Whoosh!
“Take this!”
Clang! Crack!
Lu Zheng stumbled back, staring speechlessly at the broken Seven-Star Sword in his hand.
…
Thanks to Ao Qi’s presence, Yan Hongxia did not end up actually thanking Lu Zheng.
Still, she could hardly keep pursuing the matter aggressively. After all, what he said did make some sense, and the fact that he had written her into his story as a heroic, top-tier character showed he truly saw her as a friend.
So once her initial anger fizzled out, she let it go.
But every woman loves to look beautiful. She was clearly a lovely, elegant female swordswoman, yet in the story she had become a scruffy, unkempt bearded man. That still stung a little.
Then Yan Hongxia had a brilliant idea that solved everything.
A friendly spar with Lu Zheng!
True, Lu Zheng’s cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds and his realm was now extremely profound, but her own fortunes over the past two years had been even more extraordinary.
She had obtained an ancient sword immortal’s sword pellet and was approaching a thousand years of cultivation. There was still a portion of sword qi in her dantian waiting to be refined. Compared to two years ago, she had undergone a complete transformation.
If Lu Zheng were still the same as back then, she would feel too embarrassed to bully him even if he teased her. But now…
Giving him a good thrashing would both improve his real-combat reactions and let her vent her feelings. A perfect win-win!
And so the group flew straight out of the city. Yan Hongxia soared into the sky, spat out her sword pellet, and turned it into a three-foot blade of light that slashed straight down.
Lu Zheng patted his gourd, drew a Seven-Star Sword, channelled his true qi, and blocked.
He never expected Yan Hongxia’s sword pellet to be so ferocious. It sliced through his true qi and snapped his sword in two.
“Hiss—”
Lu Zheng sucked in a cold breath. He hadn’t blocked with full power, but being broken so casually was still beyond his expectations.
The terror of a sword cultivator!
The single stroke that severed Lu Zheng’s sword also made Yan Hongxia pause. She knew that sword had cost three thousand taels and suddenly felt bad—she had no money to compensate him.
“Um…”
“It’s fine! I’m rich!”
Lu Zheng instantly saw her guilt, reassured her, tossed the broken sword aside, patted his gourd again, and drew a cloud-patterned sword.
“You break ten thousand techniques with one sword, but I have ten thousand techniques in one body. Careful now!”
“Wind-and-Rain Flying Immortal!”
He formed a hand seal. Within a ten-li radius, wind howled and rain poured. Then his figure flashed and vanished into the storm.
Yan Hongxia’s eyes lit up. Her sword pellet hovered above her head, releasing countless sharp sword qi that shredded all the surrounding wind and rain, leaving Lu Zheng no opening for a sneak attack.
…
On a nearby mountain peak, Ao Qi, Liu Qingyan, Shen Ying, Du Yueyao, and the two little girls were all watching the fight.
“Oh? What exquisite water arts!”
When Lu Zheng unleashed Wind-and-Rain Flying Immortal, Ao Qi couldn’t help exclaiming. As someone who commanded water, how could she miss the subtlety of this spell?
She asked, “Isn’t Young Master Lu a disciple of White Cloud Temple? Does he have another inheritance?”
The three women exchanged smiles. Shen Ying answered, “My husband is rather talented, so he picked up a few extra spells.”
“This water spell is profound and mysterious. It’s no ordinary technique; it must have an impressive origin,” Ao Qi said with certainty, but did not press further.
The corner of Liu Qingyan’s mouth curved. As expected of a dragon princess—sharp eyes. This was a direct transmission from the immortal Chi Songzi of the upper realm; of course no ordinary water spell could compare.
…
On the battlefield, although the storm could not get within a hundred zhang of Yan Hongxia, she also couldn’t locate Lu Zheng’s real body for the moment.
Since it was just a spar, there was no need to drag things out, so Lu Zheng attacked first. A sharp sword light flashed, wrapped in layers of cloud qi, stabbing straight at Yan Hongxia’s back.
“Brother Lu still wants to use a sword?”
