“The Sword God of Luo Yan Peak, I’ve heard of him back in the day,” Lin Bei mentioned the name with equal fervor, saying, “If he had won by simply overpowering his peers in realm, that would be one thing, but back then he was merely at the Golden Elixir stage, yet he dominated all in the art of sword flight, without any rival.”
“What exactly is the name of this Sword God of Luo Yan Peak?” Chu Liang inquired.
Wen Yulong had mentioned him yesterday, and today Lin Bei was singing his praises again, yet no one could recall his name.
“I really don’t know,” Lin Bei said, “It’s strange, indeed. Over the years, only a few legends have persisted, but his name hasn’t been passed down on Shu Mountain. However, by age, he should be a contemporary of your master and Daoist Yan. You could go back and ask your master about it.”
Wen Yulong, stroking his chin, speculated, “Perhaps that senior met with some accident? Otherwise, with his talent, had he remained on Shu Mountain until today, he would not be unknown.”
“Let’s not talk about that for now,” Chu Liang lifted his head, looking towards the distant sky.
Over a dozen streaks of white light, swift as lightning, were already sweeping back, creating a series of sonic booms.
Today was the preliminary round of the Sword Flight Speed Contest. The hundred or so contestants would be divided into ten groups, with eleven in each group for the preliminaries. Only the top two from each group would advance to the next stage of the finals.
His group was about to start.
Wen Yulong said from the side, “I just took a look, and among your opponents in the same group, only Chen Zheng from Xinghuo Peak has formidable strength. Even if you can’t beat him, advancing should be a sure thing.”
Chu Liang nodded slightly, his gaze turning towards Chen Zheng, whom Wen Yulong had pointed out.
On the hillside opposite, stood a thin and small disciple with dark skin and bright eyes, exuding a robust aura.
A few disciples from Xinghuo Peak were there to support him, one of them holding a sword case. Inside was likely the competition-specific flying sword passed down from Xinghuo Peak, named “Feixing.”
“Hey, there’s no need to boost someone else’s morale at this time,” Lin Bei patted Chu Liang on the shoulder, “Give it your all and you’ll definitely surpass him!”
“I’ll do my best,” Chu Liang said with a smile.
It was just a recreational contest, so he didn’t feel much pressure.
“Yes, just do your best,” Wen Yulong echoed, “It’s just a recreational contest. Winning or losing is just a matter of some sword coins, no need to feel pressured.”
Hmm.
Upon hearing this, Chu Liang’s shoulders suddenly squared, and he seemed to ignite with a blazing flame of fighting spirit!
“It’s over,” Lin Bei covered his face, “Now that you’ve said that, he’s definitely going to go all out.”
…
“Contestants, step forward and line up, take off with your swords at the command! No starting ahead of time, violators will be expelled.”
A disciple from the Sword Transmission Hall raised his hand high, scattering a handful of dazzlingly bright powder into the air, evenly falling upon each disciple.
This was a cliff, with a direct path to the sea of clouds ahead. But now, the sea of clouds had been cleared, carving out a special white cloud path for the contestants to navigate their swords on. If one’s figure left this cloud path for even a moment, the stardust sprinkled on them would fall off.
If the stardust was completely gone by the time one reached the finish line, the result would be invalid.
This rule was set to ensure that contestants followed the predetermined route, as it would be impossible to control if everyone sought the shortest path through the vast sea of clouds.
“Fly!”
At the command, the tensely strung disciples simultaneously expelled their qi, summoning their flying swords.
Sssssss—
The air suddenly filled with the continuous sound of swords cutting through the air!
The first sword light tore through the sky, leaving a long trail of flames!
It was Chen Zheng from Xinghuo Peak.
He stood on the Feixing sword, with two Orient Loong Gods firmly entwined around his feet, and with a fiery sword qi trailing behind, he burst forth!
A meteoric flight!
Chu Liang summoned his Dustless Sword and followed closely behind, a decisive cloud sword qi with the breath of a dragon suddenly piercing through the air, quickly catching up to Feixing, and even showing signs of overtaking in an instant!
