Chapter 122: Testing the Sword

Pei Ye put down the half bowl of vegetables and half a steamed bun, clapped his hands, and picked up his sword: "I want to! I want to!"

Chengjiang Hong's strength actually far exceeded his expectations; he had originally thought this person was a master from Shaoxian, perhaps a young martial arts hall instructor.

Such a Fourth Life Realm was exactly at the point where Pei Ye could win or lose, and Pei Ye was willing to fight for the precious pill.

However, after just watching, Zhang Junxue's saber momentum of lifting weight as if it were light had already shocked him, and he felt he definitely couldn't block it. If it were a real life-and-death struggle, he could only pierce the opponent's throat faster with the *Snowy Night Flying Goose*.

Who would have thought that Chengjiang Hong was even better; both were top-tier Fourth Life Realms, not only was his True Qi thicker than Zhang Junxue's by a layer, but his sword skills were not inferior at all. And while working hard on these two, he had actually practiced a palm technique with profound attainments.

Just looking at this palm, it wasn't a heritage that Shaoxian could have.

Faced with such a deep-rooted opponent, he knew that his chances of winning were slim.

Pei Ye drew his sword and walked up, bent his elbows to stick the sword to his forearm, and performed a martial salute with his palm against his fist.

After this familiar yet unfamiliar etiquette, Pei Ye took a step back and pulled out a standard sword stance.

Chengjiang Hong's originally relaxed body suddenly straightened up.

A sword stance was enough to see many things.

The young man in front of him was like an extension of the sword hilt, and the sword was like it was growing on his body.

Clumsy Realm, this was naturally the Clumsy Realm.

He himself had spent twenty years immersed in it to reach this realm of body and sword harmony, and he considered it the most praiseworthy achievement since he stepped into the martial path as a child, and also the strength he relied on most when fighting enemies. He didn't expect to see it so easily in this young man.

His age might not even be as long as the time he had practiced swords.

How long had he practiced swords? Ten years? Eight years?

Regardless, this was enviable talent—just like those old men in their fifties or sixties who still couldn't find the door envied him.

Chengjiang Hong also bent his elbows and cupped his hands in return.

Pei Ye had deliberately set up the sword stance and deliberately revealed the Sword Path realm; he knew Chengjiang Hong underestimated him, but in this kind of sparring, he didn't want to take this advantage.

He had already seen the opponent's strength, so he wanted to show his strength to the opponent, to compete openly and honestly, to win or lose openly and honestly.

"Please," Chengjiang Hong said solemnly.

Pei Ye drew his sword.

He hadn't started practicing the *Cicada and Sparrow Sword* yet; he only had the *Supporting Willow Sword* in his hand now.

This was a sword technique with some flaws, but it had been adjusted to the best in Pei Ye's hands.

The *Supporting Willow Sword* was a fast sword; at this moment, sword shadows flew in Pei Ye's hands, from the top of his head, from both waists, from behind his back; stabbing, chopping, waving, a flower composed of sword shadows seemed to bloom around Pei Ye's body.

And facing this sword flower, Chengjiang Hong was like a pruner, with every petal hitting his sword and making a clear sound.

Logically, to block this kind of fast sword from all directions, his sword should also be so fast that it couldn't be captured, but it wasn't. His sword path was very clear, without a trace of residual shadow, clean and simple, as if he could always block two or three of Pei Ye's swords with one sword.

And looking closely, one could find that he could always find the few swords that were closest in the chaotic sword light, and then use the move with the shortest distance to block them one by one.

Ruthless eyesight, calm sword movement.

Pei Ye secretly praised him in his heart.

And for Chengjiang Hong, he wasn't that leisurely.

He was originally happy to see talent and wanted to weigh the sword path of this genius young man, so he had collected his True Qi from the sword at the beginning, only using the First Life Realm's True Qi amount to increase his body.

But at the first exchange, his sword was almost knocked away directly.

He realized that the young man in front of him not only had amazing Sword Path talent, but his physical root bone was also jaw-dropping. It wasn't until he released half of his True Qi, which was the Third Life Realm level, that the power on his sword was on par with the opponent's.

And returning to the sword sparring, he actually felt some frustration. The sword technique in the young man's hand was so simple and even crude, yet he couldn't spare a trace of leeway to counterattack.

And this young man's keenness in fighting was also a bit too much; he could bury seven tricks in five swords, and although most were seen through by him directly, there were always a few places hidden quite well, and the tricky angles that appeared suddenly made his heart and spirit startled.

The two fought for thirty or fifty moves like this, one attacking and one defending, although not as dangerous as the previous match, it was much better to watch.

And the turning point appeared when Pei Ye used the first move of the *Supporting Willow Sword* for the third time.

