Chapter 49: Stealing Techniques
Lu Xiao'e wore a mischievous grin and rubbed her hands together, striking the pose of a bandit cultivator. With her tenth level of Qi Refining cultivation and being a sword cultivator, she could already walk sideways in the outer sect without fear. No wonder no other cultivators dared bully a pretty girl living alone in a small courtyard.
Lu You's eyes turned slightly. In the Blood Shadow Space, his opponent had always been Zeng Yan. This was the perfect chance to copy the techniques of another sword cultivator.
"Wait a moment."
Lu You stood up and walked into the secret room, then bang—he shut the door. From the Cauldron of Cornucopia, he took out sixty low-tier talismans required by the Verdant Cloud Sect. Half were tucked into his robe, and the other half he held as he walked back outside.
The Verdant Cloud Sect's missions were always the same, so every cultivator prepared extras in advance, finishing the next month's quota early. Having a few more talismans than usual wouldn't attract suspicion.
"It just so happens that I'm also a sword cultivator. Let's exchange a few moves. Ten talismans per round as the wager—how about it?"
Lu You had already returned his treasured artifact to Zeng Yan, so he simply snapped off a branch from a tree in the courtyard and infused it with spiritual energy. The branch immediately became much sturdier, almost like a wooden sword—perfect for sparring without injuring anyone.
"Brother Lu, you're really strange. You still want to get beaten three times before admitting defeat!"
Lu Xiao'e also snapped off a branch.
"Ready? I'm attacking!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Lu Xiao'e turned into a streak of green. The branch in her hand instantly split into over a dozen afterimages, sealing off every possible direction Lu You could dodge.
The sword technique looked beautiful—but compared with Senior Sister Zeng Yan, it lacked that simple, lethal intent.
Inside the Blood Shadow, Lu You could counter even when ten Zeng Yans surrounded him. This probing move from Lu Xiao'e posed no difficulty at all. Ignoring the rain of sword shadows, Lu You suddenly drew the branch hanging at his side.
It was the draw-sword technique he had practiced tens of millions of times.
The simpler the attack, the faster it was.
Lu You's branch shot straight toward Lu Xiao'e's throat like lightning, scattering her sword light. If she didn't change moves, his strike would reach her first.
"Huh? You really are a sword cultivator?"
Lu Xiao'e exclaimed in surprise. Swordsmanship was meant for killing—only through real combat could one see the truth. Lu You's sword carried pure killing intent, going straight for the fatal point from the start. It's clear that he had fought many life-and-death battles.
The next second, Lu Xiao'e's sword momentum changed.
All the phantom shadows merged into a single point, lightly tapping Lu You's branch.
Crack
Lu You's branch snapped instantly. Taking advantage of the motion, Lu Xiao'e pressed the broken branch against Lu You's chest.
"You lose."
Sword technique.
That was a true sword technique.
Seeing himself defeated, Lu You didn't feel disappointed at all. Instead, he looked at Lu Xiao'e with satisfaction, leaving her utterly puzzled.
"Alright, that's enough for today. Come again tomorrow."
Lu You tossed away the broken branch, went back into the house, grabbed ten talismans from the table, and stuffed them into Lu Xiao'e's hand.
"Hey! Aren't the three rounds supposed to be done at once?"
Lu Xiao'e accepted the talismans without hesitation, muttering in dissatisfaction:
"How troublesome. It'd be better to finish in one go. You think you'll win tomorrow?"
Lu You didn't respond. He picked up the long sword Lu Xiao'e had placed on the table and handed it back to her.
"Take care. Tomorrow's matters can wait until tomorrow. Anyway, there's still a week before the talismans need to be submitted."
After speaking, Lu You slammed the door shut with a bang, bolted it with a wooden latch, and even rattled a chain around it for good measure.
Outside the door, Lu Xiao'e stuck out her tongue and muttered quietly:
"That was close... I almost messed up. What the hell happened to the world? I was only in seclusion for a century or two, how can a mere Qi Refining sword cultivator be this strong?"
