Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 234 - 195: Transferring a Whiteboard Sword
December 30, 2017
If we were to create a list of most remarkable moments for this year’s Cyan Cloud Tournament, December 30 would undoubtedly be the day that dominated the list.
The first semifinals match, featuring Shen Qingming against Lu Fangchen, was a bout of about 10 minutes, shattering numerous tournament records.
The largest mechanical creation—Shen Qingming’s Steel Giant, standing more than 70 feet tall, primarily made of lightweight metal, weighing over 200 tons.
The largest group of mechanical creations—Lu Fangchen’s sea of Defense Towers, 33 towers over 30 feet high, constructed from high-grade stone and metal, with a total weight exceeding 2,000 tons.
The most powerful burst of firepower—At the start of the match, Lu Fangchen’s 33 Defense Towers simultaneously concentrated energy, then unleashed a devastating beam from the Crystal Light Prism, a destructive force that reached the level of the Late Stage Cloud Flipping Realm, far surpassing the previous record set by Qian Ye who transformed into a golden giant.
The most severe site destruction—The Guardian Array of the arena was under immense pressure from wasted firepower of the Defense Towers and the counterforces from the Steel Giant’s movements during the ten-minute battle. Over fifty standard Spirit Stones were replaced just to barely maintain the array.
Then... the most intense committee debate.
As Lu Fangchen poured out his heart to the Steel Giant like a lovesick maiden, the elders on the podium were already in an uproar.
"Actually, I wanted to mention this yesterday, but at the time, you all thought the spirit of the Cyan Cloud Tournament was to encourage innovation, and even if there were borderline cases in the rules, it would be best not to deal with them. So even though Lu Feiyu’s turret tactics passed, today’s match is just too outrageous! Not only did the Lu Family not restrain themselves, they escalated their use of the rules. What’s this, 33 Defense Towers! How could they even make that!"
"The little girl from the Li Family isn’t to be underestimated either. Yesterday, she saw that the Defense Tower tactic wasn’t against the rules, and today she brought out this Steel Giant! If they laid the foundation, she just went ahead and completed it!"
"I just want to ask, has there ever been such an absurd scene in the history of the Cyan Cloud Tournament!? Is this a contest of young cultivators, or a competition of family industrial capabilities? Hmm? Your Lu Family’s Mechanical Technique may be unparalleled, but overnight, dozens of Grand Elders worked tirelessly to create 33 portable Defense Towers. If not for encountering the anomaly that is Shen Qingming, they would’ve probably secured the championship directly! Allowing this kind of thing to become rampant would mean that Independent Cultivators with insufficient family background might as well withdraw from the tournament!"
"Although the Lu Family’s tactics are debatable, they ultimately didn’t win the championship, while the Li Family’s girl genuinely relied on the Steel Giant to advance to the finals, yet you criticize the losers instead of praising the winner. Do you have your priorities mixed up?"
"Haha, that Steel Giant was crafted by Qingming with her own two hands, overnight, without relying on the power of any uncles or elders."
"Nonsense, her own two hands! Do you think we don’t know what Mr. Wang Jiu does? Besides, many parts inside are products from your Li Family’s Dobao Pavilion, do you take us for blind people!?"
"Dobao Pavilion does business all over Xiangzhou, if you like, you can place large orders and purchase from Dobao Pavilion. It’s not like we’re stopping you!"
"Stop making excuses! This has nothing to do with the main issue!"
"Anyway, you are just not accepting that Shen Qingming completely defeated your sea of turrets tactic, so you want to cheat and deny the outcome, right? No problem, let them compete again without these tools and let’s see if your Lu Family’s Yin Yang Pupils are really invincible!"
"Who’s cheating? Don’t slander me with your baseless accusations!"
"And what if I do? Pretending to speak impartially with shameless words, what right do people like you have to be chosen as a judge?!"
"Once you can’t win in a discussion you resort to personal attacks, revealing your true colors as Li Family lackeys!"
"Talking about lackeys, we’re not even worthy of carrying your shoes. Take your five Lu yuan and get out of here!"
A group of Great Cultivators at the pinnacle of QingCyan Cloud yun City’s hierarchy were about to come to blows over the handling of a battle’s aftermath—such a scenario certainly merits inclusion in the most remarkable list of the tournament. Fortunately, the judges ultimately did not start fighting, as someone timely stepped up to maintain justice.
"Alright, let me say a fair word, whether it’s turrets or the Steel Giant, essentially, they’re the same—providing the contestants with power far exceeding their own. We’ve previously imposed restrictions on many elixir pills, cultivation techniques, and equipment precisely to prevent this kind of exaggerated external power."
"Wait, speaking of which, what about Shen Qingming’s Immortal Treasure..."
