Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 293 - 30: Divine Sword Silver Frost
Late night on January 15, 2018
On a night when the moon shone brightly, in front of the book tower at the edge of Shen Family Outer Courtyard, dozens of young teens stood in a formation, basking in the moonlight, like soldiers undergoing inspection.
Soon, a scar-faced instructor emerged from the shadows beneath the eaves of the book tower, glanced at the tidy formation, and nodded slightly.
"Very good, it seems you haven't forgotten the tradition of the Shen Family. Losing doesn't matter, the important thing is to never admit defeat!"
The breaths of those in the formation grew slightly more urgent.
"Know yourself and your enemy, and you'll be undefeated in a hundred battles. The Outer Courtyard's temporary symposium starts now. Everyone, the first and second floors of the book tower are fully open. Collect any intelligence or information you want within half an hour, then gather in the hall."
There was silence, but everyone responded with determined looks toward Shen Herong.
"Alright, dismissed."
The formation of dozens instantly dispersed, moving into various places on the first and second floors of the book tower.
This book tower is the most crucial repository of knowledge and intelligence for the Shen Family Outer Courtyard. The Shen City's city library collections, Shen Family's private library collections—even some private collections from Shen Family's Supreme Elders—have their projections placed in this book tower.
You could say that the cultivators of the Outer Courtyard can browse the world's collections without even leaving.
Half an hour later, the Outer Courtyard cultivators found their respective collections and gathered in the hall on the book tower's first floor.
Shen Herong was already waiting at the platform. Once everyone had gathered, he spoke first: "First, watch the recording."
As soon as he finished speaking, the white jade wall behind him projected the image of Shen Feihong fiercely battling Li Wanqing in the blood circle during the day.
Even watching for the second time, the fierce and tragic battle made the viewers' breaths difficult. In the end, Shen Feihong reached his limits first, suppressed by the Prison-Sealing Seal's divine sense, and regretfully lost. The hall echoed with sighs of dismay.
The much-anticipated elite of the Outer Courtyard returned in defeat, rather than bringing glory to the Shen Family, they suffered a humiliating blow from the Li Family.
It was the first time people witnessed Shen Feihong suffering defeat in a blood circle duel, especially against an opponent three years younger than him! And Shen Qing admitted on the spot his skills were inferior!
The two most promising genius cultivators of the Outer Courtyard were defeated in an instant; subsequent events needed no recording reminders, as everyone recalled clearly.
Not even Shen Feihu showed an intention to fight, laughing and spouting useless platitudes about the cultivation world always having higher levels, encouraging advancement, and refusing to step up to replace Shen Feihong, implicitly admitting defeat as well.
With these three defeated, the Shen Family Outer Courtyard had no one left capable of suppressing Li Family's experts, and everyone could only watch as the Li Family walked away triumphantly.
The Shen Family Outer Courtyard's pride maintained for hundreds of years was shattered at that moment.
Yet the Shen Family would clearly not give up so easily. Where they fall is where they'll get back up. As long as victory is achieved in the end, previous minor setbacks can be overlooked. Shattered dignity, pieced back together with glue, can still be used.
That's the motto of the Shen Family.
Today is no different; such has been the case for hundreds, if not thousands of years.
On the very night of their defeat, the Shen Family gathered without prompt, coming together for revenge and brainstorming through the night.
Shen Herong tapped the platform and said: "Let me start: this was an unequivocal defeat. Objectively, Shen Feihong's loss was partly due to his lack of strength, but the element of surprise, with us being exposed and the enemy in the dark, was also key. Before the battle, Shen Feihong knew nothing of Li Wanqing, only through seasoned battle experience did he discern the girl's defense was solid. But how strong is that Yuqing Taoist Armor's defense exactly, and what other means does Li Wanqing possess besides the heavy armor? Shen Feihong was utterly unaware, wasn't he?"
As he spoke, Shen Herong's gaze shifted to the front row.
A giant figure, exceptionally tall and burly, nodded heavily.
After the nearly disgraceful battle during the day, Shen Feihong was not dispirited but openly participated in the night's symposium, sharing his defeat experience.
"Reflecting now, their strategy was designed from the start to provoke me to exceed limits and trigger the Prison-Sealing Seal at the last moment. You could say I was caught in their trap even before the battle began. Yet I was completely oblivious, blinded by past unbeatable experiences in blood circles, thinking absolute strength alone could defeat my opponent. This should be a lesson for everyone, not to let past victories blind your eyes."
Shen Herong nodded and said, "Your analysis is good, but there's no need to belittle yourself. The fact that your past experiences have allowed you to win 100 times proves they are valuable. This loss is more due to the opponent having studied you too thoroughly, making their strategies highly targeted. The Li Family's visit this time was clearly well-prepared, and they devised extremely targeted tactics for Shen Family's most renowned cultivators. With such calculated intent against unprepared minds, they naturally have the advantage. But now, their trump cards are gradually being revealed, and it's time for us to brainstorm and focus on our analysis. Alright, now everyone, speak freely."
