Chapter 403: Chapter 36: Senior Sister First, Me Second
Since An Zhisu had become angry, it was not good for everyone to continue discussing Qiu Changtian’s illustrious achievements; instead, they began to seriously discuss his intelligence.
“This Qiu Changtian’s most famous tactic is the Five Thunder True Law,” Lin Duanshan explained in detail. “Thunder Cultivators were once a sect of cultivators, ranking alongside Sword Cultivators, but they slowly declined over the years.”
“The reason is simple: the Thunder Method is extremely powerful, and the cultivation process is especially perilous. One small misstep could damage the body, or cause a major shift in character, which is why fewer and fewer people practice it.”
“It is said that nowadays, apart from the general outline of the Five Thunder True Law retained by the major sects, even the basic Thunder Spell techniques have been scattered and lost.”
“If that’s the case,” Duan Fenhai curiously asked, “then how did Qiu Changtian manage to learn the Five Thunder True Law?”
“At his level of status and realm, as long as he is determined to search for clues, he can always find some traces,” Guan Shanyue said leisurely. “However, my view is different from Brother Lin. In my opinion, what makes Qiu Changtian most formidable is not the Five Thunder True Law, but that he has no weaknesses.”
“No weaknesses?” Lin Duanshan pondered.
“His Qi Refining Technique is the Immortal Sect’s secret ‘Nine Heavens Clear Entrance True Mantra,’ which renders his True Yuan extraordinarily robust and profound,” stated Guan Shanyue calmly. “In Daoist Magic, he practices the Five Thunder True Law, which is an extremely powerful method of attack, so powerful that even a Tenth Rank Flying Sword cannot withstand a strike of Thunder Method.”
“Even in Sword Control Technique, his swordsmanship is not inferior to you or me. It is said that since the Phoenix Immortal joined as an entry-level disciple, she spars with him every day, and to this day, she has not won against him even once!”
Duan Fenhai secretly marveled and couldn’t help but glance at An Zhisu.
Because the most famous thing about this Weed-Cutting Sword Immortal from Shushan is that up to this day, in all her sparring with disciples from the Various Peaks, she has never suffered a single defeat… It seems that this Kunlun’s Qiu Changtian must also be a formidable person, similar in caliber to An Zhisu.
Annoyed by the conversation, An Zhisu turned her head and said to Ling Yunpo:
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“Junior Brother, don’t be alarmed by their alarming talk. No matter how formidable Qiu Changtian is, he still has only two arms and one head, right? He hasn’t even formed his Golden Core, so how can he be without weaknesses?”
Ling Yunpo internalized a laugh, but with a determined and unyielding expression, he said:
“Naturally. If I am fortunate enough to encounter him at the Great Competition in White Jade Capital, I will certainly ask him for a lesson.”
Seeing the master-apprentice pair jesting and laughing, completely unconcerned about the Chief Disciple of the Foundation Establishment Realm of Kunlun, Lin Duanshan admired their attitude and said:
“Apart from Qiu Changtian, his junior sister Xu Yinglian is also not an easy one to deal with.”
“Aside from the ‘Nine Heavens Clear Entrance True Mantra,’ Xu Yinglian also has a mastery of the Great Bright Fire. It can scorch mountains and boil seas, melt gold and smelt iron, which in some ways makes it even more difficult to deal with than Qiu Changtian’s Five Thunder True Law,” he said.
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.
If one were to ask what the Shushan Sword Immortals detested the most, it would be magical treasures that Flying Swords can’t break through, as well as these kinds of wide-range Daoist Magic techniques.
After all, whether the opponent attacks with Flying Swords or magical treasures, one can at least use their Life-bound Sword Artifact to block.
But against this kind of widespread bombing Daoist Magic, the Flying Sword itself is definitely powerless, and one must use Sword Dao Techniques to counter—which for a Shushan Sword Immortal feels like having one’s strength countered and being forced to fight with one’s weaknesses, making the combat extremely frustrating.
“Her Great Bright Flame technique, even if practiced skillfully, still requires time to invoke,” An Zhisu said in a grave voice. “As long as you launch an aggressive attack from the beginning, keeping her suppressed so that she has no time to invoke her magic, wouldn’t that work?”
Lin Duanshan felt somewhat embarrassed and could only say helplessly:
“That’s easier said than done. To maintain suppression, one must far surpass the opponent in swordsmanship attainment. As far as I know, the Phoenix Immortal’s swordsmanship is certainly not weak…”
He hesitated mid-sentence.
Because Lin Duanshan suddenly remembered that strength and weakness are relative.
