The Immortal’s Duel and the Aftermath

On the lotus pond, a black tiger stood beside a handsome child wearing gorgeous fur clothes and holding a black sword.

The child’s clothes and long hair fluttered in the wind…

Coupled with the ethereal mist coiling over the water’s surface.

He appeared as if an exiled immortal had descended to the mortal realm!

Upon seeing this, Su Changling was momentarily stunned.

Bai Qiuyuan raised his sword, pointing it at Su Changling, and commanded Mo Hu (TL Note: ‘Mo Hu’ translates to ‘Ink Tiger’).

“Go.”

“Roar!!!”

Mo Hu instantly charged towards Su Changling with a furious sprint!

Even across the water’s surface, Mo Hu’s speed remained astonishingly swift!

“Excellent!”

Su Changling chuckled at the sight.

With those words, he raised his sword and brought it down in a powerful cleave against the charging Mo Hu!

The sword strike itself was devoid of any discernible technique, appearing to be nothing more than the most basic of slashes.

Yet, the sword’s aura emanating from its blade was an inescapable force, akin to Mount Tai (TL Note: A sacred mountain in China, symbolizing immense weight and pressure) pressing down!

CRASH!!!!

In an instant, the lake’s surface erupted as if a colossal boulder had been hurled into it, sending a wall of water several meters high exploding upwards!

The water level in the lotus pond plummeted precipitously within moments!

Even the formidable Mo Hu was directly bisected and dissipated by the strike!

Just then, a streak of black suddenly pierced forth from the still-descending wall of water!

CLANG!!

Su Changling reacted instantly, his sword flashing horizontally before him to parry Bai Qiuyuan’s blade!

Perceiving that his sword could not penetrate further, Bai Qiuyuan immediately retracted his blade.

He then delivered another swift cut to Su Changling’s sword, deflecting it aside!

With too few broken ice fragments to stand upon the water’s surface, Bai Qiuyuan lightly tapped the water’s surface, like a dragonfly skipping across it (TL Note: A Chinese idiom, ‘qingting dianshui,’ describing a light, fleeting touch), before leaping into the air once more!

Immediately, his body executed a half-spin in mid-air, launching a reverse slash horizontally towards Su Changling!

CLANG!

Su Changling, having discerned Bai Qiuyuan’s intention, once again used his sword to block, deflecting Bai Qiuyuan’s strike!

Finding himself unable to gain an advantage, Bai Qiuyuan reluctantly began to widen the distance between himself and Su Changling.

WHOOSH!!~~

Only then did the pond water, previously churned up by Su Changling, begin to fall back from the sky like rain.

Consequently, the mist hovering over the water’s surface grew even denser…

Seizing the opportunity presented by Bai Qiuyuan’s retreat, Su Changling immediately launched his counterattack!

In the blink of an eye, several sword strikes cleaved towards Bai Qiuyuan!

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!!!

Bai Qiuyuan parried every sword technique with even greater speed!

Simultaneously, leveraging the force of the blades’ collision, he created distance from Su Changling, landing upon a fragment of ice.

Bai Qiuyuan gazed at Su Changling, a silent sigh of admiration echoing in his mind.

‘What heavy swordplay…’

Su Changling employed the most rudimentary form of sword attack…

His sword techniques were utterly devoid of ostentation or elaborate skill; only pure fundamentals remained!

Bai Qiuyuan: ‘I must end this quickly…’

Su Changling: ‘This child’s talent is truly terrifying. Prolonging this fight would be disadvantageous to me. I must finish this swiftly!’

Standing upon the water, the two faced each other, swords in hand, in a silence that stretched for several seconds before they simultaneously vanished from the surface!

Their movements were too swift, and the obscuring mist too thick, for any bystander to clearly discern their actions!

Across the pond, the continuous clang of longswords colliding echoed.

The overflowing sword qi (TL Note: ‘Qi’ refers to a vital life force or energy in traditional Chinese culture, often used in martial arts contexts as a spiritual energy or aura) ceaselessly churned the water’s surface into sprays!

Thus, the two remained locked in a stalemate.

– On the Shore –

“!”

“It’s a Sword Immortal (TL Note: ‘Jianxian,’ a legendary figure in Chinese martial arts novels, skilled in sword arts to an immortal degree)! That red-robed figure just now, it looks like the Red-Robed Sword Immortal from the imperial palace, Su Changling!!!”

A passing peddler exclaimed excitedly, gazing at the lake.

During the brief lull when the two had paused, the peddler had clearly discerned Su Changling’s attire.

His crimson robes and sword qi that blazed like a rainbow were the unmistakable hallmarks of the Sword Immortal Su Changling!

