A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 317: Host and Guest Switch Positions
Outside Si'an City, in a certain valley

Shangguan Yun sat cross-legged in the cave, his body surrounded by crimson and black aura. As he continued to inhale and exhale, the two colors of aura grew stronger. An hour later, Shangguan Yun's aura suddenly became explosive. His upper body clothes were torn to shreds, and the veins on his chest throbbed like ferocious poisonous dragons. True energy circulated back and forth. In just a few breaths, his upper body was covered with strange patterns, exuding an eerie aura.

After the patterns flashed for a moment, Shangguan Yun's aura gradually returned to calm, and the two-colored light gradually receded into his body. After a long time, Shangguan Yun slowly opened his eyes, and his pair of emerald green eyes sent chills down one's spine.

“Ni Qingfeng, I must thank you. If you hadn’t severely injured me, I wouldn’t have recovered so quickly and even improved my skills.”

Shangguan Yun has turned misfortune into blessing this time. He has refined all three Dragon Balls, and from now on, he can fully utilize their power. Each of the three Dragon Balls has its own mysteries. One of them can enhance the Soul Stealing Technique. Once a master below the Innate Realm is controlled by the Soul Stealing Technique, they will never be able to escape control again and will only obey his orders, becoming a complete puppet.

"There aren't many people around Zhongxin Hall, but we have plenty of manpower. Even if I use a human wave tactic, I can easily crush the Tianshan Sect. But before that, we still need to capture that Cha Muxue. If we can learn the method of controlling the Dragon Ball from him, I might be able to use the power of the Dragon Ball to shatter the void."

Although Shangguan Yun has now refined the Dragon Pearl, he can only unleash half of its power. However, even this half of its power is enough for him to stand out among the heroes of the martial arts world. If he were to obtain the other half of its power...

Thinking of this, Shangguan Yun's eyes gradually became hot. After tidying up, Shangguan Yun turned around and left the cave, heading towards Si'an City.

Just as Shangguan Yun appeared in Si'an City, a subordinate dressed in the Zhongxin Hall caught his eye and hurriedly came to greet him. Shangguan Yun gave him a wink, and the two of them went to a secluded place one after the other.

"Master, this is an urgent report from Commander Jiang and his men."

Before Shangguan Yun could ask, the subordinate immediately took out a letter from his pocket and presented it to Shangguan Yun. The latter reached out and took it. After reading it, Shangguan Yun's face turned extremely ugly, and his aura surged. The subordinate was immediately terrified and turned pale. He watched in horror as the letter was swallowed up by a stream of flames that appeared out of nowhere.

"What a pair of black and white heroes, what a Jade Scholar, both of them want to oppose me, Shangguan Yun."

Shangguan Yun was furious, but he quickly composed himself. Looking at his trembling subordinate, Shangguan Yun glanced at him and beckoned. The man immediately approached, and after Shangguan Yun whispered a few instructions, the subordinate nodded repeatedly.

"Go."

Seeing that Shangguan Yun had no further instructions, the subordinate immediately turned and left.

After his subordinates left, Shangguan Yun emerged from a secluded corner. After walking for a while, he casually glanced at a tea stall. He saw a dozen or so people sitting at the few stalls, including men, women, and children, all dressed as martial arts practitioners. As Shangguan Yun's gaze swept over them, they immediately turned their heads away.

Upon seeing this, Shangguan Yun snorted coldly and slowly walked towards the nearest inn.

"Shangguan Yun's skills have improved even more. It seems the rumors were true. He must have obtained the Dragon Pearl. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made such great progress in just ten years."

The speaker was a middle-aged man with golden hair and a ruddy complexion. He had a three-foot-long iron ruler with lotus patterns hanging from his waist. It was simple and heavy, dark and shiny, like a black mirror, reflecting every detail of the surrounding objects.

“Master Xuanchi, Shangguan Yun is not easy to deal with. Although we have not been out of the mountains for a long time, we have gathered enough information recently. Apart from the Tianshan Sect, more than 90% of the sects in the martial arts world are indirectly or directly controlled by the Zhongxin Hall. This is a very powerful force.”

An old man with a withered face looked at the greed in Master Xuanchi's eyes and couldn't help but offer a warning.

"What's there to be afraid of? There's only one Shangguan Yun in Si'an City. Are we all afraid of him? Old Xue, if you're scared, go back to Sanku Ridge and enjoy your old age."

A middle-aged man with striking eyebrows and an air of arrogance looked at Old Man Xue with disdain. The old man was not angry when he heard this, but just chuckled a few times. He did not look at the young man, but focused his gaze on Master Xuanchi.

