Chapter 37: Balanced Offense and Defense

Pei Min had already heard from Gongsun You about the origins of the Gongsun sisters' Maiden Yue Sword Technique, which indeed came from Daoist Fire Dragon. He also knew that Daoist Fire Dragon was the future legendary immortal Lu Dongbin's master. Connecting these facts, he realized that Luo Lie's words were true, though he had never imagined that Luo Lie was actually a disciple of Daoist Fire Dragon.

"When I was back in my hometown in Youzhou, I had some contact with them, but I don't have their exact whereabouts now."

Seeing that Pei Min was also unaware, Luo Lie felt quite regretful. Back then, Daoist Fire Dragon saw that the Maiden Yue Sword Technique was not suitable for men to practice and, recognizing the Gongsun sisters' exceptional talent in swordsmanship, believed it to be the will of heaven and gifted the manual to the two of them. He casually imparted some basic swordsmanship knowledge to help them lay a foundation, and then continued on his distant travels. Years later, wondering how the Gongsun sisters were growing up, he returned only to find the place abandoned, with no trace of them left.

Although Daoist Fire Dragon was a practitioner of the Dao, he held an intense obsession with swordsmanship. Through countless hardships and after traversing ten thousand mountains, he had finally tracked down the manual for the Maiden Yue Sword Technique. Not being able to witness its profound mysteries firsthand had been a major regret in his heart. Especially in recent years, thinking that the Gongsun sisters must have grown into adulthood, he believed that with their talent—barring any major catastrophe—they would surely have achieved moderate success in the Maiden Yue Sword Technique. His desire to track them down was partly to witness the true form of the Maiden Yue Sword Technique with his own eyes, and partly to offer guidance and impart his swordsmanship. As he traveled across the land and his experience grew, Daoist Fire Dragon's temperament and disposition had gradually changed; he was no longer obsessed with the victory or defeat of every single move and stance, but instead hoped to pass down the martial arts techniques painstakingly developed by predecessors to future generations, lest they be lost to history and cause people to sigh in vain.

Knowing his master's intentions, Luo Lie had asked this question.

Looking at the tall, rustic-looking Luo Lie, Pei Min's desire to fight grew even stronger. It had been some time since he had encountered a truly worthy opponent.

Sensing the battle intent emanating from Pei Min, Luo Lie said no more and drew his sword. His sword was pitch-black throughout, forged from an unknown material, and at a single glance, one could tell it was no ordinary item. He said, "This sword is named Liang Divine Sword. It is a divine weapon forged by the Daoist immortal Tao Hongjing, cast from mysterious iron supplemented with the five metals of gold, silver, copper, tin, and iron. It is exceptionally rigid, and ordinary weapons will snap upon touching it. Be careful, Imperial Commissioner."

Pei Min nodded. Tao Hongjing was an eccentric polymath from a century ago who spanned the Song, Qi, and Liang dynasties. Proficient in medicine, alchemy, astronomy, calendar calculation, geography, military strategy, sword-casting, classics, literature, art, and Daoist rituals, he was known as the "Prime Minister in the Mountains" and was a legendary figure in his own time.

The First Emperor's Sword leapt from its scabbard!

Pei Min said, "This sword has no name, nor do I know who forged it! It is the newest craftsmanship of our Great Tang, forged by the finest artisans. It cuts through iron like mud and is no less inferior to your Liang Divine Sword." In truth, he knew the name of the sword in his hand, as the two characters "First Emperor" were engraved on the blade. However, just as Emperor Li Longji did not explicitly tell him the sword's name, the name of the First Emperor's Sword was too heavy with historical weight, and Pei Min felt somewhat unequal to it.

Perhaps Tao Hongjing was a genius of heavenly proportions, but Pei Min fully believed that the most advanced craftsmanship of the Great Tang would ensure that the First Emperor's Sword would not lose to the Liang Divine Sword forged by Tao Hongjing.

Luo Lie made the first move, bringing his sword down in an overhead slash. A simple strike, yet it contained immense divine might, emitting a tearing sound as if it were about to rip the air apart.

