The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 352 is here! They've all come!

Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!

Amidst the dense, tearing sounds, fragments of clothing transformed into fluttering butterflies, dancing around the rooftops.

The eunuchs who rushed over cried out in alarm and scrambled to land on the roof tiles.

They looked like naked young wives, hugging their shoulders with their arms, their faces showing a mixture of shock, fear, and shame.

For a moment, he was speechless!

These eunuchs thought that even if there was a difference between their martial arts skills and those of the sword-wielding man in front of them, it shouldn't be too great.

Even if we are no match for them, we should fight for a while before we can defeat them one by one!

Who knows
The young man in front of him only drew his sword once!
He then "shamed the enemy and freed the others" from all of them, which was more than ten people.

Such an exaggerated battle situation was completely beyond their expectations.

If the other party hadn't held back...
At this moment, they are no longer standing on the rooftop, but lying here, turned into corpses!

The eunuchs looked at each other in bewilderment, panicked and at a loss for what to do!

".withdraw!"

The middle-aged eunuch who had given the orders earlier glared angrily at Xu Xingchen, and with a command, everyone immediately jumped off the roof and disappeared into the courtyard.

Choking!

Xu Xingchen sheathed the Dragon-Slaying Sword, shook his head and smiled, thinking to himself, "Indeed, not everyone who obtains the Nine Yin Manual can become the world's number one martial arts master."

"That martial arts manual is powerful, but ultimately it depends on who practices it."

"Even without the Nine Yin Manual, top masters like the Five Greats of the Central Plains could cultivate their martial arts to a supreme level where few could rival them."

"However, cultivators are just ordinary people. Even with the Nine Yin Manual in hand, reaching the level of breaking through realms three times is already their ceiling."

"Among the eunuchs in the imperial palace, even if they spent their entire lives cultivating the Nine Yin Manual, only a handful could reach the level of a top master who had broken through to the fourth realm."

"I wonder if there will even be one in this generation."

"Hmm, there really is one!"

A glint flashed in Xu Xingchen's eyes as he turned to look at the roof of another palace not far away.

There, on the roof ridge, stood a thin, gray-haired old man.

The old man was also pale and beardless, dressed in eunuch's clothes, and his aura was ethereal and elusive, as if he were about to blend into the night.

The old eunuch had been standing on the roof for an unknown amount of time. When he saw that Xu Xingchen had noticed him, he leaped up and landed on the ground in front of him. Then he leaped up again and landed on the roof of the palace on this side.

He stood still, three zhang away from Xu Xingchen!
Up close, Xu Xingchen took a closer look at the old eunuch in front of him and felt that the eunuch's aura was ethereal and illusory, but it was actually a manifestation of his energy being extremely restrained.

Only a master like Xu Xingchen could sense the old eunuch's presence; someone with slightly weaker martial arts skills wouldn't be able to detect him at all.

The old eunuch's eyes dimmed as he stared at Xu Xingchen for a long time before speaking softly, "You, a junior, possess such astonishing martial arts skills at such a young age. It truly amazes me."

"But why did you have to wade through this flood?"

"Don't you know that the Emperor's dignity and imperial authority will absolutely not allow you martial arts practitioners to trample on them at will?"

"Even if you manage to escape unscathed today, you will still face the tragic fate of being wanted by the entire Song Dynasty."

Xu Xingchen smiled faintly: "Senior, you're joking!"

"The Song Dynasty is weak, with few soldiers and generals. The entire court is full of unambitious good-for-nothings. How can they possibly issue a warrant for our arrest?"

"On the night of the full moon, atop the imperial palace; heroes vie for supremacy, vying for the title of number one under heaven!"

"Senior, go back and tell the old emperor: the Zhao family no longer rules this land."

"I advised him to pack his bags as soon as possible, take his bunch of good-for-nothings and get out of the Central Plains to escape for his life."

"Just like when Zhao Gou fled from Bianliang to Hangzhou, how disheveled he looked."

No matter how composed the old eunuch was, he couldn't allow Xu Xingchen to insult the emperor and expose his shortcomings in front of him. So he roared, "Insolence!"

"You must not offend the Emperor's majesty!" The old eunuch's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and his cold shout shook the surrounding air: "You junior, you are truly courting death!"

"Once I've captured you, thrown you into prison, pulled out your teeth, and cut out your tongue, let's see how you continue spouting nonsense."

Having said that, he flashed forward and rushed in front of Xu Xingchen, his fingers curling into claws as he lightning-fast grabbed at Xu Xingchen's face.

Its speed and the ferocity of its claws far surpassed those of the previous group of eunuchs!
Xu Xingchen was too lazy to draw his sword this time. He circled his hand in front of him, and the claw that was attacking his face immediately rebounded and grabbed at the old eunuch's own face.

The old eunuch was startled and quickly turned his head to dodge his own claws.

His body spun in a spiral and disappeared from the spot.

next moment.
Appearing behind Xu Xingchen, he unleashed a powerful punch.

Xu Xingchen flicked his hand backward, colliding with the fist.

Bang!
Amidst the explosive sounds of energy clashing, the two figures suddenly separated and reunited, engaging in a fierce battle with a series of crackling sounds.

In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged more than ten moves. As Xu Xingchen continued his attack, he exclaimed in surprise, "Senior has actually comprehended the Sanskrit general principles of the Nine Yin Manual, enabling your martial arts to harmonize Yin and Yang, and combine strength and gentleness. This truly amazes me!"

