Otherworldly Affairs Office

Chapter 1127: Sword Qi Unleashed

In light of Ge Yongshou’s previous experience, Zhangsun Zhize had gained some understanding of Pei Yan’s terrifying manner of manipulating Qi. Although he feared Pei Yan’s close combat skills, considering the opponent’s concession to yield his legs, he still opted to team up with his junior brother and engage Pei Yan in close-quarter combat. He believed that with their abilities, forcing Pei Yan to take a step back wouldn’t be a difficult task."Oh? Using swords, are we? Well, I just happened to refine something and haven’t had the chance to try it out. Today will be a good time to practice!" Watching the two rushing toward him with longswords, Pei Yan’s eyes lit up, and he laughed heartily.

As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Yan raised his right arm and pointed it at the two, sending two streaks of Qi shot from his fingertips. Upon seeing this, Zhangsun Zhize and his junior brother dared not delay; they immediately stepped back and swung their swords to block. The protective Qi wrapped around the longswords was sliced open, producing a metallic clashing sound as the two collided.

"Sword Qi!" Zhangsun Zhize stepped back, looking at his longsword and exclaimed. It wasn’t what he imagined—a mere compressed Qi slash—but instead, it was Sword Qi cultivated by Sword Cultivators in the Daoist Realm over many years.

No, this is impossible! He had never heard of Pei Yan having any mastery of the Sword Dao. Rather, it was said that the son of origin bearing the surname Ye in their hall had immense talent in this Dao. It must be a misunderstanding! Surely it was a momentary lapse, mistaken the Qi slash for Sword Qi!

"Elder truly has great knowledge and discernment!"

Pei Yan’s praise shattered Zhangsun Zhize’s last sliver of hope, and his next move completely overturned Zhangsun Zhize’s understanding of cultivation. Pei Yan raised his arms and joined two fingers, aiming them at himself, and then started flailing his arms around childishly in all directions. Amidst this seemingly chaotic waving, Sword Qi imbued with a chilling killing intent shot out from his fingertips.

For a moment, the vast square became overcast with Sword Qi crisscrossing everywhere. The spectators originally standing within the field had no choice but to retreat outside temporarily. Meanwhile, positioned at the storm’s center, Zhangsun Zhize and his junior brother found themselves having no retreat, suffering severe difficulties.

It’s Sword Qi! Each wave carried a stern Sword Intent and a touch of pressure. The key distinction between Sword Qi and Qi slashes lies in the nature; Qi slashes are purely refined bursts of Qi that may have Magic elements attached by those in the Magic Realm to induce changes. However, they still extend from Qi, with the power determined by Qi concentration and refining level.

Sword Qi is an extension of the longsword itself, encompassing the momentum and will derived from the Sword Cultivator’s understanding and sublimation. These Sword Qi, nurtured over long periods by the Sword Cultivators, grow in tandem with the swordsman, sometimes even developing their own consciousness, capable of protecting the master independently at critical moments. Such Sword Qi causes far more damage than the equivalent Qi slash, and further harms protective Qi arrays. This is why Sword Cultivators in the Daoist Realm consistently stand above Martial Artists in the Magic Realm and disdain them.

But today, the Sword Qi that is precious to every Sword Cultivator was wielded like cheap carrots by Pei Yan, thrown out recklessly without restraint or method. Yet, this seemingly rogue fighting style, backed by continuous numbers, overwhelmed Zhangsun Zhize and his junior brother, forcing them into retreat. Simply put, they couldn’t even protect themselves, let alone fight Pei Yan.

Zhangsun Zhize found himself in complete disarray, his simple and elegant robe sliced open in multiple places with the sleeves suffering the worst damage from defending against Sword Qi. The broad sleeves were shredded into tattered strips, flailing like flags amid his frantic defenses, resembling an elderly man dancing in a plaza. Combined with Zhangsun’s disheveled appearance, spectators couldn’t help but chuckle.

Zhangsun Zhize knew the spectators were laughing at him, but there was nothing he could do. The sheer number of Sword Qi overwhelmed him, and worse, their angles were chaotic. Pei Yan kept releasing them in one direction without care, making the narrow distance and dense Sword Qi collide inevitably. The shattered Sword Qi acted like small but powerful concealed weapons, forming a Sword Qi rain that rushed toward them, leaving them purely defensive without the chance to counterattack.

"Hongjun Sword Pavilion! It’s Liu Family’s Sword Qi! What is your relation with Hongjun Sword Pavilion and the Liu Family!" After the fierce combat, Zhangsun Zhize recognized the origin of these Sword Qi. They clearly weren’t Pei Yan’s own, nor did they contain Pei Yan’s Sword Intent; rather, they carried slight traces of Hongjun Sword Pavilion’s Sword Intent.

"Ha! You really know your stuff! A true elder, roaming far and seeing much, could recognize it at a glance; indeed, this is Hongjun Sword Pavilion’s Sword Qi. When I first arrived in the Daoist Realm, I happened to swallow a few strands. How about it, Elder Changsun, do I wield them decently?" Pei Yan praised, but his hands didn’t stop as Sword Qi continued to be thrown at the two.

"This is impossible, not to mention whether forcibly absorbed Sword Qi can be used at all, even if it could be; you couldn’t have nurtured so much Sword Qi in such a short time! Did Hongjun Sword Pavilion bestow the sect’s divine artifact upon you?" Asking this, Zhangsun Zhize himself shook his head in denial—it’s much more unbelievable than Pei Yan wielding such an amount of Sword Qi for Hongjun Sword Pavilion to give away their sect’s treasure.

"Heh heh heh, how I accomplished this isn’t something you need to know!" Pei Yan chuckled without directly answering, concerning using Sword Qi; ever since first encountering Sword Qi, Pei Yan wanted to grasp them for himself. Yet human talent is indeed limited; perhaps his mechanical abilities clashed with techniques in the Daoist Realm. Despite many attempts to learn Sword Qi, they all ended in failure, so he had to set this idea aside for the time being.

It wasn’t until a few days ago when he completely mastered Qi-type abilities that he remembered the gourd of Sword Qi he absorbed while bullying Liu Xiantong’s brother. These Sword Qi entered Pei Yan’s body but clashed with his other Qi, thus he kept them sealed within, never utilizing them. Now equipped with the ability, Pei Yan renewed his interest in them.

Pei Yan confessed—even now he couldn’t cultivate a strand of his own Sword Qi, but who cares? With mastery over Qi-type abilities and newfound understanding, he could replicate hundreds, thousands of similar Sword Qi. He didn’t mind if these mass-produced Sword Qi lacked so-called consciousness. What he wanted was always large quantity, simplicity, brute force, and practicality.