## AST 437 - Battling Sword Demon Huang Qing, The Disparities

Qing Shui felt that he had just barely reached the peak of Martial King right now. He recalled how this lady named Huang Qing had deflected his all-out sword attack earlier. Was she at the peak of Martial King just like the Misty Hall’s Palace Mistress? Or was she from the Portrait of Beauty? Was there some kind of profound mystery behind all this?

Qing Shui thought hard with his head lowered. He remembered about Yiye Jiange, the lady who made him feel as if she wasn’t as simple as she appeared to be. She was also one of the beauties from the Portraits of Beauty. She carried a vendetta as deep as the sea with her. Was she under some kind of circumstances?

The Art Maestro had said that all the ladies drawn on the Portraits of Beauty had good figures and divine bodies. They were not only perfect but also excelled in every aspect. Their beauty, intelligence, and strength in particular far exceeded ordinary people.

Unless they didn’t cultivate, as long as the ladies on the Portraits of Beauty were willing to put some effort in cultivation, they could become powerful cultivators. Qing Shui looked at this lady who was no less inferior than the Misty Hall’s Palace Mistress and then looked at the two equally beautiful ladies riding on the back of Fire Bird.

He was momentarily confused. Although the Huang Qing who stood before him had given him quite a shock, it wasn’t as intense as the appearance of the Misty Hall’s Palace Mistress. Furthermore, Qing Shui didn’t have any intentions towards them right now. The amount of ladies around him had increased, yet none of them were easy to deal with, and they were not people he could touch for now.

Qing Shui didn’t want to deny the fact that he was into gorgeous beauties. It was very normal for normal men to have this kind of mentality, restrained only by their morality and strength of character. Otherwise why would the rich and strong people in the World of the Nine Continents have so many wives as beautiful as flowers, whereas commoners on the lowest tier could only have one plain-looking woman.

This was reality. There was no such thing as equality. Don’t covet someone else’s woman, one could only blame themselves for their own incompetency. Qing Shui couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t get involved with them in the future. But for now, he had yet to have these kind of intentions, nor would he make any moves on them.

Who didn’t want to have multiple wives? But they needed to have the capability to enjoy such luxury. On top of that, Qing Shui didn’t want to be an animal who only knows how scatter its seed everywhere. Love was something very sacred in Qing Shui’s eyes.

As long as they were women whom he had set his eyes on, Qing Shui would not divide his love for each of them. He would instead give all of his love to each and every one of them. There was no need to divide.

So the love Qing Shui had for Mingyue Gelou and Little Yuchang had no impurities in it. As for that Xiang Bao of the Xiang Clan, Qing Shui didn’t want her to suffer in the future. He didn’t have that kind of special feelings between a man and woman towards her. If it was only sexually, Qing Shui couldn’t deny his interest. But he knew that he cannot hurt everyone who loved him.

Qing Shui should normally be surprised, show some kind of unfathomable expressions on his face or get worked up when he met this lady from the Portrait of Beauty. However, all these feelings were completely absent due to the fact that this Huang Qing was from the Sword Tower.

And this gorgeous lady who had gained her “Sword Demon” title could tell his strength. This indicated that her strength was indeed far higher than his.

Qing Shui was astonished by the fact that he was unable to sense the Misty Hall’s Palace Mistress and this one’s strength. So right now, Qing Shui felt like it was as if he had just opened another window. The peak of Martial King was another endless “path of hardships”.

“Have you transcended the peak of Martial King?” Qing Shui, however, didn’t ask if she was a Martial Saint.

The lady named Huang Qing shook her head with a shallow smile!

“I know that I am not your match, but I still want a duel with you!” Qing Shui’s tone of voice was flat but with an extremely intense will to battle.

“Are you certain?”

“Yes I am!” Qing Shui said while looking into those deep, enchanting and mysterious eyes of Huang Qing after a moment of silence.

“In that case, the sword and blade have no eyes. I hope you will not regret this!” Huang Qing’s eyes turned cold while looking at Qing Shui. At this very moment, he felt that it was as if she had become another person. On top of that, it was as if this lady who was standing before him was not there anymore.

Qing Shui took out a piece of Godly Force Talisman and slammed it with such force that it shattered on his own body!

A wave of spiritual energy immediately covered Qing Shui’s body. Huang Qing’s eyes lit up, gleaming as bright as the constellations in the sky. She looked at Qing Shui as if she wanted to say something, but she never did.

Qing Shui slowly raised the Big Dipper Sword in his hand!

He raised all aspects of his strength to the highest limit. He knew that this immortal-like being in front of him ,who was known as the “Sword Demon”, was one of the most powerful people he had met. She was the most powerful opponent that Qing Shui had met to date.

Heavenly Thunder Slash!

……...

Diamond Qi!

Qing Shui’s current power and speed were raised to their limits. His qi aura exuded from his body in concentric rings through the air. However, the lady with unparalleled beauty across him had virtually no reaction.

