Chapter 456: Sword and Gu

Chapter 456: Sword and Gu

These words were so arrogant that many of the tribal chieftains who had been arguing among themselves fell silent, glaring in unison at Zhao Changhe.

Yue Hongling sat on a small stool, chin in hand, watching with keen interest as Zhao Changhe stepped forward.

There was a hint of jealousy in her heart, but not much—she was deeply fascinated by the sight of a lone sword challenging all comers, and wished she could join in herself. Pity that this bastard had phrased it as "whoever defeats me," not "our side sends two people." What a shame.

But it didn't matter. It was cool.

The little brother had truly grown up now, growing right into her aesthetic... That sword slanting downward, that proud, solitary silhouette—truly beautiful.

Sisi pursed her lips and quietly tugged at Zhao Changhe's sleeve. "Hey, don't be too cocky. They may not have your refined techniques here, but gu sorcery can make up for it. The Chaos Era List doesn't account for this layer—if you're not familiar, you'll easily fall."

Zhao Changhe laughed. "Isn't that perfect? I want to experience Miaojiang gu sorcery—what better way than a one-on-one arena?"

Yue Hongling smiled faintly. She thought so too.

Earlier, when she assassinated Lan Tiankuo, why had she "failed and been trapped"? It was because she encountered gu sorcery she could hardly understand. Fortunately, she escaped in the end. She had actually learned a lot from Sisi beforehand before daring to act, but having deep theoretical knowledge was different from firsthand experience. If she could have a chance to challenge all these heroes one-on-one, for a swordsman eager to witness the world's martial arts, it would be a fine thing.

Of course, it required courage and confidence—otherwise, it would just be making a fool of oneself on stage. Don't think there were few people from the Chaos Era List here; with gu sorcery added, all strength assessments had to be redone.

Sisi stamped her foot. "I don't care about you. I'm afraid that if you lose, I'll lose my seat!"

"Rest easy, Saintess." Zhao Changhe looked around and lowered his voice. "Hey, is there a pre-battle ritual? Saintess blessing or something?"

Sisi was taken aback, then her eyes suddenly curved into crescent moons. "Hey, before, you were pretending to be all proper with me. Now that Sister Yue is by your side, you should be even more proper, yet you suddenly start flirting with me? So you like doing it in front of someone, and when they're not around, it's boring, huh..."

Zhao Changhe said helplessly, "I was just joking. Where do you get such wild ideas?"

Sisi hummed. "There is a pre-battle ritual—kneel down and lick the Saintess's foot."

Zhao Changhe instinctively glanced at her foot.

How could it be so fair and translucent, even though she always walked barefoot through the mountains? Even if her qi could now protect her feet, what about earlier years? Logically, it should be rough...

Sisi looked at him with a half-smile. "Is it pretty?"

Damn it, even if it were pretty, no one would lick it. Was the maid rebelling?

Before Zhao Changhe could answer, a voice came from behind:

"Si Protector... Si Protector?"

Zhao Changhe turned around. A young man in black stood in the arena, staring at him speechlessly.

Were you here to challenge the heroes, or to flirt with your Saintess?

Zhao Changhe's face didn't redden—actually, it did, but it couldn't be seen. "I thought you all were still discussing. I was just asking the Saintess for some last-minute instructions..."

The man said, "Meng Tai of the Dong tribe, here to learn from Protector Si's swordplay."

Zhao Changhe confirmed, "So you all have accepted this mode of selection by combat?"

The Bai tribe chieftain said, "Yes. Since the Ling tribe proposed it, we discussed it and found it a simple and clear method. It's hard to judge the strength of each tribe, but the strong always deserve respect."

In an age of martial spirit, it was the same everywhere... At least they weren't testing you on the Four Books and Five Classics.

Zhao Changhe nodded. He instinctively intended to hold his sword horizontally in a fist-and-palm salute, but then realized that Central Plains etiquette was inappropriate here, so he simply twirled his sword into a flourish. "Come on."

Meng Tai's face flushed with anger... They had their own rituals, and this Si Laoye's gesture seemed to him nothing but contempt.

He charged up in fury. With a "swish," his long blade cut through several zhang of space, straight at Zhao Changhe's neck. "Watch out!"

Meng Tai used a blade—an ordinary single saber.

Zhao Changhe still lacked much confidence in his swordsmanship, but when it came to blades, he could be considered one of the world's grandmasters. He understood blade momentum and intent thoroughly, with very few variations. He could almost tell without looking all of Meng Tai's subsequent changes and the fulcrum where he reserved strength for those changes.

"Swish!" Sword light like water pointed at Meng Tai's wrist.

It precisely struck the fulcrum where all his changes began. No matter how he altered, he couldn't dodge this sword's interception—all his follow-ups were cut off.

With just one sword stroke, those in the know, like Lei Zhentang and Yue Hongling, were all moved.

Excellent swordsmanship...

But Meng Tai was not flustered. His wrist twisted as if it had no bones, and Zhao Changhe's sword grazed past, missing!