To them, Xu Yinglian’s swordsmanship is strong; but it may not be the case for An Zhisu. Maybe according to her standard, our swordsmanship might not even catch her eye.
Seeing that the conversation could not go on, Ling Yunpo could only once again smooth things over and said:
“Senior Sister is right. Facing Xu Yinglian’s Great Bright Fire, if we cannot attack first and take the initiative, allowing her to unleash the Great Bright Fire, then the match is as good as half lost,” he said.
“Once the Great Bright Fire is released, we can only try to counter it with Sword Dao Techniques. But mere resistance means competing in True Yuan consumption, and our opponent practices the ‘Nine Heavens Clear Entrance True Mantra’. We definitely cannot outmatch her in energy depletion.”
“Therefore, quickly pinpointing Xu Yinglian’s location and defeating her under the pressure of the Great Bright Fire is where the remaining half of the chance at victory lies.”
This statement wasn’t problematic, after all, the might of Xu Yinglian’s Great Bright Fire had left even Qiu Changtian without a solution back then—he eventually won by locking onto the opponent’s position with the Kunlun Mirror.
Consequently, everyone nodded in agreement, starting to covertly assess which of their Flying Swords’ wide-reaching Daoist Magic could counter the Great Bright Fire, or locate the opponent within a sea of fire.
“In my opinion, Kunlun only has these two who are difficult to deal with. The strength of the other cultivators is merely on par with ours,” said Duan Fenhai with a sneer. “As for Penglai, they’re decent at drawing symbols and Artifact Refining, but in a match, they’re truly not worth fearing.”
“That may not be necessarily true,” Lin Duanshan retorted with a frown. “I’ve heard that Penglai has a Luo Yan who excels in both swordsmanship and Daoist Magic…”
“If he’s so outstanding, why didn’t he show off his skills when Penglai was besieged last time, resulting in his reputation being insignificant to this day?” An Zhisu rebutted.
Lin Duanshan was at a loss for words; in fact, he had gathered a rough understanding of the situation in Yuqing View through his niece Lin Ruohu.
Lin Ruohu didn’t withhold information and even inflated the capabilities of Luo Yan and others, but Lin Duanshan initially doubted his niece’s strength and, therefore, took her evaluation with a grain of suspicion.
However, since An Zhisu had put it that way, everyone else was left without an argument, so after exchanging a few more pleasantries, they all took their leave.
“Senior Sister,” Ling Yunpo expressed his disapproval after everyone left. “Why so arrogant? Even if you don’t take the cultivators from Kunlun or Penglai seriously, you shouldn’t have said it outright, leaving everyone unable to save face.”
Caught without a sound argument, An Zhisu could only reply softly:
“I was wrong this time. It’s just that, the White Jade Capital’s grand competition hasn’t begun, and we haven’t even seen the people. Why are we scaring ourselves all of a sudden?”
“Senior Sister makes some sense,” Ling Yunpo acknowledged reluctantly. “But as far as I know, neither Qiu Changtian nor Luo Yan are mediocre. It’s best not to underestimate them.”
“Is that so?” An Zhisu pondered. “So what they said is true?”
Ling Yunpo let out a wry smile.
So Senior Sister, you really thought they were just trying to spook us? My two other identities are quite brave, you know!
“Let’s not worry about that anymore,” An Zhisu dismissed nonchalantly, waving her hand. “Master said, no matter how strong or weak the enemy is, we must engage with the Palm Sword to be certain.”
“The reason why I was so blunt just now was only to avoid others getting cocky at our expense, undermining our own prestige.”
“As long as you don’t believe their words, Junior Brother, and face those people with fear during the competition, I won’t say anymore afterward.”
Ling Yunpo had nothing to say in response.
After all this talk, it turns out it was just because Senior Sister was afraid I’d lose confidence, hence her deliberately disagreeing with Lin Duanshan and the others?
“But with Senior Sister’s strength, you truly are in a position to look down on them,” Ling Yunpo said with a smile.
“Don’t mention it, Junior Brother,” An Zhisu said with a laugh. “I’m not really that confident either. But no matter how powerful the opponent is, we just need to give our all during the competition.”
“This time in the White Jade Capital competition, let’s strive hard to take both the first and second places, giving our Master, who is in seclusion, something to be proud of!”
I was just criticizing the Shushan higher-ups for being arrogant, aiming to seize half of the seats in the White Jade Capital competition, and here my Senior Sister is even more audacious in booking the first and the second places directly!
Although internally critical, Ling Yunpo had to play along with his unyielding persona and couldn’t disagree with her, so he asserted firmly and resolutely,
“Good! If Senior Sister takes the first place this time, I shall secure the second place in the competition!”