Pei Min had been on guard, yet he had not expected the sheer power of the opponent's opening strike to exceed his expectations. He could not help but feel shocked. The only formidable rival he had encountered in his life was Li Wuyi. Li Wuyi's double-sword technique possessed a fierce and powerful force that had truly opened his eyes. Yet compared to Luo Lie, Li Wuyi's ferocity was not worth mentioning; the might of his double swords could not even match Luo Lie's single-handed heavy slash.

Crucially, Pei Min could see that Luo Lie's move was charged with accumulated momentum—rustic and profound, much like the Dragon Subduing Leg's "Regretful Dragon" from tales—with profound follow-up moves hidden beneath its ferocious exterior.

Pei Min was not one to back down either. As his long sword came out, his footwork remained steady while his body leaned to the right. Evading Luo Lie's onslaught, he thrust a crooked, irregular sword toward Luo Lie's abdomen—it was precisely the Maiden Yue Sword Technique.

Seeing that Pei Min's strike was tricky and bizarre, with the blade covering nine vital points on his upper body at an unbelievable angle, Luo Lie praised, "Good swordsmanship! The Maiden Yue Sword Technique is indeed remarkable. Defense and offense are integrated, and every single move is both an offensive and a defensive stance. No wonder my master is so obsessed with the Maiden Yue Sword Technique. Under the heavens, this is the only art that can combine both offense and defense."

Even as he spoke, his form remained entirely unperturbed. Instead of withdrawing his sword, he horizontally slashed downward directly toward Pei Min's chest.

The force behind Luo Lie's swordsmanship was terrifyingly powerful. Even without re-exerting strength, it retained an unyielding and peerless sword momentum. This sudden change in stance was truly wondrous beyond words, forcing Pei Min into a position where he had no choice but to meet the blow head-on.

Luo Lie's swordsmanship leaned heavily toward ferocity; clashing head-on against this strike would inevitably result in a disadvantage. Once he fell behind, the opponent's sword techniques would flood in like a breached dam until he was defeated.

Not blocking meant immediate defeat; blocking head-on meant losing all initiative.

To find himself at a disadvantage right at the very start was an unprecedented experience for Pei Min.

Luo Lie truly lived up to being Daoist Fire Dragon's disciple; his strength was absurdly formidable...

The more critical the juncture, the calmer Pei Min became. Suddenly, he traced a circle in front of him with his left hand while the momentum of his right-hand sword shifted, drawing a half-circle of sword radiance aimed at Luo Lie's lower abdomen.

Luo Lie let out an "ah" of surprise, a trace of astonishment crossing his face. Like lightning, his body flashed as he decisively retreated, withdrawing without a single moment of hesitation.

Sleeves fluttered!

Luo Lie discovered that a small section of his sleeve had been cleanly sliced off.

"Brilliant!" Luo Lie applauded joyfully, showing not a shred of frustration on his face, but instead wearing an expression of awe and delight. He asked, "This move—offense and defense fused as one, wondrous beyond description. Even my esteemed master's Heaven-Escaping Sword Technique cannot achieve such a dual integration of attack and defense. May I ask what wondrous technique this is?"

Pei Min stared somewhat blankly at his own hands, paying no heed to Luo Lie's question, as the previous move replayed over and over in his mind. At that moment when he was about to lose the initiative, a flash of inspiration had struck him: using his left hand with the scabbard as a sword, he had executed the Tai Chi principle of borrowing and redirecting force, while his right hand, taking advantage of Tai Chi's sticky adhesion to the opponent's long sword, had struck back with the Cursive Script Sword Technique.

The defensive softness of Tai Chi in his left hand combined with the fierce power of the Cursive Script Sword Technique in his right. Yin and yang complemented each other, water and fire blended into one, instantly recovering the lost ground. Had Luo Lie not retreated in the nick of time, he might well have been defeated on the spot.

Ever since he encountered the giant Jiang Hua during the military examinations—whose supernatural strength had rendered his Tai Chi soft force entirely useless—he had worked painstakingly hard on the application of soft force, achieving a massive improvement in his mastery of it. Yet he had never imagined that hardness and softness could be converted in such a manner, instantly opening up an entirely new realm for him and elevating his swordsmanship realm by a whole tier.

Attacking with the right-hand sword while defending with the left-hand scabbard, combining offense and defense—how wondrous was that?

