Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 977: Unmatched Opening

Qiu Qianren knew that Ouyang Feng had always been proud and aloof, and when he saw him suddenly propose fighting together, he was instantly filled with suspicion and doubt. However, he still chose to trust the other’s judgment, stepping forward with Ouyang Feng, forming a corner formation with Song Qingshu, subtly trapping Wang Chongyang in the middle.

Wang Chongyang glanced at him and said coldly, “The former leader of the Iron Palm Gang, Shangguan Jiannan, was a hero and a patriot who fought all his life against the Jin people. Yet his successor has become a dog of the Jin! Fine, today I will clear out Shangguan Jiannan’s remnants for him.”

After all, Qiu Qianren was also a member of a sect, and upon hearing this, he was furious: “Aren’t you afraid you’ll hurt your tongue in the wind?”

Wang Chongyang snorted coldly, his voice falling into Qiu Qianren’s ears, causing his heart to tremble. Suddenly, he saw the opponent appear before him in a flash, and before he could react, he was already face to face with him.

“Your opponent is me. Why bother to trouble others?”

At a critical moment, Song Qingshu appeared between the two, blocking Wang Chongyang’s attack and pulling Qiu Qianren back several zhangs.

“Huh?” Wang Chongyang did not pursue but instead looked at Song Qingshu with surprise. “I thought your martial skills already amazed me, but I didn’t expect your Qinggong to be even better.”

“Your Qinggong is not bad either,” Song Qingshu said with a slight smile, using gentle force on his palm to push Qiu Qianren beside Ouyang Feng. “It’s better for the two of you to watch from the sidelines. I’ll handle this person.”

Qiu Qianren finally reacted, recalling everything that had happened in that fleeting moment. His face turned pale. That white-robed old man was unknown to him, and the pressure from that instant made him unable to move.

However, he also admitted that his complacency earlier had contributed. Facing the opponent again, he might still lose, but it wouldn’t be as humiliating as before—of course, if he had a choice, he would never want to face that man again.

“Brother…” Ouyang Feng hesitated, clearly not optimistic about Song Qingshu.

Song Qingshu shook his head and said, “Brother Feng, rest assured. I know who he is, and I will be careful.”

Ouyang Feng’s eyes revealed a hint of astonishment. He had worried that Song Qingshu might be timid upon hearing Wang Chongyang’s name, but now he saw that he was completely unfazed and even confident in the face of Wang Chongyang.

Ouyang Feng knew that Song Qingshu was not the arrogant type, and since he said so, he must have some confidence in his heart. It seemed this would be a fierce battle of dragons and tigers.

For a moment, Ouyang Feng couldn’t help but become curious. Since the last time on Mystic Dragon Island, he had never seen Song Qingshu use all his strength. Maybe this time he could find out.

Wang Chongyang wondered, “This kid really has confidence.”

Song Qingshu smiled and said, “Young people are just bold.”

Wang Chongyang nodded. “Indeed, you are quite like me, but unfortunately, you are Jin, and you possess a world-shaking skill. If I let you live in this world, it would be a disaster for millions of Han people. So, I won’t hold back next. Be careful.”

Song Qingshu reached out and drew a long sword. For fighting such a high-level master, wasting effort controlling a flying sword would be unwise; every bit of strength must be cherished.

“I haven’t used a sword in many years,” Wang Chongyang drew a long sword from a nearby pillar, looking at the engraved ‘Chongyang’ characters on the blade, his eyes full of memories. “But your martial arts are impressive. If I don’t use a sword, I might find it hard to kill you.”

Song Qingshu forced a bitter smile. “Should I be proud or regretful?”

Wang Chongyang proudly said, “To force me to draw my sword, there are only a few in the world. You’re young, so you should be proud.”

Song Qingshu replied, “To force me to go all out, only a few in the world can do so. You should also be proud.”

Wang Chongyang was momentarily stunned, then burst into hearty laughter. “Interesting, very interesting. Watch this!”

As he finished laughing, Wang Chongyang swung his sword at Song Qingshu. If it were a normal martial arts contest, given his status, he wouldn’t attack so aggressively. But this match involved the fight for Jin Han, and he hated the Jin Dynasty with a passion. Plus, Song Qingshu’s martial prowess was even higher than the Four Great Elders back in the day. For his ideals, he didn’t care about his personal reputation.

Although Song Qingshu had been talking with him, his mind remained alert. When he saw the sword strike, he hurriedly swung his sword to meet it. In the blink of an eye, they exchanged several moves.

The five Quanzhen disciples looked at each other in surprise. Liu Chuxuan hesitated and said, “Senior brother, this senior’s swordsmanship seems to have the shadow of Quanzhen swordsmanship.”

Qiu Chuji was also carefully observing their moves. As the highest among the five Quanzhen disciples, he watched for a while and shook his head. “This senior’s swordsmanship feels somewhat familiar, but upon closer inspection, not a single move matches our Quanzhen swordsmanship. His move just now seems to contain techniques from Shaolin and Kunlun. The next move…”

At this point, he suddenly found himself at a loss for words because the two in the field were changing their moves too quickly. Usually, the first move would be followed by the second, seemingly only using one move at a time, but in reality, they had exchanged over a dozen sword techniques.

