Under One Person: Starting with the Dual Cultivation of Body and Soul

On the stage, Master Yuan laughed, refusing to believe it: "There's no way you could have such precise swordsmanship. You're just all about raw power. Take this."

She charged forward like an arrow drawn from a bow, the large iron plate slicing towards Li Chang'an's neck.

"Clang." The two blades clashed together. The large iron plate opened and closed, slashing and cutting with a fierce and ruthless force.

In Yuan Shixiao's swordsmanship, thrusting is merely a close-range technique, while slashing and sweeping are the finishing touches.

Just as she was about to deliver a sweeping sword strike after getting close, she saw Li Chang'an thrust his sword straight at her.

This sword strike, seemingly ordinary, was like a gazelle leaping off a cliff, a masterpiece of nature, deflecting her large iron plate and heading straight for the main entrance.

Yuan Shixiao felt a sharp sword blade approaching his neck.

How could it be so fast?!

Almost instinctively, she used her supple waist to perform a bridge maneuver to dodge, but a long, bloody gash was still left on her neck.

She was shocked and quickly rolled over to create some distance between herself and the enemy.

The younger generation watching the match found this exchange rather dull, far less exciting than a typical sword fight with its back-and-forth exchanges, counter-moves, and hundreds of rounds of intense combat. It resembled more of a Western fencing routine.

But the older generation was overwhelmed by the sights, marveling at the exquisite coordination between swordsmanship and movement. The seasoned skill in each move required years of dedicated practice.

Yuan Shixiao touched the bloodstain on his neck and looked at Li Chang'an with a shocked expression.

Li Chang'an smiled faintly and twirled his sword: "Without enough strength, how can you thrust quickly and accurately?"

After two exchanges, Yuan Shixiao realized that the person in front of him was not only skilled in swordsmanship but also possessed great strength.

To fight this kind of guy in close combat would be suicide.

"I was presumptuous; I shouldn't have used my hobby to judge your specialized field of study," she said in a deep voice.

Li Chang'an shook his head: "It's not a matter of specialization, nor is it a hobby. The way of the sword is a way to seek externally, not externally, so..."

"I have never touched kendo, and I have no interest in it."

"It's just something that was passed down in my family, and I just happened to pick it up."

Yuan Shixiao was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage, his anger even producing a sarcastic and meme-worthy expression:

"I've never touched swordsmanship, I have no interest in it, I'll kill you!"

Yuan Shixiao immediately unleashed her full power. A dazzling white light surged around her, enveloping her like a golden light spell. As she swung the large iron plate in her hand, streams of black sword energy exploded out, jagged and intertwined, surging like ink and obscuring the arena.

Looking at the visually stunning competition in the arena, the old master exclaimed, "Dark clouds roll like ink but fail to obscure the mountains, white rain leaps like pearls and scatters into the boat, delicate green peaks sway, and light enters the abyss. This Flowing Cloud Sword is truly a sect full of poetic charm."

In these two lines of poetry, "ink-covered mountains" refers to the ink-colored sword energy that Yuan Shixiao unleashed, and "delicate emerald green" refers to the white protective true energy surrounding his body.

The old master continued, "Although the Flowing Cloud Sword has the word 'sword' in its name, it is not a style of fighting with a sword. The correct way to use it is to activate a white True Qi shield and throw black sword Qi from a distance. In this way, it can be said to be both offensive and defensive."

"At the same time, the Flowing Cloud Sword also possesses unique movement techniques and the ability to manipulate objects. When an enemy gets close, the sword can be used to create distance. If it's too much to handle, the sword can be used to fly away. In the right hands, the Flowing Cloud Sword can be quite troublesome!"

On the stage, Li Chang'an brandished his longsword, easily scattering the incoming black sword energy, and fierce sparks drifted off the blade.

He pressed forward despite Yuan Shixiao's relentless barrage of sword energy, while Yuan Shixiao, surrounded by white smoke, used his sect's unique movement techniques to create distance.

