si-mexico Chapter 56 The Battle of Blocking the Gate
Chapter 56 The Battle of Blocking the Gate
He had visited the library recently, so he was familiar with the way and quickly found his way. However, he did not see Elder Huang on the first floor.
The second floor of the library was much smaller than the first floor, and the books stored there were naturally much fewer. Shen Xu's goal was clear, so he went straight to the section where cultivation techniques were displayed.
Looking around, although there weren't many cultivation techniques, they were all top-quality. The lowest level was a cultivation technique at the human level, but after looking through them, he found that the highest level was also a cultivation technique at the human level.
However, upon further reflection, he realized it was normal. After all, cultivation techniques at the human level were not exactly common; perhaps the entire Green Bamboo Sword Sect didn't even have many.
With that thought in mind, he stopped hesitating and decided to choose a suitable cultivation method from among these techniques.
Suddenly, Shen Xu discovered a copy of the Azure Edge Manual. "So this is where the Shen family's family secret technique comes from!"
The Green Bamboo Sword Sect has a rule that allows elders who have made great contributions to the sect to pass on their own cultivation techniques to their own disciples. Perhaps the Shen family's ancestor was such an elder who made great contributions to the sect.
Of course, it's also possible that the Shen family offered their martial arts techniques to the Green Bamboo Sword Sect to show their loyalty, but that's less likely.
Unfortunately, the Azure Edge Technique is not suitable for him now, otherwise it would be great if he continued to cultivate the Azure Edge Technique.
For a long time to come, water-based sword techniques imbued with the essence of water will be an indispensable means of attack for him. Therefore, he wants to choose a water-based cultivation technique to enhance the power of his sword techniques.
With a clear goal in mind, Shen Xu quickly selected three candidate cultivation techniques.
"Azure Water Technique increases the speed of water vapor drawn by vital energy... Mysterious Water Technique can use vital energy to increase the weight of water... Water Edge Technique slightly increases the power of water-based sword techniques..."
Shen Xu was somewhat troubled by this choice. All three techniques would significantly enhance his strength, but he could only choose one to cultivate. The Azure Water Technique would enhance the power of the Water Mist Sword Technique, the Profound Water Technique would enhance the power of the Overlapping Waves Sword Technique, and the Water Edge Technique would enhance both sword techniques.
After much thought, he still felt that the Overlapping Waves Sword Technique might be more helpful to him in the future, since he had only reached the fifth level, while the Overlapping Waves Sword Technique could be stacked up to the tenth level. Moreover, he felt that the Profound Water Technique and the Overlapping Waves Sword Technique were quite compatible.
Having made his decision, Shen Xu no longer hesitated and did not intend to look at other manuals. After all, time was limited, and he already had enough sword techniques and movement methods, each with much room for further exploration. He even had an extra cultivation technique to practice now, and he understood the principle of not trying to do too much at once.
After registering the cultivation technique and leaving the library, Shen Xu couldn't wait to go back and start practicing again. But when he returned to his courtyard full of anticipation, he found an uninvited guest.
A young man in brocade robes was leaning against the gate of his courtyard, holding a sword and resting with his eyes closed, seemingly waiting for him to return.
This puzzled Shen Xu, as he didn't recognize the person. "Could he be a neighbor, coming to say hello?"
With this thought in mind, Shen Xu slowly walked over, and the young man slowly opened his eyes after sensing his footsteps. His unfriendly gaze immediately alerted Shen Xu.
"Senior brother, what brings you to my doorstep?" Shen Xu asked.
"Your home? Didn't anyone tell you that some courtyards in Qingzhu Residence are off-limits?"
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know there was such a rule. But since the Inner Affairs Hall agreed to let me choose this courtyard, it means that the courtyard is unclaimed, and I don’t think I have violated any of the rules of the sect.”
“Some rules are established by convention. This courtyard is one I’ve taken a liking to. I’ll give you fifteen minutes to pack your things and get out of here right now,” the young man said impatiently.
"Sorry, you don't seem to have that authority. Please move aside." Feeling the young man's unreasonable behavior, Shen Xu couldn't help but become impatient.
"Your senior brother kindly tried to reason with you and even gave you time to get lost, why won't you listen to advice? Judging from your appearance, you must be a newly entered inner disciple. I didn't want to lower myself to your level, but since you don't know what's good for you, don't blame me for turning ruthless!"
A fierce glint flashed in the young man's eyes. With a sudden flick of his wrist, the sword at his waist was drawn instantly! In an instant, a sharp sword light, as swift as a gust of wind, sliced through the air and hurtled straight toward Shen Xu's face with lightning speed.
Wherever the sword light passed, the surrounding air seemed to be torn apart, causing fallen leaves to flutter and dance in the air.
However, faced with such a swift attack, Shen Xu merely shifted his body slightly, easily dodging the fatal blow. He then walked straight towards the courtyard gate that the young man had cleared for him; he had just arrived at the inner sect and didn't want to cause trouble.
At the same time, the young man was clearly not expected that his sure-fire sword strike would miss, and he was momentarily stunned.
But after only a moment, he came to his senses, and in a fit of rage, his face darkened, and he swung his sword again.
