Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 295 - 32: Victory!
January 23, 2018
Cultivators with exceptional talent often have an instinctive intuition for danger.
Such as the current Shen Qing.
Looking at the White Sword in Li Wanqing's hand, Shen Qing instinctively felt something was amiss.
The information never mentioned that Li Wanqing had such a sword.
As the saying goes, know yourself and your opponent, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat. The reason Shen Qing was confident he could defeat Li Wanqing was mainly because, after collecting information on the QingCyan Cloud yun City competition, he had a rough understanding of Li Wanqing's strength. He confirmed that as long as he could break through the invincible defense of the Yuqing Taoist Armor with the Silver Frost Sword, relying solely on his own strength as a cultivator, he could have an edge over Li Wanqing.
However, upon emerging from seclusion, the first glance he took was beyond his control.
Why was she holding a White Sword?!
Although Li Wanqing had notable swordsmanship skills, she was not fundamentally a Sword Cultivator. Her core techniques were the Yuqing Daoist Skill, her core magical treasure was the Yuqing Moral Armor, and her core tactic was the all-in-one offense and defense of the Yuqing Moral Armor. As for the Celestial Net Sword, while powerful, it was only an auxiliary component in Li Wanqing's overall tactical system.
So what was the origin of this White Sword?
In that moment, Shen Qing couldn't help but lament that the battle had arrived too hastily. If he had been given a few more days to carefully review all the information from the QingCyan Cloud yun City competition, he wouldn't have overlooked such details.
Perhaps to outsiders, Shen Qing's preparation time seemed more than adequate—5 days of vacation, 3 days of seclusion, totaling 8 days, which would even be sufficient to give birth to a whole string of children.
But as the one involved, Shen Qing had complaints he couldn't express. The first 5 days were spent mostly on reconnaissance and taking advantage of his father's patrols to break his father's private vault seal—stealing away his most cherished possession from under the nose of a Mountain-Overturning Realm expert was a miracle in itself. The next 3 days were spent desperately trying to suppress the rebellious Silver Frost Sword. The entire process took 8 days and left him utterly exhausted, just barely completing the first step of preparing his equipment.
He barely had time to truly simulate and draft his battle plan, forced to hastily go into battle under pressure, only hoping everything would go as planned. But then, Li Wanqing emerged with an unfamiliar White Sword, like a sudden blow to the head!
Shen Qing took a deep breath, calming his inner turmoil, and followed the battle procedures instilled by the Outer Courtyard over the years. He first gathered True Essence into his eyes, activating his Spiritual Vision to discern the White Sword.
Knowing yourself and knowing your opponent allows you to fight without peril. Even if time is limited, one must try to learn as much as possible about the opponent and avoid blind combat. Li Wanqing so conspicuously displayed the White Sword at her waist, so if it wasn't for some meaningless pretense, then the White Sword possessed overwhelmingly powerful divine techniques, enough to be the main force in battle.
One second, two seconds, in the silence, Shen Qing's Spiritual Vision was pushed to the extreme, even to the point where the tiny blood vessels in his eyes burst, staining his eyeballs blood red.
However, he didn't obtain the most desired and needed intelligence.
Through Spiritual Vision, Shen Qing could only discern that the sword was no ordinary item; at least, the edges of the sword were no less than any Divine Weapon. But deeper insights were elusive. The White Sword's divine techniques were concealed as if covered with a thick shroud, defying Shen Qing's multiple Spiritual Vision techniques.
Nonetheless, Shen Qing was not discouraged. Given that this White Sword was earnestly presented by Li Wanqing, its tier would naturally be high. If it was like the Silver Frost Sword, a Quasi-Immortal Treasure, then it was normal for someone at the Cloud Flipping Realm to be unable to see through the White Sword's divine techniques.
But, being unable to see through it didn't mean there was no way.
Shen Qing pondered for a moment, and an idea sparked in his mind.
Taking the opportunity while the cold light of the Silver Frost Sword had yet to settle, Shen Qing slowly spoke, declaring loudly, "The Divine Sword Silver Frost, measuring three feet and one inch, forged from Chaos True Silver, Nine Heavens Profound Frost, and other Innate Treasures, refined in the Primordial Five Elements Furnace for ninety-nine days. It possesses three divine techniques: the first, certain severance, under the Silver Frost Sword's edge, nothing can withstand. The second, communion with the divine, this sword body contains Chaos True Silver, making the instillation of True Essence smooth and unimpeded, thus giving rise to divine techniques. The third, Cold Frost, where the sword's light points, all things freeze."
Upon saying this, Shen Qing felt a touch of pride.
This is quick wit! Shen Qing set up such a classic scene—how could Li Wanqing keep her own sword's divine techniques hidden without saying a word?
This is the power of intelligence, compensating for the lack of cultivation where necessary. Although I can't use Spiritual Vision to see through the White Sword's divine techniques, I can compel you to speak them out!
Sure enough, after hearing this, Li Wanqing's expression subtly changed. She nodded slightly, placed the White Sword in front of her, contemplated for a while, and then spoke loudly as well.
"The Nameless Celestial Divine Sword, its length is… let me measure—about three feet four inches, and approximately two inches wide. My sister, Shen Qingming, purchased it for 9 taels of Silver from Boss Liu at a weapon stall in the Green Willow Alley market in the East District of QingCyan Cloud yun City in May, 2017 of the Xiangzhou calendar. It's truly a model of cost-effectiveness."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qing almost burst out.
The Li Family is absolutely shameless! You can even say such nonsense?!
Buying such a brilliantly concealed divine technique sword, impenetrable even to the Shen Family's Spiritual Vision techniques, for 9 taels of Silver? I'll purchase them at 90 taels each, no matter how many there are, alright!?
