A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 408 Annihilating the Enemy
Sword Forging City, North of the City
In a courtyard, Zhong Ting thrust his longsword swiftly, the sword light flashing repeatedly. Guo Yue, opposite him, slashed continuously with his soft saber, trying to scatter the sword light at any moment, but gradually fell into Zhong Ting's rhythm. After a few more moves, Zhong Ting changed his sword technique, his longsword slashing horizontally, a blade of light sweeping towards Guo Yue. Seeing this, the latter hurriedly raised his saber and slashed down, a green blade of light meeting the sword light. With a few hissing sounds, the sword light and saber light disappeared at the same time, but Guo Yue's heart sank.

Seeing that there was almost no room to retreat behind him, Guo Yue's face became serious. This Zhong Ting was just a sword guard, yet he had such skill. The strength of Sword Casting City was even greater than he had estimated.

"It's about time, we can get away now." Guo Yue estimated that Wu Lu and the other three had probably already fled far away, and felt a slight sense of relief. Seeing the long sword thrusting at him again, Guo Yue narrowed his eyes, and with a flick of his soft blade, he instantly entangled Zhong Ting's long sword. Before Zhong Ting could react, Guo Yue exerted force on his wrist, and with a crack, the long sword was snapped in two. The broken blade was propelled by a palm strike, transforming into a streak of light that rushed straight towards Zhong Ting.

At the same time, after destroying his opponent's weapon, Guo Yue put away the soft knife. Without even looking at Zhong Ting's movements, he flipped over, stepped on the wall, and disappeared from Zhong Ting's sight in a few leaps.

With a clang, Zhong Ting used his broken sword to knock away half of the blade. Seeing Guo Yue escape, he was anxious and hurriedly used his lightness skill to run away. However, he did not chase for long before he saw Guo Yue, who had been escaping, being surrounded by three colleagues. The three long swords were wielded so tightly that they formed a net of white light, which suppressed the green light.

Zhong Ting was overjoyed, knowing that the young city lord and his group had arrived. He hurried a few steps forward, and the disciples who had been watching saw him approaching and quickly bowed. Zhong Ting waved his hand and asked urgently, "Where are the young city lord and the others?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, the young city lord and the others are currently fighting the bandits underground."

As soon as the disciple finished speaking, the ground suddenly collapsed, revealing a large hole. The sounds of clashing weapons could be heard from inside. Seeing this, Zhong Ting quickly snatched the disciple's sword. Seeing that the three people on the ground did not need help, he seized the opportunity, leaped into the cave. The secret passage was pitch black, and he felt a little uncomfortable as soon as he entered. Fortunately, Zhong Ting was prepared. He took out a handful of dazzling luminous pearls from his pocket and threw them into the depths. A dozen or so luminous pearls scattered on the ground, instantly shining brightly and illuminating the cave.

The two sides engaged in combat were also momentarily dazzled by the sudden light, causing them to pause in their movements. Uru and his group were already at a disadvantage, having already lost one person in the brief exchange. The three of them were struggling against seven experts, and if it weren't for their advantageous terrain, their casualties would likely have been even greater.

"Go quickly!"

Having finally seized this opportunity, Uru no longer cared about anyone else. Taking advantage of Jianxiong's unpreparedness, he leaped into the depths of the secret passage. But at that moment, a blazing sword aura pierced through the air and exploded with a bang as it approached Uru. The entire secret passage was instantly shattered, and slivers of light shone through from the outside. The passage ahead was also blocked by rubble.

"Go away!"

Jianxiong interrupted Wulu's movements with a single strike. The Bloodstained Sword in his hand was like a blood jade, shining brightly in the darkness. It was because of this sword that he was able to kill one person in the dark, greatly reducing the pressure on the seven of them.

Seeing that the passage ahead was blocked, Uru's face turned very ugly. Seeing the long sword thrusting towards him again, Uru's heart sank. After sighing, he brandished his judge's pen and went to meet it.

The other two also planned to take the opportunity to escape, but they were facing six people. If they made a mistake, someone would find out. After a struggle, the two returned to their original positions. The two iron rings, the three-pointed knife and the six longswords clashed together, sparks flew and sand and stones flew everywhere.

"Young City Lord."

Zhong Ting threw out the luminous pearl and shouted inside. Then he ran forward. He hadn't gone far when he heard the sounds of fighting becoming clearer. Zhong Ting's expression immediately turned serious. He held his long sword horizontally in his hand and walked towards the source of the sound. Yan Ru Yan Ru also found a corpse. After shining the luminous pearl on it, she found that it was not from the Sword Forging City. Zhong Ting breathed a sigh of relief and hurried forward.

