Stars fall and locust trees grow

After entering the mortal world, life gradually became monotonous and boring.

After studying the sect's most basic Sixteen Shadow-Stepping Sword Techniques over and over again for at least a month, Li Chi found that he still couldn't even unleash the power of the first move.

In winter, the martial arts arena was cold and windy. Fortunately, it was a sunny day with plenty of sunshine, so it didn't feel too cold.

He sniffed, holding a small broken sword, and stood at the front of the team with his head down.

At this moment, a short and fat old man with two long eyebrows was standing on the stage, spitting and pointing.

Li Chi vaguely remembered that the new manager's name seemed to be Zhou Qun.

"You can't even learn such a simple sword technique! You are just a bunch of rubbish!"

"Since I founded the sect, I have never taught disciples as stupid as pigs like you!"

Li Chi frowned, feeling as if saliva had sprayed on his head. But he didn't dare to reach out to wipe it openly, so he lowered his head even lower.

Manager Zhou kept scolding for nearly a quarter of an hour before he stopped. After all, he knew that scolding alone would not have any effect.

Looking coldly at the group of unpromising disciples in front of him, he frowned twice, coughed twice, and then calmed down and said: "Today, I will demonstrate it to you again! Watch carefully!"

Li Chi decisively raised his head and looked towards the stage, his eyes as big as two grapes, and he made up his mind that he must learn to death this time.

Seeing that these young men focused their attention on him, Manager Zhou flicked his sleeves with satisfaction and then waved to his side.

Immediately, a sword flew out from the martial arts hall next to him with a clanging sound and instantly appeared in his right hand.

He took a deep breath, took a step back with his right foot, and at the same time, formed a sword gesture with his left hand, making a neat starting posture.

"The first move of the Shadow-Stepping Sword Technique: Gentle Breeze!"

Manager Zhou held the sword in his right hand and turned forward, then swept the sword diagonally to the left.

It looked like just a simple action, but Li Chi could feel a gentle sword energy coming towards him, like a spring breeze.

"The second move is flying flowers and drunken butterflies!"

Manager Zhou stepped forward with his left foot and made a sword flower with his right hand. Li Chi closed his eyes, as if he could really feel a group of butterflies flapping their wings and flying past him after collecting nectar.

"The third move is the blue sky and clouds! The fourth move is the broken rain and falling strings!"

These two sword moves still continue the warmth and softness of the previous two moves.

After the spring breeze, the sky is clear, the air is fresh, the wind is gentle, and there is a drizzle. All things come back to life. After these two moves were performed, the disciples suddenly felt as if they fell into a dream, and the yearning and desire for life emerged in their minds.

"Feng Xu rides the wind! Huge waves cut through the sky! Destroys mountains and breaks seas! Walks across isolated cliffs!"

When it came to the fifth move, Zhou Qun suddenly rose into the air, flew forward with the wind, and slashed with a sword vertically or horizontally in the upper, middle, and lower directions in front of him.

The three sword energies intertwined one after another, forming a cross-shaped cyclone that moved forward at a high speed. The air currents stirred up along the way blew all the disciples on the training ground toppled over.

After these three swords, Zhou Qun landed lightly on the ground again, and then threw out four more swords.

"The flying snake breaks through the fog! The crouching dragon crosses the river! The tiger roars like a golden crow! The crane cries loudly!"

If the first eight moves target people's vision, smell and consciousness, then the next four moves stimulate people's hearing.

As soon as Zhou Qun finished speaking, Li Chi saw a visible gust of wind swirling up from the ground, like a giant snake about to transform into a dragon, roaring straight into the sky.

Immediately afterwards, the sounds of dragon roars, tiger howls and crane cries followed one after another, so deafening that all the disciples who were watching could not help but cover their ears.

"The thirteenth move is flying stars covering the moon! The fourteenth move is weeping dew in the cold night!"

After these two moves, the sky above the martial arts field seemed to suddenly become dim, and the warmth that the disciples had just felt gradually disappeared. They could vaguely see large patches of white air exhaled from their mouths.

"The fifteenth move, Kunshan Falling Snow!"

When this move was performed, the sword energy swung by Manager Zhou instantly condensed into snowflakes as big as goose feathers, and the severe cold unique to winter once again swept over.

The snowflakes transformed by the sword energy spun in the air for a while and then slowly fell to the ground, condensing into circular ice circles about one foot wide.

Li Chi stared at one of the ice circles and thought to himself: If this snowflake falls on a person, I wonder what the consequences will be.

"Sixteenth Style: Sneak without a Trace!"

Walking without leaving a trace is the final move of the Walking Shadow Sword Technique, and also the one with the most murderous intent.

However, this move complements the fifteenth move, Kunshan Falling Snow. It can only exert its maximum power when the falling snow is successfully performed and condensed into an ice circle.

“Clang, clang, clang…”

After Manager Zhou finished his move, the ice circles on the ground first shattered and then turned into ice powder, leaving only a few undulating pits.

After the sword-fighting demonstration, he threw the sword in his hand back into the training hall, then resolutely stood in the middle of the stage with his hands behind his back, his long eyebrows stubbornly drawn sideways, without a trace of emotion.

Although this was not the first time that Li Chi saw Manager Zhou demonstrate this sword technique, he always felt that the opponent seemed to have used more strength this time than before, otherwise it would not be so powerful.

"It's probably caused by the excessive accumulation of anger and resentment..." Li Chi thought to himself.

“Wow… so awesome…” The young man standing on the left side of Li Chi clenched his fists and muttered, “If I learn the Shadow-Stepping Sword Technique, will I become that awesome too?!”

Upon hearing this, Li Chi patted the other person's thin shoulder and said, "Come on! Xiao Xixi! I believe in you!"

"I said my name is Xiaoyu, the Yu in Hu Weiyu, and you are not allowed to call me Xiaoxixi anymore!" The boy glared.

"Okay! Xiao Xixi."

Qi Luoxing, who was sitting next to him, was stunned for a moment, then came over and whispered, "Cousin! Manager Zhou is too awesome, isn't he?!"

"It's just a basic sword technique, how can it be so powerful?!"

Li Chi touched his chin and thought very carefully for a second. "I heard that this sword technique was created by the sect's founder, the current Grand Elder Li Yuan. Its power should not be underestimated."

Thinking of the legendary ancestor who was nearly a thousand years old, Qi Luoxing nodded, "Can we live to be a thousand years old like the Supreme Elder?"

Li Chi: "If the three of us work hard, our combined efforts should be about the same..."

Manager Zhou on the stage saw that the group of disciples began to whisper again, so he raised his voice and said, "All sword techniques must be used in conjunction with spiritual energy to exert their power."

"I will conduct another test in a month. If you still cannot successfully master the power of the first form, you will be sent to the punishment room for three months!"

"..."