Chapter 1324: A Single Strand of Hair

"All wrong?"

Shui Qianrou's face twitched.

The shocks she had encountered today were more than she had experienced in her entire life before.

She had told him in advance not to talk too much nonsense, and he said he understood... Was this his understanding?

Her teacher's swordsmanship was the best in the Saint Son Hall and ranked across the entire continent. When meeting such a grandmaster for the first time, ordinary people would hardly dare to breathe, afraid of saying something that might displease him. But this fellow... directly said it was all wrong!

Did he know how to speak?

"What did you say?" Senior Brother Xie's face darkened, his eyes filled with anger.

This was already a public insult to their teacher.

Upon entering and sensing the sword aura, he thought this was an expert, but unexpectedly, he turned out to be a reckless fool!

"Let him finish!"

Waving his hand, the old man Jian Qinsheng interrupted Senior Brother Xie and looked over: "This sword technique has been passed down from our ancestors. With these sword moves, they roamed the continent. Though not invincible in every battle, they were unmatched and rarely met an opponent... And you say it's all wrong? May I ask where you get that?"

"Well..."

Hesitating, Zhang Xuan wanted to speak but found there were so many errors he didn't know where to start. If he pointed out all of them, he feared the other party would be utterly crushed. He could only sigh: "There are too many; I can't say them all..."

"Can't say them all?"

Shui Qianrou dug her nails into her flesh.

If he couldn't say them, how dare he open his mouth?

Was he not afraid of death, or had he grown tired of living?

"Teacher, don't listen to his wild talk. I think he's deliberately spouting nonsense to attract your attention!"

Furious to the point of exploding, Senior Brother Xie stepped forward.

Jian Qinsheng frowned.

He was a grandmaster of the sword, famous across the continent. Countless young people wished to become his disciple, but because his standards were strict and the elimination rate high, every year some would deliberately utter shocking words to catch his attention.

Unfortunately, upon investigation, wild talk was just wild talk, without any meaning.

However, his swordsmanship was profound, and as an eight-star high-grade master teacher, his insight was extraordinary.

The young man before him, when he spoke those words, had a steady breath and a calm voice, clearly full of confidence, completely different from those previous reckless speakers.

That was why he hadn't gotten angry and wanted to ask clearly.

"Please allow me to compete with him, to see how his swordsmanship is that he dares to be so arrogant. If he's just a reckless fool, I wish to teach him a lesson and make him understand the immensity of heaven and earth!" Senior Brother Xie clasped his fists.

As a student, if someone questioned his teacher and he didn't act, where would the dignity of the teacher-student relationship be?

"You must be a new student this year, right?"

Without answering Senior Brother Xie, Jian Qinsheng looked at Zhang Xuan.

"Yes."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Mm, among the new students, there is a Zhang Jiuxiao with no weak swordsmanship. Could it be you?" Jian Qinsheng asked.

He had also attended the new student assessment. This Zhang Jiuxiao, at a young age, had comprehended half-step true solution, with limitless talent. Could it be the person before him?

"Jiuxiao is my friend..." Zhang Xuan bowed: "I am Zhang Xuan."

"Zhang Xuan?" Jian Qinsheng shook his head.

He only paid attention to juniors with outstanding swordsmanship. Although Zhang Xuan had rushed into the top fifty and caused quite a stir, it meant nothing to him.

"How about this: you say my swordsmanship is all wrong, but when I ask you, you can't say it... Why don't you compete with my student? I'll have him suppress his cultivation to match yours, and you two will only exchange sword techniques, stopping at the point of touch."

Jian Qinsheng waved his hand.

Since he wasn't Zhang Jiuxiao, his understanding of the sword path was presumably not outstanding. It was better to let his student test him and see what confidence he had to speak so recklessly.

"Alright." Zhang Xuan nodded.

If he couldn't say it, showing it might also provide some insight.

"This way, please." Seeing his agreement, Senior Brother Xie snorted and led the way.

In a moment, they arrived at an open space not far from the pavilion, about twenty meters in diameter, just right for a duel.

Swish!

Standing steady in the open space, Senior Brother Xie slowly drew his longsword.

As the blade left the sheath, his entire aura changed instantly, sharp and aggressive, as if it could pierce the air at any moment and slay a person.

Creak! Creak!

Although he suppressed his cultivation to the initial stage of the Out-of-Body realm, he still exuded a sharpness, as if he himself were a longsword.

"Peak of Upper Sword Heart?"

With just one look, Zhang Xuan knew that the other's understanding of the sword had reached the peak of Upper Sword Heart, only a step away from breaking through at any moment.

At such a young age, having this ability, even if not as good as Zhang Jiuxiao, he could still be considered an expert.

"Where is your sword? Make your move!"

Pointing his longsword level, Senior Brother Xie gathered his essence, energy, and spirit to their peak and looked over coldly.

"Mine?"

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

At the same level, with his understanding of the sword path having reached the true solution level... using a sword would be too unfair.

Looking around, his eyes fell on Shui Qianrou: "I may need to trouble you to borrow something from Senior Sister Shui."

"Borrow something?"

