The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 346 Qiu Qianzhang? Qiu Qianren?
In the desolate wilderness, there is a small bridge and a flowing stream.

On the simple, swaying wooden bridge, two figures began a fierce battle.

Qiu Qianzhang swung his arms and immediately unleashed more than a dozen iron palm strikes, raining down on Xu Xingchen opposite him.

Each strike of his iron palm possesses the power to shatter monuments and split rocks!
Xu Xingchen swiftly extended his right hand and casually drew a circle in front of him. Several streams of energy flowed and changed, forming a surging circular pattern.

The dozen or so dark iron palms, upon contact with the circular airflow, immediately lost their footing, like stones tossed about by a rushing river.

They traced arcs as they converged toward the center of the energy ring, colliding fiercely and violently.

Crackling.

The sounds of explosive energy rang out in unison.

Just then, Xu Xingchen gently pushed forward with his right hand without any trace of anger.

The fierce energy bursting out from the center of the ring immediately coalesced into a ball and charged forward.

Bang!
Qiu Qianzhang's body trembled, and he was sent flying three zhang away.

As soon as my feet touched the ground, the wooden bridge swayed violently.

Qiu Qianzhang's expression was solemn yet tinged with excitement and ruthlessness. He laughed loudly, "Your move is indeed exquisite and profound, actually managing to reflect all the force of my palm strike back."

Xu Xingchen placed his left hand, which held the Dragon Slayer Sword, behind his back and looked at the other party calmly: "My move is called the Yuan Magnetic Ring. It should have returned all your palm force to you, but you were able to receive all of that force in time. This shows that your Iron Sand Palm has been cultivated to the highest level of combining hardness and softness. It can definitely be called unparalleled in the world!"

"Hahahaha, my Iron Sand Palm is unparalleled in the world, no less than the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms of the Nine-Finger Beggar Hong Qigong." Qiu Qianzhang laughed twice, then his face darkened: "Why didn't you tell me the name of the move when I asked you at the restaurant? Why are you willing to tell me now?"

Xu Xingchen said seriously, "Because you weren't worthy to know his name before. Now you are somewhat qualified."

At this point, a strange look appeared on his face: "Can you tell me why you give me such a completely different feeling now compared to when we were in the restaurant?"

Qiu Qianzhang revealed a meaningful smile: "Oh, how does it feel? Tell me about it!"

Xu Xingchen looked up at the large iron water vat falling from the sky, which Qiu Qianzhang caught steadily with one hand. He nodded slowly and said, "Yes, that's the feeling! The feeling of stability."

"When you were at the restaurant, you seemed tough on the outside but weak on the inside. Although you had great skills, you were timid and indecisive. You didn't have the decisive and domineering spirit you have now."

Qiu Qianzhang burst into laughter again: "Hahahaha, you really saw through me?! Very well, I'll tell you the truth; the so-called Qiu Qianzhang is me; the Iron Palm Water-Walking Qiu Qianren is also me; we are the same person."

Xu Xingchen frowned: "Senior Qiu, is this true? Qiu Qianzhang clearly said that he has a younger brother named Qiu Qianren. They are two brothers, not one person."

Qiu Qianzhang said earnestly, "I wouldn't stoop to lying to you about this; he does indeed have a younger brother. And I, Qiu Qianren, am indeed his younger brother."

"However, we both share one body."

"When he awoke, I fell asleep; when he fell asleep, I awoke; though we will never meet again, I know everything he has been through, and he knows everything I have been through."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xingchen was taken aback, thinking to himself, "Isn't this just two personalities in one body?"

"It's rather strange that this world has turned the two brothers, Qiu Qianzhang and Qiu Qianren, into one person."

The former Qiu Qianzhang, now Qiu Qianren, saw Xu Xingchen frowning and remaining silent, and thought he didn't believe him. He then said, "This matter is known to everyone in my Iron Palm Clan; however, I, the clan leader, once issued a gag order, forbidding them from publicizing this matter to outsiders, so the outside world has no idea about my situation."

Xu Xingchen came to her senses: "If that's the case, why did Chief Qiu tell me about this?"

Qiu Qianren said, "There are three reasons: First, you have already noticed my differences; second, you still have some respect for me, the leader of the gang; third, your martial arts skills are not weak, enough to be my opponent."

Xu Xingchen smiled and said, "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Chief Qiu. Since we have no past or present grudges, how about we end this battle here?"

Qiu Qianren slowly shook his head: "Since I have taken you as my opponent, how could I end this battle so easily?!"

"I don't care whether you really just came out of the mountains or not, but I bet you're heading to Lin'an to participate in the world's number one martial arts tournament, aren't you?"

Xu Xingchen nodded and said, "That's right, I will indeed be heading to Lin'an on this trip!"

"Since that's the case, let me, the leader of this gang, test your skills first." Qiu Qianren revealed a ferocious smile, raised his arm and threw the large water vat in front of him, then slammed his palms onto the vat.

Buzz~~~!

Amidst a thunderous roar, the large iron water vat, like a cannonball, blasted towards Xu Xingchen once more.

