Long Live Summons Chapter 4 – Heavenly Sword Goddess?

Right now, he could still feign ignorance, but if he encountered his Fourth Uncle or other relatives and friends later and couldn’t recognize them, he would definitely be exposed. Yue Yang hastily searched for any items the deceased individual might have left behind. Perhaps there were clues that could explain more about the drowned man, ideally a diary or something similar.

After searching the entire day, the table, wardrobe, and every other item in the room had been overturned.

A diary was indeed found, but it offered little help.

The unfortunate soul had only recorded his summoning meditation sessions and his Yue Family’s Spear Technique training log.

Yue Yang realized that the deceased person was actually quite diligent. He was unable to form a contract with the summoning grimoire, yet his progress in the Yue Family’s Spear Technique was steady. However, from this diary, Yue Yang discovered that the deceased hadn’t disclosed his training advancements to others. He had intended to surprise his family on the day he successfully formed a contract with his summoning grimoire. This secrecy was the reason everyone had considered him useless.

The deceased had also noted that the Yue Family Spear Technique was a generational weapon art passed down through the Yue family lineage. When combined with a powerful fighting-beast type Spirit Beast, it could become incredibly potent.

He further wrote in his diary that it was deeply regrettable that half of the Spear Technique Manual was lost. This occurred because a villain had slain a formidable Yue Family ancestor, an exceptionally skilled martial artist, a millennium ago. If the Yue Family had possessed the complete Spear Technique Manual, he believed they wouldn’t have merely ranked third among the four great houses; they would have been the first.

Even with only half of the technique remaining, the Yue Family’s Spear Technique was still a renowned weapon art. Though not the most supreme technique, it had cultivated numerous strong, indomitable warriors.

For instance, the deceased’s father was the strongest warrior within the Yue family, a talent that emerged once in a century.

It was truly unfortunate that he departed from this world prematurely, abruptly halting the meteoric rise of the Yue Family.

“Spear Technique?” Yue Yang felt a sense of dread upon seeing this.

Despite being a recluse who had never practiced martial arts, he possessed considerable knowledge about martial arts techniques. There’s a saying: “It takes a month to learn to wield a stick, a year to master a blade, and a lifetime to wield a spear. Yet, a treasured sword might not be mastered even in a lifetime.” Among the hierarchy of weapon mastery difficulty, spears were the most challenging. Without extensive and rigorous training over a long period, achieving any significant results would be incredibly difficult. Numerous spear techniques exist, and each family or school of spear technique boasts its own unique specializations. It could be said that one’s entire lifetime would not be enough to fully master the spear.

But this particular Spear Technique...

The unfortunate soul had dedicated several decades to its study, yet it remained in its initial stages of practice.

Yue Yang decided to set aside the Spear Technique for now. What he urgently required was an ability, not a weapon art that demanded a lifetime of dedicated training. Furthermore, the significance of weapons and martial arts on the Soaring Dragon continent had diminished. Mastering any martial art technique, even an ordinary one, was exceedingly arduous. It would be a monumental challenge to break through the third mastery level, regardless of one’s training intensity. Consequently, even the most potent techniques, such as the Yue Family Spear Technique, were not as formidable as they once were. Moreover, the Yue Family Spear Technique necessitated the synergy with a suitable Spirit Beast to unleash its full potential.

Weapon skills are akin to China’s ancient martial arts; physical capabilities could be enhanced through dedicated practice.

However, summoning is comparable to marksmanship. Your power is predominantly determined by the quality of the firearm you wield, irrespective of your skill level.

Summoning does not require arduous training. Your strength is directly proportional to the might of your Spirit Beast.

Even an individual who has diligently practiced a weapon technique for decades might fail to achieve mastery. In a conflict, such a person, after more than ten years of training, could potentially be defeated by someone who has just successfully established a contract with a Spirit Beast.

This is because the latter individual would only need to summon a poisonous snake or a Wind Wolf to vanquish the person who dedicated their life to weapon arts.

Under these circumstances, few are willing to invest their time and effort in learning a weapon technique. Everyone prefers to focus on honing their summoning skills instead.

Furthermore, the most formidable weapon skill had been obliterated in a conflagration three millennia ago. The sole weapon skills that endured through the ages were either performative in nature or rudimentary and easily mastered. Even the vaunted Yue Family’s Spear Technique was, in truth, merely the fifth most ancient martial art on the Soaring Dragon continent. This circumstance could only serve to underscore the lamentable decline of weapon and martial arts prowess.

Within the annals of the Soaring Dragon Continent's history, the Jun Royal Family had once stood as the preeminent power among the three major nations, dedicating their might to the mastery of weapon arts.

However, their continued adherence to weapon arts in the present day had relegated them to the weakest standing among the three great countries. It proved exceedingly difficult to synchronize with the march of the new era...

“Huh? He actually had two romantic rivals?”

Despite poring over the diary for the entire day, Yue Yang remained largely oblivious to the intricacies of his family's situation.

Yet, he did succeed in identifying the adversaries of the unfortunate individual.

