Martial Arts Master

Lou Cheng tried to recall his opponent’s information to no avail. He looked at Taoist Wuguang standing across from him, then at the referee at the edge of the area raising his right hand. He was forgetting something important.

The referee looked at both parties, then swung his arm down.

“Begin!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Ding!

The metallic longsword left Taoist Wuguang’s hands with a dragon’s roar, enwreathed in silver, flowing electricity.

S-sword manipulation! The sight jogged Lou Cheng’s memory. He remembered what he was forgetting.

Taoist Wuguang was a swordsman, but unlike normal swordsmen, he could control a flying sword, an ability straight out of a storybook.

Swish! The sword enwreathed in silver electricity shot out, gaining speed and power under the influence of the magnetic field, like a soaring dragon or a bullet.

Lou Cheng instinctively formed a scarlet fireball to blast at the lightning sword.

As the two projectiles were about to collide, Taoist Wuguang made an unexpected move. With a flick of the finger, the electromagnetic flying sword veered upward to avoid the fireball.

The flying sword seemed to have a life of its own. Even without direct contact with Taoist Wuguang, it stayed on track. He controlled the sword effortlessly, as though it was a shapeless arm extending from him.

This was an advanced application of electromagnetic forces, and its effects were strengthened by the Shangqing Sect’s homeground advantage. If they were fighting elsewhere, Taoist Wuguang would have needed some time to warm up and get used to the environment before using this move.

How could you call it sword manipulation, after all, if you couldn’t control it freely?

As the silver sword sprang up, the scarlet fireball missed its mark. Lou Cheng felt a chill run down his spine. As his opponent focused on adjusting the trajectory of the sword, he used Enemy Heart Freezing move to stay calm while creating a golden fireball. Under his command, the fireball flew upwards, crashing into the tip of the sword.

At that moment, the silver sword spun mid-flight, allowing the golden fireball to pass through. It was truly as though it had a mind of its own!

However, as the golden fireball flew past it, minor explosions were triggered from within. Under the influence of Lou Cheng’s intense mind power, the fireball veered and went after the sword once more.

The golden fireball in Nine Rotations of Five Flames is created with the techniques from Fire Force and Golden Godly Flames and can be controlled after launching. An expert user could make it veer even a second or third time.

Though Lou Cheng didn’t specialize in Fire Force or have a high-level mastery in Golden Godly Flames, he had mastered the second-veer technique earlier than most. His fusion of martial arts and cultivation gave him more mind power than those of the same Pin, along with the special properties of the golden flames. In addition, balancing Ice and Fire had strengthened his sense of control.

Dragging its fiery tail, the golden fireball collided into the silver sword that had lost its momentum. Suddenly, Taoist Wuguang brought his index and middle finger together and pointed up. The sword accelerated immediately and easily left its pursuer in the dust.

The silver sword sprang up, accelerating in the magnetic field. Having already covered most of the distance, it arrived before Lou Cheng right almost immediately after escaping the golden fireball.

Unable to dodge in time, Lou Cheng raised his arms and clapped his hands together, clamping the tip of the sword in between.

Layers of crystal clear ice formed in his palms. His body, being a poor conductor of electricity, held off the inflowing effects of paralysis.

At that moment, Lou Cheng suddenly had a danger premonition. He felt like he was forgetting something.

Taoist Wuguang, standing at thirty meters away, gave up control over his flying sword with indifference. He put his palms together and calmly clapped.

Rumble!

The roar of thunder reverberated in Lou Cheng’s heart. He started, ears ringing and vision cloudy, like a thousand-years-old pagoda tree bowing down to a calamity.

Luckily, his Ice Heart was only slightly affected, and he managed to collect himself within a short time. Then, instinctively, he dodged to the side.

Sizzle! Taoist Wuguang’s palms parted, creating a bolt of maroon lightning the thickness of a cicada’s wing.

Immediately after its formation, the lightning zoomed across the meters between them and slashed at Lou Cheng from behind, leaving a hideous wound. Electric serpents danced at his charred but bloodless wound, deep enough to reveal bone. It extended all the way from below his shoulder to the bottom of his latissimus dorsi muscle.

Had Lou Cheng not anticipated the attack and dodged accordingly, it would have caught him from the front, severely damaging his vitals organs like lungs and heart.

At that moment, Lou Cheng remembered.

He had forgotten that Taoist Wuguang had other tricks up his sleeve aside from Sword Manipulation. This should’ve been obvious from the moment he used a move from the Physical Invulnerability chapters. The fact that he had overlooked it was astonishing.

Externally, his opponent had his electromagnetic sword, which he could control remotely and freely. Internally, his opponent knew all kinds of secret arts. If he focused on dealing with the flying sword, he might make himself susceptible to killing moves like Thunder from a Clear Sky, Cloudless Thunder Blade. On the other hand, if he moved in and fought at close distance, he would have to split his attention to avoid a sneak attack from the hovering sword. Either way, he wouldn’t be able to fight at full strength. That wouldn’t do if he wanted to defeat Taoist Wuguang…

The thought discouraged Lou Cheng from using Force Concentration to reduce the electrifying effects on his back. Instead, he turned on his waist and trod used his footwork to sweep up a frigid wind filled with snowflakes. It allowed him to avoid the sword’s horizontal cleave by a hair’s breadth.

