Chapter 71

Chapter 70. Don't worry! I'll make sure you win! (5)

Sweat pours down like a waterfall.

"Huff..."

The moment he realized he was still alive, his whole body began to pour out the evidence of life. The sweat was so profuse that it was hard to open his eyes.

Soon, his body began to tremble.

'If it had gone just a little deeper?'

No, not even a little. If the sword had stopped just a bit lower, Jiaoge would now be a head-split corpse.

"Th... Th... Th..."

He wanted to curse, but no words came out. He couldn't control his trembling body.

Qingming smirked at the sight of Jiaoge.

"How about it?"

"Wh... What?"

"How do you feel?"

"..."

What do you mean, how do I feel?

Under normal circumstances, Jiaoge might have found the words to respond, but now he had no such presence of mind.

"How does it feel to have tasted death?"

"Th..."

Jiaoge squeezed out his last bit of strength.

"Brat like a calf..."

"Hehehehe."

Despite hearing the curses, Qingming showed no signs of being offended.

Of course, it was natural. Jiaoge had just stepped back from the brink of hell. If he had the strength to lift a sword, he would have lunged at Qingming to kill him.

"Alright, Senior Brother, take a little rest."

Qingming turned his body with a light spin and shifted his gaze to the other senior brothers who were looking at him with fear.

Shudder.

The senior brothers who met his eyes all subtly lowered their gazes.

"Senior Brothers, Senior Brothers, think about it."

"..."

"Can you avoid it by thinking about it?"

'You demonic brat.'

'How did a human scum like you end up in Huashan?'

'Is this what a Daoist should say?'

Qingming's behavior was so outrageous that even the Supreme Elder would have cursed like a madman.

"Alright, don't waste time. Come out when you're ready. Got it, Senior Brother?"

"..."

Yunzhong glanced at Qingming with a grim look and subtly turned his head.

"How about Zongxue going out?"

"Excuse me, Senior Brother. You called me?"

"So you're not going out?"

When Yunzhong glared, Zongxue bowed his head deeply.

'Everyone has gone crazy.'

Yunzhong used to have the dignity of a Senior Brother, but since Qingming arrived, something was definitely off. Not just Yunzhong, of course.

"Not going out?"

"..."

Seeing the senior brothers bickering, Qingming sighed deeply.

"What a pity. Senior Brothers who should help each other are fighting like this."

'It's all because of you, damn it!'

'Have you sold your conscience?'

'Without you, we'd be harmonious! Without you!'

The desperate cries couldn't be voiced.

Qingming nodded as if to reassure them.

"Originally, the way for senior brothers to bond is one. When everyone goes through the same hardships, brotherly love naturally blossoms. Don't worry. I'll handle it fairly."

What?

Qingming raised his sword.

"If you don't come, I'll go. I'm coming!"

Stop it! You crazy bastard!

Regardless of everyone's shock, Qingming laughed maniacally and charged at the third-generation disciples. The third-generation disciples screamed and fled, but Qingming chased them like a wolf hunting sheep.

"Are you not coming?"

"Would you go if you were me? You crazy bastard!"

Yunzhong, screaming, closed his eyes tightly as he saw the sword falling toward his head.

"Ugh..."

"Ha..."

The third-generation disciples, scattered on the training ground, all trembled with their souls out of their bodies.

"Oh. Mother..."

"Father, I'll live a good life..."

"Under the bed... I hid some dried meat."

"Are you thinking about that now? Now?"

Qingming clicked his tongue at the sight of the scattered senior brothers.

"What did you do that's so great?"

Under normal circumstances, they might have flared up, but the third-generation disciples had no energy left. The experience of seeing a real sword fall toward their heads at terrifying speed was something they never wanted to repeat.

Yunzhong wiped the sweat streaming down his face with a trembling hand.

'That reckless brat...'

Yunzhong had suffered countless times at Qingming's hands, but this time was different. It felt like he had been pushed to the brink of death and barely escaped.

Qingming looked at everyone and spoke.

"How about it?"

"Wh... What?"

Jiaoge, who had been the first to suffer and had somewhat regained his senses, answered weakly.

"Why couldn't you block it?"

"Wh... What?"

"It was a simple downward strike. Why couldn't you block it?"

Did you do all this just to say that?

Jiaoge, feeling indignant, shouted.

"Because it was fast! So fast that you couldn't think or block it. Even a three-year-old would know that!"

"Is that so?"

Qingming smiled with satisfaction.

"You understand well."

"Th..."

Jiaoge gritted his teeth.

"But why don't the senior brothers do it like that?"

"Wh... What?"

Jiaoge looked at Qingming with a dazed expression. Just as he was about to retort, Qingming raised his sword and struck downward.

Whoosh!

The air split with a sound, and dust rose from the ground.

"Simple, right?"

"..."

Not just Jiaoge, the other senior brothers were also getting up and watching Qingming's sword.

"Is this the strike I saw?"

"Yep."

"It seemed much faster. Wasn't it gentle?"

"Exactly the same. The sword falling on your head and the one you watch from the side can't be the same."

"..."

Jiaoge was a smart person. He quickly understood what Qingming meant.

