Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

Chapter 37: Why need an old grandpa when there’s a young lady?

Editor: Henyee Translations

The cold gray Kaiyue Sword shot towards him, but was blocked by the Qing Ping Sword controlled by Ling Yunpo’s right hand Sword technique.

Lin Duanshan’s left hand formed another Sword technique, and the golden-red Changbing Sword drew an arc, striking from the other side like lightning.

Ling Yunpo hastily channeled his energy with his left hand, trying to defend with the Frostfall Sword.

However, whether it was the Kaiyue Sword on the right or the Changbing Sword on the left, their flight trajectories were extremely flexible, and their routes were cunningly unpredictable, repeatedly targeting the weak points in the movement of the Qing Ping and Frostfall Swords.

On Ling Yunpo’s side, he had to divide his attention between controlling the Qing Ping Sword to suppress the opposing Kaiyue Sword and managing the less familiar Frostfall Sword to block the Changbing Sword’s guerrilla attacks. How could he have time to observe and learn anything from the Huashan Sword Technique?

He was stretched thin, with the Qing Ping Sword gaining advantage on the right, then the Frostfall Sword on the left would immediately become inferior; if he retrieved the disadvantage with the Frostfall Sword on the left, the rhythm of the Qing Ping Sword on the right would be disrupted. Truly caught between two fires, he was in a complete fluster.

Taking advantage of the situation, Lin Duanshan pursued the attack, immediately intensifying the double sword assault and applied full Physical Strength to his Huashan Sword Technique, coldly shouting,

“Your Sword path must be stable! If you covet both sides, you’ll lose both sides! Do you understand the importance of prioritizing? With such Comprehension, I wonder how you were accepted into Qingluo Peak. Aren’t you afraid of embarrassing Senior Sister An…”

“Lin Duanshan!” An Zhisu’s eyes widened, “If I hear you insulting my junior brother again, I’ll skewer your shoulder blades with my sword first!”

“Sorry, Senior Sister An.” Lin Duanshan hurriedly placated, “I’m not disdainful of Ling Yunpo’s talent. It must be because the Tenth Rank Qing Ping Sword is unruly, plus he has not yet reached the Marrow Cleansing Rank, unable to nourish the sword with his body and fully Refine the Qing Ping Sword, causing his Sword path to be erratic and affecting his swordsmanship performance.”

Senior Sister An’s expression eased slightly. However, the Qing Ping Sword on her side was not going to let it slide, immediately starting to stir in Ling Yunpo’s Sea of Consciousness:

“What kind of nonsense is this person talking about? You can blame your poor swordsmanship level on me?”

“Qing Ping.” Ling Yunpo said coldly, “How about I throw you into the Sword Pool and find someone with better swordsmanship, huh?”

“Sword Master!” the Qing Ping Sword quickly put on a charming smile, “A loyal minister never serves two lords, and a chaste woman never marries a second husband. How could I possibly leave my Sword Master?”

“Jian Jian.” Kunlun Mirror interjected with a mocking tone, “That bootlicking act of yours is quite similar to that Lin Duanshan across the way, six or seven points alike.”

“Yao Yao, don’t slander a good sword with empty words!” the Qing Ping Sword argued, “As a Lifeforce Flying Sword, how can flattering my Sword Master be considered bootlicking?”

As the conversation reached this point, her voice turned charming again:

“Sword Master, let me tell you, that guy’s Sword path on the other side is a side branch of the Huashan Sword Technique, which seems intricate and complicated, but its essence is sinister sneak attacks. It exploits the blind spots in sight for attacks, never taking the direct route.”

“If the Sword takes a devious path, the direct defense will weaken, so this Sword technique will ultimately not join the mainstream.”

“For example, when his Changbing Sword is blocked by the Frostfall Sword, it will bounce off from the counterforce and then has a pulling retreat motion. This move in Huashan Sword Technique is called ‘Peak Returns’, a preparatory move for maneuvering, and its weakness is also very obvious.”

“You just need to aim the Frostfall Sword at Lin Duanshan when it retreats, and forcefully thrust it, then it will just narrowly miss the Changbing Sword’s edge and break through its defense. This move is called ‘As the Map Ends, the Dagger Emerges’, one of the few lethal thrusting moves in the Huashan Sword Technique that is worth learning…”

After she finished explaining this and that, Ling Yunpo immediately followed suit.

The Changbing Sword struck from a tricky angle, blocked by the Frostfall Sword controlled by Ling Yunpo.

Metal clashed against metal, sparks flew everywhere, and both were repelled by the recoil.

Sure enough, as the Changbing Sword dipped slightly, Ling Yunpo saw it clearly and immediately poured True Qi into his left arm, rapidly propelling the Frostfall Sword forward.