"Haha!" Comprehending all of this, Pei Min laughed. "Indeed, one can only grow by sparring with true experts. If not for your sword driving me to the brink of desperation, I might never have figured out this principle. The left hand uses Tai Chi while the right hand uses the Cursive Script Sword Technique; the two are one hard and one soft, yet they can be fused into one. The former is a clever technique I devised to make up for my own lack of physical strength, while the latter is a fierce swordsmanship I comprehended from observing wild cursive calligraphy."

Hearing this, Luo Lie looked astonished. Gazing at the youthful Pei Min, he sighed, "At such an age, to comprehend a swordsmanship where the utmost hardness and utmost softness complement each other—I, Luo Lie, am vastly inferior."

Recalling his earlier predicament, Pei Min said sincerely, "To be able to drive me to desperation with a single sword, how could Brother Luo's swordsmanship be something for me to evaluate? When it comes to fierce swordsmanship, your sword far surpasses mine."

Luo Lie showed no false modesty, saying, "One is passed down through inheritance, the other is self-created—how can they be mentioned in the same breath..." At this point, his expression turned solemn as he asked, "Shall we go again?"

"Of course!" Pei Min responded without the slightest hesitation. Knowing that Luo Lie's swordsmanship possessed peerless ferocity under heaven, this time he refused to let him seize the initiative. As his voice fell, he closed in directly, his sword casting layers of dazzling sword radiance—it was none other than the sweeping, uninhibited Cursive Script Sword Technique.

"Good swordsmanship!" Without hesitation, Luo Lie swept his Liang Divine Sword horizontally in a lightning-fast motion, fierce to the extreme. The Tiger-Slaying Sword Technique originated from Han Zhongli. Legend has it that after being defeated on Zhongnan Mountain, Han Zhongli received guidance from Iron-Crutch Li, studied Daoist arts and martial arts, and upon descending the mountain, slew a tiger with a flying sword, thereby comprehending the Tiger-Slaying Sword Technique—hailed as the premier fierce swordsmanship under heaven. When it came to ferocity, Luo Lie was confident his sword bowed to no one.

Knowing the lethality of this sword, Pei Min once again resorted to his previous tactic. This time, he used his right-hand sword to execute the Tai Chi deflecting technique, while the Cursive Script Sword Technique shifted instantly. The transitions between moves were completely seamless, leaving not the slightest opening to be exploited.

The ferocity of the Tiger-Slaying Sword Technique clashed against the utmost softness of Tai Chi. Given Pei Min's current comprehension and application of soft force, it was far from enough to completely neutralize the might of Luo Lie's Tiger-Slaying Sword Technique. However, maintaining a resolute defense, Luo Lie was equally unable to break through Pei Min's utmost softness.

His left-hand scabbard swept out swiftly, refusing to give the opponent a moment to breathe.

With a resounding "Clang!", even under such circumstances, Luo Lie managed to bring his sword back in time to parry the scabbard. The sheer force of this parry alone was so jarring that Pei Min almost lost his grip on the scabbard.

Disregarding his left hand, Pei Min's right hand had already transformed into a net of swords; cold light flickered, the tip of the sword shivered rapidly, and it was impossible to tell where the attack was headed.

Inwardly, Luo Lie praised him. Pei Min had only just comprehended this dual-handed offensive and defensive switching method, yet in such a short time, he was wielding it with effortless mastery. The alternation between his two hands complemented each other perfectly, leaving almost no flaws. Especially since this time he was employing the Maiden Yue Sword Technique—renowned for its tricky and bizarre nature—which, when executed at this moment, was applied with absolute perfection.

"Remarkable!"

Yet even now, Luo Lie remained completely composed. With a word of praise, he stepped backward and slashed a sword into empty air.

Pei Min's expression shifted. That empty slash blocked off all his advancing routes, instantly wiping out the advantage he had gained over three moves.

Whether in experience, technique, or swordsmanship awareness, the strength Luo Lie displayed was vastly superior to anyone Pei Min had encountered before.

Luo Lie said in a deep voice, "At the Imperial Commissioner's age, my swordsmanship was far inferior to yours, but..." He did not finish his sentence in detail, but his meaning remained clear. His aura abruptly shifted as he let out a thunderous roar...