A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 433 Fierce Fight

"presumptuous!"

Just as the black-clad swordsman attacked the Sword Master, the Sword Hero, who was fighting with the enemy, roared and used his longsword to snatch the opponent's sword with a Tai Chi Cloud Hand. He then shot the longsword towards the black-clad man. The longsword was infused with true energy, making it powerful. A streak of light flashed, and in an instant, it arrived behind the black-clad man.

Just as the black-clad swordsman was about to slay the Sword Master, he sensed a sharp sword aura behind him and hurriedly turned around. However, he only had time to draw his sword before another scream rang out. The black-clad man was pierced through the heart by the long sword that was shot at him. The momentum did not diminish, and he flew more than ten feet with his corpse, where he was pinned to the stone wall.

Jian Xiong's "Flying Dragon in the Sky" move made the leader of the black-clad men's pupils shrink, and he was extremely wary. With a wave of his hand, the remaining seven black-clad men immediately rushed towards Jian Xiong, while he himself rushed towards Jian Zun.

Jianxiong killed his opponent with a single palm strike and then unleashed his ultimate move. His already meager true energy was nearly depleted. Before he could catch his breath, seven men in black attacked with their swords. Seeing this, Jianxiong had no choice but to use his Bagua Steps to dodge and turn around repeatedly.

On the other side, the Dragon Swordsman and the Tiger Swordsman were also locked in a stalemate. Although their skills were superior to those of the four, the four who were attacking them had very tricky sword techniques and were unreserved in their attacks, forcing the two to constantly defend. Within ten moves, they could only launch an attack in two or three.

"Who exactly are these people? Their swordsmanship is so ruthless. They only know how to attack blindly. Don't they know that prolonged attacks will eventually weaken them?"

With a single sword strike, Long Jianshi deflected the attack of the two swords. Then, with a twist of his longsword, he drew the two swords towards him. The two men in black remained expressionless as they faced each other with their palms. The two swords trembled simultaneously. Long Jianshi felt a chilling aura emanating from the blades and was startled. He hurriedly channeled his inner energy, but this opening was instantly seized upon by his opponents. The two swords clashed, deflecting Long Jianshi's sword. Without pausing, the two men attacked Long Jianshi's shoulders from the left and right.

Meanwhile, the battle on Tiger Sword Master's side was even more intense. The reason was that Tiger Sword Master followed the path of the sword of killing, always using wide and sweeping attacks. With his broadsword sweeping across, his opponents had to temporarily retreat. However, after dozens of moves, his opponents figured out Tiger Sword Master's moves, and the originally fierce sword momentum became very soft. When the weapons clashed, Tiger Sword Master felt as if his attacks were hitting a ball of cotton, without any force. Not only that, the counterattack force kept impacting his meridians.

"This sword technique..."

Tiger Swordsman swept away the enemy's attack with his sword, his gaze very serious. When they first clashed, the two were fighting head-on with their swords, but they were able to use a completely different and superior sword technique so quickly, which shocked Tiger Swordsman.

You know that you are the most talented of the four sword masters, but in the past thirty years, you have only mastered the White Tiger Sword Technique. The two people opposite you are not much older than you, but they can use two extremely profound sword techniques. How did they do that?

While Tiger Swordsman was still wondering, the two were not idle. They attacked with their swords, one hard and one soft, in combination. Tiger Swordsman's expression changed slightly upon seeing this. He had not yet figured out how to counter the dense sword moves, so how was he supposed to deal with this combination of hard and soft moves? Tiger Swordsman looked at the sword light shooting towards him and had an idea. He swung his broadsword horizontally and then thrust it upwards, delivering a White Tiger Sword Light directly to meet the attack. There were two clanging sounds, and Tiger Swordsman staggered back three steps. The two opposite him swayed for a moment, but quickly regained their balance and attacked again. The sinister sword energy made Tiger Swordsman's hair stand on end. He let out a deep shout, pushed off the ground, and charged forward with his sword. After exchanging several blows, Tiger Swordsman was already at a disadvantage. Although he was not injured, a pillar of white energy appeared above his head, indicating that his true energy was severely depleted.

Tiger Swordsman flipped his sword, and with two clanging sounds, the black-clad man's two swords struck directly at it. Two streams of cold energy flowed along the swords towards Tiger Swordsman's limbs and bones. The latter was startled, but quickly reacted. He slashed with his broadsword, forcing the two men back. At the same time, he drew his sword technique, and the sword energy within his body swept away the invading yin energy one by one.

"As expected, although the swordsmanship used by these two is powerful, the key lies in this cold and yin energy. Without the cold and yin energy, it is not difficult to break through that dense sword momentum."

Tiger Swordsman's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He looked around and, taking advantage of the two men's retreat, swallowed a Qi-replenishing pill. Although the pill could not fully restore his strength, it would restore five or six tenths of it, which would be enough for him to kill the two men.

