"Master my foot!"
Yue Qinghong stepped on the wolf slave's shoulder and sneered. The wolf slave charged toward Qin Mu, grabbing two demon blades in his hands, flipping them up and down. Meanwhile, Yue Qinghong's body shook, and dozens of swords flew out from the sword case behind her. She sneered: "When paths are narrow, the brave win. On this narrow path, the wolf slave and I together are invincible! Junior Brother Qin, your weakness is exposed. You'd better obediently roll back to the Great Ruins!"
These two attacked from above and below. The wolf slave's two demon blades danced like black wind rushing toward his face, while the thirty-one swords behind Yue Qinghong pointed outward. One in front, two behind, then four, then eight, then sixteen, forming a massive drilling sword formation!
The swords spun, thrusting toward Qin Mu.
"Senior Sister Yue's sword technique is not bad!"
Qin Mu praised with a smile: "But I have already mastered condensing qi into threads. You are not my opponent!"
"Condensing qi into threads?"
Yue Qinghong was furious: "Do you want to humiliate me?"
Qin Mu pointed with one finger, and qi threads burst from his fingertip. Hundreds of qi threads formed connected sword shapes, also in a drilling sword formation, but much thicker, like a sword pillar as wide as a water vat. The front was a sword tip, getting thicker toward the back. He thrust it toward the wolf slave!
The wolf slave's hands wielded the demon blades like black lightning, interweaving and clashing with Qin Mu's drilling sword formation. Sparks flew everywhere in the alley. Although the wolf slave had immense strength, his arms went numb from the impact. He couldn't control the two demon blades, leaving his center completely open.
Yue Qinghong was startled. She thrust her drilling sword formation toward Qin Mu's shoulder, attacking where he must defend to relieve the wolf slave's distress.
Qin Mu chuckled softly, his fingertip gently flicking upward, transforming into an upward sword technique. The drilling sword formation he had just aimed at the wolf slave suddenly changed. Countless sword lights transformed from the drilling formation directly into a wrapping formation, yet he was still executing the upward sword technique.
The two sword techniques were perfectly fused by him without any hindrance.
His countless qi threads entangled within Yue Qinghong's drilling sword formation. With a continuous clanging sound, the drilling formation composed of flying swords was instantly broken. In an instant, the thirty-one sharp swords were pierced by countless qi swords, turning into sieves full of small holes.
Yue Qinghong shouted sternly. The wolf slave beneath her immediately dropped the knives and launched a flying kick toward Qin Mu. Qin Mu met it with a kick. With a thunderous boom, the wolf slave's tall body flew backward. The wolf slave's back Yue Qinghong took the opportunity to leap up, using her finger as a sword, pointing toward Qin Mu's shoulder.
Her fingertip qi burst forth, transforming into a sword energy, about to pierce Qin Mu's shoulder, when suddenly a demonic voice rang out: "Maya Sa!"
Yue Qinghong's mind shook violently, and her mental defense broke. Then she heard music, making her disperse the sword energy. She giggled and began singing and dancing before Qin Mu.
Yue Qinghong's cultivation was deep after all. She immediately regained awareness, steadied her mind, and retreated. Then she felt warmth on her back and thought, "Oh no."
Boom!
Qin Mu, back-to-back with her, suddenly exerted force backward, slamming her into the nearby wall.
Behind that wall was Monk Yunque's residence. Suddenly the wall collapsed. Monk Yunque's body radiated Buddhist light, knocking Yue Qinghong flying from the wall. He laughed: "Senior Sister Yue, let me handle this!"
Yue Qinghong flew through the air and retorted angrily: "Monk, you're no good. You'll just go up and get beaten!"
"I'm no good?"
Monk Yunque was furious. His techniques were fierce and domineering, like dragons and elephants charging forward, attacking Qin Mu. Crumbled stones flew beneath his feet, his violent power shattering the blue bricks into pieces!
"Senior Sister, don't say the monk is no good. The monk is good!"
A muffled, astonishing sound came from between the four palms where Qin Mu and Yunque collided. Monk Yunque laughed: "Surnamed Qin, you didn't expect this, did you? I've already fused the State Preceptor's sword technique into my palm force. My Great Wutai Seal..."
Before he could finish, suddenly he felt a mountain-toppling, sea-overturning force crushing toward him. The force was incredibly violent, destroying his qi and shattering his Great Wutai Seal like crushing dry weeds.
Monk Yunque grunted, stumbled backward, and unleashed the Dragon-Elephant Demon-Subduing Seal. With a thunderous boom, Monk Yunque's clothes flew off, making him dance like a white butterfly in the sky.
He was completely naked, with not a shred of clothing to cover his body, leaving only a pair of tattered white shorts.
Seeing Qin Mu throwing another punch, this punch actually broke the air, emitting a world-shaking thunderous sound. The fist crackled with lightning like thunder. When the fist struck, a sphere of white mist burst from around it, spreading outward in a perfect circle.
"Oh no..."
Only this thought remained in his mind. He hard-blocked Qin Mu's punch, and as expected, his white shorts shattered as he had predicted, turning into white butterflies fluttering away, leaving him completely bare.
Monk Yunque was sent flying backward by that unmatched force. This monk's cultivation was still substantial after all. While mid-air, he immediately turned to face the wall.
Smack—
He stuck to the wall face-first, his buttocks exposed.
"Good thing I didn't stick back-first..." Monk Yunque thought with relief, then happily passed out.
Qin Mu shook his clothes, dust flying off him. At this moment, a timid voice came from behind, still trembling: "Brother Qin..."
Qin Mu turned around to see Wei Yong trembling as he walked from the alley's end, his legs still shaking, carrying a sword case on his back.
