A hand stretched out into the air.
The hand was stable and its thumb was strong. Its four fingers were long and slender, well suited to wield swords.
However, the hand was empty now. It pointed at the giant sword that was tearing through the air.
A faint aura was instantly released from her fingers.
The giant sword seemed to have sensed something and it began to tremble. It swung up, down, left and right, each swing growing wilder and wilder as it struggled like a person bound by ropes.
The Second Brother looked at the sword silently and calmly, without any other trace of emotion.
The giant sword grew more and more restless. The people watching the battle in the wilderness even felt the vague sense of fear that the struggling sword emitted.
The shaking of the sword grew even stronger and cracks began to appear on it. Then, it split apart.
There were a few poofs as sword shadows appeared in the sky hundred feet above them. The shadows turned into rays of light and flew in a circle before flying toward the Second Brother.
The swords moved swiftly, but while the sword points were sharp, they had no intention of killing the Second Brother.
When a flying sword reached him, it slowed down and finally hovered in front of him. It trembled slightly like an obedient child waiting to be punished after doing something wrong.
The Second Brother reached for the hilt, plucked the sword from the air and plunged it into the ground in front of him.
The word "plucked" was very accurate; he did not take, snatch or steal it. He had just reached out casually and held the sword before plucking it from the air.
His actions were ordinary and natural, as if he was plucking fruit from a tree.
The second flying sword arrived.
The Second Brother reached out and plucked it from the air before plunging it into the ground in front of him.
The third flying sword.
The fourth.
The fifth.
The Second Brother stood outside the Verdant Canyon.
There was a large iron sword stuck in the ground beside him.
Beside the iron sword, were five other swords.
It looked like a fence made of swords.
The five swords had once been one giant sword from the Sword Garret of South Jin Kingdom made by Liu Bai, the Sword Sage. He emulated the Headmaster's elegance and the strength of predecessors. The power of the sword was extraordinary.
However, when the sword met the Second Brother, it could only split apart and be plucked from the air.
To become a fence.
The disciples of the Sword Garret were so shocked they were at a loss of what to do as they watched what was happening in the distant Verdant Canyon. Later, they discovered that they had lost control of the Natal Sword and that their sense of perception had been badly damaged, and they coughed up blood.
All was silent at the West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army Camp.
The bigwigs with high cultivation looked extremely worried. They were the only ones who knew what it meant for the Second Brother to pluck the sword from the air and form a fence in a seemingly simple move.
It was already difficult to imagine the giant sword from the Sword Garret being forcefully split apart. What shocked them even more, however, was when Second Brother took down the swords.
Control was emphasized in cultivation, and the control cultivators had over their Natal Items began innately. Furthermore, every cultivator spent most of their time and energy strengthening the connection they had with their Natal Items throughout their life. As such, control was the strongest relationship in the world of cultivation.
Even if their cultivation states differed greatly, high level cultivators found it difficult to break the connection between low-level cultivators and their Natal Items. Even if there really was an extremely strong Grand Cultivator who could do it, it was unheard of that anyone could turn another's Natal Item into his own so easily.
The Second Brother had reached out and the giant sword had broken apart. The five swords heeded his call and surrendered to him. He had not destroyed them, rather, the swords had been subdued... How did he do that?
In the divine chariot, Ye Hongyu's expression turned rather odd. Two unnatural red spots appeared on her beautiful face and her eyes shone brightly. She looked both excited and weary.
"There is someone on earth who can actually see through the minute changes in the flow of Qi of Heaven and Earth! There is someone in the world who was born to fight before Ning Que and I came along!"
The Second Brother did not choose to use a sword against the sword belonging to the Sword Garret of South Jin Kingdom.
He chose to use his hand.
He had chosen to use only one hand.
One hand was enough.
However, the battle at the Verdant Canyon did not end there.
The giant sword of the Sword Garret of South Jin Kingdom was made up of six swords.
There were five swords plunged into the ground in front of Second Brother. There was still one more sword.
Liu Yiqing called out as he sat in the wilderness with his knees crossed.
Blood oozed from the white cloth that covered his eyes as his Psyche Power emerged.
A shadow of sword appeared in the blue sky and disappeared instantly. It arrived mere moments later at the metal tent in front of the verdant canyon, having passed the Second Brother's location.
The Sword Garret had not wanted them to defeat Second Brother with the giant sword.
Their aim, from the very beginning, was to hide the last shadow of sword with this sword.
After Liu Yiqing was blinded by Ning Que, his sword heart had become extremely pure and composed. His inability to see caused his perception of the Qi of Heaven and Earth to grow extremely acute. His sword skills were mystical now.
The mystical shadow of sword was going for Beigong Weiyang!
