Chapter 37: Dharma Aspect Transforms, the White Tiger Descends!

Zheng!!!

The clashing of weapons was fierce and piercing.

After that invitation from the Xue family's divine general, the one who came forward was still that big-bearded Tiele Third Prince, his scimitar incomparably vicious and strange, slashing in from directions one could never imagine; what Li Guanyi held in his hand was a heavy blade, thick on the back and thin on the edge, and he met the enemy with the saber art passed down by General Yue Qianfeng.

After the bronze cauldron's jade liquid had circulated, this saber art had already reached Great Completion.

But it was only when facing a formidable foe like this—

—that Li Guanyi realized.

Great Completion only represented his proficiency in mastering the saber art.

But to apply it, to fight—that was another art entirely.

That resplendent golden scimitar tapped against Li Guanyi's heavy blade, then danced like a butterfly fairy; the Tiele Third Prince, who looked immensely broad and powerful, drifted with light footwork, his body twisting in midair, and landed behind Li Guanyi in one fluid motion, at the same instant delivering a vertical slash.

Li Guanyi felt a sharp pain across his back, his body lurched, he stumbled forward several steps, then spun and swept horizontally—but the Tiele Third Prince had already retreated.

Standing just outside the range of Li Guanyi's blade, he hopped lightly left and right, the direction of his scimitar's edge constantly shifting, leaving one unable to tell where his next strike would come from, where his blade would fall.

Li Guanyi's back ached fiercely, but there was no wound.

"This place is, after all, only a recreation of past memories; all your sensations are merely imposed upon the spirit. Rest assured, this level of force only makes you feel the pain of being cut by a blade, but it will not affect your body."

Xue Shen said from the side: "But be careful. In my era, among the jianghu and the court there were at least five kinds of secret arts that could inflict grave damage upon the spirit, making a person believe themselves already dead, and their body would wither accordingly. The sudden deaths of many famed ministers and great scholars were precisely so."

"Even kings of chaotic times have died from this."

"Me? Of course I've encountered it."

"That sorcerer never expected Yaoguang to be by my side."

"Yaoguang awakened me, so I cleaved him in half and killed him."

"Of course, if that had been real combat just now, you would already be dead."

The afterimage of Xue Shen smiled; he sat there, then lifted a cup of tea that was likewise an illusion, raised the sword in his hand—still in its scabbard—and wrote a single stroke upon the ground.

There were already ten tally marks on the ground.

This was the first stroke of the eleventh.

Each stroke represented a time Li Guanyi had 'died.'

Xue Shen looked at the row of tally marks, his brows lifted slightly, and he chuckled softly.

Then he said nothing at all.

Perhaps, worthy of being a famed general under heaven, he well knew how to provoke an enemy's fury.

Li Guanyi felt that single 'heh' had said everything, and combined with that languid, spectating air, utterly lacking the boldness and composure from moments ago when they had reunited across the ages, it made him want to grab this five-hundred-year-old geezer by the collar and beat him senseless.

Having lost so many times, of course he wanted to give up.

But the power of entering the realm—even being called the strongest to enter the realm by the once-number-one-under-heaven—he had longing, and the unwillingness of being defeated again and again; besides, in this era, would there still be people like the Tiele Third Prince?

Naturally there would be.

Then if he met one in reality, wouldn't he really be cleaved in two with a single slash?

Li Guanyi gripped his blade; the experience of enduring severe poison since childhood had given him a strong tolerance for pain, and he forced himself to grip the blade tight once more, then suddenly stepped forward; the Central Plains-style saber and the Tiele scimitar collided once again in this place unknown to any.

Even though it was a memory of the past, even though it was limited to means before entering the realm, his opponents were all heroes who had once stood at the pinnacle of a region in that era; under such direct trampling, Li Guanyi's saber art grew at flying speed.

From being instantly killed at the start, to now forcing the Tiele Third Prince to employ footwork.

Clearly, the Pojun Eight Sabers were still the Pojun Eight Sabers.

Great Completion was still Great Completion.

Yet Li Guanyi felt he had gained a deeper comprehension of the saber art.

But every time he had this feeling, that Tiele Third Prince would pull some fancy trick and kill him off, then leave Li Guanyi doubting whether what he had just felt was merely the self-comforting illusion of a moment; he did not know how long had passed, but gradually, Li Guanyi went from being able only to be trampled, to being able to resist.

