Stranger Danger
Chapter 440: Spring Wind and Fine Rain

“Young Ye is an expert in saber arts too? He sure knows how to keep his skills hidden.”

Lei Xiaodan looked in Hong Jianglong’s direction. “That’s Red Sleeve and the ‘Saber of Spring Wind and Fine Rain’, isn’t it?”

“Er… I think so?” Hong Jianglong rubbed his nose.

Lei Xiaodan noticed Hong Jianglong’s strange expression and exclaimed in surprise, “You… didn’t know, Brother Hong?”

“Ahem… of course I know! I just didn’t recall it until just now.” Hong Jianglong coughed.

It technically wasn’t a lie. Ye Qing did mention to him that he had “dabbled” in the way of the saber before. He took it as the whole truth and didn’t prod deeper.

Now, Hong Jianglong realized that Ye Qing was humoring him. Dabbler my ass! With that level of mastery, he could open a school if he wanted to!

“Is the ‘Saber of Spring Wind and Fine Rain’ very famous or something, Xiaodan?” The Harmony King asked curiously.

Lei Xiaodan noticed that Hong Jianglong was lying through his teeth but didn’t expose him. Instead, he focused on answering the Harmony King’s question, “The ‘Saber of Spring Wind and Fine Rain’ is a Spirit Purification stage saber art that was supposedly invented by a warrioress. Loving and tender like a woman’s touch, it is a superior grade martial art with exquisite techniques.”

“But of course, it is incomparable to Jian Wusheng’s ‘No Life, No I’.”

“Huh?” The Harmony King looked confused. “If that’s true, then how is Ye Qing going even against Jian Wusheng?”

“That’s because Young Ye had improved it considerably.”

Lei Xiaodan explained, “Young Ye is using a modified version of ‘Saber of Spring Wind and Fine Rain’ that is infused with his own understanding and insights. While retaining the original’s style and concept, he cut away what he considered unnecessary and made it faster, more accurate, more exquisite, and more powerful than what it was before.”

“More importantly, Young Ye’s Spirit Purification stage cultivation art seems quite unusual. This is just an observation, but it looks like his spirit could induce hallucinations and captivate the mind. Combined with the ‘Saber of Spring Wind and Fine Rain’ and Red Sleeve, he can mentally attack his opponents with every swing of the blade.”

“You could say that Young Ye’s ‘Saber of Spring Wind and Fine Rain’ is very different from the original. It is now as strong as Jian Wusheng’s ‘No Life, No I’.”

“On a related note, Young Ye’s Spirit Purification stage cultivation art really is quite something. It is stranger than the ‘Six Desires Demon Sutra’ of the ‘Demonic Abode of Six Desires’, greater than the ‘Boundless Heart Demon Art’ of West Kulun, and more profound than the Canon of the Manifestation of Red Dust of Red Dust Tribulation. When the mind moves, it leaves no traces behind. When the thought stirs, it cannot be perceived. It is bewitching, enchanting, and seemingly the perfect union between profoundness, anomaly, spirit, surreality, anomaly and deception. It is incredible.”

Lei Xiaodan looked at Hong Jianglong again and asked, “Do you know what Spirit Purification stage Young Ye is using, Brother Hong?”

Hong Jianglong shot him a baleful look. “No.”

“Is it because you don’t know the answer?” Lei Xiaodan teased.

The Pacification Commissioner wasn’t smiling though. “A warrior’s cultivation art is their greatest secret. Even a lowly jianghu warrior knows better than to pry into another warrior’s cultivation art. Are you seriously telling me such basic common sense eludes you, Lei Xiaodan?”

“Oh! Sorry, sorry. My curiosity blinded me for a moment there. I hope you won’t take offense.” Lei Xiaodan apologized in a hurry. “In any case, it looks like congratulations are in order, Brother Hong. Young Ye should win this match.”

Hong Jianglong shot Lei Xiaodan another look but didn’t say anything.

“What? The brat is going to win? That’s impossible!” The Harmony King exclaimed in shock when he heard Lei Xiaodan’s final statement. “That brat can’t be that strong! Xilai, what do you think?”

