Chapter 41: Sword Art First Achieved (Seeking Follow Reads)

Zhao Ti walked out the door and lightly flicked the sword in his palm.

He didn't call it the Evil-Repelling Sword Art because the Sunflower Manual from Smiling, Proud Wanderer was an incomplete copy, and by the time it reached the Evil-Repelling Sword Art it had been damaged further; what he was currently practicing was the original, so naturally he gave it a different name for outsiders to hear—a manual is still a manual no matter what it's called.

Mu Wanqing followed out from behind: "I'm coming too."

Zhao Ti said: "Aren't you afraid someone will tear off your veil, and you can't kill them, so you can only marry them?"

Mu Wanqing said coolly: "If it comes to that, I'll just accept my fate and die. If you can't win, staying here would be no different!"

Zhao Ti smiled without speaking. At this time the sky was near dusk, the setting sun like rouge, the scenery pleasingly beautiful, making one unconsciously sink into the moment.

Seeing him not speak, Mu Wanqing sneered: "You think I'm a burden?"

"Exactly," Zhao Ti said.

"You—!" Mu Wanqing's eyes flashed cold with anger, but her footsteps didn't slow.

Zhao Ti slowly drifted to the front. On the wall of the courtyard gate, someone was peering inside to watch. The moment they saw him, they hurriedly jumped down and retreated.

Zhao Ti glanced over: "Where are those three wastes?"

The person outside went to report, and they heard South Sea Crocodile God let out a great roar not far away: "You brat, who are you calling a waste?"

Zhao Ti said: "If you're not a waste, why are you called Yue Laosan instead of Yue Lao Da or Yue Lao Er?"

South Sea Crocodile God was instantly dumbfounded, then said: "That actually makes sense. If I weren't a waste, wouldn't I be called Yue Lao Da?"

Over there, Ye Erniang said: "Stop listening to this kid's nonsense. He's just taking advantage of your thick head, using words to ruin your state of mind."

Hearing this, Zhao Ti gave a contemptuous smile: "Ye Erniang, your methods are vicious—you deserve to be cut into a thousand pieces. Could it be that you once encountered something similar, and because of some incident, you took out your own tragic grievance on others?"

"You—" Ye Erniang's voice changed drastically at the words.

"Second Sister, since you say this kid ruins people's state of mind, then don't listen to him talk either." Yun Zhonghe's voice came over.

"Yun Zhonghe, I heard that back in the day you pursued your cousin, but she had another sweetheart. Humiliated and enraged, you committed vicious, filthy deeds—despicable to all men, deserving of execution."

"You're talking nonsense!" Yun Zhonghe shrieked.

Mu Wanqing looked at Zhao Ti: "How do you know all this?"

Zhao Ti said: "Just wild guesses. How would I know their backgrounds?"

Mu Wanqing snorted: "I knew not a single word you say is true."

The three now charged into the courtyard with menacing momentum. South Sea Crocodile God had an extra crocodile-tail whip in his hand, his face savage as he said: "You brat, rushing out here to die?"

Ye Erniang and Yun Zhonghe wore ugly expressions, glaring viciously at Zhao Ti.

Zhao Ti held his long sword pointed downward: "Come at me all at once."

The three exchanged a glance at his words, then charged.

Zhao Ti had only practiced the Sunflower Manual sword art once in the hall—he'd gotten it, but wasn't all that proficient. Now, wanting to test his skills, he didn't use Lingbo Weibu, relying entirely on the Sunflower Manual.

He was seen as a phantom-like figure with no trace, his sword drifting unpredictably, weaving and flashing among the three as if no one were there.

The three were shocked—they had never seen this kind of sword art. This wasn't the fast sword from before, but something extremely yin-soft and treacherous, clinging like a shadow, bewitching all living beings.

Beneath her veil, Mu Wanqing was utterly stunned. Watching Zhao Ti demonstrate in the hall had already been shocking, but now seeing him use it in actual combat was simply terrifying. The swordplay was overwhelmingly breathtaking to the eye, especially in a real fight. She couldn't help thinking to herself: in such a short time, his martial arts... had actually grown again?

Zhao Ti, with the intention of using the three as practice partners to feed him moves, wasn't in a hurry to determine victory or defeat—after all, opponents like these were hard to find.