Startled, Shui Qianrou then understood, and with a flick of her wrist, handed over her longsword: "Here!"

This fellow had once seen her sword; he probably wanted to borrow it.

However, using someone else's longsword was troublesome due to the issue of the weapon spirit.

"Heh."

Instead of taking the sword, Zhang Xuan stepped forward, gently pinched a strand of the girl's hair, and it fell into his palm: "No need for a sword; I'll borrow a strand of hair."

Saying this, he held the root of the hair between his middle and index fingers, infused his true qi straight into it, and with a "hum," the slender hair stood erect like a longsword.

"Let's begin."

Returning to the open space, Zhang Xuan smiled lightly.

"You're using this to compete with me?"

His eyes reddened, Senior Brother Xie trembled with anger.

He was an elite swordsman of the Saint Son Hall and a student of the sword grandmaster Jian Qinsheng. He had lowered his status to compete, and this fellow actually used just a strand of hair to face him...

This was sheer contempt!

"Mm, I don't want to bully you."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

"You're asking for death!"

Feeling as if he would explode, Senior Brother Xie flicked his wrist, and the longsword in his palm let out a sharp roar as it thrust straight forward.

When an expert makes a move, one knows if they have it.

This Senior Brother Xie, though seemingly furious, his swordsmanship was unaffected. As soon as he moved, his sword aura targeted seven or eight acupoints on Zhang Xuan, sealing off all possible paths for a sword strike.

"Is this guy's anger feigned?"

Zhang Xuan nodded inwardly.

As expected of a genius of the Saint Son Hall; none of them were easy to deal with.

This fellow looked furious, as if he would explode at any moment, but in reality, he was extremely calm inside. He had studied Zhang Xuan's stance, possible sword moves, and retreat routes, and sealed them all with one strike.

If it were any other peak Upper Sword Heart expert, even Zhang Jiuxiao, they would immediately be flustered and have to clash head-on with their sword.

But if they did that, the hair would snap instantly, and there would be no need to continue the duel; he would lose in one move.

Forcing a defense with one strike—truly a sword expert not to be underestimated.

Unfortunately... his opponent was an expert who had comprehended the true solution of the sword path!

Smiling lightly, Zhang Xuan neither retreated nor sidestepped. The hair between his fingers suddenly slanted, slowly arcing toward Senior Brother Xie's shoulder well point.

The opponent's sharp thrust was not blocked but aimed at the shoulder well, which seemed puzzling. But when Jian Qinsheng saw this move, he frowned, his eyes showing disbelief.

It was none other than one of the moves he had just performed in the pavilion.

Only, in the other's hands, it was more exquisite, more fluid, giving a sense of conforming to nature and pointing straight to the great path.

"Although only a slight change, the power is completely different..."

His fist tightened.

As a renowned sword grandmaster on the continent, his insight was beyond doubt.

The opponent's move looked simple but involved timing and understanding of the opponent's swordsmanship. Once executed, its power was such that even a strand of hair was no weaker than a longsword!

"Huh?"

He saw the power, and the opposing Senior Brother Xie's face changed.

The other party looked young, but as soon as he made his move, Senior Brother Xie felt as if the path of his true qi flow was instantly cut off, his chest torn open, with intense pain.

"Damn it!"

His eyes reddened, and he began to move his feet, circling around.

Earlier, he had intended to attack head-on, relying on the advantage of his weapon to cut the opponent's hair strand. Now, he circled, looking for an opportunity to counterattack.

Although it was only a brief move, his contempt vanished, and he realized that the other's understanding of the sword was not inferior to his.

"This..."

The junior brothers and sisters who had followed into the courtyard saw Senior Brother Xie assume a defensive posture after just one move. They looked at each other, bewildered.

Even Shui Qianrou was confused.

Jian Qinsheng could see the power of Zhang Xuan's move, but they, limited by their strength, could not perceive it at all.

At first glance, it seemed that Senior Brother Xie was going easy, deliberately letting the fellow off.

"Senior Brother Xie is still too merciful."

"Yeah, if it were me, I would have struck him down with one sword!"

"Don't worry, Senior Brother Xie will surely teach him a lesson..."

They muttered in low voices.

"Heh."

Hearing this, Zhang Xuan smiled again.

He had to admit, this Senior Brother Xie was indeed clever. Realizing that his sword move was not simply aimed at the shoulder well but involved countless variations, he immediately stopped attacking and switched to circling.

However, if the Heavenly Path Sword Technique could be evaded just by circling, it wouldn't be so formidable.

Gripping the hair strand, Zhang Xuan used the same move, the same angle, and thrust again into the air.

This time, it was no longer the shoulder well but the throat.

The move was plain and simple, but it stirred the true qi in his body, as if piercing into a whirlpool in flowing water. No matter how Senior Brother Xie dodged or circled, he would actively collide with it, unable to evade.

The same move, the same direction, but due to a slight difference in angle and timing, the power was several times greater!

Even seeing it with his own eyes, it was hard to believe.

"This move... has such a variation?"

Jian Qinsheng, standing aside, widened his eyes again, his face instantly filled with utter disbelief.