Could it be that I am the cruel villain?
Chapter 407 - 256: Young People Have No Respect for Martial Ethics

Chapter 407: Chapter 256: Young People Have No Respect for Martial Ethics

"Chasing the Shape, Seizing the Pulse."

Leaning forward, the old man’s palm stopped just half a foot from the woman’s face because the Tangxi Sword was already pressing against his armpit.

Advancing as retreating, she used the advantage of her long limbs to pin the old man down, making him unable to move. Many would think it’s worth trading injury for life at this moment and that one should stab through the face regardless of their injuries.

Only those who have never been hit would say such things.

How could you have the power to stab someone in the face if your armpit muscles are destroyed by a thrust? No matter the level of cultivation, the body’s innate reactions cannot be changed, not even the surge of adrenaline could help in such situations.

Therefore, he could only keep retreating. As the Village Chief, he was naturally skilled in martial arts, which had been mentioned many times before, that a person’s strength does not solely rely on their Cultivation Realm.

Being ahead of others in various aspects like Martial Arts Treasure, spells, and Secret Manuals is what truly makes a strong fighter, otherwise, one would end up shattered by a Hexagonal Warrior despite having a higher realm.

In Cen Yueyue’s eyes, the old man who only bathed in the sun and complained about joint pain every day seemed like a different person at this moment. He was always hunched over at home, his face bearing an expression of someone close to death.

But today, he was like a man injected with vigor, his turbid eyes clear and bright, his body agile. The previously dark and reflective cane in his hand instantly transformed into a knife.

The blade long and heavy, with the classic Southern Border design. His thin stature was completely disproportionate to the weapon, yet the old man managed to perfectly block with a standard low-positioned sword.

The Immortal Guide continued chasing him, the old man simply retreating while keeping up a mix of thrusts and parries with the knife blade. Utilizing the thickness and length of the blade with the principle "an inch longer is an inch stronger," he aimed to dominate by charging straight at Liu Tangxi’s face.

Sidestep thrust, Cloud Sword slant cut, pass by with a horizontal slash, feint with a direct thrust and then rotate the wrist to cover with the sword edge, duck down, and a Wind Sweeping Leaves sweep across the abdomen—the entire swordplay sequence was fluid like a flowing cloud, not a hint of hesitation.

Using offense as defense, full of pressure, Liu Tangxi has always adopted this extreme offensive style. Any moment of distraction or mishandling would end with her sword sealing one’s throat.

The old man pondered only for an instant before he immediately changed his combat strategy. He began to apply movement technique to dodge and weave, constantly countering the imposing momentum of the Tangxi Sword.

A clang, a dodge, an attack, making the longsword unable to find a stable focal point. He disrupted Liu Tangxi’s offensive rhythm by using a method of dismantling and freestyle fighting. Put more plainly,

it was messing up your rhythm with random hits.

Strike if there’s an opening, block if there isn’t, or just dodge out of the way with a shift of the hips. Although it seemed awkward, it effectively hindered Liu Tangxi’s relentless attacks.

A forward step thrust, a Green Dragon Emerges from the Water aimed straight at the face, the old man responded with an equally direct thrust, swords and knife entangling, vying for inner strength. But the old man found that in terms of Inner Strength, this young girl was in no way inferior to him.

After less than three turns, she brute-forced her way through.

Sword across the throat, the old man had to lift the knife to block. Due to the violent collision, the sharp edge was deflected, but it was this moment that seemed like a vulnerability, so the old man decisively used the momentum to perform a Look Back at the Moon!

Sword and knife clashed fiercely mid-air as they landed. The old man seemed to stumble, perhaps due to his old age, he seemed to be gasping for breath.

A glint of light flashed through her eyes, Liu Tangxi saw an opening and thrust backward without caring if her balance was maintained. But this sword went exactly as the old man expected, and he chuckled inwardly.

"After all, he’s just a young upstart."