At this very moment, Qing Shui knew that the power that he was best at had lost its advantage. From the brief “sword clash” he had with her just now, he knew that things wouldn’t go well for him as soon as his sword was deflected by that qi force akin to the Volution Force.

“Here I come!” Qing Shui told the lady standing across from him.

Huang Qing nodded and slowly lifted the silvery white three-feet Greenedge sword in her hands. A tranquil aura akin to an immortal, yet at the same time one demonic, flared out from her the moment she raised her sword.

Invulnerable!

That was the feeling it gave to Qing Shui. The plainly dressed lady stood there, her clothes fluttering despite it being windless. Only the three-feet Greenedge in her hands was gleaming unsympathetically and coldy.

She stood there between heaven and earth. It was almost as if she was fusing into one with them.

Qing Shui took a step forward and dashed towards Huang Qing!

The Big Dipper Sword in his hands pierced out!

This was Qing Shui’s most perfect sword attack!

A piercing sword!

“One with Heaven” Piercing Sword!

This was Qing Shui’s first official display of sword technique in its full glory!

The sword technique that was the most mediocre of all in the eyes of cultivators came silently yet at the same time with a force like the silent roar of the ocean!

The lady knitted her beautiful eyebrows. He actually used the Basic Sword Techniques? On top of that, it was of the “One with Heaven” realm…... It was probably impossible to find cultivators who could cultivate the Basic Sword Techniques to his level in the entire World of the Nine Continents.

Her delicate feet lightly shifted, rapidly stepping on the inch of ground beneath her feet. Her body became lighter along with her increasingly fast movements, and her speed had also picked up. It was if she was going to soar into the sky.

Art of Pursuing!

Qing Shui finally utilised the Art of Pursuing, the Great Perfection Stage.

At the same time, the woman struck out with her sword too. Her attack was equally soundless and buoyant with an extraordinary air, as if imbued with the might of Heaven and Earth.

It was actually the “One with Heaven” of the Large Success Stage!

Qing Shui’s swift and nimble attack was resisted by the lady nigh effortlessly!

Ding!

Qing Shui was sent flying. He had once again felt the volution force on that sword, and it was impossible for him to penetrate through that rotating force.

“What a formidable diversion cultivation art!”

If you were going to block a rapidly revolving drill bit piercing towards you with something, you’d definitely require an even greater opposing force to resist it.

But Qing Shui had already achieved his objective. He had slammed the qi force of his Art of Pursuing onto his opponent!

A look of surprise flashed across Huang Qing’s bright eyes. To think that a single contact from earlier could actually reduce her speed so drastically. To make it worse, her body also felt a lot more heavier.

To a powerful cultivator like her, 20% of reduced speed and increased weight was definitely not a small number. This was the beauty of the Art of Pursuing.

This time, the lady took the initiative instead. The qi aura exuded by her snowy white sword became even more threateningly sharp. Her small delicate feet once again treaded lightly on the ground beneath her feet. Qing Shui observed how the path that she was stepping on was almost like a picture of a Yin Yang Fish.

“Eight Trigrams Evil Suppressing Step?”

Her sword pierced out at Qing Shui while he was distracted in his thoughts. Like a shooting star streaking across the heaven, it was piercingly bright!

Qing Shui had a feeling he would not be able to evade this attack regardless of what he did, so he had no other choice but to deal with it head-on. Qing Shui was confident in his body’s strength. On top of that, the effects of the Seven Star Armored Vest had not worn off yet.

Sword of Fourth Wave!

Qing Shui delivered the Great Perfection Stage, Sword of Fourth Wave!

Ding ding ding ding!

Qing Shui was forced to retreat one step after every strike, whereas this Huang Qing girl, who had her weight increased and her speed reduced by 20%, was aggressively closing in on him step by step. It was hard to believe that she could actually still be this powerful.

Qing Shui didn’t feel any injury on himself, but he did felt his internal organs being shaken up. The force was already dissipated when he was forced to back down four steps, so it didn’t cause much trouble to him.

“You are truly one strange cultivator. You have a random mixture of techniques, but they are very powerful.” Huang Qing looked at him, but she had stopped closing in on him.

“Are there many who can defeat you on the Greencloud Continent?” Qing Shui looked at her!

“What is wrong with you? You are ignoring my words yet demand me to give you an answer. How can you be this overbearing?” Huang Qing’s beautiful eyebrows knitted together as she huffed in slight annoyance.

Qing Shui was flabbergasted. He didn’t expect a woman like her would be this “petty”. Furthermore the conversation between them were not going too well, too…...

“What do you want me to answer for you? Yes, I have a random mixture of techniques. As for the powerful part, I realised that I still have a long way to go compared you……”

“Do you always talk to girls like this?” Huang Qing laughed and glanced at the two ladies on the back of Fire Bird. She smiled. Although it was a very elegant smile, it could seep into the hearts of people. This was the most refined smile that Qing Shui had ever seen. Canghai Mingyue’s smile carried an air of arrogance. The Misty Hall’s Palace Mistress and Yiye Jiange’s smiles were more otherworldly, while Huoyun Liu-Li’s smile was cunning like a sly fox yet seductive.

