Chapter 244: The Sword of the Sword Genius

What is this thing?!

Qi leaving the body?! Seventh Life Realm?!

Everyone saw the long sword floating and bending out of thin air; it was as if it were being gripped by an invisible hand, pulling a straight sword light at the end of the crescent moon.

But people quickly reacted that it was impossible; if he were in the Seventh Life Realm, how could Yang Yan have survived a single move?

This scene was no longer as obscure as the previous six sword moves; whether they were experts or laymen, everyone was deeply astonished by this sword move—some were completely bewildered, some only half-understood, and some were enlightened and clapped their hands.

Because this sword was truly and undeniably striking someone on its own! It was not controlled by Qi, nor was it tied by any rope; after leaving his hand, without any external force, it had spontaneously unleashed a move as stunning as a startled swan.

This time, the reactions of Li Weiru and Gu Yunfu were swapped; the old man wore a look of sudden realization and shock, while the man who had never seen the Jade Jade Sword stood stunned and speechless.

And on the ring, Yang Yan's saber hung stiffly in mid-air.

He certainly knew that Pei Ye had already won; that sword move could not possibly have actually sliced across his neck.

He looked at the other person with a face of astonishment and silence.

Treading Water to Pluck the Scales.

Such a fast and unavoidable sword move was precisely Treading Water to Pluck the Scales.

Or rather, it was 【Spreading Wings】—【Treading Water to Pluck the Scales】.

After many sparring sessions, Yang Yan was always thinking about how to beat Pei Ye, so how could Pei Ye, who had always been defeated by Yang Yan's same move, not have a desire to win?

At night, lying in bed, he would think about how to crack Yang Yan's saber move that was sometimes effective and sometimes not.

Until he recalled the accumulation of 【Spreading Wings】 from the collisions when 【Aiding the Tree】, and realized the lightness of the power required for 【Treading Water to Pluck the Scales】.

Could the power contained within 【Spreading Wings】 be used to drive 【Treading Water to Pluck the Scales】?

In the "Cicada Sparrow Sword," the Sparrow section was meant to be used after the Cicada section; now, in the "Jade Jade Sword," there was certainly no reason for the Wind Jade and Yellow Jade sections to be used separately—the two veins of Jade and Jade were originally intertwined and interconnected.

Of course, even so, connecting 【Treading Water to Pluck the Scales】 after 【Spreading Wings】 was truly a rare flash of inspiration.

But Pei Ye keenly discovered the feasibility of it.

The power stored by 【Spreading Wings】 was both in the body and in the sword; there was less in the sword and more in the body. The power stored in the body could be suppressed, but the power stored in the sword could not.

This "inability to be suppressed" was precisely the core of this move that Pei Ye used to meticulously carve.

And 【Treading Water to Pluck the Scales】 was a light and swift straight sword move.

Its exertion of force was very simple; during the process of unleashing the sword, the sword wielder did not need to perform any subtle control.

That night, when Pei Ye was lying with his hands behind his head and figured out this line of thought, he suddenly bounced off the bed, grabbed the little cat that was meditating nearby, and shook it violently in front of his face.

—Connecting 【Treading Water to Pluck the Scales】 after 【Spreading Wings】, and then pairing it with a sword that leaves the body—wasn't this exactly the sword move to crack Yang Yan's Whale section?

"But... how could there still be power in your sword?" Yang Yan stared, holding his sleeve, "You unleashed the clear cry of Spreading Wings, and I had already swallowed it all."

Yes, no matter how much preparation was made, the moment the saber and sword touched, all the power in the sword had already vanished; Yang Yan hadn't paid any attention to the falling sword at all.

This was another unspeakable subtlety.

At the moment of touching Yang Yan's saber, the power contained in the person and the sword was indeed swallowed completely, but power does not necessarily have to originate from one's own body.

Pei Ye repeatedly used 【Aiding the Tree】, not just to get close to Yang Yan; the collision brought about by 【Aiding the Tree】 was the goal itself.

He was searching for, attempting, and understanding the points and force of the collisions.

Thus, at the moment the saber swallowed the power in the sword, the sword also, in a posture chosen by Pei Ye, took away the power of the saber's strike.

In the small room at the Fenghuai County Office, Zhu Gaoyang once held the "General Theory" and smiled: "... Sometimes it can even be said that a sword move that is already prepared does not need its master. Therefore, at some point, you must realize that the sword is not entirely a vassal or extension of the person; it possesses a certain subjectivity. This is what is called 'only then knowing the sword as a sword'—it was only after I had practiced the sword for five and a half years that I truly felt this point."

"Famous sword?"

"Yes! Good example! They have pushed this subjectivity to the extreme."

It is hard to say whether these words subconsciously supported the young man's train of thought; in any case, he would not admit it if they met. In short, now, the long sword, having made all preparations, left the young man's palm.

It completed the sword style it was meant to complete.

