Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 389 Clash of Titans, Hundred-Step Flying Sword

The central hall of the Mo Family's Mechanical City.

The crimson sword energy erupted from the Shark Tooth, but was blocked by the pale blue Abyss Rainbow.

Behind Gai Nie, Duanmu Rong leaped and dodged to the side.

Zhang Han, Bai Feng, Chi Lian, and the others all attacked in the direction she had just been, and with this dodge, they naturally avoided them all.

With their attack failing, the group ignored Duanmu Rong and launched another attack on Dao Zhi.

Meanwhile, Dao Zhi, holding Gongshu Chou captive, retreated swiftly to the door of the secret chamber.

As the top master of lightness skill in the Mohist school and the number one thief in the Seven Kingdoms, Dao Zhi's speed goes without saying.

In that instant, everyone's attacks fell behind him, except for Bai Feng, whose figure transformed into a white shadow, closely chasing Dao Zhi.

Fortunately, several sword lights flew out simultaneously from the secret chamber, as Fan Zeng and the others also made their move at the same time, blocking Bai Feng.

Dao Zhi joked, "Be careful, don't kill your national advisor."

Bai Feng let out a cold shout, but faced with the combined attack of the crowd, he could only retreat.

Seeing this, Zhang Han and the others realized that they had missed the best opportunity to save the people, so they had no choice but to retreat for the time being.

Gongshu Chou led the entire Gongshu family to be completely loyal to Qin, and they manufactured countless weapons of war for Qin.

In particular, he himself can be described as an absolute genius of mechanical engineering. Many of the powerful mechanisms currently used in the Qin army were designed and manufactured by Gongshu Chou himself.

It was precisely because of his great achievements that Gongshu Chou was appointed as the Imperial Preceptor by the First Emperor.

To put it bluntly, even all the Qin troops in the city are no match for a single hair on Gongshu Chou's head.

If he dies, everyone can basically start writing their wills.

Alternatively, they could directly defect to the Qin state.

The consequences are so severe that no one can afford them.

Even those few people in the quicksand wouldn't have dared to do such a thing without Wei Zhuang's orders.

Therefore, Gongshu Chou fell into the hands of the Mo family, which can be said to have his vital point seized.

Wei Zhuang, however, had no interest in dealing with these messy matters.

The crimson sword energy swept in like a raging storm and towering waves, covering the sky and the earth.

The Shark Tooth's sword light seemed to undergo endless changes in an instant.

It seems that the crimson sword has been completely submerged by Gai Nie, making his white robes somewhat indistinct.

However, Yuanhong's blue sword light was incredibly tenacious beneath the crimson.

Although there weren't many changes, each appearance of the sword light accurately hit the weak point of the Shark Tooth, preventing Wei Zhuang's sword moves from achieving their original purpose.

The sound of swords rang out.

The swords gleamed menacingly.

The crowd watched from the sidelines, initially just waiting for the two to make a decision, but as they watched, they were all drawn in by the mysterious swordsmanship.

"This is the Vertical Sword Technique and the Horizontal Sword Technique of the School of Diplomacy..." Fan Zeng stroked his beard: "When he is angry, the feudal lords tremble; when he is at peace, the world is at ease. The School of Diplomacy of Guigu truly lives up to its reputation!"

Although the School of Diplomacy is most famous for its political maneuvering and ability to control the world's affairs while traveling between states, its swordsmanship and martial arts traditions are also renowned throughout the world.

As everyone knows, Guiguzi, the master of the School of Diplomacy, only accepted two disciples in each generation, one for vertical and one for horizontal, and taught them different knowledge and martial arts respectively.

Once the two disciples have completed their apprenticeship, they will naturally determine the victor in the world.

The victor will inherit the name of Guiguzi and master the entire legacy of the School of Diplomacy!
Therefore, although Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang are fellow disciples, the martial arts they learned are completely different.

From the very beginning, the two were natural rivals.

Gai Nie learned the "Vertical" sword technique, which emphasizes simplicity and plainness, without any unnecessary embellishments. Each sword strike is a perfect combination of speed, power, and precision.

In contrast, Wei Zhuang's horizontal sword technique is highly versatile, with numerous skills, as fierce as a storm, and as swift as lightning.

This is precisely the moment when the two brothers' swordsmanship is on full display.

But perhaps the most terrifying person was Guiguzi, who taught the two of them.

Vertical swordsmanship and horizontal swordsmanship seem to be two completely different directions of swordsmanship, but the one who defeats the other and inherits the title of Guiguzi of the School of Diplomacy will learn the true core of the School of Diplomacy.

The art of swordsmanship combines the principles of vertical and horizontal swordsmanship, possessing both exquisite skills and precise power!
However, those who inherited the title of Guiguzi often secluded themselves in the mountains to cultivate themselves and take on two disciples to pass on the art of strategizing.

