Chapter 117 — Sword Sweeps the Stars
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
Shen Mu had tricked him out of the Chubao Sword, and even its scabbard had been filched by the Lame Old Man; if Pei Wujiu recognized him, he would certainly not let the matter rest. He had not brought the Chubao Sword to this grand examination; the treasured blade was kept in the Rain-Listening Pavilion, watched over by Fu Qingyun. After all, the Chubao Sword was the sidearm of a first-rank official; though it had vanished for decades, someone would surely still recognize it. "I wonder whether Pei Wujiu is still Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince.
Whether he is or not, he is beyond my ability to contend with; best to find the Patriarch first!
" Shen Yu's battle with Daoist Lingyun was spectacular, though it lasted only three moves; within those three moves, the two exchanged attack and defense several times. After the three moves, Daoist Lingyun withdrew his sword and said with a smile, "You have passed.
" Shen Yu exhaled in relief, withdrew his wooden swords, and set down the case. Shen Mu frowned slightly. Daoist Lingyun and Shen Yu had traded attack and defense, and it looked spectacular, but it gave him an odd feeling, as though Daoist Lingyun had not used his full strength.
Shen Yu's moves were indeed exquisite, but his cultivation was not much higher than Ding Shan's. Daoist Lingyun could easily have used his deep cultivation to suppress Shen Yu, yet he had chosen to pit a single sword against his opponent's thirty-six in a contest of swordsmanship. Was that not using his own weakness against the other's strength?
Shen Mu's cultivation was strong, and moreover the Blind Old Man had taught him the Nine Heavens Vision Technique; though he had mastered only the first heaven, his eyesight was formidable, and he could see this. "There's something fishy here.
.
.
" "Next, Shen Mu," Daoist Lingyun said with a smile.
Shen Mu stepped forward and was about to shoulder the sword case when Daoist Lingyun said, "You are also surnamed Shen? " Shen Mu looked up at him and nodded.
"I am surnamed Shen. " Daoist Lingyun smiled faintly. "A pity it is not the Shen of the Shen family. " Shen Mu's brows twitched; he did not go to shoulder the case, but smiled woodenly.
"Teacher, I am rather slow, and I like having plenty. Could I use both sword cases?
" Daoist Lingyun was unconcerned.
He smiled.
"Take them and use them as you please; a single wooden sword is enough for me.
" Shen Mu carried the other sword case over as well and set it at his feet.
His yuanqi flew out; a thread of yuanqi as thick as an arm invaded one of the cases, and a wooden sword flew out.
Daoist Lingyun laughed despite himself. "How do you cultivate?
Did your teacher never teach you to refine yuanqi and train qi into threads?
" Shen Mu bowed slightly and smiled artlessly. "I never learned.
Please, Teacher.
" Daoist Lingyun clasped his hands behind his back; a yuanqi thread, barely perceptible, carried a wooden sword roving before and behind him.
He smiled. "You may begin.
" Shen Mu pressed two fingers of his right hand into a sword sign; his yuanqi erupted violently. He stepped forward, thrust the sword sign, then flicked it upward.
A sharp hiss.
The crowd's eardrums nearly burst from the shriek of the wooden sword tearing the air. Daoist Lingyun's heart lurched; he hurriedly drove his wooden sword to block, but struck only empty air, and then was lifted by Shen Mu's sword, sent flying into the air. The Sword-Lifting Form!
Shen Mu's face was expressionless; his sword finger thrust forward.