Song of Adolescence

Chapter 53: A Sword To Break The Water, Halting A Thousand Rivers

As of this moment, there was only a single person still left on Mount Cangshan -the Snow Moon Immortal, Li Hanyi.

Lei Wujie’s heart skipped a beat as he realised that. He hastened his pace immediately.

In the darkness, the footsteps of the black veiled man abruptly stopped. He had a crimson spider tattooed on his chest which made it clear that he was Snow Moon City’s Spider Web.

Another man clad in the same attire stood beside him and said softly, “Do we need to report this to the Third Citymaster?”

The man shook his head, “There’s no need, he’s headed towards Mount Cangshan, the Second Citymaster is there.”

“But… Lei Wujie is following him right now, wouldn’t it be dangerous?” the other person questioned.

Slightly furrowing his brows, the man replied, “No. This person is here only for the Second Citymaster, not to cause trouble. He won’t kill Lei Wujie.”

“So that’s him then…” the other man was shocked.

Nodding his head, the man said, “Yes. It’s his fourth time here.”

Beads of perspiration rolled down Lei Wujie’s forehead; there were several times when he thought he could actually catch up to the man, yet the instant that thought appeared in his head, the man would speed up, so there was always a fixed distance between them in the end. Only when that man arrived at the foot of the mountain did he stop moving. Turning around, he glanced at Lei Wujie, his solemn voice resounding through the air, “Who are you?”

Lei Wujie was stunned for a moment. He clearly didn’t expect this uninvited guest to be the first to ask him a question, and couldn’t help but feel amused by this irony. “I haven’t even asked you for your identity…”

“I can tell you my name, however, do you dare to hear it?” In the darkness, a light flashed through the eyes of the person speaking to Lei Wujie. In the next moment, a sharp pain shot through Lei Wujie’s shoulder and he lowered his head only to realize that fresh blood dyed his clothes a bright red.

“That’s…the Hawkeye Sword?” Lei Wujie’s eyes went wide as he recalled the legends of this peculiar sword art. The number of people who knew of this sword art was extremely few and every single one of them carved their names within the annals of the martial world.

“Get out of my way.” the person said in a deep, imposing manner.

However, Lei Wujie shook his head. “My teacher is in seclusion right now and doesn’t wish to be disturbed for the next few days. If you really wish to visit him, you can wait for two more days. After two days, I won’t stop you from climbing up the mountain.”

“Oh?” The person laughed. His pupils lit up once again but Lei Wujie wasn’t going to fall for the same trick twice. Turning his body, he dodged the attack.

“You’re Li Hanyi’s disciple? Li Hanyi actually accepted a disciple? What’s your name?” Though his attack failed, the man didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Lei Wujie.” Lei Wujie replied, loud and clear.

“Lei Wujie…” The person sank into deep thought for a moment before continuing, “I’ve heard of your name.”

Lei Wujie was immediately filled joy; not only was he famous within the city, his name was even known outside as well!

“I have a disciple as well. His memory isn’t great, but he still managed to remember your name.” That person took a step forward. “However, I’m in a hurry right now and have no time to waste on you. Get out of the way, I won’t hurt you.”

However, Lei Wujie stubbornly stood his ground and shook his head, “My teacher was clear about not letting anyone disturb him for the next three days. I may be useless, but I’m not about to let you pass like that unchallenged.”

“Absurd.” A cold laugh escaped the man’s lips as his figure flashed for a second. The next time he reappeared, he already behind Lei Wujie. “Do you think you can stop me?”

Lei Wujie hurriedly turned around and he activated his Blazing Arts before sending out a fist.

“Lei Clan’s Blazing Arts… Unseen Fist. Not bad.” The person lightly waved his sleeves and easily neutralized Lei Wujie’s moves. “Do you have anything better?”

