Chapter 138: In All the World, There Is No One Who Cannot Be Slain, Nor Anything That Cannot Be Cut Down

How should one deal with an opponent using a bow and arrow for ranged attacks if one's speed cannot keep up?

Waiting online, it's quite urgent.

Xiao Nan felt a sense of helplessness.

"If the Tree Barbarian I encountered today had not been greedy for merit, but instead hid far away to kite me, fleeing the moment things looked unfavorable... wouldn't I have been nothing more than a living target, lacking even the qualifications to injure my opponent?"

A subtle anxiety lingered in his heart.

As for Li Shaohua, he recalled that everyone at the time said: he had slain a Tree Barbarian with a single sword strike, then pursued the other, breaking its limbs before capturing it alive.

All signs indicated that Li Shaohua’s speed and agility were in no way inferior to those of the Tree Barbarians, and in some aspects, even superior.

It seemed Tang Zhixuan had once warned him that the Li family’s core techniques included not only the Subduing Dragon Sword and the Golden Body Jade Physique Art, but also the Sky-Traversing Step.

The latter was surely the key to how Li Shaohua could so easily slaughter the Tree Barbarians.

"This is a bit of a trap."

Ultimately, the amount of water a bucket can hold is determined by its shortest stave. Even if he were to master sword intent and break through to a First-Rank martial artist, his body becoming as hard as steel and rock, and his full-force strike matching that of a Third-Rank bone-refining martial artist, it would still be futile if he possessed a clear disadvantage in speed.

The Tree Barbarian’s arrival tonight was too suspicious; its killing intent was weak, as if it harbored a cat-and-mouse mentality. There was no need to ask—the opponent's goal was likely not assassination, but probing.

"It is very likely related to Li Shaohua."

Xiao Nan had his suspicions, yet he did not worry about being wrong. This was not a courtroom defense; he did not need to produce evidence. A flash of insight was often the most accurate guide.

Once, he had pursued a Fox-kin from the Night Fragrance Bar to a luxurious white villa, not knowing at the time where that place was. Later, he had discreetly inquired in various ways and learned that the location was a Li family property. As time passed, various clues indicated that the Li family was by no means as simple as they appeared on the surface.

Only today, after being ambushed by the Tree Barbarian, did these various threads finally weave into a single, clear line.

Xiao Nan understood everything thoroughly. He shook his head; this information was not actually worth much, and it was highly probable that he was not the only one who knew.

At the very least, that silly girl Tang Zhixuan knew. Recalling the mysterious air she had when she spoke of Li Shaohua's strength on the other side of the passage, Xiao Nan finally tasted the hidden meaning behind her words.

So, she had been suspicious all along.

Was it a desire not to startle the snake? Or was she trying to lure it out, fearing a backlash? Principal Sun Zhongli had been openly opposing the Li family these days—had he also discovered the improprieties?

Lacking sufficient information on many matters, Xiao Nan did not want to dwell on them; he could only wait and see how things developed. For now, it was not yet his place to worry about others' affairs; he first had to worry about his own safety.

Three days from now, the duel against Li Shaohua for the Void Crystal Chamber was the top priority.

"If Li Shaohua knows my strength and realizes that speed is my weakness, will he conjure up even more schemes?"

Xiao Nan suddenly found it incredibly frustrating to know that someone was targeting him, yet be unable to come up with an effective countermeasure.

...

Over the next few days, Xiao Nan went to the Four Seasons Sword Pavilion as promised. Jiang Yu was indeed a woman of her word; having decided to invest fully, she held nothing back. Not only did she obtain the instructional videos for the other three sword sets of the Four Seasons Sword Technique from the Beijing headquarters, but she also spared no effort in personally sparring with Xiao Nan to practice the techniques.

Although she had not learned the subsequent Autumn and Winter sword sets, years of immersion gave her unique insights, allowing Xiao Nan to avoid many detours in his learning process.

