Chapter 39: Sword Dance
Vanguard Training Hall. Ai Hui dragged the rattan chair into the courtyard and laid down in content.
The quiet training hall, the soft light from the gourds, and the bright moon in the sky all made him feel a comfortable tranquility. There was no noise, no fights, and no tension, which relaxed both his mind and body, causing him to feel a bit lazy.
When he was in the Sword Cultivating Training Hall back then, this was precisely how he liked to pa.s.s the night, taking it easy and completely letting himself go.
The moonlight sprinkled rattan chair that rocked back and forth directly faced the opened main entrance. Noise from somewhere distant pa.s.sed through the alley, becoming slightly inaudible, yet there was a part of the human world’s vulgarity here now.
Ai Hui played around with the pearls he had obtained today. The pearls were cool to the touch and felt extremely comfortable when he held it in hand. It was unknown if it was the pearls or the peaceful night which gave Ai Hui this extraordinary sense of tranquility.
“Mind Calming Blue Silks?” Loulan, who came in from the entrance took note of the pearls Ai Hui was fiddling with in his hands. A flash of yellow light came and went from his eyes before he gave an impartial evaluation, “Very high quality Mind Calming Blue Silks.”
“Are they valuable?” Ai Hui continued to rock. “It’s some girl’s collateral for a hundred fifty yuan!”
“Very valuable.” Loulan nodded as the yellow light in his eyes dimmed. He sat down next to Ai Hui. “Ai Hui, your progress is huge. Ah, your body has become more robust too. At this rate, you’ll soon be able to break into a palace.”
“Maybe after a while.” Ai Hui shook his head. “I want to temper my body first. The metal wind’s tempering effects on the body is really good. After I acc.u.mulate a bit more, I’ll go try to break into a palace. I’ll also have more of an a.s.surance that way too.”
Loulan tilted his head, thought for a while, and then said, “In that case, Loulan will help Ai Hui make a Blood and Bone Invigorating Pastry. It has really good effects.”
“Thanks Loulan.” Ai Hui thought about it, then asked, “Is it expensive?”
“Not expensive, one hundred yuan in Blood and Bone Invigorating Pastries will last you a month,” Loulan calculated.
One hundred yuan… not expensive…
No matter how he tried, Ai Hui couldn’t link “one hundred yuan” and “not expensive” together. However, Loulan saying that the effects weren’t bad still moved his heart. He knew that Loulan wouldn’t speak without thinking, so Loulan couldn’t be wrong; the effects would certainly be not bad at all. Whether it was the previous Elemental Repairing Soup or the Bone Strengthening Soup, both their effects were extraordinary.
Since it was something his soup boiling treasure was going to produce, it was bound to be a quality product.
“Alright!” Ai Hui gritted his teeth. One hundred yuan, I’ll take it out!
Ai Hui’s keen vision noticed that the sand on Loulan’s body seemed to be a bit different. He couldn’t help but point out, “Loulan, you seem to be of a slightly different color now.”
“Yes. Loulan is capable of learning how to fight.” Loulan explained, “Master Shao said Loulan is a sand golem who wasn’t made to fight, so I don’t have any special combat skills. However, Loulan’s fighting aspect has not weakened.”
Ai Hui’s face was blank all over. “No idea what you just said.”
“In other words, Loulan can get combat skills through learning.” Loulan continued to explain, “But this process needs time. Loulan has recently learned some basic combat skills, and these combat skills brought about a change in the nature of my elemental energy. That’s why the color of the sand on my body will change.”
When Ai Hui understood, it all dawned on him. “So that’s why, huh.”
“But Loulan has come across a problem, can Ai Hui help Loulan?” Loulan asked.
“Of course!” Ai Hui affirmed with certainty, “Speak!”
“The many combat records that Loulan has read all talk about weapons. Loulan doesn’t know what kind of weapon he should pick,” Loulan stated.
“Weapon?” Ai Hui pondered, then replied, “I feel like you don’t need a weapon, because your body is your best weapon.”
“Body?” Loulan was a bit puzzled.
“Yes.” Ai Hui sat up as his expression turned serious. “Loulan’s body can change form at will. It can be soft or hard, so doesn’t that make it the best weapon? A battle is an extremely complicated matter, yet it is also an extremely simple. Like last time, Loulan’s body changed into a sand cloud and blocked the other party’s line of sight, disconnecting him from his link with his 【Earthfire Spiderweb】. That was seriously awesome, that was the key reason as to how we were able to win.”
“Really?” Happiness pervaded Loulan’s tone of voice after hearing this praise.
“Yeah, Loulan’s really awesome. As long as Loulan is able to cleverly use his body to his advantage, he can stand against anything.” Ai Hui said seriously, “A so-called battle is precisely fought using one’s advantage to attack the opponent’s weak points.”
“Ai Hui’s really awesome to know so much,” Loulan admired. Then, he curiously asked, “Then what kind of weapon does Ai Hui use?”
“I use the sword,” Ai Hui replied.
Loulan thought about the gra.s.s sword inside the room and instantly understood. “Speaking of which, Ai Hui has a gra.s.s sword, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ai Hui use it.”
“Wait a bit.” Ai Hui also felt like he had not touched a sword in a while, so his hands instantly itched to do so. He excitedly ran into his room and took out his gra.s.s sword.
Once the gra.s.s sword entered his hand, he felt the Sword Embryo seed between his brows start to germinate which excited Ai Hui since this feeling hadn’t happened for a long time.
Once Luolan saw Ai Hui walk over with his gra.s.s sword, Luolan tilted his head and said to himself, “Ai Hui seems seemed to have changed.”
The moonlight resembled water. The feeling from the Sword Embryo gave Ai Hui an inclination to dance with his sword. Without thinking, he brought his sword upwards.
A glimmer appeared in his eyes, making them deep and unpredictable. His body then started to emit a faint but cool mist.
In the middle of the water-like tranquility, what seemed like numerous sword manuals were blown away by the wind. And within those flying pages, all the sword skills seemed to have come to life and floated up from the paper to turn into small living people.
Ai Hui started to dance with his gra.s.s sword.
The gra.s.s sword, which was made from sword reeds, was four fingers wide, around two kilograms heavy, and naturally sharp.
Ai Hui’s movements were slow, like an old lady’s. However, the surrounding air seemed to thicken and solidify.
During his time at the Savage Territories, Ai Hui’s elemental cultivation was not very successful. He only produced that small bit of elemental energy through much difficulty and would only use it in truly life-threatening situations.
What he used most were sword techniques.
Ever since he managed to create the Sword Embryo, he has been discovering how useful it is. It also allowed him to realize that the sword cultivation manuals had some incomplete but useful things in them. At that time, he also had no other choice.
He tried out every single sword cultivating manual that he came across. Later, he discovered some of the useful sword techniques.
They were all very easy, shallow techniques.
He thought it was very normal since the more advanced techniques would require more spiritual energy, so they have been long since become useless. Ironically, the easier shallow techniques which involved skillfully using the muscles remained effective.
As Ai Hui’s swordplay sped up, he became completely focused.
The gra.s.s sword’s edge had no shine, but Ai Hui’s surroundings were covered in sword light, streaming out one after another like swimming fish. It was beautiful.
He didn’t notice that the doorway had a shadow there.
Shi Xueman was deeply shocked. She never thought that she would see such amazing swordplay here. The Induction Ground also taught sword arts, but she had never seen such beautiful swordplay.
Did Interpine City really have hidden talents?
Suddenly, Shi Xueman’s eyes turned to the pearls on Ai Hui’s wrist, and her mind buzzed as her face paled rapidly.