"Painting, what shall be the theme?" Fan Li inquired.
"This..." Master Yichuan longed to set the theme himself, gaining a significant advantage. However, surrounded by the crowd's fervent anticipation, even his thick skin had its limits. He dared not wrest control of the theme selection. Yet, letting Fan Li choose filled him with apprehension.
Suddenly, his gaze fell upon Sage Ruler Han Yue. This woman seemed to possess a remarkable treasure, concealing her cultivation level even from him. Still, Yichuan could at least discern that she was a sword cultivator, clearly not well-versed in Confucianism.
He smiled. "Why don't we let this young lady decide the theme for our paintings? What do you say?"
Seeing Sage Ruler Han Yue accompanying Fan Li, the scholars felt this proposal was fair. Fan Li, the least concerned of all, simply nodded and turned to Han Yue. "May I trouble you to set a theme?"
"Me?" Han Yue frowned. She knew nothing about Confucian cultivation, let alone what themes Fan Li excelled at painting. Though eager to help, she hesitated to inquire directly.
"Any theme will do," Fan Li chuckled, sensing her reluctance.
Sage Ruler Han Yue nodded. After a moment's thought, she finally uttered a single word based on her own preference, "Sword!"
The theme for the painting: Sword?!
Master Yichuan chuckled. The sword was the weapon of the gentleman, also the weapon of the king. Virtually all Confucian cultivators knew how to wield a sword. In other words, the higher a Confucian cultivator's realm, the deeper their understanding of the sword. Master Yichuan stood at the first level of Unity, while Fan Li was merely at the third level of Foundation Building. Their realms were worlds apart. With the sword as the theme, wasn't the outcome already decided?
Master Yichuan, brimming with confidence, ordered Zhu Ziyang around like a servant. After a brief contemplation, he began to paint.
He was indeed worthy of the Unity realm! As his brush met the paper, sword energy surged forth, accompanied by the relentless clang of clashing blades! The observing scholars gasped in awe, realizing that Master Yichuan did possess genuine skill after all.
And Fan Li? He stood with arms crossed, head bowed in contemplation, his brush remaining untouched.
Time trickled by. Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye. Master Yichuan's painting had taken shape, while the sheet of rice paper before Fan Li remained blank.
Master Yichuan stole a glance at Fan Li across from him.
Hmph! This young man! Still too green, how could he compare to years of accumulated experience?
Seeing Fan Li's continued inaction, Han Yue grew anxious. She wanted to offer words of encouragement, but seeing him furrow his brow in deep thought, she feared interrupting his train of thought and could only endure the suspense.
In truth, Han Yue's worries were entirely superfluous. With the combined memories of two lifetimes, how could Fan Li possibly be lacking in knowledge? On the contrary, with the theme of "sword," he wasn't short of ideas, but rather overwhelmed by them, unsure which to choose.
"Ten steps to kill one, a thousand miles without a trace"?
"A hall full of flowers intoxicating three thousand guests, a single sword chilling fourteen continents"?
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
"My sword is your..." Ah, forget that one.
Suddenly, inspiration struck Fan Li! Since the theme was "sword," why not paint the strongest sword in existence?
However, wouldn't that be somewhat like cheating?
Considering his opponent was Master Yichuan, Fan Li felt no qualms about cheating. He cast a sympathetic glance at his opponent, thinking: Old man, you're simply unlucky to have encountered me this time.
"Everyone, please behold my 'Hundred Weapons Worshipping the Sword'!"
Almost at the same moment Fan Li began painting, Master Yichuan had already finished his work!
In an instant, the Luming Academy reverberated with the clanging of swords. Several shadowy figures flickered in the sky, each wielding a long sword, gazing down upon all beings like kings.
The scholars finally saw the "Hundred Weapons Worshipping the Sword'" painting clearly.
In the painting, hundreds of weapons lay broken and shattered, utterly defeated. Only a single long sword stood tall, thrust into the peak of a mountain, its tassel fluttering in the wind, exuding the calm and collected demeanor of a king.