He swindled deliberately, creating a trap. These old folks like Old Biden might be aged, their bodies not as stout as in their youth, but combat experience only expands infinitely with age and life. Facing the direct stab, he just used the low-position sword parry to kick against the back of his own blade.

A classic move: lure the sword in, then kick the hand holding the weapon away to make you lose control briefly, with the body leaning forward and inevitably losing balance.

But once the opponent regained balance and steadied himself, the opening would come.

"Break!"

With a confident, fierce shout.

He jumped, the long knife pointing at Liu Tangxi’s right shoulder. For anyone else, this would likely result in a shoulder wound, but her complexion was unmoved. The kicked-away longsword was swiftly grasped and used to guard her shoulder, leveraging its one-meter length perfectly.

Body leaning forward, sword flourishes in hand, deflecting and counterattack.

The old man, who had already thrown his weapon into the air, had a flash of astonishment in his eyes, but it was too late to escape using the Guardian. He hadn’t expected the woman to deliberately fall for his trap and feign deceivement.

Waiting for the young girl’s mistake to counterattack, only to be used against him, seizing the opportunity to unravel his technique, turning the tables, even now, his legs hadn’t even touched the ground yet.

Clang!

The sword light nearing his body was firmly grasped.

In an instant, the old man’s long blade dissipated, the Shape Gathering and Qi Dispelling Technique allowed his Lifebound Divine Weapon to take any form. The black mist transformed into a large hand that grabbed the sword, but with his weapon restrained, he could only watch powerlessly as Liu Tangxi’s left hand swept past her waist.

He was now empty-handed, with no chance or time to reach for anything. His Inner Strength had just been used in the Shape Gathering and Qi Dispelling, and even at their level of cultivation, it wasn’t possible to cast multiple spells at once without causing the spiritual energy to crash within the body.

"Youngsters these days lack martial morality!"

Protective Gang Qi burst forth in an instant!

At this stage, he no longer cared about his dignity. Although he was slightly ahead in cultivation, and the elders were roughly on the same large realm, as Village Chief, he truly didn’t want to bully others due to his position. Hearing that you are personally taught by Liu Jian, inheriting the name of Sword Immortal, "I simply don’t believe it," he thought. He refused to use any external forces and was determined to challenge her fairly.

But the fight seemed wrong, especially with this strike. If it penetrated his body, even if it didn’t target a vital point, it would hurt him considerably.

Keep in mind, this is not a few hundred years ago when he was young, where as long as he was alive, he could return to his original state. At his age, if any hidden injuries remained... perhaps his granddaughter wouldn’t need to return home, she could just start the feast here, since most of these old guys were present.

Thud!

He felt pain in his right shoulder.

The powerful recoil forced both parties to retreat a full ten meters or more; even under the moonlight, one could see the hidden weapon thrust out by Liu Tangxi’s left hand imbued with boundless Sword Intent. It even knocked dust off the old man’s back, a testament to the strike’s heavy impact.

Retreating continuously, his body became etched with dark veins, and his already not-so-fair old face now appeared even darker. This scene seemed familiar—clearly, Cen Zhuangzhuang had learned his Body Cultivation techniques from this elder.

Liu Tangxi did not advance to press the attack, but simply continued to hold the longsword in a reversed grip, her left hand holding a rather peculiar short blade. No, it could not even be considered a blade—without an edge or sword light, it was a very smooth round tip.

"Huuh—"

She exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Standing still, unaffected, her right hand trembled incessantly. The withered palm kept twitching, trying to summon back the weapon that had turned into a cloud of black mist in the distance. However, after several attempts, he failed.

Liu Tangxi did not take this opportunity to attack. She remained silent, waiting, for she had said she would yield a move and meant it. It wasn’t an act of pretense or arrogance, but a gesture of fairness.

