Chapter 1404: Three Strokes

The path of cultivation wasn’t one of smooth sailing—one often ran into numerous bottlenecks and obstacles. Many cultivators chose unique or extreme methods to break through when they encountered such barriers, such as fights to the death or challenging someone stronger than them. Enormous pressure under these circumstances could help them advance beyond these problems.

Lu Yun was facing one such instance of a bottleneck.

Challenging half step kings no longer held any meaning for him. Even using the Army Pagoda wouldn’t help him set foot into the next level within a short period of time. Thus, he returned to his tried and true method from the world of immortals—teaching the world.

As he imparted pointers for battle and cultivation, he also studied his pupils’ reactions to identify his own shortcomings. It was easy enough to locate someone else’s flaws, but incredibly difficult to recognize one’s own limitations.

The mirror of another could shed light on the insufficiencies of the beholder.

He’d defeated all of these half step kings before—they were inferior to him. However, each of them possessed a unique characteristic that Lu Yun lacked and well deserved observation. At the same time, their weaknesses provided inspiration for continual self reflection on Lu Yun’s own journey.

This was also cultivation, and the high level kings could see what he was doing. However, there weren’t many who could do what the young man was doing. A cultivator who wanted to make use of this method had to fully display all of his knowledge, combat arts, methods, and cultivation path to others.

Qing Ting wanted to emulate him, but she had yet to reach his level. All she could do now was offer advice while Lu Yun was truly giving guidance.

Nearly five hundred cultivators—and Dragon Butterfly—benefited from his tutelage. She repeatedly polished her control, enhancing the grasp of her power and moving it from the realm of “pure violence” to the arena of “skillful deployment”.

After taking in the strengths of so many cultivators, Lu Yun began to rework his sword dao. Though he’d already transformed the second stroke of Dragonsoar from one into two blows, it still needed to be perfected. Gaping flaws abounded in the move and Lu Yun was doing his best to refine and close the openings.

“Roar!!” A heaven-shaking bestial roar echoed as a herd of roughly a thousand pitch-black beasts with a single horn on their head crowded in from every direction.

That there were five hundred cultivators here didn’t escape the arcane beasts’ attention. Not only were these cultivators blocking them from obtaining a spot for the Dragonling Assembly, but these age old rivals were also food. Consuming cultivators and devouring their nascent spirit and internal force would enhance a beast’s personal strength and help it evolve further.

Since arcane beasts couldn’t cultivate, their only methods of improvement were through battle or consuming others. When they fought, whoever died would become food.

“There’s arcane beasts surrounding us!” Five hundred cultivators were conversing and exchanging reflections in such a harmonious atmosphere that they’d almost forgotten this was the Dragonling Assembly. The abrupt appearance of the enemy woke them up to the truth of their circumstances.

Aoooou! rang a piercing dragon croon. A large cerulean-silver dragon appeared out of nowhere and charged the herd of black unicorn beasts. Lu Yun showed them no mercy.

All of the participants had progressed to the cruelest stage of elimination. There were only two paths forward—advancement or death.

He slew a hundred beasts with Dragonrise, then twisted around and deployed Dragonsoar. The enormous dragon split into two, swinging back down on the herd. They were like a giant pair of scissors, scything through everything they touched and swiftly churning through another five hundred arcane beasts.

“Die!” Lu Yun shouted and struck out with another stroke. It exploded in the void as sword rain and neatly eliminated everything still alive in the herd.

Quiet reigned over the scene.

“I feel like… it would’ve been easier for him to kill us than to defeat and rob us one by one,” a half step king whispered cautiously.

“Uh… yeah,” someone replied haltingly. “He used this kind of method when he faced the Robber Slayers. He wouldn’t have needed to strike a fourth time to end us all.”

Lu Yun had deployed only three strokes to kill a thousand arcane beasts. Of course, this was a result of his recent trials propelling his strength forward. His flame of order had also melded with his sword dao to become the sword dao of order.

When he’d taught the five hundred cultivators, he’d located some of his own shortfalls and improved upon them, displaying his efforts in a strengthened Dragonsoar.

At the same time, the cultivators looked at the eagerly jumping Qing Ting who hadn’t had time to draw her sword. The little princess would probably deliver destruction on the same level as the Champion Duke!

“Little princess Qing Ting doesn’t have a title yet, right?” someone suddenly asked.

“You’re not thinking of giving her one, are you? Kings are the ones who give out titles, we don’t have the right to give her one,” another person responded with resignation.

“Fair enough.”

……

Up on the rainbow cloud, undefinable expressions crossed the kings’ faces.

"Those five hundred don’t seem like they’re here to participate in the Dragonling Assembly—more like they’re out on a leisure trip with a side of cultivation,” a high level king said ruefully.

The Champion Duke had killed a thousand arcane beasts with three strokes. That was an incredibly heaven-defying feat!

“How about you let the Champion Duke and Qing Ting just cross the bridge, City Lord? This will be unfair to the arcane beasts if the situation proceeds as is,” another king raised gingerly.

“Who knew that the Champion Duke and Qing Ting would possess this level of battle strength? Unfortunately, the rainbow bridge has its own set of rules and even ninth step kings cannot interfere,” sighed the Dragonsea city lord. “We can only hope that there are some incredible geniuses among the beasts, or the Champion Duke and Qing Ting really will massacre them all.”

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

She used the word massacre, not put down.

High level kings had long since set aside racial prejudices against arcane beasts. In their eyes, both beast and cultivator were denizens of the Hongmeng united against the ghosts. The high level beast kings that’d already reached Dragonhollow Mountain would be immensely displeased if all of their juniors really were completely eliminated.

“I don’t think you should pin your hopes on that.” Qing Yu shook her head. “If that’s the case, the Champion Duke would be the first to kill such an arcane beast.”

Strange expressions flickered across faces again, but no one spoke.

“How dare you?!” a furious howl rang out when Lu Yun finished killing all thousand beasts. A black unicorn beast the size of a small mountain bounded forward, screaming at Lu Yun with reddened eyes.

Golden light flared from its horn as it lowered its head in a charge.

Bam!

The black unicorn flew backward—Lu Yun had kicked it away and also broken its horn with his kick.

“Too strong, time to run!” The unicorn fled after it scrambled to its feet, shouting with this newfound sentiment.