In the whistling gales and heavy snow, Lou Cheng turned into a wobbly figure reminiscent of childhood, round-bottomed doll, swaying left and right in the snowy environment. Soon, he proved to be more agile than the flying sword that had difficulty making turns. He began advancing towards Taoist Wuguang.

However, the shorter the distance, the smoother the sword’s movements became. Lou Cheng began to feel like Taoist Wuguang was directly stabbing at him with the sword, making it much harder for him to move about.

As Lou Cheng took a step forward, the silver sword chopped down with a metallic sheen, nearly leaving a gash on his back. He whirled around. His hands had already readied a seal.

With the ancient character appearing in his mind, he solemnly chanted,

“Formation!”

The air began contracting, densifying into formless shackles that trapped the sword.

Since sweeping up the snowy gales, Lou Cheng’s plan had been to make a sneak attack on the longsword while pretending to target Wuguang. Once he destroyed the enemy’s weapon of expertise, he could concentrate on engaging in close quarter combat.

He wouldn’t be able to last long if he didn’t make a sacrifice here.

The longsword quivered on spot, trying to break free. Behind Lou Cheng, a faint-purple and scarlet fireball formed. As he hammered his fist down, they hovered and congregated.

Af that moment, the only thing in his eyes was the electromagnetic sword. He realized he had forgotten something else.

A distance away, Taoist Wuguang raised his hand and flipped his palm in a pensive manner. A bolt of blue flashed past.

Lou Cheng’s hair bristled immediately. Without hesitating, he gave up attacking the longsword. As he detonated the scarlet fireball where he stood, he compacted himself and leapt to the side.

Pam!

A bolt of blue lightning struck down at where he had stood, leaving a deep ditch in the charred, smoldering ground.

In his Ice Heart, Lou Cheng could see a reflection of this scene clearly. Shock made him come to his senses.

Shit! I completely forgot my opponent Wuguang! The only thing on my mind was the flying sword.

Whenever I get distracted by the electromagnetic sword, I forget about the main enemy, his skills, or even his existence.

This definitely isn’t normal!

Lou Cheng had a hunch that had to do with Wuguang’s low profile and the fact that managed to avoid attention.

Could this be his supernatural ability?

The higher he progressed in his stage, the more effective it became!

When out of combat, it could make others subconsciously dismiss information about him as unimportant, thereby forgetting and neglecting him.

However, its effectiveness is reduced during combat when the opponent is focused and wary of his presence. That’s why he practiced Sword Manipulation. With the sword acting separately from the user, it helped weaken his presence by drawing attention away from him!

Empress Luo and the others had never warned him about this, likely because they had neglected it as well. When this match ended, he himself might not care about it, dismissing it as something ordinary and forgettable.

That won’t do! I have to jot it down when we’re done.

Lou Cheng’s thoughts didn’t affect his slick footwork as he carefully avoided the area with scattered power lines and strong magnetic fields. He had summoned a heavy blizzard at the mountain’s summit, which somewhat concealed his tracks. As he searched for a way to deal with Taoist Wuguang’s uncanny ability, he made time to tend to the wound on his back and alleviate the paralysis effect.

However, the electromagnetic longsword tracked him relentlessly as if attracted by him. He couldn’t pause for a second, lest he get distracted again.

As he maneuvered, Lou Cheng used his Ice Heart to produce a clear reflection of his surroundings. From the corner of his eye, he kept an eye on Taoist Wuguang so that he couldn’t slip out of his attention.

Just like this, they circled. That’s when Lou Cheng noticed a smooth rock beside his opponent. It had been split in half and covered with scorch marks.

That rock… Lou Cheng had an idea.

Thought Wuguag could divert attention from himself, Taoist Wuguang’s supernatural ability couldn’t mask the environment!

I might neglect him, but I won’t forget about the landscape around him!

By compiling sources of external information, I can build a mind palace. If I can associate him to various landmarks around him, won’t my problem be solved?

Having decided, Lou Cheng sequentially generated the five colored fireballs around him, which orbited him like satellites.

After one last glance to make sure that Taoist Wuguang’s position wasn’t changing, Lou Cheng turned and clenched his fist, punching at the pursuing electromagnetic longsword. His ice-wrapped fist smashed into the electric sword’s tip.

At the same time, the five fireballs orbiting around him blasted out at the charred, halved rock and the area around it, therefore including Taoist Wuguang.

Seeing this, Taoist Wuguang lowered his stance, sprang up, and dashed far in a thunderous motion. Explosions boomed ceaselessly in his wake, sweeping up smoke and dust. Purple and golden lightning intertwined, clashing with the fireballs.

As Taoist Wuguang evaded, the movements of the electromagnetic longsword became dull, as though it had lost its life. Lou Cheng’s punch caught it, distorted it, and sent it flying. The sword whimpered in its flight.