Chapter 370: 《Swift Sword Art》 Breaks Through

Lu Ping’an was delighted by Wangchuan’s invitation!

Lu Ping’an normally cultivated with tremendous intensity as well. Otherwise, there was no way he could have brought several sword arts to Perfect Mastery in his twenties, and even raised Basic Sword Technique to the realm of Pinnacle Perfection.

In ordinary times, whenever he invited “Lu Laosan” and “Lu Laosi” to spar with him, they always tried to wriggle out of it. Now that someone had taken the initiative to invite him, he naturally agreed with great pleasure, and the two of them went together to the practice grounds.

It was just that...

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river!

In the past, Lu Ping’an had always been the one cultivating while others served as his sparring partners.

Now Wangchuan was openly using him as a practice target for his sword.

When had Young Master Lu ever suffered such an indignity?

It was only because Wangchuan had once saved his younger sister, Lu Ningshuang, that he could only shake his head helplessly and automatically settle into the role of sparring partner.

With one hand of swordsmanship, he pushed skillful force and force-dispersion to the absolute limit.

Wangchuan, meanwhile, continued cultivating 《Swift Sword Art》.

When using a martial artist as a sparring partner, one also had to go all out to achieve the cultivation effect and increase Experience Value.

It was not as though he had never tried finding someone to spar with before, but because it was too easy to get hurt and lose HP, he had ultimately given up.

Lu Ping’an was different!

Yesterday, he had handled Wangchuan’s attacks with complete ease.

Every attack was calmly resolved in front of him.

So long as Wangchuan did not use internal cultivation, the other man seemed not to lose HP at all.

Moreover, Lu Ping’an dissolved force instead of rebounding it back. While taking no HP loss himself, he could also avoid injuring Wangchuan...

A gold-medal sparring partner!

That was the truly crucial and precious part.

Yesterday, Wangchuan had cultivated 《Basic Sword Technique》 to Perfect Mastery, then raised 《Swift Sword Art》 to Integration. Today, he felt that his swordsmanship had already become much sharper and more ferocious.

And yet before Lu Ping’an, his swordsmanship still seemed to be effortlessly dismantled. It was easily neutralized and blocked in full, all while the other man remained perfectly composed. That leisurely, strolling ease both shocked and delighted him.

What shocked him was that Young Master Lu’s swordsmanship was truly astonishing.

What delighted him was...

that he could keep fleecing this sheep!

Clang-clang!!

Clang-clang!!

Wangchuan attacked with full force. In his hands, 《Swift Sword Art》 became even more tricky and fierce, wave after wave of sword light launching a mad offensive.

By the time Lu Laosan and Lu Laosi finished breakfast and came to the practice grounds, they found the young master and Hall Master Wangchuan circling the field in combat, one side fierce and razor-sharp in offense, the other calm and collected, dismantling every move as it came.

“The sun must be rising from the west.”

“The young master is serving as a sparring partner.”

“He was a sparring partner all last night, and now first thing in the morning, he’s still doing it.”

Lu Laosi rubbed his broad forehead, his face full of disbelief.

Lu Laosan smiled faintly and said, “Hall Master Wangchuan saved Miss Ningshuang’s life. The young master is repaying that favor... Still, this Hall Master Wangchuan’s talent really is something. His swordsmanship today is far stronger than it was yesterday.”

“Mm. He’s already brought out a fair bit of the viciousness in 《Swift Sword Art》.”

“He certainly knows how to seize an opportunity.”

“He’s using the time before the martial tournament begins to raise his strength.”

“That’s fine.”

“For the next dozen or so days, if the young master can keep cultivating here at the Caobang hall, we’ll be a lot more relaxed.”

At that, the two exchanged a smile.

More and more people gathered in the practice grounds!

But everyone instinctively made space for Hall Master Wangchuan, retreating to the corners to continue cultivating there, not daring to disturb him.

As time passed, Lu Ningshuang finished her internal cultivation practice and came out looking for people.

By then, Wangchuan had already switched hands left and right and exchanged over twenty thousand sword strikes with Lu Ping’an.

Although Lu Ping’an’s sword skill was extraordinary, continuously dissolving force still left him exhausted. His back was soaked through with sweat, and he was panting heavily.

Neither of them was willing to show weakness, so both stubbornly endured.

They held on until noon, when Chen Ergou called the two of them to eat.