The charge of the cavalryman of the Divine Hall earlier had proved that the musician Beigong Weiyang was the key figure in this battle. Liu Yiqing's target had always been the instrument on his knees!
Sensing that success was just around the corner, the Natal Sword seemed to almost touch the tightly strung strings. Liu Yiqing howled sharply, unable to control his excitement.
His eyes had been wounded by Ning Que at the side door of the Academy, but he did not hate the Academy; it had been a fair fight. He only wanted to defeat the Academy, no matter who it was, even if it was only once.
However, his howling suddenly stopped.
A myriad of emotions crossed his face.
He had sensed that his Natal Sword had touched several threads that were like instrument strings.
However, they were not instrument strings.
There were too many of them.
There were so many threads, it seemed like a web.
It was a web, waiting for him to plunge into it.
Beigong Weiyang had been focused on his instrument strings, not caring about what was happening on the battlefield. The Second Brother was standing there like a mountain, so he assumed he was safe.
That's why he was shocked when Liu Yiqing's mystical shadow of sword flew down from the sky and appeared inside the metal tent before him, almost plunging right into his chest.
Just like the Great Divine Priest of Revelation had said, he and Ximen Buhuo cultivated through tonality; they would not know how to fight even if they reached the Knowing Destiny State. As such, he had no way to deal with the flying sword.
Beigong Weiyang thought that he was going to die.
Then, he recalled that there were many people around, so he knew that he would not.
He did not die indeed.
The Seventh Sister, Mu You lifted her wrist slightly. She held an embroidery needle in her fingers and pierced it through the cloth.
The red thread on the embroidery needle had been hanging down on the ground, tied around everyone's ankles and metal rods. With her move, the seemingly messy red lines began to move.
The moment the red thread moved, an aura, made up of countless subtle threads the hardness of gold, emerged.
The mystical sword shadow, bound by countless streams of auras, suddenly appeared as an insect thrown into a spider web or a beast mired in mud. No matter how hard it struggled, it could not move an inch forward.
Sitting cross-legged in the field in the distance, Liu Yiqing did not hesitate to try and recall his Natal Sword. Due to the relationship between his Natal Sword, he was more aware of the situation than anyone else right now.
Then the mystical sword shadow, because of its sudden stillness, finally showed its true self. It was dark and delicate as it prepared to retreat silently.
The Fourth Brother was drawing something on the Sandbox.
Sensing the intent of the flying sword, he raised his head and flicked his finger. A light yellow talisman paper flew up, and landed on the sword, wrapping around it.
Liu Yiqing's mystic sword was extremely sharp. Under the control of his Psyche Power, the sword was made to retreat. There was a tearing sound, and cuts appeared on the slightly yellow talisman paper. However, the Talisman Intent did not fully dissipate.
As the two struggled against each other, there came a period of temporary calmness.
Then, an iron clamp reached out from the air nearby.
The iron clamp opened and closed. It clamped at the flying sword and placed it on the burning stove.
The deep blue flame that burned hot instantly incinerated the talisman paper.
A heavy hammer swung high and then slammed down heavily.
There was a clear cracking sound.
The dark and delicate mystic sword, which was extremely hard, jumped up when it was smashed as if it was in pain.
The Sixth Brother was forging iron.
He was forging a sword.
It was an action he had repeated many times over his lifetime.
Even the most hardworking Sword Master did not possess movements as skillful and natural as him.
That was why the mystic sword did not have an opportunity to object.
Before it was smashed into scrap metal.
...
...
There was a puff.
Liu Yiqing paled. His front was soaked with blood that he had just coughed out.
He swayed and almost fell.
He realized now why he had managed to hide his mystic sword from the Second Brother.
It was because the disciples of the Academy didn't care.
...
...
"This mystic sword of yours is rather good. You are rather good too, having entered the Knowing Destiny State in such a short time. But the giant sword from earlier is still the best."
The Second Brother said, "Liu Bai's idea was very good. Teacher's sword only needed a little sword style to sweep through the world. It's a pity that you guys have such weak cultivations. It would have been more difficult for me if there were six Sword Masters in the Knowing Destiny State."
With the help of those from his sect, Liu Yiqing stood up with difficulty and wiped the blood off his lips. He listened to where the voice came from and bowed in the direction sincerely. "Thank you for your pointers, Mr. Second."
"Return and tell Liu Bai that since he has to show his hand anyway, he might as well do it now. Why would he send you all to your deaths? We should battle while I am still at my peak state."
The Second Brother said expressionlessly as he looked toward the south.
In the West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army Camp in the south.
The silent horse carriage was still very quiet.
Moments later, a rather forlorn voice sounded.
"He gets stronger with every fight. That's how Jun Mo is. Since we have to fight, I have to wait for you to really get into it. Otherwise, it would be a pity for us to fight just like that."
