Raise a sword!

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After descending Hidden Sword Peak, we followed the mountain path deep into the forest for about a hundred feet, and then the view suddenly opened up before us.

What comes into view is a valley carved out by man. The entrance is narrow, but the interior is spacious. The rock walls on all sides are covered with sword marks of varying depths.

"This is Sword Testing Valley." Ling Shu stopped, drew the long sword from behind her and held it in her hand, calmly looking at Jiang Peng. "Only elders above the Foundation Establishment stage from within the pavilion are allowed to enter and exit this place."

"Sword cultivators are too powerful in their attacks, so it's not appropriate to test their swords on Hidden Sword Peak on ordinary days. Therefore, the predecessors of the Sword Pavilion in the past carved out this place into a valley and set up arrays around it for the cultivators in the pavilion to test their swords."

At this point, a hint of pride suddenly appeared in Ling Shu's eyes.

That smug look flashed by, but Jiang Peng still keenly noticed it.

"This is a strategically important place in Sword Pavilion. Even with my junior sister leading the way, I still feel it's not quite appropriate... I'll take my leave now."

After Jiang Peng finished speaking, she turned and left, but Ling Shu behind her did not stop her at all.

Soon, Jiang Peng reached the entrance of the valley.

Just as he was about to leave the valley, Ling Shu's voice rang out once again.

"There are two rules in Sword Testing Valley."

"Firstly, only one person is allowed to enter the Sword Testing Valley. When someone is testing their sword inside, outsiders are not allowed to watch... Sword cultivators all have the same methods. If someone has finally figured out a powerful sword technique, it is not good to let others watch and learn it. Therefore, this rule was established."

Jiang Peng stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Ling Shu.

"So, Jiang broke the rules of Sword Pavilion without his knowledge?"

"As long as you haven't left." Ling Shu's lips curved into a beautiful smile.

"What does that mean?"

"Since the two of you entered the valley at the same time, you must use this place to duel with swords. A victor must be determined... Senior brother is a guest from afar, and as the saying goes, a guest should follow the host's lead. I don't think you're an impolite person. It wouldn't be right to break the rules of the Sword Pavilion that have been upheld for so many years, would it?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Peng glanced at the valley entrance that was so close at hand, finally sighed, and turned back into the valley.

"The saying 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do' can be used like this? I always see my junior sister with a cold face, but I never expected her to be so mischievous inside."

Ling Shu raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Being mischievous is something to say about younger people."

Jiang Peng spoke in a calm tone.

"It's quite fitting for the senior brother to use this to talk about the junior sister."

The moment the words left her lips, Jiang Peng suddenly felt an extremely powerful sword intent enveloping her.

A strong sense of crisis welled up in his heart, and his scalp tingled. With a loud bang, Jiang Peng used the Gale Step to instantly teleport more than ten feet away.

Before she could even regain her footing after the maneuver, Jiang Peng hurriedly looked back at her original spot.

Swah——

A sword light cleared the way, leaving a deep sword mark where Jiang Peng had been standing. Only then did it become clear that Ling Shu was wielding a magic sword and had already made the first move.

With her sword missing its mark, Ling Shu let out a soft snort.

"Calling you 'senior brother' was a gesture of respect, but I never expected you to be so shameless."

Seeing that Ling Shu had already made the first move, Jiang Peng finally stopped suppressing the Xuanyuan Sword in her sleeve.

With a sword cry, the Xuanyuan Sword broke free from its suppression and immediately returned to its normal size, falling into Jiang Peng's hands.

A streak of blue fire flashed across the sword.

The next moment, Jiang Peng charged forward without hesitation, sword in hand, and arrived in front of Ling Shu in an instant.

clang--

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the valley.

Ling Shu also wielded a second-tier top-grade magic sword. As the two magic swords of the same tier clashed, sparks continuously flew out from the point of impact.

The stalemate lasted only a moment.

