Sword Among Us

Panda Novel

When the six great system-allocated sects and Ming Cult were ready to jump at each other’s throats, a lady who dressed in the uniform of Ming Cult members calmly arrived next to Yin Tianzheng.

“This humble junior is Phantasmal Shadow. Greetings, Senior Eagle King. I am willing to fight in your place for this battle.”

The woman’s voice was neither arrogant nor humble, and it was clear as well as powerful.

The expressions of Happy, Momo, and Ancient Wind changed again.

Ancient Wind, who had mocked her from the bottom of his heart just then, did not think the same anymore. When he heard her announce her name, he was full of shock. ‘It’s her. The second ranked player on the Phoenix Rank, Phantasmal Shadow.’

“You are?”

White-browed Eagle King had been cut at the chest, but he did not want to deal with his wound. With an awe-inspiring gaze, he stared at the petite and young Phantasmal Shadow with hesitation.

“This will not be appropriate. Great Swordsman Song is the leader of Wudang Sect’s Seven Heroes. He is a kind and moral person. You are a junior, and you are still not fit for him to attack you. You should leave.”

Phantasmal Shadow reacted very quickly. She turned around and issued a challenge in Wudang Sect’s direction. “It is just as you said. Great Swordsman Song’s name travels to all corners of the earth, so it is known that he will not oppress the weak, much less attack an injured old man. That’s why, Wudang Sect, please choose another person to fight me.”

Song Yuanqiao frowned slightly. Right when he was about to speak, he heard a familiar voice suddenly reach his ears.

“Alright, I’ll answer your challenge, and I will make you cultists admit your defeat!”

Under the gazes of the people from the six great system-allocated sects, Song Qingshu shot out from the crowd with a clear shout.

Clang!

He pulled out his longsword in the air and landed behind Song Yuanqiao elegantly. “Dad, I’ll take your place for this fight.”

While speaking, he cast a glance in the direction of Emei Sect.

Ding Minjun took a look at Zhou Zhiruo and mocked her by saying, “After this fight, Wudang Sect’s Song Qingshu name is going to spread through the world of martial artists.”

Zhou Zhiruo calmly shifted her focus elsewhere.

Since Song Qingshu had already come, Song Yuanqiao, who knew his child’s temper, understood that the boy wanted to stand out. It would not be good for him to scold his child on the spot, which was why he cast a deep glance at Phantasmal Shadow and Eagle King before he nodded in silent agreement to their duel.

“Please grant me your instruction.”

When Phantasmal Shadow realized that she was going up against the younger generation of Wudang Sect, she seemed to have released a breath of relief. A purplish-red whip shadow tore through the air and left behind an afterimage. It let out a clear crack and drew the curtains to their duel open.

“Whip technique!” Ancient Wind’s face filled with excitement. “That’s interesting.”

Happy and Momo looked at each other, and a rather solemn look appeared in their eyes.

Phantasmal Shadow was the second ranked player on the Phoenix Rank. She was rumored to be as strong and smart as Dream Clouds, and she had actually decided to insert herself into the quest at that moment. She had even successfully changed the progress of the quest. Regardless of whether she would win or lose in the fight, she had already succeeded.

After all, with Wudang Sect’s way of operations, they would not easily drive a person to their death, especially when there were people watching. They would absolutely not kill their enemies. Besides, Eagle King had shown mercy when he fought against six of the Seven Heroes of Wudang Sect. Hence, there was a high possibility that Wudang Sect would return the favor and not injure their opponent.

However, Phantasmal Shadow’s appearance managed to earn some time for White-browed Eagle King to treat his injuries. This meant that she would leave a good impression within the Ming Cult elites and Zhang Wuji’s heart. From then onwards, she would definitely have endless opportunities in Ming Cult.

This alone made the days before Phantasmal Shadow soared above others to be just around the corner.

‘As expected of the Shadow Empress.’

While Happy watched the duo move so quickly that they caused sand to fly as they dueled, he could only sigh in his heart.

Ever since Dream Clouds, Blood Robes, Barren Murderer, Lin Xiao, Red Dust, Wind Void, and All-powerful Medicinal Stone appeared, the other empress of the two empresses had finally showed up as well, and she did so at Light Summit, while she was at the center of attention by standing at Ming Cult’s side and entering the storyline!

Crack!

Crack!

Crack!

The two people beside Happy recognized Phantasmal Shadow’s lightness skill when she used it inside the battlefield. It was Phantasmal Body Movement Skill, and it was clear that she had already understood the true essence of the skill, which allowed her to move like a phantom. While fighting against Song Qingshu, she moved as if she was flying. She never stopped for even a moment.

