Clang!!!
The sound of weapon collision was intense and piercing to the ears.
After the invitation from General Xue, the one who met him head-on was still that bearded Third Prince of Tie Le, wielding a scimitar with extreme ferocity and unpredictability, striking from angles beyond imagination. Li Guanyi held a heavy saber in his hand, thick at the spine and thin at the blade, countering with the saber technique passed down by Yue Qianfeng.
After the circulation of Jade Liquid in the bronze tripod, this saber technique had reached great success.
But it was only when facing such a formidable opponent
that Li Guanyi realized
Great success merely represented proficiency in mastering the saber technique.
Application and combat, however, were an entirely different art.
The splendid golden scimitar tapped on Li Guanyi's heavy saber and then danced like a butterfly fairy. The Third Prince of Tie Le, with his robust physique, moved elegantly through the air, twisting mid-air and landing behind Li Guanyi, followed by a vertical slash.
Li Guanyi felt a sharp pain in his back, his body stumbled forward, taking several lunging steps before he turned to sweep horizontally with his saber. The Third Prince of Tie Le had already retreated.
Standing within the reach of Li Guanyi's saber, his feet lightly hopping left and right, the edge of his scimitar ever changing its direction, making it unpredictable where his next attack would come from.
Li Guanyi felt severe pain in his back, but there was no wound.
"This place is, after all, just a recreation of past memories. All your sensations are imposed on your spirit. Rest assured, the intensity of this layer only makes you feel as if you are being cut by a blade but doesn't actually affect the body,"
General Xue said from the side, "But be careful, in my era, within the Martial World and the Court, there were at least five types of secret techniques that could deal heavy blows to the spirit, making one believe they were already dead, causing the body to wither, many renowned officials died explosively just like that."
"Monarchs during chaotic times, too, died from this."
"Me? I have faced it before,"
"That magician didn't expect Shaking Light to be by my side."
"Shaking Light woke me up, so I slashed him dead in return."
"Of course, if it had been a real fight just now, you would have been dead,"
General Xue's lingering image smiled as he sat there, then, holding a cup of illusory tea, he lifted a sheathed sword in his hand and wrote something on the ground.
There were already ten 'Cheng' characters on the ground.
This was the first stroke of the eleventh.
Each stroke represented one 'death' for Li Guanyi.
General Xue looked at the row of 'Cheng' characters, slightly raising an eyebrow with a light chuckle.
And said nothing.
Perhaps, as a famous general, he knew well how to provoke an enemy's anger.
Li Guanyi felt that chuckle said it all, along with that lazy, spectating demeanor, nothing of the past grandeur and openness, making him want to violently thrash this five-hundred-year-old Old Man by the collar.
After losing so many times, of course, he wanted to give up.
But the power of Entering Realm, even once called the strongest in the Entering Realm, both a desire and repeated defeats fueled his unwillingness to give up, and in this era, would there still be people like the Third Prince of Tie Le?
Naturally, there were.
If he encountered one in reality, wouldn't he be truly cleaved by a blade?
Li Guanyi gripped his saber, his past experiences with intense poison giving him a high tolerance to pain, he gripped the saber tightly and then suddenly stepped forward. The saber crafted in Central Plains style collided once more with the scimitar of Tie Le in this unknown place.
Even if it was just a memory from the past, even if it was limited to methods before the Entering Realm, his opponents were once heroes standing at the pinnacle of their region in that era, and under such direct oppression, Li Guanyi's saber technique rapidly grew.
From initially being instantly killed to now making the Third Prince of Tie Le employ his stepping skills.
It was still the Breaking Army Eight Sabers.
Great success was still great success.
But Li Guanyi felt a deeper understanding of the saber technique.
Yet every time he felt this, the Third Prince of Tie Le would throw a trick that would 'kill' him, making Li Guanyi doubt that the previous feeling was just a self-consoling illusion. Not knowing how much time had passed, gradually, from only being oppressed, Li Guanyi could fight back.
Eventually, he could exchange moves with the Third Prince of Tie Le.
General Xue looked at the dense text in front of him, his smile unchanged.