A hand stretched out into the air.
The hand was stable and its thumb was strong. Its four fingers were long and slender, well suited to wield swords.
However, the hand was empty now. It pointed at the giant sword that was tearing through the air.
A faint aura was instantly released from her fingers.
The giant sword seemed to have sensed something and it began to tremble. It swung up, down, left and right, each swing growing wilder and wilder as it struggled like a person bound by ropes.
The Second Brother looked at the sword silently and calmly, without any other trace of emotion.
The giant sword grew more and more restless. The people watching the battle in the wilderness even felt the vague sense of fear that the struggling sword emitted.
The shaking of the sword grew even stronger and cracks began to appear on it. Then, it split apart.
There were a few poofs as sword shadows appeared in the sky hundred feet above them. The shadows turned into rays of light and flew in a circle before flying toward the Second Brother.
The swords moved swiftly, but while the sword points were sharp, they had no intention of killing the Second Brother.
When a flying sword reached him, it slowed down and finally hovered in front of him. It trembled slightly like an obedient child waiting to be punished after doing something wrong.
The Second Brother reached for the hilt, plucked the sword from the air and plunged it into the ground in front of him.
The word "plucked" was very accurate; he did not take, snatch or steal it. He had just reached out casually and held the sword before plucking it from the air.
His actions were ordinary and natural, as if he was plucking fruit from a tree.
The second flying sword arrived.
The Second Brother reached out and plucked it from the air before plunging it into the ground in front of him.
The third flying sword.
The fourth.
The fifth.
The Second Brother stood outside the Verdant Canyon.
There was a large iron sword stuck in the ground beside him.
Beside the iron sword, were five other swords.
It looked like a fence made of swords.
The five swords had once been one giant sword from the Sword Garret of South Jin Kingdom made by Liu Bai, the Sword Sage. He emulated the Headmaster's elegance and the strength of predecessors. The power of the sword was extraordinary.
However, when the sword met the Second Brother, it could only split apart and be plucked from the air.
To become a fence.
The disciples of the Sword Garret were so shocked they were at a loss of what to do as they watched what was happening in the distant Verdant Canyon. Later, they discovered that they had lost control of the Natal Sword and that their sense of perception had been badly damaged, and they coughed up blood.
All was silent at the West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army Camp.
The bigwigs with high cultivation looked extremely worried. They were the only ones who knew what it meant for the Second Brother to pluck the sword from the air and form a fence in a seemingly simple move.
It was already difficult to imagine the giant sword from the Sword Garret being forcefully split apart. What shocked them even more, however, was when Second Brother took down the swords.
Control was emphasized in cultivation, and the control cultivators had over their Natal Items began innately. Furthermore, every cultivator spent most of their time and energy strengthening the connection they had with their Natal Items throughout their life. As such, control was the strongest relationship in the world of cultivation.
Even if their cultivation states differed greatly, high level cultivators found it difficult to break the connection between low-level cultivators and their Natal Items. Even if there really was an extremely strong Grand Cultivator who could do it, it was unheard of that anyone could turn another's Natal Item into his own so easily.
The Second Brother had reached out and the giant sword had broken apart. The five swords heeded his call and surrendered to him. He had not destroyed them, rather, the swords had been subdued... How did he do that?
In the divine chariot, Ye Hongyu's expression turned rather odd. Two unnatural red spots appeared on her beautiful face and her eyes shone brightly. She looked both excited and weary.
"There is someone on earth who can actually see through the minute changes in the flow of Qi of Heaven and Earth! There is someone in the world who was born to fight before Ning Que and I came along!"
The Second Brother did not choose to use a sword against the sword belonging to the Sword Garret of South Jin Kingdom.
He chose to use his hand.
He had chosen to use only one hand.
One hand was enough.
However, the battle at the Verdant Canyon did not end there.
The giant sword of the Sword Garret of South Jin Kingdom was made up of six swords.
There were five swords plunged into the ground in front of Second Brother. There was still one more sword.
Liu Yiqing called out as he sat in the wilderness with his knees crossed.
Blood oozed from the white cloth that covered his eyes as his Psyche Power emerged.
A shadow of sword appeared in the blue sky and disappeared instantly. It arrived mere moments later at the metal tent in front of the verdant canyon, having passed the Second Brother's location.
The Sword Garret had not wanted them to defeat Second Brother with the giant sword.
Their aim, from the very beginning, was to hide the last shadow of sword with this sword.
After Liu Yiqing was blinded by Ning Que, his sword heart had become extremely pure and composed. His inability to see caused his perception of the Qi of Heaven and Earth to grow extremely acute. His sword skills were mystical now.
The mystical shadow of sword was going for Beigong Weiyang!
