Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 176 - 146: Looks and Privilege

November 15, 2017

Just as Wang Jiu casually identified the swordsmanship Yu Zishen was using, Li Wanqing couldn't help but lean over to Shen Qingming and whisper with a chuckle, "Wang Jiu usually looks cute and innocent, but when he wants to show off, he's really good at it. The third style of Wuxiang Sword, practiced for less than five years... and he can almost reveal the color of someone's underwear with a wave of his hand. Seriously, what's his background?"

Shen Qingming frowned slightly, "Don't stand so close to me, you're making me hot."

"Oh, do you want some hot water?"

"You're annoying! Stop imitating Wang Jiu!"

The two communicated quietly using secret magic, but the atmosphere on the other side grew increasingly tense.

Wang Jiu had exposed the origin of Yu Zishen's swordsmanship in one breath, which, though shocking, did not diminish the latter's fighting spirit one bit.

"You have sharp eyes; I wonder if your skills match that brilliance!"

With that, the Ancient Sword slightly thrust forward, instantly altering the scenery around them. Yu Zishen used the Ancient Sword to stir the space, aiming to carve out a competitive arena for swordsmanship in the cramped backstage area.

Yet, at this very moment, Wang Jiu likewise thrust his sword forward, and a pure white, ancient, heavy sword sliced through the turbulent space Yu Zishen had stirred, suddenly appearing before him like a celestial meteor.

Yu Zishen was taken aback, but his hands remained steady. The Wuxiang Sword's third style is a literary swordsmanship from the Wuxiang Sword Academy, known for its complexity and variability, emphasizing close-range suppression. Wang Jiu's unexpected strike disrupted his strategy to carve out an arena, but it played right into Yu Zishen's hands.

Did he really think his swordsmanship is unmatched in close combat with the Wuxiang Sword's third style?

Yu Zishen twisted his wrist, abandoning the disrupted space turbulence. The Ancient Sword thrust forward like a spear aimed at Wang Jiu's wrist. However, just as the sword stance began, it was interrupted by a flash of white light. The White Sword arrived late but first, the tip gently touching Yu Zishen's Ancient Sword, diverting its momentum and causing numbness in Yu Zishen's wrist.

Startled, Yu Zishen was even more shocked. The numbness in his wrist suggested that the opponent hadn't used any True Essence or Divine Sense, purely relying on swordsmanship to thwart his Wuxiang Sword's third style. With an incredible, captivating Sword Path, when his sword stance was not yet fully formed, a flaw was created, causing Yu Zishen's Sword Path to collapse and ultimately straining his wrist.

The numbness lasted only a moment, but falling into a disadvantage in the first engagement made Yu Zishen's heart sink. The opponent's claim of unparalleled swordsmanship didn't seem entirely boastful. From this first round of exchanges, Yu Zishen didn't dare claim Wang Jiu's swordsmanship was extremely superb—after all, Yu Zishen himself wasn't primarily a Sword Cultivator, and the Wuxiang Sword's third style was just a hobby. But objectively speaking, with such swordsmanship, being Shen Qingming's instructor was more than sufficient.

Yet the thought of the unusually intimate posture between the two earlier and the fact that they reside together in Shen Garden reignited Yu Zishen's anger. His Sword Path shifted, abandoning the Wuxiang Sword's third style learned five years ago and occasionally practiced since then. The Ancient Sword switched to an aggressive, ferocious stance, aiming directly at the heart instead of the wrist. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

As the momentum of the Ancient Sword surged, Yu Zishen subtly activated a pattern on the sword.

In just one round of combat, Yu Zishen realized the opponent's strength far exceeded expectations. As he was not primarily a Sword Cultivator, his swordsmanship, though not shallow, had only one or two truly skillful techniques. While the Wuxiang Sword's third style itself was profound, his proficiency was far from adequate. Yet now, he hesitated to use his trump cards and wanted to win this sparring match with unconventional sword techniques. It seemed unlikely.

Feeling helpless, Yu Zishen chose to play it close to the edge. The Ancient Sword's pattern was gifted by a master swordsman, containing a unique Sword Intent. Once invoked, this Ancient Sword could emulate the master's exquisite Sword Path for a brief moment.

Of course, the pattern could only simulate the master's Sword Path; True Essence and Divine Sense still needed to be supplied by Yu Zishen himself. Considering the significant gap between the two, the actual power of the swordsmanship was naturally diminished. Hence, the practical significance of these patterns was not too strong, remaining within the realm of tricks.

But using it in this duel was just perfect. In a pure contest of swordsmanship skills, Yu Zishen truly didn't believe that this guy, seemingly in his early twenties, with True Essence fluctuations only at the Cloud Surge Realm, could match the master who gave him the sword pattern!

Meanwhile, Wang Jiu had swiftly seen through Yu Zishen's tactics but remained unruffled. This time, he didn't try to break Yu Zishen's Sword Path using skillful maneuvers. Instead, he horizontally positioned the Celestial Divine Sword, leveraging its thick and broad Sword Body as a shield before the true form created by the Illusion Sword Technique.

With the Celestial Divine Sword's incredible resilience, even if Yu Zishen used all his swordsmanship skills, combined with full True Essence and physical strength, it would still be unable to harm the Divine Sword Body.

