Chapter 1977 Bai Ruanqing Challenges the Core (Part 1)

Just as he took a step, Cao Chengli turned to the girl: “I hope this senior sister will forgive me; when crossing the threshold, please use your right foot!”

“???” Bai Ruanqing.

“This is a rule set by our young master. I hope you understand!”

Cao Chengli was full of sincerity.

Frowning, Bai Ruanqing thought for a moment, but still dared not disobey. She stepped over the threshold with her right foot and entered.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw a young man practicing swordsmanship, his head covered in sweat. He must have been training for a long time.

“This sword technique…”

Standing still and watching for a while, Bai Ruanqing’s body stiffened, and cold sweat broke out on her back.

The young man before her was only sixteen or seventeen years old, and his cultivation was merely at the second level of the Ancient Saint realm, very ordinary. But his sword technique was continuous, the moves simple yet containing the Great Dao, ancient and unadorned, as if he had immersed himself in swordsmanship for at least decades.

Some moves were even more skilled and profound than those performed by Peak Elder!

A teenager of ten-odd years displayed sword moves and intent comparable to those of a strongman like her grandfather. She had practiced swordsmanship for so many years, yet felt like a child before him—naive and laughable!

“Is he… Shan Xiaotian?”

Her lips pale, she asked.

“Yes, he is the young master Xiaotian…” Cao Chengli nodded.

“How long has he been studying swordsmanship with… Master Zhang?” She couldn’t help asking.

With such brilliant swordsmanship, could it be that he had been learning from Uncle Zhang since birth?

“How long?” Counting on his fingers, Cao Chengli calculated for a long time, then held up five fingers, paused, and withdrew two: “About this long!”

“Three years? And he’s this good after only three years?”

Her pupils contracted, and Bai Ruanqing was startled.

She had started practicing swordsmanship at age three and had trained for nearly twenty years!

During that time, her grandfather and Peak Elder had taught her personally, using countless precious medicines to achieve her current level. Yet the other party, after only three years of instruction, seemed stronger than her?

How was that possible?

“Three years?” Cao Chengli was taken aback: “No, it’s three hours!”

The young master was very busy every day. Although the little young master was his student, he didn’t spend much time instructing him. Usually, he would point out problems in cultivation and give him a jade token to study on his own… So, in the ten-plus days since becoming a disciple, the actual instruction time, at most, didn’t exceed three hours!

“…Hours?”

Bai Ruanqing swayed and nearly fainted.

After studying for three hours, his swordsmanship was this brilliant?

Her mouth fell open; she was about to go mad!

While she was stunned speechless, Shan Xiaotian, seeing a guest arrive, smiled slightly and stopped, explaining: “Actually, the teacher… personally instructed me for only a little over an hour… Three hours, Steward Cao exaggerated!”

Since she had found this place and knew about him, it meant she understood his identity; there was nothing to hide.

“One…”

Almost numb with shock, Bai Ruanqing took a long while before speaking again: “Can I spar with you in swordsmanship?”

“Of course!”

Shan Xiaotian quickly nodded.

He had always been practicing alone; having someone to spar with would be wonderful!

“Let’s begin!”

Suppressing her cultivation to the early second level of the Ancient Saint realm, matching his, Bai Ruanqing drew her longsword.

Whoosh!

Her delicate body moved, and she thrust forward.

Having seen him practice earlier, she knew his techniques were unfathomable, so she dared not be careless. She unleashed her strongest move from the start, swift as lightning.

Hum!

Just as she thought she could defeat him, Shan Xiaotian suddenly moved. Her eyes blurred, and then…

Then… a sword had appeared above her head, she didn’t know when!

Her face turned pale. She no longer dared to suppress her cultivation. In the blink of an eye, her cultivation recovered to the True Immortal realm. Under the impact of her protective true qi, the longsword was knocked away!

If she hadn’t been quick to release her cultivation, her head might have been pierced.

Covered in cold sweat, Bai Ruanqing stood rigid.

She hadn’t seen at all how the sword in his hand was shot out or how it came to be above her head!

That is to say, if they were truly at the same level, she would have been dead long ago!

Terrifying!

She looked at him in horror.

She had thought the sword technique he was practicing earlier was already formidable, but she never dreamed that this flying sword move was even more powerful!

At the same level, one move, instant kill!

“I’ve trained for so long but never fought anyone, so I don’t know my strength, and I can’t control it freely. I’m really sorry…” Shan Xiaotian scratched his head.

He had intended to stop the sword after thrusting, but he still had too little understanding of swordsmanship to stop it.

Fortunately, she reacted quickly and her protective true qi blocked it. Otherwise, if a guest who just arrived had a sword stuck in her head when meeting the teacher… he would definitely be scolded to death!

“After studying for an hour, I, at the same level, couldn’t withstand it…”

Swallowing, Bai Ruanqing recalled something: “I also studied with Uncle Zhang for a while, and he taught me the horizontal sword technique… Although I practiced it carelessly and didn’t grasp the essence, how powerful is this move?”

