Chapter 5: Wind and Thunder Steps (Part 1)

  The so-called sword array, Ling Tong did not tell Lu Qing too much about it, only roughly explaining the hierarchy of the formation method, which is divided into human rank, earth rank, heavenly rank, and imperial rank, just like the hierarchy of Sword Yuan Gong. As for some specific divisions, there are also some basic principles of formation, but Lu Qing didn't hear the old man's detailed account.

  Looking at the empty space in front of the bookshelf, Lu Qing slowly stretched out his right hand, and four clear arm shadows appeared in four different directions. His eyes condensed, and Lu Qing's fingers formed a sword that continuously pointed at four locations in the empty space, with four inches of wind and thunder sword energy shooting out from his fingertips.

  Humm——

  In an instant, four faint ripples like water waves opened up in the void, a warm and gentle breeze swept across his face, Lu Qing knew that the Radiant Sun Sword Array had been activated.

  He walked to the bookshelf and roughly looked at it. There weren't many books, only fifteen volumes. Each book had a description below it, divided into four rows. Lu Qing glanced at them and found that among these fifteen books, most were profound sword techniques of the Five Elements. There was the Fire Element's Nine Mysterious Red Fire Sword, True Yang Condensing Fire Sword, Burning Wood Qi Rotation Slash; the Water Element's Azure Sea Mysterious Water Sword; the Earth Element's Thick Earth Sword, Shocking Earth Sword; the Metal Element's Breaking Gold Sword, Great Mystery Sword; and the Wood Element's Green Wood Sword, Withered Wood Rebirth Sword.

  The remaining ones are the Zixiao Qingyun Sword, which belongs to the wind attribute outside of the Five Elements, the Qingfeng Zuijian Sword, the Huo Zhen Xing's Yaoyang Jianfa, the Dihuo Zhenjue Sword, and finally the only one with both wind and thunder attributes, the Zixiao Fenglei Sword. However, since the Wuge already has a profound sword technique of the wind attribute, it was classified under the thunder attribute during categorization, which is also the only set of profound thunder attribute sword techniques in the entire Zixia Sect region.

  Of course, apart from the Chao Yang Peak, the other four peaks' libraries also have collections of profound sword techniques that are slightly different from those of the Chao Yang Peak. After all, the profound sword techniques outside of the five elements are indeed too precious. The Purple Mist Sect has only been established for over 1,600 years and cannot be compared to those golden heavenly or white spirit level sects with histories spanning tens of thousands of years. This is a difference in historical depth, so in the Purple Mist Sect, there aren't many profound sword techniques outside of the five elements.

  He had gone through all the profound sword techniques and had a general understanding of the five elements. In his current view, fire was in charge of burning and destroying anything it touched; water was in charge of life and could penetrate even the hardest stone with its continuous flow; earth was in charge of growth and was thick and heavy, able to protect all things; metal was in charge of destruction, its sharp edges unstoppable; and finally, wood was in charge of growth and could flow like a great river, never ceasing.

  As for the non-five elements, Feng Xing also had some enlightenment, but as for the Huo Zhen Xing's Yang Sword Style and Di Huo Zhen Jue Sword, it made him somewhat puzzled. Huo Zhen Xing looked no different from Huo Xing, but what it absorbed and guided was the power of Taiyang True Fire and Diquan True Fire, two kinds of true fire that Lu Qing had never seen before, so he couldn't produce any enlightenment.

  Finally, Lu Qing took down the manual of the Purple Thunder Sword that was placed in the highest position. Although the Purple Thunder Sword had been accomplished by Zhao Qianye and him for 500 years, this manual was the most frequently browsed. There was no inner disciple of Zhaoyang Peak who did not want to cultivate the Purple Thunder Sword. Even if they were intimidated by the countless examples of failure that had led to the exhaustion of their cultivation over the past 500 years, it did not affect the respect and admiration each disciple had for the Purple Thunder Sword.

  Almost every disciple who has advanced to the rank of sword guest comes here and takes it down to flip through it, which is why the pages of the Purple Cloud Wind Thunder Sword manual in Lu Qing's hand have turned a yellowish color.

  As he flipped through it, Lu Qing discovered that apart from the original sword manual passed down by Zhao Qianye, there were also many annotations at the end. Of course, most of these people were the failed disciples of the Five Hundred Year Wind and Thunder Swordsmen who had lost their cultivation. The majority of them were lamenting about losing their own cultivation, with a sense of sorrow and regret that they would never be able to achieve mastery in the way of the sword.

  There is also a small part, which are the disciples with better hearts left behind, in order to guide the success of the wind and thunder two qi for future generations, they detailedly described the process of opening their own hundred will hole to introduce the wind and thunder two qi.

  There are conclusions about the reasons for failure, mostly due to the physical meridians not being strong enough to withstand the impact of wind and thunder, and also getting lost in oneself when the wind and thunder enter the body, unfortunately falling into the heart demon.

  In the end, it was a few people's description of Feng Lei Er Qi that made Lu Qing have some enlightenment. They said: Feng Lei Er Qi, wind is invisible but has shape, thunder is visible but has no shape, wind dominates speed and destruction, thunder dominates heaven and destruction, what is called Feng Lei Zhi Qi, all lies in the swift thunder that cannot be covered by the ears.