Most of these people were retired martial arts figures. This time, they heard that the Dragon Pearl had fallen into the hands of Shangguan Yun, and that Shangguan Yun's Zhongxin Hall was not easy to deal with, so they planned to take advantage of the situation when the two factions were exhausted and pick up the scraps. However, they did not expect that they would be so lucky and would encounter Shangguan Yun when passing through Si'an City.

“Master, Shangguan Yun has no other men by his side. No matter how strong he is, his strength is ultimately limited. With you here, along with Madam Wang, the ‘Qin Jue’, Xue Dian, the ‘Dian Dao Xian’, Qiu Feng, the ‘Pingling Sword Master’, and the remaining dozen or so skilled men, we don’t need to fear Shangguan Yun. We must seize this opportunity. If we wait until Shangguan Yun gathers his men, we will have to pay a much higher price to deal with him.”

After this person finished speaking, everyone turned their gaze to Master Xuanchi. The latter pondered for a long time, and finally his gaze sharpened. He said in a deep voice, "This is a golden opportunity that must not be missed. Everyone, I want to make it clear beforehand that during the fight against Shangguan Yun, no one is allowed to have any selfish intentions. Otherwise, I would rather lose the Dragon Pearl than not tear him to pieces."

Master Xuanchi spoke coldly, causing a tremor in everyone's hearts. However, they quickly became excited. Master Xuanchi did not mention what would happen after obtaining the Dragon Ball, saying that they could deal with it after obtaining the Dragon Ball.

"Everything is arranged by the superior."

Everyone expressed their opinions, and Master Xuanchi nodded upon hearing this. He glanced at the arrogant young man beside him, the withered old man, and the beautiful woman in a plain robe. The three of them met Master Xuanchi's gaze and nodded in agreement.

"Okay, let's go!"

Master Xuanchi tossed down a few pieces of silver and led the group toward the inn where Shangguan Yun was staying. After paying the room fee, Master Xuanchi and Xue Dian chose the room closest to Shangguan Yun.

Just after Master Xuanchi and the others checked in, Shangguan Yun sensed their presence. Instead of being alarmed, he was delighted, as he was short of manpower at the time, and these people had delivered themselves to his doorstep. It was truly a stroke of luck.

"There are four top-notch experts. Although their aura is slightly inferior to that of Xiao Shengbai and the others, they are still quite useful."

As a master of the innate realm, Shangguan Yun was able to discern the varying levels of skill among the four people, including Master Xuanchi, with just a slight observation. Shangguan Yun did not recognize Master Xuanchi, but the fact that he could use an iron ruler as a weapon and possessed such skill indicated that he must have extraordinary abilities. Furthermore, the withered old man's internal energy seemed to be scattered yet substantial; if Shangguan Yun was not mistaken, it should be the Yin-Yang Reversal Technique.

This martial art has an unpleasant name, but it has extremely strong explosive power, capable of unleashing several times the user's own strength in a short period of time.

As for the middle-aged man with the sword and the beautiful woman carrying the zither, Shangguan Yun could also sense that both of them were quite skilled in martial arts. In particular, the beautiful woman carrying the zither, whose delicate hands could lightly pluck the strings and produce music that made him feel somewhat agitated and almost lose his composure.

"This should be the Seven Evils Zither music that can control one's temperament. This person must be a master of the Seven Emotions Sect."

After carefully examining the four individuals, Shangguan Yun silently withdrew his divine sense from the outside. Although the others were also skilled fighters, they were merely optional to Shangguan Yun. If they were lucky enough to survive the upcoming battle, he might as well recruit them into his ranks and use them to deal with the Tianshan Sect in the future.

After nightfall, Shangguan Yun finished his meal and meditated on the bed for a while. Suddenly, his mind stirred slightly, and he heard an almost imperceptible footstep from the outside room. The paper on the door and window ripped open, and a dark light shot in from the outside room, extinguishing the candlelight and plunging the room into darkness.

"who!"

Shangguan Yun, seeing the swaying figure outside, gave a deep shout, followed by a powerful palm strike aimed at the door. Although the palm strike appeared formidable, it hit the door silently. The shadowy figure, still puzzled, suddenly became alert and hastily dodged to the side. With a soft thud, the door and window shattered from the palm strike, sending splinters of wood flying like arrows towards the shadowy figure. Although the figure had dodged, it was caught off guard by the sudden attack. Just as the splinters were about to hit it, a dazzling light flashed across the path. The white light was fleeting, and a dense cluster of sword energy instantly pulverized the wood splinters, turning them into countless powders that scattered on the ground.

