Volume Two: Snow over the Qin River Chapter Twenty-Seven: Paying Homage to the Sword (II)

The dispute between Zhao Muchuan and Leng Men was not the proper business of this place, and a conflict that arose from the sword should naturally be resolved by the sword.

The two hundred and seven sword intents unleashed by Zhou Zihan, along with her sword, thrust toward Feng Qi almost simultaneously.

A total of two hundred and eight swords, nested three layers deep and three layers shallow, distinctly targeted the exact same coordinate. Very few disciples at the Soul-Meeting Realm present could have received such an onslaught.

This single strike shattered the sword hearts of many, even causing them to harbor doubts as to why they studied the sword in the first place, but Feng Qi was clearly not among them.

He detested trouble, but he did not detest a challenge.

During the sword-clashing sessions, facing similar scenarios, he had taken one step per sword, using a hundred different sword techniques to forcefully shatter the Great Brightness Sword.

Zhou Zihan was repeating her old trick, but naturally she would not afford him the same opportunity again. Regardless of timing or potency, there was no possibility of a move more formidable than the present Great Brightness Sword within the same realm.

In the eyes of the majority, only two paths lay before Feng Qi.

One was akin to the aforementioned method, though under the current circumstances, he could only resort to the Lifeless Sword Storehouse and the Sword-Walking Mountains and Rivers.

Being slow by a single step meant being slow at every step; he had fallen behind, and the probability of breaking the deadlock was exceedingly low.

The other path led in the exact opposite direction, akin to how Mou Linhan handled Wu Fan's Thousand-Fathom Scenery, enduring through absolute defense.

The struggle between offense and defense had existed since antiquity; it all depended on whether Feng Qi's Traceless Sword Intent could truly reach the level of Mou Linhan.

Which path would Feng Qi choose?

To the astonishment of everyone, Feng Qi chose neither.

He rode the wind and rose, drifting like a ghost amidst the sky-full of sword intent.

Those sword intents brushed past him.

They did not even graze the hem of his garments.

Passing through ten thousand flowers without a single leaf clinging to the body.

Nothing more, nothing less.

The observing disciples were utterly dumbfounded.

"Tread Snow Seeking Plum... can it even be used like that?"

A disciple with some discernment detected a trace of anomaly and said uncertainly, "How is it that I sense a hint of Zen intent?"

The elders discerned considerably more.

Guan Men's voice sounded deeply mournful, yet the expression on his face was beaming with elation. "I heard he once had a battle with the Wind Divine Guard. I originally thought it an absurd endeavor, but who would have thought he managed to secretly learn the Slumber Zen."

Xue Jian was somewhat speechless. "You mean to say he only fought the Wind Divine Guard once, and yet he mastered the Slumber Zen?"

Ximen Wei said in astonishment, "No matter how astonishing one's talent is, achieving that should be impossible, right?"

"Prior to that, there had never been any word of the Sword Disciple employing Slumber Zen," Guan Men stroked his beard and shook his head. "Not only that, it is rumored he also commands the Immovable Zen and the Great Stele-Shattering Hand."

Dongshan Cuo frowned and asked, "Could it be that he truly is a member of the Zen Sect?"

Guan Men sneered, showing utter disdain for this assertion. "He is also proficient in hundreds of minor regional swords outside of Snow Cloud; what do you say to that?"

Dongshan Cuo wanted to remark that biting off more than one could chew leads to indigestion.

Yet Feng Qi had already demonstrated the pinnacle realms of several cultivation arts, and he could not simply ignore the facts.

Seeing the speechless expressions of the elders from the other peaks, Guan Men smiled triumphantly. "It is nothing much. Without such talent, how could he possibly become the Sword Disciple of my Traceless Peak?"

Xue Jian and the others looked at Guan Men's smug appearance, wishing to argue but utterly powerless to do so.

Who could blame them when his side had indeed produced such a monstrous anomaly?

"Look! What sword technique is this?"

"A variation of the Thousand-Fathom Scenery! Senior Sister Zihan is actually using her sword as a medium to trap Senior Brother Feng Qi inside a sword cocoon!"

"The space within the sword cocoon is so minuscule that that strange Zen intent can by no means exert its effect as it did just a moment ago!"

"What is that?"

