Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery
Chapter 469 - 427: The Sword Cultivator is Poor, But Not Me

Jiang Ding took some time to memorize the understanding he had gained from the recent battle and turned his gaze to the sword cultivators of the Five Elements Heavenly Sect.

"Zhou Tian, I've seen the Great Sun Swordsman!"

Zhou Tian and the others shuddered, respectfully clasped their hands and said, "The Great Sun Heavenly Pond shines brilliantly, captivating the hearts of countless sword cultivators. We came uninvited, and we ask for the Swordsman's forgiveness."

This was adopting an extremely humble stance.

After the collapse of the Great Sun Sword Pavilion, the Great Sun Heavenly Pond had no master—whosoever was capable could claim it as there was no owner to speak of.

Jiang Ding paid no heed to them and pondered in silence.

This Zhou Tian of the Five Elements Heavenly Sect was much stronger than Xiahou Gang.

The Taiqing Flying Sword quivered slightly.

Killing him would bring benefits.

"Damn it..."

"All Great Sun Swordsmen are greedy and bloodthirsty, the Sect's Book Pavilion did not deceive me!"

Zhou Tian and the Sword Cultivators of Five Elements Heavenly Sect felt a tingling in their scalps and cursed inwardly.

While maintaining a respectful face, each of them tensed their Divine Souls and the mana sword intent within their bodies, ready to unleash an earth-shattering strike at any moment.

"I've seen you, Zhou Tian my fellow,"

After struggling for a while, Jiang Ding finally sighed, his voice revealing a hint of regret.

"I heard someone addressing you as the Zhuanlun Swordsman, why not call yourself the Five Elements Swordsman? That sounds more pleasant."

They have shown such poor sword skills, and yet they don't make a move.

All Sword Cultivators are cowards.

"The Swordsman is joking."

Zhou Tian breathed a sigh of relief but dared not let down his guard completely.

If it were any other Sword Cultivator, or even the Great Sun Swordsmen of old saying this, he would have believed them instantly. The Great Sun Swordsmen might be greedy and cruel, but they kept their word and disdained to break it.

But something was off about the one before him; he had never seen a Great Sun Sword Cultivator so fond of hiding and ambushing.

"I represent the younger generation of the Five Elements Heavenly Sect with the highest achievements in sword dao."

"But unfortunately..."

Zhou Tian's voice carried a well-concealed unwillingness, "The Heaven Sect is not a Jiandao School, how can I presume to claim the name of the Sect? Besides, in terms of strength, I am far from being An Daozi's match; there's nothing I can do about it."

"I see."

Jiang Ding suddenly understood.

He pondered for a moment.

"The words 'uninvited' that Zhuanlun my fellow just mentioned, I agree with them."

"Uninvited,"

Jiang Ding said leisurely, "This phrase is well used, conveying the meaning of entering someone's house without the owner's consent, a clear act of crime."

"This..."

Zhou Tian opened his mouth.

Those were words of courtesy, flattery even; how could you understand?

His mouth opened and closed a few times,

but ultimately, he said nothing.

Forget it, if the Daoists of the Five Elements Heavenly Sect do not speak here, then whatever he says is right.

The Sword Cultivators of Five Elements Heavenly Sect silently said nothing.

"So,"

Jiang Ding said calmly, "as a victim, I should receive compensation. Is that reasonable?"

"You want to rob us? But we are allies..."

Zhou Tian looked up in shock.

He had never seen a Swordsman so shameless, lacking even the basic pride.

Clang!

A sword's cry rang out,

a Sword Intent of Destruction filled the area, the intent of Spirit Destroying Sword Qi cleansing and spreading, causing the surrounding Heavenly Earth Spiritual Qi and the mountains and rivers to momentarily stall.

Clang, clang, clang!

Zhou Tian's body also revealed a vague sword intent that hinted at the rotation of the Five Elements. The phantoms of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth Flying Swords flickered in succession, resisting turn by turn; as the fire sword dimmed, the earth sword took over, and when the earth sword faded, the gold sword came flying, embodying the order of the Five Elements in their unending cycle.

His Sword Intent was one of the top tiers,

and had indeed reached the level of minor achievement!

A moment later,

"Puh!"

