After being reborn, all I want to do is run away.

Chapter 68 Terrifying Swordsmanship

Within the Cloud and Mist Bamboo Realm, Shen Xu moved his body, which had regained its vitality, and couldn't help but sigh that physical health was the most important thing. He never wanted to experience the feeling of being seriously injured again.

During this period, he was either healing his injuries or absorbing vital energy to improve his cultivation. As a result, his cultivation level successfully reached the late stage of the seventh level of Qi Nourishing.

The reason his cultivation level improved so quickly was not only because the spiritual energy here was exceptionally rich, but also because of the spiritual nourishing pills he had saved up. Indeed, taking pills is the shortcut to improving cultivation level.

However, it was clearly impossible for him to break through to the eighth level of Qi Nourishing here. Firstly, he had run out of Nourishing Essence Pills, and secondly, he was almost out of Bigu Pills. If he delayed any longer, he would probably starve to death in the Cloud Mist Bamboo Realm.

Shen Xu assessed his current condition and found that he had returned to normal. Therefore, he decided to launch his first challenge against the young man in white.

Since we can't break through to the eighth level of Qi Cultivation, now is the best time.

Shen Xu slowly walked up to the white-robed youth, sword in hand. Ever since the misty figure disappeared with the white mist that day, no matter how much Shen Xu called out, the misty figure never reappeared, leaving only an empty shell of a white-robed body in the center of the circular area.

Although Shen Xu knew that the white-clad youth in front of him was a wisp of mist, he looked so much like a normal person that Shen Xu often forgot the fact that he was not human.

For a long time, he talked to the white-robed youth. Although the white-robed youth never answered him, there was a difference between having someone to talk to and not having someone to talk to, especially in a space like the Cloud Mist Bamboo Realm where there was only white mist and bamboo.

During this time, Shen Xu did explore the bamboo forest around the path, but every time he got to a certain distance, he would return to this place. Gradually, he gave up on this idea and began to focus on cultivating and healing in the circular area.

"But how do we trigger it?" Shen Xu circled around the white-robed youth. He didn't dare to touch the youth easily. If the youth suddenly woke up and killed him with a sword, that would be too frustrating.

After a while, Shen Xu felt that he could not continue like this. The Bigu Pill was about to run out, and he had to find a way out within the next two days.

"I'm sorry, Master." Shen Xu bowed deeply to the young man in white, then slashed at him with his sword.

But before Shen Xu's sword could touch the white-robed youth's body, the youth instantly drew his sword to block Shen Xu's attack, and then returned to his dazed state.

Shen Xu was stunned by what he saw. "So it really can move!"

This discovery immediately piqued his interest, so he slashed at the white-robed man again, but the white-robed youth blocked it once more.

"Whoa!" Shen Xu was somewhat shocked. He had used 60% of his speed and strength in that sword strike, but it was easily blocked by the young man.

This discovery immediately gave him a bad feeling, so he took a step back and then accelerated instantly, a flash of cold light appearing in an instant. With a clang, Shen Xu's sword tip pierced the white-robed youth's sword, and the white-robed youth didn't even move an inch.

"Damn! What the hell?" Shen Xu sheathed his sword and stood there, his brows furrowed as he looked at the white-clad youth who had also sheathed his sword.

He had expected the white-robed youth to be strong, but he hadn't imagined he was this strong. The youth had easily blocked even his full-force thrust, making him think that if the white-robed youth really wanted to kill him, one move would have been enough.

But what did the white-robed youth mean by only defending against his sword moves? Thinking of the test mentioned by Wu Ying, Shen Xu immediately had a guess.

"Triple Waves!" Shen Xu unleashed a sword technique.

The attack successfully touched the white-clad youth, but the moment the wave touched him, he vanished as a wisp of mist. Then, the mist suddenly reappeared behind Shen Xu and transformed back into the white-clad youth.

He could sense that it wasn't that the young man in white couldn't defend against his triple wave, but rather that he hadn't even considered defending against it.

"Can't I use the Yuan Qi Sword Technique?" Shen Xu suddenly realized that this test was probably going to examine his swordsmanship.

