Chapter 271: Burning Blood Essence
Basic swordsmanship?
The crowd at the current match in Cloud Sect was rendered speechless by what they just saw. Never was such a basic technique used against a powerful opponent.
There was only one person who was somewhat glad in the sea of astonished people--it was Zachary, from the Ninety-foot Peak.
He had already seen what Zen's excellent basic swordsmanship was capable of, so he understood why the people were shocked by what he did.
'Maybe Zen's skill just shook them to death!' he thought. Back when Zachary first saw Zen use the basic swordsmanship on the Seven Star Sword Light Platform, he wasn't faced with a tougher opponent.
However, now that he was fighting a much stronger foe--he still used the basic swordsmanship! Because of that, Zachary believed that the people were more surprised or even uneasier than he was at that time.
The basic swordsmanship was the first set of sword techniques that most martial artists came across. There were also other kinds of primary techniques such as the basic spearsmanship, basic fist position, and so on.
In general, an aspiring martial artist would master the whole set of the basic swordsmanship in his childhood, then practice the other kinds of swordsmanship later on using the basic set as the foundation.
The basic swordsmanship was quite simple, so it was hard to fight powerful enemies with it because it lacked advanced tactics and power. Therefore, no one would use this kind of swordsmanship in such a grueling fight.
It was like using a one-plus-one algorithm to solve complex math problems--so one could imagine just how strenuous that was!
“Has Zen turned into a complete fool?”
“How could he use the basic swordsmanship with a fairy weapon? Does he think this battle with Tracy is a joke?”
“Fighting with the basic swordsmanship in the All Peaks Competition of Cloud Sect? That has never happened before, but now it just might make it into history, since the founding of Cloud Sect!”
“Well, I don't know what to say. Perhaps it means that Zen has given up, and the basic swordsmanship is only a symbolic resistance?”
Among the surprised spectators, Sheeny and Wing conversed animatedly about Zen. Sheeny watched the competition from outside the battlefield, while Wing sat on the ground and healed his wound.
Sheeny licked his lips and continued to watch. “What's Zen doing? Would he really use basic swordsmanship against Tracy, who has activated the body of the Blue Phoenix?” he asked in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Rocher's brows furrowed slightly as he watched the fight. With his impressive insight into swordsmanship and sword intent, he noticed that something was wrong with Zen's use of the basic swordsmanship. It was indeed the same technique, but there was also something different about it when viewed from Zen's perspective. It felt strange, but Rocher couldn't put it into words. He just instinctively felt that Zen's swordsmanship wasn't as simple as they thought. “Maybe Zen's basic swordsmanship only looks like the actual basic swordsmanship?” he said.
“You must be kidding, Rocher. The basic swordsmanship is the foundation of all the swordsmanships. After countless generations of practice, it has been extremely streamlined, so it's impossible to make any changes to it at all. You might know that better than I do,” Sheeny replied with a smile. He also used the same weapon, but his Reaching Sun Sword was particular about the sword power. He hadn't understood the concept of sword intent yet.
“I don't know,” Rocher answered and shook his head.
“I just have some doubts about that,” he added.
At that exact moment, Zen finally made a move.
“Chop!” he cried out.
His attack was just a simple move with moderate speed, and it wasn't really what one would call outstanding.
However, right after Zen had finished cutting with the sword, Rocher suddenly stiffened in shock.
“The chop seems to be…”
He was now at a loss for words. His eyes gawked at Zen as if he was an incredible monster. It seemed that no one else could impress Rocher with the use of basic swordsmanship.
Sheeny's eyes widened in astonishment as well. He couldn't say a word and was in a daze for a while, “Monster…” he blurted.
Although what Zen had done was just a simple move, he had practiced and simplified it in his mind numerous times.
It was easy to turn a simple thing into something complicated, but to make a complicated thing simple was another story.
The basic swordsmanship was a kind of swordsmanship which had already been simplified for thousands of years by countless generations. However, Zen had simplified it once again many times.
The greatest truths were the simplest, and true enlightenment was in nature itself!
It was safe to assume that Zen's basic swordsmanship was no longer the original one, but a new set that he created and belonged only to himself!
Meanwhile, Tracy, who was currently in the closest range to Zen, felt a strong sense of threat.
She knew it was a simple move of chop, but she was also aware that its strength wasn't as simple as it looked. There seemed to be many hidden mysteries in Zen's version of the move with the sword.
“It's amazing that you have such special swordsmanship, but you are still no match for me if you only have the sword!” Tracy declared.
The shadow of the Blue Phoenix behind her suddenly radiated a bright beam of light, and the life vitality in her hands gradually increased.
“The claw of the Blue Phoenix!” Tracy shouted.
After that, she bent her fingers and formed several sharp blue nails using the mix of blue light and life vitality, then immediately tried to claw Zen.
Five blue claw imprints, each containing the ferocious strength of the Blue Phoenix, appeared in the air after Tracy tried to tear Zen.
The Blue Phoenix was one of the legendary beasts. Even though there was just a small part of the Blue Phoenix's blood in Tracy's body, she was still a terrifying force to reckon.
Most of the disciples in Cloud Sect thought that Zen might win the competition with his rare move of chop, but when they felt the immense strength of the Blue Phoenix in Tracy's body, they changed their minds.
