yet he dares to come on stage alone. Not long ago, I sent Xue Nichang flying with a single strike, and she’s been too afraid to fight me since. Did he not see that pitiful sight, or is he just determined to tempt fate?’
‘What a pain. I have to teach this man a lesson, but I can’t actually kill him. It’s not so easy to gauge the right amount of force.’
To her surprise, Bu Lingyun raised the seemingly ordinary calligraphy brush in his hand and began to paint rapidly on a floating scroll in mid-air.
As the ink flowed, several blurry, phantasmal figures with mixed auras suddenly materialized on the stage.
The faces of these phantoms were indistinct, and their techniques varied, but they all advanced together to meet Qiu Yuehan’s Sword Qi.
These phantoms were all renowned cultivators from history. The Qingshi Sect draws upon history, using the names of these cultivators to conjure a phantom, then imprints it with a wisp of their ethereal battle intent to aid in combat.
This was an exceptionally powerful technique. Unfortunately for him, he was facing Qiu Yuehan. Against the Nether Monarch’s sword, the historical phantoms of the dead were as fragile as diseased stalks of wheat.
The Sword Qi swept through, and the phantoms shattered one after another like soap bubbles. Bu Lingyun immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, his body trembling violently. Yet, he stubbornly propped himself up with his brush, barely managing to stay on his feet without falling.
“Hmm?”
‘He’s still standing?’
Qiu Yuehan finally took a closer look at the man.
She still had that strange feeling, the same bizarre sensation she got when she looked at Xue Mingjing.
The man was alive, with no aura of death about him, but there was an… inexplicable sense of wrongness. It was as if something was out of place, yet she couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Brother Xue, this Bu Lingyun isn’t half bad. To have such cultivation at his age… he’s just a step away from the Fifth Realm.”
Li Dashu glanced casually at Bu Lingyun, making idle conversation with Xue Mingjing.
“He’s only a little weaker than that Qiuran boy, but far more obedient.”
Xue Mingjing’s voice was deep and low, making his emotions impossible to discern.
“Brother Xue, this disciple of your Qingshi Sect has some real talent. With his strength, he could have easily secured a spot. Why insist on fighting the Miao Yu Palace Chief? That strike she landed on the Blood Demon Palace’s Young Master… it was verging on the power of the Sixth Realm.”
Anyone could tell that Qiu Yuehan’s strike was no ordinary feat.
If Bai Lu could still be considered a Fifth Realm cultivator, then Qiu Yuehan’s Realm was nearly impossible to define.
She appeared to be in the Fifth Realm, and the swordsmanship she used was that of the Fifth Realm, but its actual power was close to the Sixth Realm.
‘How could anyone make sense of that?’
Li Dashu added nonchalantly, “That girl from Miao Yu Palace… it’s like there’s something about her. I even get a sense of trepidation just looking at her.”
Xue Mingjing stared intently at Qiu Yuehan.
After a long moment, he said, “If you’re going to fight, you fight the strongest.”
“There’s no need to rush. Once the first round is over, there will be plenty of chances during the second round of group matches. He could even snag a ranking reward in the meantime.”
After speaking, Li Dashu turned his gaze to his personal disciple. Like an autumn wind scattering fallen leaves, Li Qingcao had cleanly defeated several challengers. He now stood with his sword in hand, his robes fluttering in the whipping wind. His sword momentum was like a surging river, and his every movement carried an air of forthright grace.
His victories were clean and honorable, his sword momentum majestic, his speech humble and courteous.
The more Li Dashu watched, the more pleased he felt.
He had found Li Qingcao years ago while roaming the Mortal World. It happened on a stormy night in one of the mortal dynasties. An official had taken a new concubine, and Li Qingcao, his legs broken, had been tossed out in front of the man’s lacquered red gate.
Li Dashu happened to be passing by and picked him up on a whim. It was only then that he discovered the boy had an excellent innate constitution—the perfect material for a swordsman.
“Hey, kid, what’s your name?”
The boy propped himself up, struggling to stand straight, but it couldn’t hide the wretched state of his coarse, mud-stained clothes.
“Li Xingyang.”
“Do you want to learn cultivation? Don’t look at me like that. If you do, just answer one question for me. If I’m satisfied with your answer, I’ll lead you down the path of cultivation. How about it?”
That rainy night, Li Dashu asked the boy a question. After hearing his answer, Li Dashu roared with laughter and said, “Someone like you… you’re exactly the kind of person I want you to become one day.”
Li Xingyang looked at Li Dashu, astonished. His answer had been filled with resentment; it was hardly what one would call a perfect response.
And yet, he seemed to have passed the test.
Li Dashu handed his wine gourd to the boy. “Your name isn’t any good. It’s too lofty—all about stars and suns. You’re human, and humans have to walk on the earth. From this day forward, you’ll be called Li Qingcao. Remember, you come from the common folk, ordinary as the green grass beneath your feet.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The grounds of the Qingcao Sword Sect had been bustling for days. The Celestial Dao Grand Competition had no entry barrier, only a limited number of slots, so cultivators from all corners of the White Realm had surged in like a tide, packing the area so tightly you couldn’t move.
Among the crowd were many disciples from minor sects. Their sects’ foundations were shallow, and their most outstanding young disciples were only at the Second Realm. To be blunt, they were attending this grand event simply to go through the motions and broaden their horizons.
But even if they were just here to fill the ranks, the trip was not in vain. Li Dashu had magnanimously opened the Sword Burial Tomb, releasing a century’s worth of accumulated Wood Essence Qi. It filled the air, so dense it was almost palpable.
For these cultivators from the minor sects, this was undoubtedly a godsent opportunity.
Many disciples who knew they had no hope of ascending the stage simply found a corner within the Sword Sect’s grounds, sat down cross-legged, and entered a state of meditation. They greedily absorbed the wisps of Wood Sword Qi drifting in the air, attempting to comprehend the Qingcao Sword Sect’s unique Sword Intent of endless vitality.