The immense commotion on the lake, coupled with the peddler’s shouts, instantly drew a significant crowd of onlookers to the shore.

Immediately, perplexity arose among the crowd.

“Hmm? Who is that person confronting Sword Immortal Su?”

“That person must also be a Sword Immortal! Otherwise, they couldn’t possibly exchange so many moves with a Sword Immortal!”

“I can’t see! The mist is too thick!”

“Hey, hey!! Don’t push!”

– Above the Pond –

Completely engrossed in their battle, neither combatant noticed the gathering crowd on the shore.

Soon, after another fierce collision, they once again distanced themselves, separating.

Bai Qiuyuan: “…”

“Senior, why do you not unleash your true techniques?”

Su Changling chuckled upon hearing this.

“I don’t believe you could withstand them.”

Bai Qiuyuan performed a sword flourish (TL Note: ‘Jianhua,’ a decorative movement with a sword) before sheathing his blade behind his back, then smiled and waved a hand at Su Changling.

“Senior, please begin.”

Su Changling chuckled in response.

“Good! Such spirit!”

As he spoke, Su Changling held his sword vertically before him, beginning to gather his power.

Bai Qiuyuan, meanwhile, observed in silence, making no move to interrupt.

Swiftly, a wisp of crimson light manifested in the air, drawn into the longsword’s blade!

As the first flicker of flame appeared on the Crimson Vista Sword’s blade, Su Changling’s sword instantly burst into a roaring inferno!

Bai Qiuyuan: ‘Fire Sword?’

“Young one, if you can withstand this full-power strike of mine, then consider yourself the victor!”

“Of course, should you feel unable to bear it, you may choose to evade!”

No sooner had the words left his lips than Su Changling’s longsword descended without awaiting Bai Qiuyuan’s reply!

Mind and spirit united! Sword qi like a rainbow! This was Su Changling’s renowned sword technique, [Qi Piercing the Rainbow]!

Wherever the sword qi passed, the fragmented ice on the pond’s surface instantly dissolved, vaporizing the pond water along with it!

Upon witnessing this, Bai Qiuyuan summoned his Ink Severing Sword, stating impassively.

“Splashing Ink Sword Art, Third Form: Carving Dragon!”

Having spoken, the Ink Severing Sword instantly soared towards that surge of sword qi, seemingly intent on meeting it head-on!

As the Ink Severing Sword flew, the lingering mist and residual pond water from the lotus pond began to ceaselessly converge upon its blade.

“ROAR!!!”

In an instant, a colossal, five-clawed ink dragon, several meters in length and utterly black, manifested!

BOOM!!!!! The two surges of sword qi collided, and a massive amount of steam swept across the entire lotus pond!!!

– On the Shore –

“What happened?!!”

At that moment, steam permeated the entire lotus pond, rendering everything invisible to the onlookers.

– At the Pond’s Bottom –

Standing on a stone, Bai Qiuyuan wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth with his hand, then cupped his fists and smiled.

“Senior, I accept your concession.”

Su Changling, standing atop his flying sword suspended in the air, gazed down at Bai Qiuyuan, remaining silent for a long moment before finally speaking.

“Are you… from the Upper Realm?”

Bai Qiuyuan chuckled.

“I am not.”

Su Changling: “I am not one to be a sore loser. Speak, what do you wish for me to assist you with?”

After the mist dissipated, the passersby on the shore found no trace of anyone.

They only saw a lotus pond that had been utterly depleted of water…

Before long, the tale of two Sword Immortals engaging in a “sword debate” (TL Note: ‘Lun Jian,’ a formal or informal sparring match between sword practitioners to compare skills or philosophies) and destroying a lotus pond in mere moments spread throughout the streets and alleys.

Meanwhile, the two culprits responsible for the lotus pond’s destruction…

– White Egret Villa –

– Hot Spring Pool –

Su Changling lay submerged in the hot spring, a look of utter contentment on his face.

After exerting himself in winter and working up a sweat, a hot bath brought a profound sense of relaxation to Su Changling’s entire being.

Whether it was merely an illusion or not, Su Changling felt that the fatigue secretly accumulated over the ten years since he achieved Sword Immortal status had miraculously dissipated!

Bai Qiuyuan, too, was immersed in the hot spring, savoring its warmth.

Bai Qiuyuan picked up a pot of tea from the floating tray, poured himself a cup, and chuckled.

“Brother Su, what do you think of my hot spring ‘venture’?”

Su Changling laughed.

“Excellent! It would be even better with some wine!”

“Pity you’re still too young, otherwise I’d definitely have you share a drink with me!”

“So, your request concerns this hot spring?”

Bai Qiuyuan smiled, nodded slightly, and began to explain…