Chapter 72: Sparring

Ding Songyan withdrew his right palm and turned his attention back to the manual, leafing through the introductory saber arts it contained.

The saber art had a beauty of clear, defined order.

"Excellent saber art." He offered a word of praise and returned the manual to Tao Wenshu.

Tao Wenshu took a few more glances and looked up at Pan Yunzhou, saying, "Young Hero Pan, do you mind if I show this manual to the Grandmasters in the sect?"

"It is precisely what I had hoped for, though I dared not ask." Pan Yunzhou cupped his hands in salute without the slightest hesitation.

Once an attendant had escorted him to Lanternwarm Tower for lodging, Tao Wenshu turned aside and looked at Ding Songyan.

"You mastered the Star-Sequence True Qi?"

"Not quite, I only derived it. To use it again I would need to study the visualization diagram afresh and spend considerable effort on the derivation." Ding Songyan did not boast; he told it as it was.

"Then what is the matter with the Myriad Star True Qi?" Tao Wenshu asked, puzzled.

Ding Songyan smiled in embarrassment.

"That was done using the secret method by which Yan Changqing instructed me. It involves converting the corresponding state into a bodily instinct. It consumes primordial essence and lifespan. I presently intend to use it only for the Myriad Star True Qi and the Candlelit True Qi."

He spoke with complete candor and concealed nothing, lest his master think too highly of him and in future, whenever a promising art came to hand, would say, "Songyan, give this one a try."

How much primordial essence and lifespan did he have to squander?

Tao Wenshu understood at once and asked nothing further.

From the fact that Ding Songyan could conceal his physical abnormalities, she had long since formed her suspicions, but if her disciple did not raise the matter, neither would she. She only told him that this concealment method could hide from Grandmaster peers, but it could not hide from Grandmasters who had unique techniques, such as those from the Brightnight Sect. Moreover, this concealment method did not have much effect on changing one’s appearance. It could only change one’s appearance back to the past or the future within a certain range. It was the same for one’s physical size. It could not hide from people who were familiar with him.

"Good; steady and measured, not blindly chasing advancement. In the world today, things that can extend one’s lifespan grow ever scarcer." Tao Wenshu offered a word of praise, then after a moment’s thought said, "Go and call on Pan Yunzhou in a while. Exchange a few moves with him."

Ding Songyan understood the moment he heard it. His master had also noticed that the Myriad Stars Canon’s establishing order and clarifying sequence passage might be capable of filling the critical gaps in the Celestial Stars Formation, and this would be manifest in the techniques themselves.

Capable as Tao Wenshu and Ding Songyan were, they could easily master the introductory saber techniques in the manual within a matter of days; yet without the Star-Sequence True Qi, the subtleties could not be fully expressed. Sparring with Pan Yunzhou and drawing insight from actual combat would yield a far deeper and clearer understanding.

"Yes, Master." Ding Songyan agreed with delight. He even felt some excitement.

Was his first real battle about to arrive?

Killing Master Yan did not count. Master Yan could neither strike back nor move his feet. Even the Celestial Heart imprint had been suppressed by Demoness Ji. Master Yan’s feeble attempts to writhe away had to contend with his open chest.

As for sparring with Senior Brother Wan and Senior Sister Zheng, they had used familiar sword arts against him and the focus had been on feeding him moves. It could hardly be called real combat.

......

Pan Yunzhou followed the attendant back to Lanternwarm Tower, climbing to the second floor of this timber-and-stone building, where he pushed open the window and gazed out at the vast expanse of the gently rippling Alpine Lake.

His hands were still trembling faintly, a consequence of the overwhelming surge of emotion he had felt upon meeting Sect Master Tao moments ago.

Others might not know, but he himself was perfectly clear that this visit to the Brightnight Sect was his last desperate gamble.

For three years he had traveled through every province of the Great Zhao realm, gathering disappointment after disappointment, until disappointment had all but curdled into despair.

He felt his own spirit of resolve beginning to drain away, on the verge of resigning himself to fate as his clansmen had done.

Knock, knock, knock. A polite, well-mannered rapping reached Pan Yunzhou’s ears.

Pan Yunzhou, wearing a wanderer’s headscarf and bearing an austere countenance, turned around. "Please come in."

The door was slowly pushed open, and the one who walked in was none other than the personal disciple of Sect Master Tao from before.