"Brother Fei, Brother Shang, Brother Ma."

Zhong Ting turned a corner and came to a fairly spacious place where Fei Yunyang, Shang Jing, and Ma Qian were fighting against a man wielding double rings. In Zhong Ting's opinion, the man's martial arts skills were mediocre, but his movements were incredibly agile. He could easily dodge danger whenever he was in trouble. Moreover, the double rings subtly countered longswords. In addition, the space was not large, so the three of them could not exert their full strength. They wanted to withdraw and turn the situation into a two-on-one attack with one person providing support, but they were held back by the man. In the end, they could only maintain this awkward situation.

Just as Fei Yunyang was seething with anger, he heard a familiar voice and was overjoyed. He was distracted and almost got hit by the double rings. He quickly dodged and with the help of two other people, he managed to avoid the killing move.

"Brother Zhong!"

Holding the double rings, Wang Zhao saw that the other party was coming again. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes. He was already risking his life to hold off three people. If one more person came, he would surely be defeated. Thinking of this, Wang Zhao decided to take a risk and severely injure one of them first.

Seeing Fei Yunyang slightly distracted, Wang Zhao wielded his twin rings in unison, weaving a pale white cloud of light. He took the blows of the other two swords with his own strength, and his twin rings, carrying immense force, slammed into Fei Yunyang.

"careful!"

Zhong Ting exclaimed in surprise and rushed over. His longsword flashed with white light and transformed into a streak of white light, piercing through the air with a whoosh. With a clang, the longsword struck an iron ring squarely. The iron ring could not withstand the force and was immediately knocked away. The longsword was shaken back and was caught by Zhong Ting the moment it landed.

One iron ring was knocked away, but the other iron ring successfully smashed into Fei Yunyang's right arm. The latter cried out in pain, his arm drooping down in agony. His longsword fell to the ground, and he staggered back several steps. The three-person formation immediately broke apart. Wang Zhao's eyes lit up when he saw this. He grabbed one of the iron rings he had returned and rushed through the blockade, intending to run away quickly. However, when he heard no movement behind him, Wang Zhao felt uneasy. He turned around and saw that Fei Yunyang and the other two were all looking at him with cold eyes.

"not good!"

Wang Zhao looked up and saw a sword light shooting towards him. A bone-chilling coldness immediately enveloped his entire body. Even before the sword energy arrived, the tearing sensation in his body terrified Wang Zhao. His true energy surged, and he desperately tried to escape forward. However, as the sword light in the cave flickered for a moment, a wail reached the ears of Fei Yunyang and the other two.

"Brother Zhong's Immortal-Slaying Sword has become increasingly exquisite."

Fei Yunyang exclaimed in admiration. He clearly saw Wang Zhao being pierced by the sword light, his body torn to pieces by the sword energy, and the scattered flesh and blood darkened the color of the ground.

"Brother Zhong, the young city lord is ahead!"

Fei Yunyang called out inside, and Zhong Ting responded. Fei Yunyang was immediately relieved. Zhong Ting's martial arts skills were among the best of the nine of them. Now that he had lost his fighting ability, he could only rely on him.

"You all go and help the young city lord. Don't worry about me here."

Seeing Shang Jing and Ma Qian's expressions, Fei Yunyang gave them an order. The two exchanged a glance, clasped their hands in a salute to Fei Yunyang, and used their lightness skills to rush inside.

Although Uru was fighting with Jianxiong, the screams coming from behind him clearly reached his ears, and Uru's expression changed drastically upon hearing the sound.

Wang Zhao!

He was only slightly distracted, and Jianxiong seized the opportunity. With a flash of crimson light from his Bloodstained Sword, Jianxiong shouted and slashed at Uru. Sensing the danger, Uru immediately snapped back to reality. Seeing the incoming sword, Jianxiong swiftly moved his Judge's Pen, splashing black light like ink. Clanging sounds rang out. Although Uru blocked the sword attack, his internal energy was severely depleted. As he sensed the opponent's attacks becoming increasingly intense, Uru grew more and more anxious.

We need to get out of here as soon as possible.

Uru swung the Judge's Pen to deflect Jianxiong's longsword. His body paused for a moment, then he thrust the Judge's Pen upwards, instantly tearing a large hole in the secret passage. Uru seized the opportunity to leap upwards, flying rapidly upwards. Jianxiong snorted coldly, slashed his longsword, tearing open the hole again, and moved in an instant, chasing after Uru.

