Chapter Sixty-Eight: Sect Sword Manuals
Ding Ning looked approvingly at this Qin general and then his gaze fell to the other’s sword.
This was a thin and small indigo sword with gold and yellow seal scripts. It looked like a large dragonfly wing. It was very suited to be a flying sword. It was one of the multiple flying swords Zhangsun Qianxue had hit into the mud.
This was the only flying sword among the many that had been able to fly back into its owner’s hand after falling.
The Qin troops moved as a whole, and made a pathway in the middle. This Qin general walked out towards Ding Ning.
At this time, at a close distance, using the starlight from the sky, even Song Wei, not a cultivator, was able to clearly see this Qin general’s face from the slope. This was a man in his thirties. His face was not very weathered, but cold and scholarly.
Ding Ning nodded at this Qin general and said, “From your sword, you are a cultivator of Clear River Sword School?”
This Qin general also nodded as greeting and said, “Clear River Sword School, Yu Yan Shan.”
Ding Ning did not report his name and just said, “Since you are a cultivator of Clear River Sword School, you must have come to the battlefield just a while ago.”
This Yu Yan Shan heard the meaning of the words, and said honestly in a deep voice, “While I was forced to move out of the imperial city like many of Changling’s cultivators, when I came to the front lines, I experienced how rare cultivators are to the army.”
“So you actually care about the army, and especially the lives of the people with you,” Ding Ning said calmly. A sharp ring sounded in the air next to him.
A deep green piece of metal flew from the ground at his side and floated next to him.
This green metal piece had come from the metal b.a.l.l.s that Xuegu Pa.s.s had thrown out previously. This kind of seal weapon had a proper name in the Chu army, Green Metal Kill b.a.l.l.s. Just the name was murderous. Relying on the seal scripts carved on the surface, once their flight speed reached a certain level, the energy balance on the seal weapon would be destroyed and an enormous explosion would result.
The metal pieces were hard but immensely different from a sword, especially since the seal scripts on it were not made for flight. Yet clearly, Ding Ning was using one of the pieces as a flying sword.
“You wish to use this as a sword?”
Yu Yan Shan frowned deeply. Even being able to communicate with the seal script pieces on the shard was a fearsome ability. A cultivator who had never touched an unfamiliar flying sword, even a normal one, could not avoid being unaccustomed.
The fight between flying swords occurred in instants, much less this kind of metal that was so fragile it could not tolerate even one collison. Even more simply, this metal piece would completely shatter the moment it collided with his flying sword.
“The simpler the seal scripts, when used with some direct sword forms, will have unexpected effects.” Ding Ning looked at this Changling cultivator who did not want to take advantage of him before the duel and said honestly, “I also do not want people to see my sword.”
Yu Yan Shan took a deep breath. In a situation like this, no one had the desire to waste words
“Please.”
Accompanied by his solemn word, a crisp sword hum sounded next to him. Then his sword, light and thin as a dragonfly’s wing, came in front of him with a sharp crescent light.
This was a greeting according to Changling’s duels. Ding Ning did not speak more, nodding, and then pointing at Yu Ya Shan with his right index and middle fingers.
A flow of vital energy came from his fingers and disappeared into the surrounding air. That irregular piece of metal that looked like an arrow head suddenly sped up, and with a bang, it created five afterimages.
“Chaos Duckweed Trail?” Yu Yan Shan’s breathing stopped, his eyes filled with disbelief.
This was a sword form of his Clear River Sword School. but when this person used it, not many in the school could rival him, and there was a nimbleness and perfection even he did not have.
The shock in this moment caused his reaction to be slightly slower than usual. This metal piece was only a few feet from him when he reacted. The flying sword in front of him suddenly shook, and the thin and light sword gave off a roar.
This flying sword smashed over viciously!
This was the “Great Sh.o.r.e Wave” of the Clear River Sword Manual. It took the essence of the great waves slamming towards the sh.o.r.e, regardless of whether they would break.
Fairness only existed before the battle. For swordsmen like him, once the battle started, he would do his best to find the other’s weakness. The difference between a sword and the other’s metal piece meant he only needed one fierce collision.
Ding Ning’s expression did not change at all. He pointed, and the sword form changed!
The metal piece shooting at Yu Yan Shan suddenly jumped upwards, the viciousness suddenly turning into a breezy lightness. It slid by Yu Yan Shan’s sword like a floating piece of wood moving with the wave, and used the wave to jump up.
“Floating Light Sweep!”
Seeing this nimble sword, Yu Yan Shan could not control his emotions and shouted the name of the move.
This one was still a sword form of the Clear River Sword Manual!
As he exclaimed, there was a vibration by his waist. He pulled out an ordinary iron sword with his right hand. The moment it left the scabbard, along with dozens of slender indigo energies, it attacked the metal piece just a few feet away from his forehead.
Many Changling cultivators skilled in flying swords had two swords, but the one they kept with him was like a decoration. Usually, after a flying sword was defeated, without the help of an attendant nearby, it was very hard to keep up with the enemy’s flying sword even if they had another sword. So Yu Yan Shan’s sword was only an ordinary military longsword. He probably got equipped with this one after he came to the army and found many seal weapons targeted by swordsmen after they sent out their flying swords.
But due to the chance in the sword form, he was forced to use his backup sword. And the other was still using the sword forms of the Clear River Sword School!
With a soft hiss, many energy flows around the piece of metal seemed to explode, going out of control. But the piece of metal bounced out, and perfectly avoided the sword energies coming from his backup sword.
Yu Yan Shan howled. The sword in front of him shot out and broke through the air, chasing towards that metal piece like a meteor.
At the same time, Yu Yan Shan stepped heavily on the ground. As the ground sank down, his body flew towards Ding Ning like a shooting star.
In just this momentary fight, he was certain the other was much higher than him in swordsmanship. If so, he had to get close in order to have any chance.