Zhou Tian's face turned flushed red as he spurted out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Outside his body, the five alternating shadows of the Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth Flying Swords could no longer withstand the never-ending Destruction Intent and collapsed, suffering heavy damage.

"Reasonable, very reasonable!"

"Compensation, there should be compensation!"

Inwardly, Zhou Tian sternly stopped the fellow disciples around him who wanted to take action, his tone becoming more and more humble, "We came uninvited, offended the master of the house, naturally this should be so."

His heart was filled with extraordinary fear, and incomprehension as well.

Why was the swordsmanship so lackluster, nonexistent even, yet why could such a terrifying Sword Intent be born?

This does not comply with the common sense of the Sword Dao!

"But, Swordsman,"

Zhou Tian said with a distressed face, drawing out his storage bag, opening it to show the inside, "All sword cultivators are poor ghosts, we are too, any money we had was spent on feeding and refining our Flying Swords, there are only tens of thousands of Spirit Stones in the storage bag."

The fellow disciples around him promptly opened their own storage bags under his urging.

Jiang Ding swept over with his Divine Sense.

It was indeed a sight that made onlookers feel heartbroken and weep.

Tens of thousands of Low-grade Spirit Stones were the better ones; many had nothing but a few refining materials for their Flying Swords, and their storage was so empty that a mouse could run through unhindered several times.

"You are so poor!"

Jiang Ding exclaimed.

A sense of superiority arose spontaneously.

He was almost as wealthy as a Nascent Soul, a super-rich tycoon.

Of course, they were not poor either; each of their Life Flying Swords could buy the fortune of a Golden Pill Monk.

"Yes, we are indeed very poor,"

Zhou Tian nodded repeatedly, with no feeling of being insulted, having gotten used to it over so many years.

"But,"

"There still needs to be compensation,"

Jiang Ding changed his tone, revealing a slight smile, "So, teach me Basic Sword Skills."

"Basic Sword Skills?"

Zhou Tian was taken aback.

This felt like something very distant to him, as if it were only something he would have touched upon when he was in the Qi Refining stage more than a hundred years ago.

"Hm? Do you not wish to compensate?"

Jiang Ding paused his words, a trace of killing intent emerging.

This was not because he wanted intentionally to provoke a dispute with the covenant of the Five Elements Heavenly Sect; rather, he had been offended and deceived!

"No, not at all!"

Zhou Tian shuddered.

He could fully sense the genuine, unmistakable killing intent; it was not empty threats or joking, just in need of a valid excuse.

"Basic Sword Control Skills, comprising ten Sword Moves: stab, slash, point, flick, lift, burst, intercept, chop, smear, pare, cloud. Each sword is intended to maximize one's Mana and the Artifact Refining Array Pattern on the Flying Sword, concentrating the power at one point without leakage..."

He quickly rambled off a bunch of techniques, then pulled out a gleaming gold sharpened Flying Sword, poured Mana into it, causing it to zip through the air, and thrust it forward fiercely.

Jiang Ding's expression froze.

With the same Mana and Flying Sword, the speed and power he displayed were only about seventy to eighty percent of that single stab.

"This is the thrust of the Flying Sword,"

Zhou Tian explained, "All techniques aim to fully exploit one's own Mana, allowing the Flying Sword to stab faster and more effectively under existing conditions, nothing more. There are seventeen key techniques to note; the first one, Sword Qi should concentrate on the tip but not entirely, a few Sword Qis should be spread along the sword body, spindle-shaped; so the Flying Sword flies fastest. Second, ..."

He wasn't actually skilled at teaching; he dumped a lot of techniques all at once, not caring if the other person understood them or not.

"I see,"

Jiang Ding listened, continuously impressed.

Even though these were just Basic Sword Control Skills, commonly seen within Immortal Sects, they encapsulated some of the ultimate explorations of the Sword Dao within this Domain.

The most basic sword techniques refined through countless generations of sword cultivators, after continuous improvement, were finally passed down.

Commoners delving into these would find it nearly impossible to reach the present height of Basic Sword Skills, no matter how many years they might take.

Until now, he had relied on the Taiqing Flying Sword to thrash his enemies, finding no equal, and without encountering a real Sword Cultivator, lacking a reference point, he indeed had overlooked this aspect.

He had thought all sword cultivators were the same as him, narrow-minded in their view.