The onlooking Shen Family members erupted into a buzz of discussion, simultaneously expressing their newfound understanding of the thick-skinned nature of the Li Family.
Li Wanqing, however, remained unperturbed. Twirling the White Sword into a sword flower in her hand, she said: "In our QingCyan Cloud yun City, there's a saying: if a person doesn't have dreams, they are no different from a salted fish. A sword bought for 9 taels of Silver can indeed be a Divine Sword. Those novel protagonists, weren't they all finding Divine Artifacts and rescuing princesses on the streets?"
Shen Qing couldn't help himself: "You know that's a plot from a novel!"
Li Wanqing asked, "The person who overcame strong foes and won the QingCyan Cloud yun City competition at the age of 14, tell me how she's any different from a novel protagonist? What's wrong with this kind of person buying a Celestial Divine Sword for 9 taels of Silver?"
"…" Shen Qing felt his logic unraveling. Unaccustomed to verbal disputes since childhood, he found himself at a painful loss when countered so decisively.
Just as he was about to think of an excuse, he saw Li Wanqing waving her hand dismissively: "Alright, we've talked enough nonsense. Are we going to fight or not? If not, I'm going back to sleep."
"..."
What else could be said? Of course, they had to fight. In this battle, Li Wanqing could choose not to fight, but the Shen Family had no choice but to fight. So even though Li Wanqing shamelessly took advantage of Shen Qing with some intelligence in public, Shen Qing could only pinch his nose and accept it.
Fortunately, not all the Divine Techniques of the Silver Frost Sword were revealed earlier. This Divine Sword, whose tier is close to an Immortal Treasure, certainly has more than three Divine Techniques. Among them, the most crucial one is Spirit Communication, which is his trump card to win this battle.
As long as this trump card is well hidden and revealed at the right time, victory is very much achievable.
——
Before long, Shen Herong had prepared the venue for the two of them, announced the rules, and was just waiting for the command to start, for a great battle was about to begin.
Shen Herong floated in mid-air, looking down at both sides of the confrontation with cold water-like eyes, yet his heart was in turmoil.
This battle… absolutely must be won.
These past days have been tough for Shen Herong. As an instructor of the Outer Courtyard, he was already promoted against norms, and there was no shortage of criticism from higher-ups about his position. Shen Herong had to rely on solid business acumen to secure his position.
But this time, the two Deputy City Lords entrusted him with important tasks, and he made successive mistakes. Letting a bunch of Li Family members run amok in the Outer Courtyard, throwing their glorious undefeated tradition out the window.
If it were during the war-time craze among the people of Shen City, a cadre like Shen Herong, who disgraced the nation, would have been compelled to publicly commit seppuku to atone for his sins. Fortunately, in today's more forgiving environment, Shen Herong, with his many facial scars and thick skin, steadfastly refused to resign or commit seppuku, pinning his hopes on the outer courtyard elites to turn the tables one day so that previous trivial losses would dissipate into smoke.
However, during the days Shen Qing meticulously prepared for the battle, both Deputy City Lords expressed their attention to this battle, so it's understandable the mental pressure Shen Herong is under at the moment.
Meanwhile, the youths surrounding the competition arena of the Outer Courtyard are equally anxious in their hearts.
If Shen Qing loses again, the Outer Courtyard would truly suffer a complete and irrefutable defeat. By then, Instructor Shen Herong would undoubtedly resign to take responsibility, and things wouldn't go well for them either.
——
Amidst the arena, Shen Qing had already attained a state of tranquility.
The honor or disgrace of the Shen Family Outer Courtyard, the family pressure of stealing the Silver Frost Divine Sword, and the attention from the upper echelons of the Shen Family… He had put all these issues aside at this moment.
Walking onto the battlefield, he would only focus on issues related to the battle.
His opponent was Li Wanqing, a genius in immortal cultivation from the Li Family, whose strength and experience were undoubtedly top-notch among her peers. The Yuqing Taoist Armor she wore was also close to an Immortal Treasure.
This battle required the utmost caution; even wielding the Silver Frost Divine Sword and holding a winning trump card, he had to maintain the most cautious posture, paying attention to every detail.
Then, when Shen Herong's voice boomed throughout the venue.
Shen Qing unleashed his full power without hesitation.
This seemingly gentle and refined young man suddenly expanded several times in size, transforming into a colossal form akin to Shen Feihong. The surging True Essence followed the pre-prepared engravings, instantly transforming into 25 Immortal Techniques, tracing different paths to empower his physical body, endowing this seemingly ordinary body with top-tier Divine Techniques.
At this moment, Shen Qing was almost inhuman.
All his power was focused and used, combining True Essence, Divine Sense, and physical body into a perfect synergy of strength, speed, and precision without any embellishments.
Shen Qing was fully aware that, in this battle, his role was that of a supporting actor.
Compared to the Silver Frost Sword in his hand, he, at the early stage of the Cloud Flipping Realm, was worth nothing.
What he had to do was, to the best of his ability, deliver this Immortal Sword to the enemy.
The next moment, Shen Qing had already appeared in front of Li Wanqing, and the expression on the woman's face was still frozen at the moment before the battle started, completely caught off guard by Shen Qing's lightning-fast assault, barely managing to awkwardly position the White Sword in front of herself.
Victory!
Shen Qing finally concluded his judgment on this battle in his heart.
His tactics had worked. At this point, no matter if it was Yuqing Taoist Armor or the 9-ounce White Sword, they could no longer reverse the situation.
"Immortal Sword Silver Frost, go!"
Clang!
The sound of metal snapping reached Shen Qing's ears.