It seems he doesn't need to think about breaking through to the eighth level of Qi Cultivation before fighting. The white-robed youth in front of him is probably at the seventh level of Qi Cultivation. The white-robed youth is testing his understanding and application of basic swordsmanship.

It seems that Master Qingzhu values ​​swordsmanship very much! This test of swordsmanship is actually more advantageous to him. If it were a contest of strength, he really couldn't think of any other means he could use to defeat the white-robed youth.

With that thought in mind, Shen Xu gave up on other ideas and began to focus on using his swordsmanship to attack the young man in white.

However, every fierce attack Shen Xu launched was easily defended by the young man in white. It was as if the young man in white could see through every thought in Shen Xu's heart, knowing the trajectory of his longsword, the changes in his moves, and the possible follow-up combos.

This is a sight that can only be produced when swordsmanship has reached an extremely high level. Under normal circumstances, as long as the difference in strength between the two sides is not too great, then for someone with such swordsmanship, victory is simply a piece of cake.

Unfortunately, Shen Xu was currently being completely suppressed by the young man in white. As time went on, Shen Xu's breathing became increasingly rapid, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, gradually soaking his clothes.

In the end, he could only stop his fierce, relentless attack on the young man in white, panting heavily.

He felt that every attack he made was completely useless. Even after swinging his sword hundreds or thousands of times, he could not even touch the hem of the white-robed youth's clothes. This result caused an unprecedented sense of frustration to well up in Shen Xu's heart.

At this moment, he felt that he had entered a dead end. Although he had been practicing swordsmanship under Wang Bo's training since childhood and had fought on the battlefield for so many years, his swordsmanship level still seemed too clumsy compared to the young man in white.

He realized that relying solely on his meager swordsmanship skills, it was nothing short of a pipe dream to defeat the young man in white.

This made Shen Xu feel a deep sense of powerlessness—even though it seemed like a fair duel between him and his opponent, no matter how hard he tried, he could never cross the huge chasm between them.

Every time his sword was blocked by the young man in white, he thought that if he could use the Five Waves technique, the outcome would definitely not be like this.

Then he suddenly thought of what he would do if he could no longer use the Five Waves technique. Just like when he faced the sword "Jiu", if he had not comprehended the meaning of water, he would never have had the opportunity to use the Five Waves technique.

Only then did he realize that what the young man in white was showing was exactly what he lacked and what he truly needed.

The image of the white-clad youth parrying each of his sword strikes kept replaying in Shen Xu's mind. He felt that he had gone astray. His current moves were almost all about overwhelming his opponent with unparalleled momentum. But if this powerful momentum failed to completely defeat the enemy, then he himself would become the biggest weakness.

He focused too much on the power of his sword techniques, neglecting many fundamental but extremely important aspects.

If his swordsmanship could reach the level of the white-robed youth, he could easily defeat many enemies that would require five waves to defeat, thus saving the energy needed to use five waves. In battle, every extra bit of energy increases the chance of victory, which is something he has to consider.

He was on the right path from the start. The Pine Tree Sword Technique was his ultimate expression of swordsmanship. Without a profound understanding of swordsmanship, how could he have used a mortal-level sword technique to fight against a human-level sword technique?

But later, the unparalleled power of the Five Waves gave him a misconception—as if as long as the power of his sword moves could continue to increase and reach its peak, then from the beginning of the battle, he could completely crush his opponent with the force of Mount Tai crushing an egg, leaving the opponent with no power to fight back. In this way, he would naturally not need to get into close combat with the enemy and fight bitterly.

It was this kind of thinking that made him overlook the most fundamental thing for a swordsman: the sword!

He can fight with any weapon, so what's the difference between having a sword and not having one?

A swordsman's heart is devoted to the sword. If he only treats the sword in his hand as a tool to perform sword moves, he will never become a true swordsman. At best, he will be just an ordinary cultivator who wields a sharp sword.

The sword held immense significance for him; it was not merely a cold, hard metal object, nor could it simply be a tool in his hands!