Eventually he could gradually trade blows evenly with the Tiele Third Prince.

Xue Shen looked at the dense thicket of characters before him, his smile unchanged.

Only life and death can temper a person.

On the battlefield, a single battle without dying already makes one a veteran; surviving three makes one fit to lead new soldiers against the enemy—this is the baptism the spirit receives from facing death head-on, and likewise the baptism of the saber art.

Li Guanyi's Pojun Eight Sabers had already taken on the flavor of a veteran of a hundred battles.

Cunning, vicious.

And carrying the killing intent to cleave the opponent dead no matter what.

Anyone 'killed' for this long would have fury rise in their heart.

Having 'died' who knows how many times, Li Guanyi finally realized that the opponent's saber art was light and quick, and he could not fall into his rhythm; treading with footwork, he slowly unfolded the saber art in his hands, dragging the Tiele Third Prince into his own rhythm.

Suddenly a heavy slash.

The Tiele Third Prince's blade was split apart, and Li Guanyi crashed into the former's open guard.

The blade's edge thrust toward the heart.

Suddenly, a low wolf's howl reached his ears.

Ripples spread through the surrounding void; beside the Tiele Third Prince appeared a grey wolf whose fur stood on end like steel; the blade seemed to stab into solidified void, completely unable to pierce through; the Tiele Third Prince roared in fury, about to grapple, and Li Guanyi retreated sharply, seized his longbow, pulled away, and loosed arrows in rapid succession.

The arrows would veer off course as they neared the Tiele Third Prince.

He could not break through.

A Dharma Aspect martial art?! Xue Shen said leisurely: "Ah, my apologies, youngster, I've been dead too long, my memory's gotten much worse, I nearly forgot—the Tiele Third Prince could be considered born with a Dharma Aspect. The people of the Western Regions say he is the grey wolf beside the great heavenly god, come to the Western Regions to unify that vast land."

"Until I shot him dead, the people there believed so all along."

"You must be careful." Li Guanyi's mouth twitched at the corner, and he loosed arrows in rapid succession from his hand, but all were blocked.

A quiver of arrows fired madly, and in the end the arrows drew closer and closer to the Third Prince.

His defense was about to be broken.

In the end, the Tiele Third Prince charged forward.

Li Guanyi's eyes shimmered with Qi, and he saw the Third Prince of Tiele cross his arms like a battering ram against a city gate, the grey wolf howling, the Bai Hu on the young man's shoulder poked its head out and let out a loud howl, and on his arrow a wisp of Jin Guang faintly reappeared, flowing.

A chill, biting golden wind.

Dharma Aspect Absolute Art · One Arrow, Light Turns Cold.

Unfortunately, the Dharma Aspect had not yet emerged, and the gathering of momentum for this arrow had not been completed either; he could only shoot it out fiercely. The arrow spun and pierced through the Third Prince of Tiele's Dharma Aspect, but at the same moment the opponent's Dharma Aspect defense shattered, it erupted with an absolutely overwhelming force, and his crossed arms suddenly swung violently outward to both sides.

Li Guanyi only felt his vision blur, and he had already been sent flying.

After quite a while he came back to himself in a daze. Just a little bit short of winning, Li Guanyi clenched his fist and couldn't help but blurt out a curse.

"Mm, you fought well."

"This move is called 【Grey Wolf Guard】. It uses the Dharma Aspect to protect the body, able to withstand extremely strong attacks, dispersing the force across the Dharma Aspect. When the attack absorbed reaches its upper limit, the Dharma Aspect's defense shatters, and all the undissipated force contained within pours out in one burst."

"Both offensive and defensive; losing is no injustice."

Xue Shen Jiang gave his commentary and wrote down a stroke of the character zheng.

"That's enough for today."

"You've already fought for a full two shichen. If you keep going, your spirit will be exhausted. If you brought pills, taking them now would let your body absorb the medicinal strength better, restore your body, and temper your physique even stronger."

Li Guanyi collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.

Unfortunately, he hadn't brought any pills.

And Xue Shen Jiang also seemed to have not prepared any pills here. He simply walked over to the stalled Third Prince of Tiele and said: "I guess you probably don't want to fight again in the short term, so how about this."

