Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 488 - 488 487 One Husband Holds the Pass 3

488: Chapter 487 One Husband Holds the Pass 3 488: Chapter 487 One Husband Holds the Pass 3 Hou Niao was somewhat dissatisfied with his own performance.

He intended to use the Flying Sword State to finish this battle, but Yu Kuohai’s three moves still forced out his Sword Holding State.

He treated such an occasion as an opportunity for swordsmanship practice, focusing on the weakest link in his Three Sword States—the Flying Sword State.

It might seem incredible, but a Shan Sect Quanzhen Sword Cultivator’s expertise wasn’t really in Flying Swords?

For him, that was indeed the case; his greatest strength was the Sword Holding State, having spent nearly forty years in Cultivation fighting to the death against others in the Soul Realm every single day; secondarily, his Body Sword Skill, because its extremely unique method of Sword Control caught people off guard and completely overturned many foundations of Flying Swords, and on top of that, in the Body Sword Skill, he saw limitless possibilities for upgrading.

Only when it came to the mainstream Flying Sword State could he no longer remember the last time he killed an enemy with a Flying Sword—when was that?

It was an interesting process, as he was unsatisfied with the attack power of Flying Swords when he first entered the Tongxuan realm and kept searching until he found the Body Sword Skill.

Now looking back, he realized his understanding of the Flying Sword Skill was still too superficial.

In fact, the Flying Sword Skill wasn’t as weak as he had imagined.

In reality, the three types of Sword States were supposed to complement each other, and there was no question of which was stronger or weaker.

The key was to make a flexible choice based on the variable environments and adversaries, forming a truly complete system.

He decided to use the Flying Sword Skill as much as possible in battle to make himself look not so odd.

This was also a way to keep his trump card hidden.

Besides, only by using it more in battle could he improve, instead of dismissing and abandoning it when dissatisfied.

Combat strength improves in this gradual manner.

He wanted to resolve his fight with Yu Kuohai with the Flying Sword, but that guy had simply charged straight at him, leaving him no choice.

…As he was reflecting here, a second challenger from the Chasing Wind Bandits had already stepped forward, not giving him enough time to recover.

If one wished to stand alone and show off in front of others, a corresponding price had to be paid.

Qian Changqing gave a slight bow, and as he moved, he casually laid out a formation—the Breeze Formation, which complemented his Breeze Dao Body perfectly.

This barrier-like Protective Formation was an important direction in Daoist Sect cultivators’ battles, where the body moves with the Formation, and the Formation moves with the body.

The attacks would increase their power due to the Formation’s boost, while defense would offload some force through being within the Protective Formation, excelling at both offense and defense, never disappointing.

But even such a common Formation and Dao Body in the Daoist Sect, when practiced deeply, held its own mysteries.

Although it lacked the ferocity of some obscure and unique formations, it triumphed in its balance and harmony, and especially, in saving Mana, making it revered by many simple cultivators.

Such an opponent was not easy to deal with.

He still responded to the enemy with the Flying Sword.

Against such an opponent, the most important thing was to remain calm; first, understand the enemy’s defensive system’s limitations on the power of one’s Flying Swords, then figure out his Techniques direction…

In Tongtian Realm, Sword Cultivators wielding swords rarely faced a situation where a single slash would cause the opponent’s system to collapse.

It was the same even at the Golden Core stage, and only during the Nascent Transformation phase, when the Flying Sword merged with the Great Dao’s power, could it potentially demonstrate an overwhelming force.

But that was another story, where the contest was the understanding of the Great Dao.

The battle was heating up.

Hou Niao’s nimbleness was still as agile as a dragon; his tunneling movements were completely unpredictable, leaving no hints as to his next direction.

This was a skill he had honed over the years at sea, which, for a Sword Cultivator, was nearly half their combat strength.

Qian Changqing fully utilized the Daoist Sect’s Techniques of a magic artillery platform.

Because he was wearing a Protective Formation, he couldn’t match speed with the Sword Cultivators.

He responded to endless transformations with unchanging actions—every attack of his Flying Sword would be weakened by the Breeze Formation, and each of his Techniques cast was stronger than under normal conditions.

For a Cultivator like him, focusing on a single skill was a rare practice.

Versatility was their principle.

Water Arrows, Fire Snakes, Metal Cones, Wood Thorns, Stone Falls…

He wielded the skills of the Five Elements Techniques with ease.

His moves were smooth and flawless, like a machine casting spells, with an Instant Technique ability that left onlookers in awe.

This was Hou Niao’s first time encountering someone from the Daoist Sect who could wield Techniques to such an extent—with no flashy tricks, the most basic Protective Formation, the most common Taoist Body, the most fundamental Techniques, and the most straightforward combat philosophy.

When these ordinary elements were combined, everything became extraordinary.

If this was the true level of a Daoist Sect’s Core Disciple, then what heights could a True Disciple reach?

Hou Niao really wasn’t sure; considering the current situation, if the second challenger was of this caliber, then, by that logic, he truly lacked confidence in his ability to handle the last one.

Of course, he was not aware that Qian Changqing’s strength was firmly ranked within the top three among the Chasing Wind Bandits, and he wasn’t stationed in Lihai but had come to experience the sea and incidentally visit his senior brother.

The Chasing Wind Bandits had sent him out now with the intention of using his strength to stabilize the situation.

Otherwise, if there were two consecutive easy defeats, it would greatly dent their morale and give the Sword Cultivators an advantage.

The Flying Sword followed its own rhythm, constantly varied in strength, urgency, solidity, speed, and slowness—it was essentially using the Flying Sword to test the opponent’s response to various situations.

The Techniques were about responding to change with constancy, always maintaining a single rhythm, centering on oneself, treating the changes in the external environment as nothing.

In such a battle, Qian Changqing seemed passive, and his counterattacks were merely irritating, but he had the advantage of inexhaustible endurance.

Hou Niao appeared very proactive, as if he had everything under control, yet the truly threatening strikes were few and far between.

If we’re talking about this battle alone, of course, Hou Niao had a greater chance of winning.

After all, a lapse in concentration could happen at any moment, and the essence of battle is to take the initiative, to force the opponent into making mistakes, which was something Qian Changqing had virtually no success in achieving.

However, this fight acted as the backdrop of a tournament.

Considering the toll that this kind of prolonged combat would take, it wasn’t necessarily favorable for Hou Niao.

If he managed to outlast this Qian Changqing, what about the next one?

Even the Dugu sisters noticed something was amiss.

Dugu Lan snorted, “The Daoist Sect is shameless, using such blatant tactics to waste time.

Yet they claim to be one of the significant sects on the Continent; their actions are so undignified.”

Standing beside, Zhang Damouth sighed, “This is the real Cultivation World, where people will use whatever means necessary to achieve their goals.

Who cares about face?

But you needn’t worry.

Elder Brother Hou has yet to exert his full strength.

If he really explodes with power, that Daoist might not be able to withstand it!”

After speaking, he pulled out a banner from the Treasure Gourd and chuckled.

“What I fear is that the younger brother will get too carried away with the fight and forget there are still ten more opponents to come.

Let’s cheer him on so he won’t dawdle any longer.”

The banner unfurled in the wind, and on it was a line of characters perfectly fitting Zhang Damouth’s humor,

‘Wipe your ass with gauze—show one of your tricks, Brother!’

The Cang Pirates around them chanted in unison, “Show one of your tricks, show one of your tricks…”