But as he grew more and more proficient with this Fusheng Sword Art, his figure became faster, until finally people couldn't make out his form—like a wisp of light and smoke weaving back and forth.

In Smiling, Proud Wanderer, both the Sun Moon Holy Sect's manual and the Fujian Lin family's seventy-two-path Evil-Repelling Sword Art were incomplete copies. Though what was practiced and used had a bewitching quality, it leaned more toward a sinister form. This original manual was slightly different—floating light, skimming shadows, light and smoke passing through.

Moreover, this sword art wasn't divided into so many paths. The moves were simply dense and continuous, without names. One move was used, the next was born, used without stop—carrying a sense of endlessness, without cease.

Zhao Ti circulated the Phantom Yin true Qi within his body, flooding his meridians. Great Yin enveloped all, ten thousand things became one. Wherever the Sunflower true Qi passed, it no longer distinguished between regular and extraordinary meridians—all became yin channels. The sword in his hand differed from normal sword use: there was no whistling of force, no hissing sound, not a single trace of noise.

It slips in with the wind through the night, moistening all things in fine silence.

Zhao Ti suddenly gained a deeper layer of insight into this manual's sword art, and couldn't help laughing: "So that's how it is!"

South Sea Crocodile God and the other two grew more and more alarmed as they fought. Now they were practically being led by the opponent's offensive, with almost no will of their own. They feared that once the opponent unleashed a killing move, there would certainly be casualties.

Just then, suddenly from afar came a sharp, drawn-out iron whistle, piercing through the layered forest, breaking through the air, lingering long without fading. The whistler's breath in his chest seemed endless and inexhaustible. Everyone in the courtyard heard its piercing sound and looked at each other in astonishment.

Such profound internal force—Zhao Ti couldn't help narrowing his eyes.

"The boss is here!" Ye Erniang let out a long breath. If the fight had continued any longer, the three of them would surely have suffered injuries.

"Duan Yanqing comes and he can save the three of you?" Zhao Ti smiled and shook his head.

"Don't be so arrogant. When the boss comes, he'll take your life for sure!" South Sea Crocodile God's face was full of joy.

"You... Young Master Zhao, Duan Yanqing will be here any moment. Why don't you leave here now, or retreat into the hall first?" Mu Wanqing said urgently from behind.

"Woman's counsel."

"You—!" Behind her veil, Mu Wanqing was so angry her silver teeth clenched in secret. This surnamed Zhao couldn't recognize good intentions—he actually dared to scold her. When had she ever advised anyone like this? When had she ever spoken so kindly? She truly wished she could stab him once with a sword to ease the hatred in her heart.

"You're all hoping that the chief culprit will come, but pity—even if he comes, he can't save you!" Zhao Ti's long sword now pointed straight at Ye Erniang.

He had only been practicing moves with the three to familiarize himself with the Sunflower Manual. Now that Duan Yanqing was about to arrive, killing intent rose immediately—he would kill Ye Erniang first.

What this person had done—even being cut into a thousand pieces wouldn't be enough to atone for her crimes.

His figure drifted like smoke, the sword in his hand eerily silent, slashing straight toward Ye Erniang.

Ye Erniang clearly saw the sword coming, yet couldn't dodge it. The sword, soundless and traceless, passed straight through her body. She stared blankly for a moment, half a lifetime's events instantly spinning through her mind, and she uttered: "My son..." then collapsed.

"Third Sister?" South Sea Crocodile God's eyes nearly split with rage, and he came at Zhao Ti swinging his scissors.

Zhao Ti flicked his sword tip upward. Those crocodile-mouth scissors, weighing tens of jin, were brushed aside like a grass stalk. His body drifted like rosy clouds, sword-light flashed, and he thrust straight toward Yun Zhonghe.

Yun Zhonghe was scared out of his wits. The moment Ye Erniang was struck by the sword, he wanted to turn and run. But Zhao Ti's movement was too fast. With Yue Laosan blocking the way, he breathed a sigh of relief—only to see that Zhao Ti hadn't gone straight for Yue Laosan, but was actually coming for him.

"Ah..." Yun Zhonghe exerted all his strength to struggle backward, but the sword drifted in and out like something that might or might not exist, and in the blink of an eye it was upon him.

Yun Zhonghe let out a great cry, his face drained of color.

Just then, a figure flashed at the courtyard gate. With a "chi" sound, a burst of force shot through the air and struck the long sword.