"go!"

"Pingling Sword Master" Qiu Feng broke through Shangguan Yun's move with a single sword strike, immediately grabbed the dark figure, crashed through the roof, and ran away into the distance. Seeing the two running towards a certain place with a purpose, Shangguan Yun snorted coldly in his heart, leaped onto the roof, and used his lightness skill to chase after the two.

Although Shangguan Yun's lightness skill was not his forte, it was still quite fast with the support of his internal energy. Qiu Feng thought that his lightness skill was excellent, and even with someone with him, he should be much faster than Shangguan Yun, so he would have more time to make arrangements. However, when he turned around and glanced at the scene, Shangguan Yun was actually catching up.

"Shangguan Yun will catch up in no more than half a quarter of an hour. Those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles. At that time, you will have to be sacrificed."

Qiu Feng looked at the man being held in his hand, his eyes flashing with a sharp light. He knew he was no match for Shangguan Yun on his own, so he could only use this man to buy him some time.

The man, unaware that he had been used as a pawn, looked at Qiu Feng with terror in his eyes when he saw Shangguan Yun chasing after him, and said, "Master Qiu, what about Shangguan Yun...?"

“I know, but it will take him three quarters of an hour to catch up with me. By then, we will have arrived at our destination, so there’s no need to worry.”

Qiu Feng offered a word of comfort, then channeled his inner strength, pushing his lightness skill to its limit, and once again widened the distance between himself and Shangguan Yun. Seeing this, Shangguan Yun continued to follow Qiu Feng at a leisurely pace, appearing quite relaxed. The man, seeing Shangguan Yun slowly being left behind, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

However, after a couple of quarters of an hour, the man felt a pain in his body. He looked up at the expressionless Qiu Feng, pointed at him, and his remaining consciousness only felt his body sink. Then, a gust of wind swept him up and threw him towards Shangguan Yun.

As Shangguan Yun watched a dark shadow approach, a glint of malice flashed in his eyes. He unleashed a Golden Splitting Palm with his right hand, which was imbued with crimson and black light. The shadow was struck squarely by the Golden Splitting Palm's energy and was instantly blasted into pieces. It didn't even have time to let out a scream, and ended up with blood and flesh scattering everywhere. Just as Shangguan Yun was about to sweep it away with a flick of his sleeve, sharp sword energy suddenly emerged from the scattered blood and flesh, with faint black light appearing within.

"Hidden sword within, ready to unleash its power—this is the Hidden Sword Technique of the Pingling Sword Sect!"

Seeing the sword energy approaching, Shangguan Yun remained calm. He clenched his right fist, and circles of crimson-black light rippled around his fist. As he punched forward, the incoming sword energy was instantly shattered. The fist energy continued its momentum and headed straight for Qiu Feng.

After throwing away the scapegoat, Qiu Feng didn't even look back and headed straight in the intended direction. At that moment, he felt a powerful force coming from behind. Turning his head, he saw a fist pattern coming towards him. He was slightly startled. Without drawing his sword, he swept the sword and scabbard backward. A black light spread out like water, appearing very deep and dark under the moonlight. He met the fist pattern. The two forces collided instantly. Qiu Feng was slightly stunned by the impact of the force. His expression changed drastically. Taking advantage of the fact that Shangguan Yun had not yet arrived, he gathered his true energy and fled into the distance.

"What domineering aura! Shangguan Yun truly deserves the title of leader of the martial arts alliance."

Shangguan Yun was able to decipher the Hidden Sword Technique extremely quickly and then strike back. Although I had not used my full strength, Shangguan Yun must not have used his full power either, and I don't know how much force he used.

"Master Xuanchi is only one step away from the Innate Realm. With him in charge, plus Madam Wang's Seven Fiends Qin Music and Old Man Xue's Yin-Yang Reversal, our chances of winning are still very high."

Qiu Feng's mind raced. He lightly stepped on the treetops, leaped several times, landed, and quickly walked a few steps to a flat, open area. Qiu Feng secretly made a hand gesture to Xuan Chi Shangren and the others who were hiding in the woods. He then sat upright on a huge blue stone, his sword across his knees, his eyes fixed on the front. The moonlight shone down like soft water, illuminating the flat area brightly.

Qiu Feng didn't have to wait long. In just a moment, Shangguan Yun appeared. He glanced at Qiu Feng, who was sitting on the stone platform in the distance, and then looked into the woods. He smiled disdainfully and slowly walked towards Qiu Feng. As he approached, Shangguan Yun's aura continued to rise.