Indeed! Had the Changbing Sword not dipped, it would have been alright. But as it dipped, the Frostfall Sword was simultaneously thrust forward, precisely missing the Changbing Sword’s blade by a hair’s breadth from above, directly aiming at Lin Duanshan who was caught off guard behind!

Lin Duanshan, who had been focused on the attack, was nearly startled into a cold sweat by this unexpected, almost celestial thrust, hurriedly recalling the Kaiyue Sword to defend and barely managed to block it half a step in front of him.

“What a pity,” the Green Duckweed Sword clicked its tongue, expressing regret, “Sword Master, if you had exerted your full strength just now, Lin Duanshan would already be dead.”

“Hmph,” Ling Yunpo said coldly, “Out of respect for Senior Sister, I spared his life.”

“Good!” Lin Duanshan, recovering from his fright, seemed to be trying to regain face and shouted loudly, “What a move, ‘When all is done, the dagger is revealed’! I want to see how you’ll break this one!”

With his left hand forming several sword techniques, the style of the Kaiyue Sword immediately became more elusive.

“This move is called ‘Luxuriant as Brocade,’ but in reality, it is flashy without substance, the most rubbish technique in the Huashan Sword Technique!” the Green Duckweed Sword hurriedly communicated telepathically.

“You don’t need to observe its sword path; those are just to distract you. Right before it attacks, there will be a sudden pause—seize that moment and drive my blade down in a sudden cleave. This is called ‘Bear Splitting Mountains,’ specifically designed to break ‘Luxuriant as Brocade’…”

Although this text is long, in the consciousness exchange between Ling Yunpo and the Green Duckweed Sword, it was nothing more than the effort of a thought.

Following the advice, Ling Yunpo acted accordingly. The Frostfall Sword was still entangled with the long-arm sword, while the Green Duckweed Sword slightly swayed, pretending to observe the movements of the Kaiyue Sword.

Indeed, in one moment, the Kaiyue Sword was eerily shifting about, and in the next, it came to an abrupt halt, then aimed to strike past the Green Duckweed Sword’s defense, directly at Ling Yunpo.

The moment it accelerated, it was promptly split down from above by the prepared Green Duckweed Sword, crashing to the ground with a thud, half its length burying into the earth. Under Lin Duanshan’s frustrated and hasty urging, it extracted itself with great difficulty.

“Well executed, ‘Bear Splitting Mountains’!” Lin Duanshan gave a bitter laugh in extreme anger, trying not to lose his composure in front of Senior Sister An, and forcibly calmed himself as he said, “You’ve mastered the essence of the Huashan Sword Technique; it’s all about catching the opponent off guard.”

“But if you focus only on being unpredictable, what about direct defense? Now, I’ll use the Mount Wutai Hunyuan Sword Technique, you watch!”

His finger movements changed rapidly, and the sword paths of the Kaiyue and long-arm swords once again shifted, beginning to entangle with the Frostfall and Green Duckweed Swords.

The Green Duckweed Sword let out a few cold laughs, saying disdainfully:

“This Mount Wutai Hunyuan Sword Technique, claiming to amalgamate myriad minor factions and unorthodox methods, is versatile with defenses that are ‘impenetrable’.”

“However, why should we attack its defense head-on? The biggest weakness of the Hunyuan Sword Technique is that it’s not truly ‘Hunyuan.’ Borrowing one move here, taking one style there, they patched together something ‘neither this nor that’!”

“Such a rubbish sword technique, not worth learning! You need not worry about the opponent’s sword path, just propel both swords with all your strength to strike directly at him, and he will surely withdraw his variations, compelled to retreat!”

Ling Yunpo did as instructed, and both the Frostfall and Green Duckweed Swords charged directly at Lin Duanshan, indeed forcing him to draw his swords back to save himself, no longer maneuvering with variations.

Lin Duanshan clenched his teeth in rage, ignoring An Zhisu’s expression completely and bellowed:

“The Mount Wutai Hunyuan Sword Technique requires the accompaniment of various unorthodox spells from their Boundless Path. Without the support of these spells, it indeed falls short, not worth learning!”

“Now, behold my Asura Path Jiesha Sword!”

No sooner had he spoken than the Kaiyue and long-arm swords became ferocious, their styles turning fierce.

The Green Duckweed Sword huffed, stating:

“Asura Path Jiesha Sword is indeed an extremely brutal and pure form of swordsmanship.”

“But focusing solely on killing loses the element of unpredictability, making it easier to be deliberately targeted.”

“Listen to me, the essence of the Jiesha Sword lies in its angles and techniques of exertion…”