Quickly, the Outer Courtyard cultivators began to speak enthusiastically.
This kind of late-night seminar was not only a chance for collective brainstorming but also an opportunity to showcase oneself. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
The first to speak was a young girl, who said earnestly, "I investigated all the data from the Cyan Cloud Grand Competition. Li Wanqing was only the runner-up, losing in the finals to a 14-year-old Shen Qingming, with a considerable gap. So it's not hard to deduce that Shen Qingming, who appears to be only in the Wind-Rising Realm, is likely a 'Child of the Plane' like City Lord Zhao of Golden Jade City, or inherited a Celestial Peak Realm legacy. In any case, she is actually the strongest opponent in the Li Family delegation, her strength likely far exceeding our imagination. I suggest we recognize reality early and abandon the idea of opposition."
Shen Herong glanced at the earnest girl and nodded, "Copy the Shen Family Discipline 100 times. Next."
Another earnest young man stood up, "I also investigated the Cyan Cloud Grand Competition data, and found many incomprehensible concepts, such as the 'Flawless Golden Man', 'Portable Arrow Tower', 'Sword Blade Storm', etc. Both technically and practically, they seem to have reached Xiangzhou's leading standards. Considering factors like comprehensiveness, rationality, and reality, I believe the Cyan Cloud Grand Competition, under the corrupted and decadent Li Family's control, has degenerated into a visual effects show, with all its contents lacking reliability or reference value."
"...After graduating from the Outer Courtyard, go work in the city's propaganda department. Your mindset is very suitable for it."
"Thank you, instructor."
The third young person to stand up continued the line of thought of the previous two, proposing, "My idea is exactly the opposite of the previous two! The Li Family's performance clearly shows that while we've been diligently practicing, others have not relaxed their standards! Instead of declining in corruption, the decadent Li Family has actually risen to prominence, reminding us that being satisfied with the current level of cultivation is far from enough! We must carry forward the spirit of our ancestors who forged ahead, dedicating 13 hours a day to extra hard cultivation!"
"Well said, starting today, you will cultivate 13 hours a day for me, not one hour less, and you can't sleep."
Shen Herong was simply disheartened. Was this the Outer Courtyard elite he had trained for years? Could it be that the intensity of cultivation had been too high, causing their nutrition to concentrate too much on their muscles during their growth period, resulting in insufficient brain nourishment?
It wasn't until the fifth person that some valuable opinions were finally expressed.
"In my comprehensive analysis of Li Wanqing's strength, she should be on par with Brother Feihong, and what led to Brother Feihong's defeat was not inferior strength, but the presence of the Prison-Sealing Seal. Without the Prison-Sealing Seal, Brother Feihong might be injured from exceeding his limits, but Li Wanqing's defense would definitely be breached, leading to her inevitable defeat. So, I suggest Brother Feihong remove the Prison-Sealing Seal. There's no need to tie up his own hands and feet when dealing with the Li Family."
"Well said, so if anything happens to Feihong, you'll be Shen Ziqiong's adopted son and inherit Shen City's family business."
"Uh, I'm not..."
"Alright, next."
Shen Herong said while simultaneously losing hope for tonight's seminar.
Expecting these kids to come up with a feasible plan within half an hour is indeed asking too much…
However, just as he thought this, a clear voice broke the monotony.
"The Li Family's advantage lies in the divine weapon, the Yuqing Taoist Armor, a primordial treasure passed down by Yuqing True Master, with divine techniques no less than an immortal treasure, and very few restrictions on the user, being able to wield its divine techniques from the Cloud Surge Realm. Brother Feihong facing such an immortal treasure barehanded, defeat is only natural. Even if it were me, it would also be hard to break such perfect defense."
Hearing this, Shen Herong finally felt somewhat relieved. At last, someone hit the key point.
To defeat Li Wanqing and get revenge, the Yuqing Taoist Armor is the key that cannot be bypassed.
And with this pragmatic mindset, it was indeed Shen Qing.
"If the enemy uses an immortal treasure, we can, of course, use one too. Most immortal treasures are difficult to wield at our current realm, but there are always a few exceptions."
Shen Qing paused for a moment and continued, "Five years ago, my father forged a divine weapon, Silver Frost, exceptionally sharp, specifically designed to break hard armor. Once I borrow this sword and perform a sacrificial refining with it, I will definitely be able to defeat Li Wanqing."
Hearing the name Silver Frost, the other young people only felt a vague sense of awe, while Shen Herong was slightly moved.
That indeed is an extraordinary divine weapon, arguably the greatest pride of the artifact refining enthusiast Shen Zicheng's life, a miracle born from countless failures by sheer chance.
It possesses powerful divine techniques near that of an immortal treasure, applicable to a very wide range. As long as one has the Cloud Flipping Realm cultivation, they can wield Silver Frost's sharpness, making it the most powerful weapon a cultivator in the Cloud Flipping Realm could acquire.
If Shen Qing truly wielded Silver Frost, given his strength, there is indeed a great possibility of defeating Li Wanqing.
"Very well, then we look forward to your good news."