"Young Hero Pan, is Lanternwarm Tower to your satisfaction?" Ding Songyan, dressed in tight-fitting black martial attire with his hair tied back in strips of cloth, cupped his hands in salute and began with pleasantries.

Pan Yunzhou hastily returned the salute. "I feel quite at home."

Ding Songyan glanced around the room that was furnished with a bed, table, stool, and chairs, then smiled at Pan Yunzhou.

"Young Hero Pan, I wonder if you might be willing to spar with me?"

Pan Yunzhou paused and did not answer at once.

"My master wishes to see whether the advanced saber arts recorded in the Myriad Stars Canon might supplement our sect’s Celestial Stars Formation, and so has specifically instructed me to seek guidance from you," Ding Songyan explained with a smile.

This... such forthright sincerity, nothing left unsaid. He’s truly worthy of being the personal disciple of Tao Wenshu, the Sword of Rectitude... Pan Yunzhou offered a heartfelt admiration inwardly.

Joy surged up in him at once.

The very fact that they wished to exchange moves showed that the Brightnight Sect had indeed taken some genuine interest in the Myriad Stars Canon!

This was wonderful news!

What Pan Yunzhou feared most was that the Brightnight Sect would ask nothing, probe nothing, and simply send him back down the mountain after a few days.

"I too wish to witness the divine swordsmanship recorded in the Celestial Stars Scripture," he replied swiftly.

"Then let us go to the training ground." Ding Songyan gestured toward the wooden staircase outside the door.

Pan Yunzhou gave a slight nod and followed Ding Songyan out of the guest room, quietly sizing up his companion as they went.

His first impression of this Brightnight Sect disciple had been that of someone no longer young yet still possessed of a childlike heart. The young man had been playing with ants beside the boundary marker. Later, when he noticed how much weight Tao Wenshu placed on this disciple’s opinion, he had instinctively concluded the fellow was no ordinary person, and that his martial talent might be extraordinary in certain respects.

After leaving the Lanternwarm Tower and making their way toward the Dipper-Mansion Training Ground, Pan Yunzhou set aside his dignity and asked with a smile, "Young Hero, I have not yet had the honor of learning your name."

"My humble surname is Ding, given name Songyan." Ding Songyan gave his true name and did not give a fake alias of Yan Changqing.

When the two of them stepped into the Dipper-Mansion Training Ground, Wan Guhong was already there.

Though his nature was easygoing and unhurried, he had walked the jianghu and knew the dangers of the martial world, so his daily training was taken seriously—he simply never did extra practice.

Even so, his advancement in cultivation and his mastery of sword arts already surpassed what Senior Brother Xu Julong had achieved.

Xu Julong had once lamented to Ding Songyan that "people simply cannot be compared to one another." Through his own slow, grinding effort he had now reached the perfected Great Proliferation Realm, yet the hope of advancing further to become a Grandmaster was vanishingly slim. Of Tao Wenshu’s six disciples, Wan Guhong was the one, other than Zheng Zhuxi, most likely to ever set foot in the Dharma Realm.

After exchanging a greeting with Wan Guhong, Ding Songyan drew a still-sealed longsword from the weapon rack and took his place at the center of the ground.

"Young Hero Ding, what realm have you reached? I have completed extensive aperture forging and, though I have not yet been ranked by the Orchid Rankings, I should be at the fifth rank—Profound Discerned." Since they were to spar, Pan Yunzhou naturally needed to know his opponent’s strength; otherwise it would be easy to make a fool of himself.

Ding Songyan said in amusement, "I just attained greater mastery of aperture refinement."

Greater mastery of aperture refinement? Wan Guhong, who had already taken up his sword and was standing ready to watch his junior brother spar, very nearly raised a hand to dig a finger in his ear.

Hadn’t you only just begun aperture refinement yesterday?

He doesn’t speak a single word of truth!

And a habitual pilferer to boot. He took my steamed buns!

Only greater mastery of aperture refinement? Pan Yunzhou was somewhat taken aback.

He had assumed that someone so highly regarded by Sect Master Tao would be at least comparable to himself—at Profound Discerned—yet as it turned out, the young man had not even entered the Great Proliferation Realm!

He must be older-looking than his actual years. That makes sense; otherwise, such a childlike heart would be hard to explain.

