Zhican Valley and Boundless Sword Sect wanted to kill Qin Ran and continue executing their plan to weaken Dao Sword Sect with elixirs.
......They were not unable to defeat Dao Sword Sect, it was just that a direct confrontation would come at too great a cost.
However, since they had not openly turned against Dao Sword Sect yet, they could not directly assassinate the sect master of Dao Sword Sect or act too brazenly. It was not about saving face, but rather that they did not want to become enemies with Dao Sword Sect yet.
Therefore, when Qin Ran took the initiative to request an exchange in the sword dao, the two cultivators from Boundless Sword Sect were already overjoyed internally. This was just what they needed in their time of difficulty.
......An exchange in the sword dao resulting in a death was pretty normal right?!
Thus, there was no possibility of them not agreeing and simply letting Qin Ran leave like that.
Qin Ran naturally also understood this logic, so his squabble with the black-clad youth was only superficial. He was not worried at all that they would not agree to his request.
"As this unworthy disciple is only at the Foundation Establishment stage, my strength is surely beneath the notice of the two seniors..." Qin Ran led Li Shiyin back and spoke up, "Why don't we have an exchange between gentlemen!"
Now that the human was right in front of them and the duck had already been cooked through, the woman in red was in no hurry at all. After all, once the two started exchanging pointers in the sword dao, the situation would no longer be under Qin Ran's control.
She asked with a smile, "An exchange between gentlemen? What do you mean by that?"
Qin Ran tilted his head to look at Li Shiyin and said, "Shiyin, show the seniors your first stage sword qi."
Li Shiyin exchanged looks with Qin Ran, instantly understanding her master's intentions.
She nodded obediently and took out her Qi Xing sword. Stepping forward, she circulated her spiritual power and used the Receive the Guiding Star technique to summon a weakened version of "Fairy Beyond the Skies".
A sword qi that looked like a shooting star streaked across the grey sky and shot straight at the woman in red.
"Interesting," the woman in red commented as she watched the descending sword qi.
With a flip of her hand, a sword appeared in her grasp. With another sword flick, a sword qi formed from flower petals condensed on the snowy ground.
The flower petal sword qi welcomed the incoming "Fairy Beyond the Skies".
The two sword qis collided in midair. In an instant, the flower petal sword qi was directly smashed apart...
"What substantial and sharp sword qi!" The woman in red couldn't help but praise.
Li Shiyin gave a faint smile, as if it was nothing worth mentioning.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yaqian watching from the side saw the changes in the sword qi in the air and heard the woman in red's praises. Her eyes were aflame and her teeth were clenched tightly.
The flower petal sword qi in the air was blasted apart, but it did not disappear. As if it really was made up of flower petals, the scattered petals were still petals. Going with the momentum, they wrapped around "Fairy Beyond the Skies" and clashed with the sword qi.
The two sword qis tangled in midair, and before long, both dissipated.
"Senior's control over sword qi is truly exquisite..." Li Shiyin remarked when she saw this. She then held her sword in a fist salute and said to the woman in red, "Junior Li Shiyin pays her respects to senior and requests guidance in the dao of the sword. Please advise me."
The woman in red was astonished. Was this meaning that she had gained Li Shiyin's approval just by blocking one sword qi?
How interesting. She couldn't bear to kill her now.
"Zhang Yan," she responded.
After they exchanged pleasantries, Qin Ran said to Li Shiyin again, "Second stage change in sword qi."
Li Shiyin circulated her spiritual power, and stellar radiance lit up from within her Qi Xing sword. Tiny stellar sword qis flew out from it, all shooting towards Zhang Yan.
"Second stage change?" Zhang Yan laughed when she saw the agile sword qis that were slender like fish, "So the second stage change in your four stages of sword qi transformation focuses on nimbleness and fluid changes.
"What a coincidence. My sword qi just happens to specialize in this aspect."
As she spoke, vivid red rose petals emerged around her body. Each petal was a sword qi. Every single petal took to the wind and snow as it flew towards the tiny sword qis that looked like stars in the sky.
The petals and stars met amidst the snow. In an instant, the sharp stellar sword qis sliced apart the petals!
