Narration System for the Journey of Martial Arts

Page 168

At this moment, in the mirror, Ba Feng Han's tiger-like eyes flashed with divine light, his clothes fluttered and made a loud noise, and his iron-blooded aura rushed out as if it wanted to rush out of the mirror.

Not far from him, a ragged old man gripped a sword hilt, exuding an aura of invincibility. His long sword radiated a fierce aura, and the air itself seemed to grow colder.

"This man can actually compete with Senior Ouyang Xiyi in terms of aura and not be at a disadvantage at all. His martial arts level is high enough to be ranked among the top in the world." Shi Qingxuan said in surprise.

Su Yuchen did not express his opinion, but simply watched calmly. As he spoke, Ouyang Xiyi moved and was already two zhang in front of Ba Feng Han. He let out a long roar, which, combined with his tall and strong physique, was like the roar of a tiger and the cry of a dragon, instantly suppressing Ba Feng Han's aura.

Ba Feng Han's expression changed, and he dared not be careless anymore. He immediately put his hands on his waist, revealing a knife and a sword. He gripped the hilt of the knife with his right hand, and a blade of light descended into the hall like a crescent moon.

At the same time, Ouyang Xiyi thrust out his longsword, the blade light and sword energy intertwining, a ripple spreading out from the point of contact, followed by a resounding clang.

With a single strike, Ba Feng Han retreated, his movements clearly a case of using the opponent's force to deflect it; while Ouyang Xi Yi, opposite him, remained still, his body swaying involuntarily.

With a whoosh, the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves. Judging from this one move, this person had fought to a standstill with the long-established Ouyang Xiyi.

"Excellent swordsmanship! I never expected to encounter such a master so soon after entering the Central Plains. Let's go again!"

Before he finished speaking, Xia Bafeng Han took a step forward and charged forward with his scimitar. The curved blade in his hand seemed to be both straight and curved, as if he were attacking in a straight line, but the angle was constantly changing, as if he could change direction at any time.

Opposite him, Ouyang Xiyi snorted coldly, his longsword slashing horizontally. It was simple and unadorned, without any variation, yet it was constantly changing. No matter how Ba Feng Han's curved blade changed, all his counterattacks were blocked. He appeared calm and composed, clearly his swordsmanship had reached the realm of returning to simplicity.

The two men wielded their swords, their swordplay creating a strange and beautiful spectacle that captivated the attention of everyone present.

Just as the swords clashed, Ouyang Xiyi's longsword veered off course and thrust towards the empty space to Ba Feng Han's left. The others were puzzled, but Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Wang Tong's eyes lit up with surprise, because this sword strike was aimed at the weakest point of Ba Feng Han's sword energy.

Before Ba Feng Han's curved blade could even reach his target, he would die from the sword energy first, but Ouyang Xiyi had taken full advantage of the weapon's strengths.

Faced with this sword strike, Ba Feng Han had no choice but to stop and retreat. As he retreated, guided by his aura, Ouyang Xiyi's longsword straightened, like a surging wave, with hundreds or even thousands of sword shadows rushing towards Ba Feng Han.

As if he had anticipated this outcome, Ba Feng Han suddenly advanced while retreating, like a wave being pushed forward by the next wave, raising his sword and slashing at Ouyang Xiyi without any sense of incongruity.

With a "whoosh," the curved saber and the longsword clashed, unleashing sword and saber energy that forced everyone to retreat to a distance of four zhang (approximately 10 meters) from the two.

Seeing Wang Tong and another person sitting at the head of the table get up, Shi Qingxuan couldn't help but sigh softly, "Alas, why bother?"

As she spoke, a bamboo flute fell from her sleeve.

Chapter 354 The Sound of the Flute Stops the War

As Shi Qingxuan pressed down on the bamboo flute, a melody of the flute, carried by the flow of true energy, circulated through the courtyard and reached the main hall.

Amidst the clash of swords, the sound of the xiao (a type of vertical flute) is like a clear mountain stream, with blue stones in the water, blending together to create a magical effect that is both refreshing and soothing.

Each note was like a water droplet dancing in a mountain stream, tinkling and melodious; each syllable's transition was like a clear spring crashing against a blue stone. The sound was melodious and gentle, rising and falling, dissolving the killing intent between the swords.

As the sound of the flute began, the killing intent of the two combatants in the hall vanished. Everyone listened intently to the flute's sound, which calmed the mind and severed all desires, making the listeners in the hall feel clear and serene.

