Chapter 67: Chapter 2: Sharing All That One Has, Imparting Profound Knowledge
As mentioned previously, the save/load mechanism of the Kunlun Mirror follows a certain “resume from breakpoint” rule.
For instance, with the Shushan storyline, whenever you saved and left last time, you would pick up from the same point upon loading next time.
By now, Qiu Changtian and Luo Yan had both completed the Pavilion trial, while Ling Yunpo’s timeline in Shushan was still at the moment right before the Pavilion was about to open.
One day, after finishing a sparring session with Senior Sister An, Ling Yunpo saw a streak of sword light flash across the sky, descending upon Qingluo Peak.
Ling Yunpo took a closer look and saw it was Lin Duanshan, the chief disciple of the Golden Peak and a sycophant of his sister’s.
“Senior Sister An!” As soon as Lin Duanshan landed, he hurried over and said, “The East Sea Pavilion has opened this morning, with disciples from both Kunlun Penglai and our sect entering the secret realm for the trial.”
“The Emei Golden Summit has sent a message, saying that as we are all from the Orthodox Sect, we cannot lag behind others, hence the Demon Locking Tower must be opened ahead of schedule.”
“Accordingly, the Shushan Sect’s grand competition is likely to be brought forward as well!”
“I understand,” An Zhisu replied with a composed demeanor, but Lin Duanshan couldn’t contain his impatience and turned to glare at Ling Yunpo, saying, “The big competition is imminent, are you ready?”
“Without a single doubt!” Ling Yunpo replied with a sneer.
Lin Duanshan was slightly startled, then he said seriously:
“Since Senior Sister An wants you to participate in the Demon Locking Tower trial, then according to Shushan’s rules, you must secure a place on the Immortal Sword Ranking in this sect competition.”
“On the Immortal Sword Ranking, the strong and weak are clearly delineated. The chief disciple, which is your Senior Sister An, occupies a tier of her own; the second to fourth places form one tier; the fifth to fiftieth places another tier; and from the fiftieth place onwards, yet another tier.”
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“Within the same tier, the power levels are similar, and the ranking of positions often changes; but if you rise one tier, there is a crushing advantage in strength, making it extremely difficult to win a sword fight against them.”
Lin Duanshan paused slightly before continuing earnestly:
“With your talent in the sword arts, you should aim for a position below fifth place and above the fiftieth.”
“If you end up outside the top fifty, then you would be bringing shame to Qingluo Peak…”
An Zhisu cut him off, speaking indifferently:
“Our peak has such a bad reputation already, what does it matter if we lose a little more face? Even if I secure a position above the fiftieth place, the other peaks would not change their opinion of us.”
“All I want is for Ling to participate in the Demon Locking Tower trial and successfully undergo the Marrow Cleansing at the Blood Pool. As for those empty honors, they are dispensable.”
Lin Duanshan was left speechless by her retort, suddenly at a loss for words.
As the chief disciple of the Golden Peak lineage and deeply trusted by his master, he often had the final say in matters concerning the Golden Peak.
Moreover, with his serious personality, he has always been stringent with his junior brothers and sisters, driving them on with severity and harshness.
As for something like “tactful tone” or “encouraging teaching,” impossible, not in ten thousand years.
Therefore, when facing a senior sister like An Zhisu who was protectively irrational, he found himself a bit helpless.
Fortunately, Ling Yunpo didn’t let the awkward moment last too long. Or perhaps, not willing to let him continue interacting with Senior Sister An, he said:
“Senior Sister, I of course understand your intentions.”
“Regarding the challenge for ranking positions, anyone with a lower rank can challenge those above.”
“In other words, if I secure a certain position, I must have the strength to defeat everyone below that rank, otherwise, even if I manage a lucky victory, I wouldn’t be able to maintain the position afterward.”
“But Brother Lin is also right! Ever since our master started his retreat, hasn’t our Qingluo Peak gone from being in a tight spot from facing numerous enemies to not being lightly regarded anymore, all thanks to you, Senior Sister, fighting each battle, forcibly carving out our reputation?”
“Keep in mind that even a bad reputation is still a reputation! If the name that Qingluo Peak has built up were to be ruined by me, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself either!”
[Indomitable Persona, Synchronization Value +1.]
After he finished speaking with fervor and conviction, even An Zhisu’s beautiful eyes reddened, and Lin Duanshan nodded repeatedly. Both were momentarily subdued by his spirited words, speechless.
[Indomitable Persona, Synchronization Value +1.]
“Junior Brother,” after a long while, Senior Sister An finally said softly, “since you have such lofty ambitions, naturally I won’t meddle.”