“You’re not going to tell me?” Qing Shui seemed to be very bothered by this question.

“I don’t know the specific number, but I know there are quite a lot of them!”

Qing Shui looked at the chaotic mess around them. He had basically killed those who should be killed, and the remaining ones should not be able to cause trouble again in the Southern City. He only needed to think about what to do with this Sword Demon Huang Qing who was standing before him..

“Do we still fight?”

Qing Shui stared at her speechlessly. “What fight? If you don’t want to kill me, then I’m going off to rescue someone.”

“Going to rescue Ye’er’s grandfather?”

Qing Shui recalled Qing Hanye mentioning about being rescued by an expert. He couldn’t help but fix his gaze on Huang Qing.

“You are that expert she was talking about!”

“Not really worthy of that expert title. Ye’er is already with her grandfather now. So now you have two choices. One is to dissolve the Immortal Sword Sect. The other is to let Ye’er take over the Immortal Sword Sect. Which one do you think is a better choice?”

“If I am not mistaken, are you not from the Sword Tower? Won’t you get punished by the Sword Tower for doing all this?” Qing Shui was very astonished by Huang Qing’s actions. After all, the Immortal Sword Sect was also affiliated with the Sword Tower. But what was he doing with her right now…...?

“Hehe, I still have a certain degree of freedom in doing things. You don’t need to worry about me. Just tell me which one you want to pick. It’s all up to you.” In addition to the aura that Huang Qing was exuding when she spoke and her illusory beauty, she gave off an otherworldly air to people. All this made Qing Shui extremely uncomfortable.

He was really not worrying for her. He was still not capable enough to worry for a girl of her caliber!

Can you manage the Immortal Sword Sect properly after taking over? There are quite a lot of people from the Southern City eyeing it.” Qing Shui was reluctant to let anything happen to Qing Hanye. Although there was nothing in between them, he still wished for her well-being.

“You don’t have to worry about this. If I dare to say this, then that means I am confident enough.”

Just then, two people came over. Qing Shui took a look and recognised that they were Qing Hanye and her grandfather. He knew that Huang Qing was doing this to assure him.

Qing Shui smiled wryly. Even if she didn’t want to assure him, what could he do? He wasn’t even her match. However, he wouldn’t stand still either if she had wanted to kill him.

Qing Shui knew both of them never had the desire to kill each other since the beginning. Her reason was because of that “telepathic communication” and his reason was because she was a lady from the Portrait of Beauties.

It was difficult to destroy a beautiful flower. Those who could do so without a reason were lunatics. Even if he were to start a war with the Sword Tower in the future, and he had to face her, he had no idea if he could bring himself to do it.

“Thank you, Qing Shui. I have said it before that this Immortal Sword Sect would not be anything worth mentioning to you in the future.” the old man laughed heartily as he always did. But Qing Shui wasn’t able to overlap it with the silhouette in that Thousand Year Medicine Shop from the past.

Ever since he had once again taken up the position of the Immortal Sword Sect’s Grand Elder, he had gained the powerful aura that those in a high position should have.

“From now on, we are even. You are to choose your own path. With this expert helping you now, there’s nothing you cannot achieve on the Greencloud Continent. This has taken up quite a lot of my time, so I shall take my leave now.” Qing Shui told Qing Hanye and her grandfather, who had already walked over to Huang Qing’s side.

“You’re leaving so soon?” Huang Qing asked in surprise.

Qing Hanye’s entire delicate frame was slightly trembling. She pursed up her lips and didn’t say anything. She had already expected this outcome when Qing Shui left that time.

Qing Shui could tell that Qing Hanye had been living just as well for the past few years without him. On top of that, he didn’t have time to spare on any kind of romantic relationships.

Qing Hanye had also thought about it before. Yet she couldn’t help but to have some wild wishes when she saw Qing Shui this time. Unfortunately, fate would never let everyone have their wishes fulfilled.

“Yeah, do you need me for something else?” Qing Shui looked at Huang Qing placidly, or more like a little indifferently. Although this Huang Qing was as beautiful as the Misty Hall’s Palace Mistress, Qing Shui subconsciously didn’t want to have anything to do with her.

This is because she was part of the Sword Tower, which meant that their weapons would definitely clash against each other again for real someday.

“No!” she replied after hearing the indifference in Qing Shui’s tone.

She had been acting very abnormally today. This was her first time talking to a man like this, and she was even a little fond of him. Though not the kind of romantic fondness. But because Qing Shui was someone who had interacted with her “consciousness”, she had thought that they would be able to be friends at the very least.

Although she had again, and again, and again tried to accommodate this man, he only seemed to be treating her coldly…...