Chapter 30: Cheating
"This is a treasured artifact Senior Sister borrowed from Senior Brother Bai Zihua."
"I've also asked Senior Brother about the people who can still take part in the selection and got you their information."
Zeng Yan cared more about whether Lu You could enter the outer sect than about her own promotion into the inner sect.
"Among the menial disciples participating in the expanded recruitment, there's only one at the ninth level of Qi Refining. Senior Brother Bai Zihua has already spoken to him, if you two draw lots and end up facing each other, he'll give you a draw. As for the rest, even if they're stronger than you, the gap isn't that big. As long as you activate this sword in battle, it will automatically lock onto enemies. Although the killing power when the artifact fights on its own isn't high, below the ninth level of Qi Refining, no one will be able to withstand it."
"With this sword, you can easily place second in this tournament. Even if some of the others are hiding trump cards, you can still securely make it into the top five."
After saying that, Zeng Yan took out a small booklet, over a dozen pages thick, with four or five cultivators' profiles written on each page.
Lu You picked it up and flipped through it, his face darkening. "Senior Sister, so many menial disciples are stronger than me. Using a treasured artifact to cheat my way to victory—isn't that going too far?"
"You're really such a worrywart," Zeng Yan snapped, her beautiful eyes flashing with killing intent. "You won't fight for inheritances, won't compete for secret realms, and now you're hesitating even about cheating. Do you plan to grow old and die in the spiritual fields? Cultivation is about fighting fate, fighting fortune, fighting the heavens, changing your destiny by fighting for it. You hide away in the spiritual fields every day, do you think immortality will just come to you? Even if it did, what difference would that be from a turtle wallowing in a muddy pond?"
"Alright, alright, stop scolding me, Senior Sister. I'll go."
Lu You accepted the treasured sword and slid it back into its scabbard.
Since it was his first time using a sword, he wasn't familiar with it; right in front of Zeng Yan, he tried several times before finally sheathing it correctly.
Funny enough, he used to sneer at family-backed cultivation and pulling strings, but today, after taking the "back door" through his Senior Sister, he suddenly didn't resent it at all, he even found it rather comfortable.
Seeing how clumsy he was, Zeng Yan added, "The expanded recruitment is in three days. Your combat experience is too lacking, you can't even sheath a sword properly. Even if you win, it'll look terrible. I won't go to the inner sect for these three days. I'll stay here and spar with you."
As she spoke, Zeng Yan didn't even drink anymore. She dragged Lu You straight into the courtyard.
"Come, I'll first teach you how to draw and sheath a sword."
Zeng Yan slung the sword on her back, the hilt protruding over her left shoulder.
"See? When you carry a sword on your back, you carry it like this, your hand can draw it directly and flow straight into a slash. Draw the sword and you're already cutting." After demonstrating a few times, she hung the sword at her left hip, her left hand lightly supporting the scabbard so the hilt angled downward and the tip slightly upward. "Watch closely. When you wear it at your waist like this, drawing the sword becomes a thrust."
One slash, one thrust.
In Zeng Yan's hands, the sword seemed to grow from her body, an extension of her arm.
Whether slashing or thrusting, she looked imposing and beautiful to watch, when she slashed, the sword carried the force of a thousand pounds; when she thrust, it flicked like a nimble serpent darting its tongue.
Watching her practice at close range, Lu You suddenly realized that if he faced Zeng Yan head-on without talismans, he wouldn't even be able to dodge just these two moves.
A cold sweat broke out on Lu You's back.
Thanks to his unlimited talismans, he had inevitably grown a bit arrogant, thinking that even Foundation Establishment cultivators are just so so. But at this moment, he finally understood his own true level. If he kept indulging in talismans and relying on them alone, one day he might not even know how he died.
Taking the sword back from Zeng Yan, Lu You suddenly felt the depth of her good intentions.
Skill was the life of a cultivator.
Lu You's talismans had saved Zeng Yan's life.
And Zeng Yan wanted to return that life to him.
Sword on the back—draw and slash, then sheath.
Sword at the waist—draw and thrust, then sheath.
Lu You practiced earnestly.
It was his first time using a sword, and in order to grasp the "feel" of the blade as quickly as possible, he deliberately avoided looking with his eyes.
Instead, he used his awareness and sense of touch to comprehend the movements.
When sheathing the sword, the sharp edge occasionally sliced his fingers. After only a few repetitions, his palms were already covered in blood.
Yet Lu You didn't even frown.
The more his palm hurt, the hotter the scabbard felt in his hand, and the clearer his perception became.
Perhaps pain made people more alert. After practicing dozens of times, Lu You actually found a bit of a rhythm to sheathing the sword, out of ten attempts, he could succeed five times in one go.
Watching from the side, surprise flickered in Zeng Yan's eyes.
Her original intention had just been to teach Lu You some superficial moves so he could pass the expanded recruitment first.
She hadn't expected that once Lu You took up the sword, he would practice with such focus.
His movements were clumsy, but within that clumsiness was a stubborn, unyielding determination.
After silently observing for a while, Zeng Yan quietly left, no longer disturbing his training.
Boss, I just recorded Madam's movements.
Right as Lu You was getting into the zone, Evil Eye interrupted his practice.
Noticing that Zeng Yan had already left, Lu You activated the Eye of Hell.
Evil Eye immediately pulled out the Blood Shadow technique and showed off eagerly.
Boss, this Blood Shadow technique isn't just for viewing, it can be used for training too. As long as you provide enough life essence, your consciousness can enter the Blood Shadow.
Afraid Lu You wouldn't understand, Evil Eye started to explain more, but Lu You cut him off.
So it's basically a full-dive holographic VR game.
Lu You had the Cauldron of Cornucopia continuously supply the Eye of Hell with life essence, and followed Evil Eye's instructions to activate another mode of the Blood Shadow technique. In the next instant, Lu You felt his vision shift. He found himself in a space filled with red mist, and a shadow identical to Zeng Yan stood in front of him.
Before Lu You could even react, the shadow of Zeng Yan drew her sword. In the next moment, the scene shattered before his eyes, and his consciousness snapped back to reality.
Damn, this "VR game" doesn't even have a cutscene. It just throws you straight into combat.
This time, Lu You was prepared. The scene shifted again, and he entered the projection once more.
The moment his consciousness entered the Blood Shadow space, Lu You drew his sword. But before his blade was even halfway out, the shadow Zeng Yan's sword tip was already pressed to his throat.
The Blood Shadow technique perfectly replicated Zeng Yan's movements, speed and strength included.
"So this is the gap between me and a sword cultivator."
Unwilling to admit defeat, Lu You entered the Blood Shadow again and again. Each time he was instantly defeated, but with every "death," his drawing speed and reactions improved little by little.
Although he still couldn't block the shadow Zeng Yan's sword, he gradually began to see her method of exerting force, her angles of attack, and even the rhythm of her power.
The most powerful part of the Blood Shadow technique wasn't the holographic projection itself, it was that, like a movie, it could permanently record the scenes and allow them to be analyzed and broken down frame by frame.
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