  This passage almost sums up all the characteristics of Feng Lei's two airs, although Lu Qing also had such an epiphany in his daily life, but this time seeing someone describe it so comprehensively, suddenly touched the inspiration hidden in his mind.

  No longer staying, Lu Qing only felt that his heart was fully focused on the wind and thunder sword energy, and could no longer accommodate anything else. It's likely to be disturbed here, all the way back to the exit of the second floor Wu Ge, Lu Qing didn't even say goodbye to Ling Tong, he feared that once he opened his mouth and made a sound, the thoughtful feeling in his heart would disappear completely.

  It was as if he had sensed Lu Qing's departure, and after Lu Qing left, Ling Tong slowly opened his eyes, looking in the direction of Lu Qing's departure with a hint of confusion in his eyes. From Lu Qing's body that had just passed by, he felt a familiar feeling.

  Lu Qing walked out of the library without speaking to anyone, which made all the outer and inner sect disciples who saw him feel a bit strange. To them, Lu Qing seemed to have lost his spirit, his eyes dull and lifeless. However, in those pupils, there was a faint purple-blue light hidden, making everyone who saw it feel their hearts tremble with fear, while at the same time being shocked by Lu Qing's current cultivation.

  At this moment, these disciples, whether they are outer sect or inner sect, no longer have any objections to Lu Qing's position as the protector. Perhaps when Lu Qing was first appointed, there may have been some resistance or discontent, but after a month had passed and the latest Dragon and Phoenix List came out, no one dared to doubt it again.

  Lu Qing, sword name: Lian Xin, 13 years old, cultivation: Sword Guest Great Heaven Position, controls the Five Elements Wind and Thunder Sword Energy, practices the Zi Xuan Wind and Thunder Sword. Has three battles on his record: First battle against Zixia Peak's Huo Yun Jian Lie Feng, Sword Guest Small Heaven Position; Second battle against Luojicheng's Sutu Family Third Elder Sutu Long, Sword Guest Middle Heaven Position; Third battle against Sutu Family Great Elder Sutu Chong, Sword Master Small Heaven Position. All three battles were won completely! Currently ranked sixth overall, listed as one of the top ten young experts in the Zixia Sect.

  The two who were originally ranked ninth and tenth on the Dragon and Phoenix List were squeezed out of the top ten, because apart from Lu Qing, Zhao Qianye also rose from twelfth to fifth due to his performance in the year-end competition with Nie Qingtian last year. This is the best ranking for Chaoyang Peak in nearly 500 years, with as many as three people on the list, which has also shifted the attention of the other four peaks to this side, and rumors have been circulating within the inner sect.

  However, all of these are now irrelevant to Lu Qing. After leaving the Tushu Pavilion, Lu Qing almost subconsciously activated the Fenglei Sword Yuan, transforming into a cyan-purple streamer that quickly flew towards Lianxin Academy. Along the way, many disciples only felt a flash of cyan-purple light in front of their eyes and then couldn't see anything else.

  In Lu Qing's mind, a clear purple lightning bolt appeared, along with a swirling green whirlwind. The two merged and rapidly shifted in his mind, leaving behind a clear purple-green afterimage each time. In an instant, Lu Qing's field of vision was filled with the shadows of green and purple wind and thunder.

  And these countless winds and thunders are changing shape every moment, yet they are crystal clear. Every breath on their bodies is exactly the same, which undoubtedly proves that they are actually the same wind and thunder. Looking at the front of the remaining afterimage, Lu Qing suddenly had a surge of excitement in his heart, and his footsteps couldn't help but move along with the trajectory.

  At this time, three fellow disciples of the inner sect suddenly found that a shocking scene appeared in front of them. A person wearing a cyan-gray martial robe with a faint purple light on his body walked step by step from afar. His walking speed was very slow, but every step he took seemed to traverse space and appear several meters ahead. Behind him, a clear purple shadow lingered for a long time until three more shadows appeared in front of them before slowly rippling.

  It wasn't until the person had taken five steps that they finally dispersed into countless purple-blue light spots. It was these few five steps that made the original dozens of meters distance between the three people disappear so quickly, and by the fourth step, a clear human figure appeared six meters in front of them.

  "Lu Huofa!" The three exclaimed in unison.

  However, they soon discovered that something was amiss. After Lu Qing took his fifth step, he appeared two zhang behind them, and continued to move further away. When they turned their heads again to look at the figure in front of them, they found that Lu Qing's gaze had become dull and lifeless, as if he had lost his soul. Upon closer inspection, his pupils were emitting a deep, dark purple light, as if it was about to pierce into their very souls, causing their minds to fluctuate rapidly.

  They couldn't help but observe the figure's posture, which suddenly gave them a feeling of suffocation in their hearts, as if a huge stone was blocking them, and their blood flow was stagnant. Even their brains started to feel dizzy, but despite this feeling becoming more and more apparent, their eyes still refused to move away from that figure.

  It wasn't until the figure disappeared that the three of them simultaneously came back to their senses, exchanged a glance, and each saw in the others' eyes an unspeakable horror and trembling, as well as the other two's faces which had turned deathly pale in just a few short breaths.