frightfiction Chapter 535 The 36 Stratagems: Retreat is the Best Option!
Chapter 535 The 36 Stratagems: Retreat is the Best Option!
"The strongest swordsmanship and sword master? Then I'd like to experience it for myself." Leng Tieyi's expression turned cold.
The True Martial Alliance of Military Strategists has collected all kinds of weapons in the world and understands the use of each weapon. Every novice cultivator, whether learning swordsmanship or saber, basically has a basic sword or saber manual sold by the True Martial Alliance.
How can one claim to be the best swordsman in front of the Zhenwu Alliance?
This is nothing short of a provocation.
But Rong Shu did exactly that.
Leng Tieyi no longer held back. With a glance, he unleashed a barrage of silver needles, which transformed into various different weapons.
Rong Shu dared not be careless. He wielded his twin swords, one facing forward and the other backward, combining offense and defense. While launching a fierce attack, he also protected himself completely.
Leng Tieyi constantly changed weapons, and she could use each weapon almost instantly without thinking.
“This is the art of war…” Rong Shu recalled the scenes he had witnessed inside the Time Tower.
As he wielded his twin swords, the movements became strangely varied.
Leng Tieyi sensed it immediately and frowned: "You...you call this swordsmanship? Or the number one swordsmanship?"
Why do you feel so weird?
But soon, Leng Tieyi noticed something was wrong.
Rong Shu was actually imitating her?! Using dual swords to perform various different military techniques?!
A hint of shock flashed in Leng Tieyi's eyes.
"Continue! Continue!" Rong Shu was excited. She recalled everything she had seen and heard in the Time Tower and then presented it in the form of twin swords.
From the first strike of the Nameless Sword Technique, "Severing the Heavenly Mountain," to the fifth strike, "Myriad Shadows of the Forest,"...
These first five strikes were domineering and arrogant, unpredictable and mysterious, sometimes as dense as a storm, and sometimes concealing their killing intent invisibly.
“…Not enough! Still not enough!” Rong Shu’s eyes shone with an astonishing light.
The sixth strike of the Nameless Sword Technique!
There's a sixth cut!
Rong Shu unleashed a slash, and before his eyes appeared overlapping sword shadows, like thousands of blades descending ten thousand ren!
"It's an illusion... No! It's not!"
Leng Tieyi waved his hand and sent silver needles to block in front of him.
Boom——
In the distance, the ground suddenly shook violently.
"...Who?! Who blew up my cave?!"
The aura of a cultivator in the Void Refinement stage descended overwhelmingly, causing everyone to change color.
Rong Shu suddenly turned around to look at Si Chenbi, only to see the other man pointing a finger to the left.
She looked to her left again...
The formation there was accidentally breached by Feng Qianli, and the aftershocks of the battle shattered several mountain peaks.
Several figures flew up from the mountaintop.
Among those people, some were at the late Nascent Soul stage, and some were at the Void Refinement stage...
[run!]
Rong Shu fled without saying a word!
A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle; of the thirty-six stratagems, running away is the best!
Before leaving, she didn't forget to slash at Leng Juechen, who was fighting Lu Zhuo, and separated the two of them. She then grabbed Lu Zhuo and ran away!
Duan Yuyan was even more cunning. As soon as he saw that things were not going well, he told his superior, Shen Bi, to run away the moment the formation broke.
Upon seeing this, Feng Qianli and Xing Xue also made a decisive move, abandoning their respective opponents and running after them.
"Which little brat did this?! Come out here!"
"I just went out for a short while, and when I came back my home was gone?!"
"...It was the new students from Ziguiyuan! They did it! Who's the ringleader?! Come out here!"
A furious roar echoed across the sky above Uchiyama.
“Our eldest son…” Yin Zhaoshui swallowed, and was about to stand up straight, but when she glanced around, she couldn’t find Rong Shu.
"Boss? Where are you?" She was stunned. She turned around to ask the others in Ziguiyuan, but only saw several figures flying away. She was completely dumbfounded.
"Why did you all run away?!"
"You didn't even warn me! Wait for me!!"
……
Deep in the mountains, at the summit of Liufang Mountain
The Grand Master of Ceremonies stood with his hands behind his back, remarking with a touch of admiration, "These little ones are truly full of energy..."
Beside her was Jiu Xiao, who had just finished 'appeasing' many senior students in the inner mountain. She calmly asked, "Isn't this what you wanted to see? If you really followed the rules and cultivated in the academy, you would be disappointed."
"The Jixia Academy has never been a sheltered place where rules are strictly followed."
On the overly youthful face of the High Priest, a meaningful smile appeared: "In the wild, when there are more than five wolves, there must be an alpha wolf among them. It is the core of the wolf pack, and it belongs to the pack. Under the leadership of the alpha wolf, the wolf pack will roam the mountains and forests, invincible."
"Moreover, what we are facing is not a pack of wolves, but a tiger that is even more powerful than wolves."
Jiuxiao: "It's just a young tiger; it still needs training."
The Grand Master chuckled helplessly: "Nine Heavens, who didn't start as a cub? Hmm? Weren't you the same when you entered the academy? I remember the commotion you caused back then was no less than theirs..."
"Jiuxiao, you need to give the tiger cubs some time to grow."
"We cultivators should seize every moment." Jiuxiao, however, did not quite agree with what the Grand Priest said.