The petals split and fluttered down, dissipating into the snowflakes. The stellar sword qis passed through petals and snowflakes alike as they continued shooting at Zhang Yan.
"Such tiny sword qi can have this much power?!" Zhang Yan's expression slightly changed.
She discovered that Li Shiyin's stellar sword qi seemed different from her flower petal sword qi. Although her flower petal sword qi was more agile and varied, its power had decreased. On the other hand, Li Shiyin's stellar sword qi was merely the normal sword qi shrunk down in size. Its power had not diminished one bit!
"How is this possible?" She couldn't understand it in her heart, "Could this truly be the so-called second stage sword qi?"
As the stellar sword qi closed in on her, Zhang Yan was completely unflustered. In an instant, some rose vines grew out from her body. These vines were also made of sword qi. Different from the flower petal sword qi, one vine after another bored out from within her and curled as they bound all of the incoming stellar sword qi, stopping them beside her.
The vines clashed with the stellar sword qi. Before long, the stellar sword qi, being disconnected from origin sword qi, quickly eroded away and disappeared.
"Such powerful sword qi!" Although she was still voicing praises, her smile was clearly forced now.
In the first round, she had been evenly matched with Li Shiyin, but in this second round, she had substantively fallen behind.
"The path is different..." Zhang Yan opened her mouth, only managing to say thus much.
After they finished exchanging pointers, Qin Ran said to Li Shiyin again, "Third stage change in sword qi."
"Hm?" Upon hearing this, Li Shiyin turned back to look at Qin Ran with a full face of puzzlement. Then she tiptoed back to Qin Ran's side and said softly, "Master, I have not comprehended the third stage change yet."
"Hm?" Qin Ran was also confused. "You have not comprehended the third stage change?"
"That's not it..." Li Shiyin held up her little hand and counted off with her fingers as she explained to Qin Ran, "Senior Brother Lu said there were four stages - Initial Comprehension of Sword Qi, Lift Heavy as Light, Lift Light as Heavy, Sword Qi World. I thought Initial Comprehension of Sword Qi didn't need any exchange, so the first stage change should be Lift Heavy as Light."
Qin Ran looked at Li Shiyin and asked softly, "So your first display was already Lift Heavy as Light?"
"Yes!" Li Shiyin nodded. "Master, your memory getting muddled? Fairy Beyond the Skies is the second stage change!"
"Cough!" Qin Ran was not embarrassed in the slightest. He nodded and said, "Then show the seniors your sword intent!"
"Alright." Li Shiyin agreed and turned back around to step forward again.
She circulated her spiritual power, held her breath and focused her mind. Pointing her Qi Xing Sword between her and Zhang Yan, another stellar sword qi flew out. This sword qi was about the size of a regular companion sword. It stabbed straight into the snowy ground, glimmering dark purple like a dream, yet it did not dissipate.
Zhang Yan looked at the sword qi in the snow, then lifted her head to gaze into the distance at the sword qi in front of Wuyi City. The sword qi before her eyes was like a shrunken version of the one in front of Wuyi City.
She flicked her finger and a flower petal drifted out, fluttering slowly towards that stellar sword qi amidst the falling snow. It floated closer in a graceful solo dance, extremely picturesque. Then the moment it touched the sword qi, it vanished completely.
The petal disappeared, yet the sword qi remained unharmed.
"This is sword intent?" she asked aloud.
"This is junior's sword intent," Li Shiyin answered as she sheathed her sword.
Zhang Yan approached the stellar sword qi. She reached out a hand towards it but did not make contact, only closing her eyes to perceive this sword intent.
The sword intent did not have a shred of aggression, the qi brought along the sword intent, and the sharpness of the qi was instead reduced. The sharp Star Sword qi presented a restrained, rounded feeling.
Also, she did not know why, but she felt the sword intent here was somewhat different from the one in Wuyi City.
She asked: "What is this sword intent of yours?"
For a good while, no one answered her. She opened her eyes to see Li Shiyin looking at her smiling.
Oh, Zhang Yan understood, Li Shiyin was on guard against her.
...She had thought this was a silly, innocent girl who had not left her ivory tower.