Chapter 277 – Meeting Acquaintances Again (1/2)
The flying sword controlled by a mere sixth layer Qi Practitioner was nothing in Wei Zhongyuan’s eyes. It could not even pierce his protective true qi.
Without even looking at the Clear Stream sword, he raised his hand and unleashed a blast towards the flying sword.
With a boom, rocks shot off in all directions and huge trees snapped, but there was still no trace of Li Qingshan.
Wei Zhongyuan frowned. Li Qingshan’s technique of erasing his aura was even more powerful than he had previously imagined.
Li Qingshan stood nearby with Xiao An in his arms. There was not even a speck of dust on him. He formed a seal with his hand and wielded it like a sword, drawing and pointing with it.
The Clear Stream sword cut through the air silently, stabbing towards Wei Zhongyuan’s throat with even greater speed.
Ding! It stabbed into the protective true qi and was unable to advance even an inch further.
“Overconfident!” Wei Zhongyuan said in disdain. He reached towards the Clear Stream sword. As long as he caught the flying sword, he could use the aura on the sword to find Li Qingshan.
The Clear Stream sword suddenly rippled like water, inching through the protective true qi.
Li Qingshan was overjoyed. He poured his strength into the Clear Stream sword in a hurry, and with a flash, it turned into a green streak of light and pierced the protective true qi, brushing past Wei Zhongyuan’s face.
Wei Zhongyuan touched the tiny nick on his cheek. He was shaken inside and furious. If he had not tilted his head in time, his head would have been pierced.
Li Qingshan only found out then that the Clear Stream sword could pierce protective true qi as well. Although this feature was simple and nothing special, it made the sword a true weapon for killing when combined with its speed. It truly deserved its status as a high grade spiritual artifact. However, he had failed to kill Wei Zhongyuan in a single stroke then, which was quite a pity.
However, he would be dreaming if he wanted to kill a tenth layer Qi Practitioner like this. What he was trying to do was to completely agitate Wei Zhongyuan, which would give him an opportunity to strike.
The Clear Stream sword turned around and shot over again.
Wei Zhongyuan no longer handled it carelessly. He used a protective technique. A faint, oval-shaped membrane of light appeared around him. As expected, the Clear Stream sword struggled to pierce it so easily now.
If he forced it through, the sword would probably just be caught by Wei Zhongyuan. As a result, he made the sword linger around to disturb Wei Zhongyuan. It was not like Wei Zhongyuan could find him anyway. He had plenty of time to waste on him.
The Clear Stream sword turned into a green flash. Gradually, Wei Zhongyuan became agitated.
“The Glorious Sun of Brilliance Illuminates the Four Directions!”
The vegetation yellowed and withered, beginning to burn. Thick billows of smoke rose up.
If he used this move on regular people, he could turn several thousand of them blind. However, the effect on Qi Practitioners was nothing special. It just covered an extremely large range.
Wei Zhongyuan looked around and spotted a blurry figure within the endless light. Raising his arm, a shining sword, three feet long, had already appeared in his hand. The name of the sword was called Three Yang, and it was a high grade spiritual artifact. It had turned into a streak of white light as it shot over like a bolt of lightning.
“Oh no! Clear River sword, go!” Li Qingshan called out.
Clang! The green flash struck the white light, revealing the weapon.
With one bigger and one smaller, the two flying swords entangled with one another, producing a messy string of clings and clangs.
The Three Yang sword was swift and powerful. It contained great force, such that it would almost knock away the Clear Stream sword with each clash.
This was the first time Li Qingshan had clashed with someone using flying swords. He only controlled it based on his feelings, but he was severely lacking in both experience and technique. The Clear Stream sword was forced backwards, and in the blink of an eye, the Three yang sword had already arrived before him.
Killing intent erupted in Wei Zhongyuan’s eyes. True qi swelled in his sea of qi, and the Three Yang sword shone brightly, sending the Clear Stream sword over a dozen meters away. It sliced towards Li Qingshan’s legs in a hurry. He had made up his mind to directly cripple Li Qingshan.