Pan Yunzhou lifted a still-sealed saber, weighing it in his hand.

"Then I will do my best to restrain myself to the aperture refinement level."

I’ll do my best too... Ding Songyan replied silently to himself.

"Please, begin!" He made a gesture, inviting his guest to strike first without worrying about the difference in realm.

Pan Yunzhou did not stand on ceremony and said seriously,

"It’s my pleasure. My saber art is the Sun Moon Divine Saber—not the introductory saber arts recorded in the manual just now."

"Sun Moon Divine Saber?" The one who posed the question was Wan Guhong, watching from the sidelines.

He had never heard of it.

Pan Yunzhou had been waiting for exactly that question and smoothly replied,

"It is the most powerful saber art recorded in the Myriad Stars Canon. The stars of the celestial heavens are, at their core, pairs of the sun and moon—yang is the sun, yin is the moon; brightness is the sun, darkness is the moon."

There’s more to it than just the sun and moon... Of course, this place was originally a mythological world. Whether other astronomical phenomena even exist here remains to be seen... Ding Songyan did not try to force his knowledge from his previous life onto the present situation; such things needed to be verified before they could be trusted.

"The first move is Sun High at Noon." Pan Yunzhou was clearly intent on demonstrating and feeding him the move.

The words had barely left his mouth when he dropped low, stepped forward swiftly, and brought the saber in his hand sweeping down in a full overhead chop at Ding Songyan.

As the saber descended, it trembled in minute vibrations and made small, continuous adjustments, as though greeting the sunlight streaming in from outside the window, yet also as though concealing a multitude of variations.

In an instant the saber was suffused with golden yellow, reflecting a blinding glare that forced Ding Songyan to instinctively squeeze his eyes shut.

The moment his eyes closed, Pan Yunzhou’s saber abruptly accelerated and shifted direction by a hair, converting from a vertical chop into a diagonal slash.

Though Ding Songyan’s eyes could not see, everything within twenty meters of him was mapped clearly in his mind, each object brushed by the natural extension of his spirit.

The saber’s trajectory was no exception. Ding Songyan’s longsword snapped forward and shot to the side like a flash of lightning. It was like the sudden burst of light that floods outward when a candle is first lit.

Faint Light in Dark Night, from the Piercing Dawn Sword Art.

Clang! Ding Songyan’s longsword struck Pan Yunzhou’s saber with precision, deflecting it with a deft application of force so that it veered off course.

The saber’s momentum wasn’t reduced; it simply chopped into empty air.

Derived from the Seven Swords of Candlelit Night, Faint Light in Dark Night never sought victory through force. It wasn’t dazzling, yet it cast warm light upon its small corner of the world, holding the darkness at bay.

With Pan Yunzhou’s move spent, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

Though he had held back with this move, focusing more on demonstrating the subtleties of the Sun Moon Divine Saber and its compatibility with the Celestial Stars Scripture, he had still not imagined that Ding Songyan would counter it so effortlessly, and with nothing more than a plain, simple introductory sword technique at that.

So this is his martial talent? No wonder Sect Master Tao held him in such regard, allowing him to examine the manual on the spot... Realizing that he himself was full of openings, Pan Yunzhou pressed his heel down quickly, spun his body, and the saber suddenly vanished from Ding Songyan’s sight.

With his back turned to Ding Songyan, he let the motion carry him into a diagonal rearward slash with the saber, pivoting his body around to the side.

His hands seemed to possess a strange translucency, such that the blade appeared to vanish uncannily one moment and come slashing in without warning the next.

Sun Sets, Moon Rises.

Ding Songyan, having blocked Pan Yunzhou’s first blow, offered a silent apology in his heart.

My apologies; I forgot to switch off my cheat...

He hastily reined in his spirit, pulled his arm back, and leveled his sword horizontally before him, catching Pan Yunzhou’s spinning diagonal slash.

Clang!

As Ding Songyan’s longsword reverberated, his wrist suddenly flipped and he used the rebounding force to strike back.

The sword traced an exquisite little circle, then instead of withdrawing, advanced. Its radiance erupted and shot like a flying star streaking across the heavens straight at Pan Yunzhou’s chest.

Starlike Candleflame!

What a beautiful counter... Watching from the side, Wan Guhong could not help letting out a sharp intake of breath.

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