"A ray of sword light has actually emerged from within the sword cocoon!"

"That is the Blue Frost Sword! I saw Senior Brother Feng Qi use it during the sword discussions!"

"An immortal-grade flying sword; no wonder it could breach the sword cocoon sustained by Senior Sister Zhou's sword intent."

"It is not entirely due to the grade. What Senior Brother Feng Qi is using right now... seems to be the Sword-Breaking Style of Tread Snow Peak!"

"Is he not the Sword Disciple of Traceless Peak? Why does he command so many sword techniques of Tread Snow Peak?"

"It is said... that Grandmaster Dharma Sword bestowed the Snow Cloud Sword Technique General Formulary upon Senior Brother Feng Qi when he was six years old."

"Six years old? Was that not shortly after Senior Brother Feng Qi was conferred as the Heir of Yanbei?"

"Could it be that the Grandmaster decided a full decade ago to make Senior Brother Feng Qi the Sword Disciple?"

"A decade ago... then isn't the Senior Brother extremely pitiful?"

Upon touching upon this topic, the atmosphere on the scene inevitably grew somewhat heavy, and many Traceless Peak disciples wore looks of regret.

For Feng Qi to achieve this degree satisfied them greatly, even filling them with a sense of pride.

This was the Sword Disciple of their Traceless Peak.

The Sword Disciple who had read through the entire Dao Canon.
The Sword Disciple who dared to leap into the Sunken Sword Pool.
The Sword Disciple proficient in countless cultivation arts.
The Sword Disciple whose immortal-grade flying sword automatically recognized its master.
The Sword Disciple combining courage, talent, comprehension, and destiny into one.

Yet no matter how breathtaking Feng Qi was, one could not help but feel a lingering sense of pity for that gentle and equally brilliant Senior Brother.

On the stage, the clangor of metal had never ceased.

Beneath the stage, a silence had settled in.

Gradually, the attention of the crowd was once again drawn back to the battle.

A pair of wings suddenly sprouted from both sides of Zhou Zihan's body.

The wing on the left was composed of a hundred sword intents, and the wing on the right was likewise.

A single sword intent fell into her sword.

There were three sword intents flanking each side of the blade.

Feng Qi was exceedingly familiar with this formation.

Whenever he went to the battlefield to drill troops, the charge looked precisely like this.

The vanguard cavalry breaks the defense line, and the flanks follow up immediately.

Invincible.

A ring of light snow suddenly rippled beneath Zhou Zihan's feet.

Feng Qi's gaze narrowed slightly.

Her figure had already vanished, her speed immeasurably faster than before; even with Feng Qi's Traceless Sword Eyes, he could only capture a lingering blur.

"This is the true Ultimate Thousand-Fathom Scenery! The last time I saw it was when the Peak Master unleashed it back at Wei River." Ximen Wei of Thousand-Fathom Peak felt deeply gratified.

Genius, you say?

Who didn't have one?

Dongshan Cuo and Xue Jian exchanged glances, remaining speechless.

Tracedless Peak and Thousand-Fathom Peak had hogged all the spotlight; what were they supposed to do?

Damn it, if only the Great Elder Hongyuan of Tread Snow Peak had come; wouldn't just the two of them being embarrassed make them look cheap?

No...

Sheng Yun was also a monstrous anomaly... surpassing the two on stage by no small margin!

In the end, the outcome remained the two of them exchanging glances in speechless silence.

The moods of Dongshan Cuo and Xue Jian suddenly turned somewhat sour.

Zhang Chen was not bad, and Qiu Yue was not bad either, but compared to the sword disciples of the other three peaks, there was ultimately still some gap in talent.

"Look, Feng Qi is making his move as well."

"It's the Moon Hanging Over the Vast Sky from Moon-Chasing Peak."

"Zhou Zihan has been forced out. What a brilliant full moon, what a boundless sky!"
"Truly, the younger generation is formidable, formidable indeed!"

"Junior Sister Xue Jian, does the current generation of Moon-Chasing Peak... have any disciples capable of executing such a flawless Moon Hanging Over the Vast Sky?"

Xue Jian desperately wanted to say yes.

But she valued her pride.

So she said nothing.

Guan Men wore a smug, motherly smile across his face.