Therefore, people may be fortunate enough to witness the vertical sword technique and the horizontal sword technique, but no one has ever witnessed the combined vertical and horizontal sword techniques.

What kind of exquisite swordsmanship was that?

That's something we can only leave to people's imaginations.

The Qin state was a land of swords, and most of the people present were swordsmen. They were all captivated by this incredibly exciting sword duel.

Even Chi Lian, who wields a chain sword, kept a close eye on the clash between the two swords.

However, those who don't use swords can only sense that the battle between the two is extremely intense.

I wasn't particularly interested in how ingenious the specific sword techniques were.

Bai Feng, Hei Qilin, and Yin Fu secretly moved their feet, preparing to try to save Gongshu Chou again.

Unfortunately, Gao Jianli noticed this little trick.

He came to Gongshu Chou's side and personally took care of him.

Seeing this, Bai Feng and the others had no choice but to give up and focus their attention back on the duel between the two.

If Wei Zhuang shows signs of defeat, the group will immediately take action.

Fortunately, such a possibility does not exist.

Because Gai Nie's condition was really bad!

From the moment he defected from Qin, he encountered countless powerful enemies, traveled countless miles, and even went as far as Loulan in the depths of the desert before returning to Qin from Loulan.

They were constantly being chased along the way, and their injuries were severe.

He received treatment at Jinghu Medical Clinic, but did not rest for long before arriving at the Mo Family Mechanical City.

At this moment, Gai Nie's health bar was only about 30%, which was considered extremely low.

In this state, it is clearly impossible for him to gain the upper hand or even win against Wei Zhuang.

Rather, it's quite unbelievable that Gai Nie, in this state, was able to fight Wei Zhuang, even going dozens of moves without being defeated, only being at a disadvantage.

Aside from the fact that Wei Zhuang held back a little, the main reason was that Gai Nie's swordsmanship was superior to Wei Zhuang's.

The core essence of vertical swordsmanship lies in its simplicity and precision.

Even killing with a single sword strike is only considered a relatively low requirement for the vertical sword technique.

The truly profound swordsmanship is to kill the enemy without using an extra bit of force.

It is precisely because of this characteristic that Gai Nie was able to withstand dozens of moves from Wei Zhuang in his prime, even when he was severely injured.

He was able to achieve this feat by using his limited strength to unleash as much power as possible and by accurately targeting Wei Zhuang's sword technique flaws.

Although Wei Zhuang was also exceptionally talented and had mastered the Horizontal Sword Technique to a very high level, in terms of pure swordsmanship, at this moment, Wei Zhuang was ultimately a notch below Gai Nie.

However, swordsmanship is ultimately only the 'ultimate' level.

Strength is the foundation of everything.

Although Wei Zhuang was slightly weaker in swordsmanship, it was only slightly weaker.

His true energy erupted, and he swept his Shark Tooth Sword horizontally.

Gai Nie instantly raised his sword to block, but the incredibly violent power of the Shark Tooth Sword made his arm go numb.

Wei Zhuang seized the opportunity and slashed three times with his Shark Tooth sword. The speed of these three slashes was so fast that it was almost instantaneous.

Therefore, the power of these three strikes almost converged.

With a single sword strike, Gai Nie's strength was no match for the attack, and he had no choice but to retreat.

Wei Zhuang did not pursue, but his eyes were filled with coldness.

"Senior brother, it seems that this long battle is finally coming to an end."

He didn't think there was anything wrong with bullying Gai Nie, who was currently low on health.

The contest between the two was not a pure swordsmanship duel, but a battle of vertical and horizontal strength.

The competition between the two disciples of the School of Diplomacy began the moment they joined the school.

When they were in the same school, the two competed in terms of their daily studies and efforts.

Once they leave their sect, their competition becomes one of swords and blood.

This contest, which could very well last for decades, involves every event, every duel, every move, and every strategy, all of which are pawns in their game.

Only when each piece is connected can a great dragon be formed!
Gai Nie's injury was his own choice, but also a result of Wei Zhuang's persecution.

If anyone's to blame, it's Gai Nie himself.

At the beginning of their fight, Wei Zhuang realized that Gai Nie's injuries had not fully healed, so he held back slightly, which was already a sign of Wei Zhuang's gratitude for his fellow disciple.

Gai Nie remained silent, simply holding the Yuanhong Sword upright in front of him, his left hand gently stroking the blade with two fingers.

In the next instant, a powerful burst of true energy erupted from his body, sweeping across the surroundings.

In an instant, the entire central hall seemed to turn into black, white and gray.

Amidst these three colors, the sword in Gai Nie's hand burst forth with snow-white sword light, transforming into a white azure dragon.