The charge of the cavalryman of the Divine Hall earlier had proved that the musician Beigong Weiyang was the key figure in this battle. Liu Yiqing's target had always been the instrument on his knees!
Sensing that success was just around the corner, the Natal Sword seemed to almost touch the tightly strung strings. Liu Yiqing howled sharply, unable to control his excitement.
His eyes had been wounded by Ning Que at the side door of the Academy, but he did not hate the Academy; it had been a fair fight. He only wanted to defeat the Academy, no matter who it was, even if it was only once.
However, his howling suddenly stopped.
A myriad of emotions crossed his face.
He had sensed that his Natal Sword had touched several threads that were like instrument strings.
However, they were not instrument strings.
There were too many of them.
There were so many threads, it seemed like a web.
It was a web, waiting for him to plunge into it.
Beigong Weiyang had been focused on his instrument strings, not caring about what was happening on the battlefield. The Second Brother was standing there like a mountain, so he assumed he was safe.
That's why he was shocked when Liu Yiqing's mystical shadow of sword flew down from the sky and appeared inside the metal tent before him, almost plunging right into his chest.
Just like the Great Divine Priest of Revelation had said, he and Ximen Buhuo cultivated through tonality; they would not know how to fight even if they reached the Knowing Destiny State. As such, he had no way to deal with the flying sword.
Beigong Weiyang thought that he was going to die.
Then, he recalled that there were many people around, so he knew that he would not.
He did not die indeed.
The Seventh Sister, Mu You lifted her wrist slightly. She held an embroidery needle in her fingers and pierced it through the cloth.
The red thread on the embroidery needle had been hanging down on the ground, tied around everyone's ankles and metal rods. With her move, the seemingly messy red lines began to move.
The moment the red thread moved, an aura, made up of countless subtle threads the hardness of gold, emerged.
The mystical sword shadow, bound by countless streams of auras, suddenly appeared as an insect thrown into a spider web or a beast mired in mud. No matter how hard it struggled, it could not move an inch forward.
Sitting cross-legged in the field in the distance, Liu Yiqing did not hesitate to try and recall his Natal Sword. Due to the relationship between his Natal Sword, he was more aware of the situation than anyone else right now.
Then the mystical sword shadow, because of its sudden stillness, finally showed its true self. It was dark and delicate as it prepared to retreat silently.
The Fourth Brother was drawing something on the Sandbox.
Sensing the intent of the flying sword, he raised his head and flicked his finger. A light yellow talisman paper flew up, and landed on the sword, wrapping around it.
Liu Yiqing's mystic sword was extremely sharp. Under the control of his Psyche Power, the sword was made to retreat. There was a tearing sound, and cuts appeared on the slightly yellow talisman paper. However, the Talisman Intent did not fully dissipate.
As the two struggled against each other, there came a period of temporary calmness.
Then, an iron clamp reached out from the air nearby.
The iron clamp opened and closed. It clamped at the flying sword and placed it on the burning stove.
The deep blue flame that burned hot instantly incinerated the talisman paper.
A heavy hammer swung high and then slammed down heavily.
There was a clear cracking sound.
The dark and delicate mystic sword, which was extremely hard, jumped up when it was smashed as if it was in pain.
The Sixth Brother was forging iron.
He was forging a sword.
It was an action he had repeated many times over his lifetime.
Even the most hardworking Sword Master did not possess movements as skillful and natural as him.
That was why the mystic sword did not have an opportunity to object.
Before it was smashed into scrap metal.
...
...
There was a puff.
Liu Yiqing paled. His front was soaked with blood that he had just coughed out.
He swayed and almost fell.
He realized now why he had managed to hide his mystic sword from the Second Brother.
It was because the disciples of the Academy didn't care.
...
...
"This mystic sword of yours is rather good. You are rather good too, having entered the Knowing Destiny State in such a short time. But the giant sword from earlier is still the best."
The Second Brother said, "Liu Bai's idea was very good. Teacher's sword only needed a little sword style to sweep through the world. It's a pity that you guys have such weak cultivations. It would have been more difficult for me if there were six Sword Masters in the Knowing Destiny State."
With the help of those from his sect, Liu Yiqing stood up with difficulty and wiped the blood off his lips. He listened to where the voice came from and bowed in the direction sincerely. "Thank you for your pointers, Mr. Second."
"Return and tell Liu Bai that since he has to show his hand anyway, he might as well do it now. Why would he send you all to your deaths? We should battle while I am still at my peak state."
The Second Brother said expressionlessly as he looked toward the south.
In the West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army Camp in the south.
The silent horse carriage was still very quiet.
Moments later, a rather forlorn voice sounded.
"He gets stronger with every fight. That's how Jun Mo is. Since we have to fight, I have to wait for you to really get into it. Otherwise, it would be a pity for us to fight just like that."