Only life and death could temper a person.
In a battlefield, surviving one fight made one an old soldier, three allowed leading new soldiers to kill the enemy; this was the baptism of death on a person's spirit and also on saber technique.
Li Guanyi's Breaking Army Eight Sabers had the flavor of a hundred-battles old soldier.
Sophisticated, fierce.
And also, with a killing intent to definitely cleave the opponent.
Anyone would be infuriated by being 'killed' for so long.
A Li Guanyi who had 'died' countless times also finally realized his opponent's saber technique was swift. He must not fall into his rhythm. With steps under his feet, he heavily unfolded his saber technique, dragging the Third Prince of Tie Le into his own rhythm.
Suddenly, he delivered a heavy slash.
The Third Prince of Tie Le's saber was split open, and Li Guanyi barged into his opponent's guard.
The blade thrust toward his heart.
Suddenly, a low wolf howl echoed in his ears.
Ripples appeared in the surrounding void, a Gray Wolf with hair standing like steel appeared beside the Third Prince of Tie Le. The blade seemed to have pierced into a stagnant void, absolutely unable to thrust any further. The Third Prince of Tie Le roared angrily, attempting to grapple; Li Guanyi swiftly retreated, grabbed a longbow, and increased the distance between them, firing arrows continuously.
The arrows would veer off direction when approaching the vicinity of the Third Prince of Tie Le.
Impenetrable.
Dharma Form martial arts?!
General Xue said leisurely, "Ah, sorry about that, junior, I have been dead too long, my memory isn't what it used to be, almost forgot, the Third Prince of Tie Le is considered Innate Dharma Form. People from the Western Regions say he is the Gray Wolf beside the great Heavenly God, coming to unify the vast lands of the Western Regions."
"Until he was shot dead by me, people there always thought this way."
"You need to be careful,"
Li Guanyi's mouth twitched as he continuously shot arrows, all of which were blocked.
A pot of arrows fiercely shot out, getting closer and closer to the Third Prince.
His defense was about to be broken.
Eventually, the Third Prince of Tie Le charged forward.
With the Qi Mechanism misty in his eyes, Li Guanyi saw the Third Prince of Tie Le with his arms crossed like a battering ram, the Gray Wolf howling, and a White Tiger peeking out over the young man's shoulder, howling loudly. A faint trace of gold gleamed on his arrows, flowing and turning.
A chilling coldness and a golden wind.
Absolute Skill: A Single Cold Light Arrow.
Regrettably, the Dharma Form had not emerged, and the charging up of that arrow was not completed. He could only shoot it fiercely, the arrow spinning as it pierced through the Third Prince's Dharma Form. However, as the opponent's Dharma Form defense shattered, it released a tremendously powerful force, his crossed arms suddenly sweeping violently to the sides.
Li Guanyi only felt a blur before his eyes and was already sent flying.
It took him a while to come to his senses—just a bit more and he would have won. Clenching his fist, Li Guanyi couldn't help but utter a curse.
"Hmm, well fought."
"This move is called 'Gray Wolf Guardian.' It uses the Dharma Form as protection, capable of withstanding very powerful attacks, dispersing the force across the Dharma Form. When the Dharma Form's defense reaches its limit and shatters, it releases all the accumulated unfaded force."
"Offensive and defensive, a worthy defeat."
General Xue commented, marking it as correct.
"That's enough for today."
"You have been fighting for nearly two hours; if you continue, you will be mentally exhausted. Do you have Elixir Pills with you? If you take them now, your body will better absorb the medicinal power, helping your body recover and your physique to be further tempered."
Li Guanyi collapsed on the ground, gasping heavily.
Regrettably, he did not bring any Elixir Pills.
And it seemed General Xue had not prepared any Elixir Pills here either but instead walked over to the halted Third Prince of Tie Le and said, "I guess you probably don't feel like fighting anymore, how about this?"
"If you defeat the Third Prince of Tie Le within three days,"
"I'll have him teach you the 'Gray Wolf Guardian.' How does that sound?"