This time, his sword was wreathed in azure light, accompanied by gusts of wind howling. Several incomparably sharp wind blades shot out from the tip of the sword, like ferocious venomous snakes, baring their fangs and claws as they lunged at Shen Xu's back. Each wind blade flashed with a chilling light, its power terrifying.
Shen Xu was startled by the strong threat coming from behind him. The energy in the cyan wind blade was unusually dense and abundant. If he were hit by this sword energy, he would definitely be injured.
This forced him to stop and use the Dragon Body technique to dodge the constantly attacking wind blades. His figure was unpredictable, like a nimble dragon, dodging left and right among the dense rain of blue wind blades, narrowly avoiding one deadly wind blade after another.
However, despite Shen Xu's extremely skillful movements, the number of wind blades was simply too great and their speed too fast. Just as he was dodging with all his might, he suddenly discovered that one of the largest and most powerful wind blades had broken through his defenses and was slashing straight down at him.
At the critical moment, Shen Xu swiftly drew his sword and retaliated without hesitation. With a crisp clang, a dazzling white light flashed and collided fiercely with the massive cyan wind blade.
The impact of the collision of the two powerful forces caused Shen Xu to involuntarily stagger back several steps before regaining his balance.
Although he successfully dodged most of the wind blades, the courtyard gate behind him was not so lucky. The cyan wind blades that passed over him bombarded the gate without any hindrance, instantly cutting the once intact gate into countless pieces of varying sizes, which were scattered all over the ground.
"You've got some skill! You're qualified to be the top outer disciple this year."
But I've seen plenty of people like you. You think you're invincible just because you have a little bit of strength. In my eyes, you're just a clown!
"Remember this is the inner sect. If you want to be arrogant, go back to the outer sect!" The young man in the brocade robe said disdainfully to Shen Xu.
"I don't recall ever offending you," Shen Xu said coldly.
"Remember Feng Yun? You beat up my men, so make up for it with this courtyard! I quite like the environment here." The young man in the brocade robe glanced around.
"Sorry, I only spent this morning cleaning this courtyard, so I don't plan to give it away!" White mist gradually enveloped Shen Xujian.
"You're making me lose face!"
The young man in the brocade robe had a surge of azure energy flowing wildly into the sword in his hand.
A bluish-green gale howled forth, like a ferocious beast opening its blood-red maw, whipping up countless fallen leaves with overwhelming force. These leaves, like butterflies out of control, danced wildly through the air.
"Fivefold Wave Slash!" Shen Xu naturally wouldn't wait for him to gather his strength, so he swung his sword without hesitation.
In an instant, a dazzling white wave, like a roaring dragon, carrying countless falling leaves, rushed toward the young man in brocade robes with overwhelming force.
Upon seeing the surging white wave, the young man in the brocade robe's expression changed drastically, his previously calm and confident demeanor instantly replaced by astonishment.
"Swift Wind Slash!" The young man in the brocade robe wielded his longsword with incredible speed, his body and the sword seemingly becoming one. In the blink of an eye, an extremely violent azure tornado was created by his sword, crashing fiercely into the surging white wave ahead with destructive force.
Immediately afterwards, a deafening roar resounded, as if the entire earth trembled. Countless withered yellow leaves on the ground were instantly blasted to pieces by this powerful impact, turning into countless fragments that flew everywhere.
The blue tornado and the white wave were like two ferocious beasts meeting on a narrow path, engaging in a thrilling struggle between the two.
They faced each other, locked in a stalemate, each collision triggering a tremendous energy surge. The surrounding air seemed to be stirred up, swirling up and down countless fallen leaves that lingered on the air currents.
Seeing that the first five-wave attack was gradually weakening, Shen Xu unleashed another five-wave attack. In an instant, this newly formed white wave, like a wild horse, surged forward with tremendous force, rushing towards the azure tornado.
Faced with the surging white wave, the azure tornado suddenly exploded under the powerful impact, transforming into countless sharp azure sword energies that shot out in all directions at an astonishing speed.
In an instant, a sharp, piercing whistling sound echoed throughout the bamboo forest, like the chorus of ten thousand birds. The once upright and verdant bamboo appeared fragile and vulnerable in the face of this dense array of blue sword energy, and were all cut in half and crashed to the ground.
Because the sword energy formed by the cyan tornado was numerous and extremely fast, even Shen Xu dared not be careless in the slightest. He moved nimbly, using his Dragon Body technique to weave left and right through the dense rain of swords, dodging with agility.
Even so, the blue robe he had just changed into was not spared; it was slashed by several sword energies, leaving several shocking gashes.
If Shen Xu was in such a state, one can only imagine what happened to the young man in brocade robes who was directly hit by the second wave of the fifth wave. He was not only thrown into the bamboo forest, but his brocade robes were also torn to shreds, and his body was covered in bloodstains. Blood gushed from his wounds, staining his originally fair skin a deep red.
Upon seeing this, Shen Xu felt a sense of foreboding. If the young man in the brocade robe died here, he would be held responsible. So he hurriedly went forward to check on the young man's condition.