Chapter 132 — The Primordial Mystery Art
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
This Lin Xuan's attainment in fundamental swordsmanship was the strongest of any adept or martial artist Shen Mu had yet met; though a shade inferior to Shen Mu himself, it was not much inferior.
And this was the very crux: though Qu Ping's sword art contained the new fundamental techniques the Imperial Preceptor had created, Qu Ping's own fundamentals had not reached the peak, his foundation unsteady. However exquisite the art, with an unsteady foundation its power could not be fully brought out. Ding, ding, ding, ding -- countless dense clashes rang out; the crowd had only time to see filament after filament collide with the blazing pillar of sword, and then the pillar shattered in midair and was no more; only a very few could see the changes in both men's arts in that fleeting instant.
Qu Ping was stabbed in the chest by the whisk and, with a thud, slammed against the mountain gate; the gate creaked and groaned, and wisp after wisp of dust drifted down.
Lin Xuan lightly shook his whisk; the filaments grew shorter and shorter, still draped over his elbow, and then he sat down, eyes upon nose, nose upon heart, calm and composed. But upon the mountain gate, Qu Ping slid down.
Blood holes had been opened across his chest, pierced through by the filaments; even so Lin Xuan had not struck to kill, for when each filament entered his body it avoided his vital points and did not take his life.
Several physicians of the Imperial Physicians' Bureau hurried over, fed Qu Ping a few spirit pills, tore open his garments, and smeared ointment on the wounds of his chest and back to plug the bleeding holes. "So strong! " Behind the mountain gate, many scholars of the Grand Academy felt their hearts sink.
Qu Ping's name was not small among the Academy's adepts of the divine-power realm; on the contrary, he ranked near the front among them. The Grand Academy held not only an entrance examination but also a great examination of scholars each year, fixing their rankings and using rank to spur them toward study and advancement. Qu Ping stood within the top hundred among the Academy's adepts.
Once within the top hundred, the gap in strength was in truth not great; that Qu Ping was defeated in a single move showed that the distance between him and Lin Xuan was no small thing.
This was the most dreadful part of all. Suddenly the Second Prince's voice reached the ears of all present: "Those who cannot make out the changes in these two men's sword moves had best not step forward. " This struck the Academy's scholars a heavy blow; most of those present had been unable to make out the changes in the moves of Qu Ping and Lin Xuan.
Especially Lin Xuan's sword art: as a Daoist heir, his swordsmanship lay hidden in the transformations of the whisk filaments, and if one could not even discern his variations, to step up would be to invite humiliation. At Shen Wanyun's side, Yun Que said in a low voice, "Eldest Senior Brother, did you make out that Daoist heir's sword changes?
" Yue Qinghong too hurried over, wanting to ask Shen Wanyun's view. Shen Wanyun hesitated a moment, then said, "With my Heaven Eye I made out the changes in his moves, but I cannot break them.
. . " Yue Qinghong burst out laughing.
"Eldest Senior Brother, if you stepped up, that little Daoist would surely seal the Six Realms Divine Treasury to fight you; most of his cultivation lies within the Six Realms Divine Treasury. Without the cultivation of the Six Realms Divine Treasury, he could not perform such exquisite swordsmanship!
" Shen Wanyun wavered a moment, then shook his head: "I must wait a while longer, to see whether I can make out his flaw.
That Shen Mu is not far off; let us go over and ask what he thinks. " The three came to the place where Shen Mu stood, and Shen Wanyun said, "Junior Brother Shen, do you think you could overcome this Daoist heir?