Just after Jianxiong and his companion left the secret passage, Zhong Ting arrived with five men. With the combined strength of the five men, the remaining man couldn't even withstand three moves before Zhong Ting beheaded him with a single sword strike.

"Look, up there."

One of them pointed to the large hole in the sky ahead and said to Zhong Ting. Without hesitation, Zhong Ting jumped up, and the other five quickly followed.

Outside Sword Forging City, White Bear and Black Eagle were leading twelve people into the city. Just as they reached the city gate, White Bear's expression suddenly hardened as he looked at the group of Sword Forging City riders approaching on horseback. They were none other than the Dragon Sword Envoys of Sword Forging City. "Everyone be careful. If anything seems amiss, act immediately!"

After White Bear gave the order in a low voice, everyone secretly gathered their strength. After a while, Dragon Sword Master dismounted and walked over with more than twenty people. When the city gate guards saw him coming, they immediately stepped forward to greet him. Dragon Sword Master waved them aside, looked at White Bear and the others who were disguised, clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Guests from Eagle Fortress have come from afar. We apologize for not being able to welcome you properly."

The Dragon Sword Envoy revealed their origins in a single sentence. White Bear's expression changed slightly. Since the other party had already seen through them, there was no need for disguise anymore. White Bear casually tore off his disguise and looked at the Dragon Sword Envoy, saying in a deep voice, "Sword Forging City is indeed extraordinary. It seems that we were discovered when we appeared in Sword Forging City. In that case, it is time for your side to deal with the traitor inside the city."

"Sword Forging City has no intention of making enemies, but it is also unwilling to be bullied for no reason. Eagle Fortress and Sword Forging City have no enmity. Do you really think Sword Forging City will not retaliate with your actions?"

The Dragon Swordsman's cold words silenced the White Bear, but after only half a breath, the White Bear stared at the Dragon Swordsman and said, "We are entrusted with a task and we must be loyal to it. The Azure Eagle Fortress is in this business of licking blood from the sword. If we cannot complete the client's request, there is no need for the Azure Eagle Fortress to exist. Dragon Swordsman, there is no point in saying more. Since your side has set up its formation, then we will learn from you."

Knowing Sword Master's nature well, White Bear knew that neither side could back down now. So he gave a shout, and Black Hawk and the others tore off their disguises, took up their weapons, and stared fiercely at the Sword Forging City's forces.

Seeing the situation on the other side, the Dragon Sword Master's eyes turned cold. He slowly drew his longsword, and as soon as the sword left its sheath, with a shout of "Attack!", the two sides clashed instantly. The four members of the Dragon Sword Master's group immediately surrounded White Bear and Black Eagle, making it impossible for them to support the others.

The twenty-three men from Sword Forging City were all elites, and the twelve men from Eagle Fortress were no pushovers either. They each found their opponents and fought desperately. Within a short half-moment, several men had been injured, two from Sword Forging City and five from Eagle Fortress.

"Four Extremes Sword Formation".

The white bear coldly observed the four Dragon Sword Masters surrounding him. Sensing the wisps of sword energy gathering around him, he felt a chill run down his spine. This Four Extremes Sword Formation was one of the three great sword formations of Sword Casting City, and it was never revealed to the public. He never expected that Sword Casting City would put up such a grand display this time in order to deal with him. The Sword Master really thought highly of them.

"The Four Extremes Sword Formation combines the Four Symbols and two hundred million. As long as we find the Yin-Yang pivot of the sword formation and break it, we can break the sword formation. Otherwise, the power of the Four Extremes will be inexhaustible and will slowly wear us down."

The polar bear and black eagle stood back to back. The polar bear transmitted his voice to the black eagle, who looked at the four people who were turning the sword formation and said with a gloomy face, "There are four people here. Who are the two people who are the Yin-Yang pivot? If we miscalculate one move, we will be in a bad situation."

“Dragon Sword Wielder and Phoenix Sword Wielder, let’s each attack one of them and test the waters first.”

After White Bear finished speaking, Black Hawk did not object. Seeing the increasingly rapid sword formation and the bone-chilling sword energy, the two immediately chose their targets and each took up their weapons. White Bear held a steel whip and struck directly at the Dragon Sword Envoy, while Black Hawk drew his longsword, which turned into a black light and stabbed straight at the Phoenix Sword Envoy. As soon as the two made their move, the sword formation hummed loudly.