"During our previous trip to Buzhou Domain, the ordinary Void Refinement and Nascent Soul stage cultivators probably still believe that the root cause of the turmoil in Buzhou Domain was the Demonic Tide..."
In reality, it's because the power of the seal is gradually weakening that even Nightmare Clan members at the Silver Moon Nightmare General level can escape from time to time... In the past, at most only Nightmare Servant level members could escape.
Jiuxiao and a group of highly skilled cultivators secretly ventured into the Buzhou Domain. The number of escaped Nightmare Clan members they encountered along the way was ten times greater than in previous years.
Although the Nightmare Clan is currently outnumbered and unable to break through the blockade of the fourteen main cities, they can still use the Demonic Fiends to stir up trouble.
The seal... I don't know how long it can hold.
The cataclysmic calamity that the Si family patriarch once desperately foretold has always been a guillotine hanging over the heads of the people of Zhongzhou.
It's unknown when it will fall, but it will inevitably fall one day.
"And... I don't know how much longer I can wait." Jiuxiao's gaze drifted into the distance, as if looking at the clouds, the mountains, or some place thousands of miles away, his voice soft and distant.
The Millennium Dragon and Tiger Ranking for Yun Shu and his classmates did not select a new chief academy student.
Jiuxiao still holds the top position and bears an inescapable responsibility. Therefore, she cannot act rashly or recklessly.
Apart from Jiuyin, she was all alone, guarding the empty Liufang Mountain.
"...You still haven't let go?" The High Priest's smile faded, and he sighed softly, as fleeting as the wind:
"Jiuxiao, the past cannot be changed, people must look forward."
"..." No one responded.
There was no one beside the Grand Master of Ceremonies.
……
Meanwhile, Rong Shu and his six companions sped back to Zigui Garden.
The six of them stopped under the tree, all panting. When they looked up at each other, they couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! That's so refreshing! So satisfying!" Feng Qianli laughed loudly as he lay back on the ground.
"Those senior students are too easily provoked, chasing after us shouting and threatening to kill us. It's really not elegant at all." Lu Zhuo took out a mirror to check his hair, made sure it wasn't messed up, and then put it back: "Fortunately, this young master still maintains his demeanor and remains calm in the face of danger."
Rong Shu raised an eyebrow: "Really? Then who was it that was yelling for me to help just now?"
"...That's not important!" Lu Zhuo coughed lightly.
Duan Yuyan grabbed Lu Zhuo's shoulder from behind: "Little Lu, have you comprehended a supernatural power?"
Lu Zhuo scoffed, "What are you calling me, Little Lu? Please call me Young Sect Master!"
"Alright, alright, Little Lu, tell me quickly, what exactly is your supernatural power? What is its purpose?"
After swatting away Duan Yuyan's groping hand, Lu Zhuo lightly waved his jade fan, adopting the demeanor of an elegant and refined young nobleman.
"actually……"
The group looked at him expectantly.
“…I’m not quite sure either.” Lu Zhuo shrugged.
Rong Shu: "..."
Feng Qianli: “…”
Duan Yuyan: “…”
"It's true. I only have a little bit of profound understanding, just like Senior Sister Xing Xue. I haven't entered the Nascent Soul stage yet, and the supernatural abilities I've comprehended are incomplete."
"Cut~"
"It's boring~"
"Let's call it a day, let's call it a day~" Rong Shu waved his hand.
Lu Zhuo changed the subject: "But based on my initial understanding of the effects of supernatural powers, I gave it a name."
"What is it?" The group immediately gathered around again.
"To admire one's own beauty in solitude."
"Old Lu, can you stop being so vain?"
"Where am I being vain? The name I gave this supernatural ability is 'Self-Admiration'!" Lu Zhuo explained:
"I just have a feeling."
"As long as I remain steadfast in my beliefs and insist that I am the most elegant and perfect young nobleman of Zhongzhou, the power I can exert will be even stronger."
Rong Shu listened, seemingly lost in thought.
Such supernatural powers seem rather idealistic.
If I believe I am strong, will I become stronger?
Duan Yuyan: "Then you're still narcissistic! vain!"
"This young master is exceptionally handsome and elegant. If he doesn't realize how stunningly handsome he is and can't perfectly showcase his dashing appearance, wouldn't that be a waste of his talent and invite envy?"
"Pah! You're just narcissistic!"
"Little Duanzi, you're so plain-looking, you'd never understand my troubles~ Sigh~"
"Flower, peacock! Are you looking for a fight?! You've even resorted to personal attacks?!"
"..."
Amidst the noise, the group adjusted their breathing and recovered their spiritual energy before discussing their next steps.
Xing Xue said, "I feel like I'm about to break through. I think I've reached the threshold of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage. I need to go back and cultivate in seclusion."
Lu Zhuo: "Me too."
"So...we retreat?"
"Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!!"
“Hey! We can’t go back to our cave in the inner mountain now. Why don’t we go to the Eight Wonders Sect? We just happened to have accumulated a lot of Eight Wonders Sect resources from challenging the senior students in the Cuckoo Garden. There are still some we haven’t used yet…” Duan Yuyan suggested.
Having just caused a ruckus in the inner mountain, it would be tantamount to lambs to the slaughter if they ran back to their cave now. They would be delivered right to the doorstep of the senior students who had been enraged and were eager for battle, and they would be given a good beating.
Why bother?
Rong Shu and his six companions did not have a penchant for getting beaten up.
"Great idea! Let's go!"