Volume II: Snow in Qinchuan Chapter 26: Worshipping the Sword (Part I)

The exchange of blows between Feng Qi and Zhou Zihan was hardly fierce, and the spectacle of the combat paled even in comparison to the previous Sword Debate Assembly.

They resembled two ordinary wandering swordsmen of the pugilistic world, calmly drawing and sheathing their blades.

There was neither overwhelming sword intent traversing the firmament nor a thunderous ringing of steel.

The disciples observing the match looked at one another in bewilderment.

"Senior Sister Zihan... has truly broken through to the Attunement Realm, hasn't she?"

"The object of the Sword Petition was in the Attunement Realm, and the Senior Brothers from the Traceless Peak who fought previously were also in the Attunement Realm. That matter should be true."

"Then right now... what is going on?"

"Perhaps... Senior Sister Zihan wishes to first observe Senior Brother Feng Qi's comprehension of swordsmanship?"

When Feng Qi was designated as the Sword Child, even disciples in the Primordial Origin Realm rarely addressed him as Senior Brother. After stepping into the Attunement Realm, however, his circumstances underwent an immediate transformation.

Aside from Mou Linhan, every single disciple he encountered addressed him as Senior Brother, even esteemed seated disciples such as Li Ruoyu.

One could only say that the Snow Cloud Sect was ultimately a place where strength spoke; lacking corresponding strength, no matter how lofty the status, it was nothing more than a joke.

A pristine and untainted heart like Mou Linhan's was something not everyone possessed.

Feng Qi was unaware of how the junior and senior brothers beneath the stage viewed this sword debate, but he truly had no intention of testing the other's swordsmanship.

The swordsmanship of the Thousand Precipices Peak's Sword Child naturally had elders and peak masters to oversee it; it was not his place to worry about.

He was merely responding to Zhou Zihan's sword.

Every single sword stroke contested for supremacy.

Every single sword stroke blended together.

Feng Qi suddenly recalled a book he had read in the past.

When two martial artists highly skilled in swordsmanship crossed swords, one could discern many things from each other's style.

Such as moral character.

Such as temperament.

Such as life experience.

In a flash of realization, Feng Qi felt as though his opponent had transformed into a six- or seven-year-old little girl, covered in sweat with a resolute gaze.

He had no idea how Zhou Zihan viewed him.

Yet he was thoroughly satisfied.

He was exceedingly satisfied with this Sword Petition.

He was exceedingly satisfied with this opponent.

Following another simple sword movement, Zhou Zihan withdrew her blade and stepped back, her delicate brows knitting slightly. "Why are your sword forms so arbitrary?"

Feng Qi was slightly stunned. "I don't see any problem with it."

Zhou Zihan gestured with the sword in her hand. "Take the fourteenth and fifteenth forms, for example. *Treading Snow to Seek Plum Blossoms* is inherently a sword of lofty isolation; how can it connect with the violent fury of *Six Dragons Returning to the Sun*?"

Feng Qi replied, "The Overlord Spear's eighteen forms are each entirely different, yet no one has ever managed to use them wrongly."

He also gestured with two sword moves, then said earnestly, "The *Swallows Chasing the Moon* emphasizes agility, but its final form can still be rigidly followed by the *Wind and Thunder Sword*. Why shouldn't the others be handled similarly?"

Zhou Zihan shook her head. "The paths along which vital energy circulates differ; drawing the sword in this manner is not a sustainable path."

Feng Qi did not agree with this perspective. "The sword is an agile weapon; excessive rigidity is not a good thing."

Zhou Zihan remained silent for a moment, weighing her words before speaking. "I cherish you as an opponent, but those of our generation wield the sword differently from ordinary wandering swordsmen. The flow of vital force has its own established laws. Perhaps you can alter your sword once or twice, but you cannot continue altering it indefinitely."

So that was what she meant.

Feeling the concern beneath Zhou Zihan's words, Feng Qi smiled. "All changes stem from the same origin. The predecessors who created these sword techniques did not merely intend for them to become rigid dogmas. The ultimate outcome must still depend on the successor's comprehension of the swordsmanship and the specific circumstances of the combat. When I modify them, it is not to say the predecessors' swords were flawed; rather, compared to rigid dogma, I trust my own judgment of the battlefield."

"Absurd!"

"The Snow Cloud Swordsmanship has been honed over hundreds of years. Every single form and movement carries its own profound meaning. You were born a mere sixteen years ago, and your time practicing the sword is even shorter. How could you possibly fathom the intentions of the sages?"

