However, at this moment, there wasn’t the slightest hint of a smile on William Carter’s face. With a gentle twist of his wrist, the tip of his sword drew a circle, landing precisely in front of Emily Bennett’s bamboo sword.

This was a move he had learned two years ago on Mount Wudang, when William Carter’s master played chess all afternoon with an old Taoist with long eyebrows. After barely winning by a single piece, his master was taught this sword move by the old Taoist, who said it was a defensive form from the Taiji sword technique.

Back then, William Carter watched those two hopeless chess addicts play on the Hidden Immortal Rock of Wudang, taking back moves every three steps, yet acting like kindred spirits who regretted not meeting sooner. He almost couldn’t resist the urge to kick over the chessboard.

This sword move had neither beginning nor end; it was simply extracted from the Taiji sword technique. For most people, they wouldn’t even know where to start practicing, let alone bring out its true potential.

But William Carter was different. He had practiced these kinds of incomplete moves since childhood, and this Taiji sword-drawing move was already second nature to him.

Emily Bennett’s slender bamboo sword thrust straight at the center of the Taiji drawn by William Carter’s bamboo branch. In an instant, the bamboo leaf swaying at the tip turned into fragments, scattering in all directions. The cut on the bamboo leaf was extremely smooth, clearly split by the force of the sword. The bamboo branch in William Carter’s hand also bent toward him, barely holding up.

But with William Carter’s Taiji move blocking it, the power of Emily Bennett’s bamboo sword was diminished somewhat. Still, the bamboo sword did not stop. As long as William Carter couldn’t break free from this strike, the result would only be Emily Bennett’s victory.

William Carter’s expression changed. Although Emily Bennett’s sword seemed motionless, in reality, the bamboo sword was trembling and gliding ever so slightly, nimble as a swimming fish, constantly searching for a gap or weakness in the Taiji. If the bamboo sword found an opening, or if the stalemate continued a bit longer, William Carter would be doomed to lose.

But William Carter would never sit and wait for defeat. So what if you have one sword? I have a thousand. So William Carter immediately withdrew his sword and lifted it; the supple bamboo branch suddenly straightened, like a stick, and struck directly at Emily Bennett’s bamboo sword. This move was taken from the Shaolin Mountain-Splitting Staff technique, which William Carter had directly incorporated into his swordplay. It whistled through the air, truly carrying a hint of mountain-splitting force.

Emily Bennett’s delicate brows arched slightly; it seemed she had never seen this move from William Carter before. Yet there was no trace of caution on her face—on the contrary, she looked eager to try it. Raising her hand, Emily Bennett lifted her bamboo sword to meet William Carter’s bamboo branch head-on, apparently intending to take the blow directly.

“Pa!” The soft bamboo branch and the slender bamboo sword collided, producing a muffled sound, as if real staves and swords had clashed.

But it wasn’t over yet. Immediately after came two more “pa, pa!” sounds. It turned out that at the very moment the staff and sword touched, Emily Bennett’s bamboo sword struck three times, all hitting the same spot.

William Carter felt a numbness in his hand, almost unable to hold onto the bamboo branch. Meanwhile, Emily Bennett still looked calm and unruffled, even casting a disdainful glance at William Carter, her expression so dismissive it made William Carter want to cough up blood.

Looking at the slender bamboo swinging toward him, William Carter steeled himself, exerted force in secret, and with a twist of his wrist, flung the bamboo branch aside, as if resigning himself to Emily Bennett’s mercy.

Emily Bennett was taken aback, not expecting William Carter to give up resistance so suddenly, and her movements slowed a bit.

At that moment, the bamboo branch that William Carter had casually tossed suddenly curved in a strange arc and landed with a “pa!” right on Emily Bennett’s backside, then fell limply to the ground.

There wasn’t much force behind it, but the sound was especially crisp. Emily Bennett’s expression froze, her face instantly flushing red. She swung her slender bamboo sword and smacked William Carter across the face.

“Ah!” “Yow!” A shriek and a cry of pain burst from both of them at the same time. Emily Bennett’s eyes blazed with fury, as if she could devour someone alive.

William Carter retreated several steps, clutching his swollen cheek, the bright red mark looking painful just to see. Yet William Carter bared his teeth in a grin, his eyes full of amusement.

To be able to get a little payback from Emily Bennett with this throwing sword was progress indeed. Looks like those two weeks spent cooking for that scruffy old man on the Northern Li grasslands were worth it after all.

“Hey, you two are both here! Why aren’t you going inside?” At that moment, the peacemaker Mr. Bennett appeared again, smiling as he looked at the two who had just been fighting.

William Carter saw his savior and immediately darted behind Mr. Bennett, peeking out from behind him while clutching his face, and said to Emily Bennett, “Emily Bennett, everyone says not to hit the face, and I even let you hit mine. But I’m magnanimous, so let’s just call it even for today. If you keep pestering me, I won’t tell you about my trip to Northern Li. On that trip, I met a sword immortal in white, whose skills and presence—tsk tsk.”

Emily Bennett looked at William Carter hiding behind Mr. Bennett, her hand gripping the slender bamboo trembling slightly, a struggle in her eyes. After a while, she snorted, tossed the bamboo to the ground, and said to William Carter, “William Carter, this isn’t over.” Then she glared fiercely at Mr. Bennett, turned to push open the door into the courtyard, and said coldly over her shoulder, “I’m cooking lunch today.”

William Carter and Mr. Bennett both pulled long faces, exchanged a glance, and sighed at the same time.