546: Chapter 545 Sword Sweeps Situ 5 546: Chapter 545 Sword Sweeps Situ 5 The first to step up from Situ Mansion was Si Ge Kou Cuo, a slim cultivator.
The two stood a thousand zhang apart, without an opportunity to attack immediately.
Countless possibilities and tactical combinations emerged as they moved closer; there was no longer the formality of crossed swords, everything was like real combat.
This was a true test of ability in battle.
Kou Cuo was brimming with confidence.
Which one of these chosen warriors from Situ Mansion wasn’t battle-hardened?
In this regard, he believed his experience far surpassed that of any sword cultivator from Sikong Mansion.
With a leap, he appeared four hundred zhang away from his opponent the next moment; another leap took him back six hundred zhang, then he closed in again, this time to three hundred and fifty zhang.
Still not casting his sword, he continued to leap away…
This set of leaps, known as the foot play, involved constant adjustment of distance to probe the opponent’s reactions and sword reach, finding one’s own rhythm to strike.
For sword cultivators, a sense of distance was a crucial element of combat.
Masters adept at this could often manipulate the emotions of their opponents with just their foot play, testing not only the cultivators’ escape skills but enacting psychological warfare as well.
Sword cultivators from Situ Mansion were particularly skilled at this technique, and he was no exception.
If both sides played the foot game, it became a highly engaging chase, to see who could find the opportunity to attack first amidst the entanglement.
In such range-defined combat, the essence of the foot play was to occupy the central point, forcing the opponent to exhaust themselves moving rapidly and to reveal weaknesses while on the defensive.
A very clever sword cultivator combat method.
However, Hou Niao’s reaction seemed dull; he did not follow with escape techniques but instead approached slowly and steadily, undeterred.
This meant one of two things: either he was not good at using the foot play to seize opportunities, or he had absolute confidence in his flying sword, believing it to be faster and stronger than his opponent’s.
Basing on his performance in the previous two fights, it clearly wasn’t the former, so Kou Cuo had to be extremely cautious in controlling the distance, not to carelessly fall within his opponent’s sword reach.
As the fight commenced for ten breaths, neither had struck a single blow, which was quite peculiar.
Watching Kou Cuo still moving around seeking an opportunity, Fang Zhonghui furrowed his brow,
“This is bad, junior brother Kou is being psychologically suppressed!”
Another selected warrior beside him, Qiang Yongxin, nodded, “The opponent is getting closer to the center, why is old Kou still hopping around like a monkey?
If he doesn’t attack soon, he’ll lose his position.”
They had a clear reading of the situation; Kou Cuo in the arena became aware of this problem as well.
It wasn’t about strength, but at the level of the heart realm, the opponent’s slow approach made his foot play look like a farce.
Without further hesitation, as he closed to a three hundred zhang distance again, his flying sword shot out sharply.
This kind of attack on the edge of sword reach was prone to missing the target, but it was a start nonetheless.
Hou Niao made his move, following Kou Cuo’s lead, his flying sword shot towards his opponent; at the same time, instead of retreating or shifting position on the spot, he unexpectedly surged forward, charging towards the oncoming flying sword.
The audience watched tensely; this sword master from Sikong Mansion, regardless of his true skill, played a risky game.
When he moved, he pushed the fight to a point where victory or defeat could be determined in an instant.
Kou Cuo, as one of the top Tongtian Realm sword cultivators from Situ Mansion, had ample combat experience which granted him a tremendous psychological resilience, completely shaking off the ineffective foot play that had begun the fight.
With a flash, he vanished from his original spot.
Shape-following Sword, his first strike was not to compete for victory but to get closer!
What’s even more incredible is that, as Kou Cuo moved with the Shape-following Sword, Hou Niao did the same, both disappearing without a trace, as if their minds were in perfect harmony, cooperating tacitly.
The onlookers grew even tenser, for the focal point determining the direction of the battle lay in the choice of the emergence point after their Shape-following Sword move—if both chose the safest distant point to reappear, the result would be a Shifting Position, swapping places and returning to the starting point.
But if one of them broke the norm, it could very likely turn into a close-quarters combat!
It was a contest of who was braver, who was more reckless!
Such a battle was too thrilling, with victory or defeat decided in an instant!
In the eyes of the crowd that were wide open, both appeared at the same time…
Kou Cuo moved forward two hundred zhang, which was a quite risky distance to advance.
If Hou Niao had remained stationary, he would have appeared within a hundred zhang behind Hou Niao, a distance where neither could break free from each other’s Flying Swords, leading to a brief exchange of Flying Sword strikes—victory to the faster blade.
And Kou Cuo was known in the Situ Mansion for his quick swordsmanship.
He succeeded, yet he failed.
Because Hou Niao’s Shape-following Sword move was not forward, but backward!
This was an advanced application of the Shape-following Sword; typically, a cultivator would appear at any point along the line connecting the person and the Flying Sword, but Hou Niao had practiced moving his body along the extended line in the opposite direction.
As a result, they indeed were very close to each other, within the inescapable range of the opponent’s Flying Sword, but it was much too close—not a hundred zhang, but within twenty zhang!
This deadly proximity immediately tested another key tactical metric for Sword Cultivators: whose rigidity duration was shorter?
The answer was self-evident, obviously the one who had intentionally closed the gap was more confident in their rigidity duration.
Hou Niao’s movements were smooth and flowing, his figure shifting, his Longsword swung lightly as he patted Kou Cuo’s shoulder, who had just drawn his Longsword…
The victor was decided!
The onlookers burst into resounding cheers; at this moment, the barriers between the three mansions vanished without a trace in the face of a breathtakingly brilliant sword duel.
Kou Cuo licked his lips, slightly regretful but with nothing to say, “I lost.
Junior Brother Hou’s reverse Shifting Position truly caught me by surprise.
But what I want to know is, how did you anticipate that I would use Shifting Position?
How could you pinpoint my emergence location?”
Hou Niao smiled, “Senior Brother, your first sword strike was clearly a probe, not full-strength; my forward rush was to compel you to use Shifting Position…
As for distance control, actually, if you carefully calculate, the possible positions are limited, the margin of error won’t exceed fifty zhang…”
Kou Cuo was still not satisfied, “How did you know I would definitely use Shifting Position?
What if I didn’t move?”
Hou Niao shrugged his shoulders, “Then it would have been a direct collision!
Surely you wouldn’t retreat in full view of this crowd, right?
This is Situ Mansion, and you are the chosen vanguard of Situ Mansion—besides moving forward, do you have any other choice?”
Kou Cuo was thoroughly convinced, “Excellent swordsmanship!
Excellent temperament!
Although I have not used most of my skills, I am thoroughly convinced!”
For Sword Cultivators, the speed of combat is so fast that it’s difficult to use all one’s abilities before the battle is over; therefore, the ability to burst forth is extremely important.
In this sense, he had no regrets.