Ximen Wei, however, discovered another problem. "Lifeless Sword Storehouse of Traceless Peak, Sword-Walking Mountains and Rivers of Wind-Thunder Peak, Tread Snow Seeking Plum of Tread Snow Peak, and now Moon Hanging Over the Vast Sky of Moon-Chasing Peak... Could it be that he has thoroughly comprehended the true swords of all five Snow Cloud peaks?"

Guan Men thought to himself: *Is this doubt only occurring to you now?*

Seeing the proud expression on Guan Men's face, Xue Jian could not help but press her hand to her forehead, wondering why she had ever chosen to appear here.

Dongshan Cuo clicked his tongue. "Since he even knows Sword-Walking Mountains and Rivers, the true swords of Thousand-Fathom Peak are naturally a breeze for him as well."

Ximen Wei let out a cold snort, preparing to retort.

A sharp sword hum interrupted their conversation.

The swords of most disciples beneath the stage also trembled in unison, ringing out.

The thin clouds above the sword platform began to churn, resembling a pebble dropped into a calm lake.

Feng Qi's sea of consciousness churned along with it.

Zhou Zihan's movements appeared much slower in his eyes, yet in reality, they had grown immensely faster.

With his sea of consciousness in turmoil, it was naturally impossible to capture Zhou Zihan's movements with divine sense.

Feng Qi felt a momentary laziness in his heart and abruptly slashed forward with a single sword.

With one sword released, ten thousand swords were unleashed.

Countless sword qi surged out from behind him, scrambling to the fore.

Lifeless Sword Storehouse.

*Since I cannot capture you, I shall destroy everything before me.*

Zhou Zihan had anticipated this; sword intent formed an airtight sword net before her.

The sword qi was blocked outside the sword net.

Qi and intent ultimately had their distinctions.

Intent and sword likewise had their differences.

A single point of piercing cold struck the sword net.

The tip of the Blue Frost Sword appeared before Zhou Zihan's eyes.

She had also anticipated this, and thus lunged forward.

In his haste, Feng Qi had no choice but to deflect his sword two inches to the left.

His sword pierced into her left shoulder—not deep, approximately two inches.

Her sword landed upon his shoulder—not far, approximately the width of a finger.

Feng Qi's expression was exceedingly complex. "Even with your Innate Formless Sword Physique, it is impossible to withstand an immortal-grade flying sword."

Zhou Zihan nodded. "I know."

Feng Qi fell silent for a moment, then spoke again. "If I had not deflected those two inches, my sword would have pierced directly into your heart."

Zhou Zihan nodded once more. "I know that too."

Feng Qi spoke no further.

Zhou Zihan raised her hand slightly.

The sword in her hand moved accordingly.

Stopping precisely at Feng Qi's throat.

"Yet I have won. In this battle, I am injured and you are dead."

The disciples beneath the stage had not anticipated that a routine sword-salutation would nearly involve life and death.

Nor had Feng Qi anticipated it. He withdrew his sword, covered the sword wound with his palm, and a hazy radiance emanated from the spot where his palm met the flesh.

"Rain-Bathing Radiance?" Zhou Zihan asked with some surprise. "Fufeng even taught you this?"

Feng Qi did not answer the question, even though his Rain-Bathing Radiance had indeed been taught to him by Fufeng.

Aside from Rain-Bathing Radiance, he also knew the Seven-Gate Locking technique of Kunlun, which was similarly a supreme healing art.

The question was, how did Zhou Zihan know?

Feng Qi was entirely certain that he had only laid eyes on this girl for the first time after arriving at Snow Cloud.

Some mysteries remained.

But it did not matter.

The road ahead was still long.

Before long, the wound had healed, leaving not even a scar behind.

Feng Qi stood up, clapped his hands, and asked earnestly, "Can you tell me now?"

Zhou Zihan tilted her head. "Tell you what?"

Putting everything else aside, this posture was rather cute—that was Feng Qi's initial thought, before he reacted. "How did you know about these things?"

Zhou Zihan replied, "You are so clever; you could even deduce the layout devised by that fellow from Wuyang and the Sage of Wisdom, yet you cannot figure this out?"

Feng Qi lowered his brow in thought and remained silent.

Zhou Zihan arched an eyebrow, her smile bright as blossoms.

"Wait for me at your immortal cave; I shall come find you later."