Yan Hongxia laughed. Over a dozen sword qi shot backwards.
But this time Lu Zheng was prepared. White Cloud sword qi flew out and dissolved her sword qi in mid-air.
The next instant, five crimson rays shot from the clouds, aiming straight for Yan Hongxia.
“Why only five swords? Didn’t you have six?” Yan Hongxia asked, then pointed. Her sword pellet flashed and tangled with the five crimson jade swords in a furious clash.
“One got ruined by the wolf meat you ate yesterday,” Lu Zheng replied.
Yan Hongxia nodded. “That sword’s material really wasn’t good enough for you anymore. You need a proper flying sword, or…”
“Or pay a visit to Feiyu Mountain?”
“Hey? You know about that?”
Lu Zheng flicked his fingers repeatedly. The crimson jade swords weaved left and right, crossing blades with Yan Hongxia high in the sky.
“Why didn’t you tell me back then?” Lu Zheng couldn’t help asking.
“You didn’t need one back then,” Yan Hongxia answered as if it were obvious.
Lu Zheng: “…”
He shook his head. Seeing the crimson jade swords unable to breach Yan Hongxia’s sword net and actually being pushed back, he slapped his hand backwards. A dragon roar resounded—True Dragon Grand Palm Seal!
…
“True Dragon martial arts?”
Ao Qi was shocked. “This martial technique is no ordinary one. He’s cultivating martial arts too?”
*The True Dragon Grand Palm Seal* was the top-tier martial art that Hu Yijun of Dingfeng Mountain had given Lu Zheng; it even contained a trace of true dragon intent.
…
Lu Zheng struck. A dragon roar echoed. A dragon claw appeared in mid-air, scales glinting, half-illusory, half-solid, clawing downwards.
Yan Hongxia’s sword pellet instantly blazed with light. Countless sword qi shot out, clashing against the True Dragon Grand Palm Seal in a shower of sparks.
Yan Hongxia was startled. She hadn’t expected Lu Zheng’s palm seal to feel so real and actually block her boundless sword qi.
“Brother Lu, impressive cultivation! Take my flying sword!”
She hadn’t realised Lu Zheng’s dao cultivation had reached such heights. Thrilled, she circulated her sword qi. The sword pellet flashed and vanished, instantly becoming a three-foot blade of light that surged upwards against the wind.
Lu Zheng’s eyes narrowed. His blood and qi surged. The True Dragon Grand Palm Seal solidified further, shrinking to half a zhang in size before grabbing at the sword pellet.
Whoosh!
Crack!
Lu Zheng grunted. The sword pellet punched a hole straight through the palm seal.
But the sword pellet itself slowed, its light dimming for a moment.
The next instant, a huge white cloud hand appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around the sword pellet.
“Cloud arts? Break!”
Yan Hongxia gave a light cry. Though her sword pellet only manifested a three-foot blade, its sharpness was peerless. With a slight twist, it tore free of the clouds.
“Haha, how’s that?”
Yan Hongxia laughed triumphantly and pointed. The sword pellet shot straight at Lu Zheng.
But the moment it moved, a small tornado sprang up out of thin air, catching the pellet off guard and dragging it towards Lu Zheng.
…
“Wind-calling spell?” Ao Qi’s gaze towards Lu Zheng turned extremely strange.
Clouds, rain, wind, and true dragon martial arts—are you actually a human or a dragon??
…
Yan Hongxia lived up to the phrase “one sword breaks ten thousand techniques.” Her sword light accelerated, boundless sword qi surging, and shredded Lu Zheng’s tornado once more.
The sword pellet burst free of the wind and again became a three-foot blade, stabbing straight at Lu Zheng.
Only for a spiritual sword to suddenly slash down onto the pellet.
Golden Palace Mind Sword!
“Ouch!”
Yan Hongxia grunted, her mind reeling for a moment. She steadied the sword pellet, then saw yet another layer of cloud arrays blocking her path and felt utterly speechless.
“Fine, fine! I surrender! What is wrong with you? How do you know so many techniques?!”
