Chapter 37: Shadow of a Wild Goose in the Clouds

The sting of distrust had initially ignited Gu Pinglin's fury, but rationality soon doused the flames.

He'd always known Duan Qingming's nature. Logically, such an oversight should've been impossible—yet he'd designed his strategy as if the man didn't exist, inviting chaos.

Had he subconsciously trusted his rival? Felt betrayed by his lack of faith?

Was this lingering sentiment from their current life as sect brothers?

Gu Pinglin's emotions tangled.

Qi Zhen and Qi Peng waited at a distance, only to realize no trap had sprung.

"You dare mock us, brats?!" Qi Zhen roared.

"All's fair in war," Duan Qingming replied cheerfully. "Must elders be so petty?"

Gu Pinglin shot him a glance.

With the array sigil nullified and both Qi elders now wary, their situation had turned dire. Yet Duan Qingming's tone remained flawlessly unperturbed—a masterful act.

"Insolence!" Qi Zhen summoned his sword. "Crushing you would be easier than ants!"

"Hold." Qi Peng halted him, dispatching a qi-blade to shatter the array's core. Seven green rays erupted skyward before dissipating. "A genuine array, yet..."

"Bluffing," Qi Zhen scoffed. "What could pups know of formations?"

Qi Peng frowned. Their prey's lack of panic unsettled him.

"Since when do you fear juveniles?" Qi Zhen lunged, sword cleaving air.

Gu Pinglin and Duan Qingming retreated in sync.

Missed strikes only inflamed Qi Zhen's pride. He channeled seventy percent power into his next assault.

"Temper, elder," Duan Qingming taunted mid-retreat. "Rashness invites traps."

"Traps? Pah!" Qi Zhen sneered. "I'll skin you alive—"

"Save yourself first," Gu Pinglin interrupted coolly.

"Beware!" Qi Peng shouted.

Too late. Crimson mist erupted beneath Qi Zhen's feet, engulfing him.

Gu Pinglin allowed himself a rare smirk. During the array's activation, Duan Qingming had spotted the flaw and improvised—laying this poison trap while the elders focused on Gu Pinglin. The man's eclectic mastery included formidable alchemy.

"Venom?!" Qi Zhen bellowed. "Treacherous worms!"

"All's fair," Duan Qingming sang, landing gracefully.

Qi Peng rushed over. "Status?"

The toxin wouldn't kill a Core Formation expert instantly, but delay meant agony. Forced to kneel and purge the poison, Qi Zhen spat black blood. "Tear them limb from limb!"

"Apologies," Duan Qingming mused, "but your 'limb-from-limb' list seems backlogged. I'll await my turn."

Qi Zhen convulsed, spewing more blood.

Gu Pinglin suppressed a sigh. Duan Qingming's verbal needles were honed to perfection—aggravating Qi Zhen's condition. A pity the elder lacked Gu Pinglin's immunity to such provocations.

"You're exceptional, Young Master Duan," Qi Peng conceded after shielding his comrade.

"Flattery won't spare me." Duan Qingming clasped hands, suddenly humble. "Desperate times breed desperate schemes."

Qi Peng sighed. "Even without Qi Zhen, I'm sufficient."

"Yet I'd beg your mercy."

"Were it mine to give." Qi Peng raised a palm.

Crushing pressure.

Gu Pinglin's spine stiffened. Publicly, Qi Peng was Core Formation's eighth level—but this aura confirmed he'd breached the ninth, touching Intent Realm.

Frozen air encased them.

Yet Gu Pinglin stood firm. Duan Qingming wouldn't walk us to slaughter.

Qi Peng advanced leisurely, confident as a butcher.

Gu Pinglin laughed.

Ice shattered.

Sword-light whisked them away as a vast sword-domain descended—an endless void where blade-shadows darted through mist like fleeting geese.

Qi Peng halted, startled.

Gu Pinglin wasn't. He recognized this technique.

An arm gripped his waist, hauling him skyward to the domain's heart—the pivot point where all sword-arts unraveled.

He's showing me the core?

"Magnificent!" Qi Peng applauded, summoning not a sword but a jade stele—Monument of Living Spirits.

Gu Pinglin identified it instantly. The Qi Clan were swordsmen, yet Qi Peng had forged his path with this artifact, earning status despite eschewing their heritage.

As the stele swelled with absorbed qi, Ming Feng Sword thrummed eagerly, its radiance weaving a lethal net around Qi Peng.

Gu Pinglin's chest tightened. In his past life, this blade had never shone so brilliantly under his hand. Only a true sword prodigy could awaken such glory.

The stele's shadow blotted the sky as Ming Feng split into three phantoms, tilting downward.

At the collision's brink, Gu Pinglin channeled Creation Art's energy into Duan Qingming's back.