When the flute music ceased, its lingering notes echoed in his ears, endless and persistent. Ouyang Xiyi's murderous intent vanished completely, and he could only sigh, "So be it! So be it!"

Looking at the corridor outside the door, Wang Tong couldn't help but say, "Since Qingxuan has come, why not come in and have a chat?"

The others' eyes lit up as they realized that the newcomer was Shi Qingxuan, famous throughout the land for her Xiao Yi skills. Everyone's gaze was fixed on her, eager to catch a glimpse of this extraordinary woman who had never shown her true face before.

Suddenly, everyone surged out. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling moved through the crowd with a nimble, almost ethereal grace, gliding through the throng and leaping over the crowd to reach the doorway. At the same time, Ba Feng Han and Fu Jun Yu vanished from the hall, arriving at the doorway the next second.

The four arrived at the door at the same time, and looked at the other side at the same time. They couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, marveling at the other's superb lightness skill.

As the crowd squeezed to the doorway, the round mirror in front of Su Yuchen snapped open and turned into dust in the night wind, drifting away with the breeze.

Upon seeing the man and woman standing under the corridor, before anyone could speak, Su Yuchen's gaze swept over them. Everyone instinctively felt a chill in their hearts. His seemingly gentle gaze carried a chilling intent that could freeze hearts and minds. For a moment, the scene fell silent.

………………

"It is indeed interesting that a young talent like you could emerge among the barbarians. However, if you intend to test your skills in the Central Plains and commit murder, then you have no reason to live." Su Yu said casually, looking at Ba Feng Han.

Ba Feng Han's face turned cold, a murderous intent rising within him as he met Su Yu Chen's gaze. The next second, everything went black, his consciousness faded, and his blood seemed to freeze completely. That look was like a dragon looking down at ants on the ground, instilling shame yet extinguishing any hope of survival.

Every cell in my body was trembling and shaking; my consciousness was frantically telling me that if I didn't fight back, I would die, I would definitely die!!!

With a "whoosh," before his consciousness completely sank, Ba Feng Han spat out a mouthful of blood, which froze into ice before it even hit the ground.

"An interesting little trick: using true qi to block the blood vessels throughout the body, causing the qi and blood to boil, thereby dispelling the cold. Although it will damage the internal organs and deplete qi and blood, it has some merit."

"Unfortunately, it's useless. You will never be able to reach the Grandmaster level in this lifetime."

Su Yuchen glanced at him and it was as if he could see right through Ba Feng Han, inside and out.

At the entrance to the hall, everyone felt as if they had been glanced at unintentionally, and under that gaze, they became naked and had no secrets left.

"You are Fu Cailin's disciple, did you bring his letter?" Su Yuchen turned his gaze to Fu Junyu, who was standing next to Ba Feng Han.

Fu Junyu pursed his lips, gripping his longsword tightly in his left hand. The blue veins were clearly visible, yet he couldn't muster the courage to draw it. All his plans before coming to the Central Plains seemed utterly ridiculous at this moment.

A purple-blue lotus shadow appeared in Su Yuchen's eyes, with golden divine light shining outwards. The aloof Taoist seemed to have transformed into a celestial god high in the heavens, majestic and solemn, not allowing mortals to look up.

Under the golden light, everyone subconsciously lowered their heads, their necks cracking as if they might be snapped by the gaze at any moment.

Su Yuchen's primordial spirit directly penetrated her eyes, probing into her sea of ​​consciousness and mind. The memories he gleaned transformed into a picture that was directly projected into his primordial spirit...

It was a wooden house in the style of the Han Dynasty. On the open door, a string of wind chimes tinkled in the breeze.

Inside the room, a woman lay pale-faced on the bed, her eyes flickering like a candle in the wind, as if they might be extinguished at any moment. She was Fu Junzhuo, who had returned to Goryeo.

Beside her, a man with an extremely ugly face yet a strange beauty sat cross-legged, with two beautiful young girls standing behind him, one of whom was Fu Junyu.

The next moment, the hideously ugly man placed his hand on Fu Junzhuo's wrist. As he circulated his true energy, a sword intent gradually solidified in Fu Junzhuo's eyes. The man and Fu Junzhuo locked eyes, and the sword intent seemed to materialize from nothingness, yet also resembled a phantom. A sword intent appeared in the wooden house.

