Chapter 133: The Drunken Sword Immortal! City Folks Are Too Perverse!
Chu Yang could no longer hold back and shouted in frustration, startling Li Xiaoyao and the others.
"Brother Chu, what's wrong...?"
Chu Yang patted Li Xiaoyao's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "You know my senior brother's situation. Don't provoke him."
Li Xiaoyao immediately understood, glanced at Xu Changqing with pity, and turned to quietly explain to Aunt Li.
A moment later, Aunt Li looked at Xu Changqing with the same sympathetic gaze.
Xu Changqing scratched his head, completely confused. He only felt that everyone's expressions were unusually kind.
With this sudden interlude, the crying stopped. When they learned that Li Xiaoyao had married while on Immortal Spirit Island and that his wife was Zhao Ling'er, Aunt Li was overjoyed.
"You lucky brat! To marry a celestial beauty like Ling'er..."
Aunt Li showered Zhao Ling'er with praise until her ears turned bright red.
After chatting for a while, Li Xiaoyao finally explained how Chu Yang and Xu Changqing had saved them. Only then did Aunt Li realize that these two young Daoists were their saviors.
She immediately tried to kneel and bow to them, but Xu Changqing used magic to lift her up. "Aunt, please don't do this. You are our elder; we cannot accept such a grand gesture!"
"You can! You can!" Aunt Li found herself unable to kneel no matter how hard she tried, so she simply clasped her hands together and kept nodding. "You two are living immortals who saved my family. No gesture would be too much."
Chu Yang sighed helplessly. "If you keep trying, you'll scare my senior brother away. He's extremely strict about etiquette and hierarchy—how do you expect him to handle this?"
Only then did Li Xiaoyao pull Aunt Li back, once again emphasizing Xu Changqing's supposed mental condition.
Aunt Li looked at Xu Changqing with a mix of pity and regret. "What a shame… such a shame…"
Xu Changqing: "???"
Li Xiaoyao then pulled Aunt Li aside and said in a low voice, "There's one more thing—I've decided to join Shu Mountain. I'll be leaving with these two Daoists soon. We're also planning to visit Nanjiang so Ling'er can meet her relatives."
He intentionally avoided mentioning the Lunar Sect Cult, not wanting to worry his aunt.
Aunt Li hesitated. "Isn't Shu Mountain for monks? Why would they accept you as a disciple?"
Li Xiaoyao coughed awkwardly and repeated Chu Yang's earlier nonsense, mixing up the explanation even more. Since he himself had been fooled by it, Aunt Li was even more easily convinced.
"Oh… ah… so that's how it is." Aunt Li nodded blankly.
They talked for a while longer before Aunt Li approached Xu Changqing. "Would you allow Xiaoyao to stay one more night before leaving? I need time to pack some things for his journey. They say a traveler should be well-prepared."
Xu Changqing nodded immediately. "Of course, Aunt Li."
"Thank you both!" Aunt Li cheerfully took Zhao Ling'er into the room, closing the door behind them to have a private conversation.
The three men stood in the hall in silence.
As the eldest senior brother, Xu Changqing decided to break the awkwardness. With a serious expression, he said, "Brother Li, my sword-riding technique cannot carry three people to Shu Mountain. Furthermore, my junior brother and I are on a mission to experience the world as part of our training…"
"For various reasons, the journey ahead may be difficult. I hope you won't mind."
Li Xiaoyao wouldn't dare complain. He waved his hands quickly. "I have no objections! Getting your help is already a great blessing."
Xu Changqing shook his head, his demeanor rigid and formal like an old man. "These are two separate matters. Do not confuse them."
Before he could continue, Chu Yang cut him off bluntly. "Senior brother, the journey is long, and we can't predict what will happen. Why not teach Xiaoyao some sword techniques for self-defense?"
Li Xiaoyao's eyes lit up with excitement.
Xu Changqing frowned. "Junior brother, Li Xiaoyao is not yet an official disciple of Shu Mountain. According to the sect's rules, we cannot teach him our sword techniques."
Chu Yang rolled his eyes.
He's as stubborn as a rock in a latrine—both stinky and hard!
Li Xiaoyao lowered his head in disappointment.
No, this won't do. If Li Xiaoyao remains clueless about swordplay, it'll disrupt my plans!
Chu Yang quickly spoke up. "How about this? I'll teach him a sword style of my own creation. That shouldn't violate the sect rules, right?"
Xu Changqing hesitated for a moment before nodding. "That is acceptable."
Li Xiaoyao was overjoyed!
Given Chu Yang's incredible healing abilities, he figured that his sword skills must also be extraordinary.
"Let's find a quiet place. I'll teach you some sword techniques."
Chu Yang ruffled Li Xiaoyao's hair, and the latter happily led them out of the inn toward Ten Mile Slope.
The decision to teach Li Xiaoyao swordsmanship was a spur-of-the-moment idea for Chu Yang. He wanted to see how Li Xiaoyao, who possessed talents from multiple worlds, would integrate various sword styles.
With Li Xiaoyao's cheat-like aptitude and comprehension, he was the perfect test subject to inspire new insights.
Even Xu Changqing was intrigued. After all, Chu Yang had personally told him that Li Xiaoyao had extraordinary martial talent. Now, he wanted to see just how extraordinary.
The three of them arrived at an old, abandoned shrine on Ten Mile Slope. Chu Yang began his lesson.
For foundational training, Nine Swords of Dugu was second to none. Known as the ultimate sword manual, it encompassed the principles of all sword techniques and adapted to any combat scenario.
The power of Nine Swords of Dugu didn't come from its moves but from its ability to grow stronger with the user's skill level.