Few knew this divine art's secret: its purified qi could merge with any cultivation base. Though not a true amplification, the surge bolstered the sword's might.

Qi Peng's stele-shadow shattered. A scar etched its surface.

"How?!" He stumbled back.

Gu Pinglin wasn't surprised. Duan Qingming's calculated demeanor had lulled Qi Peng's killer instinct—half-hearted strikes guaranteed defeat.

Seizing the moment, Gu Pinglin moved.

Shadow of a Wild Goose in the Clouds—a technique he'd faced countless times in his past life. Ranked among Gu Ying Sword Arts' top three, its lone flaw had always been his escape route.

Now, he sought to seal that flaw.

Yet when he pinpointed the weakness's location—

It was gone.

Gu Pinglin froze.

Flawless, the sword-art left Qi Peng no retreat. The elder roared, meeting it head-on with Intent Realm might.

Core-energy devoured sword-light.

Duan Qingming hurtled backward, crashing earthward.

Gu Pinglin snapped from his daze, catching him as the domain dissolved into night.

Qi Peng's smirk was icy. "Such cunning. No wonder Lady Duan exiled you."

Duan Qingming wiped blood, vitality undimmed. "Again?" He leveled Ming Feng.

"Enough." Qi Peng's stele loomed, its shadow set to pulp them.

Twang!

A zither-note flattened trees as sword-rain poured from heaven.

"Guangling Sect?!" Qi Peng gaped.

Two figures descended—Yan Han, twin swords drawn, and Feng Ying cradling a guqin.

"Frostbloom Duo?" Qi Peng scowled. "You meddle?"

"Repaying a debt," Yan Han said tonelessly.

Assessing the odds—two Core Formation experts plus their targets, with Qi Zhen still incapacitated—Qi Peng withdrew. "This courtesy ends here."

"Gratitude." Feng Ying bowed.

"Senior Brother Duan!" A group rushed forward.

Qi Peng's eyes darkened. This assassination required secrecy. Too many witnesses now.

Gu Pinglin yanked Zhang Lian aside, but two Six Paths disciples caught Qi Peng's parting strike, their bodies withering to bone in moments—a feigned demonic technique to obscure his identity.

"Who did this?!" Zhang Lian screamed.

Qi Peng vanished with Qi Zhen.

Gu Ying Sword lunged after them until Gu Pinglin recalled it. The blade circled resentfully before sheathing—its temperament mirroring its former master's. "My sword obeys me now," Gu Pinglin warned, patting its hilt.

Turning to the Frostbloom Duo, he bowed. "Our thanks."

They'd trailed discreetly after noticing the Qi elders' pursuit, following Gu Pinglin's markers to intervene. Such loyalty, unchanged from his past life.

Feng Ying looked apologetic. "Our status limits aid."

As outcasts, they couldn't afford more enemies or testify for Duan Qingming.

"Your assistance humbles me," Duan Qingming said smoothly.

Feng Ying exhaled. "We'll escort you out."

Yan Han nodded.

As the Six Paths group mourned their desiccated comrades, Zhang Lian grabbed Duan Qingming. "Who was that? I'll have vengeance!"

Gu Pinglin pitied her. In Duan Qingming's design, the disciples were meant to delay the elders if plans failed. Only the array's mishap and the duo's timely arrival had averted total disaster.

"Demonic cultivators," Gu Pinglin lied. "Return to your sect—this transcends you."

Tearful but pragmatic, Zhang Lian led her party away with the corpses.

Under Frostbloom escort, they traversed Banyan Valley safely. At Eastern Emperor Mountain's border, Yan Han offered a Great Energy Pellet to Feng Ying before they departed by sword.

Lost in thought, Gu Pinglin started when a pellet touched his lips.

"Eat." Duan Qingming's breath warmed his ear.

He swallowed reflexively—then stiffened. "You—!"

"Mm?" Duan Qingming grinned. "How does a man's hand compare?"

"Try it yourself."

"Or feed me next time."

Gu Pinglin refused to indulge his caprices. "Your injuries are healed."

"Barely." Duan Qingming dismissed the topic. "That technique—have you named it?"

Playing frail again. Gu Pinglin saw through the act. "Your creation, your privilege."

"Wild Geese Flying Pair?"

Gu Pinglin's eye twitched. "No."

"You prefer Shadow of a Wild Goose in the Clouds?"

"Fitting enough."

Duan Qingming paused. "What were you attempting earlier?"

Sealing a nonexistent flaw. Gu Pinglin deflected. "Testing for weaknesses."

"Ah, but no technique is perfect." Duan Qingming smiled. "Though sufficient for you."

Gu Pinglin snorted.

Perhaps this version had been refined. In this life, even sword-arts evolved differently.