Yanqing put away the sword in his hand and walked to Bai Luan's side, just about to admit defeat.
However, before he could speak, he heard Bai Luan's clear voice:
"I lost."
Yanqing's footsteps halted, and he looked up at Bai Luan in astonishment.
The mask had been removed, revealing that face with its usual smile and a calm tone.
Wait, where exactly did you lose?
A single punch had shattered his strongest sword strike... he didn't even dare to imagine how difficult it would be to face Bai Luan if he gave up using a sword.
"Why do you say that, Mr. Bai Luan?"
Yanqing frowned slightly, speaking in confusion.
"Just now, it was clearly Yanqing whose strength were inferior; even the final strike was easily neutralized by you, sir..."
"No."
Bai Luan interrupted him, shaking his head.
"That last strike, I didn't dare to use a sword to meet it. Therefore, I am the one who lost."
"But if you hadn't used a sword, I'm afraid Yanqing would have been defeated long ago."
Yanqing spoke the truth, without a hint of resentment, only puzzled by Bai Luan's logic.
Bai Luan looked at him with a steady gaze and a sense of earnestness:
"Yanqing, in my eyes, you are a pure swordsman.
So now, I ask you as well—after the battle just now, do you think that at this moment, I still count as a swordsman'?"
Yanqing answered almost without thinking:
"Naturally you do. Your Sword Intent is refined, your moves are sophisticated, and your understanding and application of the sword have long surpassed ordinary practitioners. You are well-deserving of being called a Swordman."
"In that case,"
The corners of Bai Luan's mouth curled up slightly.
"Then this contest, from beginning to end, should have been a duel between swordsmen."
He lowered his eyes, his fingertips lightly brushing over not white's cold blade; the longsword seemed to feel it, emitting a faint and intimate hum as if responding to its master's touch.
If his own swordsmanship had been a bit more superb, it wouldn't have been impossible to meet that strike with not white.
If his current self used not white to take that strike, the sword would break, but that wouldn't be the sword's fault; the fundamental reason for the sword breaking would actually be that his own Swordsmanship hadn't reached that level yet.
"If a swordsman, in a contest with another swordsman, must resort to means other than the sword to win..."
Bai Luan looked up, staring straight into Yanqing's clear pupils.
"Then, the moment he discards the sword or employs other methods, he has already lost."
He paused and laughed, his smile filled with frankness:
"So, it is I, as a swordsman, who lost to you, the swordsman."
"A contest between swordsmen..."
In this single match, he really had learned so much.
Yanqing smiled and said:
"Mr. Bai Luan, you are much purer than I imagined. I have learned a great deal."
"Haha, there's no need for such talk. I was just chatting."
Bai Luan released not white from his hand, letting it move about freely.
He let go, and the not white sword didn't fall; instead, it performed a nimble spin and floated gracefully by his side.
Unlike the slightly stiff state from before where it merely maintained a following position, the current not white appeared exceptionally agile and natural.
The blade tilted slightly, its faint light flowing as if it had its own emotions and breath, exuding a sense of leisure and freedom identical to Bai Luan's.
The not white from the Little Black Room did not return there after everything ended, but instead remained inside the not white sword; now, within this single sword, there were two Sword Spirits.
Just a moment ago, the not white from the Little Black Room was still complaining to Bai Luan about how he could possibly be such a weakling now.
It felt like a sense of deja vu, like an adult looking back at their elementary school self.
Besides complaining about his real-world self, there was also a bunch of idle chatter.
'You actually fought to a draw with Yanqing using that?'
'As expected of my sword master.'
'I really can't watch this anymore, I need to train myself properly!'
'Yeah, if there's any trouble, let it handle it first. If it can't hold on, then I'll step in. My younger self simply lacks experience.'
It was foreseeable that within the not white sword, in that space exclusive to Sword Spirits, there would be a bizarre training arc.
Training oneself, one could say.
Yanqing looked at not white with some curiosity; his intuition told him that it had undergone some changes.
But he wasn't Yunli, after all, and couldn't communicate directly with swords like she could, so he couldn't say exactly what had changed.
Forget it, better not to think about it.
Mr. Bai Luan is a genius, and no matter how absurd the things that happen around a genius are, just think that they are perfectly reasonable for a genius, don't hurt your brain by trying to make sense of it...
However, through this contest, he had indeed grown quite a bit.
Well... after watching Mr. Bai Luan break through at an inconceivable speed every day, it was finally his turn to make some progress.
This is what I deserve.
Bai Luan was also very happy; he planned to retrieve the footage captured by the camera in a bit.