"Zhe~~~~~~~~~~~ng!" A metallic clang resonated from the painting. A colossal golden sword, using the scroll as its scabbard, slowly "unsheathed" itself, towering between heaven and earth.
"This is the sword of the gentleman! It is also the sword of the king!" Master Yichuan roared with laughter, seemingly assured of victory.
The scholars gazed up at the gigantic golden sword, genuinely feeling an urge to kneel and worship. The vast difference in their realms had left them utterly subdued by Master Yichuan's "Hundred Weapons Worshipping the Sword."
"Congratulations, Master! Felicitations, Master!"
"’Hundred Weapons Worshipping the Sword' has been revealed, no renowned scholar's painting can surpass yours, let alone this young man's!" Zhu Ziyang immediately offered his flattery, making Master Yichuan's laughter even more unrestrained.
Among all present, only Fan Li and Han Yue remained unaffected.
Han Yue glanced at the giant sword's shadow and scoffed, her heart filled with disdain.
The sword of the gentleman? The sword of the king?
With Han Yue's Great Vehicle Third Realm understanding of swordsmanship, this was nothing more than pedantic scholars' self-indulgent fantasy of the sword.
The sword was merely a weapon of slaughter.
Swordsmanship was merely the art of killing.
Long sword in hand, charging forward with unwavering resolve, unstoppable, that was all!
Sage Ruler Han Yue had absolute confidence that if Master Yichuan were to duel her with equal realms, she could slay him within a hundred moves!
This was the difference between a true sword cultivator and a Confucian swordsman.
"Is Fan Li's painting done yet?" Han Yue shifted her attention away from the giant sword's shadow, focusing on Fan Li's artwork.
In the next instant, her body swayed, nearly losing her balance! Fan Li's painting actually made Han Yue feel as if the foundation of her swordsmanship was being shaken, momentarily losing her composure!
"What are you painting?!" Han Yue couldn't help but cry out in alarm. Her voice immediately drew countless gazes.
However, before Fan Li could answer, a celestial phenomenon had already formed!
The sky, the sea of clouds, seemed to be cleaved by a sword, splitting into four distinct parts!
Each section of the cloud sea was crimson as if stained with blood. Within the depths of the clouds, countless enormous figures seemed to writhe in agony, emitting distant yet piercing screams! The scholars couldn't help but wonder if the heavens above were no longer the coveted celestial realm, but rather a landscape of corpses and a sea of blood?!
A violent wind suddenly arose, whipping against their faces with stinging force. The king's sword, previously floating in mid-air, was crushed by the aura emanating from Fan Li's painting!
Within the scroll, four fierce sword intents seemed ready to burst forth from the confines of the paper.
"You... what have you painted?!" Master Yichuan, both shocked and enraged, couldn't help but widen his eyes and stare.
The crowd also craned their necks to see. Compared to the dramatic change in the heavens, Fan Li's painting seemed remarkably ordinary.
On the entire sheet of rice paper, he had only drawn four swords of similar design. This didn't even resemble a painting. It looked more like a blueprint for casting swords.
Beside each of the four swords, Fan Li meticulously inscribed a character.
"Slay... Slaughter... Annihilate... Trap..." Sage Ruler Han Yue struggled to read these four words, fighting against the oncoming headache, and looked at Fan Li with questioning eyes.
Fan Li glanced at her calmly, then swept his gaze over the surrounding crowd.
"Please, everyone, appreciate this. These are the (Slay Immortal Sword), (Slaughter Immortal Sword), (Annihilate Immortal Sword), and (Trap Immortal Sword), collectively known as the Four Swords of Zhu Xian."
Pausing briefly, Fan Li recited a poem:
"Not of copper, nor iron, nor steel, once hidden beneath Mount Sumeru."
"Not forged through reversed Yin and Yang, does it lack the tempering of water and fire?"
"The Slay Immortal brings ruin, the Slaughter Immortal brings death, the Trap Immortal raises red light all around."
"The Annihilate Immortal's transformations are infinitely wondrous, staining the garments of even Great Luo Immortals with blood."