Du Chengfeng still had some impression of the name Liu Qingyun.
From the pile of knife memories in his mind, Du Chengfeng had heard this name, this martial artist known for his quick blade often appeared in people's idle talks, sounding quite formidable.
But what truly made Du Chengfeng remember this name was while grinding the Wind-Riding Sword. That swordsman named Cui Yuan once wanted to duel Liu Qingyun, even preparing as if facing a formidable enemy.
Du Chengfeng knew Cui Yuan's martial skills, fifteen years of sword practice, more than two hundred kills, yet he still considered Liu Qingyun stronger... which means Liu Qingyun's skills were indeed superior to Cui Yuan?
"Give me the knife."
Du Chengfeng was immediately intrigued.
On one hand, he was curious about how exactly this duel unfolded, after all, if he remembered correctly, Cui Yuan turned into a mental breakdown after his sword was broken. On the other hand, it was because Liu Qingyun used a knife.
Coincidentally, Du Chengfeng's strongest combat ability at the moment was also with a knife.
"Then let me see your knife skills!"
Thinking this, Du Chengfeng drew his knife from the sheath, then placed the blade on the grinding stone.
Sunlight reflected on the blade, the edge glinting with the brilliance of past glorious years.
As he carefully sharpened, Du Chengfeng gradually sensed the life of this knife.
This knife was originally a leisurely work of a blacksmith, the blade was extremely long, measuring a full three feet eight inches, adding the one-foot three-inch handle, it was more than five feet in total. But unlike Du Chengfeng's heavy great saber, this longblade's body was not wide, but slender and sharp, its straight body resembled more of a sword than a knife.
To the blacksmith, this longknife, modeled after an ancient horse-cutting sword, should fetch a good price.
Unfortunately, most people in Ji Town did not recognize its value.
The knives popular among northern swordsmen, including the handle, were less than three feet long, could be wielded single-handedly or with both hands for powerful slashes, whether for travel or conflict, such a medium-length knife was a great asset. In contrast, no matter how mighty the blacksmith's horse-cutting longknife was, its five feet length made it somewhat inconvenient to carry.
Helplessly, the blacksmith had to sell the knife at a reduced price, not even hoping for profit, just minimizing losses was good.
And at this point, the young Liu Qingyun came to the stall.
Perhaps there was indeed some fate between people and blades, Liu Qingyun, having financial difficulties, happened upon the reduced longknife, and with just one guan, acquired this knife over five feet long.
At that time, Liu Qingyun was barely six feet tall himself, the five-foot longknife stood on the ground, and its handle reached his chin.
On this day, Liu Qingyun officially became a northern swordsman of Ji.
In others' words, the life of a swordsman was carefree, drinking in big bowls, eating meat in big mouthfuls, drawing blades at the slightest disagreement, and life and death settled with a quick strike, showcasing a sense of vengeance. But for the young Liu Qingyun, the life of a swordsman was frugal. Without reputation, he could not receive commissions, and no one was willing to hire him for protection, everyone thought this young man carrying a five-foot longknife, without even facial hair, looked unreliable.
So Liu Qingyun urgently needed to prove himself, to show his maturity.
Soon, he found his target.
It was a band of horse bandits, roaming between Youzhou and Jizhou, troubling the authorities of both provinces, if he could eliminate them, Liu Qingyun would surely become famous.
Thus, the young Liu Qingyun hung the longknife at his waist and set off alone to track them down.
Having stealthily reached the bandits' camp, Liu Qingyun intended to draw his knife, believing in his martial skills honed over years, thinking mere bandits were easily within his grasp.
But just at that moment, the bandits' scout discovered him.
Turns out the bandits weren't in the camp earlier, but had just returned from a raid, and seeing someone sneaking towards the camp with a knife, they immediately spurred their horses to charge.
Yet Liu Qingyun, already had no time to draw his knife.
The five-foot longknife hanging at his waist couldn't be fully drawn using conventional methods, even in regular practice, Liu Qingyun would first remove the sheathed longknife from his waist and then throw it aside before drawing it.
Now, with the horse charging head-on, how could there be a chance to untie the longknife?
"I'm going to die!"
Liu Qingyun was scared out of his wits, his back instantly soaked in cold sweat.
"Draw the knife, draw the knife... Quickly! Quickly draw the knife!"
In a panic, Liu Qingyun instinctively shrunk his body, his spine tightly coiled like a big cat.
Immediately, his entire spine unfurled like a spring, soaring like a dragon.
At this moment, the three-foot eight-inch blade emerged from the sheath with incredible speed.
And the bandit passing by Liu Qingyun, was already dropping half of his body from the horse, spilling blood all over the ground.
Together with the severed horse head.