Song Xilai replied expressionlessly, “He’s right. Wusheng will lose very soon.”

“How is that possible? Jian Wusheng is a named warrior on the Human Champions Ranking! He was even kicking that brat’s ass earlier! I don’t believe this!” The Harmony King raged.

“‘No Life, No I’ is a sword art that demands its practitioner to abandon their ego and fear. Only a swordsman with a pure sword heart can become unrivaled in sword intent. However, you can see from the way Wusheng fights that he is no longer free from fear and hesitation as he once was,” Song Xilai explained. “I would give him a teatime at most before he loses this fight.”

“Are you sure about this?” The Harmony King still looked doubtful.

Then, someone no one expected to say anything spoke up, “No, it will take half a teatime at most!”

Everyone turned to look at Chu Wangsun in surprise. Last time, the scholar was silent the entire round. What possessed him to speak up this time?

Of course, just because Chu Wangsun said something didn’t mean that he had suddenly turned into a chatterbox. The scholar fell silent without explaining anything.

Everyone understood his meaning though. Chu Wangsun was saying that Joyless would defeat Jian Wusheng in half a teatime.

“I’m glad you think so highly of Joyless, Mister Nine, but Jian Wusheng is an accomplished swordsman. Can you explain why you’re so certain the Joyless will defeat him in half a teatime?” Hong Jianglong asked with a wide smile on his face.

“Unnecessary. You will see very soon,” Chu Wangsun answered without even looking up from his book.

Hong Jianglong narrowed his eyes a little. He couldn’t understand what Chu Wangsun was thinking. Was he actually praising Ye Qing from the bottom of his heart, or was he trying to paint a bigger target on his back? His efforts didn’t seem nearly enough if it was the latter though.

Hong Jianglong tried to prod Chu Wangsun into speaking his thoughts, but the scholar refused to cooperate with him. Now, he was saddled with a heavy mind and even heavier heart.

Why must I duel wits with Chu Wangsun? Joyless, that heavens damned troublemaker. I’m sending him home as soon as this tournament is over.

Back on the platform, Jian Wusheng was feeling just as heavy as Hong Jianglong was, if not heavier. Since the day he grasped “No Life, No I”, he had never encountered a peer whose tempo was faster than his… until now.

Ye Qing’s saber art might look slow on the outside due to its tender, pampering outlook, but in reality it was a tad faster than even “No Life, No I”. Not only that, Ye Qing’s saber insight was surprisingly deep, and his techniques didn’t conform to what he learned from the manual. He fought as if he was the embodiment of the saber art itself, natural and perfect. As a result, he was unable to find a way to pierce it.

He could still handle it if this was all the saber art was. The problem was that every move, every gesture Ye Qing performed disrupted his concentration and bewitched the mind as well. Even with his willpower, he didn’t doubt he would be ensnared if he let his guard down for even an instant.

If “No Life, No I” was a hot-blooded, iron-willed hero, then the “Saber of Spring Wind and Fine Rain” was a seductress who could tempt a realm into damnation. It was often said that a hero was rarely immune to the charms of a woman, and right here and now, it certainly looked like “No Life, No I” was outmatched by the “Saber of Spring Wind and Fine Rain”.

Over time, Jian Wusheng was pushed harder and harder until all he could do was defend himself. More and more chinks appeared in his once flawless swordwork, and so did the number of wounds on his body.

No, no! I’m a named warrior on the Human Champions Ranking, while he is just a nobody! Am I actually going to lose to him?

Slowly but surely, Jian Wusheng was succumbing to his own anxiety, anger, and frustration, which in turn impacted his sword art even more. The deeper he plunged into the well of emotions, the more his sword art deteriorated, and the worse his situation became.

“No! I won’t lose!”

Jian Wusheng suddenly growled and drove back the meandering red light with a burst of sword qi. During the respite, he achieved unity in body and sword and charged toward Ye Qing. Sword qi filled the air, and a blinding white light split the river in half.

“I Do Not Stand In A Sea Of Death”

“It’s slow.”