High-end material doesn't even need much processing; using the most basic editing techniques plus some camera cuts would result in an excellent promotional video.
The only difficult point was that the duration of the promotional video needed to be controlled, which meant choices had to be made regarding the video content.
Well... he would just cut out the strike that Yanqing had realized. If the Borisin were to find out in advance through the promotional video that Yanqing had mastered a new finishing move, it might affect the plot.
The end of the promotional video could perhaps be a freeze-frame of that brief, tension-filled moment of confrontation between the two, after he broke the Sword Array, when Yanqing closed his eyes to concentrate and then snapped them open to deliver the final strike.
Leaving room for imagination and suspense.
This is... an open ending~
However... Bai Luan looked at Yanqing.
He couldn't help but feel emotional in his heart.
Yanqing's talent really was high; Jingliu had only delivered a single strike in front of him, and he was able to comprehend a new finishing move on his own based on that strike.
If it were him, who knows how long he would have to spend scratching his head and struggling in the Little Black Room.
"Uh... Mr. Bai Luan,"
Yanqing felt a bit uneasy being stared at by Bai Luan's thoughtful gaze.
"Is there any further advice you have while looking at Yanqing like this?"
"It's nothing."
Bai Luan withdrew his gaze and smiled.
"I just couldn't help but marvel once again at how terrifying the talent of a true swordsmanship genius is."
Hearing this, Yanqing's expression immediately became a bit strange.
What?
High talent?
Me... me?
It's not considered high in front of you, is it?
Yanqing gave a bitter smile and said:
"Mr. Bai Luan, please stop making fun of me."
Bai Luan shrugged innocently and said:
"Please, I'm seriously and sincerely praising you..."
Then his smile deepened, his tone gentle and certain as he remarked:
"With a swordsman like you in Luofu's future, Jing Yuan... must be able to feel a bit more at ease."
"Not at all, the road ahead is long and Yanqing is still far off. If only I could truly share the General's burdens."
This brief contest thus came to an end.
Bai Luan and Yanqing returned to the The Seat of Divine Foresight back garden, where the afternoon time remained the same.
Practicing, explaining, correcting—everything seemed no different from usual.
Only during breaks, Yanqing would often sit alone in silence or pace slowly, his gaze sometimes focusing on a point in the void and sometimes sweeping over the longsword in his hand, clearly still repeatedly mulling over and digesting the impact and insights brought by that contest.
Yanqing was busy digesting the progress from that match, while Bai Luan was busy editing the promotional video for the Martial Arts Ceremony.
Both had their own things to do, and neither spoke much about the result of that contest.
But while the two of them could keep their composure, the other two onlookers certainly couldn't.
March 7th and Yunli were incredibly curious about the outcome of this contest.
In a match between a beginner in swordsmanship and a swordsmanship genius, the winner should have been obvious, but Bai Luan's status as a genius added a layer of mystery to the result.
If it were Bai Luan, maybe he really could win?
Yunli and March 7th had been curious about the result early on, and today they finally endured until the two went to duel. But after the two returned, it was as if they had made an agreement; neither mentioned it...
Yunli couldn't bring herself to ask Yanqing, while March 7th was worried about accidentally asking the loser and opening an old wound.
But... they really wanted to know who won.
In the end, it was March 7th who was the first to crack. During a break in practice, she seized the moment when Yanqing was immersed in his own thoughts on the Way of the Sword and had no time for anything else, sneakily sidling up to Bai Luan, who was organizing the footage.
"Mr. Bai Luan... can I bother you for a second?"
"What is it?"
March 7th looked up at Yanqing in the distance, and seeing his expression of deep thought, she felt relieved.
Confirmed, the environment is safe to ask questions.
Before March 7th could speak, Bai Luan looked at her with a smile and asked:
"Do you want to ask me who won between Yanqing and me?"
March 7th was taken aback, then laughed sheepishly and scratched her head, saying:
"Hehe, I'm just curious."
Bai Luan's gaze unintentionally swept over Yunli, who was nearby pretending to wipe Old Mettle, nearly polishing it to a shine.
Her ears had probably long since pricked up to eavesdrop.
Truly a childish nature.
The curve of Bai Luan's lips deepened slightly, and then he spoke:
"Is there even a need to think? Of course, I lost."
T/N: The sword name is 不白/Bu Bai.
Did any of you believe ghost exist?
I don't want to, but I have getting troll by them 3 times.
But what more scary to me is the fact that I actually has kidney stone, thanks god it pop up when I was still little.