Chapter 39: Bizarre Sword Techniques

Night had fallen, and stars dotted the sky.

Xu Xiaoshou only slept for half the night before suddenly waking up.

Hmm, it wasn't because he was nervous about tomorrow's semifinal—absolutely not!

He picked up his sword and stepped into the courtyard, standing quietly.

Amidst the chirping of cicadas and frogs, the wind whispered softly, and so did he.

"It's a great time to practice swordplay..."

Xu Xiaoshou recalled the sword techniques he had comprehended in the past few days.

Jian Shu Jing Tong was really different from other passive skills; it wasn't like Qiang Zhuang or Feng Li, which were just straightforward boosts—it provided insights instead.

And these insights needed to be summarized by Xu Xiaoshou himself.

He slowly closed his eyes.

At that moment, everything in the courtyard seemed to tremble slightly.

The rockery, the spirit pool, the newly built house...

In his mind, he recalled Zhao Qingteng's Da Han Wu Xue. This move had left the deepest impression on him so far in the competition.

Not because of the skill's power or its level.

But because it was the first time Xu Xiaoshou had seen someone detach their sword intent and attach it to snowflakes.

This method of using sword intent truly broadened his horizons.

Yes, he was stealing techniques right now.

Stealing Zhao Qingteng's Da Han Wu Qi!

Although he didn't have snow, since sword intent could be attached to snow, could it be attached to other natural things?

A cold wind blew, and Xu Xiaoshou felt as if he had merged with heaven and earth. The small stones on the ground began to tremble rapidly.

Patta!

Patta!

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly opened his eyes, and the fragments shot up into the air like floating snow, with sword intent rising.

"Ha!"

He swung his sword, and in his mind, he saw a scene of snowy mountains tumbling, as if this sword could sever heaven and earth!

In his sight, the fragments shook violently and then fell with a patter.

Um...

Nothing else?

Xu Xiaoshou's face darkened. This was a bit different from what he had imagined.

"Whew!"

Fortunately, no one saw it...

Otherwise, it would be extremely embarrassing.

He calmed down a bit and realized that stealing techniques wasn't that simple.

However, this sword art of attaching sword intent to all things seemed very promising.

"Essentially, it's also a way to fight using sword intent..."

Xu Xiaoshou walked with his sword, his thoughts wandering in the night.

This training method was similar to the way he had pondered before, fighting purely with sword intent without spiritual skills.

"Following the heart, moving with the blade?"

Images flashed in his mind: fallen leaves rising and causing devastation, or a single sword coming forth, with ten thousand swords returning to the sect.

Perhaps by walking this path, he could reach such a realm?

Xu Xiaoshou was tempted. He knew his talent wasn't great; he had only mastered one style of the Bai Yun Jian Fa in three years.

But his comprehension of sword intent had improved with the appearance of Jian Shu Jing Tong.

Since that's the case, could he try walking this path?

The mainstream path for sword cultivators was to use sword intent with spiritual skills to produce terrifying output.

But his idea was to fight purely with sword intent.

This was destined to be a completely different road from the masses; he just didn't know if it would lead to a dead end or allow him to carve out his own style in the mainstream.

"Sigh!"

Xu Xiaoshou shook his head; the latter was too difficult. He'd just take it one step at a time!

"First, think about how to fight in tomorrow's semifinal..."

His innate physical body had been exposed; everyone knew that as long as they kept their distance, he lost half his advantage.

The only thing that could turn the tide was this Zang Ku...

Xu Xiaoshou showed a strange expression; how did it circle back to sword intent again?

He fell into deep thought.

The style Bai Yun You You, amplified by sword intent, allowed him to play with many variations.

Net sword style, dial sword style, reverse sword style...

The first two were fine; they were just basic uses of sword intent, but for the reverse sword style...

Xu Xiaoshou looked at the Zang Ku in his hand.

In the battle with Zhao Qingteng, in a critical moment, this style flashed in his mind, more about combining sword intent with the sword weapon.

At that time, he felt that Zang Ku had come alive!

"Sword weapon gaining sentience?"

This seemed to be another way of attaching sword intent to something else, but because Zang Ku was close to him, it succeeded.

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly had a thought: he could attach sword intent to Zang Ku to achieve reverse counterattacks, but was it limited to that?

No!

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes lit up; if he could perfectly control Zang Ku with sword intent, wouldn't that achieve the legendary Yu Jian Shu?

Even... flying with the sword?!

You know, flying was the privilege of the Xian Tian realm; he was only at Lian Ling Ba Jing, and if he could fly with a sword, wouldn't that shock everyone?

"Try it!"

Xu Xiaoshou recalled the afternoon's battle and infused sword intent into the Zang Ku sword body.

"Buzz..."

A long hum, Zang Ku trembled.

Xu Xiaoshou was surprised; he really felt that the black sword in his hand was no longer a dead object; it seemed to have a trace of intelligence.

Great!

This meant he had established a connection with it.

Xu Xiaoshou threw Zang Ku out and pointed his two fingers upward.

"Up!"

He seemed to see the black sword soaring into the sky, but after being thrown, it just fell to the ground like an ordinary sword.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Xu Xiaoshou's face turned as black as charcoal; this black sword was struggling on the ground as if it had been wronged.

That's not right; it wasn't like this in the afternoon!

Maybe the throwing force was too weak?

Xu Xiaoshou picked up the sword, infused it with sword intent again, and threw it hard.

Whoosh!

The sword body ignited and shot toward the sky!

Xu Xiaoshou shouted that it works, and soon, he felt the excited sword intent and immediately summoned it back.

With a whoosh, a black dot appeared in the sky and dove straight toward Xu Xiaoshou.

Xu Xiaoshou was startled; damn, he didn't have the ice sculpture covering him now; if this sword hit, wouldn't he become the second Zhao Qingteng?

Thinking of that, he quickly jumped up, trying to stand on the sword and fly with it.

But Zang Ku's flight speed was too fast; it swept under his feet and instantly tripped him.

Bang!

Clang!

Both fell to the ground, and the scene was dead silent.

"Damn it, I don't believe it!"

"Again!"

Xu Xiaoshou tried again; tonight, he must master the legendary Yu Jian Shu!

The result...

Bang!

Clang!

"Continue!"

Bang!

Clang!

...

Persistence was poison, and the night was melancholic.

He didn't know how long had passed, but Xu Xiaoshou finally realized that when he threw the sword, the black sword wasn't really sentient.

It only got truly excited when it was flying at its peak and he summoned it back.

That is, during the "reverse" of the "reverse sword style," only then was the black sword truly sentient.

This discovery made Xu Xiaoshou silent for a long time; he couldn't figure out what the difference was between "throwing it out" and "flying back."

But he couldn't find the reason.

"This damn 'reverse sword style'..."

"I knew I should have named it 'Yu Jian Shu'!"

Xu Xiaoshou simply eliminated the throwing step, pointed the sword tip at himself, and infused sword intent.

"Buzz!"

The sword body instantly became lively, and Xu Xiaoshou immediately felt the life in it.

He reversed the sword tip, pointing it toward the sky.

"Buzz..."

The life force was only a trace left.

He reversed it again.

"Buzz!"

And again.

"Buzz..."

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

What the hell was this principle? It only had sentience when pointed at himself?

I think you want to kill your master!

Xu Xiaoshou didn't believe it and kept reversing it.

"Buzz!"

"Buzz..."

"Buzz!"

"Buzz..."

A black line appeared on his face, and Xu Xiaoshou angrily threw Zang Ku out; this sword must be crazy!

Whoosh!

The black sword flew back again.

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

Cursing ensued, Passive value, +0!