At this moment, Chengjiang Hong couldn't help but hook the corner of his mouth, and Pei Ye smiled bitterly at the same time.

Helplessly, he only knew this one sword technique.

And this simple sword technique had long been seen through by Chengjiang Hong.

Pei Ye tried hard to use a novel move, but all directions were blocked. After two exchanges, Chengjiang Hong's sword had already pressed up.

Pei Ye sighed lightly; this was the first time he was inferior to others in sword competition—he had long keenly felt that the opponent had controlled the power to the same level as his own, and there was no True Qi injected into the sword.

But just at this moment, the way the opponent's sword pressed against his own powerless struggle suddenly gave him a flash of inspiration.

Isn't this the mantis stalking the cicada?

With a flash of inspiration, that impression in his heart, the first move of the Sparrow section, which he had never practiced once, flowed out from his hand just like that.

【Flying Copper Shadow】

The young man's sword path inspiration, which was praised by Ming Qitian and made people feel helpless, burst out once again.

Ordinary people practicing this sword technique must be proficient in every move and move, and after many actual combat insights, can they grasp the true meaning of the Cicada and Sparrow. Only then can they try to abandon the raft to reach the shore, to leave the moves in their heart—that is, they no longer need to use the Cicada sword as a support; as long as the situation indeed fits the mantis stalking the cicada, they can use the Sparrow sword at any time.

But just like when he suddenly understood 【Cloud Sky Obscuring Eyes, Losing Feathers】 in the wine cellar, at this moment, he had suddenly grasped this true meaning without having practiced the *Cicada and Sparrow Sword* even once.

Of course, the sword move that had never been used was indeed very raw. As soon as this sword appeared in Pei Ye's field of vision, he saw three places that needed correction.

But its true meaning had been firmly grasped by the young man, and it was still a sword that was both light and fast, and lethal enough when it was used!

Chengjiang Hong was almost sweating coldly.

The old man outside the field also narrowed his eyes at this moment, showing some hesitation, as if making a trade-off.

This sword was indeed beautiful enough.

The sword move was superior, the timing was precise, and the intention was clever.

Chengjiang Hong's sword had already pounced on the cicada, and this oriole suddenly appeared; he could no longer dodge it.

So he had to.

A brighter sword light rose from his hand.

At this moment, he could explode the True Qi of his Fourth Life Realm and use the realm to suppress this sword, but in the end, he decided to end it in the way of a sword.

Tianshan's heritage, 【Marrying Branches to Attend the Banquet】.

Chengjiang Hong retreated, but his sword was still stabbing forward, as if his arm had suddenly grown a section out of thin air.

But looking closely, it turned out that he had connected the scabbard to the sword hilt!

This was undoubtedly his ultimate sword move. This sword was already superior enough, and the action of grafting in the middle was a divine touch, not only without the slightest loss of sword momentum but also making it even better.

When the scabbard was connected, the power of the hand holding the scabbard was simultaneously transmitted to the sword, making it both fast and heavy.

Actually, this was not the full power of this sword—in a real fight, when the scabbard was held in the hand, it would have been filled with True Qi, waiting for the explosion during this grafting.

The two swords crossed and passed, almost stopping at the same time; the wind stopped, the sound was quiet, and the moon was bright and the stars were sparse.

Pei Ye's sword was still four inches from Chengjiang Hong's throat, and Chengjiang Hong's sword was already against his chest.

Pei Ye laughed, retracted his sword, tidied his posture, and bowed with his sword in a salute, feeling convinced.

Zhu Gaoyang was right; only by sparring with people of a similar level using similar-level sword techniques can one clearly see what one lacks.

To win today, he either had to reach the Fourth Life Realm and borrow a more excellent root bone to break the cleverness with force; or learn a more superior sword technique.

And if both were done, then the conditions for victory would probably be: Second or Third Life Realm, *Cicada and Sparrow Sword* fully mastered—if it wasn't the first time he used 【Flying Copper Shadow】, the distance of that sword from the opponent's throat might not have been four inches, but two inches, one inch.

Of course, he could win now—just bring out the *Snowy Night Flying Goose* sword style.

But that had no meaning; this was just a sparring match. If he took it out as soon as he saw he was going to lose, how could he talk about getting rid of dependence?

The *Snowy Night Flying Goose* cast a huge shadow at the beginning of his sword path; this was both protection and obscuration, and the first step to walking out of this shadow had to start from daring to lose, and being able to afford to lose.

The two walked back, Pei Ye picked up the sword scabbard, returned the sword to it, and picked up the cooler food again.