Immediately afterwards, the sword intent shifted, and the primordial energy of heaven and earth spontaneously gathered, forming a sword aura that was like light and lightning, seemingly slow but actually fast; it was also like a lingering, melodious stream, seemingly fast but actually slow, highlighting endless contradictions.

The two girls behind the man only glanced at him before they immediately vomited blood, fainted, and collapsed to the ground. Before Fu Junyu lost consciousness, she saw the man make a sword with his finger and unleash hundreds of sword energies with a single strike. The next second, however, he let out a muffled groan, and drops of blood fell like beads.

The scene shifts again, and the ugly-faced man is pale, the color in his chest never returning, and he can only remain in seclusion, oblivious to the passage of time.

Then one day, Fu Junyu arrived at the man's secluded place with his sword, stood quietly for a moment, and then stood in front of a tomb for a long time before embarking on the road to the Central Plains.

As Su Yuchen withdrew his primordial spirit, the strange phenomena in his eyes vanished, all the illusory images disappeared, and everyone felt relieved. The feeling of being nakedly exposed to the sunlight slowly dissipated.

"I see."

"Fu Cailin really disappointed me. He couldn't even withstand a single sword intent. I just hope he can bring me a little surprise."

Upon hearing this, Fu Junyu finally raised his head and looked at the person in front of him. He was now certain that the death of his senior sister and the serious injury to his master were both the work of this person.

Unfortunately, revenge had become a distant dream. With his master and senior sister gone, could Goryeo still stop the Central Plains' invasion? Fu Junyu was utterly dejected, and all his courage began to dissipate.

“Barbarians are barbarians. They value skills over principles. With such poor mental cultivation, you are already ruined.”

In Su Yuchen's eyes, the aura emanating from the other party dissipated rapidly, gradually becoming like the people around him, no longer bright enough to rival Ba Feng Han.

"I would like to inquire on behalf of my master, what is the name of that sword strike? Please tell me."

Su Yuchen shook his head: "A casual sword strike, how could it have a name?"

Having said that, he lost interest in continuing the conversation and looked at Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, saying, "I didn't expect you two lads to always surprise me. Have you made a breakthrough in your spiritual realm?"

"Master Shi...!" Kou Zhong exclaimed with delight, "Xiao Ling and I have gained new insights!"

Su Yuchen shook his head and looked at Shi Qingxuan beside him, saying, "This place is really boring. Would Qingxuan like to walk around with me?"

Shi Qingxuan nodded, and the two immediately walked towards the door.

"You two lads, aren't you coming along?"

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with surprise, and hurriedly followed after him.

Only after the figure disappeared through the gate did everyone finally breathe a sigh of relief. They looked at each other, but no one had the slightest desire to talk.

Chapter 355 Reactions After Leaving

Much later.

A soft murmur rippled through the lobby entrance as people began to whisper among themselves…

"Who was that Taoist priest? His gaze was terrifying; I thought I was dead."

"I don't know. Qingxuan and everyone else came together. Wasn't it Wang Tong who invited them?"

"That person practiced some kind of martial arts, and Ba Feng Han, who was able to fight on par with Senior Ouyang, had to injure himself to save his life."

"What is Ba Feng Han? Didn't you hear? Fu Cailin, one of the three grandmasters, was seriously injured by a single sword strike from him."

"Hiss! Fu Cailin was seriously injured by his casual sword strike. Doesn't that mean that even if one of the three grandmasters came, none of them would be a match for that person?"

"Then wouldn't he be the real number one in the world?!"

These words caused an unusual silence in the room. After a long while, someone spoke up: "That's not necessarily true! Maybe Fu Cailin was just careless?"

The man wanted to argue, but his companion tugged at him and shook his head, so the man had no choice but to remain silent.

Seeing the somewhat tense atmosphere, someone asked, "If that woman is Fu Cailin's disciple, is she here for revenge? Heh... she's bitten off more than she can chew."

"Hey? Where's that woman? Has anyone seen her?"

"Huh? That Turkic kid is gone too? When did they slip away?"

"I don't know? Has anyone seen it?"

"I thought of it!"

"What did you think of?"

Everyone looked up and saw that the speaker was another expert standing with Wang Tong and Ouyang Xiyi. And the person he was asking was Wang Tong, who was standing to the side.

This man was none other than Wang Shichong, the Sui army commander who was ordered by Yang Guang to conquer Wagangzhai. His martial arts skills were no less than those of Wang Tong, Ouyang Xiyi, Du Fuwei, and others. He was a martial arts master who could be compared with the four great clan leaders.