Hence, Wang Jiu's approach was somewhat cunning, even cheating. But since Yu Zishen could use the sword pattern on the Ancient Sword, Wang Jiu could naturally make full use of the Celestial Divine Sword's unique properties.

Bang!

Yu Zishen's Ancient Sword's tip collided with Wang Jiu's White Sword Body, producing a deafening crash, followed by a painful buzzing.

Yu Zishen couldn't believe his eyes as he looked at his Ancient Sword. The very tip had broken off a fragment as small as a grain of rice, and the entire heavy sword began uncontrollably trembling with a moaning buzz.

This Ancient Sword... though not a top-tier Magical Treasure, was still a rare masterpiece, yet in such a simple collision, the sword tip had snapped?!

What exactly was that pure white heavy sword?

Yu Zishen scrutinized the sword in Wang Jiu's hand repeatedly, even forgetting to "condemn" him for exploiting weapon advantages. When he eventually remembered, he lacked the face to bring it up. Wasn't the sword pattern on his Ancient Sword also an advantage?

At this point, most people would concede, but Yu Zishen sighed and was about to withdraw his sword when Li Wanqing beside him chuckled and said to Shen Qingming, "Doesn't it make your heart skip a beat? Someone fighting for you and returning victorious; by rights, you should offer yourself to him..."

Shen Qingming unhesitatingly stepped on Li Wanqing's foot, blushing all the while.

Yu Zishen saw this and felt choked with anger. He adjusted his sword-drawing motion, slapped his waist, and a sword scabbard appeared out of thin air. He sheathed the Ancient Sword but simultaneously posed in a Sword-Drawing Technique stance.

Wang Jiu noticed that his opponent wanted to continue fighting and didn't hesitate. Without waiting for Yu Zishen to gather his strength, he directly slashed with the White Sword at Yu Zishen's throat.

Yu Zishen couldn't be more eager, and the Ancient Sword at his waist shot out instantly like lightning. The Sword Body doubled in speed by using the recoil at the moment of unsheathing, making the heavy Ancient Sword slash like a thin sword.

However, this swift sword slash hit nothing.

Although he moved later and arrived first by almost cheating, managing to slash Wang Jiu first, Wang Jiu's true form was just an illusion. The sword seemed to cut him in half at the waist but was meaningless. Even his use of the Illusion Sword Technique wasn't disturbed with Wang Jiu's vigilance.

Yu Zishen's sword missed, and his shoulder and elbow were in severe pain. Before he could react, Wang Jiu's White Sword fell upon him.

A ripple spread out in front of him. It was Yu Zishen's Protective True Essence being triggered. However, in a swordsmanship exchange, things stop at the appearance of the True Essence Fluctuation, determining victory and defeat. Even if Yu Zishen was unwilling and unconvinced, he had nothing to say.

"I... surrender." Yu Zishen didn't waste more time, straightened up, admitted defeat first, and then immediately asked, "How did you do that? I should have hit you."

"Illusion Sword Technique," Wang Jiu explained. "A kind of swordsmanship."

Yu Zishen frowned, unable to figure out what kind of Illusion Sword Technique could be so magical. But a loser doesn't have the right to repeatedly question. With a wry smile, he took a golden talisman out from his pocket.

"A hundred Spirit Cat Golden Swords, which means ten thousand Spirit Stones, right? This is a Holy Seal from Heaven-Reaching City's Wanbao Manor, worth exactly ten thousand—no need to return the discount. I acknowledge my inferior skills today, so I won't say anything more. Until we meet again."

After paying the penalty for the gamble, Yu Zishen turned to leave. But before exiting, he turned back to take a deep look at Shen Qingming.

His gaze was nearly overflowing with concern and dissatisfaction.

Then Li Wanqing jumped up a few steps and slammed the backstage door hard in his face.

"Don't think being handsome lets you be a pervert!"

——

Turning her head, Li Wanqing sweetly smiled at Wang Jiu: "Handsome, I wasn't talking about you; you're both handsome and dignified."

Then, in a position where Wang Jiu could clearly see, she mouthed to Shen Qingming: "Super pervert," making Shen Qingming have to fight to keep a straight face.

After a bit of commotion, Li Wanqing laughed again: "Hey, I just thought of an idea to scam that perverted rich guy out of a lot of money. Are you interested?"

Without waiting for a response from the two, Li Wanqing eagerly used a Communication Spirit Stone to call someone.

A moment later, a petite young girl with an unhappy face came from backstage, her height similar to Shen Qingming's but with a very different body line, almost like a shorter version of Li Chaolu with an unexpectedly mature charm between her brows.

Among the millions in Cyan Cloud City, those who possess this unique grace are few and far between.

"What do you want? I'm busy."

Li Wanqing asked: "Want to make money?"

"Me, make money?" The young girl sneered, "Why don't you settle my debts first, and then talk to me about such distant hopes?"

"Don't worry, you're a key finance officer of the company, and we won't let your credit go bankrupt. The company will cover the debts before they're due."

Finance Officer Zhang Zhixi snorted: "Fine, what's it about?"

Li Wanqing said: "Well, we encountered a super-rich fool just now. Considering funds should be in the hands of smarter people, so..."

Zhang Zhixi frowned, taking half a step back, and covered her chest with her hand: "You're not asking me to..."