To defeat Lu You just now, she had used the full power of a peak tenth level Qi cultivator, even adding a high-grade sword technique capable of instantly killing a Qi Refining cultivator.
"Just what kind of background does this little brat have?"
Lu Xiao'e's eyes turned thoughtfully. She returned to her room, changed into a white cloak, and covered her face with a veil before walking out of the courtyard alone.
Inside the room, Lu You took out a Sharp Metal Talisman and reinforced the doors, windows, and walls of the entire house to prevent Lu Xiao'e from barging in recklessly. After that, he lay down in the secret chamber and immediately entered the Blood Shadow Technique.
The Evil Eye had already recorded Lu Xiao'e's shadow. As soon as Lu You entered the Blood Shadow Technique, he saw a sky full of sword shadows rushing toward him.
"Slow it down. Go frame by frame."
With a thought from Lu You, Lu Xiao'e's Blood Shadow slowed dramatically. He then carefully observed the sword technique she had just used.
The sword dance he had copied from Senior Sister Zeng Yan wasn't actually a sword technique. It was a set of basic training methods used to temper the body and restrain killing intent. Whether he killed Hu Da or fought Lu Xiao'e, his sword swings relied entirely on muscle memory gained from countless battles against Zeng Yan's shadow.
Inside the Blood Shadow space, the Evil Eye reproduced Lu Xiao'e's movements perfectly—even the fluctuations of spiritual energy were simulated exactly the same.
Lu You mimicked each motion step by step. Whenever he couldn't understand something, he paused the Blood Shadow, walked up to Lu Xiao'e's shadow, and carefully sensed the spiritual energy flow. Once he gained insight, he continued practicing.
He trained until nightfall.
At last, Lu You completely grasped Lu Xiao'e's sword move. Watching her shadow release a sky full of sword shadows, Lu You followed closely behind, unleashing the same storm of blades.
The next moment, both shadows gathered all the sword shadows into a single point. The sword light pierced straight through the chest, and Lu You's shadow and Lu Xiao'e's shadow perished together in the Blood Shadow.
"I've learned the move. Now I need to figure out how to break it."
Lu You chuckled. At last, a new opponent had appeared in the Blood Shadow space.
This time he stopped learning and began fighting seriously, using both his combat experience and the sword technique he had just mastered. The two shadows battled fiercely through the entire night.
At first, no matter how he resisted, Lu Xiao'e's sword shadows seemed like countless rivers flowing into the sea. Once they converged into a single point, Lu You had no way to defend against it except mutual destruction.
Gradually, however, he grew accustomed to her killing move. He began using his own swordsmanship to block the sword shadows.
By the end, whenever Lu Xiao'e's shadow attempted that technique again, Lu You would instantly spot the flaw—interrupting the convergence of the sword shadows before they could gather. That forced Lu Xiao'e into confusion, allowing him to seize the moment and cut her down.
"Hahaha! As expected—I'm the true genius of the sword!"
Lu You was brimming with confidence. Turning to the Evil Eye, he gave a new command.
"This time, I want a two-on-one battle!"
The Evil Eye understood immediately. Within the Blood Shadow space, the shadow of Zeng Yan and Lu Xiao'e both stepped forward.
Lu You focused completely—dealing with Zeng Yan's clean and decisive killing strikes while also handling Lu Xiao'e's dazzling techniques.
At dawn the next day, Lu You leapt out of bed, pushed open the window, and discovered that Lu Xiao'e had opened hers at the exact same moment.
However, she was glaring angrily at him.
"What's wrong? Don't tell me it's because I'm wearing clothes?"
Lu You struck first, not giving Lu Xiao'e any chance to accuse him of something.
"Pah!"
Lu Xiao'e spat in annoyance.
"You stinky brat! You never returned my pillow! Because of that I got a stiff neck!"
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