"It must be resolved quickly."

Tiger Swordsman was worried about Sword Master's side, so he immediately drew his sword technique and abandoned his defense, directly attacking with his sword. The two people opposite him showed disdain when they saw Tiger Swordsman's action.

"Since you're courting death, then so be it."

With a strange whistle, the two swordsmen moved swiftly, attacking the Tiger Swordsman. The moment their swords clashed, the Tiger Swordsman's sword was firmly held in place. At the same time, a chilling aura surged from the swords in the two men's hands. The Tiger Swordsman's face turned deathly pale, his eyebrows and eyes frosted over, and his sword-wielding hand trembled uncontrollably. Just when the two men thought the Tiger Swordsman's life was in danger, a burst of scorching sword energy suddenly erupted from the Tiger Swordsman's body. The chilling power vanished instantly, and instead, this scorching sword energy, due to the entanglement of the three men's energy, surged towards the two men.

"what!"

Before they could react, the scorching sword energy invaded their bodies. Their true energy was completely depleted, leaving them like an empty city. The influx of true energy, so disproportionate to their own, was a disaster. With two screams, the sword energy continued to surge through their bodies, instantly turning them into sieves, leaving them tattered and lying on the ground.

With two clanging sounds, Tiger Swordsman flicked his wrist, knocking the two strange swords to the ground. Looking at the corpses, Tiger Swordsman's face turned pale, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He had just taken a risky step by absorbing the fiery energy in the sword-refining pool, which allowed him to break through the yin and cold power in one fell swoop. However, this fiery energy was incompatible with the White Tiger Sword Technique he cultivated. Fortunately, thanks to the Qi-replenishing pill, his heart meridian was protected; otherwise, it would not have been as simple as a clash of energies.

Straightening up, Tiger Swordsman glanced at the Dragon Swordsman who was still locked in combat. Knowing that with the Dragon Swordsman's skill, Tiger Swordsman would surely win in the end, he immediately grabbed his sword and rushed towards Sword Master.

On the Sword Master's side, the leading man in black was fighting with the Sword Master. The Sword Master was already covered in wounds, but he still fiercely protected the Sword Master, preventing the man in black from advancing an inch. Even though he was exhausted, he still fought to the death. The leading man in black just snorted coldly. Instantly, his longsword changed direction. The blade that was originally thrusting straight ahead suddenly bent, bypassing the Sword Master's longsword, and pierced his body with a "thud". As the sword was pulled out, a stream of blood splattered out, instantly staining the Sword Master's face crimson. His body finally could not hold on any longer and slowly collapsed.

"Heh, Sword Master should be content with a subordinate like you."

The black-clad man's sinister face flashed as he looked at the Sword Master behind him. His figure moved in an instant, slashing his sword across the Sword Master's neck, but it was caught by a hand. The gleaming blade was instantly stained red with blood. The black-clad man looked at the oblivious Qilin Sword Master, twisted his wrist, and with a flash of sword light, the Qilin Sword Master's right hand was severed. With a muffled groan, the Qilin Sword Master's body was kicked far away by the black-clad man. After rolling a few times, he was motionless.

"Humph!"

The man in black sneered and instantly appeared in front of the Sword Master. Just as he was about to kill him with a sword, a sharp wind suddenly came from behind him. Without even looking, the man in black hurriedly dodged to the side. After regaining his footing, he saw a pebble roll to the ground.

Seeing the small pebble, the man in black's expression changed. He turned his head and saw Tiger Swordsman rushing towards him with his sword. In a moment of distraction, the distance between the two was less than half a zhang. The man in black realized he had been tricked and tried to make amends, but it was too late. Tiger Swordsman was at the height of his power and knew that his current state could not last long. He attacked with the Dragon Riding Slash. A flash of white light appeared on the sword, and dense sword energy shot out, instantly enveloping the man in black. The latter's expression changed again and again. Looking at the sharp sword energy all around him, his eyes sharpened. He stroked the sword with his finger, and a dark light flashed. He raised it high into the air and slashed with all his might. A dazzling sword light slashed down, and the sword net formed by the Dragon Riding Slash sword energy was instantly shattered. The aftershocks of the collision between the two forces forced both of them to retreat.

Tiger Swordsman forcefully suppressed his injuries and slashed forward with all his might. The White Tiger Sword Technique was mainly for killing, and although it was not as powerful as the Dragon Riding Slash, it was still extremely lethal at this short distance. The man in black had already depleted a lot of his true energy after taking the Dragon Riding Slash first. Now, seeing the murderous sword, his face immediately darkened. Looking at the Sword Master who was so close, the man in black gritted his teeth and ignored the incoming White Tiger Sword Qi. He even endured the attack and used the force to rush towards the Sword Master.

