Chapter 151: Thunder Smoke Saber

Ximen Kankan was grilling while sprinkling spices on top; Duan Rong strolled over and sighed, "Who eats barbecue first thing in the morning?"

Ximen Kankan laughed, "I'm not just doing it for the food; I enjoy the process. As they say, when the mood strikes, this is what you call a refined pleasure..."

Ximen Kankan spoke with dramatic cadence; Duan Rong felt a silent laugh in his heart—this shorty's habit of showing off had flared up again.

"Shi Kang, go to the cellar and bring a jar of aged brew," Ximen Kankan turned his head to instruct.

Upon hearing this, Shi Kang immediately turned and left.

Seeing Shi Kang depart, Duan Rong swept his gaze around, stepped closer, and asked in a low voice, "Is there any news about the Dragon Flame Fat?"

Ximen Kankan was flipping a piece of pork belly and sprinkling spices; hearing this, he also scanned the surroundings and said, "Not yet! I reckon it'll be soon. By the calendar, Lao Qin should be back within these few days!"

Since there was no news of the Dragon Flame Fat yet, he could only wait a while longer; however, he had come to find Ximen Kankan for a sparring session, not to spend his time here keeping him company while he barbecued.

"Hey!" Duan Rong called out to Ximen Kankan.

"What for?"

"Shall we trade a few blows?"

"Trade what?" Ximen Kankan was stunned and said, "Gambling money?"

"What gambling money? Sword techniques!" Duan Rong patted the Ox-Tail Saber tied at his waist and said.

"Are you sick? In such a fine time, why trade sword techniques? All that killing and fighting—it's like burning a zither to cook a crane, it ruins the scenery!" Ximen Kankan said, glancing at Duan Rong.

Burning a zither to cook a crane, indeed?! Since when did you become so refined?

Duan Rong wanted to mock Ximen Kankan, but looking at the expression Ximen Kankan shot him, he suddenly stopped, because he saw a flash of genuine reluctance in Ximen Kankan's eyes.

Duan Rong immediately understood: this kid didn't like martial arts at all! And it wasn't just a dislike; looking at that expression, it was sheer annoyance.

Although Ximen Kankan was gifted, he truly loathed cultivation; if it weren't for his father Ximen Yong urging him daily, he would never have achieved the Internal Breath Fourth Layer.

However, after he achieved the Internal Breath Fourth Layer, his father saw that getting into the Taiyi Sect was no problem, so the urging became less severe later on.

By this count, actually, Ximen Kankan had only been living carefree for a little over half a year!

Duan Rong's eyes flickered as he said, "How about this! You spar with me, and I'll draw a Spring Palace Painting for you!"

"Really?" Ximen Kankan jumped in surprise, his eyes gleaming, and said, "The kind from last time?"

"Mm." Duan Rong nodded.

"Then... it's a deal!"

Ximen Kankan's eyes flickered as he said, "Let's be clear: how many days of sparring for one painting?"

"Five days!"

"Three days!" Ximen Kankan bargained.

"Fine, three days it is!" Duan Rong couldn't be bothered to waste more breath on him; after all, drawing a Spring Palace Painting didn't really take much effort.

"Then, come on!" Ximen Kankan drew the Moon Blade Curved Saber from his waist and looked at Duan Rong, saying, "I practice a saber technique ancestral to our Ximen Family, the Thunder Smoke Saber! Watch out!"

As Ximen Kankan spoke, he was about to attack, but Duan Rong immediately called out, "Wait a moment!"

"What is it?"

"What is your realm?"

"Fourth Layer, Great Success Realm!"

Duan Rong's breath hitched, slightly surprised, and he thought to himself: Is this shorty really that strong?

"I only have the Proficiency realm of the Second Layer; control your Internal Breath a bit, don't shatter my weapon."

"Got it, come on."

Duan Rong drew his Ox-Tail Saber, and the two traded a few blows in an instant.

At first, it was just probing, and neither went all out; Ximen Kankan started by keeping his Internal Breath a bit low, and his web between thumb and forefinger trembled from the impact, but he immediately raised his Internal Breath, becoming basically evenly matched with Duan Rong.

Duan Rong suddenly unleashed the Cloud Snake Step, using all the moves he had been thinking about and experimenting with, but Ximen Kankan was composed and easily neutralized them all.

