Chapter 53: Lingfeng Sword Skill
"Hahaha, Guo the Second is furious. That kid’s going to die a horrible death!"
"Guo the Second hates it more than anything when people mention how short he is!"
"Hehe, I remember last time some passerby just glanced at his height, and Guo the Second chopped him into three pieces. It was a bloody, gruesome sight!"
"I’ve got a feeling this kid will meet a similarly nasty end!"
"Not necessarily. We still haven’t found the gold tickets. The Village Chief won’t let him die just yet."
The men in black discussed amongst themselves as they watched the fight in the courtyard.
"Of course we can’t let him die that easily. But crippling him? Turning him into a human stump? I bet the Village Chief wouldn’t stop that," Lai Sanpi chuckled, a venomous glint in his eyes.
"Yes, the gold tickets are the priority. We can’t come away from this empty-handed and become a laughingstock for the Second and Third brothers." The masked leader’s gaze shifted as he said in a low voice, "Lai Sanpi, Ni Chengchun, you two stand guard at the gate. Warn us at the first sign of trouble."
"Alright, don’t worry, Village Chief. No one ever comes to this desolate mountain wilderness." Lai Sanpi and the masked Ni Chengchun immediately headed for the Ye Mansion’s main gate to stand watch.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
PING! PANG!
Under the moonlight, the glint of steel flashed relentlessly.
The short, masked man, Guo the Second, was as agile as a monkey. Fueled by his rage, his attacks grew even more ferocious. With a saber in each hand, he unleashed a relentless flurry of strikes, his offense crashing toward Ye Xing like a tidal wave.
Ye Xing’s expression was grave as he employed the Flying Spin Step to evade again and again. The Flying Spin Step was a Yellow Rank Lower Grade Stepping Technique, much easier to practice than the Lingfeng Sword Skill. Ye Xing had already cultivated it to the Minor Achievement Realm and wasn’t far from the Great Success Realm. In terms of power, it was nearly equivalent to a Yellow Middle-grade Step Technique at the Minor Achievement Realm.
The realms for External Skills—such as Sword Skills, Saber Skills, Stepping Skills, and Body Skills—were divided into Entry Realm, Minor Achievement Realm, Great Success Realm, and Perfect Realm. Generally, the power of an External Skill was calculated as follows: The Minor Achievement Realm of a Yellow Rank Lower Grade Technique was equivalent to the Entry Realm of a Yellow Middle Grade Skill. The Great Success Realm of a Yellow Rank Lower Grade Technique was equivalent to the Minor Achievement Realm of a Yellow Middle Grade Skill, and also to the Entry Realm of a Yellow tier Top-Grade Technique. The Perfect Realm of a Yellow Rank Lower Grade Technique was equivalent to the Great Success Realm of a Yellow Middle Grade Skill, the Minor Achievement Realm of a Yellow tier Top-Grade Technique, and the Entry Realm of a Profound Level Lower Grade Technique. In other words, if one could cultivate a Yellow Rank Lower Grade Technique to the Great Success Realm or even the Perfect Realm, its power would be quite considerable.
Now that Ye Xing had provoked him, the short, masked Guo the Second was desperate to take him down. His attacks became utterly ferocious, a full-force assault like a raging tempest. Ye Xing, of course, wouldn’t meet him head-on. He followed the principle of ’when the enemy advances, I retreat,’ using softness to overcome hardness.
Of course, while continuously dodging, Ye Xing would also execute the Lingfeng Sword Skill, aiming a stab or two at his opponent’s vitals.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
PING! PANG! CLANG!
Their blades clashed again and again, the crisp ring of metal echoing through the night sky.
Although Ye Xing was on the defensive, he managed to hold on under Guo the Second’s ferocious assault. In the blink of an eye, more than ten exchanges had passed, and they were approaching the twentieth. Guo the Second grew extremely impatient; he had just boasted he would take Ye Xing down within twenty moves. Yet here they were, nearly twenty moves in, and he still hadn’t won. He felt completely humiliated.
"Heh, twenty moves have passed. I’m curious to see if you can beat me within thirty," Ye Xing said with a slight smile.
"Ah, you’re courting death!" Guo the Second was utterly enraged. He swung both sabers at once—one slashing at Ye Xing’s neck, the other stabbing toward his heart.
’Heh, his saber work has fallen into chaos, and he still thinks he can beat me?’ Ye Xing sneered inwardly. Guo the Second’s rage had gotten the better of him, throwing his Mental Realm into disarray. Although his saber attacks were still wild and looked intimidating, their actual killing power had dropped. He was much less of a threat to Ye Xing now. On top of that, his previous frantic assault must have consumed a great deal of True Qi. He was all bark and no bite. Ye Xing wasn’t really afraid of him anymore. He immediately stopped dodging, switched from defense to offense, and unleashed the Lingfeng Sword Skill with all his might.
Both Guo the Second and Ye Xing were Martial Artists at the Martial Arts First Realm. However, Guo the Second had been at this realm for many years and was considered at its Peak, just one step away from the Martial Arts Second Realm. As for Ye Xing, while the Purple Light Group and the Innate Skill granted him an astonishingly fast Cultivation speed—already on par with the talented disciples of the major sects—he simply hadn’t been training for very long. In terms of True Qi density, he was ultimately a bit weaker than the short, masked Guo the Second. That covered their inner strength. In terms of External Skills, Ye Xing practiced the Lingfeng Sword Skill from a Yellow-tier Top-grade Manual, while the masked Guo the Second practiced a dual Saber Skill from a Yellow-tier Middle-grade Manual. Ye Xing’s Lingfeng Sword Skill was at the Entry Realm, approaching the Minor Achievement Realm. Guo the Second’s dual Saber Skill, on the other hand, was already at the Minor Achievement Realm. However, his Saber Skill was only from a Yellow-tier Middle-grade Manual, a grade lower than Ye Xing’s Lingfeng Sword Skill, a Yellow tier Top-Grade Technique. Though Guo the Second’s skill realm was a step higher, the quality of his manual was a grade lower. Thus, when it came to their External Skills, the two were more or less evenly matched.
Judging solely by their External Skills and Inner Strength, the two were actually on a similar level. The reason Ye Xing was on the defensive while Guo the Second had the upper hand was because Guo the Second was a career bandit and murderer with a wealth of real combat experience. Ye Xing, in contrast, had barely been in any fights; his practical experience was naturally very limited. Ye Xing was aware of this weakness, which was why he had adopted a defensive strategy from the start, prioritizing psychological warfare. At the same time, he also intended to use this masked man, Guo the Second, to hone his own fighting skills.
CLANG! PING! PANG!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
’Fighting a Martial Artist at my own level really does help my Sword Skill improve faster!’ Ye Xing’s eyes lit up as he threw himself completely into executing the Lingfeng Sword Skill. In the past, he’d had Tantai Mengxue guide his swordplay, and he had also sparred with Xia Girl and little Chunyu. But those two girls were far too strong. Even the weaker of the two, little Chunyu, had a cultivation at the Martial Arts Fourth Realm. As for Xia Girl, Ye Xing wanted to spar with her even less. With their Martial Arts Realms three or four levels above his, sparring with them was just asking for a beating.
Fighting someone in the same Realm was much more thrilling. It was exciting, and he could actually make progress. He just hadn’t had the chance before. Now that a golden opportunity had fallen into his lap, how could Ye Xing not take full advantage of it?
He unleashed the Lingfeng Sword Skill with all his might. In an instant, his sword became a blur of afterimages. The Sword Techniques were at times incredibly sharp, and at other times as supple as the wind.