Some of the experts understood a little, some understood half; in short, without understanding 【Spreading Wings】 and 【Treading Water to Pluck the Scales】, it was impossible to fully comprehend, but no matter how much they understood, it did not affect the deep admiration in everyone's hearts.

Exquisite, exquisite—this is a word often on people's lips, but only those who specialize in the sword know how difficult these two words are to achieve.

And now, the move placed before them was one where these two words had been pulled apart, crumbled, and mixed with water—only by meticulously carving every thread, every moment, and every instant could such an exquisite and wonderful sword move, like thin porcelain, be forged.

Who could use such a sword with a terrifyingly low margin for error? Who could use it stably? And who would dare to use it as the final winning move of the martial arts competition?

Unless he could do it with ease.

There were no mysterious moves, nor any unexpected trump cards; it was just a clean sword, clear sword moves—you could look through them, but you could never touch them.

This is called sword talent.

On the high platform.

This was, of course, a result that countless people had not expected; the county magistrates were already speechless, staring blankly at the old man in the middle.

Given this year's situation, entering the top sixteen was already remarkable, and the top eight was already the best among the counties, but now, the top four, the finals—this young man was still moving forward!

Gu Yunfu slowly exhaled a breath, not knowing how many times he had sighed. He subconsciously looked back and saw Sui Zaihua leaning on his chair, his eyes equally bright.

Yes, this is precisely the kind of seedling that the Sword Academy admires and favors the most—Shang Yunning, Yan Feiqing, Yang Zhenbing...

And under the ring, Xu Sigong had already loudly announced the result.

"Second round, second match of the championship, the winner—Fenghuai's Pei Ye!"

The whole arena erupted in cheers.

Yang Yan also sighed softly, let go of the young man's sleeve, and amidst the roar of the crowd flooding the ring, raised his hand and said, "Congratulations."

However, the young man in front of him did not have the high spirits he had imagined.

Pei Ye's expression was somewhat flat, as if he were distracted; it was only after hearing his words that he revealed a smile, but it lacked the pride he usually had after winning against him.

Thus, Yang Yan realized that the young man's expression had been somewhat flat ever since he had just used that move.

Pei Ye came back to his senses and walked two steps to pick up his sword.

Now, the gazes of fifty thousand people were gathered on him; peers of high status, friends, elders, and the young were all cheering for his stunning performance. This was precisely the scene he had imagined while lying with his hands behind his head for several nights, unable to help but turn over and smile.

When he defeated Li Piaoqing in the top eight, the young man's excitement had been uncontrollable; he had insisted on showing off before he was satisfied. Now, in the top four, no one had thought he could defeat Yang Yan, yet he had won this match cleanly in just six moves, and the stunning sword light had made everyone cheer in admiration.

However, when he looked up and scanned the stands, wanting to raise his arms to welcome the cheers as he had previously imagined, that excitement had disappeared, and his two arms just hung heavily at his sides.

This sword move was truly a move he was very proud of.

It was the piece of work he was most proud of after receiving the "Yellow Jade" that night.

He had meticulously prepared this ultimate move for this martial arts competition; in fact, it was the highest crystallization of all the progress he had made in "sword" since his "enlightenment" a month ago.

He was very, very satisfied with this sword move, so he had long since decided that wherever this sword move could take him in this martial arts competition, that would be where he would be satisfied.

He hadn't told Yang Yan, and he had hidden it from Li Piaoqing, telling himself that everyone was an opponent and he couldn't leak secrets at this time, but in reality, he just wanted to truly stun everyone and enjoy the admiration of his friends.

This was the martial arts competition he liked and looked forward to.

He had tried hard not to let it down, but now it was indeed tasteless.

Pei Ye turned and headed off the ring; he couldn't deceive himself. Emotions are what they are.

——

There was a three-quarter-hour interval before the final championship match.

In previous years, this time was actually flexible, mainly to give the two contestants time to recover their strength and adjust their state, but at this moment, both contestants seemed to be in good condition, so after Xu Sigong asked them separately, he announced the start time of the championship match to the whole arena.

Pei Ye walked off the ring and saw that Zhang Junxue had already been moved to the stands where the Cuiyu faction was located.

The young lady had wanted to stay where she was, but Xu Sigong said that for the final championship match, no one was allowed to stay on the field, even he himself had to go down.

Thus, Li Piaoqing brought her to the most central and front position of the Cuiyu faction, so she didn't look lonely, and those who knew her gathered around to check on her. Pei Ye saw from afar that Li Piaoqing was holding that swollen hand and carefully applying medicine; most people's faces were downcast, and the shape of their mouths when speaking looked low and flat.

The young girl saw him and waved at him with a slender arm; Pei Ye shook his head, signaling that he would just wait under the ring.

Zhang Junxue saw this action and also propped herself up to look over; she said something with her mouth, but her expression was somewhat worried, so Pei Ye smiled at her peacefully.

Then many people turned their heads; Qi Zhaohua, Gu Guang, Fang Jidao... so Pei Ye discovered that their state was actually the same as his own, and there was no relaxed laughter.

