Young hero, stay put and don't be reckless.

Chapter 30 I Understand

"What do you know? That's a direct disciple of Yinzhai!" The man next to Jiang Xun glared at him, then his expression turned to one of admiration. "I heard his brother, Chen Lei, is even more skilled in martial arts, and he's handsome and refined—the perfect candidate to become the next leader of Yinzhai!"

Jiang Xun said "Oh," thinking to himself, "Does being good-looking guarantee one can become the sect leader?"

Just as he was about to leave, someone else went up on stage.

He was a young man in his mid-twenties, dressed in gray cloth. He had a kind and honest face and looked like he was there to go to a market, not to fight.

"Spring Water School, Lin Nan."

A few scattered cheers erupted from the audience, nothing compared to the commotion at Yinzhai earlier.

The Spring Water Sect is a small sect, not many people know it, and only a few of its own disciples probably praise it.

But Jiang Xun was startled.

He instinctively shrank his neck, his shifty eyes scanning his surroundings guiltily, and sure enough, he spotted someone on the other side of the platform.

A middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in a dark blue brocade robe, had a lean face and a scholarly air about him, but the deep frown lines between his brows suggested an unresolved sorrow.

Su Guanlan, the leader of the Spring Water Sect.

Jiang Xun's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly shrank into the crowd, wishing he could disappear into the ground.

The events of that night at the Transmission Pavilion flashed through his mind—the Spring Water Sword Manual was still in his pocket.

He secretly glanced up.

Fortunately, Su Guanlan didn't look this way at all. His gaze was fixed on the eldest disciple on the stage, his brows furrowed and his lips pursed, making it impossible to tell whether he was nervous or something else.

"Go, senior brother!" A few shouts rang out from below the stage. The voices weren't loud, but they were quite energetic.

Jiang Xun looked in the direction of the sound and saw several disciples of the Spring Water Sect waving their hands, each with a tense yet expectant expression.

He looked around but didn't see Su Miao.

I wonder how she is doing, and whether what happened that night has been discovered.

Another person walked up onto the stage.

He was twenty-three or twenty-four years old, dressed in a black outfit, with a cold and stern face and a long sword hanging at his waist. Just standing there, he exuded the aura of a major sect.

"Yu Cang Sect, Zhou Jing."

A round of cheers erupted from the audience, much louder than the cheers given to Lin Nan earlier.

Jiang Xun looked in the direction of the sound.

Many of the cheers came from the tents behind the arena, where several well-known figures in the martial arts world were laughing and whispering among themselves, pointing and commenting on the stage, clearly quite optimistic about the Jade Cang Sect's contestant.

Jiang Xun couldn't help but think that the status of the Jade Cang Sect was indeed far above that of the Spring Water Sect.

Lin Nan, however, seemed unaffected. He cupped his hands in greeting, neither humble nor arrogant, and said, "Lin Nan of the Spring Water Sect, please enlighten me, Brother Zhou."

Zhou Jing didn't even return the greeting, and immediately drew his sword.

With a flash of sword light, the man had already leaped three zhang away, the sword tip aimed straight for Lin Nan's throat—fast and ruthless, showing no mercy, intending to kill right from the start.

A gasp of surprise erupted from the audience.

Lin Nan's expression changed, and he dodged to the side while simultaneously drawing his sword to parry.

"when!"

The two swords clashed, sparks flying everywhere.

Lin Nan took three steps back, his hand holding the sword trembling slightly, probably from the shock.

Zhou Jing gave him no chance to catch his breath, his sword strikes were like a storm, each strike faster than the last, forcing Lin Nan to defend himself and putting him in grave danger, his clothes torn in several places.

Jiang Xun frowned.

He could see that Zhou Jing's sword was indeed fast and ruthless, but it also had many flaws—he was too eager to achieve quick success and too eager to defeat his enemy in one move. Several times he exerted too much force, leaving his defenses wide open.

If it were him, he would have been able to seize the opportunity to retaliate several times and deliver a severe blow.

But Lin Nan did not.

It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't react in time.

Zhou Jing's sword was too fast, so fast that Lin Nan could only passively parry and had no time to think about anything else.

