Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 234: Synergy of Fist and Sword

As a man who grew up watching awesome visual effects in movies and TV series in his previous life, Song Qingshu was naturally not satisfied with just holding a sword in his hand and performing some conventional sword technique. He never thought that he would be able to take someoneʼs head from thousands of miles away like Young Master Kong in the ”Journey to the West”, but he was pretty confident about being able to control his sword in the air like Yi Tianxing in ”Young Zhang Sanfeng”. (G: A TV series.)

Although he couldnʼt make the eight swords fly like Yi Tianxing, it wasn’t a problem for him to control a single sword. Of course the control distance would have to be quite limited. Currently, he could only control the sword within five feet of his body. If he tried to get it farther from that, the swordsmanship would become messy and ineffective. Within those five feet, he could perfectly control the Wooden Sword with his True Qi to perform exquisite swordsmanship, and at the same time he could perform the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms with both hands.

In fact, it was somewhat similar to Zhou Botongʼs Technique of Ambidexterity, using which he could deal with multiple opponents at the same time. When the enemies fight against him, it would seem as if they were facing two Song Qingshu, one with the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, the other wandering around, waiting for an opportunity to attack with the exquisite Five Sacred Mountain Sword Art. Also, as the one controlling the Wooden Sword was not a real person, he would be able to attack from some incredible angles impossible for humans, which would be hard to guard against.

As soon as everyone in the Red Flower Society rushed over, they were forced out by the Sword Qi and Palm Wind, and they couldnʼt even enter the battle circle. In the end, the only ones who could compete with Song Qingshu were Tianhong, Tianjing, Monk Huangmei, Yu Wanting, Chen Jialuo, Taoist Wuchen and Wen Tailai.

The more they fought Song Qingshu, the more shocked they became. It was obvious that a few masters were besieging a single person, but the fight seemed more like dozens of Song Qingshu besieging a few of them. In this battle of seven versus one, when a certain person falls in danger, the other would attack Song Qingshu to save him, forcing Song Qingshu to shift from attack to defense. But the Wooden Sword was proving to be too unpredictable, and it was difficult to predict from which angle it would attack next.

It didnʼt take long for the seven people to be covered with scars, and most of their injuries were caused by the Wooden Sword.

Wen Tailai was starting became more and more aggrieved. The hatred for Song Qingshu in his heart was making him desperate, so he decided to use his body as bait to clamp the Wooden Sword with his flesh and blood!

However, Song Qingshu had already calculated the possible countermeasures when he designed this technique. When he saw that the opponent wanted to use his body to immobilize the sword, he showed a cold smile. He then directly shot the Wooden Sword drive through the opponents flesh.

Streams of blood sprayed from his waist and abdomen, as Wen Tailai let out an angry roar, and clasped his palms together, trying to seize the opportunity to grab the Wooden Sword. But when his palms which could crack even stones came in contact with the Wooden Sword, he felt a sudden sharp pain. Apparently, there was a layer of fierce Sword Qi on it, and that caused his palms to suddenly become bloody.

Monk Huangmei took advantage of Song Qingshuʼs distraction, and used his Diamond Finger to poke at Song Qingshuʼs chest. According to his calculations, he had made his move at a time when his opponentʼs old strength was exhausted and his new strength was not yet born. So, the only thing Song Qingshu would be able to do was to try his best to reduce the degree of injury.

However, Song Qingshu suddenly disappeared from his eyes!

Monk Huangmeiʼs blow hit the empty space, and he couldnʼt help but be stunned.

”Be careful with your feet!” An exclamation came from the side, but unfortunately it was still too late. Song Qingshu rolled over on the ground using the Slithering Snake Jumping Raccoon Technique, and took the opportunity to use his True Qi to summon the Wooden Sword and slash at Monk Huangmei’s legs.

After all, Monk Huangmei was a long-established expert, so he was able to dodge to the side in the moment of danger. Although he avoided the misfortune of his legs being sliced off, he still lost his toes by the sharp Sword Qi.

Song Qingshu took the opportunity to get close and punched him in the chest.

Seeing Monk Huangmei who was vomiting blood and retreating, Song Qingshu secretly thought that it was a pity. If it wasnʼt for the fact that he didnʼt dare to use all his Qi in order to deal with the few people attacking him at the time, that blow would have killed Monk Huangmei. Although Song Qingshu tried his best to avoid getting blood on his hands, he did that out of the pity for the weak. However, for those destined to be his enemies, Song Qingshu was not as benevolent as Duke Xiang of Song. But even so, Monk Huangmei had lost his fighting power, and Song Qingshu felt the pressure was greatly reduced. (G: Duke Xiang of Song is known for his display of benevolence towards his enemies. The dude was stupid.)