And Meng Tai's blade momentum was only slightly delayed by that twist for a moment, then quickly returned to normal, still slashing at Zhao Changhe's neck.

Having misjudged the follow-up, Zhao Changhe's thrust was not easy to retract. The blade light was already at his neck. He had to swiftly withdraw his sword and dodge, relying on his agile footwork to narrowly avoid the strike.

In just one exchange, he was in dire straits, falling into absolute disadvantage.

A Central Plains person in Miaojiang could indeed easily fall... It was too contrary to common sense.

Sisi transmitted a reminder from behind: "This is the Spirit Snake Gu, making the body and bones as flexible as a snake. Don't judge hand and foot movements with conventional thinking. This gu conflicts with ones like Giant Strength or Bronze Skin, meaning he pursues agility and is lacking in other areas..."

Before she could finish the word "lacking," Sisi's eyes suddenly widened.

Zhao Changhe, who had been on the defensive and struggling, was moving more and more easily. Meng Tai, who seemed to be pressing with faster and faster strikes, was no longer agile. It was as if he had fallen into a quagmire—moving left felt like touching an electric current, moving right felt like a mountain of blades. He dared not move anywhere, and finally, in frustration, he leaped like a toad and slashed furiously: "What sorcery are you using!"

A gu user calling someone else's technique sorcery—Zhao Changhe almost laughed out loud.

Facing this toad-like leap and slash, Zhao Changhe felt a touch of nostalgia. "That toad jump is so familiar... Your jump isn't cool enough, and your strength is too weak."

As he spoke, his long sword, striking after the fact but arriving first, had already touched Meng Tai's dantian. Sword qi seeped in, locking all the qi in his dantian.

Meng Tai's slash turned limp. Zhao Changhe caught it with his left hand and pushed him away. "Brother Meng, your Spirit Snake Gu is interesting... Perhaps we can learn from each other another time."

Meng Tai silently felt the locked qi within him and was astonished. "What sorcery did you just use?"

Zhao Changhe was not stingy with sharing. "It's a kind of sword-qi formation. Each of my parries leaves a trace of undispersed sword qi at the spot. The longer the exchange, the more sword qi accumulates around. Brother Meng felt like he was trapped in a sword formation—no matter how agile, he couldn't move freely."

Meng Tai exclaimed, "How is that done? How can sword qi remain in space without dispersing!"

Zhao Changhe smiled faintly. "That's a secret. Only the Ling tribe may know."

Meng Tai sincerely bowed. "I lose."

Sisi felt very proud.

But inwardly, she was pouting. The Ling tribe didn't know this secret either... "Sword light like water fills the courtyard"—that was Tang Wanzhuang's unique technique!

When Tang Wanzhuang dismantled the battle between the Que Saber and the Ancient Sword Dragon Emperor, she used this very method. But hers was more refined—sword qi scattered like water, dragging blades and swords into a deep pool where they couldn't move. Zhao Changhe's sword qi was just sword qi, thick as a forest, not yet achieving such subtle application. But it was enough. Against this kind of opponent, this method was the optimal solution. He didn't need Sisi's guidance at all.

The arena fell silent.

Zhao Changhe didn't know Meng Tai's name... In fact, he was no ordinary blade user. He was a renowned master of the Dong tribe, accomplished in both blade techniques and gu sorcery, with a great reputation in the southwest.

But in just a few breaths against this Si Laoye, victory and defeat were decided. This Si Laoye hadn't even used gu sorcery—just pure swordsmanship!

For a moment, no one stepped forward. The atmosphere grew heavy... Could the Ling tribe, which kept such a low profile, really be this strong?

Lei Zhentang's face darkened as he said slowly, "In our Southwest Hundred Barbarian War, isn't it a bit odd to use only swordsmanship? One might think it's a Central Plains martial arts contest."

Zhao Changhe asked in surprise, "Don't we Southwest Hundred Barbarians practice blades and swords? Or is Chief Lei's Miao blade just for show on his waist?"

Lei Zhentang said, "Blade and gu united—that is our way."

"As a matter of fact, I have gu too. I didn't expect that even a grandmaster like Chief Lei couldn't see it." Zhao Changhe grinned, and his arm suddenly bulged. "Look, Giant Strength Gu."

Lei Zhentang's face twitched. He said nothing.

"But using strength to bully people isn't very nice. I'll just use swordsmanship to meet the hundred tribes, that's all." Zhao Changhe's bulging arm retracted, and he pointed his sword horizontally. "Is there anyone else who wishes to instruct me?"

The crowd watched this guy speechlessly, seeing the excitement in his eyes. He truly hoped more people would fight him, so he could experience the skills of the hundred tribes.

It seemed he wasn't contending for his tribe's benefit, but rather exploring the world's wonders and seeking the door to his own sword path.

Sisi stepped back and sat down on the small stool, propping her chin beside Yue Hongling, murmuring softly: "Sister Yue, it seems he has stolen your path of training."

Yue Hongling said with implication: "Training is something one does oneself—there's no such thing as stealing it... Rather, I fear that someone might try to steal something else..."