One such rival was his cousin, Yue Yan, who held the fourth position within the family hierarchy. Though born mere days after the hapless fellow, this slight temporal difference had cost him the opportunity to secure an engagement with the daughter of the Xue Family. The bitter disappointment of losing this chance due to a few days' variance had instilled a deep-seated resentment in Yue Yan, who subsequently took pleasure in ridiculing and tormenting the original owner of the body.

The other formidable adversary was the son of the Dao Feng Mayor, identified as Xue Qian Ren.

This Xue Qian Ren was reputed to be a prodigy. He had demonstrated an exceptional [Inherent Skill] at the tender age of six, and by ten, he had successfully forged a contract with a summoning grimoire. Nevertheless, despite possessing such an impressive track record, his family's attempt to arrange a politically motivated marriage with the Xue Family met with a harsh rebuff. The rejection persisted even after the broken engagement between the original Yue Yang and the Xue family's daughter. Consequently, it could be asserted that Xue Qian Ren harbored an implacable hatred for the original Yue Yang.

After reaching the conclusion of the diary, Yue Yang empathized with the profoundly tragic existence of the original inhabitant.

He had been denied the chance to marry his intended, and in addition, had inadvertently created two bitter enemies.

“Only a beauty endowed with capability is truly beautiful. If a man lacks efficacy, he becomes merely a burden to others,” Yue Yang resolved to completely dismiss any thoughts of the Xue Family’s daughter. Even if she possessed the visage of a celestial being, he would resolutely turn a blind eye.

The world teemed with countless captivating women; why should he become fixated on just one? Why forsake the entirety of the forest for the sake of a solitary tree?

If one possessed sufficient capabilities, what woman of beauty would not find themselves drawn to him?

Was not the fundamental reason for the Xue Family’s daughter dissolving the engagement due to the original Yue Yang's status as a good-for-nothing?

If the original Yue Yang had held the status of an emperor, he could have commanded a harem populated by thousands of alluring women. If he had been a corrupt official, he could have feigned his duties while maintaining a paramour on the side. If he had been a prosperous magnate, indulging in extramarital affairs would have been commonplace, perhaps even escalating to a threesome if the inclination struck. But as a mere commoner, such as a humble farmer, it would have been deemed peculiar had the Xue family daughter not raised an uproar or threatened castration should he attempt an infidelity.

However, it was a moot point, as the original Yue Yang no longer possessed the opportunity for any such pursuits.

The Xue Family’s daughter had severed the engagement, and the original Yue Yang had met his end, becoming sustenance for the river's denizens.

Nevertheless, the salient lesson to be extracted was the imperative to first strive for wealth and success, and only then to seek a partner to share one's life.

As Yue Yang reveled in his reverie, slumber gradually overtook him.

In a hazy state, he perceived himself to have transitioned into the mental nexus within his consciousness, the very space conjured when he initially established his contract with the summoning grimoire. While contemplating methods to manifest the flying sword, the radiant blade abruptly transformed into a breathtaking goddess adorned in an ethereal, white celestial gown. Her elongated, white sashes fluttered in the wind, and her slender, exquisite legs pirouetted with delicate grace upon the ground. With an elegant sweep of her wrist, her long, dainty fingers weaved intricate patterns in the air. Her lithe form swayed harmoniously as the peerless beauty performed her mesmerizing dance before Yue Yang. Witnessing such a wondrous spectacle, Yue Yang’s jaw went slack, his saliva threatening to cascade like a waterfall, his mouth agape in perpetual astonishment.

Heavenly Sword Goddess?

Could this flying sword, which he had unceremoniously acquired from the eccentric old Taoist priest, actually be a Heavenly Sword Goddess?

The goddess, clad in white, continued her graceful ballet, her beauty rivaling the resplendent blossoms adorning a tranquil pond. As her hands executed a myriad of fluid movements, her unparalleled loveliness defied any verbal description.

Suddenly, a magnificent rainbow materialized behind the goddess, accompanied by the blossoming of countless flowers that danced like butterflies in the wind. Yue Yang, anticipating the grand finale of her performance, was poised to give a thunderous ovation. However, the goddess abruptly unleashed a transparent sword Qi from her fingertips, cleaving the very fabric of space. This strike, so potent it seemed capable of splitting heaven and earth, left Yue Yang utterly astonished. He marveled at the goddess's earth-shattering might, his mind reeling from its sheer power.

Yet, the true terror was yet to unfold. With startling swiftness, the goddess pivoted her elegant form, instantly appearing before the stunned Yue Yang.

Her luminous, pearl-white hands, imbued with the strength to rend the heavens, appeared to concentrate the might of a thousand blades.

lls5-1And her finger, aimed directly at Yue Yang's forehead...

"Waa!" Yue Yang's terrified scream jolted him awake. The realization dawned that it had all been a mere dream, that no goddess stood poised to strike his head.

As he struggled to recall the ethereal figure, he discovered a profound revelation: a mysterious technique had been subtly imprinted upon his mind. Reflecting on the recent events, an unfamiliar designation surfaced in his consciousness: Innate Invisible Sword Qi...