Lei Wujie instantly understood that the person before him was a force beyond his understanding so he didn’t dare to hide his skills either. Whatever he had in his arsenal, he practically threw them all out in this instant. For the past few days, other than practicing art of sword drawing , he would practice the Arhat Demon Subjugation Fist. He already achieved a small degree of accomplishment in the skill; that was made clear when he realized that he could see the Arhat’s true form in his heart when he closed his eyes. There were times when he didn’t have to think about the next move as he practiced. He simply followed his instincts and his punches flowed like water.

“Arhat Fist?” The person frowned.

“It’s the Grand Arhat Demon Subjugation Invincible Vajra Divine Skill!” Lei Wujie yelled and a huge gale rose as his fist shot out.

Taking a step back, the person leaped onto the crown of a tree beside them. Angling his head downwards to look at Lei Wujie, he said, “Not bad, it lives up to its name as a divine skill.”

Lei Wujie gathered all the true qi in his body into both his fists and his red clothes fluttered in the wind.

“I’ll bestow a sword onto you.” The person slowly pulled out the sword in his hand, only to reveal a sword that was actually broken at the tip.

“The tip of my sword was broken by your teacher.” The person calmly said.

“It’s called Breaking Water but the name isn’t because of its broken tip. Instead, it’s because of these words.” The man lightly stroked the blade of his sword.

“A sword to break the water, halting a thousand rivers.” The person suddenly lowered his head but dignified aura remained nonetheless.

“You asked for my name just now, didn’t you? You should know it by this point.”

Lei Wujie didn’t say a word. Instead, his body started to tremble slightly. “A sword to break the water, halting a thousand rivers.” Everyone in the martial world knew of these words. Even though the person described by these words wasn’t ranked together with the five Sword Immortals, he was still one of the citymasters of the four great cities.

He was Citymaster Song Yanhui from Unparalleled City.

With regards to this man, there were rumors abound. Reportedly, his name came about due to the fact that he once sent a slash towards the heavens when he was young. The slash was so dazzling that it caused the migrating swallows to turn around in awe. They hovered in the air as they danced around the sword qi lingering in the air. It was a pity that Unparalleled City no longer had its prestigious reputation when Song Yanhui was born. No matter how hard he tried, Unparalleled City was only ranked as one of the four great cities. Compared to Snow Moon City which possessed the three outstanding citymasters, Unparalleled City was still weaker by a notch.

Even after challenging the Snow Moon Sword Immortal Li Hanyi, thrice, he didn’t manage to obtain a single victory. It was the reason he wasn’t ranked as a Sword Immortal. Despite all that, when the River Canglan suddenly flooded and was about to overflow, legends had it that Song Yanhui used a single strike to hold off the water for a quarter of an hour, saving several thousands of victims. It was also because of this that the saying, “A sword to break the water, halting a thousand rivers” came about.

It was said that Song Yanhui liked to practice the way of the sword near the river so all the sword arts practiced by him had the word ‘water’ in their name.

“This strike is called Ten Thousand Crags and Torrents.” Song Yanhui raised his sword high into the air and suddenly slashed downwards.

Immediately, Lei Wujie could only feel a sword qi surging around like the tide in a violent river. Layer after layer smashed against him as he quickly circulated all the true qi in his body to send out a single punch.

In that instant, the two of them crossed blows.

Lei Wujie kneeled on the ground and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

As for Song Yanhui, he stood there stoic as usual as he returned his sword to its scabbard. With a sigh, he said, “I thought wrong. You are not worthy to receive this sword of mine.” Turning around, he started to walk forward slowly. Just as he was about to pass Lei Wujie however, a sword appeared and blocked his way.

“Rainfall?” Song Yanhui’s voice was soft as the question left his mouth.

“I said it before. My teacher doesn’t wish to be disturbed. I’m not dead yet, so you’re not climbing up the mountain either.” Lei Wujie stood up and wiped the blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, before pressing down on his sword hilt.

Suddenly, a faint rumbling could be heard echoing from within the scabbard.

Lei Wujie slowly pulled the sword from its scabbard, and in that instant, the winds howled and the leaves danced wildly.

“I also have a sword. Its name is Moon in Obscurity, Flower at Daybreak.”

“Passed down to me by the Sword Immortal, Li Hanyi!”