"Brother Wei, what's wrong?" Qin Mu asked in puzzlement.
Wei Yong opened the sword case, his voice trembling with a crying tone: "You've gone against the natural order. I must act for heaven and punish you, exchanging moves with you so you know your place... These words are too harsh, I don't dare say them..."
Qin Mu was caught between laughter and tears: "Brother Wei, you want to exchange moves with me? Sparring between fellow disciples is common, especially since we've been through life and death together? How about this, we'll stop at the point of contact."
Only then did Wei Yong feel relieved. One by one, his flying swords unsheathed. He steadied himself: "Brother Qin, just don't beat me like that monk."
His swords began to wrap, executing the wrapping sword technique taught by the State Preceptor of Yankang. Since the State Preceptor's lecture on swords, many scholars had been practicing the three basic sword techniques he taught. Wei Yong had clearly gained some insights.
The scholars of the Imperial Academy were not fools. They could all grasp some of the mysteries. Although Wei Yong was a bit plump, his comprehension and aptitude were not low. His understanding of these three sword techniques was quite deep.
His family's teachings were profound, and his own strength was not weak, not inferior to Qin Yu. Qin Mu also wanted to see how capable he was, so he didn't attack directly with full force like he had against Qin Yu. Instead, he also engaged him with the wrapping sword technique.
Their sword techniques intertwined, each changing, displaying the exquisite sword arts they had each comprehended. Nearby scholars, ignoring their injuries, watched intently, their eyes fixed on the two men's sword techniques.
Wei Yong's sword technique was already extremely impressive. He came from the Wei family of Jiangling. The Wei family had a great expert, the current First-Rank Official, Duke Wei.
Duke Wei was a Cult Master-level existence with brilliant military achievements. He had once destroyed an entire nation in battle, obliterating the Tianyu Kingdom in the northern borders and incorporating the entire Tianyu Kingdom into the State of Yankang's territory. Therefore, he was enfeoffed as a duke.
Wei Yong's status in the Wei family was not high, but he had been diligent since childhood. The Wei family's teachings were profound, and his abilities among the Wei family disciples were among the best.
The same wrapping sword technique, but Qin Mu's sword technique had more variations. It was not just pure swordsmanship; there were also mysteries of boxing techniques mixed within.
When Qin Mu fought him, it was like a senior disciple feeding moves to a junior, guiding Wei Yong to comprehend the mysteries in swordsmanship. Once Wei Yong had comprehended enough, he would transition to the next technique.
Before long, they had exchanged three moves. Wei Yong sighed with relief, confidence surging: "Brother Qin, you can use your full strength now. I want to see how much of a gap there is between us!"
Qin Mu smiled slightly, suddenly changing his technique. As his sword thrust out, he executed "Sun's Light Refines the Yang Soul in the Sky," making Wei Yong's mind waver. Wei Yong hastily steadied his mind.
Qin Mu then countered with "Heavenly Demon's Heavenly Freedom Seal." Wei Yong's spirit was instantly disrupted, and he was knocked down by Qin Mu's sword.
Qin Mu dispersed his qi and helped him up, smiling: "Brother Wei, my apologies."
Wei Yong stood up and looked around, seeing that half the scholars in the Scholar's Residence had been defeated, while the other half didn't dare to step forward. He smiled: "Compared to others, my situation is quite good. By the way, I just heard someone say you have a weakness on your shoulder. Why couldn't anyone hurt you even knowing about the weakness?"
"Knowing about a weakness is one thing, being able to exploit it is another."
Qin Mu said: "If it were a clash at the same level, only two or three people in the entire Imperial Academy, including the National Academy, could find an opportunity to hit my weakness."
Wei Yong gasped.
Qin Mu looked around and saw the Scholar's Residence was in ruins again. Several servants glared at him angrily.
He quickly apologized to those servants: "Brother Wei, I need to go to the Heavenly Records Tower. Senior brothers and sisters, I cannot continue with you. Farewell." With that, he walked out.
In the Scholar's Residence, no one dared to stop him.
Yue Qinghong rose from the rubble, watching Qin Mu leave the Scholar's Residence. She whispered softly: "He is truly our Scholar's Residence's senior disciple..."
Crash!
A wall suddenly collapsed, dust billowing. Through the dust, Monk Yunque ran for his life, one hand covering his front, the other covering his buttocks, rushing back to his courtyard, dashing into the main hall, and slamming the door shut.
Many scholars wanted to laugh but didn't dare. After a moment, Monk Yunque's voice came: "Um, senior brothers outside, this poor monk has no spare clothes left. The only set I had was taken by that fox and she won't return it. Does anyone have spare clothes to give this poor monk? I'd be eternally grateful."
Wei Yong laughed: "Senior Brother Yunque, wait a moment. I have a few spare sets, though they're a bit large."
Yunque said: "No matter. A monk's clothes are worldly possessions anyway."
Bashan the Libationer walked out of Wei Yong's room, thinking to himself: "Wan Yun counts as one, Junior Brother Qin is one, plus Qin Yu from the Qin family, and the little fatty is quite good too. Yue Qinghong and Yunque are also experts. That makes six candidates for Imperial Academy instructors. Guiding them in cultivation should not be difficult. However, besides the Scholar's Residence, there are also Five Planets realm scholars in the Prince's Garden. I can't favor one over the other. The Prince's Garden also needs to have several scholars selected, lest the Emperor give me a hard time."
He chose to teach scholars who had not yet achieved the Six Harmonies realm. If they had achieved the Six Harmonies realm, they would be divine ability users, and their paths were essentially fixed. Then he couldn't teach according to individual aptitude.