"Such unbridled arrogance! By your logic, are you somehow stronger than all the predecessors through the ages? What they failed to comprehend, you expect to figure out?"

Before Zhou Zihan could voice a rebuttal, murmurs of condemnation erupted from beneath the stage, most of them pointing out Feng Qi's presumption.

The few disciples who could understand Feng Qi's words were deep in thought at that moment.

Such as Mou Linhan.

Putting aside personal sentiments, he genuinely felt that what Feng Qi said made a great deal of sense.

If he had strictly followed the sword manuals, he would surely have died at the Weishui River back then.

Just as he was about to speak up and say a few words on Feng Qi's behalf, he heard the sneering voice of Wan Jiang beside him: "Does this Sword Child of ours truly regard himself as the peerless, one-of-a-kind sword genius of all under heaven?"

Mou Linhan pondered for a moment and said, "The Third Generation's Law-Enforcing Sword created the *Wind and Thunder Sword* at a mere sixteen years of age. Who is to say the Junior Apprentice Brother cannot accomplish the exact same feat?"

Wan Jiang was slightly startled, not expecting Feng Qi to be held in such high regard within Mou Linhan's mind.

What manner of figure was the Third Generation's Law-Enforcing Sword?

That was the very first recorded ascension cultivator in the history of Snow Cloud! Even now, countless devoted followers remained.

Wan Jiang happened to be one of them.

He felt a measure of indignation. "For the Senior Apprentice Brother to compare Feng Qi with the Third Generation's Law-Enforcing Sword, isn't that elevating him far too much?"

Mou Linhan chuckled softly.

Wan Jiang looked at him in incomprehension.

Mou Linhan sighed, retrieved a snow pear from his storage pouch, wiped it clean against his sword robe, took a bite, and said, "Arrogant individuals are mostly either geniuses or fools."

"Clearly, a fool could neither become a Sword Child nor wield the Overlord Spear and the Snow Cloud Swordsmanship's supreme manual simultaneously to the point of commanding them as effortlessly as his own arms." He took another bite of the pear and added, "In that case, the Junior Apprentice Brother is naturally a genius."

It was a very simple logic.

It was merely a matter of those involved being blinded by obsession.

Or perhaps blinded by the lust for power and profit.

Mou Linhan's gaze grew profound as he asked casually, as if raising a random question: "I heard some disciples within the peak are dissatisfied with the Junior Apprentice Brother. Are you aware of this?"

*South Sea Sword Tone!*

Wan Jiang lost his composure for a split second, snapping back to his senses the moment before he spoke. Cold sweat drenched him, and he said angrily, "What does the Senior Apprentice Brother mean by this?"

Mou Linhan smiled in apology, then remarked, "After your fierce battle with Wu Fan, I wondered just how strong you were, yet I never expected you to become strong to this degree."

The South Sea Sword Tone executed in the Brilliance-Drawing Realm had been broken free from after lasting merely an instant; among the current Attunement disciples of Snow Cloud, not even two could achieve such a feat.

Following the successive breakthroughs of Qiu Yue, Zhang Chen, and Wu Fan, Wan Jiang might well hold the position of foremost among Snow Cloud's Attunement disciples.

Mei Qinghan concealed certain things, though whether that depth extended this far remained unknown.

Feng Qi and Zhou Zihan... possessed fine innate talent, but perhaps still lacked something.

Wan Jiang took a deep breath, ultimately choosing not to pursue Mou Linhan's actions any further.

He was vaguely aware of certain maneuvers carried out by the people below, but they had nothing to do with him.

"I have entertained certain thoughts, but I haven't had the chance to arrange anything yet."

Mou Linhan stated, "I uncovered a few matters, and they are related to you."

Wan Jiang rolled his eyes. "If I had arranged them, you wouldn't have found out."

Pausing briefly, he continued, "Besides, if I were to plot something, it wouldn't be within the sect. Beneath the Ten Thousand Swords Great Formation, anyone attempting to orchestrations that violate the rules cannot escape a single word: death."

Let alone making arrangements.

Even hinting at them was something Wan Jiang had never done.

This was his seventh year at Snow Cloud; he knew just how formidable Snow Cloud truly was far better than the vast majority of people, and naturally, no thought of defiance ever arose within him.

To deliberate thoroughly before taking action—that was the mark of a true wise man.

Mou Linhan replied, "Outside the sect is likewise unacceptable."

