Chapter Nineteen: Bow Like Thunder, String Trembles
Two young men sat facing each other on the training grounds, their bearing quite different.
One cultivated the bow, the other cultivated the spirit. Their auras were already entwining.
Outside the training grounds, Xu Xiangqian felt thoroughly uncomfortable. He found an excuse and said, "Who knows how long this will take? I'll go fetch an embroidered stool for the Old Madam."
Old Madam Li waved her hand. "The Li family has been a military dynasty for generations. How can we sit and watch the training?"
Xu Xiangqian gave a dry laugh, then suddenly remembered something and called out to the cold, proud woman, "Hello, Sister Feng Yao."
It wasn't that he was being rude by deliberately ignoring her. It was just that the shadow she cast over him was too deep, making him too afraid to face her directly.
Li Feng Yao only gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.
It was the Old Madam who studied the young man for a moment before asking, "Who is that young man?"
Xu Xiangqian introduced him earnestly. "Not from any particular family. His name is Jiang Wang. He's an exceptional talent!"
"Jiang Wang?" Old Madam Li pondered. "A clan member of the imperial family with thin bloodline?"
Though the Jiang clan was noble, that nobility only belonged to those names recorded in the imperial registry. Over the years, as the family expanded, many who still bore the surname Jiang were no longer connected to the imperial clan. However, among these distant branches, if there was someone with extraordinary talent who could rise from humble origins, they would naturally be welcomed back into the imperial clan to enjoy the benefits of the Jiang royal family. It wasn't purely about bloodline.
This was not unique to the royal family. All the great clans under heaven operated the same way.
Xu Xiangqian explained, "I met him earlier in the State of You. He's not from Qi."
Old Madam Li, perhaps finding this unfamiliar, said nothing.
It was Li Feng Yao who quietly reminded her, "When Long Chuan went to the Celestial Secret Realm before, among the few who obtained the Divine Ability Seeds together, one was this Jiang Wang. Also, that little fatty from the Chongxuan family, who fought alongside him in the Sun Lands to slay generals and capture flags, earning imperial rewards, was also this Jiang Wang."
Only then did Old Madam Li have an impression. "No wonder he carries himself with such distinction!"
"Exactly, exactly," Xu Xiangqian nodded repeatedly. "When I socialize with Long Chuan, I naturally pick proper people..."
When Li Feng Yao shot him a look, he shrank back and swallowed the rest of his boast.
"It's starting!" His spirit rose, casting off that silent constraint, and he focused his full attention on the training grounds.
It was said that Li Longchuan had closed his eyes for a long time and had already communicated sufficiently with this Qiushan Bow. What remained was merely the patient work of years of practice.
He then opened his eyes and said, "Brother Jiang has waited long!"
Jiang Wang simply smiled.
The two rose simultaneously, one holding a bow, the other hand on sword.
The process was so slow, as if demonstrating the etiquette transformation between sitting and standing to the observers.
However, for the two facing off, what happened outside the training grounds was of no concern to them at all.
When they both opened their eyes, the battle had already begun.
A pair of heroic eyes, a pair of determined eyes. In their gaze, there was only each other.
Both were young heroes.
What young man did not dream of surpassing his peers!
And just as Jiang Wang rose with his hand on his sword, his steps yet to settle—
The arrow had already arrived!
"When the aura stirs, the arrow launches of its own accord. When the aura moves, the opening appears."
This described the Qi Arrow of the Stone Gate Li Clan.
This arrow was formed from gathered qi and followed the flow of aura—
Incredibly fast!
Clang!
In that split second, Jiang Wang brought his sword horizontal before his body. The qi arrow struck the blade precisely.
From a distance, it looked like a small beast trailing a translucent tail of air, frantically charging forward, only to halt before a single sword.
Jiang Wang's grip on the sword didn't waver in the slightest.
The aura might shift unpredictably, but it could not alter mountains, rivers, and streams.
This was the Sword of Mountains, Rivers, and Streams.
With a flick of his long sword, the remaining force of the qi arrow dispersed. Jiang Wang immediately channeled his sword qi and struck with a single blade of sun, moon, and stars.
One strike that traversed the sun and moon was also Jiang Wang's fastest sword!
And as Li Longchuan's long hair rose and fell, the Qiushan Bow was leveled between his brows.
Boom!
Like a mountain collapsing, like a tidal wave rising.
When this arrow was released, the mountains and seas were thrown into upheaval!
"The arrow is released from between the brows, its momentum surging like a flood."
This described the Momentum Arrow.
Only after opening the Gate of Heaven and Earth did this arrow truly possess the power to transform mountains and seas.
Like mountains, like seas, the great momentum rolled forward, crushing down upon them.
Jiang Wang's sword had charged to this point, yet it seemed as if he had delivered himself before the torrent, meeting the arrow with his body, ready to be buried within the mountains and seas.
His sword momentum shifted instantly.
The way he used his sword now was entirely at his whim, adaptable and fluid.
One sword strike in the sea of humanity, vast and boundless.
Only when he arrived in Linzi did he truly see what a sea of humanity was. Comprehending this sword meant understanding the dense mountain of people.
Using the sea of humanity to answer the mountains and seas.
Sword and arrow collided.
They produced the sound of colliding waves, a vastness that felt like listening to the sea.
This exchange should have been evenly matched.
Chirp chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp.
Right within the sound of tides, suddenly bird calls rang out.
These sounds were sharper than usual, and if one were to describe them, they were closer to the piercing shriek of boiling water. They were quite ear-piercing indeed, making the listener feel agitated.
Sound itself was also a form of attack.
Jiang Wang had trained tirelessly without cease, never stopping his progress. His mastery over the Explosive Chirping Flame Sparrow technique deepened with each passing day.
In the past, when using this technique, he focused on the sparrow's pecking attacks and the "explosive" aspect. Now he had developed the "chirping" aspect as well.
He had truly mastered this technique completely, pushing it to its absolute limit.
Dense swarms of flame sparrows rose from around Jiang Wang, all pecking toward Li Longchuan.
Before the pecks arrived, the sound attacks came first.
Li Longchuan gripped the Qiushan Bow and flicked his fingers across the string!
Twang!
A single sound of the string resonated.
Then one sound transformed into thousands, tens of thousands, surging toward the sky and earth, in all directions.
Bang bang bang bang!
Flame sparrows exploded one after another.
Even Jiang Wang himself felt agitation in his heart and discomfort in his organs.
This was the intangible, formless Sound Arrow!
Hear this sound, suffer this wound!
Jiang Wang suddenly had a flash of insight and immediately manipulated his technique to change.
The sound arrows were numerous, and the flame sparrows were numerous too.
Amid the chirping and shrieking, suddenly a new sound emerged—"Clang clang!"
Xu Xiangqian's ears perked up.
This was the pipa sound of that Mist Woman Pipa Tea!
Jiang Wang had integrated this sound into the flame sparrows' chirping, directly using the chirping to counter the Sound Arrow!
This was a stroke of pure genius.
After this sound emerged, the agitation in Jiang Wang's heart vanished instantly. He charged straight ahead, following right behind the dense swarm of flame sparrows.
With a thought, he unleashed the Five Qi Binding Tiger!
Li Longchuan's Sound Arrow had just been released, and as he reached to notch another arrow, he felt the five qi within his body thrown into chaos, trapped from within.
He remained fearless.
A flame-wreathed arrow suddenly surged from his heart.
The five organs corresponded to the five elements, generating the five qi. The heart belonged to fire, hence this was the Flame Arrow.
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