Chapter 372: Chapter 7 Xia Daoyun (Large Chapter)
“Yes,” Lu Qingshan said.
Countless thoughts whirled through Lu Qingshan’s mind in an instant, but his feet did not hesitate; he quickly stepped into the misty mountain.
This peculiar mist seemed to possess a magical strength that compressed space; merely a dozen steps transported him thousands of feet upward from the base to the waist of the mountain.
The last wisps of fog slowly dissipated before him, revealing a landscape akin to a fairy realm.
From the outside, the Sword Coming Peak appeared steep and blade-like, yet surprisingly, it featured a broad and flat plateau at mid-mountain.
Atop the cliff plateau was a pond mirror-clear, lush and rustling sword bamboo, countless blooming flowers, and a cascading waterfall like a silvery thread.
In the pond, a school of black carps frolicked and leaped.
In front of the pond stood two or three simple wooden towers suspended in air.
In front of the wooden towers stood a woman, elegant in poise.
She wore light-colored cyan clothes that draped over her slender figure.
The woman was Xia Daoyun.
The place resembled a secluded hermit’s dwelling.
If it were not for the bamboo leaves shaped like flying swords, the pond’s ripples faintly echoing with the force of an ocean, the waterfall that at a glance resembled a silver thread but upon a closer look hung like the Heavenly River inverted, and the initial simplicity of the wooden towers which on second inspection revealed an ancient and profound charm as marvelous as the celestial palaces…
All things that seemed simple, upon closer inspection, turned out to be different.
Except for Xia Daoyun.
At first glance, impressive.
On closer inspection, still impressive.
A Sword Immortal is a realm that countless sword cultivators find difficult to achieve yet yearn for with their hearts.
Not only because it requires the prerequisite of Ninth Realm, but also because the title of Sword Immortal carries a set of conditions that are abstruse, full of profound mysteries, yet immensely vast.
Before Lu Qingshan arrived in this world, no players had ever ascertained what those specific conditions were.
But they knew that in twenty thousand years, there were many cultivators who had reached the Ninth Realm.
Yet, there were only three Sword Immortals.
Xia Daoyun was the sword cultivator most likely to become the fourth Sword Immortal of the Human Race; it seemed she was just one step away.
Lu Qingshan respected Xia Daoyun.
This was why he had chosen Sword Coming Peak.
In the future, aside from those three, Xia Daoyun would be the cultivator closest to the Sword Immortal Realm.
This indicated that Xia Daoyun’s understanding of the Sword Dao was likely superior to that of the other five Peak Masters.
He believed that having Xia Daoyun as his mentor would be of great help to him in achieving the Sword Immortal Realm.
Xia Daoyun turned around, her aura and visage like moonlight on a cold river, dawn light on a clear pond.
“Lu Qingshan? The foremost figure in the discourse of the Seven Domains, peerless in both internal and external aspects? The person with the greatest talent in swordsmanship in the current era?” Xia Daoyun’s gaze lightly fell upon Lu Qingshan’s face.
“Attack me with your full strength using one sword strike,” Xia Daoyun said.
Was this an assessment?
Without any artifice, Lu Qingshan’s Dragon Sparrow Sword left his body and appeared in his hand.
He took a slight breath, pointed the sword tip towards Xia Daoyun, and raised his sword.
Secret Sword: Wind Slash.
Lu Qingshan inwardly commanded, and thrust the Dragon Sparrow Sword forward.
Heaven Suppressing is an Exploding Sword that seeks utmost strength.
Wind Slash, however, is a Secret Sword akin to Tao, less powerful than Heaven Suppressing, but in terms of flair, it surpasses it by far.
His cultivation was far too inferior to Xia Daoyun; neither Heaven Suppressing nor Wind Slash posed any threat to her, and there wasn’t much difference between them.
Since that was the case, he opted for the more flashy Wind Slash.
Sword Qi adorned the blade crisscross, while Sword Intent burgeoned upon it.
The Dragon Sparrow Sword let out a light hum as two sword shadows emerged from it, then swiftly extinguished and disappeared.
Xia Daoyun silently observed until the sword strike neared. Only then did she extend her fair, jade-like finger and lightly tap the tip of the Dragon Sparrow Sword.
Heaven and Earth fell silent for a moment.
All the rampaging energies on the Dragon Sparrow Sword vanished, both Sword Qi and Sword Intent.
Lu Qingshan was taken aback, then silently sheathed his sword.
Xia Daoyun retracted her finger, slightly surprised, she raised her eyebrows, her gaze sweeping over Lu Qingshan’s Dragon Sparrow Sword.
“Good sword… and a good sword,” Xia Daoyun nodded twice.
The first “good sword” was in reference to Lu Qingshan’s strike.
The second “good sword” was in recognition of the Dragon Sparrow Sword itself.
“You’re just eighteen this year?” Xia Daoyun asked, having perceived the depth of Lu Qingshan’s swordsmanship from a single strike.
Lu Qingshan nodded honestly, “After early winter, I will be nineteen.”
“Oh?” Xia Daoyun’s eyes shone a little brighter as she took another glance at Lu Qingshan, “At such an age, to be able to execute such a sword technique, the title of the greatest talent in contemporary swordsmanship is not an exaggeration.”
“Too kind. In front of the Peak Master, I dare not discuss talent in swordsmanship,” Lu Qingshan could only respond with a fist salute.
“Why did you choose to be a sword cultivator?” Xia Daoyun suddenly asked.
Lu Qingshan was taken aback.
He had never considered this question.
After some careful reflection, he recalled the moment he had firmly decided to pursue the path of sword cultivation.
In the game, before creating a character and selecting a profession, one could get a feel for the combat styles of the six major cultivation schools.
Back then, he tried each in turn.
In the end, without any hesitation, he chose the path of sword cultivation.
From then on, he had always been a sword cultivator.
Why hadn’t he hesitated back then?
With his personality, such an important decision as choosing a cultivation school should have resulted in careful analysis of the pros and cons before making a decision.
But his choice of sword cultivation at that moment was resolute.