"What an astonishing aura! This Shangguan Yun is probably only one step away from the Innate Realm."

Master Xuanchi was very close to the Innate Realm, so he could naturally sense the mysterious aura emanating from Shangguan Yun. He was immediately filled with jealousy. Shangguan Yun was less than half his age, yet he had the help of the Dragon Pearl, saving him half a lifetime of arduous cultivation. If he had obtained the Dragon Pearl earlier, he would probably have already entered the Innate Realm by now.

The more Master Xuanchi thought about it, the more jealous he became, and his eyes turned slightly red. Just then, Shangguan Yun stopped a few feet away from Qiu Feng, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked at Qiu Feng calmly.

“I have long admired the name of the Sword Master of Pingling. I visited you late at night, but you left without having any tea. This is quite impolite of me. Zhongxin Hall has good tea. Why don’t you come with me to Zhongxin Hall for a seat?”

Qiu Feng was startled when he heard that Shangguan Yun had seen through his identity, but he quickly composed himself and replied in a calm tone, "Hall Master Shangguan is also a martial arts prodigy. In just over ten years, he has been able to elevate Zhongxin Hall to the number one sect, which is truly enviable. I love swordsmanship the most in my life, but my sword path has gradually reached a dead end. I have heard that Hall Master Shangguan has a dragon pearl with the wonderful power to make wishes come true. Today, I would like to ask Hall Master Shangguan to lend it to me for a while."

Seeing Shangguan Yun's calm and expressionless face, Qiu Feng frowned, stood up and chuckled, "I am not trying to steal what is rightfully mine, but merely borrowing it. After the matter is settled, not only will I return it to you, but I will also give you all the insights I have gained in the way of the sword throughout my life. I wonder what you think, Hall Master Shangguan?"

In Qiu Feng's opinion, this was just an excuse, since he knew Shangguan Yun would not agree anyway.

"You've got a good plan. I do have the Dragon Pearl, but it's mine. Why should I lend it to you? However, if you're willing to submit to the Loyal and Trustworthy Hall and make great contributions, I might be able to use the Dragon Pearl to help you. I always reward those who have made contributions and punish those who have made mistakes. Pingling Sword Master, for the sake of your future in swordsmanship, a little personal prestige is insignificant. This is a very worthwhile deal."

After Shangguan Yun finished speaking, Qiu Feng's expression turned icy cold. He revered the way of the sword and adhered to the principle of "rather break than bend." Once his sword heart was tainted, it would be tantamount to cutting off his own future and making it impossible to take another step forward. Shangguan Yun's few words were meant to destroy his own heart.

"It seems my good intentions are useless. Very well, since that's the case, Master Shangguan, then I'll have no choice but to take it by force!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qiu Feng drew his longsword. A black sword light, accompanied by a clear and melodious sword cry, carried an unparalleled sharpness and fiercely attacked Shangguan Yun. Midway, the black sword light condensed into a bundle, and then bloomed again, transforming into streaks of black sword energy that wove together a black sword net, covering Shangguan Yun.

This move is the opening stance of "Chenze Sword". This sword net is only for sealing off the opponent. If the opponent cannot block this move, the subsequent "Black Water Strike Three Thousand" can pierce into the opponent's vital points, causing him to lose his fighting ability in an instant.

Upon seeing the black sword net approaching, Shangguan Yun remained unfazed. With a mere flick of his sleeve, a crimson and black gale swept outwards. The black sword net was swallowed up by the gale before it even reached him, and not a trace of Shenze sword energy dissipated. The crimson and black gale, having absorbed Shenze sword energy, seemed to have taken a tonic, and its momentum surged even stronger as it attacked Qiu Feng.

When Qiu Feng saw Shangguan Yun casually break the sword net, he was shocked. He had to stop his prepared attack. Realizing that the crimson-black gale was very threatening, Qiu Feng hurriedly dodged. His lightness skill was not weak. In a few leaps, he got out of the gale's range and stood on a boulder. Looking at the surrounding rocks ravaged by the gale and the dull trees, Qiu Feng couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

"This gale can actually devour life force to replenish itself. Could it be that Shangguan Yun has embarked on the demonic path?"

Just as he was pondering, Shangguan Yun flicked his wrist, turning the gale back. With a deep shout, he drew the gale into his palm and flung it into the depths of the forest.

"not good!"

The people hiding in the woods paled at the sight and immediately moved away. However, a few unlucky ones were swept into the vortex by the gale. After a few screams, they were left with only fragments of clothing and a few pieces of black skull.

"Do it!"

(End of this chapter)