The old eunuch spun around Xu Xingchen like a top, his hands shifting between fists, palms, and claws as he asked, "Have you read the Nine Yin Manual?"

Xu Xingchen drew a circle with his right hand and brandished his sword sheath with his left, deflecting all of the old eunuch's Demon-Subduing Fist, Heart-Shattering Palm, and Nine Yin Divine Claw techniques. He smiled and said, "Of course I've seen them. The martial arts described there are indeed impressive, but the martial arts I practice are no less effective."

The two fought swiftly, exchanging words as they went.

"Your martial arts are indeed impressive; but do you know how many eunuchs in the imperial palace have practiced the Nine Yin Manual? And how many old eunuchs have reached my level?"

"So what? Even if all the eunuchs in the entire palace practiced the Nine Yin Manual, everyone's martial arts talent is different, so the achievements they can make will vary. I'm afraid there's no one else who can cultivate to the level of the senior!"

"Hmph! You're so sure of it?"

"Senior, there's no need to frighten me. I observe that your inner strength is full of spirituality, suggesting that you have cultivated to the highest realm of breaking through four levels, comparable to the Four Great Masters of the World. However, if it's just you alone, you won't be able to stop us from competing for supremacy atop this palace."

"You were actually able to sense that I had broken through to the fourth realm? Your perception is remarkably sharp."

"Senior, thank you!"

The two appeared to be engaged in a fierce battle, but in reality, they were constantly testing each other, neither of them unleashing their power beyond the Breakthrough Realm.

After several more rounds of fighting, the old eunuch, seeing that he could not defeat the young man in front of him, struck out with several palms, then retreated and stood three zhang away again.

Xu Xingchen did not pursue, nor did he stop. He smiled and said, "Senior, how is it? Are you confident you can defeat me?"

The old eunuch snorted coldly, his voice soft and shrill: "Boy, don't be so arrogant! Take a look at the other rooftops around you!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Xingchen turned around and looked around. Only then did she realize that on the rooftops of every palace in the imperial city, with its layers upon layers of flying eaves, there were two or three figures standing.

Among them were eunuchs with flowing sleeves and imperial bodyguards with upright postures.

Judging from their unwavering stance on the rooftop and their bright eyes looking this way, one could tell that these people possessed considerable martial arts skills.

Xu Xingchen asked in surprise, "When I entered the palace last time, there weren't this many guards with good martial arts skills!"

The old eunuch sneered, "So you have indeed infiltrated the palace before; indeed, there aren't usually this many experts inside the palace."

"But this martial arts tournament has become known throughout the land, so the Emperor has summoned top martial arts experts from all over the country to the palace to deal with you rebellious scoundrels."

Xu Xingchen smiled and said, "It seems that the Song Dynasty court does have some foundation."

"However, as you should know, once martial arts have reached our level, they cannot be defeated simply by numbers."

"Even if all these people were gathered here, they could only protect the emperor's safety at best, serving as mere accessories."

"There's no way you can stop us from competing!"

Just as the old eunuch was about to say something more, a loud croaking of a toad suddenly came from outside the city wall.

Cluck cluck!

Cluck cluck!

Cluck cluck!

The toad's croaking grew louder and closer with each croak, and in the blink of an eye, it appeared outside the imperial city walls.

Then, a figure rushed up the city wall, ignoring the dense barrage of arrows at his feet, and jumped over the wall, landing inside the imperial city.

Awooo~~!

A high-pitched and resounding dragon roar soared into the sky, echoing from afar and rapidly approaching.

A moment later, a dragon-shaped phantom flashed across the top of the city wall, meandering and descending into the imperial city.

Immediately after
A faint sound of a flute echoed through the night sky over Lin'an City, sobbing and lamenting like the sound of a woman weeping, poignant and beautiful.

Whether it was the Song Dynasty soldiers with bows drawn and arrows nocked on the city walls, or the martial arts practitioners waiting on the streets and rooftops outside the city walls, a sense of desolation rose in their hearts.
The energy within his body immediately became chaotic!
Many martial arts figures collapsed to the ground or fell off the roof due to their legs giving way.

Even the Song soldiers on the city wall couldn't stand still and fell to the ground one after another.

A tall, slender figure, as swift as a breeze or a ghost, flew over quickly, stepping onto the city wall and soaring upwards.

In the blink of an eye, they scaled the wall and landed inside the imperial city.

Some highly skilled martial arts masters were the first to recover.

Seeing the chaotic scene atop the imperial city walls, he exclaimed with delight, "If we don't charge now, when will we?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he leaped up and rushed toward the imperial city wall.

Use a grappling hook, wear iron gloves, or employ the wall-climbing skills of a gecko.
They used all their skills and tools to quickly climb up the city wall.

Before the soldiers on the wall could recover, they rushed into the imperial city behind it one after another.
Those generals were highly skilled and recovered first, but there were too many people trying to break through the "barrier," and they couldn't be stopped.

They were so angry that they started cursing and swearing!
Among the martial arts masters who scaled the wall, several figures climbed up without using any tools, simply by using the wall for leverage a few times.

If Xu Xingchen were here, he would recognize that many of those figures were people he had dealt with before.

(End of this chapter)