Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 198 - 168: Shen Qingming’s Progress in Language Arts

December 25, 2017

In the players' seating area, Wang Jiu began earnestly explaining tactics to Shen Qingming.

"The match-up table has been updated. Your opponent is Shan Heqiu. I just requested from the referee the footage of his last round match and his grading assessment."

Shen Qingming nodded and suddenly thought of something that made her laugh: "You're so thorough."

"Of course, that's my consistent style," Wang Jiu replied confidently, "When it comes to being detail-oriented and considerate, my skills are at the Celestial Level, just like my combat prowess."

"Haha." Remembering incidents like the water jug and carrot incidents back in Shen Garden, Shen Qingming could only laugh without comment.

Yet, on the other hand, the girl was genuinely happy because Wang Jiu had so meticulously gathered information, clearly intending for her to fight personally rather than control from the sidelines.

To be honest, Shen Qingming was quite looking forward to such a real battle.

Perhaps the Cyan Cloud Tournament might be a bit too far for someone like her, only 14 years of age, but since there was a chance to stand on stage and showcase her talent, what reason was there to refuse?

And Wang Jiu putting so much effort into preparing her must also mean he held high hopes for her, so she certainly had to strive not to let him down.

Moreover, she's actually quite confident in defeating this opponent by herself.

"I've actually got a bit of knowledge about this Shan Heqiu," Shen Qingming said casually, "He used to be part of the Mountain Shifting Sword Dao Club, quite average in talent. Broke through the Wind Barrier at 15, and at 19, hadn't even reached the Cloud Surge Realm yet. If not for being the Young Manor Master of the Unmoving Manor, one of the top ten manors in Cyan Cloud, and having a generous father investing resources in him, he likely wouldn't have qualified to reach the finals... But I passed the first round, so how am I facing him? He's supposed to be first-round elimination standard."

Wang Jiu was about to play the footage when he heard this and frowned: "Are you sure? By your description, this Shan Heqiu is only at first-round elimination standard. Then, based on related coefficients, this year's Cyan Cloud Tournament champion should at least be a master standing at 1.9 meters tall, proficient in Physical Divine Techniques, True Essence Realm in the Mountain-Overturning Realm or higher, possessing three superior Divine Skills and not eating carrots."

"...What does height and aversion to carrots have to do with anything?!"

Wang Jiu said, "That's the ideal image I designed for the Cyan Cloud champion. Naturally, to avoid complaints from feminists, I could also change it to a 1.5-meter tall lily girl."

Shen Qingming was stunned for a moment before steering the conversation back: "So you're suggesting that Shan Heqiu's strength is remarkable? Not nearly as weak as he appears?"

Wang Jiu replied, "Allowing for a certain margin of error in calculation, I can ascertain Shan Heqiu's strength is at least in the top thirty in this tournament, and except for the top four individuals, no one has a win rate over seventy percent against him."

"Are you joking?" Shen Qingming said in surprise. "He was expelled from the club back then because he was performing so poorly!"

"If Shan Heqiu was expelled from the club due to lack of ability, then based on related coefficients, members like you would face a compensation claim of at least a thousand Spirit Stones."

"...I'm a quality member with a plus-three grading!" Shen Qingming protested, "Okay, he's strong? Pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger? Then... how can I possibly beat him?"

Wang Jiu thought for a moment: "Based on your standards, as long as you follow through with my training plan step by step, roughly in two years, you'll be able to defeat him with a crushing advantage."

"...Which means, as I am now, I have no chance at all?" Shen Qingming asked.

"Unless you two meet in the opening match, then indeed there's no obvious way you can win."

"And you want me to fight personally?!"

Wang Jiu raised his eyebrows: "When did I want you to fight personally? This match is indeed for my remote control."

"...Then why did you do so much preparation work?!"

Wang Jiu said, "This is where I'm gentle, considerate, and meticulous. By fully demonstrating Shan Heqiu's strength, I'm making sure you retreat knowingly without developing feelings of inferiority."

"..." Shen Qingming was silent for a while, "Let me see his information."

Wang Jiu input his True Essence, and the talisman immediately projected an image.

The first was footage of Shan Heqiu during the grading assessment, where, cautiously releasing his True Essence, the air in the assessment room changed to a faint orange hue before the authoritative evaluators hired by the organizing committee.

"Mid-stage Cloud Surge Realm... Hmm, half a step off, but not far off either. My God, this guy really knows how to hide. When he was expelled from the club, he seemed clearly in the late stages of the Wind-Rising Realm—was it intentional?!"

Wang Jiu said, "Keep watching."