"Generally speaking, Magical Treasures, Spiritual Treasures, Immortal Treasures... these Immortal Family’s equipment come with strict requirements and limitations for their users. The user must possess a certain level of skill to unleash the power of an Immortal Treasure. So, aside from a few Demon Soldiers, we don’t impose requirements on the contestants’ equipment. Although Shen Qingming’s Immortal Treasure is special, it has been approved by the Holy Sect Immortal Envoy. While we may have our doubts, there’s little we can say. However, equipment like Defense Towers and Steel Giants don’t require the user to have strong skills and mostly rely on Spirit Stones and Arrays to operate. The user only needs to control them with some Divine Sense. As such, the proportion of external power is too significant and no longer aligns with the spirit of the Cyan Cloud Tournament. Therefore, I suggest putting an end to such tactics." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
The speaker of these impartial words was an elder cultivator in Cyan Cloud City, who usually acted as a third-party arbitrator. Without a distinguished background, he often was pushed forward by the three major families to make judgments on various disputes. After his statement, the other elders gradually ceased their arguments.
"Next, let’s consult the Immortal Envoy and see how he weighs in."
No sooner were those words spoken than Shen Ziyu from the last row of the podium spoke up: "Just this once, not again."
The Lu Family and the Li Family had no objections to this result, and since the other families weren’t directly involved, they naturally had nothing to say. With that, the matter was put to rest.
——
"So, let’s just forget about this battle, but for tomorrow’s final showdown, the Steel Giant, Defense Towers, and any similar mechanisms are not allowed to be used?"
Wang Jiu, upon hearing this decision, just shrugged indifferently, without any extra emotion. To him, even though a lot of effort went into designing and constructing the Steel Giant, it was just a trifling novelty. Compared to what Wang Jiu truly cared about—Sword Dao—it was just a pastime, not worth any concern.
However, Shen Qingming felt quite regretful: "What a pity! If we could keep using it, it would greatly reduce the pressure when facing Sister Wanqing tomorrow."
Wang Jiu asked, "That’s where you’re wrong. Even if the rules allowed it, I wouldn’t use the Steel Giant tactic against Li Wanqing tomorrow. Such toys are completely useless in the finals."
"Huh? Why? Wanqing’s Yuqing True Words can’t pierce the Giant’s armor, and her Moral Armor shouldn’t withstand the Giant’s bombardment. She would be totally suppressed in combat."
Wang Jiu said, "If it were the Li Wanqing from two months ago, she would indeed be completely suppressed. But so much time has passed, and she’s no longer the same."
"Huh? I couldn’t tell from her usual training," Shen Qingming was a bit confused, trying to recall moments when she trained alongside Li Wanqing...
But the images that came to mind were of herself occasionally vomiting acid or blood under Wang Jiu’s intense training... scenes hard to look at. As for Li Wanqing, besides some playful teasing, she couldn’t remember her doing anything else!
Shen Qingming turned her head, seeing Wang Jiu’s look of wanting to say something but hesitating, and immediately fumed: "Enough! I know you’re going to say I lack intelligence, right!"
Wang Jiu said, "Actually, I was trying to comfort you. The daily training regime I arranged for you is very demanding, so if you’ve been diligently following it, it’s normal that you wouldn’t have the extra energy to pay attention to Li Wanqing’s progress. It’s not an intelligence issue."
"Huh? Th-thank you."
"You’re welcome," Wang Jiu smiled, "After all, I’ve been awake for so long, I’ve got a rough grasp of human social etiquettes. Knowing when to say appropriate lies to comfort others has become second nature to me."
"...Well, aren’t you savvy," Shen Qingming could only laugh helplessly and was just about to change the subject when suddenly she heard a woman’s voice nearby.
A voice that instinctively made her want to distance herself, as if encountering a natural enemy.
"Hey, do you all really think Sister Wanqing will win the next match? Are you all underestimating Brother Ye too much?"
"Q-Qian Yue!?" Shen Qingming let out a small animal-like whimper of being caught in a trap, "What are you doing here, and standing so close!"
Beside Shen Qingming, the girl named Qian Yue giggled: "Just like you, I’ve come to watch the match. After all, it’s Sister Wanqing versus Brother Qian Ye’s match, I must be here to support them. As for sitting beside you, it’s because this spot offers the best view."
Having said that, Qian Yue stepped past Shen Qingming and asked Wang Jiu: "Mr. Wang Jiu, are you so sure that Sister Wanqing will win this match? How about a bet?"
"Sure, how would you like to bet?"
Qian Yue said, "If Mr. Wang Jiu wins, I have a thoughtful little gift for you."
With that, the girl took out what seemed to be an ordinary little iron piece.
Wang Jiu’s expression instantly changed.
"Good eye, Mr. Wang Jiu. This Primordial Fragment, I bought at a high price from an antique store in Heaven-Reaching City. I heard you’re interested in Primordial history, so I’m using it as a wager," Qian Yue smiled, "And if by a stroke of luck I win the bet, I have a small request for a gift from you, Mr. Wang Jiu."
Wang Jiu asked, "What would you like?"
Qian Yue tilted her head, smiling brightly: "Just a kiss."
"No way!" Shen Qingming said firmly.
"Sure," Wang Jiu said nonchalantly.