She could feel the old man’s strength and experience in front of her, but due to age, many techniques were beyond his control. Had it been two hundred years earlier, the outcome of the previous melee of swords might have been uncertain, so in both feeling and reason, she owed him a move.

However, the outcome seemed unchanged. Or perhaps, Liu Tangxi never believed she could lose.

A few seconds of silence.

But ultimately, Cen Yongsheng chose to abandon his right hand, silently lifting his left to grasp the dissipated black mist from the air, turning it back into a simple and unadorned walking stick, and planting it firmly on the ground for support.

Perhaps even Cen Zhuangzhuang could not imagine that the walking stick the Village Chief enjoyed knocking him with was, in fact, a Divine Weapon, truly Supreme-grade.

"Good skills. Liu Jian at your age was far from your equal, even Cloud Fairy pales somewhat compared to you."

His voice was somewhat hoarse but were any person who knew him to stand here and hear these words, they’d be frightened enough to bite off their tongue.

They had never heard Village Chief Cen praise anyone before, let alone with such high regard. The "Cloud Fairy" he mentioned naturally referred to his daughter-in-law, once the Saintess of Yuhua Palace. Such an evaluation meant one thing.

He was convinced.

He looked at the strange short blade held in Liu Tangxi’s left hand; it was not a weapon, but a pen.

A judge’s pen, entirely forged from precious metal, its tip had become rounded with the passage of time, and even a direct stab would not cause much harm, let alone with Protective Gang Qi in place.

With that final strike, Liu Tangxi deliberately chose something that wouldn’t hurt him to target his acupoint, temporarily disabling his right hand.

However, with or without the use of his right hand, the victory was decided.

"Hmph, you’re more sensible than that brat Liu Jian. If it were him, this old man might’ve needed to lie in bed for a few days."

After the black mist transformed back into a walking stick, Liu Tangxi likewise sheathed the Tangxi Sword and, with hair slightly disheveled, her expression was as cold and unchanged as ever.

"Village Chief overpraises me. Compared to my master and Aunt Yun, I still have much to refine. On the other hand, having delved into the Southern Border for more than two decades myself, I find you stronger than the other seven village chiefs by more than just a small margin."

"Oh?"

He originally wore an expression of dissatisfaction—after all, at his age, being beaten to a pulp by a young girl was somewhat embarrassing—but his curiosity was piqued by her words.

"Why only seven? Are there a few old-timers stronger than me?"

"No, it’s because they didn’t dare to fight me."

"Hahaha, good, very good."

He laughed heartily towards the sky.

That’s how old people are; he may not care about winning or losing against the younger generation, but they definitely care about face, especially among their own circle of elders.

Hearing that he’s the toughest of these old fogeys made him feel significantly better. In the Cultivation World, it’s the strong that call the shots. If you want me not to oppose this marriage, you’d better show some real skills.

Otherwise, what’s my granddaughter marrying into?

Charity?

Although that young man named Jiang Feng is a bit lacking in Cultivation Realm, his strength is passable. Being able to spar with a girl from the Joyful Sect, and with someone like Liu Tangxi as a mentor, his future achievements should not be low.

But after all, it’s better that his granddaughter is the more outstanding one.

"Alright, I won’t interfere with Yue Yue’s affairs. Do what one can, leave the rest to fate. Although I cannot defeat you in battle, let me say something unpleasant upfront—if any of your Purple Cloud Palace folks deliberately set a trap for my granddaughter, don’t blame this old man for not being polite."

"Of course, from now on, it’s all about whether the two of them are fated."

"At this age, it is best to go back and rest after exercising late at night."

He moved his numb right arm, which, though still unable to use Spiritual Energy, was gradually regaining sensation. He rubbed his shoulder and was just about to leave.

At this moment, Village Chief Cen suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Young Liu, who would win between you and Gu Lao?"

"..."

Liu Tangxi, who was also about to leave, suddenly stopped. She did not turn around, merely leaving behind two words.

"Half a move."

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