Laughter by the Stream

His state was still too low; if he hadn’t seen it with absolute precision, he could have been in trouble.

Jing Jiu stared at the fire line and hacked his sword downward.

Bang!!!

His sword again hit the fire line precisely at the front end.

The sparks of fire spread everywhere as Gu Qing’s sword was knocked away, falling diagonally into the stream water, just as it had before.

The stream water turned into white steam as hissing was heard.

Looking at the sword in his hand, Jing Jiu thought it was a really good sword, wide and thick, and solid enough for him to handle.

However, he didn’t plan to give his opponent too much of a chance to wield the sword again, stepping on the rocks to walk over toward Gu Qing.

The shocking events rendered the audience speechless.

If Gu Qing underestimated his opponent last time and didn’t try his best, then what about this time?

This time, Gu Qing didn’t use the common sword style found in the Scripture of Swords, but the true sword style of Shiyue Peak, with the power of thunderous fire; why did he still end up defeated?

"How could it be possible," murmured Gu Qing with a pale face while watching Jing Jiu walk over.

By the stream, Xue Yong’e thought finally it was not him who said so.

Yet, the final outcome was still unclear, and the sword fight would keep going. Gu Qing calmed down using tremendous willpower, calling back his flying sword and flinging it toward Jing Jiu again.

Wham!!!

Not surprisingly, his flying sword was hit heavily, falling again into the stream.

Gu Qing shouted loudly, using up all the Sword Source inside his body, calling back his flying sword and mounting the last furious attack.

Jing Jiu raised his eyebrows.

Seeing this, Zhao Layue knew he was getting bored now.

Now he put his left hand on the hilt as well, holding the sword in a two-handed grip.

Dong!!!

It sounded like the broken bell behind the mountain of Fruit Formation Temple being pounded.

Gu Qing’s sword flew up skyward, losing control, somersaulting nonstop, releasing a weeping sound that resembled someone crying.

At last, the sword drew a curved line and became a black dot, landing in the jungle, over a mile away.

Countless shocked eyes followed the falling sword to the jungle.

Some dark shadows were moving around in the forest, the dust rose up, and the excited yells of monkeys could be heard over there.

Jing Jiu walked in front of Gu Qing.

The distance between them was no longer fifty feet; it was now only three.

Jing Jiu was holding his own sword.

Gu Qing’s sword was somewhere far away.

The scene was embarrassing.

Was the winner declared?

Jing Jiu didn’t say the statement "Thanks for letting me win."

Of course, Gu Qing couldn’t say the words "I lost" on his own.

"Turn around," Jing Jiu said to him.

At the moment Gu Qing was quite confused and disoriented, he subconsciously complied with his command and turned around.

Thwack!!! Thwack!!! Thwack!!!

Jing Jiu hit Gu’s back three times with his sword, and pulled it back.

He didn’t look up at a certain spot in the cliffs while doing it.

"Enough!"

"Do you want to humiliate Liangwang Peak?!!!" yelled Gu Han loudly with a great deal of anger from the cliffs above.

Jing Jiu turned around, ready to leave, and gazed up at the cliffs after hearing the denouncement.

He stared at Gu Han first, and then at Guo Nanshan.

He then turned around, hitting Gu Qing’s back one more time with his sword.

"Thank you for letting me win."

Those who knew about the squabble between them guessed the reason Jing Jiu hit Gu Qing was for the benefit of Liangwang Peak, but Jing Jiu didn’t make it so apparent.

This time Gu Han had made himself heard, so hitting Gu Qing again before leaving was an intention for Jing Jiu to challenge Liangwang Peak.

Yes, I’ve done this for you to witness; what can you do about it?

The expression on Gu Han’s face turned a dark green.

Ma Hua narrowed his eyes, feeling nauseous.

Only Guo Nanshan remained calm, wondering about something that no one could guess.

"How did you do it?"

Jing Jiu looked in the direction of the voice and found it was Gu Qing speaking.

Gu Qing’s eyes didn’t show resentment, merely frustration, though more than anything else, bewilderment.

He couldn’t figure out how Jing Jiu, possessing only the State of Perfect Preservation, defeated him, a man with the State of Inherited Will?

No matter how gifted and hardworking he was, he actually was still a young man; if he couldn’t shake this negativity, his Sword Heart would suffer for it.

Jing Jiu thought about how to explain.

"Your sword was not fast enough, so I could see it clearly." He continued, "My sword was faster."

Gu Qing was still confused.

"The way of the sword requires two key aspects: speed and power. The rest are not so important. Well, yes, the sword is also important; one does need a good sword."

Jing Jiu said, "Your sword is pretty good, better than mine; so I didn’t attack your sword blade against blade, merely using the body of my sword to hack at yours."

Gu Qing thought about the fighting scenario, realizing that it was true.

The word "hit" or the word "hack" both described the sword method that Jing Jiu employed; they seemed to be crude, even unsightly, but they were in fact the precise way to control a sword.

"Anything else?"

"No more."

"That simple?"

The puzzled expression on Gu Qing’s face still hadn’t completely disappeared.

"A sword is a simple thing; it isn’t anything else but a sword."

Jing Jiu said while looking at him, "It is a sword when it flies in the sky; and it is still a sword when it is in your hand. Do you understand?"

Pondering, Gu Qing bowed seriously and returned to the bank of the stream.

Looking at the cliffs, Jing Jiu raised his right index finger, waving sideways a few times.

This was a sign meant for the monkeys, asking them to stop fooling around and bring back the young man’s sword.

However, many thought Jing Jiu was waving his finger toward the people of Liangwang Peak.

Many disciples knew Brother Gu Han of Liangwang Peak disliked Jing Jiu from the very beginning and attempted to humiliate him, but he was stopped by Senior Master Mei Li and Master Lin Wuzhi.

To them, Jing Jiu’s behavior today was meant as a protest against Liangwang Peak, a literal slap in Gu Han’s face.

In the clouds, Lin Wuzhi glanced at Liu Shisui, who was standing by his side, and said with a smile, "He did it to avenge you!"

He knew Jing Jiu’s temperament, which disliked trouble.

After winning the sword fight, why would he go the extra mile and hit Gu Qing on his back three times with his sword?

This wasn’t humiliation; it was payback.

A year ago Jing Jiu had just arrived at the inner sect, meeting Liu Shisui at the foot of Sword Peak.

Liu Shisui was so happy to see Jing Jiu as he ran toward him. Gu Han wasn’t so happy though, using the rules of Liangwang Peak to hit Liu a dozen times.

Later, Liu was beaten two more times because he visited Jing Jiu secretly.

It had been awhile since these things happened.

Jing Jiu hadn’t said anything.

But in truth, he hadn’t forgotten.

Looking at the figure by the stream, Liu Shisui appeared emotionless, very solemn.

Ha ha!!!

Liu Shisui suddenly laughed out loud.

Liu Shisui quickly regained his composure, his expression returning to a casual one.

…

…

Looking at Jing Jiu on the rock in the stream, people were speechless, utterly shocked.

The visiting guests of various sects came to the cliff’s edge, looking down at the scene below, their low voices in deep discussion.

Both the young girls of Water-Moon Nunnery and the smileless guest of the Windy Broadsword Sect were all shocked and amazed by the sword fight earlier.

Jing Jiu didn’t show a higher state, but how could he defeat Gu Qing? What sword style did you use?

…

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