Outside the platform, Luo Zhan commented with frown after witnessing Jian Wusheng’s finisher.

“What do you mean?” Gao Ningan and the others didn’t understand his meaning.

“Jian Wusheng’s ‘I Do Not Stand In A Sea Of Death’ is slower than normal.” Luo Zhan explained, “The move looks like it’s as strong as ever, but his sword heart is clouded, and his sword intent is in shambles. It’s much slower than the ‘I Do Not Stand In A Sea Of Death’ he executed at the start of this match.”

While Luo Zhan was talking, Jian Wusheng and Ye Qing had already clashed blades with each other. The impact was such that the waters directly underneath them pushed outward and formed massive tsunamis that were almost a hundred meters tall.

The waves didn’t fall back into the river and reveal the duo until a dozen or so breaths later. The tip of Jian Wusheng’s sword was a mere inch away from Ye Qing’s forehead, and the latter’s skin was broken and bleeding a little.

That single inch might as well be an eternity, however. Why? Because Ye Qing was grabbing the blade with his left hand and holding it in place, and his right hand was pressing a saber against Jian Wusheng’s neck.

The swordsman looked shocked and as white as a ghost. He couldn’t bring himself to believe that his strongest, swiftest attack had been dismantled in this manner.

He knew that “I Do Not Stand In A Sea Of Death” wasn’t invincible. He had met warriors who dodged it using a movement art, clashed against it with their own finisher, or neutralized it through cunning. But to grab it with his bare hand?!

“I… lost,” he whispered like he had lost his soul.

“Only because you let me[1].” Ye Qing let go of Jian Wusheng’s sword and removed Red Sleeve from his neck. “Please do not be too concerned about this, Brother Wusheng. The glove I’m wearing is called the Blue Demon Hand, and it’s a powerful Soulstealer-class Strange Artifact. Without it, I would never dare to catch your sword with my bare hands.”

“You don’t need to console me, Brother Ye. A loss is a loss. It has nothing to do with the Strange Artifacts we use,” Jian Wusheng said dejectedly before saluting Ye Qing and teleporting out of the battlefield.

Ye Qing rubbed his nose with a bit of exasperation. Oh man, he’s not going to lose his drive and turn into an asshole because of this, is he?

The “Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” fed on a person’s negative emotions to grow its strength, and the demonic thought it created could mess with a person’s heart and disturb their mind. It could easily lead someone astray or put a chink in their mental armor without leaving a trace. At the adept level, it could assault the mind in a million ways with a single thought.

Of course, he was a far cry from reaching that level. The reason Jian Wusheng’s final “I Do Not Stand In A Sea Of Death” had become so weak was because he had destabilized Jian Wusheng’s mind using the demonic thought imbued in the “Saber of Spring Wind and Fine Rain” and the “Heavenly Demon Captures The Soul”. Of course the swordsman wasn’t able to bring out the full strength of his finisher with a clouded sword heart and an impure sword intent.

Unfortunately, it looked like the defeat had also left a debilitating, potentially lasting impression in Jian Wusheng. If he couldn’t recover from this…

After Jian Wusheng left the platform, he walked up to Song Xilai and whispered dejectedly, “I lost, senior uncle.”

“Don’t bow. Raise your head,” Song Xilai ordered coolly.

Jian Wusheng subconsciously obeyed the order. As soon as he met Song Xilai’s eyes, he blinked like someone had stabbed him in the eyes. Song Xilai wasn’t doing anything, but his sword intent was so sharp that it pierced the heavens without him trying to. As for his sword heart, well, Jian Wusheng thought he was looking at a sword for a second there.

Mind shaken and eyes blinking away tears, Jian Wusheng bowed his head yet again.

“Are you bowing your head, or your heart?” Song Xilai asked.

“I don’t… understand?” Jian Wusheng sounded confused.

“If you’re just bowing your head, then you’re still a disciple of Purity Sword.”

Song Xilai said coldly, “But if you’re bowing your heart as well, then you may leave this mountain this instant.”

Jian Wusheng shuddered as fear and panic gripped him.

1. This is a polite way of saying ‘You’re welcome.’ ☜