Next was the evaluation of his cultivation technique, where Shan Heqiu demonstrated his Unmoving Manor's inherited secret skill, Thunderous Unmoving, surrounded by thunder making it hard for anyone to approach. But thunderous power was confined to just an inch from his body, leaving its practical combat effects questionable.

"Wow, this is totally a prickly turtle—even if it can't hurt anyone, others find it difficult to hurt him either... And just with this, he's solidly in the top thirty of the tournament?"

"Keep watching."

Finally, his magical treasure was assessed, and Shan Heqiu showed off his inherited treasure, the Five-Thunder Heart-Protecting Mirror, further stacking his defensive power to higher levels.

Shen Qingming frowned: "But only defense and no offense... being so one-sided in this focus, the evaluation shouldn't be too high right."

Meanwhile, the evaluators were also giving their opinions.

"Middle Rank, though on paper, he's only a step away from Upper Rank, though close yet far, difficult to defeat Upper Rank masters in practical combat, Middle Rank it is."

Seeing this, Shen Qingming understood: "He's deliberately hiding something? Even if the grouping in the finals is unfavorable? Ah, yes, as long as his real strength can firmly suppress all Middle Rank opponents, then being grouped in Upper Rank or Middle Rank makes no difference. Conversely, after a few rounds of elimination matches, when facing Upper Rank masters unexpectedly could be effective. Is Shan Heqiu trying to play this hand? But isn't this considered cheating? It's against the rules to hide strength during evaluator grading, isn't it?"

Wang Jiu said: "Where's the cheating? He has sufficiently displayed his strength; if the evaluators can't spot anything wrong, that's their issue."

"Um, what's the problem?"

"Wearing the Five-Thunder Heart-Protecting Mirror and using the Thunderous Unmoving Heart Method, True Essence operation speed slows down to one-third of normal speed."

"What? Of course, True Essence fluctuation would be weak... But, can't evaluators notice?"

"Notice how? The Five-Thunder Heart-Protecting Mirror and Thunderous Unmoving Heart Method are Unmoving Manor's familial treasures—how could outsiders know? Judging by True Essence fluctuation alone yields that result."

Shen Qingming curiously asked, "How did you figure it out!? Have you rebuilt your Sword World to omniscience and omnipotence?"

Wang Jiu said: "Of course not; with Cyan Cloud City's meager resources, how could I possibly restore my peak state? Even blood-sacrificing the entire city might only restore one-tenth. Shan Heqiu's matters are what he spoke himself."

"Huh? Spoke himself?"

"Yes, during tactical communication with the Unmoving Manor's Manor Master in the private box, he revealed all his secrets."

"How can you hear dialogues inside a private box!?"

"Because I placed Hundred-Lock Vine ahead of time in that box."

"Why place Hundred-Lock Vine in someone else's box?"

"Don't you understand the principle of 'know your enemy and yourself to prevail in every battle'?"

"How can you justify cheating so righteously!?"

"I think you shouldn't spend your limited IQ in such trivia as this game of ten-thousand whys." Wang Jiu shook his head, "The match is about to begin, get ready for warm-up."

Shen Qingming asked, "Warm-up, how to warm up?"

"Oh, it's simple, just like this."

In the next moment, Shen Qingming felt completely out of control as the True Essence within her began speeding up circulation, nearly berserking in an instant, as her body came under extreme pressure, almost painfully splitting. If not for losing control of her body, Shen Qingming would have cried out.

But Wang Jiu still did not relent, continually accelerating True Essence circulation, for a moment within Shen Qingming spiraled Spirit Wind, the invisible wind seemed to condense into a tangible Spiritual Cloud, forcibly crossing a realm using Overclocking Technique!

Yet such a brutally enhancing method definitely had unspoken side effects, although Shen Qingming was not to the point of bleeding from seven orifices or having her bones and flesh rupture, the internal pain was increasingly approaching her tolerance limit. Though having cultivated the Immovable Tyrant Body for months and greatly improved her pain endurance to masochistic levels, she still found it hard to bear.

The girl wanted to speak, but found her facial muscles completely out of control, she could only struggle to signal with her eyes and screamed inside her mind.

"Wang Jiu, Wang Jiu, quickly open the Mind Passage, I need to talk to you!"

Wang Jiu curiously responded: "Why? Aren't you always opposed to me speaking directly into your mind?"

"I have something important to speak to you about, hurry up and listen to me!"

Wang Jiu said: "Alright, go ahead."

After a brief silence, Shen Qingming spoke in her mind...

"I f@#%*#&@!"

That day, Wang Jiu first learned that Shen Qingming, this little girl, was so rich in vocabulary, and her breath long when it came to cursing people.