The Wind and Thunder Whip roared, its power extraordinary, its force like a thousand pounds. A single blow would be fatal or severely wounded. The Dragon Sword Master watched the white bear attack him and chuckled. In the past, he might have fought him one-on-one, but now that he had the advantage, there was no reason not to use it. He moved with his sword, his figure flashing, and the steel whip fell into empty air. Seeing that he had failed to hit the Dragon Sword Master, the white bear hurriedly withdrew the whip to protect himself. He moved swiftly, thrusting two longswords from the side, but they were blocked by the steel whip. With two clangs, he returned empty-handed and back into the sword formation.

Black Hawk on the other side also failed to achieve anything. Not only that, but he was only a moment too slow and his sleeve was torn by the sword. If he hadn't reacted in time, his arm would have been cut.

"This sword formation is tightly packed together. If it targets one person, the other two will definitely come to their aid. And if the Yin-Yang pivot is not broken, this sword formation cannot stop. Brother, what should we do now?"

Black Hawk was furious. If they were fighting one-on-one, these four swordsmen would only be slightly troublesome, not enough to make him wary. But now the fact was that the four of them, working together, were able to suppress them.

"There's another way, Second Brother, protect yourself later." White Bear looked at the sword hounds that were constantly shrinking inward, his heart sank, and after giving an order to Black Hawk, he took out a black lightning bead from his pocket, stimulated his true energy, and immediately threw it towards the sword formation.

The four Dragon Sword Masters were horrified when they saw the object. If they retreated now, they might save their lives, but this would inevitably allow White Bear and Black Eagle to escape. As if they were of one mind, the four of them stayed in place, shouted in unison, and shot their still-charging swords inward.

At the same time, the jet-black lightning bead arrived at Tiger Sword Envoy's side. After noticing it, the latter's expression turned serious. He snorted coldly and then channeled all his true energy into the bead. The white bear and black eagle, who were inside the formation, saw the long sword coming at them and opened their energy shields to try to block it.

Just as the thunder pearl was about to explode, a sudden gust of wind swept in from the sky. The thunder pearl was swept away by the strong wind and instantly turned into a pile of dust. Then, a handsome figure appeared in everyone's sight.

"Master Gu Xu!"

The four Dragon Sword Masters were overjoyed, while White Bear and Black Eagle's expressions changed drastically. Before they could speak, a longsword slashed through the air. Black Eagle hurriedly swung his sword to block, but after only a few breaths, his longsword broke. With a miserable cry, he was pierced through the chest by two longswords and died instantly.

As for Bai Xiong, because Gu Xu intended to spare his life, the two long swords slightly deflected, piercing through his arms from the left and right, carrying him directly a few feet away, and pinning him to the city wall with two clangs.

The sight of the white bear in such a miserable state immediately alarmed the Eagle Fortress side, who were engaged in battle. The remaining nine men lost all will to fight and desperately forced their opponents back before fleeing. However, six of them were caught by the Sword Forging City side and died within a few breaths.

"Don't pursue a desperate enemy; don't go any further."

The Dragon Sword Master shouted, stopping those who wanted to pursue. The others immediately stopped and checked the casualties. After all, this battle was well prepared and took place at their own doorstep, so apart from the seven injured, no one died.

"Thank you so much, Taoist priest, for saving my life."

Tiger Swordsman approached Gu Xu and bowed respectfully. If it weren't for the Taoist priest's intervention, he would probably have been blasted to pieces by the thunder pearl.

"You can handle the rest yourselves. I'll take my leave now."

Gu Xu waved his hand and nodded to the Dragon Sword Envoy. His figure then vanished into thin air, leaving the four sword envoys and the disciples of the Sword Forging City astonished and greatly excited.

"Let's deal with things here first. By the time we've settled things in the city, things should be settled by now."

At this moment, in the north of the city, Jianxiong, Zhong Ting, and five others surrounded Wulu in the center. The latter was already covered in wounds, and blood was flowing down his body uncontrollably. In just half a moment, a pool of blood had accumulated at his feet.

"Uru, you have no way out. Surrender now, or you will die." Jianxiong held his longsword upside down and said to Uru in a solemn voice.

"Heh, I have brought this upon myself today. However, I have roamed the martial world and have never knelt down to beg for mercy. If you want to take me down, it depends on how much you are willing to pay."

Uru's eyes sharpened, and he tossed the judge's pen aside. Two thunder beads rolled out of his sleeve, and Jianxiong frowned upon seeing them.

"Even with the Thunder Pearl in hand, what do I have to fear? You've miscalculated."

Jianxiong spoke coldly, already holding the Bloodstained Sword in his hand, its blade pointing directly at Uru. A cold glint flowed along the spine of the sword, suddenly brightening at the tip.

(End of this chapter)