Its only downside? It required unparalleled comprehension.
And that happened to be Li Xiaoyao's greatest strength.
"The Nine Swords of Dugu has 360 variations in its ultimate form. Using this as a foundation, you can integrate the intent of eight additional sword styles into it, achieving the Nine Swords in One technique…"
"The eight styles include Breaking Sword Stance…"
"The essence of Nine Swords of Dugu is not to rigidly memorize moves. You must break free from patterns and reach a state where no moves become the best move."
Chu Yang patiently explained while demonstrating the techniques.
Li Xiaoyao was completely entranced.
Xu Changqing, however, looked deeply conflicted.
He could tell that the sword techniques Chu Yang was now teaching were entirely different from the ones used during their sparring match.
This meant that in just over a decade, Chu Yang had created not one but two unparalleled sword styles through sheer talent.
Such brilliance was admirable—but from his position as senior brother, it was also a shame.
"If only junior brother had a greater talent for cultivating spiritual energy, he would be more suited than me to lead the Qi Sect."
Xu Changqing fell into a daze.
Time flew by.
As the sun set and the moon rose, Chu Yang continued teaching. By nightfall, Li Xiaoyao had fully grasped both Nine Swords of Dugu and an unknown sword style.
Just as Chu Yang was about to teach Ten Thousand Swords Return to One, a lazy voice called out nearby.
"You two are Shu Mountain disciples, yet you're teaching such a mess of a sword style?"
"You're tarnishing Shu Mountain's name!"
The three turned toward the voice and saw a ruggedly handsome man reclining on a boulder. He looked at Chu Yang with disapproval.
A flaming red wine gourd hung from his waist. He took a big swig and loudly scolded, "Shu Mountain's sword-riding technique is unrivaled! Why teach outsider sword styles and make a joke of our sect?!"
He narrowed his eyes at Chu Yang and said, "You brat, if you don't want to teach, just say so. So petty! Why don't I teach instead?"
Seeing Chu Yang inexplicably scolded, Li Xiaoyao got so angry that he threw the wooden sword in his hand. "You drunken fool, what nonsense are you spouting? Come down here, and I'll beat you to death!"
Xu Changqing pulled the shouting Li Xiaoyao behind him and cupped his hands toward the drunken man. "Changqing greets Martial Uncle Mo."
Hearing someone call him "Martial Uncle Mo," Jiu Jianxian sobered up halfway, carefully examined the white-robed Xu Changqing, and suddenly recalled something. "Oh! You're that old Cang Gu's disciple, from the Qi Sect..."
Xu Changqing solemnly said, "Xu Changqing, disciple of the Qi Sect of Shu Mountain, greets Martial Uncle Mo."
Jiu Jianxian jumped down from the big rock and circled Xu Changqing, muttering to himself before curling his lips. "I know, last time in the battle of sword qi, your sect won. Always going on about Shu Mountain..."
Xu Changqing remained formal, holding his bow without speaking.
Jiu Jianxian couldn't stand his stiff demeanor and impatiently waved his hand. "Forget all that useless talk. A loss is a loss. I just want to ask you—since you're teaching, why not teach the kid Sword Control Technique instead of some useless sword forms?"
"Because Brother Li has yet to formally join Shu Mountain. According to the sect rules, we cannot privately teach him the Sword Control Technique."
At this, Xu Changqing no longer maintained his respectful tone. His expression darkened. "The sword techniques I just taught Brother Li are the painstaking work of my junior brother over the past decade. I ask that senior show some respect. Otherwise... I will have to challenge you!"
"Oh? The kid's got a temper, just like old Cang Gu. Not bad!" Jiu Jianxian walked past Xu Changqing straight to Li Xiaoyao and asked, "They won't teach you Sword Control Technique? I'll teach you. Do you want to learn?"
"No!" Li Xiaoyao treated Chu Yang and Xu Changqing as benefactors. Jiu Jianxian's belittling of Chu Yang's sword techniques had enraged him. Though he was from the streets, he valued loyalty.
"Why are you all so disrespectful?" Jiu Jianxian, growing more drunk, suddenly got irritated. "You refuse? Well, I insist on teaching you! Let's see what you do about it!"
As he spoke, he reached out to grab Li Xiaoyao's head, intending to impart the technique directly into his mind with his will.
This required an extremely profound level of cultivation.
Unlike passing down martial arts through internal energy, this method only transferred the theoretical foundation of the Sword Control Technique. How well it could be mastered in the future depended on the individual's talent.
Just as Jiu Jianxian was about to succeed, a flash of sword light shot between him and Li Xiaoyao, separating them.
Chu Yang stood with his sword in hand, smiling. "Martial Uncle, you're overstepping. Though Brother Li has not officially become a disciple, he is already half a member of the Qi Sect. No need for a senior of the Sword Sect to trouble yourself."
"Oh, you dare draw your sword against me, boy?"
Jiu Jianxian formed his fingers into a sword, gathering a sharp sword aura at his fingertips and thrusting at Chu Yang. Instead of dodging, Chu Yang met his attack head-on, engaging in a direct sword clash with Jiu Jianxian.
Xu Changqing hurriedly spoke up, "Martial Uncle Mo, you are a senior. My junior brother has yet to master his energy cultivation. You must not bully the weak!"
Jiu Jianxian, though appearing annoyed, was actually quite intrigued. He wanted to test Chu Yang's self-created sword techniques. Hearing Xu Changqing's words, he shot him a glare. "Brat, what do you take me for?!"
Chu Yang said loudly, "Senior Brother, don't worry. Martial Uncle is merely guiding me."
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