Chapter 41 - Clanging of the Sword
The similarities between the two were the similar outstanding appearances, the undisguisable grace and the unparalleled attainment in martial arts.
Shen Lian said with a smile. "With the flesh of the body, to engrave texts on the magic weapon, let us not even mention about the people present here, even in Jianghu, there is hardly anyone who is able to do so, since the text cannot be changed, how about I return the knife to this young man here Yufei, and let him help you change back."
He extended his hand slightly, but he was taking the knife from Bai Yufei.
Bai Yufei knew in his heart that Shen Lian was sticking up for him, no words could express his gratitude. Looking at the world, who else would help him, Bai Yufei, to go against Mingjian Peak.
The knife was in Shen Lian's hand, no matter whether the name was the White Jade Sword or the Fragmented Jade Sword, one fact was undeniable, and that was that it was razor-sharp till the point that it can slice a strand of hair by just blowing the hair against the blade.
The blade was thinner than ordinary broadswords, yet it was almost invincible, just as though it could dissect the sunlight.
"Are you going to press that knife to my neck and make me?" Ye Liuyun smiled with pursed lips, which made him seemed like he was insulting him.
Once Shen Lian smiled, he said, "Have you never heard this before, persuasion is done through reasoning while the argument is done within the parameters covered by the razor edge of the blade?"
"And what if the blaze snaps?" Ye Liuyun's eyes narrowed slightly, an unspeakable stern coldness radiating from it.
"What do you think?" Shen Lian simply replied the sunset even further, while the shadow of the palanquin engulfed Ye Liuyun entirely, it nearly touched Shen Lian.
The slight glow from the sunset reflected the laziness of Shen Lian.
The half-melted white snow was serene and quiet, the afterglow illuminating on the cascading snow, was dreamlike.
Bai Yufei and An Renjie retreated far away because they did not want Shen Lian to be distracted.
Ye Liuyun responded in silence, he had said what was needed to be said, there was no need to say more.
Jian Shisan and Jian Shisi stood guard by Ye Liuyun's side, this was the duty of the sword slave.
Mingjian Peak was formidable for their swordsmanship, the matter was Ye Liuyun's sword was nowhere to be seen, a person with a pair of handicapped legs, and even if his swordsmanship was superb, the force of it would have its shortcoming.
However, to surpass Ye Liuyun, the first thing to do was to surpass the two sword slaves.
While the whereabouts of Ye Liuyun's sword was unknown, the swords of the sword slaves were out there in the open.
The first to make a move was not Shen Lian, but Jian Shisan.
With the sword thrust towards him, it was as though streams of water were running, its power was sufficient and limitless.
This move was called 'Endless River Pouring In', the attack was swift and fierce, as though like the river water, it could not be cut off.
Shen Lian did not even move, his eyes however beamed brighter.
It was like Jian Shisan saw Shen Lian's shadows that were everywhere in the faint sunset, he certainly did not know which one was Shen Lian.
"Enduring Form Transforming Shadow!" Jian Shisi coolly uttered one sentence.
Ye Liuyun sighed softly, and replied, "No."
The so-called 'Enduring Form Transforming Shadow' was the ultimate superior physical movement, with the speed that the human eyes cannot catch, it gives off the illusion of shadows, causing that person to be unable to distinguish reality from illusion.
Shen Lian only used his psyche powers to enchant the will of others, it was not that his physical movements were really superior.
Both of them took different approaches to achieve the same means.
Shen Lian, in reality, did not move at all or even made a move, but Jian Shisan had already lost.
Even though there was the never-ending stream like sword formation, it too needed a target to hit for it to work.
His points were jabbed, and he laid on the snowy ground by the side.
Ye Liuyun did not show a worried expression surprisingly, the night breeze scooped up the powdery snow, and like an evening fog, it enveloped him.
Steady and relaxed, there was another person who was unfazed, and that was Jian Shisi.
Jian Shisi's skills were not above Jian Shisan, if placed in a life and death situation, it was definitely Shisi Jian who would survive. It was because Jian Shisi was steady whenever he pulled out his sword, if he was uncertain, he would not make a move.
