Spar
The old tree at Dustfallen Precipice never withered despite having existed for over two centuries and weathered the seasons over and over. Cheng Yan, who was meditating under said tree, grew a lot more mature over the last two years but didn’t lose his refined demeanour. He had ascended to Golden Core Realm, but only Feng Haochen and he knew exactly which layer.
Xiang Nan and the twins hid whilst brainstorming their approach.
Mu Yu emerged from the forest. He looked up to the sky with a grin. He fused with the trees and travelled from tree to tree, which was remarkably faster than flying. When Lan Ling’er finally appeared, he yelled, “Ling’er, what took you so long?”
Lan Ling’e was baffled. Mu Yu still kept his unique ability a secret and only stealthily used it every now and then.
“I guess you don’t need to fly to move fast, huh?” Mu Yu winked, then ran off to Xiang Nan whilst laughing.
Lan Ling’er scoffed and joined the others.
“What’s First Senior Brother up to?” queried Mu Yu.
Before Nan Xiang could reply, a sword shot over. Xiang Nan deftly leapt up.
Cheng Yan finished training a while ago and wasn’t keen on being their victim. “You all must have a lot of time on your hands!”
Positioning himself behind them before they knew it, Cheng Yan slashed toward Xiang Nan and continued swinging through to Mu Yu. Mu Yu summoned his flying sword to intercept. Cheng Yan changed his attack trajectory to Lan Ling’er. She side stepped the strike and unsheathed her sword.
“In that case, let’s see how far your swordplay has come.” Cheng Yan manifested five phantom flying swords and sent one to each of them.
“Ah! First Senior Brother is committing murder!” cried Kongkong and Miaomiao.
Cheng Yan sent swords behind the twins and spanked them. The two jumped up upon impact. He wasn’t so lax with the others, however. He didn’t try to take their heads, but he forced them to parry. Mu Yu would’ve been finished in a single exchange if Cheng Yan didn’t hold back because the latter’s sword qi surpassed the former’s.
“Dustfallen Swordplay consists of nine techniques and nine moves each. If you three can last thirty exchanges, I’ll stop.”
Cheng Yan was able to control his flying sword and execute its attacks solely with his will, so he didn’t need to physically move to execute techniques.
Mu Yu calmly watched the approaching sword. Cheng Yan’s execution was refined but also sharp. Mu Yu was aware Cheng Yan could vary the attack at any given moment and catch him off guard. His sword moved with him. Although Mu Yu accurately clashed with Cheng Yan’s sword, Cheng Yan instantly altered the trajectory of his output to circle around Mu Yu’s Shadow Splitter Sword and went for Mu Yu. Mu Yu flicked the tip of his sword, knocking away Cheng Yan’s flying sword with a second corporeal sword. At the same time, Mu Yu summoned another corporeal sword to his left hand and fired all three swords at Cheng Yan simultaneously. Mu Yu and Cheng Yan engaged in ten exchanges within a flash. Mu Yu was able to hold his own against his senior.
Kongkong and Miaomiao tried to cover their behinds as they ran all over the place, using Dustfallen Stance proficiently. With no offensive skills, all they could do was flee helter skelter.
Cheng Yan: “Mu Yu, you’re progressing along with Dustfallen Mental Cultivation surprisingly well.”
Dustfallen Mental Cultivation was also known as Dustfallen Nine Cornerstones Mental Cultivation, the idea being nine tasks with one mind. In other words, the user could wield nine swords independently at the same time, forcing the opponent into a nine on one fight. Needless to say, it was mentally taxing on the wielder, making it a skill seldom employed unless necessary. A cultivator in Foundation Establishment Realm usually maxed out at two swords, but Mu Yu was able to wield three.
Xiang Nan lost control of his flying sword after twenty-nine exchanges. Lan Ling’er lost after twenty-eight exchanges. The two of them were limited to dual wielding. They could’ve forced themselves to wield a third one. Nonetheless, they would rapidly expend their spiritual energy.
Once he was done with Xiang Nan and Lan Ling’er, Cheng Yan mounted an assault on Mu Yu using all of his swords. Because Cheng Yan’s focus was on Mu Yu alone, Mu Yu was quickly pressured into focusing on evading the attacks.
“That was thirty exchanges!” cried Mu Yu.
Mu Yu soon lost control of his swords. Cheng Yan made swift work of Mu Yu, erasing the clones and knocking Mu Yu to the ground. Cheng Yan stored his swords away and gave his juniors a smile. He said to Mu Yu, “Thirty-two exchanges, not bad!”
Mu Yu couldn’t be bothered responding. He regretted joining the twins, figuring he could’ve taken a nap instead of a beating. The twins decided to prop themselves on Mu Yu and catch their breaths.
The reason Xiang Nan and Lan Ling’er lost quicker than Mu Yu despite their more advanced cultivation was because Mu Yu merely had a better grasp on the swordplay. Cheng Yan only tasted their swordplay. If spiritual energy was part of the equation, it would’ve been one-way traffic, with Cheng Yan being the oncoming traffic.
Cheng Yan sat down on a rock and questioned, “We can descend the mountain tomorrow. What are your plans?”
Mu Yu’s ears twitched upon hearing the news.
Glossary
Technique VS Moves – Moves refer to the movements comprising a technique. This is different to combinations. As an example, the technique “White Crane Spreads Its Wings” from Yang Style taichi consists of numerous moves that make up the technique. They are not the same in Chinese martial arts.
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