Only then did they stop. They exchanged a smile, then sat down cross-legged on the spot and circulated their Qi to regulate their breathing.

Wangchuan’s 《Qingcheng Heart Method》 could quickly restore his stamina and dispel fatigue.

Lu Ping’an’s internal method was no worse. Pale white steam rose faintly from the top of his head, his robes stirred without wind, and before long his clothes had dried. His breathing steadied, and his expression returned to calm composure.

The two rose almost at the same time.

“Hall Master Wangchuan, are you using 《Qingcheng Heart Method》?”

“Young Master Lu truly is broad in knowledge. Unlike me, I’ve only seen as much as I’ve learned. As for the cultivation method you practice, I wouldn’t even be able to name it.”

“Our Lu Family cultivates Wudang’s 《Taiji Heart Method》, but this method progresses very slowly in cultivation.”

“As expected of a disciple from a great family. Every cultivation method you practice comes from a famous sect! Impressive!”

“It’s only a third-rank heart method.”

Young Master Lu drew out his folding fan and said, “Wudang’s 《Pure Yang Heart Method》, Shaolin’s 《Muscle-Tendon Classic》, and the legendary 《Nine Yang Divine Art》 of the Jianghu are the ones that are truly formidable. Mine is nothing special.”

After lunch, the two returned to the practice grounds and continued cultivating.

Wangchuan kept training 《Swift Sword Art》.

Lu Ping’an served as the sparring partner.

As time passed, Chen Ergou and Zhao Heiniu came in from time to time to report on the progress of the river stages.

Of the five raised fighting stages, four had already been completed.

The riverbank viewing stands were also about seven or eight tenths complete.

Lin Cunxin came over after hearing the news and watched for a while as well, but seeing Wangchuan and Lu Ping’an so absorbed in their training, he did not interrupt.

Old Seven did not show himself again.

But Lin Jiahe, Ye Baiyi, and the others had quietly seen through some of what was going on.

If Hall Master Wangchuan had been spending an entire day and night training 《Swift Sword Art》 with Lu Ping’an, then he must be gaining something from it. Otherwise, given the boss’s temperament, he would never waste time like this.

Sure enough!

As evening drew near—

“Ding!”

The system prompt sounded:

“《Swift Sword Art》 has advanced from ‘Integration’ to ‘Perfect Mastery’! Reward: +4 Agility, +1 Spirit!”

“Ding!”

“Detected that 《Swift Sword Art》 has reached ‘Perfect Mastery.’ You may now expend 100 points of internal energy and three hours to create one 《Swift Sword Art》 martial arts manual. Limited to one martial arts manual per day.”

Wangchuan’s eyes lit up.

《Swift Sword Art》 had finally broken through!

Hahaha!!

At the instant of the breakthrough, the Thousand-Forged Longsword in Wangchuan’s hand seemed to become obviously fiercer and faster than before.

Once momentum built: Speed +12. Attack +25.

Although the attack was not especially strong, the speed had already reached 116 points. That was an attack speed approaching that of a sixth-rank martial artist.

That sudden surge in speed sharply raised the threat level of 《Swift Sword Art》. Lu Ping’an’s movements lagged for the briefest instant, failing to keep up. He had no choice but to pull back, dissolve and deflect, and at the same time use 《Swift Sword Art》 itself to parry.

Clang-clang!!

The power and speed transmitted through the blade made shock appear in Lu Ping’an’s eyes.

“Congratulations, Hall Master Wangchuan! 《Swift Sword Art》 has broken through!”

“Hahahaha...”

Wangchuan launched more than twenty additional sword strikes in a row, then laughed and put away his weapon.

“To be able to gain today’s harvest, I have Young Master Lu to thank for making it possible.”

There was satisfaction, because effort had not been wasted;

there was exultation, because he finally possessed a martial art he could truly bring out;

there was also regret—《Swift Sword Art》 could no longer continue gaining experience through sparring against Lu Ping’an.

Those attacks just now had not increased its experience by even the slightest bit.

“Hah.”

“To witness the birth of a swordsmanship prodigy, Lu is very pleased as well,” Lu Ping’an said. “In the future, we should spar more often and verify things together, so that we can both improve.”

“Wangchuan could only wish for such a thing! It’s a promise, then!”

Wangchuan stared at the experience bundle in front of him, wondering whether to keep training 《Qingcheng Sword Art》 tonight, or let Lu Ping’an rest and squeeze him again tomorrow morning.