Martial Arts: After ten years of sword-drawing, the Sword God must bow his head when he sees me

Chapter 198 Sword Defeates the Sword Demon
A quarter of an hour later, Shen Ping'an and Dugu Qiubai had exchanged a hundred blows.

Even now, although Dugu Qiubai's sword moves still seem simple, he has actually begun to use the "Nine Swords of Dugu".

It must be said that Dugu Qiubai in swordsmanship is indeed Dugu Qiubai.

Every move, seemingly casual, actually brings out the essence of the "Nine Swords of Dugu".

The core principle of "The Nine Swords of Dugu" is to abandon defense and completely prioritize offense over defense.

All sword techniques are aimed at striking the opponent's vital points, forcing the opponent to counterattack and defend themselves, thereby dismantling the offensive.

Last time at the Cliff of Contemplation, Feng Qingyang also adopted an offensive strategy instead of a defensive one.

However, Feng Qingyang's skill in swordsmanship was too low, which meant that his so-called "offense as defense" lacked staying power, and his sword moves lacked charm, resulting in a significant reduction in the power of his swordsmanship.

But Dugu Qiubai was different.

During these hundred moves, Shen Ping'an could sense that Dugu Qiubai was like a master chess player, able to precisely grasp the rhythm of the battle when playing chess.

In Dugu Qiubai's hands, the Nine Swords of Dugu were like the roaring Yellow River, with its sword momentum surging and never-ending.

If it were anyone else facing Dugu Qiubai, the battle would likely have already fallen into Dugu Qiubai's rhythm, and they would have been defeated as soon as a weakness was exposed.

Not only that, Shen Ping'an was also surprised to find that Dugu Qiubai's swordsmanship had already entered the fourth realm of swordsmanship, the realm of no sword.

The sword techniques used are unrestrained, formless, and shapeless; the sword moves at will, and changes unpredictably.

This made Shen Ping'an secretly praise him.

"As expected of the Sword Demon Dugu Qiubai! He has actually stepped into this realm."

While Shen Ping'an was inwardly praising Dugu Qiubai for entering the fourth realm of swordsmanship, the Swordless Realm, Dugu Qiubai's astonishment had reached its peak.

Since the start of the fight, the two have exchanged over a hundred blows, but from beginning to end, it has almost always been Dugu Qiubai who has taken the initiative to attack, while Shen Ping'an has been on the defensive.

It should be understood that in martial arts combat, defense is often more difficult than offense.

As the saying goes, "A prolonged defense will inevitably lead to defeat." The more skilled a martial artist is, the less likely they are to put themselves in a passive position.

But now, facing his relentless onslaught like a raging river, Shen Ping'an remained calm and composed.

Moreover, now, Dugu Qiubai feels as if Shen Ping'an has anticipated every attack he makes, and Shen Ping'an easily neutralizes each attack.

It possessed an immovable, mountain-like presence, without the slightest flaw.

Furthermore, as the two exchanged blows, Dugu Qiubai could clearly sense that Shen Ping'an had become more composed in dealing with his sword moves.

By now, Dugu Qiubai could clearly see that Shen Ping'an had not used his full strength at all.

This situation filled Dugu Qiubai with both surprise and delight.

What surprised him was that Shen Ping'an's strength was so high, and what pleased him was that after living most of his life, he was able to meet a master who could rival him in swordsmanship.

Thinking of this, Dugu Qiubai no longer held back, and his internal energy surged once again.

The next instant, seven straight grooves appeared on the blue brick ground beneath Dugu Qiubai's feet.

Dugu Qiubai's right hand, hanging down, was held with fingers pointing like a sword, and a sword aura arrived in an instant, like an autumn wind suddenly rising.

Shen Ping'an stood rooted to the spot, his rolled-up gray sleeves suddenly snapping straight as iron, cleaving the sword energy that was attacking his face into two wisps of green smoke.

"What a clever concealment!"

With his left index and middle fingers joined together, he swept horizontally, condensing the fierce sword intent honed over thirty years into an invisible blade of energy. Shen Ping'an lowered his waist and raised his palm, the tip of his palm still half a foot from the ground, three straight cracks had already shot out more than ten feet along the brick seams, just enough to cut off the incoming gale.

The two men, nine steps apart, charged forward simultaneously. Dugu Qiubai's right arm, seemingly slow but actually swift, pierced a deep trench in the blue brick with a seemingly ordinary straight thrust.

Shen Ping'an flicked his sword with two fingers, his black robe billowing like a sail, directing the condensed sword energy toward the old locust tree on his right.

The tree trunk, as thick as a bowl, suddenly revealed a light-transmitting hole, and the broken edge was as smooth as a mirror.

"Tai Chi coiling silk energy?"

Upon seeing this scene, Dugu Qiubai immediately recognized the martial arts technique Shen Ping'an was using, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

The next moment, a three-foot-long azure light snaked out from Dugu Qiubai's sleeve, and before the sword energy solidified, it split into nine serpentine phantoms.