Clutching his chest and thinking about that maneuver rushing at him while fending off consecutive arrows, Li Guanyi gritted his teeth. He knew this was a big opportunity, and he decided to take it.
"Okay."
.........
After two hours of practicing with the saber, Li Guanyi was mentally and physically drained. Gauging the time, he jumped into the Shui Jian and swam towards the outside. The water in the Shui Jian was icy cold, but just as he was floating up, Li Guanyi's expression suddenly changed.
Unexpectedly, a sharp pain emanated from his chest!
It was the deadly poison.
Usually suppressed by the bronze tripod and Inner Qi, today, having exerted his Inner Strength for too long and without taking any Elixir Pills for an immediate restoration of Inner Strength and alleviating the exhaustion of his spirit and body, the deadly poison resurfaced. Li Guanyi's face paled as he clenched his teeth, forcibly enduring the excruciating pain. In the water, seeing a light, he swam powerfully towards it.
After getting out of the water, he breathed heavily, the intense pain causing him to stagger and sit on the ground, his face contorted and pale.
Li Guanyi's vision was blurred, and at the same time, the bronze tripod began to exert more energy, while the Inner Qi flowed, suppressing the long-accumulated poison which erupted for the first time. It was slowly subdued, and he heard footsteps, followed by a voice as calm and soothing as a stream.
"You've been poisoned,"
"It's nothing we can't handle. Please come here and rest for a while."
This voice seemed to have a calming magic, allowing Li Guanyi's mind to settle.
Weary, overwhelmed by the poison, he suddenly opened his eyes, only to realize that he had actually fallen asleep. The excruciating pain from the poison was gone, and he found himself wearing the same clothes he had in the cavern. The water had dried, and he lay on a rock, watching the stars fall, with a campfire beside him warming the air. A person clad in a simple hooded garment kneeled by the fire, flipping through scrolls.
Seeing his own clothes and weapon, Li Guanyi breathed a sigh of relief:
"Did you save me?"
The person's voice was still tranquil: "No, your own body is capable enough to suppress the toxin. It's just the extreme exhaustion that gave the poison a chance."
"You are..."
The hooded person said, "The Heavenly Star Phenomenon in the sky reveals all the omens, and a chaotic era is coming. You are one of those destined to initiate this chaotic era. I follow an ancient covenant to find you."
Hearing this, Li Guanyi thought of Old Man Deng who had climbed the wall a few days ago and declined politely:
"Fate is still too mysterious."
The hooded person replied, "It is not some profound and mysterious power, but rather something like spring flowers and autumn leaves, only incomprehensible to ordinary people hence seen as mystical. You have already triggered the Heavenly Star Phenomenon's Fate Grid; please allow me to show you the origin of this power."
The person closed the book in his hands, placed a fallen leaf inside, and stood up to approach Li Guanyi.
Kneeling there, he reached out his hand:
"Give me your hand, it won't take long, just a moment."
Li Guanyi extended his right hand, and the person held the young man's palm with both hands.
Suddenly, the White Tiger Dharma Form on the bronze tripod brightly lit up.
The White Tiger Seven Stars in the sky were brighter than usual, while at Wind Listening Pavilion, the Divine Weapon roared in the night wind, causing the old man to open his eyes again. Li Guanyi watched as starlight emerged from the palm of his hand; what was initially just an Imprint of the White Tiger Dharma Form slowly brightened up, becoming more complete, until it appeared under the starlight.
Starlight fell.
The White Tiger Dharma Form appeared on Li Guanyi's shoulder.
Under the starlit sky, it displayed itself fully, excitedly shaking its body.
The person withdrew his hand and slowly took off his hood, revealing silver-white hair cascading down, a face too beautiful to seem earthly, with brown eyes and a mysterious and intricate golden pattern on his forehead. His voice was tranquil and calm, without any Ripples, and he lowered his hands.
"My name is Shaking Light, a disciple of the East Continent Stargazing School."
"Following the Heavenly Mandate and the guidance of the stars."
"I have come to find you, to fulfill the destiny prescribed by the Heavenly Star Phenomenon."