However, this time, even if there was no certainty, he would have to pull out his sword, for the sake of Ye Liuyun to have a better understanding of Shen Lian's martial art, even if it was just a bit.
Shen Lian did not want to use his sword, he also did not want to use the Deity Vanquishing Sword.
The Deity Vanquishing Sword hurts both the person and their spirit, unless it was absolutely necessary, he rarely used it, moreover even though he had The Mastery of Senses to achieve a peace of mind and nourish the heart, to break a spirit with another spirit, once the frequency of this increases, there is absolutely nothing good about it.
The purpose of not pulling out his sword was to maintain his murderous energy, not allowing this young master of the Mingjian Peak to see through his illusions.
If Shen Lian's vision did not have any problems, this young master of the Mingjian Peak's spirit and energy were full from the start till the end, his breaths were lingering and long, there was not a gap to infiltrate the rhythm in between, it was most probably that his inner Qi was endless.
Accurately speaking the other already had a solid foundation when entering this path, even with both legs handicapped, he was still a force to be reckoned with.
Jian Shisan's sword was like flowing water, Jian Shisi's sword was that of a forlorn pool of stale water.
There was no ripple at all, with no changes made, it just simply came jabbing.
The jabbing, as though it was practiced hundreds and thousands of times, the action was clean and simple, no words could ever describe it.
This was not the plain deadly still sword skill that those with exceptional talent in martial arts could do, but rather it was the result of countless times of self-destructive training.
There were many paths to success, but not one of it is a shortcut.
Shen Lian sighed internally, he actually could not bear to strike down this diligent and resilient swordsman.
However, he could not be merciful, and definitely not hold back because of respect.
To have met this sword, he decided to take out his sword.
Once Jian Shisi pulled out his sword, his mind was focused and fixed, of course, he would not be faltered by external factors.
The psyche used by Shen Lian before, its effect would decrease significantly, what more was that Jian Shisi had even prepared earlier. Jian Shisi's inner Qi was focused entirely on the green steel blade, a faint green light surrounding it, he was actually so fast till the point where he was able to use the radiance of the sword.
The radiance of the sword is the combination between the will of the sword and the Qi of the sword, it was not about the cultivation, but rather it was a sudden enlightenment that was between the spirit and the inner Qi.
Ye Liuyun thought to himself, 'No matter what was the outcome of this battle was, Jian Shisi, cannot be allowed to be a sword slave of the Mingjian Peak anymore.'
Jian Shisi's sword skill already showed the graceful bearing of the masters of the path of martial arts, such a swordsman, if only to serve as a slave, it would be a dishonor to the path of the sword, a dishonor to the path of martial arts.
How could Ye Liuyun allow this diamond to be buried in dirt, to not be able to shine forth brightly?
This thought flashed through in a split second, obviously, it was very quick.
However, the sword was also not slow, Jian Shisi's reflection in Shen Lian's eyes continuously grew.
The most spine crawling of all was naturally the unwavering sword point that came flying.
Suddenly, Shen Lian threw away the blade that was in his hand.
That exceptionally sharp blade.
As the masters crossed path with each other, there was still a huge difference when it came down to whether being armed or not, the so-called Blade Grasp with Bare Hands could only be used in a match where there is a significant difference between the masters.
It was not that Shen Lian threw away the blade in his hands, rather it was the blade that flew out.
Shen Lian too, suddenly disappeared without a trace, as though this person could not be found either in the air or down on the ground
Victory and failure depended on that split moment, as for the two engaged people, time served no purpose, the only purpose was that instant moment of change in the mind and the clashing of sword and knife.
It was not that Shen Lian had disappeared, but he was too fast, faster than the blade.
He was faster than the speed of the reaction of the human eye, which gave the misconception that he had vanished.
Of course, the quickest was the light, it was impossible for Shen Lian to be quicker than light, but he was faster than Jian Shisi's reaction. However, Jian Shisi could only see the streak of the gleam of the blade as he sliced through the air.