Chapter 132 — The Primordial Mystery Art

To go beyond the scope of fundamental swordsmanship was no small matter at all; it was a thing that could scarcely be done.

Shen Mu knew full well how difficult it was.

The sword arts of the world, however complex, however manifold in change, however ingenious in invention, could all be broken down into a few most basic sword techniques: the thrust form, the lift form, the cloud form, the chop form, the cleave form, the point form, the snap form, the hang form, the flick form, the smear form, the sweep form, the brace form, the intercept form, the flourish form. Even the most terrifying sword art ever created was but a combination of these forms. But the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping was different: into these most basic techniques he had added new fundamental sword techniques! How dreadful was that?

Shen Mu did not know how many new fundamental techniques he had added, but even one would mean that every sword art of the past must be rewritten, remade, for otherwise, in the Imperial Preceptor's eyes, they would all be riddled with flaws!

"He can be called a god.

.

. " Shen Mu pressed down the shock in his heart and murmured.

The Great Six Harmonies Sword Art that Qu Ping brought forth was truly grand and mighty, its power adamant and fierce, strong to an inconceivable degree!

Shen Mu had seen several adepts of the Six Harmonies realm in the Wilderness Ruins, but none so dreadful as this Qu Ping.

Both were scholars of the Grand Academy, yet the Five Luminaries realm beside the Six Harmonies realm was a vast leap, an appalling ascent!

Scholars of the Five Luminaries realm were strong, but not to an absurd degree; in Shen Mu's view, among all the scholars of the Grand Academy there was not one who was his match. But the adepts of the Grand Academy, even one newly ascended to the Six Harmonies realm, were unbelievably strong!

The Six Harmonies realm was an earth-shaking transformation. No sooner had Shen Mu thought this than the whisk at Lin Xuan's elbow suddenly floated up, its filaments bursting forth in length, strand after strand gathering together, meeting Qu Ping's Great Six Harmonies Sword head-on!

Qu Ping's Great Six Harmonies Sword was not encompassed among the fundamental sword techniques, whereas Lin Xuan used his whisk as a sword; his sword art, by contrast, had moves clear and distinct, all within the craft of basic swordsmanship.

His sword art lacked the Great Six Harmonies Sword's grand sweep, but to Shen Mu's eye there was something uncommon in it.

"Qu Ping will certainly lose. I fear a single move from Lin Xuan will bring him down.

" He had learned the sword under the village warden, learning only one move, "Sword Treads Mountains and Rivers," and all the rest were the most basic sword techniques, yet his eye had already surpassed that of who knew how many masters of the sword. Lin Xuan's sword likewise looked plain and simple, seemingly no more than a thrust at the descending Great Six Harmonies Sword, but each wisp of whisk filament was a slender sword, and a slender sword of infinite transformations!

Too many variations!

Shen Mu opened his Sky-Reaching Heaven Eye and his Azure Heaven Eye, and his heart shook violently: in Lin Xuan's whisk there were a hundred and more filaments, and each filament shifted its move a dozen times in an instant, which meant that in every instant his variations numbered more than a thousand!

With so many variations, there was simply no way to defend! And Qu Ping's Great Six Harmonies Sword held no such multitude of variations; though the sword-light within that pillar of sword was more numerous, most of it used the same entwining form, revolving about one center, advancing layer upon layer.

Facing Lin Xuan's whisk filaments made into swords, it would surely be broken. Moreover Shen Mu noted that Lin Xuan's fundamentals were so solid as to press close upon his own.

This Lin Xuan's attainment in fundamental swordsmanship was the strongest of any adept or martial artist Shen Mu had yet met; though a shade inferior to Shen Mu himself, it was not much inferior.

And this was the very crux: though Qu Ping's sword art contained the new fundamental techniques the Imperial Preceptor had created, Qu Ping's own fundamentals had not reached the peak, his foundation unsteady. However exquisite the art, with an unsteady foundation its power could not be fully brought out. Ding, ding, ding, ding -- countless dense clashes rang out; the crowd had only time to see filament after filament collide with the blazing pillar of sword, and then the pillar shattered in midair and was no more; only a very few could see the changes in both men's arts in that fleeting instant.

Qu Ping was stabbed in the chest by the whisk and, with a thud, slammed against the mountain gate; the gate creaked and groaned, and wisp after wisp of dust drifted down.

Lin Xuan lightly shook his whisk; the filaments grew shorter and shorter, still draped over his elbow, and then he sat down, eyes upon nose, nose upon heart, calm and composed. But upon the mountain gate, Qu Ping slid down.

Blood holes had been opened across his chest, pierced through by the filaments; even so Lin Xuan had not struck to kill, for when each filament entered his body it avoided his vital points and did not take his life.

Several physicians of the Imperial Physicians' Bureau hurried over, fed Qu Ping a few spirit pills, tore open his garments, and smeared ointment on the wounds of his chest and back to plug the bleeding holes. "So strong! " Behind the mountain gate, many scholars of the Grand Academy felt their hearts sink.

Qu Ping's name was not small among the Academy's adepts of the divine-power realm; on the contrary, he ranked near the front among them. The Grand Academy held not only an entrance examination but also a great examination of scholars each year, fixing their rankings and using rank to spur them toward study and advancement. Qu Ping stood within the top hundred among the Academy's adepts.

Once within the top hundred, the gap in strength was in truth not great; that Qu Ping was defeated in a single move showed that the distance between him and Lin Xuan was no small thing.

This was the most dreadful part of all. Suddenly the Second Prince's voice reached the ears of all present: "Those who cannot make out the changes in these two men's sword moves had best not step forward. " This struck the Academy's scholars a heavy blow; most of those present had been unable to make out the changes in the moves of Qu Ping and Lin Xuan.

Especially Lin Xuan's sword art: as a Daoist heir, his swordsmanship lay hidden in the transformations of the whisk filaments, and if one could not even discern his variations, to step up would be to invite humiliation. At Shen Wanyun's side, Yun Que said in a low voice, "Eldest Senior Brother, did you make out that Daoist heir's sword changes?

" Yue Qinghong too hurried over, wanting to ask Shen Wanyun's view. Shen Wanyun hesitated a moment, then said, "With my Heaven Eye I made out the changes in his moves, but I cannot break them.

. . " Yue Qinghong burst out laughing.

"Eldest Senior Brother, if you stepped up, that little Daoist would surely seal the Six Realms Divine Treasury to fight you; most of his cultivation lies within the Six Realms Divine Treasury. Without the cultivation of the Six Realms Divine Treasury, he could not perform such exquisite swordsmanship!

" Shen Wanyun wavered a moment, then shook his head: "I must wait a while longer, to see whether I can make out his flaw.

That Shen Mu is not far off; let us go over and ask what he thinks. " The three came to the place where Shen Mu stood, and Shen Wanyun said, "Junior Brother Shen, do you think you could overcome this Daoist heir?

" Shen Mu hesitated, then said, "If we crossed swords before the mountain gate and he sealed the Six Realms Divine Treasury, the outcome between us would be even odds. " "Boasting!