Then suddenly a few dry "clap, clap, clap" sounds rang out. Pei Ye turned his head and saw Zhang Junxue clapping her hands at the two of them. When he looked at her, she put her hands down and moved her silent gaze back to the ground.

Chengjiang Hong retracted his sword and walked over, cupped his hands to the old man: "Some shallow skills, I don't know if they entered the senior's eyes?"

Pei Ye turned his head, seeing the old man's face clearly for the first time.

Contrary to the speculation brought by the walking stick, there was no trace of wind and dust on the old man's face; instead, his complexion was fine and white, not the look of someone often exposed to wind and sun. The fine wrinkles on this face were like small ripples on a silk scarf.

His nose was high and his lips were thick, and his eyes were slightly uneven in size, full of smiles at this moment.

Seriously speaking, this was not a good face; it looked like a white-faced weasel.

This metaphor flashed through his heart, and Pei Ye hurriedly cut it off with embarrassment.

"You say shallow, aren't you afraid of falling the prestige of your sect?" The old man laughed, "Tianshan's high disciple, may I ask the name of your teacher?"

"... Ashamed, I only learned arts in the outer sect and have not been apprenticed to a high master; my sword teacher is Master Chu Xiaochi."

"Oh? Your sword path talent and achievement should be enough to be apprenticed to a pool garden."

"... I am ambitious for an official career, so I had to refuse the sect's kindness."

"Hm. Therefore you returned home to participate in the martial competition. Looking at it this way, Tianshan is indeed as famous as it is real—not only letting outer sect disciples come and go freely, but as long as they perform excellently during their time in the sect, they will be gifted a chance to contemplate higher-level sword techniques before leaving. This last sword of yours is probably obtained this way?"

"Yes, it is the *Eight Steeds Sword*. My talent is not enough; I only remembered two moves in three days, and it took me a month of practice to use it—I don't know if I used it right." Talking about his sect, Chengjiang Hong's gratitude overflowed, and he sighed, "The only sect in the world that can teach authentic martial arts through some hard work, especially letting disciples find their own way after learning arts. If I can achieve something in the future, I will definitely do my best for the sect."

The old man laughed: "Your cultivation has held back your sword path."

Chengjiang Hong smiled bitterly: "Yes, that's why I wanted to buy that Ascension Pill so much."

The old man laughed, and directly threw the small porcelain bottle to him.

"... Senior!" Chengjiang Hong didn't know what to say for a while.

Pei Ye looked at this older brother, whose "cultivation held back his sword technique" was very familiar to him.

It was precisely this commonality that made him realize he was not the most special one; everyone had their own experiences and ideals.

Walking out from a remote place like Shaoxian, traveling to the high and cold mountains as a young man, apprenticing to a completely strange major sect, grinding and striving upward from the lowest status, finally learning the true art.

And after being appreciated, he could still refuse the bright future that had already opened its doors to him, resolutely returning home to fight from the lowest martial competition, just because his ambition as a young man was to be an official.

But twenty years of seeking in a bitter environment, his body naturally couldn't get enough medicine and food, so his cultivation inevitably fell behind; that's why he inquired about the Ascension Pill early and gathered silver to seek it in the prefecture city.

Such a person with clear ambitions and perseverance, how could he not deserve an Ascension Pill?

"May I ask the senior's name and origin?" Chengjiang Hong sorted out his emotions and cupped his hands, "I will definitely remember today's grace."

The old man shook his head with a smile: "No name, no surname, meeting in the Jianghu, just seeing talent and feeling happy."

He looked at Pei Ye again: "Young hero, your sword is also not bad, but the *Eight Steeds Sword* is better."

Pei Ye hurriedly cupped his hands: "The junior lost and is convinced."

Tonight's event was very novel to him; it had the feeling of a storybook coming into reality. The high man of the world, the sincere cultivator, meeting by the side of the road, this senior was willing to take out a precious pill to help the younger generation, and didn't even leave his name afterward.

This strange encounter they met, although it didn't fall on him in the end, this feeling of truly meeting friends through martial arts had already made him very satisfied.

"Now that the Ascension Pill is in hand, are you going back to Shaoxian, or continuing to the prefecture city?" The old man asked Chengjiang Hong again.

"Still going to the prefecture city, I'll set off early in a while." Chengjiang Hong answered the old man.

"Mao hour?"

"About that."

"From the main street south out of the town?"

"... Right," Chengjiang Hong was slightly puzzled.

"Then, until we meet again," the old man laughed at Chengjiang Hong, and actually didn't return to the inn, turning and walking toward the fields.

Only the three remained in the field.

Chengjiang Hong hesitated for a while holding the small porcelain bottle, and suddenly gritted his teeth: "Let's split this pill among the three of us."

"..."