His affinity for swordsmanship was indeed powerful, and he was quick to learn any sword technique, but that did not mean he could create a complete set of techniques out of thin air. Autonomous evolution of sword techniques required not just talent, but also experience and wisdom. Without a sufficient understanding of the various schools and sects in the world, this arduous task could not be completed.

Learning the wrong techniques could lead one in the opposite direction, and a single mistake could lead into a dead end, which was detrimental to comprehending true intent.

The Spring Sword set, being the most widely circulated and verified by many, carried the lowest risk of error during the learning process. Xiao Nan practiced it with ease, quickly grasping its essence and integrating it to give birth to a sense of vitality.

By the time he reached the Summer Sword set, the situation was vastly different. In Yuanjiang Prefecture, only a few people had mastered this set. Aside from Jiang Yu, the only one who had developed true intent was the elite student Jiang Lin, who had been soundly defeated by Xiao Nan’s sword. Without a predecessor to demonstrate or truly error-free video materials, even if one learned the sword moves from others, they would likely be full of flaws.

For instance, Old Wu had not even developed true intent himself; Xiao Nan suspected that learning from him would only lead to worse results, let alone comprehending the sword's true intent.

And this was only the Summer set: Torrential Rain, Blazing Sun, and Furious Thunder. By the time he reached the Autumn set—Falling Leaves, Condensing Frost, and Dew-Bearing—and the Winter set—Winter’s Chill, A Thousand Autumns, and Extinction—even Jiang Yu had not mastered them, leaving Xiao Nan with no way to learn.

By studying every move from the videos, combined with Pavilion Master Jiang’s recollections of her father’s occasional remarks when he learned the sword, Xiao Nan’s efficiency improved greatly. In two days, he learned the Summer, Autumn, and Winter sets completely and grasped the true intent of each.

Once he had fully understood the violent heat of the Summer chapter, the desolate sorrow of the Autumn chapter, and the cold loneliness of the Winter chapter, the four seasons' true intent merged into one.

He finally discovered the secret within.

In the space of the bronze mirror, Xiao Nan’s sword light transformed at times into the endless drizzling rain and flowers of spring; at others, into the blazing sun, thunder, and rain of summer. The autumn intent was like frost, with leaves drifting, only to transform in an instant into the cold, desolate, frozen world of winter.

As the vitality hidden beneath the frozen earth began to sprout, it was early spring once more. The four seasons cycled endlessly, and the sword momentum was complex and ever-changing. What was once messy and chaotic gradually became orderly.

The middle-aged man in white opposite him continued to thrust his sword, unhurriedly. Each strike produced a realistic illusion, like a scene being replayed. Xiao Nan knew this was not because the sword intent inheritance possessed wisdom, but because his own studies had triggered the power of will within it.

That simple figure was, in fact, a mirror. The more profound his own learning, the more he could comprehend the essence of the sword technique.

On the third day, he practiced from dawn till dusk, his heart growing increasingly clear. By the fourth day, when he thrust his sword, he could, like the white-clad figure, project a magnificent mountain landscape. In the wake of the sword light were the flowers of spring, the moon of autumn, the rain of summer, and the snow of winter, changing in turns and giving birth to one another in sequence.

That day, the white-clad figure grew three-tenths more translucent, and the sword intent in Xiao Nan’s heart, once like a silk thread, became as refined as a little finger. A sharp, unyielding sword glow emerged in his mind; he felt there was no person and no object in the world that he could not cut.

Most unexpectedly, apart from the significant progress in his sword intent, he had also grasped the intent of rotation and sequential change in his Four Seasons Sword Technique. This was the greatest surprise of all.

The light outside the window was bright; the red sun hung high. On this important day, when the duel approached and the ownership of the opportunity would be decided, having mastered the Four Seasons Sword Technique, Xiao Nan finally possessed the confidence to win.

With his long sword in hand, there was no more doubt in his heart.