Although she knew this horizontal sword technique was very powerful, she had never tested it or fought anyone. Should she give it a try?

Thinking this, she glanced at Shan Xiaotian but finally shook her head.

She didn’t want to have his sword stuck in her head again. Her quick reaction had saved her just now; if she got distracted, she might already be a corpse.

“Is there a quiet room here? Can you arrange one for me?”

She looked up and asked.

“That one is unoccupied. You can stay there. The teacher is in seclusion; I’ll call you when he comes out.” Shan Xiaotian pointed.

Because inner disciples needed servants to attend them, the courtyards they lived in usually had a dozen rooms, very spacious.

Saying no more, Bai Ruanqing entered the room, prepared herself, and with a flick of her wrist, took out a Communication Jade Talisman.

A core disciple’s Communication Jade Talisman!

With a thought, she entered it.

“The core disciple challenge matches are different from the inner sect; they can be public or private… In the last core competition, I only ranked seventeenth. Wang Hao, ranked sixteenth, I’m no match for him… Now, I can give it a try!”

Standing in the Communication Hall, Bai Ruanqing’s eyes flickered.

She was famous among core disciples and feared by all because of her grandfather, Elder Bai Ye. In reality, her true strength couldn’t even rank in the top ten.

Especially the freaks among the top few core disciples; even many elders might not be their match!

In the last core disciple competition, she lost to Wang Hao, ranked sixteenth, and ended up seventeenth. She could use him to test the swordsmanship Uncle Zhang had taught her and see how it fared!

With a thought, she went to the front desk: “Help me send a challenge invitation. I want to challenge the sixteenth-ranked Wang Hao!”

Before long, the disciple named Wang Hao arrived, a smirk on his lips: “Why the sudden urge to spar with me? Have you learned some new sword move and think you can beat me? No need to try; we just competed half a month ago, and you were no match…”

“I did learn a new sword move and want to try it…” Bai Ruanqing didn’t deny it. “If I lose, I’ll just come again next time!”

How strong was Uncle Zhang’s horizontal sword technique? She had only practiced it alone, never tested it on anyone. Finding Wang Hao was just an experiment; she had no idea whether she could win.

“Since you don’t mind, let’s begin!”

Seeing her attitude, Wang Hao chuckled. The two found a private sparring ground and entered.

Core disciples were the most dazzling existences in the sect, with extremely high status and countless followers. Therefore, the public matches used by inner disciples were not suitable for them.

After all, a defeat could have a huge impact.

Thus, many people would hold private matches in the Communication Hall, with the results known only to the combatants.

Standing on the sparring platform, Wang Hao looked at her: “Begin!”

Whoosh!

As he spoke, his longsword trembled, and a sword light slashed down.

Although she had always lost to him, she was still Elder Bai’s granddaughter and very strong. He dared not be careless and unleashed his strongest move from the start.

“A slashing sword light?”

Seeing him use this move, Bai Ruanqing was startled.

The horizontal sword she had learned was precisely aimed at such moves. Using it now was like a pillow when feeling sleepy…

Without any hesitation, she executed the horizontal sword she had practiced dozens of times, slashing forward.

“Be careful; I haven’t fully mastered this move yet, but its power should be considerable…”

She smiled lightly, her longsword flying horizontally. Just as she was about to warn him, before she could finish her words, she saw a figure flash before her eyes, and the force in her hand loosened…

Crack!

A head fell at her feet not far away, and then Wang Hao’s body lay on the ground.

“Ah?”

Bai Ruanqing was startled.

She hadn’t fully mastered this move, and most importantly, she hadn’t even completed it… And Wang Hao, whom she had never been able to defeat before, had lost his head…

“You… what happened?”

Just as she couldn’t believe it, the slain Wang Hao came over using another Communication Jade Talisman.

To be honest, he was also stunned.

She had always been no match for him, yet this time, she beheaded him in one move… Experiencing it himself, he was somewhat exasperated.

“I don’t know either…”

Bai Ruanqing was dazed.

She truly didn’t know. She had just executed the sword move Uncle Zhang taught her step by step, never dreaming that before she finished the move, his head would fall off.

“Again… This time I won’t hold back; I’ll use my strongest attack from the start…”

Seeing her expression, Wang Hao thought she was deliberately humiliating him. He roared in anger, drew his longsword again, and charged.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Sword qi was like wind, sword light like water.

As the sixteenth-ranked core disciple, he had a very strong understanding of swordsmanship. As soon as he attacked, it was enough to make one feel despair.

Knowing that if he used his full strength, her previous moves would certainly not win, Bai Ruanqing gritted her teeth and once again executed the horizontal sword technique taught by Uncle Zhang.

Thud!

Again, before the move was completed, Wang Hao’s head fell off, rolling even farther like a ball.

“This…”

Bai Ruanqing was completely stunned.

It seemed that with this move, the other’s head wasn’t very secure; a single slash, and it fell off…