In that instant, Ling Shu realized that what Master Duan said was true. The Cangshan Sect elder in front of her, who seemed worldly and sophisticated in her eyes, was actually a sword cultivator no weaker than herself.

Ling Shu immediately took half a step back, then loosened her right hand from the sword hilt and made a hand seal with her left hand.

"go!"

The magic sword in her hand instantly transformed into thousands of sword lights, completely enveloping Jiang Peng.

"This is the 'Splitting Light Sword Control Technique,' fellow Daoist, please be careful and do not be careless... Injuries are inevitable in competitions. If you are not skilled enough and perish here, Ling Shu will not be responsible."

The moment the words left her lips, Ling Shu saw Jiang Peng take to the air.

"You've got some skill, identifying the weakness of this sword technique so quickly... But since I know its flaws, how could I not improve it? Be careful, fellow Daoist!"

As Ling Shu changed her hand gestures, the thousands of sword lights also changed accordingly, vaguely weaving a dense, impenetrable sword net in mid-air.

Just then, a strange fluctuation suddenly appeared around Jiang Peng, causing visible twists and turns to appear in mid-air.

Those distorted waves quickly affected the sword net, and extremely obvious loopholes appeared in the originally impenetrable sword light.

Jiang Peng quickly escaped by exploiting the loophole.

Ling Shu noticed that Jiang Peng had a white bead in his hand.

She scoffed, "If you're going to have a sword duel, why are you using a magic weapon, fellow Daoist?"

What Jiang Peng held in his hand was the second-tier low-grade magic weapon, the Wave Shield, which he had obtained from Old Daoist Yang.

The sword-controlling technique just now used the sword cultivator's divine sense as a guide, and this wave of wind happened to have the effect of blocking divine sense.

"Fellow Daoist Ling is thinking of a sword duel, while I am thinking of a magical duel... Having witnessed your skills, I must return the favor. Fellow Daoist, please feel free to act without restraint and do not let the title of sword cultivator limit your actions."

Despite saying that, Jiang Peng still unleashed a sword strike.

In the blink of an eye, the sword light crossed the distance between the two, sweeping across the scorching flames and landing in front of Ling Shu.

Seeing this, Ling Shu was about to resist.

But the sword light suddenly exploded, turning into countless tiny blue flames that landed around Ling Shu.

Seeing this, Ling Shu was about to continue using her sword to deal with the situation when she noticed that after the blue flames appeared, she felt a noticeable sluggishness when using her sword.

"This fire actually has the effect of blocking divine sense?" Ling Shu was shocked.

Her sword control technique was entirely based on divine sense, which was precisely what this blue flame could counter.

Ling Shu then waved her hand, and the magic sword returned to her hand. She then swung the sword repeatedly, and streaks of sword light extinguished the surrounding blue flames.

Just as she was focused on dealing with Lan Yan, a sharp aura suddenly flashed by not far away.

The aura dissipated very quickly, but Ling Shu, as a sword cultivator, could not ignore it.

"Such powerful sword intent, fellow Daoist, you're finally about to..."

Ling Shu turned to look at Jiang Peng, but before she could finish speaking, she saw Jiang Peng casually swing his sword from top to bottom.

The moment the sword fell, an unparalleled, sharp flash of fire completely filled Ling Shu's vision.

Her expression finally changed, and she raised her magic sword and then lowered it again.

In that brief moment of hesitation, the flames swept by the sword energy completely engulfed her.

The next moment, a golden light appeared, standing out remarkably firm amidst the sword energy and firelight.

After a few breaths, the sword's momentum finally dissipated.

When Ling Shu looked at Jiang Peng again, she saw that the magic sword in Jiang Peng's hand had disappeared.

"Fellow Daoist Ling's swordsmanship is superb; I, Jiang, am ashamed to admit my inferiority."

Ling Shu looked at the second-tier golden armor talisman in her hand, and for a moment she didn't know how to respond.