The Supreme Sword

“Lift sword as wind…”

“Sword goes with the wind…”

“A sword tailing the wind…”

…

Xuan Tian was practicing sword arts on the backside of the outer mountain of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

After that mysterious experience in the ‘Illusionary Sword Pool’,  Xuan Tian had not only boosted his strength by two layers, but he also gained an unbelievably high understanding of sword arts.

In ranking sword cultivation, there are ten stages: Sword Novice, Comprehension, Minor success, Ascension, Enlightenment, Great Success, Mastery, Pure, Perfection, and Divine.

Before that mysterious experience, Xuan Tian was at the sixth stage ‘Great Success’, now he is currently at the tenth stage ‘Divine’ of the Wind Trail Sword technique.

Xuan Tian felt the sword was an extension of his arm, an integrated part of him.

“Maybe it is because of that ‘little lily white sword’ that is inside my frontal bone. My perception of swords is over ten times faster. It is like one of my arms. My understanding of sword skills improved over ten times too.”

“Hoo…”

The moment when Xuan Tian swept his sword, a piercing noise could be heard in the air, the upper part of a cathaya as thick as a bowl from ten steps away was cut off and fell onto the ground.

“Hoo…”

Xuan Tian stopped and stood, he pressed his chest with two fingers and gathered qi into his dantian. He exhaled very slowly.

When he balanced his breath, he looked at the slashed cathaya from ten steps away and beamed.

He walked a few steps to the slashed cathaya. With a smile of joy, he stroked the cut which was as smooth as a mirror.

“Sword Qi, it is Sword Qi from the Seventh Warrior Layer. I am only at the Sixth Warrior Layer, but I already have Sword Qi from the Seventh Warrior Layer. My Sword Qi cut off a cathaya as thick as a bowl from ten steps away. It can even reach as far as twenty steps away.”

“Being able to release Sword Qi is a symbol of the Seventh Warrior Layer. But a Sword Qi from the Seventh Warrior Layer can only go as far as ten steps. Only the Eighth Warrior Layer can strike sword qi as far as twenty steps away.”

“What really is the sword shadow in the ‘Illusionary Sword Pool’? It not only advanced my cultivation by two layers, but it also boosted my strength to the Eighth Warrior Layer.”

“Plus, my understanding of Wind Trail Sword has reached the limit. It is legendary!   This middle-cla.s.s sword skill at Huang Rank is as powerful as an upper-cla.s.s sword skill. It even released an attack through Sword Qi.”

Xuan Tian stroked his frontal bone slowly, murmuring. His voice was full of surprise.

“My father did not teach me Xuan’s sword skills and rules. I am not an outstanding talent in the Heavenly Sword Sect. Because I did not learn high-layer sword skills and rules, I thought I couldn’t have the chance for revenge. However, this mysterious experience makes it possible.”

“Xuan Ji, Yin Ji, you dog couple, wait and see, I will come to you and cut off your head with my three-foot sharp-edged sword!”

Xuan Tian clenched his fist with full confidence in his heart.

“Brother Huang— “

When Xuan Tian was thinking of the past bitter experience, making a solid oath, a sound came from the foot of the mountains.

Xuan Tian gazed down the mountains. He saw Lin Dong running over to him and calling out from a hundred steps away.

Lin Dong looked very anxious. Something serious must have happened.

Xuan Tian sprung up and down, to ten steps away. He was as light as swallow. He leapt less than ten times, and jumped almost hundred steps down the hill, showing up in front of Lin Dong breathlessly.

“Junior Lin, why are you in such a hurry, What happened?” Xuan Tian asked.

“Huang—Brother Huang, things look bad…”

Lin Dong was panting, saying, between breaths, “Brother Huang Shi…is fighting with Brother Zhang Hu.”

“Seriously?” Xuan Tian was anxious, “What is going on? Tell me while we go!

Xuan Tian took Lin Dong’s arm, and started flying down the hill.

Zhang Hu was at the Fifth Warrior Layer. Before his mysterious experience in the Illusionary Sword Pool, Xuan Tian was at the Fourth Warrior Layer. During their sword compet.i.tion, he was defeated by Zhang Hu after ten strikes. Huang Shi was only at the Third Warrior Layer, far worse than Xuan Tian. How could he stand a chance against Zhang Hu?

The Heavenly Sword Sect has strict rules. Disciples are not allowed to fight privately. However if both disciples agreed to solve their conflicts through a duel, they were allowed to have a match in the presence of witnesses.

There were plenty of disciples in the Heavenly Sword Sect. The more the people, the more the conflicts. Thus, duels were common.

For this reason, the Heavenly Sword Sect built a duel arena for disciples in a square that was widely supported by them. This made every match public, thus avoiding private in-fights and deadly incidents, which often made things worse and caused hatred among disciples.

The so-called duel arena was a combat arena. A match between disciples was then a duel in the combat arena.

Before both parties got into the arena, they would have to come to an agreement. They would not be pressured into fighting. A disciple who was challenged had the rights to refuse, but would be seen as cowardly, and generally despised by others.

There was certainly an exception. When a higher-layer disciple proposed a fight with a lower-layer, they would be forgiven if they refused to. There were such huge differences between a higher layer and a lower layer.

When there is a two-layer gap between compet.i.tors, the differences between the compet.i.tors were as vast as the differences between the heaven and the earth.

In this situation, when a higher-layer disciple proposed to battle a lower-layer disciple, and was refused by the latter, people would not despise the lower-layer disciple, but the higher-layer. Because it seemed the higher-layer disciple wanted to bully the lower-layer disciple.

Huang Shi was two layers lower than Zhang Hu. Normally, Huang Shi would not have to fight with Zhang Hu in the arena. But the truth was the opposite. That was why Xuan Tian was so shocked.

Being escorted by Xuan Tian, Lin Dong ran more easily. His breath calmed down a little bit. He said, “Because Brother Zhang Hu spoke ill of Brother Huang. He said you pa.s.sed out in the Illusionary Sword Pool because you were beaten down by him, and that you were so ashamed that you wanted to kill yourself. But Brother Huang Shi said you were just exhausted practicing sword arts.”

Brother Zhang Hu said Brother Huang was… trash, who pa.s.sed out simply because of practicing. He said you were bound to be trash for your whole life. But Brother Huang Shi said Brother Huang was not trash. He said you will surpa.s.s Brother Zhang Hu one day. But Brother Zhang Hu laughed out, saying the whole Huang family is trash, Brother Huang was trash, and Brother Huang Shi was the trashiest of trash. He could beat Brother Huang Shi down with only one hand.

Brother Huang Shi said Brother Zhang Hu was talking bulls.h.i.t. Then Brother Zhang Hu said, “If you are not the trashiest of trash, then let’s have a fight and see. I will only use one hand and I am sure I will still knock all of your teeth out.” Thus, Brother Huang Shi and Brother Zhang Hus started a duel in the arena.

In one breath, Lin Dong explained all the details of why Huang Shi and Zhang Hu started a duel.