The relationship between Mou Linhan and Wan Jiang had not reached such a degree of intimacy, at least not to the point where whatever the former commanded, the latter was bound to obey.

Since he was not speaking from a position of emotional rapport, he could only proceed from the standpoint of strength and status.

In other words, should Wan Jiang refuse, Mou Linhan would act.

A genius who could slay seventeen upper-Attunement experts consecutively upon merely entering the Attunement Realm—just how formidable would he be upon entering the Brilliance-Drawing Realm?

Wan Jiang did not know the answer to that question, but he was clearly unprepared to face it.

Thus, he nodded. "Since the Senior Apprentice Brother has personally given the word, what does it matter if I let the matter go? The question is, are you truly reconciled to this, Senior Apprentice Brother?"

Mou Linhan shook his head with a smile. "You are not me; do not try to second-guess my state of mind."

Wan Jiang fell slightly silent, then said softly, "Yet I am not reconciled. So many senior and junior brothers across the Traceless Peak are not reconciled."

Mou Linhan began to smile.

Yet what reached Wan Jiang's ears was merely the sound of hundreds of swords ringing out in unison.

Hundreds of distinct sword intents materialized upon the sword platform.

Zhou Zihan stood amidst that sky-filling sword intent.

Feng Qi offered a wry smile. "Can't we just continue as we were a moment ago?"

Without answering the question, Zhou Zihan spoke with calm composure, "I ask the Traceless Peak's Sword Child to receive my sword."

Having entered the Attunement Realm, Zhou Zihan's mastery over sword intent had grown vastly stronger; she no longer relied solely on raw sharpness to run rampant at will.

Many of the observing disciples had stepped into the Attunement Realm and could naturally perceive the razor-sharp edge laid bare across the platform.

They felt a subtle sense of strangeness.

Until one disciple noticed an anomaly.

"Could every single strand of sword intent correspond to a different sword technique?"

"Isn't that the Greater Radiance Sword?"

"Not quite the same. The last time Senior Sister Zihan only displayed a few strands of sword intent. The Greater Radiance Sword focuses primarily on sword qi, with limitations on lethality, speed, and agility. Strictly speaking, it was merely at the introductory level."

The scene fell into an eerie silence for dozens of breaths.

*Merely at the introductory level?*

*How dare you utter such words?*

The Greater Radiance Sword... had not resurfaced in the mortal world for decades.

Following the voice, the crowd looked over and recognized Zhao Muyuan, the third seat of the Wind and Thunder Peak, prompting immediate understanding in their hearts.

This fellow had long since reached the upper Attunement Realm, after which he spent six months wandering externally to consecrate his sword, returning only shortly before and skipping the Sword Debate Assembly entirely.

No matter how high the caliber of a genius, there were still distinctions in timing.

No one believed Zhao Muyuan was weaker than the two Sword Children on the platform.

Primarily because... battle achievements spoke for themselves.

Those two on the stage possessed resounding reputations in the Primordial Origin Realm, but their actual achievements in the Attunement Realm were virtually nonexistent.

"What about now, then?"

"Now, it can be considered mastery."

The surrounding disciples were startled upon hearing this.

Junior Sister Zihan was merely sixteen years old!

Reaching mastery in the Greater Radiance Sword at age sixteen?

Did that not mean there was hardly any room for further improvement ahead?

"You have all fallen into a misconception," Zhao Muyuan spoke up once more. "Prior to reaching the Dao Void Realm, the Greater Radiance Sword will remain one of her supreme lethal techniques. Hardly anyone in the same realm can withstand it."

With the conversation reaching this point, it was practically a final verdict on this Sword Petition.

It remained to be seen whether anyone would offer a counterargument.

Sure enough, wherever there were people, there were different stances, even if the vast majority supported Zhou Zihan.

"Personally, I believe Senior Brother Feng Qi will win." A somewhat wooden voice rang out.

Anyone daring to contradict Zhao Muyuan at a moment like this would most likely be among the pinnacle disciples of the various peaks.

Yet the person who spoke was not.

He was quite famous.

Not because of his strength.

But because of his perseverance.

He practiced a single sword technique from Body Tempering all the way to Attunement.

The introductory sword technique of the Traceless Peak: *Three Descents of the Cloud Terrace*.

This sword technique was exceedingly obscure; even among the disciples of the Traceless Peak, no more than three could wield it to perfection.

He was one of them.

His name was Leng Men.