Chapter 1033 - No Sword in Hand
Li Qingshan grinned and stood with his arms crossed. This Yin Xiaochou sure had an unlucky name, always challenging him when he was at his strongest. He was basically creating worries for himself, despite his name.
TL: Yin Xiaochou’s name basically sounds like “drinking away your worries or sorrows” in Chinese. I think it’s a reference to a poem by Li Bai. You can read an English translation of it here, which is basically “drinking away your sorrows or worries, only to sink further in them”. That’s why his name is unlucky and also why he seems melancholic all the time. That’s also exactly what he’s doing, riddling himself with worries.
His behaviour only incited the various swordmaster and elders of the Sword Collection palace’s disdain towards a common enemy. They said together, “Please grant permission, palace master!”
The master of the Sword Collection palace frowned slightly, while the Light Queen and Ji Xuanri exchanged glances too. They had all witnessed Li Qingshan’s strength. Yin Xiaochou stood absolutely no chance at all, but if they just told him this, he definitely would not find it acceptable. The others would not be convinced either. However, if they let Li Qingshan unleash his methods as a Demon King here, it would lead to many issues too.
After a slight consideration, the palace master nodded.
“Thank you, palace master.” Yin Xiaochou clasped his hands and turned towards Li Qingshan.
“Then I’ll just defeat you again!” Li Qingshan made his way out of the hall, brushing past Yin Xiaochou. He arrived on the terrace before the hall, gazing at the Sword Collection peak hanging in the sky.
Yin Xiaochou followed close behind. He said to Li Qingshan while he was looking away, “If you don’t have a suitable sword, you can face me after you’ve selected a sword from the Sword Collection peak.”
Not only did he want to win, he wanted to win convincingly and with dignity.
“That won’t be necessary!” Li Qingshan turned around.
“What, you want to use a water sword again?” Yin Xiaochou’s face turned slightly cold.
“No, my swordsmanship had already reached an even greater realm. I have no sword in hand and no sword in heart either. Just come at me!” Li Qingshan wielded his fingers like a sword.
The sword cultivators all frowned. Saying his swordsmanship had reached an even greater realm in the Sword Collection palace was basically trying to show off before an expert, while that “no sword in hand and no sword in heart either” was simply nonsense.
“You’re asking to be humiliated. Watch my sword!” Yin Xiaochou called out.
Yin Xiaochou’s various emotions dispersed, turning into a faint sense of melancholy. The Breaking Water sword leapt out of its sheath silently, and its curved blade was like a crescent moon, rapidly flying across the calm lake surface towards Li Qingshan’s throat.
“Breaking Water, Free From Sorrow!”
It was like a startling streak, a glimpse of heaven, yet also mysterious in its own way, without a single trace to be found.
The sword cultivators were all amazed. He really was the successor of a renowned sword after all. Even they could not say they could block a strike like that. They could only dodge it.
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However, Li Qingshan did not move at all. He had also once been amazed by Yin Xiaochou’s sword intent, while Yin Xiaochou’s current sword intent was ten times of the past. He had truly inherited the supreme swordsmanship within the Ten Renowned Swords!
There was absolutely nothing wrong with the sword intent. What was wrong was it was far too slow and too weak!
Right when the sword cultivators thought Li Qingshan would be slain on the spot, Li Qingshan extended his hand. He did not use any swordsmanship or bladesmanship, merely bringing his middle finger and index finger together.
The flying moon turned back into an edge, and the edge suddenly halted, unable to advance an inch further. The other thing that stiffened was Yin Xiaochou’s expression.
He did not even have to use his demon qi, so why would he need a water sword?
“There will always be something you cannot break, you cannot cut through, such as sorrows, such as water, such as me!”
There was a slight sense of lament in Li Qingshan’s voice. Sure enough, posing around in front of a group of d.a.m.ned posers sure felt satisfying.
The sword cultivators were all rendered speechless.
“H- how is this possible..” Yin Xiaochou let go of the hilt and took a step back as he murmured to himself.
To sword cultivators, their swords were as important as their lives. He had let go of the hilt unconsciously, clearly having been overwhelmed mentally already.
