Chapter 117 — Sword Sweeps the Stars
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Before the hall, the fourteen scholars were silent; not one withdrew.
The boy attendant smiled. "Since no one has withdrawn, this trial may begin.
Master. " Daoist Lingyun walked out from within the hall, his gaze sweeping once over Shen Mu and the others, and smiled. "The earlier trials tested your fundamentals, your ingenuity, and your temperament. This trial tests your strength. You are but scholars, yet to have come this far is already extraordinary; each of you possesses formidable power.
As the hall master of Chunyang Hall, I shall take the field myself and test you all.
" The scholars exchanged glances. One of them murmured, "That's unfair. . . " Daoist Lingyun's eyes flickered, and he chuckled.
"Of course it is unfair.
You come from primary schools and grand academies, and cannot be compared with the Grand Academy. I, however, am a Guozijian of the Grand Academy; I have read every scripture in the Grand Academy's repository, and even in the same realm I would surpass you by no small measure.
So for this test, you need only withstand three moves against me. If you are not defeated in three moves, you pass.
" He smiled warmly. "I have sealed my own cultivation and will retain only the Five Luminaries realm; you may set your minds at ease. " At these words, the scholars all breathed a sigh of relief; if the contest was between the same realm, they feared no one.
After all, in their own primary schools and grand academies, they were all outstanding warriors and martial masters; they had that confidence.
Daoist Lingyun also smiled faintly, reassured.
Though it was the same realm, though it was three moves, there was ample room to maneuver within it.
Across three moves, he could easily go easy on someone without betraying the slightest flaw, or he could eliminate other scholars in three moves.
He was, after all, a Guozijian of the Grand Academy; in the same realm he would not claim to be invincible, but he was a rarity in the world. "Ding Shan, you come first. " Daoist Lingyun sealed his cultivation and said gravely, "Boy, fetch the wooden swords. " The boy brought two wooden sword cases and set them upright on the ground.
Daoist Lingyun pointed a finger, and a thread of yuanqi fine as a hair flew out, curling a wooden sword from one of the cases. "This case holds thirty-six swords, well suited to the Tiangang Sword Art; you may carry it on your back for ease of use.
As for me, a single sword is enough. " The scholar named Ding Shan stepped forward, slung the case onto his back, and bowed to Daoist Lingyun. Then he shouted, activating the Tiangang Sword Art, and wooden swords flew one after another from the case. The Tiangang Sword Art was required of scholars everywhere; Shen Mu had already seen it on the tower ship flying to the capital.
The first time he saw it, he had been shaken, marveling that the warriors of Jingping were all extraordinary, that any warrior at all could display such exquisite swordsmanship. But after seeing that nearly every scholar cultivated the Tiangang Sword Art, his thought became that he could beat ten such scholars with one hand.
Ding Shan unleashed the Tiangang Sword Art, thirty-six wooden swords whirling up and down with no small power, yet the moment he began the technique, Shen Mu knew he could not withstand three moves from Daoist Lingyun, could not withstand even one. A sharp hiss. Daoist Lingyun drove his flying sword with qi and thrust; the wooden sword, viciously cunning, pierced through the thirty-six swords like lightning and struck Ding Shan's chest, sending the youth flying backward to crash to the ground with a thud, where he lay for a long while without rising.
"His cultivation is not weak," Daoist Lingyun said with a nod and a smile.