Ignoring the stares of the crowd, Wang Tong chuckled self-deprecatingly and said, "Besides the one whose name was carved on the whetstone by Lord Song, who else in this world could it be? I never expected that this person would arrive in Dongping County so quietly."

Wang Shichong and Ouyang Xiyi's eyes narrowed as they simultaneously realized who that person was. Their previous contempt and closed-mindedness towards that person transformed into deep fear.

"When I go all out, even Ning Daoqi wouldn't dare to underestimate me. He would have to deal with my swordsmanship with all his might. That person is definitely not someone Ning Daoqi can handle. The gap between them is greater than the gap between a Grandmaster and a dog."

Wang Tong, Ouyang Xiyi, and Wang Shichong almost simultaneously realized this. The three of them looked at each other, their minds sinking into despair. At this time of great chaos, the appearance of such a peerless master was a matter of whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

………………

Taking advantage of the moment when everyone's attention was diverted, Ba Feng Han quietly pulled the absent-minded Fu Junyu away from the palace.

He knew that with his previous arrogance, once everyone came to their senses, his death was inevitable. And severely injured, he was no match for Ouyang Xiyi. Like a wolf on the grasslands, he would never put himself to death; he needed Fu Junyu's help.

The two quietly left the palace and rushed out of the city. They randomly found a wealthy man's house in a market town to hide in. Ba Feng Han could no longer suppress his injuries and spat out a mouthful of blood at Fu Junyu's head. The bright red smell of blood finally brought the distraught Fu Junyu back to her senses.

Just as she was about to cry out, Ba Feng Han knocked her unconscious with a karate chop, then shook his head, sat cross-legged on the ground in the dark, and began to meditate and heal his injuries.

After an unknown amount of time, the two woke up one after the other with a muffled groan.

Ba Feng sneered, "Is this all the level that Fu Cailin, one of the three grandmasters, has taught you? If you continue like this, you'll only ever reach this level."

Fu Junyu lay on the bed, and upon hearing this, he did not get angry. He simply remained still, staring blankly at the horizontal beam above the bed.

Ba Feng Han failed to elicit a reaction from her, causing him to catch his breath. After a moment, he silently asked, "Did that person really severely injure Fu Cailin with a single sword strike?"

Upon hearing this, Fu Junyu trembled and silently shed tears. Although she did not reply, Ba Feng Han already knew everything.

After a moment of silence, a faint voice began to sound...

"That person left a sword intent within Senior Sister's body."

"Master said that the sword intent maintains its existence by constantly devouring Senior Sister's life force. The sword intent will only dissipate if Senior Sister dies."

"In order to save my senior sister, my master activated that sword intent. After that, I fell into a coma. When I woke up, my senior sister was already dead, and my master was also seriously injured and could only go into seclusion to heal.

A divine light flashed in Ba Feng Han's eyes, and he said, "You saw that sword intent, didn't you!"

Fu Junyu did not answer. After a moment, Ba Feng Han stood up and said, "We're leaving. If we stay any longer, we'll be discovered after dawn, and who knows if those people will come after us. If you don't want to die without knowing why, come with us."

After saying that, he turned and left, and Fu Junyu silently got up and followed him.

………………

On the streets of Dongping County, Su Yuchen and Shi Qingxuan walked in front, followed by Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, as the four strolled along the nearly deserted streets.

"Was your internal energy cultivation taught by Bi Xiuxin?" Su Yuchen asked casually, looking at the moonlight.

Shi Qingxuan nodded: "Qingxuan lived with her mother when she was young, and she taught Qingxuan all her martial arts."

"No wonder! It turns out to be the mental cultivation method of Cihang Jingzhai."

Su Yuchen glanced at her and waved his hand, saying, "Don't practice anymore. Bi Xiuxin and Shi Zhixuan's martial arts are just so-so, they're misleading people. If you continue practicing, you'll definitely go astray."

Upon hearing Shi Zhixuan's name, Shi Qingxuan paused, then continued walking forward as if nothing had happened. She asked, "Master Shi knows my background? Well, with Master Shi's martial arts skills, that's not surprising. Master Shi never leaves Yangzhou, is it because he can see everything thousands of miles away just by sitting in Yangzhou?"

"You're curious about everything," Su Yuchen said irritably.

Shi Qingxuan wasn't embarrassed at all. In fact, for such an elfin woman, her playfulness only added to her charm. She said, "No one has ever understood Master Shi before. I'm very curious too."