ragginovel Chapter 125 is too similar
Chapter 125 is too similar
Chapter 125 Too Similar (Second Update by Bai Jun)
Fifty moves — Eight moves — One hundred moves!
As more and more disciples from Songshan gathered at the training ground, the number grew from a dozen or so at the beginning to dozens later, eventually filling the corner completely.
Upon hearing the news, not only the newly initiated disciples came, but also many senior disciples who were cultivating on their own, and even some senior uncles stood quietly at a distance, watching with solemn expressions.
They held their breath, mesmerized and captivated by the sight.
This level of competition was nothing short of a tremendous opportunity for them.
Fei Bin, the Third Protector, had already mastered the Great Songyang Palm technique; every strike he made was powerful and imposing.
Shen An's unheard-of heavy sword technique was even more domineering and unparalleled; every strike seemed capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks.
The two fought like a mountain torrent colliding with a reef. Each strike generated a shockwave that made the surrounding disciples feel breathless and forced them to retreat repeatedly.
Finally, with a particularly dull thud, the two figures abruptly separated, each sliding back several feet.
Shen An stood holding his sword, its broad blade planted firmly on the ground.
His chest rose and fell slightly, his breathing was a little rapid, but his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.
Fei Bin on the other side also stopped and stood still, his face slightly flushed. With each breath, white breath could be seen coming out of his mouth and nose, indicating that he had activated a lot of his internal energy.
"Thank you so much for your guidance, Uncle Fei and Uncle Tang!"
After strapping the sword to his back, Shen An immediately bowed deeply.
"Um."
Fei Bin nodded reservedly, leaning against the mountain wall with his hands behind his back, displaying the demeanor of a senior master, and said calmly, "You are teachable. Although your swordsmanship is still rough, it has already captured the essence. That's enough for today. Go back and carefully summarize what you have learned from your seventh uncle, and think through every word. Don't let your senior brother's painstaking efforts go to waste."
He stood with his hands behind his back, his posture elegant and composed.
However, if someone were behind him, they would notice that his hand was trembling slightly without his notice.
Although he had the upper hand in the fierce battle of over a hundred moves just now, the recoil from Shen An's heavy sword was truly powerful and domineering, wave after wave, leaving him still not fully recovered.
This kid's strength is actually this profound!
Tang Ying'e glanced at Shen An with a complicated expression, snorted heavily through his nostrils, but his tone was not as stern as before: "Come back here at this time tomorrow! If I find you haven't made any progress, see how I deal with you!"
"Yes, Your disciple obeys."
Shen An bowed again before turning and leaving amidst the complex gazes of his fellow disciples, which held feelings of awe, envy, and jealousy.
Only when his tall figure, carrying a heavy sword, disappeared around the bend in the mountain path did the entire training ground erupt in a commotion.
"Too...too strong! Senior Brother Shen can actually exchange over a hundred blows with Uncle Fei!"
"What do you know! Uncle Fei was just showing mercy and giving Senior Brother Shen some pointers!"
"Even so, it's still astonishing! Did you see that sword strike? I was standing ten feet away, and I could feel the force of the wind slapping my face!"
"No wonder he received personal instruction from the sect leader; such talent is beyond our reach."
Fei Bin and Tang Ying'e ignored the discussions until the crowd gradually dispersed. Then, they looked at each other and huddled together.
"Does it look like it?" Tang Ying'e stroked his beard, only then noticing that a few strands were broken, and felt a pang of heartache.
"They look so alike."
Fei Bin remained silent for a moment before slowly uttering these three words, his voice somewhat hoarse.
A look of reminiscence crossed Tang Ying'e's eyes, as if he were seeing a scene from decades ago: "When my senior brother reorganized and revised my Seventeen Styles of Songshan Swordplay, was he—just like this?"
"yes."
Fei Bin nodded in deep agreement, looking at his still slightly numb hands, and said with a wry smile, "Whether it's this astonishing comprehension or this unreasonable drive, it's all perfect. If I hadn't constantly suppressed him with my internal energy today, just in terms of breaking down the moves, I'm afraid the outcome would have been uncertain after a hundred moves. Twenty years ago, at the Five Mountains Alliance, didn't our eldest brother also rely on this unparalleled talent to challenge the senior elders of the other four sects as a second-generation disciple, and single-handedly win the position of leader of the Five Mountains Alliance for our Songshan Sect with just one sword? But—"
"Just what?" Tang Ying'e pressed.
A thoughtful glint flashed in Fei Bin's eyes: "His personality doesn't seem like it. I asked my third senior brother, and he said that while this kid is clever and resourceful in his actions down the mountain, he also—"
She's a bit too naive and kind-hearted, not nearly as ruthless and powerful as her senior brother was back then.
Upon hearing this, Tang Ying'e chuckled and shook his head, saying, "Times have changed. Back then, our Senior Brother didn't have the means. At that time, our Songshan Sect was in dire straits, lacking capable successors, with our elite members almost entirely gone. Hundreds of us depended on him alone, with his sword. If he hadn't been ruthless, how could our Songshan Sect be where we are today? Now it's different. With us old bones protecting him, what does it matter if he's a little more simple and kind? This is the demeanor and appearance that disciples of a great sect should have. If everyone were like us back then, crawling out of piles of corpses, ruthless and cruel, that would be truly worrying."
"Yes, junior brother is right."
Upon hearing this, Fei Bin felt relieved.
Yes, with these old guys around, this kid doesn't have to work so hard.
Not far away, Di Xiu, who had been silently watching the battle, looked in the direction Shen An had left, his eyes filled with strange expressions.
Unlike the others, he was not excited; instead, he fell into deep thought.
This young man's martial arts style is truly domineering and unparalleled. However, he wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt that there was a very faint Buddhist imagery in Shen An's martial arts.
When Shen An returned to his residence, it was already evening.
It was just an inconspicuous little house halfway up the mountain, no different from the living quarters of ordinary inner disciples.
He had been away from the mountain for three years and thought the house would be covered in cobwebs and dust, but when he pushed open the familiar wooden door, he was taken aback.
-
The room was simply furnished with a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, but it was spotless, the floor was sparkling clean, and there was even a faint scent of soap in the air.
The tea set on the table was neatly arranged, and the bedding on the bed was brand new and dry, clearly having been carefully prepared.
Shen An chuckled to himself, realizing that this must have been arranged by a discerning manager in the mountains who knew he was now valued by the sect leader.
He sat cross-legged on the bed, but instead of immediately circulating his internal energy to regulate his breathing, he closed his eyes and replayed the hundreds of moves they had exchanged that day in his mind, scene by scene.
His heavy sword technique was only in its initial stages before.
He only used one move, "Mountain Collapse and Mountain Collapse," against Tian Boguang; and he only exchanged three moves with the Yellow River Ancestor.
The swordsmanship of that time was all show and no substance, but crude and unskilled.
However, today, things are completely different.
Under Tang Ying'e's guidance and Fei Bin's relentless pressure, he actually dismantled over a hundred moves in a state of mental clarity!
Every flaw was ruthlessly exposed; every oversight was precisely targeted.
Then, under the explicit or implicit guidance of his two senior uncles, he corrected, perfected, and integrated the techniques.
This experience was nothing short of transformative for me and for my swordsmanship.