Her whip shadow sliced through the air. It varied in degrees of speed and strength, and she did not give Song Qingshu the chance to get close to her. Every single time, she could bring out the advantage of her whip as a long-range weapon. She perfectly used the extreme explosive strength at the tip of her whip and its astonishingly fast speed to attack.

Song Qingshu practiced the legitimate Wudang Sect sword technique. His defense and offense followed the sect’s teachings perfectly. Due to his dignity, he did not want to fall into a disadvantage either, which was why he often had to spontaneously parry Phantasmal Shadow’s whip. At the same time he deflected her strike, he would attack quickly.

On the surface, Song Qingshu’s defense was perfect. As he chased after Phantasmal Shadow, he suppressed her completely.

“Song Qingshu seems to have reached Moksha Realm. He’s pretty good,” Ancient Wind could not help but lament. “This is the first time I see a player make a whip look as if it’s alive, and she’s still suppressed by Song Qingshu. Tsk, tsk, as expected, Phantasmal Shadow won’t be able to win.”

“That’s not right,” Momo suddenly said with a somber expression. “Phantasmal Shadow will win.”

“Yeah.” Happy cast her a glance, approving of Momo’s judgment.

Ancient Wind was instantly speechless. He cast the duo a surprised glance, rubbed his eyes, and looked at the battlefield again before he quickly lowered his voice and sought for guidance.

Happy was not stingy in giving his opinion. He explained it in a low voice.

“Whip techniques are not the same as sword techniques and palm techniques. Whip is a flexible weapon, and because it doesn’t have a fixed shape, it’s very hard to control. Very few people can use it well, but in truth, its damage doesn’t lose out to sword techniques and saber techniques.

“Besides, it doesn’t have a set pattern when it comes to defense, and the user can be flexible in the execution of techniques. There’s a lot of space for the user to create their own techniques. Phantasmal Shadow has clearly understood the essence behind whip techniques.”

“Can you speak in layman terms?” Ancient Wind felt that his brain had turned into mush by listening to Happy.

Happy sighed. “Look closely. Who’s the one suffering whenever they exchange blows?”

When Ancient Wind heard that, he focused on the battlefield for a while. Phantasmal Shadow moved like the wind, and every time she attacked, her whip shadow moved like a dragon. She attacked the spots that Song Qingshu would definitely defend, forcing Song Qingshu to parry her attacks.

But Song Qingshu did not manage to block most of her attacks with his sword glare. Deep ravines were left behind on the ground.

Ancient Wind felt as if he had understood, but he still felt that he could not quite wrap his head around it.

Momo could not hold back any longer and said, “In actuality, every time he blocks successfully, the qi attached to her weapon invades Song Qingshu’s body. Song Qingshu might seem as if he’s fine right now, but once the fight continues for a while longer, the accumulated internal injuries will act up, and he will die.”

Ancient Wind became even more puzzled. “But Song Qingshu does use offensive attacks to fight back. How is he suffering any loss?”

Happy smiled faintly. “This is the benefit of flexible weapons.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, at the moment the whip causes damage, Phantasmal Shadow has already damaged him internally, but Song Qingshu won’t be able to reflect damage to Phantasmal Shadow through her flexible weapon, because flexible weapons have no form and won’t withstand force. Even if some qi is returned to her, Phantasmal Shadow can use the force of the attack to negate the damage.”

“That so?”

Ancient Wind came to an understanding, and he felt as if he had received a valuable lesson. Zhou Zhiruo and Mistress Annihilation also heard Happy’s words, and Mistress Annihilation nodded slowly.

“Young Swordsman Qingshu, please come back!”

Mistress Annihilation stood up.

Song Qingshu might have felt reluctant to admit defeat, but he knew that he would be in an even worse state if he continued dragging out the fight, which was why he decided to use the opportunity to return to Wudang Sect with a huff. When he looked over to Emei Sect’s side, there was a bit of shame in his gaze.

“Lass, judging by your whip technique, you shouldn’t be from Ming Cult, yes?”

“I am a disciple of Ancient Tomb Sect.”

“What a joke! If you’re not from Ming Cult, then don’t butt in!”

Mistress Annihilation’s tone changed, and she looked toward the abbot from Shaolin Temple.

“Master Kongwen, we decided to attack this evil cult because we respect your reputation and status in the world of martial artists. We appointed you unanimously as the person who will give the command to attack Light Summit, so say something.”

“What else is there to say? We will not leave a single person alive from this evil cult today. We must get rid of this evil completely, or else, when it returns in the future, it will definitely bring harm to the world of martial artists again,” He Taichong of Kunlun Sect said.

“Wait!”

Zhang Wuji, whom Happy, Momo, and Ancient Wind, had been paying attention to for a long time, finally pushed away Xiao Zhao and walked out from among the crowd of the six great system-allocated sects.