After several moves, Ximen Kankan suddenly struck the flat of Duan Rong's Ox-Tail Saber with his hilt, instantly disrupting Duan Rong's rhythm, then leaped up and slashed, shaving off a lock of Duan Rong's sideburns.

Ximen Kankan grabbed the severed hair, looked at Duan Rong, and laughed, "Severing hair is like severing the head; you've lost!"

Duan Rong nodded and praised, "Good saber technique!"

Ximen Kankan's saber technique was indeed formidable; at times as swift as a thunderbolt, at others full of feints, shrouded in mystery!

Duan Rong murmured, "Thunder Smoke Saber..."

Ximen Kankan heard Duan Rong's praise and smiled happily, just about to show off, when he suddenly heard Shi Kang's voice from behind: "Young Master! The meat is burnt!"

"Oh no!" Ximen Kankan immediately jumped and ran toward the fire at the entrance of the Xueyan Residence.

Looking at the pork belly and chicken legs that had turned black, Ximen Kankan felt a pang of heartache; he had sprinkled quite a bit of spice and even brushed on a layer of honey.

Ximen Kankan took the burnt meat down, handed it to Shi Kang, and said with a cold face, "Shi Kang, take this and feed it to the dogs!"

Shi Kang took it, looked at the blackened meat in his hands, and asked in confusion, "This... will the dogs eat it?"

"If the dogs won't eat it, you eat it." Ximen Kankan glared at Shi Kang in annoyance.

Shi Kang, having been yelled at for no reason, had no choice but to take the burnt meat to feed the dogs.

Over on the grass, Duan Rong was waving his Ox-Tail Saber, his movements intermittent, stopping from time to time to ponder for a long while...

He was reorganizing and reflecting based on the gains and losses from his spar with Ximen Kankan just now...

Ximen Kankan's Thunder Smoke Saber was truly exquisite and had indeed given Duan Rong quite a bit of inspiration!

Seeing Duan Rong on the grass acting as if possessed, performing all sorts of strange movements, Ximen Kankan curled his lip and said, "What's the point of martial arts, all that fighting? Big brother, why is he so obsessed with this stuff? And practicing martial arts is so bitter; isn't he just making things hard for himself?"

"Someone who can draw Spring Palace Paintings so well is actually so obsessed with martial arts—truly strange!"

Ximen Kankan took a look at Duan Rong, who was immersed in the world of deducing moves on the grass, sighed, and then took some more chicken legs and pork belly to grill over the fire...

This deduction by Duan Rong lasted for nearly an hour.

Ximen Kankan sat on the threshold of the Xueyan Residence, eating grilled meat while drinking the aged brew that shimmered with a green light, and shouted to Duan Rong, "Stop practicing, come eat something! These chicken legs are grilled to a crispy, fragrant perfection... look, the juices are flowing..."

Ximen Kankan tore off a strip of chicken and stuffed it into his mouth, but Duan Rong acted as if he hadn't heard, practicing his half-baked saber moves on the grass, over and over again.

Another half an hour passed, and Duan Rong suddenly turned his head and said, "Come, let's go again!"

"Come!" Ximen Kankan immediately jumped up from the threshold and wiped his greasy, shining lips.

Ximen Kankan was also interested now; he really wanted to see what Duan Rong could come up with after pondering for an hour and a half, as he did not believe that martial arts could be improved just by thinking about it.

After a few moves, Duan Rong was defeated again.

"Not bad, the thinking wasn't in vain; you lasted three moves longer than just now!" Ximen Kankan laughed.

Ximen Kankan was surprised in his heart; Duan Rong's moves this time were a bit more bizarre and fierce than during their first bout.

Could it be that martial arts can really be improved just by thinking?

This is a bit strange.

Duan Rong sighed; Ximen Kankan's saber technique was truly fierce.

Duan Rong looked up at the sky and said, "Let's stop here for today, and continue tomorrow."

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he returned his saber to its sheath and turned to leave. He still had to cultivate the Inner Breath Third Layer; he could not spend all his time on integrating saber techniques, as that would be putting the cart before the horse.

"One painting every three days, and a day has already passed!" Ximen Kankan shouted.

"It's clearly only half a day!" Duan Rong replied without stopping his pace.

"Treacherous!" Ximen Kankan was suddenly a bit discouraged; he was already impatient to see what the next Spring Palace Painting Duan Rong would draw looked like!

(End of this chapter)