Qiu Chuji initially kept up but after about three moves, he started to get confused, unable to understand why that move was used. To him, that move seemed inexplicable, pointing nowhere, yet the other person was like facing a great enemy, hurriedly changing several moves to respond. When Qiu Chuji finally understood the mystery, the two had already exchanged dozens of moves, and he had to give up trying to decipher their secret techniques, merely watching as a rustic villager would.

Ouyang Feng and Qiu Qianren’s martial skills far surpassed those of the five Quanzhen disciples, so they could follow the battle. Watching Wang Chongyang and Song Qingshu exchange blows, each move looked ordinary—common martial arts in the wulin—yet upon closer inspection, subtle differences appeared. Sometimes changing angles, sometimes slowing down, those ordinary moves unexpectedly showed a return to simplicity, dazzling their eyes.

They wondered, if they were in each other’s shoes, they couldn’t find a better way to respond. After dozens more exchanges, even Qiu Qianren found himself struggling to keep up.

The three women beside them also stared intently at the battle. Their martial skills were not as high as Qiu Qianren’s, so they couldn’t appreciate the intricacies of the moves, only judging who was more aggressive by who attacked more or less.

Although Pucha Qiucao didn’t like to switch to Tang Kuo Bian, since they both served the Jin court, she naturally supported Song Qingshu.

Xiao Longnu, usually peaceful and unworldly, had just been rescued by Song Qingshu. She also held little goodwill toward the Quanzhen teachings, so she silently cheered for Song Qingshu. But she was heavily injured, and as the battle between the two was swift and evasive, she soon felt dizzy and nauseous, closing her eyes and leaning her head on Daiqisi’s shoulder.

Daiqisi held Xiao Longnu’s soft, boneless body. Despite being a woman, she couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter. She thought, no wonder that surnamed Song was risking everything to save her—what man wouldn’t be moved by such a woman?

Her martial power was not as strong as Ouyang Feng or Qiu Qianren, but she was still the Holy Maiden of Mingjiao, the first of the Four Kings. It was clear who had the advantage.

At first, the white-robed old man launched an attack, and Song Qingshu often had to defend for seven or eight moves before returning one or two. Though at a disadvantage, his formation remained steady. After a while, Song Qingshu gradually managed to counter three or four moves out of ten. After exchanging dozens of moves again, six out of ten were attacks from Song Qingshu, and the white-robed old man gradually fell into a defensive stance.

Ouyang Feng also watched with a strange expression, thinking Wang Chongyang might be about to stumble today. He was better at everything else but chose to compare swordsmanship with Song Qingshu.

Since meeting Song Qingshu, Ouyang Feng had never seen anyone surpass him in swordsmanship!

Wang Chongyang clearly sensed his disadvantage too. After attacking a few moves, he seized the opportunity to jump out of the battle circle, staring at him blankly. “Are you from the Five Great Sword Sects? No, no one in the Five Great Sword Sects has such skill in swordsmanship. Hmm, have you ever met Dugu Qiubai?”

Song Qingshu’s heart skipped a beat. From his words, it seemed he knew Dugu Qiubai?

“I once coincidentally visited Dugu Qiubai’s Sword Tomb,” Song Qingshu replied.

Wang Chongyang suddenly relaxed. “No wonder your sword moves contain Dugu Qiubai’s sword intent.”

Song Qingshu couldn’t help but recall that year when he traveled the world, trying to exploit the advantage of being a traverser to loot those legendary martial arts. Dugu Qiubai’s Sword Tomb was one of them. Unfortunately, by the time he arrived, the Mystic Iron Heavy Sword had already been taken by Yang Guo. To avoid returning empty-handed, he took a wooden sword from the tomb. At the time, he was quite annoyed, feeling he gained nothing. But later, as his cultivation increased, he realized that the greatest treasure in the Sword Tomb was not the divine eagle nor the Mystic Iron Heavy Sword, but the characters carved into the cliff by Dugu Qiubai:

“For over thirty years I roamed the martial world,

Slaying traitors and villains, defeating heroes and masters.

In all under Heaven, none could stand against me.

Helpless, I withdrew to a deep valley, taking eagles as my only companions.

Alas! A lifetime spent seeking a worthy opponent…yet none could be found.

Truly, such loneliness is unbearable!”

 — Sword Demon, Dugu Qiubai

Those lacking sufficient skill could only read these words and see Dugu Qiubai’s legendary, cool, and domineering life. Even those with enough skill but insufficient sword understanding couldn’t see much. But as Song Qingshu’s cultivation grew and his understanding of swordsmanship returned to its essence, looking back at those characters on the cliff, he saw only the sword intent Dugu Qiubai left behind.

“Since you have obtained the true inheritance of Dugu Qiubai’s sword intent, I am no longer your match in simple sword comparison,” Wang Chongyang admitted frankly. “But you should be careful of this move.”

He stepped on the Seven Stars, circling around Song Qingshu with an extremely profound step. Everyone in the hall saw a flash before their eyes, suddenly perceiving him transforming into seven figures, subtly surrounding Song Qingshu in the middle.

“Heavenly Big Dipper Formation! It’s my master’s Heavenly Big Dipper Formation!” Qiu Chuji exclaimed excitedly, tears welling in the eyes of the five Quanzhen disciples.