"It was just a sparring match, it doesn't count as winning or losing. Since the senior gave it, let's split it together," Chengjiang Hong said, having already pulled out the bottle stopper, and a brown pill lay quietly inside.

Pei Ye immediately waved his hand: "No need! There's no such reason; winning is winning, the rules were said at the beginning, Cheng brother, just keep it."

Zhang Junxue also shook her head, saying concisely: "I don't want it."

Chengjiang Hong tried to persuade them for a while, but the two firmly refused. In the end, Pei Ye laughed: "Cheng brother, just take it; when we get to the martial competition, it's not certain who will win against whom."

Chengjiang Hong naturally only took it as a joke, helplessly put it away and put it back on his waist, not rushing to take it.

Naturally, it was because the origin of this pill could be considered unknown; he had to return to the prefecture city to have it identified by someone before taking it—after all, they couldn't question the authenticity of the pill in front of the senior.

However, overall, the old man's purpose was just to watch a sparring match, see who was the most formidable, and there was nothing unusual.

After this conversation, the three became much more familiar. Returning to the inn, Chengjiang Hong called the waiter to order two pots of wine and a few plates of cold meat. Zhang Junxue listened quietly on the side, and Pei Ye and Chengjiang Hong chatted about it.

What is called "meeting like old friends," the two talked about the first half of their lives, ambitions, sword cultivation, and later talked about Tianshan. Pei Ye asked many things about this sect.

"Little brother, do you want to apprentice to Tianshan? With your talent, you should be able to enter the inner sect directly."

"No, I have a... friend who might go to Tianshan as a guest recently."

"Oh? Tianshan generally doesn't accept outside guests; even if visiting relatives and friends, it's the disciples who go down the mountain to meet in the city."

"No, she is—forget it, I don't understand either, let's talk about something else."

"Okay."

"..."

Talking like this until the night curtain faded, Chengjiang Hong used True Qi to resolve the wine, stood up and said: "I have to go first, let's meet again in the prefecture city."

"Why not travel together tomorrow?"

Chengjiang Hong laughed, picked up his luggage: "I have an appointment with someone, I have to arrive before tomorrow night. I opened an upper room for each of you, go up and have a good rest."

The two sent Chengjiang Hong to the door, watched the figure go away slowly, and then turned back to the inn.

Pei Ye carried his luggage, watched Zhang Junxue tie the small cloth bag to her wrist, carry the bundle with one hand each, and then went upstairs together.

"Zhang girl, then shall we travel together tomorrow?" Pei Ye asked before pushing the door.

"Okay."

"When shall we set off tomorrow?"

Zhang Junxue looked at the dust on his face that he didn't know about: "When you wake up."

"Okay!"

——

When Pei Ye opened his eyes the next day, the sunlight was already bright to the point of being blinding.

After washing up and going out, he saw Zhang Junxue had already finished her meal downstairs.

Pei Ye ran down, asked for some food, and then the two led their horses and set off together.

Pei Ye had the large jujube-red horse, while Zhang Junxue had a yellow-white short horse—exactly the kind the Fenghuai groom advised Pei Ye to choose.

It was already noon when they went out, and it wasn't cool today. The autumn tiger made Pei Ye feel dry-mouthed after walking less than a mile.

Turning his head to look, Zhang Junxue took out a juicy pear and was eating it. Sensing Pei Ye's gaze, she paused and took another one out from the bundle: "Do you want to eat?"

Pei Ye nodded with some embarrassment and asked: "Were there pears for sale at the inn just now?"

"I brought it from home."

"Oh." Pei Ye realized that this woman's family might have been even more thorough when packing luggage than Master Huang and Uncle Chang.

Zhang Junxue handed the pear to Pei Ye, but her hand didn't retract, and she pointed to the black cat with some hesitation: "Then, can I touch it?"

"This," Pei Ye took the pear and looked at the black cat, "Are you willing?"

The black cat looked at him faintly and burrowed into the bundle.

"... Sorry, it doesn't seem very willing."

"Mm," Zhang Junxue gave a muffled "Mm."

After walking for a while, they reached the town entrance, but saw people in the woods by the road, many commoners gathered outside, and constables were frowning and going in and out.

This scene stirred up Pei Ye's not-so-distant oppressive memory. When the two passed by on the road, he cast two glances inside and said to himself: "What's going on, did someone die?"

As soon as the words fell, through the gaps in the moving tree shadows, Pei Ye saw what looked like a corpse sitting softly under a tree.

He heard a constable run to the head constable and say: "Found a qualification document for the martial competition in the bundle; the person is from Shaoxian, named Chengjiang Hong."

Two chapters combined, five thousand words, don't say it's short again!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 123 =====