After several decades of bitter cultivation and pursuit, he had finally arrived before his opponent again, yet his opponent had even forgotten his name. He wanted to pay him back with a strike, only to discover the distance between them had grown even wider than before. Immediately, he felt like everything had just been a waste.
Suddenly, a hand pressed down on his shoulder. The master of the Sword Collection palace said, “Xiaochou, there’s no need to feel discouraged. Fellow Li has already undergone the third heavenly tribulation. You’re naturally not his opponent.”
“The third heavenly tribulation!” Yin Xiaochou cried out and stared at Li Qingshan in disbelief.
The sword cultivators were all stunned. Undergoing the third heavenly tribulation was equivalent to making it to the apex of the nine provinces. All of them were figures who had made a name for themselves in the world. Just how old was the person right before them? Yet he had already undergone the third heavenly tribulation! What was this cultivation speed?
Only a small number of people were aware that Li Qingshan had undergone the third heavenly tribulation. Even if they knew, they were reluctant to disclose it publicly, as his cultivation just bore far too much resemblance to a Demon King’s.
The Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga was already prepared to hold a grand ceremony when Xiao An was conferred the t.i.tle of Monk King to celebrate. They had invited all the great cultivators across the Green province, as well as other fellow buddhists from other lands. Meanwhile, Li Qingshan would never receive a treatment like that.
Li Qingshan tossed the Breaking Water sword back to Yin Xiaochou. Yin Xiaochou gazed at the blade of the sword, which reflected his expression. After a moment of daze, he said, “I’m going back to cultivate.” With that, he leapt down Heaven Leaning peak. He did not ride his sword.
The sword cultivators were all gloomy. The palace master watched Yin Xiaochou leave as he thought, Xiaochou, it’s about time you understand that the greatest worry in the world is powerlessness! If you’re powerless, it’s impossible for you to rid yourself of worries!
Li QIngshan shrugged and turned towards the palace master. “Can I pull out my sword now?”
“Any time, but since you are a guest elder of my Sword Collection palace, you have to follow our rules!” the master of the Sword Collection palace said.
“What rules?”
“You must not obtain it through strength!” the palace master said.
“Then what do I use?” Li Qingshan replied with a question.
“With your heart! The Sword Selection ceremony is not the person selecting the sword, but the sword selecting the person!” the palace master said.
“Alright. I will use my heart.”
Li Qingshan did not believe that at all. From the Soaring Dragon sword to the Frenzy Flower Sword of Path’s End, there had not been a single weapon that had selected him and allowed him to use them obediently, but in the very end, he still used them as he wished.
I haven’t worked my a.s.s off with cultivation so that weapons can be picky!
“We need to seal up your cultivation!” the palace master said sternly.
Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. He smiled in thought. “You’re really making things difficult for me, palace master!” Being unable to pull out the best sword was but a trifle, but if his cultivation was sealed up and the palace master suddenly turned against him mercilessly, wouldn’t he just be a sitting duck?
“That’s part of the rules. We’re not singling you out specifically!” the palace master said.
Any disciple who could draw out a sword from the Sword Collection peak had undergone the first heavenly tribulation recently. Not only had they obtained this opportunity, but their strength was still insufficient to contend against the Sword Collection peak, so they were forced to let the swords select them through their luck. However, Li Qingshan’s strength was completely enough to ignore the heart of the sword and yank them out by force.
“Since that’s what you’ve said, then fine then!” Li Qingshan spread his arms and said calmly, “Please seal up my cultivation, palace master!”
The palace master approached him and wielded his fingers like a sword, immediately striking several major acupoints on Li Qingshan’s body. With each strike, he injected a strand of sword qi into the acupoint, and the gloomy demon qi became a little more withdrawn until it was completely forced back into the demon heart. The demon heart had already become encapsulated in layers upon layers of sword qi now.
Li Qingshan would struggle to unleash any of his human cultivation now, while the palace master only needed a single thought to set off the sword qi and destroy his demon heart.
Li Qingshan gazed at the palace master with a smile. There were certain things that could not be sealed, which were his greatest power. He only needed a single thought to suppress the sword qi. Even if he could not get out of this unscathed, it was nothing major.
However, the master of the Sword Collection palace less than three steps away from him might not be able to block his Frenzy Flower Blade of Path’s End!
ps： 总而言之，还有！