Chapter 146 – Discussing the Sword (2/2)
At this moment, within the hall, only three principals from the six Ivy League schools remained.
The second round continued, gales of fists and raining swords continued, True Essence abounded chaotically; these were events happening within the Tower of Purging Dust and thus, rarely leaked out of the tower.
In the next few matches, Zhuang Huan Yu easily won against his opponent; Qi Jian and Guan Fei Bai from Li Shan Sword Sect also quickly gained their entry into the third round. The next person to enter the stage was that scholar from Scholartree Manor.
The youngest of the four from Scholartree Manor who were participating in this year’s Grand Examination, yet the strongest, Zhong Hui.
Standing upon the stone steps before the tower, looking at the scene of the match grounds, his expression became a little unsightly. At Scholartree Manor, he was, unsurprisingly, someone people focused on; even if the Grand Examination was a gathering of experts, logically speaking, with his match coming up, he should capture the attention of many examinees, yet, there was no one paying any attention to him, this made him feel very uncomfortable.
It wasn’t that the examinees didn’t care for him; a young expert ranked 9th upon the proclamation, he had the qualifications for making people notice him, but his opponent for this round wasn’t anyone famous, while the next match was one everyone was focused upon, hence, none of the gazes fell upon him, but instead fell upon two other locations.
The woodlands where Orthodox Academy were standing and the stream bank where the four disciples of Li Mountain were.
The next match was Tang Thirty-Six’s turn to enter the stage, Chen Chang Sheng was currently crouched upon the floor, discussing something with him incessantly, his hand held a branch, drawing and writing on the ground. Luo Luo was also crouching by the side, using her hands to prop up her chin, earnestly listening; Xuan Yuan Po stood before them, using his hulking body to shield them from the stares of the crowd.
Chen Chang Sheng was currently explaining some of the key aspects to Li Shan Sword Arts; this wasn’t an act of sharpening your spear at the moment of battle, but was targeted advice towards a specific opponent. He was using the key aspects to Li Shan Sword Arts and relating them to Liang Ban Hu’s well-known battles for an analysis, the drawings on the ground, lines made by the tree branch, were all sword manoeuvres.
Liang Ban Hu is the opponent Tang Thirty-Six was about to face.
“Your True Essence capacity and purity is definitely below that of the opponent’s.”
Chen Chang Sheng put down the branch and looked at the negligent expression on Tang Thirty-Six’s face, seriously saying: “Even if you haven’t been as lazy in the Capital as you had been back at Wen Shui, you should be aware of how diligent the disciples of Li Mountain are in their sword training, therefore, there’s no contesting the fact that you’re inferior to the opponent.”
Tang Thirty-Six threw out his hands, indicating that he didn’t think otherwise.
Chen Chang Sheng gave the stream bank a glance, continuing: “Your levels aren’t too different, without breaking through that barrier, differences at the upper stage of the Meditation Realm shouldn’t have much of an effect in battling, therefore, if you want to win, you can only concentrate upon your moves in order to make a difference.”
Tang Thirty-Six’s expression became serious, asking: “How should I proceed?”
Chen Chang Shen answered: “Seizing attacks; continuously seizing the opportunity to attack.”
Tang Thirty-Six’s eyebrow twitched: “Isn’t that the same tactic you and Xuan Yuan Po used in the first round?”
Chen Chang Sheng said: “It’s not the same, all seizing attacks are nothing more than feints, you have to prepare at least 20 moves in advance as manoeuvres you can chain together, not giving Liang Ban Hu any chance to think. Striving for a mistake in his judgement and once your sword momentum surges, he will definitely believe that you will use the Three Forms of Wen Shui, at this moment, an opportunity will rise.”
Speaking up to this point, he once again picked up the branch and then wrote a few words on the ground.
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“Junior brother and Tang Tang’s levels are fairly close, having practised at Orthodox Academy alongside Chen Chang Shen for such a long time, the level of his sword arts must have improved, it shouldn’t be weaker than yours. But his True Essence capacity and purity will definitely be inferior to yours and his tenacity will also be poorer.
Gou Han Shi extended his hand into the stream and cupped some fresh water, using it to wash his face. He gave a glance towards the woodlands, at the group from Orthodox Academy, then continued talking: “The most impressive thing about Tang Tang is actually his personality, he enjoys taking unconventional paths and is indeed remarkable when he’s determined; if I were Chen Chang Sheng, I would definitely place the only chance of winning on manoeuvres.”
Qi Jian was listening by the side, he couldn’t quite understand and asked: “Senior, if their swords arts are fairly equal, how could you rely upon the moves in order to win?”
“Sword manoeuvres rely upon sequencing, timing, choice and the momentum of your moves,” Gou Han Shi patiently explained.
Hearing those words, Guan Fei Bai thought back to his sword duel against Her Highness, Luo Luo, at the Ivy League gathering, silently nodding.
Liang Ban Hu looked towards the woodlands, his slightly tender looking face was full of calm confidence, he said: “Chen Chang Sheng must be giving him advice at this moment.”
“Correct.”
Gou Han Shi looked at him and said: “Chen Chang Sheng will definitely think of a way to allow Tang Tang to gather momentum through his sword manoeuvring, before finally utilising an unanticipated method to forcefully seek a chance of victory.”
He continued: “As said before, Tang Tang’s most impressive point is his obsessive determination, therefore, I would think that the move he uses after gathering momentum will not be the Three Forms of Wen Shui; that’s because even though those three moves are strong, they’re not decisive enough.”
Liang Ban Hu mused, thinking back to some of the sword scrolls he had seen at Li Mountain’s Sword Hall.
Guan Fei Bai pondered, noticing that if his senior brother’s conjecture was true, there really wouldn’t be any favourable methods for countering; if he were to be the one entering the stage to fight against Tang Tang, then the only thing he could really rely upon was using True Essence for a simple melee.
“Go for a melee,” Gou Han Shi said while looking at Liang Ban Hu.
Liang Ban Hu couldn’t quite understand; Guan Fei Bai was shocked, thinking to himself: “wasn’t this the most stupid method?”