Chapter 242: Stopping Just in Time

Chapter 242: Stopping Just in Time

Zhao Zhou was quite intrigued by Lin Nuo’s dual sword technique. After all, Lin Nuo’s fluidity with the twin swords surpassed even that of the immortals from Zifeng Valley.

He was honestly curious. Of course, the true combat skill remained unknown; the best way to gauge it was to spar in person.

Lin Nuo, unaware of where his courage came from to spar with someone like Zhao Zhou, might have gotten a bit carried away after practicing a few moves. He felt capable enough and agreed to the challenge.

The Phoenix Twin Swords occasionally glimmered with spiritual light in his hands, giving him a strong sensation, like wielding unrivaled power.

But after a moment of reflection, he felt a twinge of regret.

Would this reveal his status as a newbie?

However, once he agreed, he wouldn’t back down; anyone who flinches is a coward. Lin Nuo had never feared an immortal.

Everyone from various sects knew that an immortal’s sparring wasn’t just an ordinary sword duel; it included immortal techniques.

In other words, it would resemble real combat, though ideally, they would stop just in time or the one who fell would be the loser.

Su Kexin suddenly felt anxious and worried. How did this sparring come about so suddenly?

“Senior Brother, please don’t hurt Zhao Senior!”

That said, she hoped to witness Lin Nuo in a direct confrontation; thinking back, she realized she hadn’t seen much of that.

Even when she had seen him face an enemy, it was merely a hand-to-hand battle, and he had easily taken down Du Xian with it.

Yet, she still wanted to see her admired senior brother wielding his swords in combat; his recent display with the twin swords was just too cool!

Su Kexin obediently stepped aside, quietly becoming an audience member to witness the upcoming duel.

Lin Nuo distanced himself from Zhao Zhou to prevent their intense scuffle from damaging the nearby foliage. Zhao Zhou then used a celestial talisman to set up a barrier.

It resembled a duel arena; as long as they fought inside, the barrier would withstand anything that wasn’t apocalyptic.

To avoid distracting the fighters, the barrier remained invisible, as if it didn’t exist.

Zhao Zhou, a sword-using immortal with outstanding skills, surely could teach Su Kexin and was no ordinary opponent.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Nuo shrugged. He was a third-tier newbie but was filled with mysterious confidence, utterly unafraid.

The Phoenix Twin Swords felt like wings sprouting from his back, lending him the sensation of wanting to take flight.

Actually, he was just showing off.

A decree from Zifeng Valley stated that sparring could only use up to 50% of one’s power; going stronger might damage the surrounding environment.

Sparring meant stopping just in time; mutual improvement was the goal, no need for a fight to the death.

Zhao Zhou infused spiritual energy into his spirit sword. Noticing Lin Nuo’s aura wasn’t particularly strong on the surface, he guessed that Lin Nuo would go easy on him as well. To maintain his immortal dignity, he decided to only use 30% of his power.

Thirty percent was more than enough to showcase sword techniques.

Lin Nuo took the initiative, dashing forward with rapid strikes of his twin swords, moving with the grace of flowing clouds.

A man like the wind, his sword speed was lightning-fast, slicing dazzling arcs through the air.

“Clang!”

Zhao Zhou quickly parried with his sword, a deafening clash resonating in the air as Lin Nuo expertly coordinated his swords, immediately following one strike with another, and in this brief exchange, Zhao Zhou found himself at a disadvantage.

“Bang!”

Zhao Zhou sent out a wave of sword energy, deflecting Lin Nuo’s twin swords and causing him to retreat a bit.

He quickly jumped back, creating distance from Lin Nuo. In their direct swordplay, he was still at a loss; Lin Nuo’s twin swordsmanship was so adept that it felt like dealing with two opponents at once, which was quite tricky.

If it were purely a sword showdown, he might very well lose. Immortal sword techniques often relied on additional immortal techniques, and without sufficient spiritual energy, he would be at a disadvantage.

Multiple Sword Intent.

Zhao Zhou summoned his spiritual energy, splitting his spirit sword into many swords that circled around Lin Nuo.

“Pulling out that trick already?”

Lin Nuo chuckled. Sure enough, immortals loved to play with multiple sword intent.

A familiar scene unfolded before him; back when he hadn’t reached his peak, he, too, had been tossed around by this multiple sword intent.

Zhao Zhou maneuvered his multiple flying swords while wielding one spirit sword to combat Lin Nuo.

Swords fell.

In an instant, the many flying swords flew swiftly toward Lin Nuo. He parried with his left sword, simultaneously dodging with his body, and used his right sword to strike at Zhao Zhou.

“Clang clang clang!”

Their blades clashed again, the sounds more intense, almost vibrating through the air.

Su Kexin’s anxiety grew; with so many swords clashing, she could hardly keep up and couldn’t comprehend how Lin Nuo was holding his own.

After ten more exchanges, Lin Nuo was still countering the multiple flying swords with one hand while engaging Zhao Zhou head-on with the other.

There were flaws.

Lin Nuo thrived in battle; as long as he didn’t go down right away, he could decipher his opponent’s moves and pinpoint weaknesses to exploit.

Clang!

His right sword met Zhao Zhou’s, but Lin Nuo’s left sword swiftly followed, stopping just against Zhao Zhou’s skin.

Unfortunately, Zhao Zhou’s swirling swords didn’t halt in time and accidentally grazed Lin Nuo’s flesh.

“Senior Brother!”

Su Kexin immediately grew anxious, her heart racing with worry.

The wound felt hot and burning, but to Lin Nuo, it was nothing.

“It’s over.”

Lin Nuo jumped back, retracting his swords. Blood flowed from his back, but he seemed hardly bothered.

“Sorry, I lost control. You win; let me treat your back injury.”

Zhao Zhou sincerely apologized, having become overly immersed in the fight. He realized he should have stopped when Lin Nuo did, but lost control and hurt him.

Stopping just in time, Lin Nuo’s sword precisely halted at Zhao Zhou’s flesh; if he had exerted just a bit more strength, blood would have been drawn.

Calmly, Lin Nuo said, “It’s normal to get a bit hurt during sparring; even I might not rein in soaring swords in the heat of the moment. But you held back, or I wouldn’t have won so smoothly.”

“You held back, too. In terms of swordsmanship, I gladly concede.”

“Immortals rely not solely on swordsmanship.”

“Regardless, I lost, and I failed to control my strength like you did. Your timing of stopping was exquisite, very precise—truly the essence of stopping just in time.”

Zhao Zhou couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. He hadn’t used full power, but neither had Lin Nuo. While the strength didn’t seem vastly different, the control showed Lin Nuo’s slight superiority.

Lin Nuo had managed to stop his sword right at the skin’s surface, while Zhao Zhou’s flying sword hadn’t stopped in time, hurting Lin Nuo—that was the gap.

Moreover, Lin Nuo had been the one to stop first, and Zhao Zhou still managed to hurt him, making him appear worse off.

Lin Nuo remained generous, not blaming him, which only added to Zhao Zhou’s embarrassment.

In reality, what Lin Nuo thought was:

“Come on, can’t you even stop? Stopping just in time, how can you not manage that? If this were anywhere else, I’d totally take you down!”