As it turned out, Liu Qingyun had not exaggerated his combat prowess. Once he drew his sword, those bandits were truly no match for him. In the blink of an eye, he had slain the entire group of a dozen bandits, and naturally, all the looted goods fell into Liu Qingyun's hands.
However, compared to these ill-gotten gains, Liu Qingyun cared more about the stance he had taken when he drew his sword.
So after returning, Liu Qingyun focused on his research.
Before long, the name Fast Blade Liu Qingyun echoed throughout Ji Bei, and the sword technique known as "Dragon-Tiger Double Stances" was especially formidable. As swift as a soaring dragon, descending like a leaping tiger, coupled with a blade far longer than a regular Swordsman's weapon known as the "Horse-Cutting Sword," Liu Qingyun's fame was unmatched for a time.
The speed at which he drew his sword was as swift as the wind, and combined with the attack range far exceeding an ordinary long blade, almost no Swordsman could match Liu Qingyun.
After achieving his goals, Liu Qingyun not only became a Swordsman of Ji Bei but also one of the most famous among them. Drinking and feasting in large quantities, drawing blades over a disagreement, life or death decided with a single strike, speaking of an uninhibited and carefree life.
Of course, during this time, Liu Qingyun did encounter challengers, but hardly anyone could withstand his Dragon-Tiger Double Stances and the Horse-Cutting Sword in his grasp.
Until a Swordsman came looking for him.
Liu Qingyun, being a local strongman, knew well the background of the Swordsman. He was the offspring of the bandit gang exterminated by Liu years ago, and he was here for revenge—whatever the opponent said about "swordsmanship cultivation," Liu regarded as a joke. If they wanted to fight, then fight; there was no need for so much talk.
Even though he was no longer young, it was impossible for him to lose to a bandit's son, especially since his long blade had just been sharpened in Yanzhou, making it the perfect time for it to taste blood.
But to Liu Qingyun's surprise, the Swordsman named Cui Yuan came earlier than expected.
"I see, trying a sneak attack while I'm unprepared?"
Looking at Cui Yuan before him, Liu Qingyun couldn't help but shake his head.
Such petty tricks could never fool him. As a Swordsman who had crawled through the knife's edge in Ji Bei, Liu Qingyun had long developed the habit of being ready to draw at any moment.
However, after sizing up the sword sheath on Cui Yuan's waist, Liu Qingyun furrowed his brow.
The longsword measured three feet in length, just eight inches shorter than his Horse-Cutting Sword. In other words, the range advantage brought by his Horse-Cutting Sword was now uncertain.
This made Liu Qingyun take another look at Cui Yuan.
He didn't expect this kid to be so well-prepared.
But, it didn't matter.
Even if their weapons were of similar length, Liu Qingyun had absolute confidence in his speed. What began as a rudimentary quick draw had now evolved into the perfected Dragon-Tiger Double Stances, far exceeding his once fast strikes with the Horse-Cutting Sword.
As long as the blade was faster than the sword, he could claim the opponent's head first.
As long as the blade was faster than the sword...
"Ssst—"
Just as Liu Qingyun had pulled his long blade halfway out, the sword had already slashed across his throat.
Liu Qingyun couldn't understand. He had trained his Dragon-Tiger Double Stances to perfection, and his draw speed had reached its peak. So why was he still a beat slow?
That thug named Cui Yuan, what Demon Technique had he practiced to have such a rapid draw speed?
"You..."
Liu Qingyun strained to seek the truth, yet had no strength left to raise his head.
With his neck mostly severed by the sword blade, Liu Qingyun died within mere moments.
"This..."
Observing all of this, Du Chengfeng fell into silence.
Liu Qingyun hadn't seen the sword clearly, but Du Chengfeng did. The reason Liu Qingyun was late by a beat wasn't that his draw was too slow; it was purely because his opponent Cui Yuan's sword blade was too short.
Holding a broken sword, Cui Yuan, who had practiced swordsmanship for fifteen years, naturally outsped Liu Qingyun in drawing his sword.
"Indeed! This truly is a part of cultivation!"
Sheathing his bloodstained sword, Cui Yuan walked away excitedly, and in his eccentric manner, for a time, no one dared to stop him.
Du Chengfeng finally returned to his senses from this memory.
Encountering that memory again wasn't pleasant for Du Chengfeng, but what was fortunate was that the Dragon-Tiger Double Stances recorded on this so-called "Horse-Cutting Sword" was precisely the blade advancement he desperately needed now. But what caught Du Chengfeng's attention most was a minor oversight that was too easily ignored hidden within this memory.
That is, this "Horse-Cutting Sword" had been ground in Yanzhou.
This was the first time Du Chengfeng had learned of other Grinding Masters.
However, the experience of being ground unexpectedly didn't manifest on the sword along with the killing memories.