Suddenly, Gai Nie made a move, releasing the Yuanhong Sword from his hand.

The sword did not fall to the ground. Instead, it was enveloped by a powerful surge of true energy, soaring through the air like a real azure dragon, roaring as it lunged towards Wei Zhuang.

It is the ultimate technique of the Flying Sword Art... Hundred Steps Flying Sword!
The sword transforms into a blue dragon, slaying enemies from a hundred paces away, a single, fatal blow!
The Hundred-Step Flying Sword can be considered the essence of vertical sword techniques.

However, Wei Zhuang, as Gai Nie's junior brother, had seen this move far too many times in their past battles.

At this moment, he showed no sign of panic. He wielded the Shark Tooth Sword, which instantly transformed into countless sword lights, forming a dense sword net that blocked his path.

The Abyss Rainbow Sword, transformed into a blue dragon, had already reached Wei Zhuang in the blink of an eye.

However, this sword net blocked the Azure Dragon, the legendary Dragon-Slaying Platform of Hao Si.

With a flash of sword light, the dragon's head was severed!
"Senior brother, your sword strike was far too weak!"

Wei Zhuang said sarcastically, and with a flick of his Shark Tooth Sword, he threw Yuan Hong back in front of Gai Nie.

His relaxed and carefree attitude surprised everyone.

Aside from these two, Gao Jianli, whose swordsmanship was the most profound, instantly saw through the secret: "If Gai Nie hadn't been injured, this sword strike definitely wouldn't have ended so easily... No, those dozens of moves just now..."

He suddenly realized that it was quite abnormal that Gai Nie had actually exchanged dozens of blows with Wei Zhuang in his current state.

But what if Wei Zhuang did this on purpose?

Those dozens of moves of combat would greatly deplete Gai Nie's stamina and inner energy.

If he were at his peak, he wouldn't need to worry about it, but for Gai Nie right now, it's quite important.

However, the Hundred Steps Flying Sword is a deadly move that requires concentrating most of the power into that one sword strike to kill the enemy!
As a descendant of the School of Diplomacy, Wei Zhuang probably knows the moves of the Hundred Steps Flying Sword better than anyone else.

If he deliberately held back just now, in order to make Gai Nie deplete his physical strength and inner energy, so that Gai Nie would not have enough physical strength and inner energy when he finally unleashed his killing move.

The end result, naturally, is that the power of the Hundred-Step Flying Sword will be greatly weakened.

Wei Zhuang...did he have this kind of calculation from the very beginning?

Whether Wei Zhuang truly had such a plan is something only he himself knows.

At this point, it was clear that Wei Zhuang held a significant advantage on the field.

A smile played on his lips as he suddenly held the Shark Tooth Sword upright in front of him, his left hand gently stroking the blade with two fingers.

But it was the exact same action that Gai Nie had just performed.

In the next instant, the violent true energy raged in all directions, turning the entire central hall into black, white, and gray.

In this color, Wei Zhuang's figure was pitch black, and the sword in his hand was wrapped with black true energy, transforming into the image of a coiled azure dragon!

"This...this is..."

"No way! Could this be..."

The people around were immediately horrified when they saw this.

With such a starting stance, such a flow of true energy, such a scene... there is no doubt that Wei Zhuang's next move will be the Hundred Steps Flying Sword!

However, this Hundred Steps Flying Sword is clearly a top-tier move of the Vertical Sword Technique. How could Wei Zhuang, a successor of the Horizontal Sword Technique, possibly have learned it?

Don't be fooled by the Hundred-Step Flying Sword. The action itself is simply throwing the sword in your hand, but the profound mystery of the internal energy circulation within it is so subtle that even ten thousand words might not be able to describe it clearly.

Without the appropriate method, even if you watch it a thousand or ten thousand times, you still won't be able to learn it.

Among all the strategists throughout history, only those who defeated another opponent and became Guiguzi were able to learn all the techniques of diplomacy from the previous Guiguzi.

Where exactly did Wei Zhuang learn the Hundred Steps Flying Sword technique?

But without a doubt, the one who was most shaken was Gai Nie himself!

Even with Gai Nie's composure, his pupils widened in shock the moment he saw Wei Zhuang's action.

He could tell at a glance that Wei Zhuang was not just imitating the appearance, but had grasped the essence of it!

He truly and genuinely mastered the Hundred-Step Flying Sword technique!

Before Gai Nie could speak, Wei Zhuang had already moved on to the next action.

The shark-tooth sword in his hand was thrown out instantly, wrapped in dark true energy, as if it had transformed into a roaring black dragon.

Following closely behind the black dragon was Wei Zhuang himself.

At the head of the dragon's head, naturally lies the sharp edge of the shark's tooth.

A direct thrust into Gai Nie's throat!

(End of this chapter)