United Front
Lu Jianqiu rotated side-on and easily deflected Li Shoulin’s spear thrust with his sword. Deflection was always harder than blocking the path of a weapon head on as it required far more precise timing and accuracy with selecting what to deflect. Moreover, the physical attributes needed to rotate the body and coordinate the deflection technique required more training than simply putting something in the way of the attack.
Lu Jianqiu’s cronies loudly mocked Li Shoulin, but their mockery quickly died down when the tree several metres away from the end of the spear tip snapped as if it was sliced through. There was not as much as a bark in sight as the severed section fell to the ground.
Despite the two continuing to exchange more blows at close quarters, Li Shoulin, who wielded the longer weapon, showed no signs of struggle. Instead, contrary to the typical scenario of the one wielding the shorter weapon being a fish to water at close range, it was Lu Jianqiu who could not seize a moment to launch his own counter. Like a weaving wyrm blasting black lightning bolts, Li Shoulin smashed apart the ground before his spear even made contact with the ground and kicked up walls of dust with his swings. With that much penetration force, he likely could have skewered five people in one thrust.
There really was no weapon that Tang Ye was an amateur at, and he could confidently assert that Li Shoulin was qualified to teach spearplay to the masses.
Being a family of soldiers since the previous dynasty, they trained since young and obtained experience in real combat. Li Dynasty’s progenitor’s mastery in swordplay needed no introductions, but his swordplay and the internal cultivation that accompanied it was his own brainchild. In his youth, it was rumoured that his skills would fluctuate between good and bad. His reputation, however, remained esteemed thanks to his results in battle. Put another way, despite being undefeated, evaluations of his usage of the skills were mixed. In contrast, an adept equally as famous as him was able to make even the most ordinary techniques virtually miraculous.
Li Dynasty’s progenitor’s strength lied in his unique take on swordplay. When he left Wudang’s fragmented stone forest with his head hung down, classifying what he left with as “martial arts” would be an understatement. His undefeated record intimidated evildoers and overshadowed the outstanding skills of others, and it also overshadowed his own clan’s discipline.
Although Li Clan’s disciplines were respected at a point in time, there was nothing spectacular about them until Li Dynasty’s progenitor introduced his swordplay. Whenever people discussed the imperial family’s discipline, they would blurt “Broken Sword Eight Layer Light”, but nobody would think of their previous disciplines. Still, that did not erase the fact that their clan did teach other disciplines, which continued to be passed down in their branch families, such as what Li Shoulin displayed.
Based on Tang Ye’s personal assessment, he would have exceeded expectations if he could last twenty exchanges against Li Shoulin in a one-on-one spear contest, and only leveraging the environment would give him any hope of victory. That said, that was under the condition that he could control his two qis. Otherwise, he was dying either way.
While Li Shoulin was not somebody one could beat on sheer power alone, Lu Jianqiu had impressively neutralised fifty attacks already. Formed by a trained monk who chose to secularise, the swordplay he taught at the popular choice for soldier retirees to call home carried elements of Buddhism. As time went on, Lu Horn Manor chose to get involved with the secular world. In turn, the elements of Buddhism and the swordplay gradually faded. It was not until Yong Guiqu’s intervention did their swordplay and clan return to their former glory.
Li Shoulin pushed the envelope more and more with each strike, while Lu Jianqiu chose to maintain a defensive approach. Everyone watching could tell Lu Jianqiu was biding his time until Li Shoulin changed his attack strategy and ran out of steam to turn the tides. Li Shoulin knew exactly what Lu Jianqiu was planning, which was why he tried to end it before he flatlined.
The two were drenched in their own sweat after another dozen exchanges, eyes no longer blinking as they watched every detail for their opportunity to spring. As the fight built up to the climax, the deciding moment, someone yelled, “Please stay your hands!”
Because the individual in question possessed more potent internal energy than the two of them, the two were finally distracted enough to slow down. In that small window where they slowed down, the speaker slipped in between them and, using a finger on each hand, flicked their weapons away.
Because he felt his spear heat up to an extreme degree, Li Shoulin reactively retreated. Lu Jianqiu also hurriedly pulled his sword back into his guard and mobilised energy, but he had to counteract freezing energy.
Tang Ye held his hands in a propitious salute. “Please hear me out.”
Li Shoulin and Lu Jianqiu: “Who the heck are you? You want to steal, too?”
Tang Ye: … Are you two really enemies?
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