Luo Ming’s stand prompted everyone running away to decelerate.
Luo Ming moved unbelievably slowly for a man face to face with the enemy that took his sons’ lives a decade ago. The nightmare that had tormented him for a decade suddenly felt surreal. When he faced off against the white python ten back then, he could only watch the tragedy unfold and then use whatever means possible to run, unable to flee with dignity or collect his sons’ corpses. Ever since that day, he covered his eyes and relied on his determination that almost broke him to hastily find a means of destroying his nightmare. However, that all came to an abrupt halt when Ming Feizhen smashed his “cauldron” awake.
Once again, the white python gave him the same smirk, then raised its head up to gust up a tornado infused with snakes.
Luo Ming lunged in and stabbed.
The Yanhui slid back.
Luo Ming lunched forward and slashed downward.
The Yanhui slid back again.
Luo Ming attacked each time he took a step for five more steps – moving at a slow pace. The Yanhui demolished organic and inorganic infrastructures each time it retreated. None of Luo Ming’s attacks were famous techniques or rooted in any particular; he didn’t even access Enlightenment. They were unadorned stab, slash and chop movements, yet there were no flaws in Luo Ming’s textbook strikes. What made each strike dangerous was the proficiency of the plain techniques and the qi blasting off. This was a new realm Luo Ming reached during his scrap with Ming Feizhen and the first time he had the opportunity to put it into practice. One could say Luo Ming had retrieved the sword he lost back then.
Despite Luo Ming’s wooden sword chipping and snapping, nobody would dare to belittle it, not when it could drive back a monster that drove them back. “Nobody” if Luo Ming himself wasn’t included.
“What a pity. This is the best sword you’ve forged.”
Luo Siming, visibly embarrassed, couldn’t argue with his lack of improvement in the smithing department when he had dedicated what time he had to the swordplay department since he started managing the clan. “I will forge a sword that brings honour to our clan when we return home.”
The Yanhui didn’t advance again. Instead, it hissed as a scared child would – although it still had its mouth in a condescending shape.
Death Spirit Shaman vaulted onto the Yanhui’s head. “Hahaha, look who it is, the man who once killed one of my kids. Long-time no see, Heavenly Swordsman.”
Luo Ming shifted his gaze up. “I don’t recall ever meeting you.”
“You obviously haven’t seen me before, but I have. If the damn cripple didn’t save you that day, you wouldn’t be gloating now. You ruined, at least, ten years of my labour when your group killed one of my kids in Nieyao. If you think you can compensate my losses with a few of your sons, you’re dead wrong. Baidizi, kill him!”
The Yanhui flickered its long tongue rapidly.
Sima Huai was first to consider a tactical retreat, but he couldn’t make up his mind. He, therefore, looked over to Emperor Yuansheng, only to catch the latter calmly state, “If we run now, everything will have been for naught.”
“Wh-”
“Bring the sword!” Emperor Yuansheng shouted.
Dugu brought over a heavy iron sword case. The case wasn’t designed to keep it out of the hands of thieves; it was designed to seal the sword within. Emperor Yuansheng proceeded to unlock the nine locks in the special order they needed to be unlocked. Every inch Emperor Yuansheng lifted the lid, the Yanhui cowered a little more.
“Brother Luo, use this sword.”
The great sword in Luo Ming’s hand shone a twilight glow onto the horizon, frightening the venomous snakes off. Their fear for the sword was no less than their fear of Sima Huai’s needles – assuming fear was an emotion they knew.
The Yanhui dove in, aiming to devour Purple Forbidden Enclosure Dragon Slayer. Luo Ming let it come down from above, the gale generated winnowing his grey garments. Once again, he simply slashed upward, resulting in both of them skidding back.
For the first time, Sima Huai and company could see a chance of victory from the scales that fell to the ground.
“Hahaha, you really brought it! The sword is a waste in your hands. Yellow Spring failed, so I thought my hopes of obtaining it were dashed, but you kindly brought it here for me. Baidizi, kill them all!”
A careless man might forget that the Yanhui’s weapon was its entire body, not just its head, since it had only attacked its head and sheer brute force thus far.
“Wait!” Gewu’s subordinate, Black Cleric, weaved passed all of the dangerous spots and traps on the field to reach Death Spirit Shaman. “Please retreat with Baidizi, Your Eminence.”
“Say that again.” Death Spirit Shaman narrowed his eyes as he hiked up a corner of his lips. “Did you just order me?”
“This one dares not.” Black Cleric bowed down and quietly continued, “It is the upper echelon’s orders. They said this group cannot be defeated tonight, so you are not to reveal too much of our forces.”
“You mean those wenches from Sky Palace?”
Black Cleric’s silence was a “yes”.
“Hahaha, kill them all!”
The Yanhui whipped its tail, gusting up a sandstorm and crushing anyone slow.
“Get out of my sights. Tell those wenches that I do as I please. Tell them to shut their traps.” Death Spirit Shaman turned his focus back to Luo Ming, a sinister smile spreading across his lips. “It’s playtime.”
Glossary
Stab, slash, chop – These are part of the compulsory techniques/movements in the Chinese sword (jian)syllabus. Slash and chop may sound like the same thing, but they aren’t in this syllabus. If you watch wushu competitions, you will see them performed at some point in the optional routines because of them being basics that must be mastered. They are pretty much the components that are stopping Chinese martial arts from becoming a jigsaw puzzle than can be assembled and disassembled even more liberally than they already are.