This time, the force was as strong as a mountain, as hard as iron, and carried an awe-inspiring, unbreakable momentum.

The wooden bridge trembled, and Qiu Qianren moved like the wind, following closely behind, rushing towards Xu Xingchen together.

Choking!

With a long, drawn sword cry, a beam of sword light tore through the sky, crossing horizontally and vertically to form a cross mark in front of him.

With a hiss, the large iron cylinder that flew close was instantly split into four pieces, which were then thrown in all directions.

Xu Xingchen's sword light flashed and receded, striking towards Qiu Qianren who was coming from the opposite direction.

Qiu Qianren clearly did not expect that his large iron vat, forged from refined iron, would be cleaved into four pieces by the young man in front of him with two swords. Seeing that the incomparably sharp sword light rushing towards him again, he had no choice but to swing his iron palm and meet it head-on.

Ding ding ding ding ding ding
Amidst a series of clanging metal sounds, sparks flew like fireworks.

Qiu Qianren let out a strange cry, his figure moving like the wind as he retreated, landing once again on the wooden plank of the wall three zhang away.

Xu Xingchen swung his longsword, flicking a drop of blood off the blade.

Qiu Qianren raised his arms and looked at his hands, which should have been unharmed by swords and blades, now covered with gaping, gruesome wounds, and a look of disbelief appeared on his face.

He suddenly looked up, staring at Xu Xingchen, his gaze slowly moving to the sharp, gleaming Dragon-Slaying Sword in Xu Xingchen's hand. He said coldly, "What a fine sword that can cut through iron like mud! It's much sharper than most swords I've ever seen."

Xu Xingchen's expression remained calm: "Thank you for your praise, Chief Qiu. Although my weapon is excellent, my swordsmanship is equally unparalleled. I wonder if Chief Qiu would still be willing to continue fighting with me?"

Qiu Qianren raised his thick, dark eyebrows and roared, "Don't think that just because you wield a sword you can dominate the world; our battle must continue!"

As soon as he finished speaking, crackling and popping sounds of bones and muscles bursting echoed within his body.

His short, stocky body swelled up like a balloon, and he grew taller by leaps and bounds.

In the blink of an eye.
He turned into a short, burly man who was a head taller than him!

The loose black robe he was wearing became tight, barely concealing the bulging, strong muscles beneath.

The reason he still appears short and stocky is simply because even after his body grew larger, it remained square and like a wall.

But the surging aura emanating from him was as solid as hard steel, giving people a suffocating feeling!

Looking at his palms, the deep, bone-revealing wounds that had previously been there had all healed, turning into neat, clear scars.

The scars continued to move, healing rapidly.
Boom!
The wooden bridge shook again.

Qiu Qianren, whose body was as solid as an iron wall, pounced for the third time. He raised his arms, and a dark, iron-sand-like aura enveloped his hands.

"This must be the power of his breakthrough," Xu Xingchen secretly estimated. His sword light flashed and changed, like streaks of lightning shuttling back and forth in the air, colliding fiercely with the iron palm coming from the front.

Ding ding ding ding ding ding.
This time, the sound of metal clashing was even deeper and louder, and the sparks flying were even more dazzling.

Xu Xingchen had sharp eyes and saw everything clearly.

His own Dragon-Slaying Sword was completely intercepted by those two palms shrouded in black iron sand-like energy as he slashed and struck.

It's no longer as difficult as before to break through and injure the opponent's flesh.

Moreover, Qiu Qianren's transformed palm strikes are even more powerful and his strength even more ferocious.

Not only did it intercept all his sword light, but it also rolled back like an iron wall.

They pressed forward relentlessly, their momentum reaching its peak!

Xu Xingchen still had no intention of "transforming." Her figure flickered and flashed, like a dragon winding and as swift as the wind, and suddenly she flashed past Qiu Qianren.

As the sword flashed, it was as if a bolt of lightning struck the air, heading straight for Qiu Qianren's back.

With a low shout, Qiu Qianren's already taut robes instantly burst open, transforming into countless black butterflies that fluttered in the air, revealing bulging muscles and tendons.

The sharp sword light landed on his back, only piercing a little flesh, before being firmly blocked by the rapidly spreading black iron sand aura.

Take a step and turn around.

Qiu Qianren slammed his palm down fiercely, shouting angrily, "You really look down on me, the leader of this gang? Even now, you're still unwilling to unleash your power to break through to the next level?"

With shouts, he unleashed a flurry of palm strikes, each one swift and powerful, aiming to turn Xu Xingchen into a meat pie.

Xu Xingchen moved like the wind, his sword flashing like water.

With the skill of a master butcher dissecting an ox, he weaves and pierces through the oncoming barrage of iron palm strikes, seizing every opportunity to strike.

Wherever the sword light passed, the powerful palm strikes, which were as solid as copper walls and iron barriers, shattered and collapsed.

Xu Xingchen was overjoyed: "Sure enough, with that extra bit of spirituality in my internal energy, my swordsmanship has also improved accordingly."

"They were able to deal with Qiu Qianren's Iron Sand Palm without even using their breakthrough power."

(End of this chapter)