Fast!
The ultimate speed!
If not for the Orient Loong Gods tightly wrapped around his ankles, Chu Liang might have been flung off at the start!
In a normal battle, he would never be able to control a flying sword at such speed! Because the slightest distraction would make it uncontrollable! Tying himself to the sword was also far from a safe state.
His twin top-grade Golden Elixirs spun wildly, and in a flash, there were no other flying swords in sight!
“He’s not that impressive,” Lin Bei, who was watching, said, “Look, Chu Liang has already overtaken that Feixing sword, hasn’t he?”
“Brother Chu has the advantage in cultivation, and naturally takes the lead when driving at full strength, but being fast on a straight path doesn’t count as fast…” Wen Yulong shook his head, “It’s the speed around the bends that really counts.”
…
Boom—
The preliminary race’s track was neither long nor complicated. This cloud path simply circled around four mountain peaks, and completing one circuit around the peaks meant finishing the course.
In the blink of an eye, Chu Liang had already reached the first turn. He focused all his concentration, his hands releasing the Orient Loong Gods, four silver chains simultaneously wrapping around the flying sword, thunderously completing the turn!
The centrifugal force from the high speed nearly flung him off the cloud path, and his strong body even felt a tearing sensation!
But at that moment.
A fiery flying sword suddenly appeared in front of him.
Sss—
The Feixing sword not only didn’t slow down but suddenly accelerated, the tip of the sword pressing down to draw a semicircle, instantly completing the overtake!
When the Dustless Sword and Feixing sword both returned to the straight path, they were already more than ten zhang apart!
In the air, this short distance could be crossed in less than a blink of an eye, but as both maintained high-speed flight, this ten zhang seemed so long to Chu Liang!
He exerted all his strength, his twin Golden Elixirs stirring up a huge wave of qi, thunderously surging!
Finally, he halved the distance.
But the next turn was already upon him!
Sss—
The Feixing sword executed another smooth tail swing around the bend, immediately widening the gap again!
Boom—
Every time Chu Liang turned, he had to control that powerful force, and every time he nearly left the sword, he desperately adjusted his qi just to barely stabilize, inevitably slowing down. But Chen Zheng on the Feixing sword seemed to have no such trouble, each turn was incredibly smooth.
There must be some trick he didn’t know, Chu Liang was certain of it in his heart.After four turns, the distance between him and the Flying Star Sword had widened to several dozen yards. By the time he circled around the peak, it was too late to catch up.
Swoosh—
The Flying Star Sword, trailing flames and lightning, sped past the finish line, undoubtedly claiming first place.
Boom—
The Dustless Sword broke through a breath later, securing second place.
Moments after, the other competitors crossed the line, their streaks of light cutting through the sky.
“Phew…” Chu Liang sheathed his sword and landed, taking a long breath.
That was thrilling.
Unbeknownst to him, his clothes were soaked with sweat. In that lightning-fast contest, he was so focused on controlling the wildly speeding flying sword that he didn’t realize how tense he had been.
Turning his head, he noticed Chen Zheng had appeared behind him at some point.
“You’re fast,” he said with a smile to Chu Liang, “but it’s clear you’re still a novice in flying sword racing. Practice well, I’m looking forward to another match with you in the finals.”
Chu Liang responded with a smile: “Sure.”
Chen Zheng turned and left with his fellow disciples from Starfire Peak, while Wen Yulong and Lin Bei also came over.
“Just a bit more,” Lin Bei said. “Push harder next time and you’ll definitely win.”
Chu Liang pondered, “It’s not that simple. He uses inertial drifting to turn and flame array patterns for acceleration, his speed is incredibly fast. Unless I can make up these differences, I’ll never win against an opponent of this level.”
As he thought about going back to study, he heard a series of roars coming from the direction of the Tongtian Peak Plaza.
Looking over, he heard someone shout, “People from the Heavenly King Sect and Thunder Castle have started fighting!”
“Eh?” Lin Bei was startled, “They’re really fighting?”
Good morning indeed.