“Since that is the case, let Senior Brother Lin teach you about the Shushan Sect Competition.”
Ling Yunpo: ???
Wait a minute, I just didn’t want him to interact with Senior Sister anymore, not that I wanted to interact with him!
However, Lin Duanshan turned a blind eye to his inner turmoil and burst into laughter as he said:
“Very good! Since Ling Junior Brother aspires for greatness, I will not be stingy with my skills and will pass on all I know.”
“There’s no time like the present, let’s start fencing right away!”
………
Of course, the so-called fencing was just the very ordinary clashing of Flying Swords, with no special meaning.
If the Swordsmanship of Qingluo Peak’s Seven Kills emphasizes “striking first to gain control” and “speed is unbeatable”,
then the Myriad Forms Sword line of the Golden Peak values “going with the flow” and “endless variability”.
There are countless paths in swordsmanship, none of which are absolutely superior or inferior to the others; ultimately, it all depends on the Sword Immortal’s own true strength.
Because they needed to simulate the Shushan Competition, Lin Duanshan directly used his cultivation level, wielding the Kaiyue Sword with Marrow Cleansing Rank True Yuan, delivering strikes powerful and heavy, forcing Ling Yunpo into a defense that made it extremely difficult for him to fend off the attacks, repeatedly pushing him to his limits.
An Zhisu silently observed from the side, and whenever Ling Yunpo looked like he couldn’t hold on, she would place her hand on the hilt of the Frostfall Sword, making Lin Duanshan instantly break out in a cold sweat and feel chilling fear.
“Ahem, after entering the Marrow Cleansing Rank, I’ve got a rough idea of your strength level.”
Feeling that if he continued fighting, the probability of being killed would only get higher, Lin Duanshan immediately chose to pull back from the brink and put away the Kaiyue Sword, saying earnestly:
“As I expected, as long as you perform to your stable strength during the Shushan Competition, ranking within the top fifty should be no problem for you.”
Hearing Lin Duanshan make his prediction, An Zhisu agreed with a radiant smile:
“Indeed, with your ability, Junior Brother, there really is no need for too much worry.”
“Senior Sister only hopes that you won’t put too much pressure on yourself. The reputation of Qingluo Peak is not important; what’s important is whether you can advance in your swordsmanship and improve your cultivation level.”
“Indeed,” Lin Duanshan said with a straight face, “knowing yourself and knowing your enemy is crucial, aside from your own strength level, you also need to understand the strength of other competitors.”
“Currently, on the Immortal Sword Ranking, only the top four seats can be said to have a stable advantage over you, so let’s start with those top four.”
“The top of the list ‘Frostfall’ is your Senior Sister An. Since her induction, she has never been defeated, whether in official seat challenges or private sword duels.”
“You are all too aware of her combat style and strength level, so there’s no need for me to elaborate further.”
“Second on the list ‘Cang Tie’ is Duan Fenhai, the Chief Disciple of Yellow Dragon Peak. Originally from a family of well-off heroes, his approach is not reckless or vicious; instead, he is known for his calm demeanor and vast experience, surpassing you in every aspect of quality.”
“Third on the list ‘Kaiyue’ is me, we’ll skip that for now; fourth on the list ‘Fragmented Moon’ is Guan Shanyue, the Chief Disciple of Green Bamboo Peak.”
“She hails from the Longxi Guan Family, a Sword Immortal Clan, possessing numerous tricky Sword Control Secret Techniques. Even I am not fully confident against her, let alone you.”
Lin Duanshan spoke bluntly but noticed An Zhisu’s livid expression and quickly added:
“Of course, I’m saying the you right now is not their match… given time, with your talent in sword arts, your achievements won’t be far off.”
“All in all, if during the drawing phase of the Shushan Competition, you happen to draw one of the top four seats, just concede directly. There’s no need to stubbornly fight to the end.”
“The Shushan Competition is divided into two parts. The first half is an elimination round to advance in rank, where matches are randomly drawn, and losing means demotion while winning means promotion.”
“The top hundred disciples who finally advance will be placed on the Immortal Sword Ranking according to the results of the bouts.”
“The second half is the challenge to climb the ranking; all disciples can choose to challenge competitors ranked higher than themselves on the list, ascending to that seat with a victory, with no punishment for losing.”
“That is to say, apart from the top four seats, you need to remember the fighting style and sword habits of the other ninety-six competitors currently on the Immortal Sword Ranking.”
“Because, in the upcoming Shushan Competition, you might encounter them in the draw phase, or they might single you out for elimination during the challenge phase!”