Tiger Sword Master's expression changed upon seeing this. He let out a deep shout and, disregarding his injuries, unleashed the Dragon Riding Slash once more. His longsword shot towards the man in black like an arrow. However, Tiger Sword Master was a step too slow, and the man in black's sword was already slashing towards Sword Master.

Tiger Swordsman watched the man in black's actions with eyes blazing with fury, but he was powerless to do anything about it and could only watch helplessly. Just when things were about to turn around, before the joy on the man in black's face had faded, he felt a weight on his hand. He saw that the sword had stopped three inches away from the Sword Master's neck, as if it had hit an iron wall. The force of the impact made his wrist go numb.

"Rat!"

A deep voice rang out. The man in black looked closely and saw that the Sword Master, who had been healing, had stood up. He gripped his longsword in his right hand, and with a gentle squeeze, the blade shattered into several pieces, which flew out and embedded themselves in the man in black. Not only that, the Sword Master pushed with his palm, and the man in black, who was barely clinging to life, was pierced through by the longsword that had shot from behind. He died without uttering a sound. "City Lord!"

Seeing that the Sword Master was unharmed, Tiger Swordsman immediately stepped forward. The Sword Master glanced at him, then flashed his fingers, sealing several vital points on Tiger Swordsman's body, instantly stopping his declining aura.

"Thank you for your hard work. Take good care of the Phoenix Sword Envoy and the Qilin Sword Envoy." The Sword Master looked at the fallen Qilin Sword Envoy and Phoenix Sword Envoy, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"Yes."

After giving the order, the Sword Master moved swiftly, heading towards the most intense battleground.

Liao Rushen relentlessly unleashed palm strikes at Huangfu Changhen and Sixin Shitai, but the two were incredibly resilient. Huangfu Changhen took the lead in attacking, while Sixin Shitai focused on defense. Although it was their first time working together, they were perfectly in sync and firmly suppressed Rushen. If Jianyang hadn't fallen into a trap and been severely injured by Liao Rushen, the three of them could have defeated him within a hundred moves.

"Master, buy me some time." Huangfu Changhen shattered the Heaven-Shielding Palm with his whip and transmitted his voice to Master Sixin, who was playing the zither behind him. The latter responded and immediately began to play rapidly with her fair hands. The three strings of the zither produced powerful and vigorous sounds, rushing towards Liao Rushen.

At the same time, Huangfu Changhen flicked his long whip and soared into the air. As Huangfu Changhen poured in his true energy, the whip straightened, like a pillar supporting the sky. Its black light intensified, and with a deep shout, the whip, carrying wind and thunder, struck fiercely towards Liao Rushen. The space along the way seemed to be torn apart, with howling winds and rushing air currents. Liao Rushen, who was fighting against the Seven Absolutes Zither, saw this terrifying move and his expression changed drastically. He waved his feather fan fiercely, deflecting the zither's energy blades. Then, the Wind God Dharma Image appeared behind him, and the wind swept across the sky, creating an energy shield in front of him. The long whip suddenly arrived and pierced straight into the energy shield. With a bang, the whip was absorbed by the energy shield. The two forces continued to contend, with flashes of light and howling winds. Liao Rushen was in great pain at this moment. The black whip struck like a heavy mountain falling, causing his blood and qi to churn. Although protected by the Wind God Dharma Image, he still suffered serious internal injuries.

Feeling the relentless waves of attacks from the opposite side, coupled with the omnipresent Seven Absolute Melodies of the Abbess of Death, Liao Rushen's face darkened. After gritting his teeth and enduring several breaths, his protective aura became extremely thin and was on the verge of shattering. Liao Rushen's eyes flickered slightly, and he took a deep breath, swallowing the blood pill he had placed under his tongue. Instantly, his depleted true energy was restored to its original state, and his protective aura became even stronger. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liao Rushen roared, and the Wind God Dharma Image behind him suddenly collapsed. The explosive energy was drawn towards Huangfu Changhen and the other person, while he used a fake body to instantly create distance between himself and the two.

"Go away!"

Huangfu Changhen and Master Sixin were both thrown into turmoil by the backlash from Fengshen Nu's energy. After regaining their footing, they discovered that Rushen was already running towards Ling Shuangjian. Upon seeing this, the two used their lightness skills to chase after Rushen.

Liu Yiyi and Yan Zangfeng also encountered trouble. Ren Qianxing, Mu Songzi and Changyangzi had already entangled them, while Fu Xiao and the two ghosts of Nanku were fighting against Jian Heng and the other four. Sword light and palm energy swept across the area, and apart from the Ling Shuang Sword, which was shimmering with golden light in mid-air, there was nothing else there.