"Are you saying I can do it too?"

"Absolutely."

Qingming raised his sword.

"Watch."

And he struck again.

Whoosh!

Jiaoge firmly imprinted the sight in his mind. It wasn't an invisible speed or some incredible technique. It was just a fast, straightforward, and clean downward strike.

Lift the sword and strike.

At the moment the simple action was perfectly executed, the person holding the sword became a work of art.

Jiaoge, without realizing it, opened his mouth wide.

"This is a downward strike."

"..."

Jiaoge suddenly closed his mouth.

"Once you've built your body, you need to use the right sword. Start with the lower body."

Qingming stomped the ground.

"Based on a firmly fixed lower body, draw power from the waist, transmit it to the fingertips, and integrate it with your inner strength, then strike in one go."

Whoosh!

Qingming smiled.

"Easy, right?"

"..."

Yunzhong, hearing Qingming's explanation, spoke with a heavy voice.

"I understand what you're saying. Instead of pursuing flashy sword techniques, it's better for us to use simple, powerful strikes based on a well-trained body, right?"

"Exactly. One strike, one kill."

Qingming added to Yunzhong's explanation.

"You need the resolve not to strike twice. If you can't kill with one strike, you'll be killed."

Yunzhong sighed.

'So that's why you showed us.'

As the saying goes, a hundred words are not as good as one action. There's a huge difference between experiencing a one-strike kill and just hearing about it. If the people here hadn't experienced Qingming's sword falling on their heads, they wouldn't have understood so easily.

"One thing, Qingming."

Yunzhong sighed heavily.

"I understand what you mean, but we are Huashan disciples. Does it have any meaning to win in this way?"

"What does being a Huashan disciple mean?"

"Shouldn't a Huashan disciple use Huashan sword techniques to defeat opponents?"

Qingming looked at Yunzhong with a bewildered expression.

"What did I just do?"

"A downward strike."

"What is the first move of the Six Harmonies Sword?"

"...A downward strike."

"Exactly. Isn't the Six Harmonies Sword a Huashan technique?"

Qingming looked at Yunzhong with a serious expression, and Yunzhong cleared his throat loudly.

"My thinking was short-sighted."

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Qingming clicked his tongue and looked at everyone.

"The Six Harmonies Sword is the foundation and the basics of Huashan. Everything in Huashan starts and ends with the Six Harmonies. But!"

Qingming glared, and those who felt guilty subtly turned their heads.

"Those who can't even properly perform the Six Harmonies are already dreaming about the Falling Flower Sword and the Seven Steps Sword!"

"Ahem."

"Ah, the night air is refreshing."

"The moon is bright."

The third-generation disciples, with red faces, tried to change the subject.

"Understand this clearly."

Qingming's voice lowered. His serious tone made the senior brothers look at him intently.

"If you can't master the Six Harmonies, learning other sword techniques is useless. All Huashan sword techniques are based on the Six Harmonies. A building without a foundation will collapse in the slightest wind. Senior Brothers need to make what they have their own, perfectly."

Everyone nodded.

It was hard to believe if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes. But they had already experienced it with their bodies.

'The Falling Flower Sword, which seemed so strong, couldn't even block one strike.'

'A simple downward strike looked like the best sword technique in the world.'

'The important thing is not the sword technique but the person using it.'

Jiaoge stood up and looked at Qingming.

"Qingming."

"Yep."

"I have one question."

"Yep."

Jiaoge organized his thoughts and spoke.

"I understand that the Six Harmonies are important. But we are not you. It might sound like a foolish thing to say, but we need the strength to humble the Zongnan bastards right now, not some distant future strength."

"Hmm."

"I know this might sound pitiful, but we don't want to lose to Zongnan again. The humiliation..."

"Senior Brother, what did you hear?"

"Wh... What?"

Qingming's eyes flickered.

"Lose to Zongnan? Such a person doesn't deserve to live. How can a Huashan disciple lose to scum like Zongnan! I'll bash their heads in!"

Seeing Qingming's eyes glowing with killing intent, Jiaoge shivered.

'Even if we are, why are you so worked up about Zongnan?'

A newcomer to Huashan.

"I said, I'll make sure you win."

Qingming pointed his sword at the senior brothers.

"There's no such thing as a good defeat."

"..."

"Winning is everything in a fight. Whether you cling to their pants or throw dirt in their eyes, winning is the end! Cowardice? What a joke! Can a beheaded person on the battlefield talk about cowardice? You win by any means necessary!"

Qingming, who made a declaration that would make the elders of the sect foam at the mouth, did so calmly.

Jiaoge, seeing such a Qingming, smirked.

'Of course. This guy has always been like this.'

It felt somewhat reassuring.

"So, what should we do now? How can we use the sword like you?"

"It's simple."

Qingming's lips curled into a smile.

"Let's start with ten thousand downward strikes."

"Are you joking?"

"Surely not?"

"It better be a joke."

"Come on."

"Joke..."

Qingming smiled.

"Do you want to die? Do you want to die now?"

"..."

Maybe the biggest enemy is not Zongnan but inside Huashan.