Ten moves. Twenty moves. Thirty moves.

Blood seeped through Lin Nan's clothes on his shoulders, and his face grew paler and paler, but he gritted his teeth and blocked the sword strike after sword strike, refusing to fall.

Some people in the audience started to applaud.

"This kid's pretty tough!"

"Thirty moves? Not bad!"

"Zhou Jing is a top ten expert among the younger generation. He can withstand thirty moves. The Spring Water Sect is quite capable."

Jiang Xun stared at the stage, his brows furrowing even more deeply.

It wasn't because Lin Nan was about to lose, but because he felt something was off.

Lin Nan's swordsmanship seems...too slow?

No, it's not slow, it's stupid.

Every move was executed perfectly—stab when it was time to stab, retract when it was time to retract, and turn when it was time to turn—but something was missing.

Just like someone who copies calligraphy from a model, no matter how neat their handwriting is, it lacks the spirit of the original.

"Spring Water Sword Technique..." Jiang Xun murmured to himself.

He had read that sword manual.

During those three months in the mountains, I watched the moves countless times, and I could mimic them even with my eyes closed.

Lin Nan was indeed using the Spring Water Sword Technique, but the feeling he conveyed was completely different from what was depicted in the sword manual.

How could this happen?

Could it be that Lin Nan hasn't mastered the skills? No, he's the senior disciple, the strongest among the younger generation of the Chunshui Sect.

Could there be something wrong with the sword manual? No, that can't be right either. When he practiced according to the sword manual, he felt quite comfortable.

On the stage, Lin Nan suddenly let out a low shout, and his sword stance changed—

The third move of the Spring Water Sword Technique: Spring Water Flows Eastward!

The sword light poured out like flowing water, continuous and unbroken, actually blocking Zhou Jing's fierce attack and even launching a counterattack.

Zhou Jing was forced back half a step, his brows furrowed, then he snorted coldly and changed his swordsmanship. He no longer attacked relentlessly, but instead fought steadily, each move and step by step.

The situation has reached a stalemate again.

A gasp of surprise erupted from the audience—

"Which faction of the Spring Water Sect will turn the tide?"

"Zhou Jing was actually forced to retreat!"

"That's interesting!"

Jiang Xun shook his head as he watched.

Lin Nan's sword strike did indeed demonstrate the "continuous flow" of the Spring Water Sword Technique, but that was all.

The sword light looked beautiful, but it had no destructive power. As long as Zhou Jing remained calm, he wouldn't be able to break through.

Sure enough, after another twenty or so moves, Lin Nan's momentum clearly began to decline.

That last breath, barely hanging on, finally gave way.

Zhou Jing seized the opportunity and thrust out his sword—fast and accurate, aiming straight for Lin Nan's throat.

Lin Nan barely managed to turn to the side, the tip of the sword grazing his neck, leaving a bloody gash that made him wince in pain.

Zhou Jing's second sword strike followed immediately.

Lin Nan raised his sword to parry—

"when!"

The longsword flew out of his hand and landed on a wooden stake beside the platform, its hilt still trembling.

Zhou Jing's sword tip was pressed firmly against his throat, three inches away.

"You flatter me." Zhou Jing sheathed his sword, a slight smile appearing on his lips, and turned to leave without even glancing at Lin Nan.

The cheers from the audience were even louder than before.

"Zhou Jing won!"

"As expected of the Jade Azure Sect's top disciple!"

"The one from the Spring Water Sect was not bad either; he could last fifty moves. Although he lost, he was still honorable."

Lin Nan stood on the stage, head down, clenching her fists and then relaxing them, and slowly walked off the stage.

The disciples of the Spring Water Sect rushed over to greet him, and none of them looked too happy.

Su Guanlan stood to the side, patted him on the shoulder, sighed, and said nothing.

Jiang Xun stood in the crowd, watching this scene, and suddenly felt a little uneasy.

Lin Nan lost, and lost badly.

But he did his best.

Jiang Xun understood that kind of effort—it was like when he was a child, he was being chased for stealing things, and he ran desperately until his legs were weak and he couldn't breathe, but he still couldn't escape.