Chapter 238
The old man, carrying a long sword, slowly walked toward Xu Ming.
He looked just as he had in the cave—unkempt hair, hunched back, resembling an ordinary vagabond. Yet, with the sword in his hand, he exuded an indescribable sense of harmony, as if he was born to wield it.
Over the past year of trials, Xu Ming had encountered many sword cultivators, sparred with many, and even killed quite a few. But he had never seen a sword cultivator like this.
The old man reminded Xu Ming of the legendary masters in the stories—unruly and disheveled in appearance, yet utterly uncompromising in skill.
“You’ve picked up a lot of random sword techniques, haven’t you?” the old man said as he studied Xu Ming. “I see the Bingyang Sword Technique from the Wanjian Sect and the Qinghai (Azure Sea) Sword Technique from the Northern Seas. Two completely unrelated styles.”
He continued, “You’re from the Central Plains, aren’t you? And clearly not a disciple of the Wanjian Sect. How did you manage to learn these two techniques?”
Xu Ming saluted with his sword. “The Bingyang Sword Technique was taught to me by a friend who is currently training at the Wanjian Sect. As for the Qinghai Sword Technique, I didn’t even know its name until now—I stumbled upon it by chance in some ruins.”
He intentionally left out the part about his sister teaching him. Even though it wouldn’t matter much if he mentioned it—what could this old man do, go to the Wanjian Sect to complain about his sister leaking their techniques? Still, it was better to be cautious and keep that detail to himself.
“Hmm,” the old man nodded, seeming to accept Xu Ming’s story, though in truth, he didn’t care at all about the explanation.