It was hard to predict who would win in the fight since both Zen's and Tracy's strengths exceeded the normal level of the other disciples in the All Peaks Competition. Even their previous battles and experiences weren't of much help. Only when the match was over could they conclude the winner!
“Zoom!”
The sword that Zen held cut upward, right through the five blue claw prints.
An earsplitting screeching sound, similar to claws scratching a smooth surface, came from the collision between Zen's Streamer Sword and the five blue claw prints.
“Oh my goodness!”
“What is this noise?!”
“It makes me dizzy! I'm going to vomit!”
A lot of disciples who practiced poorly found the screech quite unbearable. Even those disciples who had reached the nature level consummation had gone pale--they were a bit uncomfortable, but they could tolerate it for the time being.
Those disciples who had reached the level of Illuminating Soul Realm frowned slightly and barely reacted to the sound.
A fierce sword intent wrapped the three-foot sword's simple chop and continuously melted the unusually aggressive claw prints. However, the claw of the Blue Phoenix was quite powerful too. If one were to look closely, they would find countless small wind shears around the claw prints which endlessly tore at the Streamer Sword.
Fortunately, Zen's Streamer Sword was a fairy weapon, so it was strong enough to resist the small wind shears' attacks. If it was just a mysterious or a spiritual weapon, it would've been torn into two by now.
After a mere second, Zen's chop of the sword had finally taken over the blue claw prints and hacked them into pieces.
“The blue claw prints are broken...”
“It looks like Zen's sword is stronger than the claw prints!”
“Zen only had an advantage over Tracy because of his weapon!” one of the disciples in the crowd said. “After all, he has a fairy weapon in his hands, and Tracy has nothing except her claw!” he added.
“Are you sure that Zen had edge over Tracy just because of his weapon? Have you forgotten that Zen is just at the grade two of the nature level, while Tracy has already reached the Illuminating Soul Realm?” another one of them countered.
When they realized what the latter just said, they all gasped in shock. They felt dumbfounded when they forgot what Tracy could do.
She could rely on her great blood strength and the body of the Blue Phoenix. Moreover, she had already reached the level of Illuminating Soul Realm. On the contrary, Zen was only at grade two of the nature level!
Grade two of the nature level…
It was a level lower than all the other disciples' levels in the All Peaks Competition. It was at the bottom of the level list of all the inner disciples of Cloud Sect.
However, Zen stood on the battlefield of the All Peaks Competition and took part in the hard challenges one after the other, which they all couldn't have imagined. They didn't know what to say about the huge skill gap between them and Zen. It was quite amazing!
Meanwhile, Zen paid absolutely no attention to other people's comments about him at that moment. After he slashed Tracy's claw prints into pieces with the sword, he kept going with it and performed another move. “Pick upwards!” he shouted.
It was another simple move from the basic swordsmanship. Although it looked like it was easy to counterattack, it seemed that Zen was the only sole master of this move! Even powerful men like Kenneth and Elder Xu couldn't find any flaws in Zen's swordsmanship now.
Despite that, of course, it did not mean that they would lose to Zen in the competition. There was still a huge gap in skill between Zen and them, and they could easily defeat Zen with their immense strength.
They couldn't win when faced with the move, though.
Tracy had always kept her cool ever since she had activated the body of the Blue Phoenix. She looked like an incorruptible goddess when she had released massive amounts of power. However, that all changed a little now because of Zen's attacks.
She was a playful girl by nature and didn't like to practice. However, she could defeat most of the disciples in the same rank because of the body of the Blue Phoenix and her extraordinary talent, even if she didn't practice a lot.
Thus, she still had a chance to win after she had activated the body of the Blue Phoenix--even if she fought against the mighty Patrick.
Before her fight with Zen, she thought that she could quickly finish the competition after she activated the body of the Blue Phoenix--but she didn't expect that Zen could cut the Blue Phoenix's strongest killing trick of the claw prints, and he had even fought back now!
For Tracy, Zen was just like a small toy for her to play with.
That was how she had always viewed Zen.
However, the small toy refused to obey and paid her no attention. Tracy, who had always been proud and stubborn, found it unacceptable--and it was why she was angry.
Maybe other people, and also even Zen might find her reason for getting angry unfathomable--but that was just how Tracy was, and how she had always been. She wanted to give Zen a lesson and decided that it would be in the form of bleeding holes on his body.
And that was what she did. Two Emei Pricks pierced Zen's shoulder when the body of the Blue Phoenix was activated.
However, Zen had the upper hand when he raised his sword. Tracy felt that she was no match for him anymore!
'Zen is just at grade two of the nature level. Maybe he is special, but how can he even compete with me?
How can he fight against me?
He's just a nobody among hundreds of thousands of disciples in Cloud Sect! He is just one among the countless grains of sand!
How can he win against me with the basic swordsmanship, which he learned from nowhere!' Tracy angrily thought to herself.
“I will never lose to you!” Tracy gritted her teeth and angrily declared.
Her eyes began to blaze a fiery red. It only meant one thing: she was going to burn the blood of the Blue Phoenix.
At that moment, Patrick, who stood next to the battlefield, saw that Tracy was forced to retreat by Zen's basic swordsmanship. When he noticed the ruthless and vicious look on Tracy's face, he knew what was going to happen.
His mouth immediately went dry. “Tracy, don't be stupid! Zen, Tracy is going to burn the blood essence! It will damage her body for life! Stop her!” he shouted, panic evident in his voice.