With the words "slightly superior"
It was clear the old man looked down upon Kwee Seng, yet the youth listened calmly and patiently.
"Supposing I were the one executing the Pat-mo Kiam-hoat, would you still dare claim you could defeat it with Pat-sian-kun?"
"Good elder, how dare this junior trifle with you? We both know that martial arts skill is absolutely not the sole prerequisite for winning a match; rather, it depends on one's proficiency. No matter how exquisite and difficult a technique is, if the practitioner lacks mastery, they can be defeated by an expert who skillfully wields even an ordinary technique. I previously faced your daughter using Pat-sian-kun, a fact you yourself know. I promised to pass down the technique I used to defeat her; tonight I shall pass Pat-sian-kun to her. What more is there to discuss?"
"Young man surnamed Kwee! Twice you have insulted our Liu family!"
The Ketua Beng-kauw roared, his voice thundering and echoing across the entire peak, startling the birds that had been resting in the trees. From afar, the roars of wild beasts could be heard, also startled by this strange sound.
"Pa-jiu Sin-ong, I do not understand your meaning."
Kwee Seng replied, remaining calm.
"With sincere heart, I chose you; I would have been overjoyed if you became my daughter's husband. Yet, you feigned refusal when you were there. This is the first insult. Then you traveled with my daughter; I gave you freedom because I was indeed happy to have you as a son-in-law. During this journey, you fell in love with Lu Sian, your demeanor tiresome like a weak youth. This I still forgave because I truly wished for you to love her and become her husband. However, Lu Sian saw your weakness and refused to return your affection, instead desiring your martial skill. And now, you who claimed to love her desperately, turn out only to be deceiving her, for if you truly loved her, why are you unwilling to pass down your secret technique? This is the second insult!"
Kwee Seng's heart burned with anger. It was now clear that this old man had secretly been monitoring his every move. He felt deeply ashamed remembering his foolishness and weakness. However, this old man was clearly acting deceitfully and shamelessly.
"Pa-jiu Sin-ong! Same head, different thoughts; same chest, different hearts! You think I am deceiving you, but I believe you and your daughter are trying to pressure me, and furthermore, you intend to use my pure feelings for your daughter to satisfy your greedy desire for martial arts skill. No, beng-kauwcu, I stand by my position: since Pat-sian-kun defeated the Pat-mo-kun used by your daughter, I can only pass down Pat-sian-kun now."
"Singgg!!!"
Unexpectedly, lightning flashed. That lightning, it turned out, came from the sword in Pa-jiu Sin-ong's hand, which he had drawn so quickly it was like a magic trick—suddenly, a gleaming sword was in his grasp. This was the Beng-kong-kiam (Bright Light Sword), which had accompanied this master for decades on his travels far to the west, a sword that had drunk countless amounts of human blood.
"In that case, try facing the Pat-mo-kiam with your Pat-sian-kiam!"
He shouted. Kwee Seng was startled. Facing a master like Pa-jiu Sin-ong was no trivial matter, considering this man had fought Ban-pi Lo-cia for two days and two nights ending in a draw, with neither side losing or winning. This alone proved how formidable this elder's skill was, and now this elder challenged him to a sword fight! He had no sword; usually, he used his flute as a substitute. But his flute was gone! Nevertheless, Kwee Seng was a tempered youth who possessed an extremely strong inner spirit. If his spirit had recently been shaken and weakened by romance, this was not strange, as he was still young—of course, facing the Goddess of Love, he would not be able to hold out! With a calm demeanor, Kwee Seng picked up the twig he had previously dropped on the ground and faced the elder, saying.
"Pa-jiu Sin-ong, I have no other weapon besides this. If you are determined to force me, then proceed."
"Ha-ha-ha-ha, Kwee Seng. Try unleashing that Pat-sian-kun you boast about against my Pat-mo-kun! Lu Sian, step back far away and do not interfere!"
Lu Sian leaped back, watching from the edge of the ravine. Pa-jiu Sin-ong spun his sword above his head, laughing heartily. This elder was truly formidable. The sword spinning above his head whistled and roared like a siren, and the shape of the sword vanished, transforming into rolling light that shone brighter than the moon.
"Kwee Seng, this is the third stance of Pat-mo-kun, receive it!"
Pa-jiu Sin-ong shouted, followed by the bright light flashing toward Kwee Seng. Because Pat-mo Kiam-hoat was intentionally created to counter Pat-sian Kiam-hoat, their movements naturally shared similarities, and Kwee Seng was well acquainted with the style of this attack. However, he realized that this stance, when executed by Pa-jiu Sin-ong, was vastly different from Lu Sian's execution.
Any stance, when demonstrated by the hands of the Ketua Beng-kauw, became an extremely powerful and dangerous killing move. With a single glance, he knew he had to face his opponent's stance with Pat-sian-kun, the eleventh stance. Every condensed stance of Pat-sian-kun could counter four different types of opponent stances. Gathering his internal energy, he moved the twig in his right hand, spinning it like a swimming snake. His twig accurately managed to parry the sword.
"Krakkkk!"
The twig snapped in two. Pa-jiu Sin-ong withdrew his sword, laughing heartily.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha, you truly disrespect me, Kim-mo-eng! Did you think you could toy with me using just a piece of twig, as you did with Lu Sian?"
"You know that I do not possess a sword weapon, Pa-jiu Sin-ong."
Kwee Seng replied with a calm demeanor, though secretly he was pleased, as it turned out the Ketua Beng-kauw, despite his strange and sometimes cruel and fierce nature, still possessed the gallantry of a great master, having withdrawn his sword when the opponent's weapon, unequal in strength, broke.
"Lu Sian, lend him your sword, let him try to prove his claim that Pat-sian-kun can defeat our Pat-mo-kun."
Lu Sian let out a mocking laugh, drew her sword, and hurled it toward Kwee Seng. Do not underestimate this throw, for the sword flew toward Kwee Seng like an arrow released from a bow. An ordinary martial artist would certainly be "consumed"
By this flying sword. But calmly, Kwee Seng extended his hand, and suddenly he had caught the sword from the side, right on the hilt.
"Ha-ha-ha, now you are armed with a sword. If you lose, do not seek other excuses. Beware, receive this, the seventh stance of Pat-mo-kun!"
Said Pa-jiu Sin-ong while moving his sword to slash toward Kwee Seng's left ribs, followed by a reverse spin of the sword upward to pierce the right eye. Kwee Seng was secretly annoyed. It was clear that the Ketua Beng-kauw was deliberately mocking and looking down on him by announcing the sequence number of the Pat-mo-kun stance with every attack.
If he did not pay attention to his opponent's skill, this arrogant elder would only grow more conceited, he thought. So, he quickly spun the borrowed sword—a sword that was very light and comfortable to use. Knowing that the Toa-hong-kiam was also a potent heirloom sword, his heart swelled, and he swiftly executed the Pat-sian Kiam-sut, channeling his sin-kang energy. He parried the opponent's attack twice by borrowing the opponent's force. Then, his sword rebounded as if released from his hand, though in reality, the rebound was fully controlled by his sin-kang, allowing him to direct the sword to rebound with its tip aimed straight at the opponent's throat, which the opponent absolutely did not expect.
Pa-jiu Sin-ong was secretly startled, as he had not anticipated that his first attack would seemingly be used as a springboard by Kwee Seng, turning it not into an attack but into auxiliary force for the opponent to counterattack with minimal energy, yet lethally! When Pa-jiu Sin