Chapter 339: 56th Chapter: Ling’s Three Moves, Overreaching Leads to Failure
Flying Sword was quite troubled.
Senior Sister An was by no means “socially inept,” for many a time not only could she observe others’ words and actions, but she could also keenly perceive the hidden good or ill will behind their speech.
To put it precisely, she should now be called “naive and straightforward.”
Even when she detected hostility from others, she did not know how to make amends or respond.
The reason was that Su Jian had never taught her these social tactics.
Flying Sword highly suspected that Su Jian was very likely a tough and straightforward old man, and his methods of teaching his daughter probably included stuff like “When in doubt, start with a slash.”
What could even the smartest children do if they were raised by parents who didn’t know how to educate them?
Senior Sister An, with a cold face, came down from the stage and approached Flying Sword, only then showing a somewhat panic-stricken and guilty expression, as if she had made a mistake:
“Junior Brother, I…”
“Senior Sister, it’s not your fault,” Flying Sword had to strike a resolute pose, interrupting her apology then clenching his fist and saying, “It was my own faulty thinking. It seems we need to keep working hard to dissolve the prejudice the Various Peaks have against Qingluo Peak!”
Being touched by his fiery spirit, An Zhisu also perked up and said:
“Alright, what do we do next?”
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“It’s simple.” Flying Sword thought for a moment, then said, “Don’t mind what others think. Whenever you face an opponent, first ask if they want to admit defeat.”
“If they surrender immediately, that spares us the trouble.”
“If they refuse to surrender, then use a slightly higher level of strength than your opponent and exchange a few blows back and forth with them, then ask if they wish to continue.”
“If the opponent realizes the gap in strength and admits defeat gracefully, that will settle it.”
“If they still refuse to submit, then Senior Sister, you go all out and knock them out of the arena directly.”
“These kind of people often have a high-and-mighty attitude. After you step down, you ask them if they want to discuss the insights from the battle. If they are wise, they will take the opportunity to descend the ladder you offer, and have a discussion with you about swordsmanship theory, which will smooth things over.”
“I understand.” An Zhisu nodded seriously, then began to repeatedly memorize “do you want to admit defeat,” “do you want to continue,” “do you want to discuss,” committing them to memory.
Flying Sword went to draw lots, and his opponent turned out to be Duan Fenhai.
Duan Fenhai stepped onto the stage directly, saying coldly:
“Flying Sword Junior Brother, let’s fight!”
“I wouldn’t dare to refuse!” Flying Sword responded with equal resolution, ascending the stage.
Senior Sister An, seeing her junior brother about to battle Duan Fenhai, immediately wanted to go and watch, only to be intercepted by Bi Sheng halfway there.
“Senior Sister An!” Bi Sheng had already retrieved her defeated demeanor, and simply stated earnestly and firmly, “I know that I am too weak right now, and I will not make unreasonable complaints or blame you. After returning, I will train hard without ceasing, hoping to be worthy of your full effort next time!”
“Oh, alright, alright.” An Zhisu said distractedly, intending to continue toward her junior brother.
“I’m serious!” Bi Sheng exclaimed angrily.
“I didn’t say you were being perfunctory.” An Zhisu frowned in displeasure.
After hesitating for a moment, Bi Sheng had no choice but to turn away reluctantly.
Just as An Zhisu was about to take another step forward, she heard the Golden Core True Person presiding over the event call out:
“An Zhisu, once you have rested, come draw lots!”
She stomped her foot, looking somewhat helpless, but still turned back to go draw her lot first.
As it happened, this time she drew Lin Duanshan.
But in a sense, it wasn’t a coincidence.
After all, ordinary Shushan disciples who drew her were simply delivering themselves on a platter, and the higher-ups certainly wouldn’t allow her to randomly slay her way through the crowd, cutting a swath to the end—they needed to arrange a graceful finale.
Lin Duanshan was the eldest disciple of Mount Jingang, and among the past trio of Lin, Duan, and Guan, he was the one with the most stable performance, having occupied the second seat on the Immortal Sword Ranking the most. Therefore, he had great prestige among Shushan’s Foundation Establishment Realm disciples.
In addition, his personal relationship with An Zhisu was also quite amicable, so even if he were to face the Weed-Cutting Sword Immortal and be defeated, it wouldn’t be too dismal of a defeat to deepen the psychological shadows of the audience—this had also become a routine step over the years.