”Brother Zhao, why aren’t you helping? We want to intervene, but we canʼt.” Asked the Martial Zhuge Xu Tianhong while looking anxiously at the battle, while pulling Zhao Banshanʼs sleeve.

”A righteous organization like the Red Flower Society is ganging up on a single person. That is already quite disgraceful. But, if we use hidden weapons to attack at this moment, we won’t be any different than those demon cults.” Looking at the awe-inspiring young man in the fight, Zhao Banshan let out a sigh.

In the past, when Song Qingshu rescued him in the imperial palace, he felt very fond of Song Qingshu when the other party said that he was saving him because of a friend. Although Wen Tailai later said that Song Qingshu was trying to deceive them, Zhao Banshan still believed in Song Qingshu. He felt that even if Wen Tailai did not agree to the other partyʼs conditions, Song Qingshu would have still saved them.

Looking at Xu Tianhong, who seemed as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, Zhao Banshan said, ”At this moment, they are fighting at close proximity, and there’s a possibility that it can hurt our own people if I were to attack with hidden weapons. So, letʼs keep an eye on the situation first and we must believe in the strength of the Chief and the others.”

”To be able to witness such marvelous swordsmanship today, this one is really fortunate to live until this day!” Taoist Wuchen was famous for his Soul-chasing, Life-taking Sword, and has long been the most powerful of all the leaders in terms of martial arts. As a master, his swordsmanship was as fast as lightning, and his moves were extremely ruthless. He regarded the sword as his life, and could naturally see that Song Qingshu had created a brand new sword technique! Feeling both admiration and jealousy in his heart, he attacked Song Qingshu with all his might.

Song Qingshuʼs eyes narrowed. Although Taoist Wuchen was aggressive, he could see that there were many flaws in his attacks.

The Soul-chasing, Life-taking Sword was all about offense and had basically no defense. It sacrificed its usersʼ defense to maximize its attack power. If it was used against people whose martial arts level was lower than the user, it would naturally give the user an overwhelming advantage. Even if the opponent was of the same level as the user, it could still allow the user to catch the opponent by surprise and gain the upper hand.

However, since Song Qingshu had mastered the essence of the Five Sacred Mountain Sword Art and had fought against the worldʼs top masters several times, his understanding of the essence of swordsmanship was probably one of the best in the world. If Taoist Wuchen was in a calm state of mind and had the help of his allies, Song Qingshu probably wouldn’t have been able to deal with him in a short while. But, alas, he had become excited and rashly attacked with all he had, making his movements full of flaws, which were clear for Song Qingshu to see.

In the stunned eyes of Taoist Wuchen, Song Qingshu put his fingers together, clamped the tip of his sword, and slid along the blade. Taoist Wuchen wanted to turn the blade and use the blade edge to cut off his fingers, but was folded by Song Qingshu. With a metallic sound, the long sword broke into two pieces! And, before Taoist Wuchen had time to react, Song Qingshu raised his finger and sliced his throat with the broken piece of sword in his hand.

”Second Leader!!!”

The eyes of everyone in the Red Flower Society turned red, and Zhao Banshan couldnʼt stand still anymore. He raised his hands, shot his hidden weapons towards Song Qingshu.

Song Qingshu laughed and flashed to Wen Tailaiʼs side. Wen Tailai was shocked and was about to resist, but when he was grabbed by the opponent, he lost all his strength and was thrown in the way of the darts.

Zhao Banshan was taken aback, and he hurriedly threw dozens of hidden weapons, shooting down all the darts, one by one. He managed to save Wen Tailai’s life, and leaped over to pull Wen Tailai over to his side. Looking at Song Qingshu, again, he didnʼt dare to use hidden weapons anymore. If he did, he not only would fail to harm the enemy, but might harm his brothers instead.

Seeing that Taoist Wuchen was killed and Wen Tailai was seriously injured, Chen Jialuo was extremely angry and attacked with all his strength.

Song Qingshu let out a cold snort, and commented while parrying his attacks, ”Hundred Blossom Fist, as the name suggests, is derived from the practice of Baijia Fist. Unfortunately, you only have the form, and you don’t have the essence of Baijia Fist. In front of a real master, it’s only an embroidered pillow.” Song Qingshu said, as he ignored his opponentʼs complicated boxing skills, and sent a simple palm strike.

As the fist and palm connected, Chen Jialuo suddenly felt that his arm was about to split! He let out a painful groan, and stepped back dozens of steps. He originally wanted to make a comeback, but facing his opponents terrifying raw strength, his arms had been dislocated.

If you made Song Qingshu choose which one of the protagonists of Jin Yongʼs fourteen novels he hated the most, it would probably be Chen Jialuo. Although Song Qingshu hated Duan Yu very much, he only hated him for being born with a gold spoon in his mouth. However, Duan Yu was a gentle and kind-hearted person, and he could be regarded as a modest gentleman. Song Qingshu still agreed with everyone in that regard.