The young lady's expression was the calmest one, but Pei Ye also saw many details on her again that he had seen under the Guanliu Tower that day—representing suppression, worry, and powerlessness.

Pei Ye was just about to wave at her, but saw the young lady give him a comforting look first.

Then Li Piaoqing pointed out to him what they had just been discussing. Pei Ye looked over and saw that the Qijiao side, which had been like stagnant water, had been activated and had rarely recovered its morale; it turned out that Sui Zaihua had walked down, and Shang Huaitong was standing beside Luo Defeng, and the three were talking about something.

——

Three quarters of an hour passed quickly.

This three-quarter-hour interval was not the time the contestants needed, but the time the state office rigidly required to merge the rings.

For the first time since the competition began, the loser's ring in the corner stopped, and the ring was dismantled and merged into the winner's ring.

Thus, there was only one ring in the whole arena.

The field was indeed completely cleared; on the north and south sides of the ring, only a black cloak and blue clothes stood respectively.

As a match to decide the qualification for the Shenjing Martial Arts Examination, in previous years, the final match had a solemnity that exceeded the Golden Autumn Martial Arts Competition itself.

During these three quarters of an hour, the audience had never shifted their attention, and the chattering and heated discussions on the field had never stopped.

Pei Ye's sword technique just now was certainly incredibly admirable, but when the topic shifted to the championship match, everyone couldn't help but sigh softly.

In fact, most people still felt that Yang Yan had a better chance than Pei Ye.

There was no other reason; winning four out of five is one thing, but winning four out of six is another, and to defeat such a strong enemy, one must have some ultimate skills. Yang Yan's saber looked like it could clash with Shang Huaitong, and while this blue-clad young man's sword technique was naturally unparalleled, after all, he lacked that kind of high-level martial arts, so how could he compete with the six-life intent sword?

But after all, the outcome had been decided, and not knowing what the young man was thinking now, in any case, he had already picked up his sword and walked onto the ring.

Pei Ye's thoughts were very simple.

He had never considered Shang Huaitong as a part of the martial arts competition.

In his heart, the martial arts competition was the martial arts competition, and eliminating the enemy was eliminating the enemy; the latter was just a thing he remembered he must do, while the former was what he had been thinking about and preparing for well all these days.

When everyone was worried, besides Li Weiru, Pei Ye was the one who had been stable and smiling to comfort them on the Cuiyu side.

However, the young man's thoughts were different from the old man's; Pei Ye had never forgotten the little cat's words under the Zhuoyue Tower that day.

Shang Huaitong was just a person he wanted to kill, never some heavy, strong enemy.

Let alone an opponent.

After that day, they had met several times—in the Bowang Garden, on the Guanlu Terrace; Shang Huaitong had repeatedly cast his gaze at him, but Pei Ye had never taken the initiative to do anything and had always appeared very passive.

In fact, it wasn't passive, just ignoring.

He only felt disgust for this person.

Disgusting things cannot be eliminated for a while, but they will eventually be eliminated, so Pei Ye just did other things first.

The only moment he was nervous for was when Zhang Junxue insisted on going onto the ring to fight to the death herself.

Things changed from here.

Shang Huaitong achieved the intent sword in front of ten thousand people, his momentum was unparalleled, and he occupied the top spot alone, while Zhang Junxue was beaten into the mud and was nearly disabled.

Pei Ye looked at the young lady's swollen, unrecognizable palms, the blood on her front, and her pale face, and the anger burned fiercely in his chest.

At this time, he followed his original plan and successfully defeated Yang Yan with the sword move he had prepared for a long time—even though the whole arena was indeed stunned and admiring, he himself really didn't feel happy anymore.

So if it's not pleasant, you have to make yourself pleasant.

Pei Ye pressed the hilt of his sword and stood firm on the ring.

And on the other side, Shang Huaitong also went up at the same time.

The man had already withdrawn his intent, but when this black cloak stood in his field of vision, everyone could still feel that faint, quiet suppression.

For a whole martial arts competition, the man had never even placed his gaze on his opponent; the only enemy that made him struggle was his own sword technique.

Now it was already in his hand.

No one doubted his achievements and talent in the sword path anymore; in the eyes of countless people, he was already an invincible figure, and this was precisely his temperament now.

The sword of the ghost immortal seemed to have cast a pillar of the sea in his heart; for more than ten years, he had been angry, stifled, excited, obsessed, and proud of this sword, and now that it was achieved, just like a believer seeing a Buddha, there was only a smooth, clear breeze in the man's heart.

He looked at it indifferently, and even the arrogance and contempt were gone.

But now that the man walked onto the ring, a second seriousness appeared in his demeanor and posture.

He looked at Pei Ye who was standing opposite him, and a smile actually appeared on the corner of his mouth, and then he slowly bowed with his sword, performing a proper martial arts salute.

A clear uproar arose in the whole arena—this must be the first time in this martial arts competition!

And Pei Ye, for the first time, did not return the salute.

(End of chapter)