Shen Ping'an lightly tapped his fingertip, and the sword energy that shot out from his fingertip twisted the nine sword energies into a spiral. The energy swirled and exploded into three ripples, causing the robes of the two men to be stretched backward as flat as iron.

Seeing this, Dugu Qiubai suddenly tapped his sword with his fingers together, causing the sword's spine to tremble and generate seven layers of sonic waves. Shen Ping'an touched the ground with his right toes and spun around, the sound of the sword echoing within his body. The sonic blades that emanated from the sword wove a dense net in front of him, and the sonic waves crashed against it like pearls falling onto a jade plate, bursting out with nineteen sparks in the clanging sound.

Before the fire had even fallen, Dugu Qiubai's sword technique had already transformed into a dragon exploring the sea, with three illusory flowers trembling from the tip of the sword to seal off the three upper paths.

Shen Ping'an let out a soft hum, then thrust his two fingers together straight into the center of the illusory flower. The wind from his fingers cut through the air with a sound like tearing silk, effectively stringing the three sword flowers together into a single line.

"What a quick response."

Seeing Shen Ping'an's reaction, Dugu Qiubai couldn't help but secretly praise him.

Immediately, the sword tip of his two fingers turned sharply, drawing a semicircle with the wind from his fingers. A vortex suddenly appeared where the two forces intertwined, pulling the dust within ten feet into a ring that remained suspended in the air.

Dugu Qiubai laughed heartily as his sword took an unorthodox approach, seemingly a slanted strike but concealing seven variations. Shen Ping'an formed a sword with his fingers and swept it horizontally, the green light at his fingertips suddenly increasing by three inches, forcefully blocking all possible variations. Where the two illusory blades clashed, a blinding white light burst forth, and the shockwave pushed the soles of their boots, carving two crescent-shaped grooves into the blue bricks.

Dugu Qiubai suddenly withdrew his hand and retreated, the lingering energy of his sword strike condensing into a misty sword screen in front of him.

Noticing Dugu Qiubai's movements, Shen Ping'an seemed to realize Dugu Qiubai's next intention. Without hesitation, he lunged forward, and with a slight lift of two fingers, a loud sword cry instantly spread.

The sword intent condensed into a three-foot-long green peak and fell smoothly. The moment it landed on the sword screen in front of him, the sword screen shattered into two halves.

Before the crack could spread, the tip of Dugu Qiubai's sword had already sprung out from the mist like a venomous snake, but it froze in mid-air three inches away from Shen Ping'an's left shoulder.

Everyone looked over and saw that Shen Ping'an had been waiting at the end of the sword strike with two fingers.

At the same time, a three-foot sword shadow formed from sword intent had appeared before Dugu Qiubai's brow, with the sword tip less than half an inch away from his brow.

At this point, the outcome of their duel is already clear.

As if he hadn't expected to actually lose, Dugu Qiubai stared at the sword shadow in front of his brow, his expression one of astonishment, frozen in place.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have achieved the achievement "Defeat the Sword Demon with Sword," and received a Special Achievement Chest*1.]

At the same time, a system notification popped up in front of Shen Ping'an.

After glancing at the system notification in front of him, Shen Ping'an dispersed the sword energy between Dugu Qiubai's brows and said, "I apologize for any offense, senior."

As the sword shadows in front of him dissipated like wisps of smoke, Dugu Qiubai, who had been in a daze, finally came back to his senses.

He looked at Shen Ping'an with surprise.

After a long silence, Dugu Qiubai sighed and said, "I have lost."

Hearing Dugu Qiubai admit defeat firsthand, the others watching all turned to look at Shen Ping'an, their hearts pounding like a stormy sea, unable to calm down for a long time.

Who was the Sword Demon Dugu Qiubai? He was as famous as Zhang Sanfeng, both being supreme masters at the pinnacle of martial arts, truly a legend.

But now, even such a master has been defeated by Shen Ping'an.

Even Gongzi Yu had never dared to think of such a thing before.

Only Shen Ping'an remained calm, with a gentle smile on his face.

"Senior is too kind. It is I who have won unfairly. If you had used your full strength, the outcome would have been uncertain."

However, upon hearing Shen Ping'an's words, Dugu Qiubai shook his head.

"A loss is a loss. Don't think I can't see that you didn't use your full strength at all. Besides, we were both using the first level of the Heavenly Gang Realm. How can you say that your victory was unfair?"

As he spoke, Dugu Qiubai glanced at Gongzi Yu and the others beside him, then pointed to the ground.

"Take a good look and you'll understand."

The group looked in the direction Dugu Qiubai had indicated, and saw that the ground where the two had just fought was covered with sword marks of varying depths and lengths.

Their gazes swept over the sword shadows, and at first, the group was somewhat confused.

But the next second, Ximen Chuixue's surprised voice rang out.

"These sword marks all came from the same person?"

Upon hearing this, the others were also startled and looked again at the sword marks on the ground.

Sure enough, with Zhang San Niang and the others' keen eyesight, they could tell that all the sword marks on the ground came from the same person.

(End of this chapter)