Chen Jialuo, on the other hand, was different. He had become the chief leader of the Red Flower Society only because of his special status, not because of his ability. Of course it would be nothing if that was the end of it, but unfortunately, in the end, he even sacrificed Princess Xiangxiang (Princess Fragrance) who loved him deeply, and gave her to the Qianlong Emperor, which was simply outrageous!

To Song Qingshu, the so-called “Great Cause” was not worth anything if you had to sacrifice a woman to get it. The key is that Chen Jialuo didnʼt even achieve anything, and sacrificed the woman’s life in vain. Thinking of that, Song Qingshu would naturally show no mercy to this guy.

In the blink of an eye, of the seven masters—one died and the rest were injured. Only Tianhong, Tianjing, and Yu Wanting were left. Not to mention the people of the Red Flower Society, even Ajiu and Xia Qingqing were left reeling in awe and shock!

They all thought in their hearts, ‘What kind of martial arts does he practice…’

After all, Tianhong and Tianjing’s martial arts levels were so high, and Yu Wanting’s martial arts was also nothing to scoff at, but even then, the three of them were clearly struggling to hold on under the barrage of Song Qingshu’s fist and sword attack. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the defeat of the three had already been decided, and the outcome was only a matter of time.

Song Qingshu secretly frowned. The three of them were obviously famous and authentic martial artists, and their foundations were extremely solid. Although the power of their moves was not that great, they had few flaws. So, it was proving quite difficult for him to defeat them. In a dangerous situation, it was really unwise to waste too much strength on a few people.

Just when Song Qingshu was hesitating, a black-clothed, ghost-masked man suddenly jumped out of the bushes to hit him from behind. His speed was extremely fast, and the sound of wind and thunder accompanied his palm. It was obvious that his level of martial arts was a lot higher than everyone in the scene.

Xia Qingqing on the side was alarmed, but unfortunately she was too far away and it would be too late for her to help Song Qingshu. She quickly slipped out a Golden Serpent Dart from her sleeve and shot at the shadow, knowing that it wouldn’t help at all.

Unlike Xia Qingqing, Ajiu could judge the martial arts of the ghost-masked man more clearly. She had seen Zhang Wuji in action, and in her opinion, the martial arts of the ghost-masked man didn’t seem to be inferior to Zhang Wuji!

Ajiu knew that although Song Qingshuʼs martial arts skills were amazing, if she allowed such a super master to hit him, the outcome would be more unfortunate than fortunate. Although she thought so much in her mind, in the eyes of everyone it was only a moment. Ajiu didnʼt even have time to fully draw out her sword, so she rushed forward and blocked between the ghost-masked man and Song Qingshu.

Itʼs a pity that the attack was so powerful that Aiju was unable to parry and was hit in the chest, then she fell backwards like a kite with a broken string.

Song Qingshu’s face turned gloomy, as he avoided the three besieging him with one fist, one palm and one leg. He jumped to hug the fallen Ajiu in his arms, and controlled the Wooden Sword with the other hand to shoot at the ghost-masked man.

The ghost-masked manʼs eyes narrowed, and he hurriedly retreated. After a while, he appeared on the roof of the house. Looking at the wound on his shoulder, he said in a deep voice, ”Superb swordsmanship!”

At that instant, a burst of fireworks was seen afar, and the ghost-masked man was stunned. It came from the place where he had left Yelu Qi and Yelu Nanxian to monitor the movements of the Mystic Dragon Cult. ‘Could it be that something happened to the Mystic Dragon Cult? It doesnʼt matter if the entire Mystic Dragon Cult is destroyed, but there is one person who canʼt die. Thatʼs the only hope of my family…’

Looking back, he gave Song Qingshu a reluctant glance, ”Young Master Songʼs swordsmanship is divine. This old man will come and experience more of it the next time I have the opportunity.” After saying that, he hurried to the place where the fireworks had burst.

Song Qingshu looked at the beautiful woman in his arms as her face quickly turned pale.

”Prepare to fire the arrows.” With the sound of uniform steps, a group of archers rushed in from the gate, and prepared their bows to face Song Qingshu. As long as the Prince gave an order, they would immediately turn them into porcupines.

Xia Qingqing was shocked when she saw what had transpired, and she quickly raised the Golden Serpent Sword to attack Song Qingshu, ”Kill the enemy!”

When she came close to Song Qingshu, she whispered to the man who was looking at her in amazement, ”Take me as a hostage and get yourself out of the palace.”

Song Qingshu immediately understood her intent, and cooperated with Xia Qingqing. He subdued her with one move,and put the Golden Serpent Sword on her neck, then he looked at Hongli and said, ”If Your Highness is willing to watch your lovely concubine turn into a porcupine, you are welcome to order the arrows to be fired.” (G: That pun was from me…couldn’t help it.)

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