"If you defeat the Third Prince of Tiele within three days."

"I'll have him teach you 【Grey Wolf Guard】. How about it?"

He pressed a hand to his chest, recalling the move that had charged straight through a barrage of arrows head-on. Li Guanyi clenched his teeth. He knew this was a big date, but he decided to take it.

"Good."

………………

After two shichen of saber practice, Li Guanyi was utterly spent in both body and mind. Estimating the time, he still dove into the mountain stream and swam outward. The stream water was icy cold, but just as he surfaced, Li Guanyi's expression suddenly changed.

Without any warning, a searing pain shot through his chest! It was that deadly poison.

In the past, the Bronze Tripod and inner Qi had suppressed it. Today, after using internal force for too long and not taking any pills to instantly restore internal power and the exhaustion of spirit and body, the deadly poison had resurfaced. Li Guanyi's face turned pale, he gritted his teeth, and forcibly endured the agony of the poison. Seeing firelight in the water, he swam toward it with all his might.

After emerging from the water, he gasped for breath. The searing pain made him stumble and sit on the ground, his face twisted and pale.

Li Guanyi's vision blurred. At the same time, the Bronze Tripod began to exert more force, and as inner Qi circulated and pressed down, the deadly poison that had accumulated for so long and erupted for the first time was slowly suppressed. He heard footsteps, and then a voice as calm and gentle as a stream.

"You've been poisoned."

"It's not something difficult to handle. Please come here and rest for a moment."

This voice seemed to possess a quiet magic, calming Li Guanyi's spirit.

Exhaustion and the deadly poison both surged up. He suddenly opened his eyes, only to find that he had fallen asleep just now. The stinging pain of the poison was gone. He was wearing the clothes from the limestone cave, the water had dried, and he lay on a rock, watching the starlight fall. Beside him, a campfire burned warm. A person in plain clothes with a hood knelt beside the fire, turning the pages of a book.

Li Guanyi saw his own clothes and weapons and breathed a sigh of relief: "Was it you who saved me?"

That person's voice remained calm: "No, you yourself were more than capable of suppressing such a toxin. It was only because you were overly exhausted that the poison had its chance."

"You are…"

The hooded person said: "The constellations in the heavens reveal omens of all things. A time of chaos is about to arrive. You are one of those who will usher in this era of turmoil. I follow an ancient covenant to seek you out."

Hearing this kind of talk, Li Guanyi thought of that old bastard who had climbed over the wall a few days ago and politely declined:

"Fate… is still too abstruse."

The hooded person said: "It is not some unfathomable mysterious force, but something as natural as spring blossoms and autumn leaves. It is only that ordinary people do not understand this knowledge that they find it mysterious. You have already stirred the destiny of the celestial mansions. Please allow me to show you the origin of this power."

That person closed the book in hand, placed a fallen leaf inside, stood up, and walked over to Li Guanyi's side.

Kneeling there, they extended a hand and said: "Please give me your hand. It won't take long, just a moment."

Li Guanyi extended his right hand, and that person cradled the young man's palm in both hands.

Suddenly, the Bai Hu Dharma Aspect on the Bronze Tripod blazed to life.

The Bai Hu Seven Mansions in the sky were brighter than usual, and in the Listening Wind Pavilion, the divine weapon howled in the night wind, causing that old man to open his eyes once more. Li Guanyi watched the starlight rising from his palm, and the Bai Hu Dharma Aspect, which had previously been only an imprint, slowly lit up, becoming more complete, until it appeared beneath the starlight.

Starlight descended.

The Bai Hu Dharma Aspect appeared on Li Guanyi's shoulder.

Under the starry sky, it fully revealed itself, excitedly swaying its body.

That person withdrew their right hand, then slowly removed their hood. Silver-white hair slid down, a face so beautiful it seemed not of this world, brown eyes, mysterious and intricate golden patterns between the brows, a calm and peaceful voice without ripples, and their hand lowered.

"My name is Yaoguang. I am a disciple of the Eastern Lands Astrology School."

"Following the guidance of destiny and the stars."

"I have come to seek you, to fulfill the destined covenant of the celestial star signs."

(End of this chapter)