Lin Duanshan stepped onto the stage and cupped his hands in greeting, signaling to the audience below in a friendly manner. The previously boisterous venue immediately fell silent.
An Zhisu also ascended the platform from the other side, recited the three incantations for her junior once more, and laughed, saying:
“Junior Brother Lin, would you care to admit defeat?”
Lin Duanshan was slightly startled. This… we haven’t even fought yet, and you’re asking me to concede?
Wait a minute, I’m not like those weaklings before, I’m Lin Duanshan!
He felt a surge of irritation, but with all eyes on him, he naturally couldn’t let it show, so he replied with a smile:
“Though I know I’m no match, I would at least like to try.”
“Good!” someone immediately called out from the audience.
To be fair, no one thought that Duan Shan, the Sword Immortal, could defeat the Weed-Cutting Sword Immortal, after all, the track record of previous years was right there.
However, Lin Duanshan’s composed and dignified manner earned him a lot of goodwill from the crowd, who couldn’t help but start hoping for a miraculous comeback, a stunning turnaround, to deflate the ferocity and grandeur of that Sword Immortal!
An Zhisu wasn’t surprised; she just nodded and then drew the Flying Smoke Sword swiftly, stabbing towards Lin Duanshan.
Lin Duanshan parried the attack, feeling the speed and physical strength behind his opponent’s sword. He thought to himself that Senior Sister An’s swordsmanship had greatly improved since their last trip to the Hundred Thousand Mountains at the Southern Border.
As the two exchanged moves, Lin Duanshan began to show signs of weakness.
However, he was already used to it, so while he manipulated his Flying Sword to entangle and skirmish with his opponent, he quickly analyzed the situation and deduced the sword path. But he could only hear An Zhisu ask once again:
“Junior Brother Lin, do you wish to continue?”
Lin Duanshan: ???
It took him a moment to realize she was certain that he had no chance of turning the tables, and she was giving him an out to save face, so he wouldn’t lose too badly later on!
But my rhythm hasn’t been disrupted yet, why are you so certain that I’ll lose?
He grew even more irritated inside, silently cursing a few times, but outwardly he said:
“Why not continue? Could it be that Senior Sister An, after so many hard-fought battles, can’t keep up with the stamina?”
When An Zhisu heard him say this, she realized that her question had backfired and that Lin Duanshan was somewhat irritated. She quickly elevated her level of swordsmanship.
Lin Duanshan’s defense was already shaky, and when faced with the sudden intensification of the offensive from the other side, he couldn’t hold out any longer and was immediately breached.
Kaiyue and the long soldier swords were knocked aside by the Harsh Cold Sword, and the Flying Smoke Sword took the opportunity to shoot in front of Lin Duanshan, spinning around to smack him directly flying with the flat of the sword.
Lin Duanshan did not expect his opponent to still have so much energy to spare; he was caught off guard and tumbled about on the ground like a gourd before eventually climbing up, his face covered in dirt.
“Senior Sister An, you!” His eyes were wide as if he was about to erupt, but upon considering the ever more terrifying strength of her swordsmanship, his anger was extinguished as quickly as it had flared. Unable to help feeling disheartened and desperate, he muttered, “How has the gap widened again?”
“Junior Brother Lin, would you like to exchange pointers?” An Zhisu jumped down from the platform, smiling as she asked.
“Exchange pointers?” Lin Duanshan gave a bitter smile, “In the past, I could still see where the gap lay, but now I can’t even gauge the true extent of Senior Sister’s skills. What benefit is there in further exchange?”
He clumsily cupped his hands in greeting, then called back Kaiyue and the long soldier swords, lifted his arm, and covered his face with his sleeve as he left.
The surrounding audience had not expected such a result. In previous years, although Brother Lin was defeated, he always went down fighting.
This time, however, he was completely dominated and then directly knocked out of the arena, with no chance to demonstrate his swordsmanship skills.
Although this was due to the huge disparity in strength between them, seeing Lin Duanshan’s woeful state stirred empathetic feelings among the crowd.
The spectators were quiet for a moment, then also turned to leave one by one.
An Zhisu stood there, her smile gradually freezing on her face.
After a long while, she turned with a touch of melancholy and walked towards the Ling Yunpo tournament platform.