With two clangs, two white prayer beads flew out and sent the Three Yang sword flying.
“You can actually control three spiritual artifacts at the same time!” Wei Zhongyuan’s expression changed. While regular cultivators could refine multiple spiritual artifacts for use, they would never use all of them in actual combat. In particular, spiritual artifacts like flying swords required even more concentration. Their true qi would disperse if they split their focus, so they would be better off just focusing on a single spiritual artifact.
However, the two prayer beads that sent the Three Yang sword flying were heavy. They were instead even more powerful than the Clear Stream sword, which threw Wei Zhongyuan into disbelief. Never did he imagine that this actually came from Xiao An, as she seemed to possess no cultivation at all.
Li Qingshan ignored him. Instead of retreating, he advanced. With the Wind-entwining blade in hand, he shot towards Wei Zhongyuan like an arrow. After lurking around for so long, this was the first attack he had delivered in person. He seemed like he was unstoppable.
Wei Zhongyuan only beamed with joy. He was actually approaching him. Did he really think he could make up for the difference between the sixth and tenth layers just because he was a Body Practitioner? However, Wei Zhongyuan still received him seriously. His figure stood as steady as a mountain as he spread his arms forward. White true qi rapidly gathered.
Behind Li Qingshan, Xiao An hid without moving. She held a white bone sword in one hand and a supreme grade talisman in the other.
The distance of fifty paces could be covered in a mere moment; the boundary between life and death was only separated by a moment too.
“Stop!” A yell rang out from the sky, and a metal shield fell down, arriving right between Wei Zhongyuan and Li Qingshan. It turned into a wall of metal.
Li Qingshan secretly lamented over the destroyed opportunity. He kicked off the wall gently and sprang back, arriving in the air. The Clear Stream sword arrived below his feet, and he stood there, clasping his hands. “Senior sister Han, what brings you here?”
The person happened to be Han Qiongzhi. She piloted a flying shuttle with a few familiar faces behind her.
Han Qiongzhi said, “I’m the vice leader of the law enforcement team of the Academy of the Hundred Schools. I’m in charge of the public security around the entrance examinations. You’ve made such a great disturbance, so how can I not come and check?”
The entrance examination was when the Qi Practitioners from various places converged. There would be plenty of incidents when enemies met with great hostility. Some people would become tempted by wealth, resorting to murder and robbery, and there were even cases of people breaking out into a fight over a slight dispute. As a result, the Academy of the Hundred Schools arranged the disciples of legalism into law enforcement teams to maintain order.
The leader was obviously Hua Chengzan. When a bright flash in the distance occurred, regular people would have never been able to sense it during daytime, while Qi Practitioners would not care even if they sensed it. However, Hua Chengzan immediately sensed that something was amiss and realised that he had made a miscalculation, ordering Han Qiongzhi to come over and provide support in a hurry.
Han Qiongzhi turned around and faced Wei Zhongyuan. She immediately became slightly stern. “Wei Zhongyuan, do you plan on murdering a Hawkwolf guard here?” She was acquainted with Wei Zhongyuan, but she had never liked him. He was already so old but only at the tenth layer, so he was not someone worthy of her attention. As a result, she spoke without the slightest hint of courtesy.
Wei Zhongyuan withdrew the Three yang sword reluctantly and said with his head raised, “This is our personal grievance. It’s got nothing to do with the Hawkwolf Guard.”
“Your esteemed sect master Qiu has already agreed to dismiss all grievances with Li Qingshan. If you keep on clinging onto them, then sect master Qiu will never spare you even if the Hawkwolf Guard spares you.” Han Qiongzhi did find Wei Zhongyuan to be irritating, but the Sect of Clouds and Rain was still one of the more powerful sects in the Clear River prefecture. Only Wang Pushi had the authority to pass orders against a vice sect master. Unless Wei Zhongyuan actually killed Li Qingshan in front of them, Wang Pushi would probably be reluctant to fall out with the Sect of Clouds and Rain over a single Black Wolf guard.