"Yiyi, you'd better give up, otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Ren Qianxing glanced at another battlefield and his heart sank. These three, Fu Xiao and his companions, were truly useless. They couldn't even take down four old men whose qi and blood were declining. It was a waste that he had held off Yan Cangfeng.

Upon hearing this, Liu Yiyi was instantly enraged. She flicked out musical notes with her delicate hand, sending them flying towards Ren Qianxing, and said coldly, "We are not on the same path, Ren Qianxing. You have chosen to degenerate, so we shall sever all ties from this day forward."

As the words fell, the zither music grew even faster. Each powerful note made Ren Qianxing's head throb with blood. He hurriedly circulated his inner energy to suppress it, drawing his longsword to deflect the attacks. Hearing Liu Yiyi's heartless words, Ren Qianxing felt no sadness, only coldness in his eyes. He raised his sword high, a flash of crimson light appearing as he fiercely slashed. Liu Yiyi's heart skipped a beat at this sight. She flipped her wrist, and a white ribbon shot out, wrapping around Ren Qianxing's sword. At the same time, she yanked the seven strings of her zither with her right hand. Just as the sword light was about to strike, she suddenly released it. With a bang, the powerful zither music and the crimson sword light collided and exploded, creating a shockwave. The two of them retreated several steps in unison. But just as Ren Qianxing retreated, two powerful palm strikes suddenly came from the left and right sides. Ren Qianxing hurriedly dodged, but he was caught off guard by the white ribbon that Liu Yiyi had released beforehand, which wrapped around his sword and locked it tightly.

Ren Qianxing's longsword was locked, and he was now facing a deadly threat. However, his mind was clear and calm. With a deep shout, he thrust his right hand, holding the sword, downwards. Using the longsword as a fulcrum, he flipped and spun around, sweeping his long legs in all directions. Two muffled groans were heard as Ren Qianxing flipped and landed. He pulled out his sword and looked closely. It turned out to be the couple who were like Hua Tuo and his wife.

"It turns out to be you."

Ren Qianxing's sword trembled, and the white silk was instantly shattered. From the broken pieces of the silk, Liu Yiyi walked over and stood with Sai Huatuo and his wife.

"Ren Qianxing, with Daoist Gu Xu here, it's wishful thinking for you to get it. Surrender quickly and you can save your life. Otherwise, it will be too late to regret it."

After Sai Huatuo finished speaking, Ren Qianxing remained noncommittal, pointing his long sword diagonally and coldly looking at the three of them, saying in an icy voice: "The Three Heroes of the Wind and Dust are renowned far and wide, and today we can learn a thing or two from them."

As he spoke, Ren Qianxing suddenly darted over. The chilling sword light made Sai Huatuo and his wife shudder. Ren Qianxing's practice of the "One Sword Separates Worlds" technique was truly bizarre. His skill had improved so rapidly in such a short time. It was truly terrifying.

"Old woman, be careful."

Sai Huatuo gave a command, and seeing the incoming sword light, he drew a dark shuttle with two sharp ends and took the lead in meeting it. Meanwhile, Sai Xishi and Liu Yiyi each made their moves. One played the Seven Absolutes Qin music to distract Ren Qianxing, while the other released various hidden weapons and flying needles to attack his vital points.

Seeing that Sai Huatuo dared to step forward alone, Ren Qianxing sneered. He drew his sword and used a feint, then slashed at Sai Huatuo's waist. If this sword struck, Sai Huatuo would surely die. Ren Qianxing believed that his change of move was extremely fast, and Sai Huatuo would inevitably reveal a flaw when caught off guard. However, he did not expect that just as the sword was about to strike Sai Huatuo's waist, the sword light deflected slightly, only tearing his robe and failing to achieve its purpose.

"Not good!"

Seeing Sai Huatuo force out a killing move, Ren Qianxing's expression changed. Just then, all the hidden weapons with the sound of the zither came at him. It was too late to defend. Just as Ren Qianxing was about to take the hit head-on, a burst of energy suddenly came from mid-air and blocked in front of him. All the hidden weapons with the sound of the zither were blocked.

"It's you."

Ren Qianxing dodged the killing move and looked up to see Liao Rushen. The latter simply nodded at him and, without saying a word, reached for the Ling Shuang Sword. Just as he was about to grab it, Sai Huatuo stepped forward, his sharp, long shuttle slicing through the air, heading straight for Liao Rushen. The latter snorted coldly, waved his feather fan, and a gentle breeze deflected the shuttle's attack. He then unleashed a Heaven-Covering Palm strike on Sai Huatuo, sending him flying.

"senior!"

"Old man!"

Liu Yiyi and Sai Xishi exclaimed in surprise, their movements slowing down. Ren Qianxing seized the opportunity, his longsword flashing with a cold light as he thrust it straight at Sai Xishi.

(End of this chapter)