The Flowing Cloud Sword school is good at both offense and defense. It has movement speed and can fly and move on the sword. However, there is one thing: they practice the technique but not the body. No matter how fancy the skills are, they are still just ordinary.

Therefore, after suffering two defeats, Yuan Shixiao stopped competing with Li Chang'an in swordsmanship and chose to suppress him with sword qi.

At this point, Li Chang'an finally understood why his grandfather harbored such resentment towards the Flowing Cloud Sword, constantly claiming that their swordsmanship wasn't genuine.

Imagine you challenge the Flowing Cloud Sword to a duel based on its reputation, assuming your opponent is a true swordsman. But instead, they stand at a distance, shielded by a protective barrier, and unleash a flurry of sword energy at you.

If you chase after him, he'll use his movement technique to run away. If you finally catch up, he'll fly away on his sword and then continue throwing sword energy at you.

Then you lose, and you can't get back at them.

Anyone would be angry in that situation!

Strictly speaking, the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect doesn't resemble a sword-wielding sect at all; it's more like a sect that uses magic.

Li Chang'an strongly suspected that the founder of the Flowing Cloud Sword was actually an ancient literati who thought swords were beautiful, so he used them. In reality, this sect didn't care about weapons at all.

With this thought in mind, Li Chang'an looked at Yuan Shixiao again. Since it's not swordsmanship, then he should practice Qi properly. Why bother with swordsmanship as a hobby? Isn't this like practicing a musket as if it were a fire-tipped spear?

"Since you're so skilled with a sword, then I'll show you real swordsmanship!"

With a thought, Li Chang'an entered a state of oneness with his sword, transforming his aura into sword momentum. He swung his sword to cut through the overwhelming inky sword energy, and with a flash, carrying the surging sword momentum, he instantly flew to Yuan Shixiao's front.

The Li family's Yuyang Sword Technique emphasizes thrusting, but even more so, it focuses on movement. Coupled with their powerful life cultivation and the immense boost from the Reverse Life Qi Transformation, their speed far surpasses that of Yuan Shixiao.

Yuan Shixiao was too fast to dodge with her movement technique. She could only watch helplessly as the Han sword in Li Chang'an's hand sliced ​​through her protective aura like a hot knife through butter and stabbed down toward her head.

In an instant, everything in the world seemed to lose its color.

She had never felt death so close before.

A group of older people also frowned, ready to intervene at any moment.

But soon, their brows relaxed.

A knitted hat was seen flying high into the air.

The Han sword in Li Chang'an's hand, however, was angled forward and stopped less than an inch from the top of Yuan Shixiao's head.

Yuan Shixiao was stunned by the terrifying and unassailable sword intent, and stood frozen in place, still in shock.

It wasn't until her hair fell loose and draped over her shoulders that she suddenly realized what was happening, screamed, covered her head with her hands, and frantically looked around for her hat.

Li Chang'an reached out and caught the hat that fell from the sky, then slammed it down on Yuan Shixiao's head.

He saw clearly that this woman was losing a lot of hair; no wonder she was wearing a tattered hat in such hot weather.

Feeling the hat back on his head, Yuan Shixiao felt relieved, his previous arrogance vanishing completely. He covered his head with one hand and said, "Thank you, thank you for your swordsmanship just now..."

"You're welcome." Li Chang'an said calmly, "You asked me about swordsmanship. Actually, there's not much to say about swordsmanship. Swordsmanship is just swordsmanship. The sword itself doesn't have any special meaning. Whether it's slaying demons or upholding justice, those are the skills of the person, not the skill of the sword."

"The reason for using a sword is simply because the human body is too soft, so we need to use a hard weapon to kill the opponent. So don't give it too many fancy meanings."

"The sole purpose of a sword is to kill."

"When killing, the one who uses the long to kill the short is about the spirit to sweep away all obstacles; the one who uses the short to kill the long is about the courage to fight to the death."