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

Chapter 210 Sudden Change, Demonic Sect, Meng Chixing

Shen Ping'an knew that Gongzi Yu was a disciple of Bai Yujing, but since he met Gongzi Yu, Shen Ping'an had never seen Gongzi Yu make a move.

Naturally, Shen Ping'an was also curious about his friend's strength and martial arts skills.

As Gongzi Yu moved closer to Zhu Zhiling, whose cultivation had reached the sixth level of the Celestial Realm, Gongzi Yu flicked his wrist, and the three-foot soft sword transformed into a silver snake that pierced through the air, aiming straight for Zhu Zhiling's throat.

The piercing whistling sound generated by the trembling of the sword cut through the moonlit night.

Facing the menacing Gongzi Yu, Zhu Zhiling gripped his longsword tightly and suddenly swung it up.

The knife is a ghost head knife, completely black, three feet seven inches long and six inches seven fen wide, with a ghost head on the handle, with horns on its head and fangs protruding from its mouth.

Perhaps due to the excessive blood staining, the demon head on the hilt had been stained a dark red, making it appear quite ferocious.

However, just as the blade was raised and about to collide with the sword, Gongzi Yu flicked his wrist, and the sword in his hand suddenly bent four inches, viciously and cunningly bypassing the Ghost Head Saber's parry trajectory.

Zhu Zhiling's eyes narrowed, and as he leaned back, the blade unleashed a crimson slash that stretched for three zhang.

Gongzi Yu's momentum did not diminish. He used the momentum to wrap his soft sword around the back of the blade, and the tip of the sword drilled like a poisonous dragon into the tiger's mouth where Zhu Zhiling was holding the knife.

Faced with this scene, Zhu Zhiling let out a low shout, his true energy surging wildly, and the Ghost Head Saber burst forth with blood-fierce energy that shook off the entangled blade.

But the instant the blade was deflected, Gongzi Yu's inner energy surged wildly, and as the blade swung, seven afterimages suddenly shot towards Zhu Zhiling.

His soft sword was hidden within this afterimage, like a python's tail bursting with silver scales, cutting out seventeen cold stars along the spine of the blade, each star heading towards Zhu Zhiling's major acupoints.

Zhu Zhiling was terrified. He crushed three jade bricks with his boot heel and retreated rapidly, slashing out with his long sword with a furious roar.

In an instant, the blade energy transformed into six crimson waves, engulfing the afterimages in front of him before continuing to sweep towards Gongzi Yu.

Instead of retreating, Gongzi Yu advanced, his soft sword flashing in front of him, creating a sword flower the size of a bowl. The sword energy actually dismantled the incoming blade waves layer by layer.

As the last crimson wave shattered, the soft sword suddenly straightened like a spear, and the spiraling energy bursting from the sword tip swirled the scattered stones into a gray dragon, heading straight for Zhu Zhiling's acupoint in the center of his chest.

During their exchange, Gongzi Yu's moves were ethereal and agile, as fast as lightning, and his follow-up moves were also closely linked and continuous.

Zhu Zhiling's moves were six parts like Zhu Jinqian's, carrying a military air. His moves were wide and sweeping, simple and not as flashy as Gongzi Yu's, but they had a subtle effect of returning to simplicity.

However, although Zhu Zhiling's cultivation had reached the seventh level of the Celestial Realm, far surpassing Gongzi Yu's cultivation, which was only at the fourth level of the Celestial Realm.

However, Zhu Zhiling was clearly inferior to Gongzi Yu in both combat awareness and mastery of martial arts.

After more than a dozen moves, not only did he fail to gain any advantage over Gongzi Yu, but he was also clearly suppressed by Gongzi Yu.

"To suppress a seventh-level Celestial Realm cultivator with only a fourth-level Celestial Realm cultivator is truly worthy of being the leader of the Azure Dragon Society. Such strength is indeed unmatched by others."

As soon as Yaoyue finished speaking, Shen Ping'an's voice rang out.

"He hasn't used his full strength yet."

After Yaoyue and the others looked at him, Shen Ping'an said, "When I was taking his pulse earlier, I also found that some hidden meridians around his upper dantian were sealed, and at the same time, there was a slow flow of energy from his upper dantian."

"If the diagnosis is correct, there is an extremely powerful energy sealed in his upper dantian. Once he releases this energy, his strength will increase instantly. If he wants to take down Zhu Zhiling, it may not take more than ten breaths."

Zhang San Niang said, "My master once said that there are some special secret techniques in the martial arts world that can accumulate true energy on ordinary days and then unleash it at a critical moment."

"I've never encountered this before, and I never expected that he would also have mastered this secret technique."

Shen Ping'an said softly, "After all, it is the Azure Dragon Society. Its foundation is far beyond that of ordinary top-tier forces. It is normal that it can collect some special secret techniques."

After saying that, Shen Ping'an glanced at the battle between Gongzi Yu and Zhu Zhiling a few more times before turning his gaze to other parts of the battlefield.

As they set off, the three people who had been following Gongzi Yu immediately mobilized their inner energy.

Their true energy fluctuations had clearly reached the Celestial Realm.

Those Heavenly Realm warriors who had been standing still also began to move.

However, this time when they set off, these martial artists of the Heavenly Gang Realm quickly changed positions until the forty-odd people split into three teams, each heading towards a court official.

With Shen Ping'an's current mastery of formations, he immediately discerned the positions of these Heavenly Gang Realm warriors as they moved, which contained the principles of formations.

Upon further observation, the targets these Heavenly Realm warriors were charging towards were all the court officials whose cultivation was only at the first or second level of the Heavenly Realm.

In an instant, Shen Ping'an understood Gongzi Yu's plan.

For martial artists, unless they are exceptionally talented individuals like Yan Shisan or Shen Ping'an, the difference in strength between the Celestial Realm and the Heavenly Gang Realm is far too significant.

The problem is that the three people these Heavenly Gang Realm warriors have approached are only targets at the first or second level of the Heavenly Human Realm.

If they unite and coordinate with the formation, the situation will be different.

"interesting!"

Just then, Shen Ping'an, who had been watching for a while, suddenly spoke up as if he had noticed something.

Zhang San Niang asked, "Is there a problem?"

Shen Ping'an said, "Right now, the people from the Azure Dragon Society are all holding back."

Lianxing asked, "Are those Heavenly Gang Realm warriors also holding back?"

“Not bad!” Shen Ping’an nodded in response.

With Shen Ping'an's current mastery of formations, he could discern the principles behind the formations used by these Heavenly Gang Realm warriors in just a few glances.

To put it bluntly, the formations used by these Heavenly Gang Realm warriors are quite profound, even surpassing the True Martial Seven-Section Formation created by Zhang Sanfeng of Wudang.

In addition, these martial artists at the Heavenly Gang Realm coordinated quite skillfully, clearly having spent considerable time studying formations.

Based on the effectiveness of this formation, even if these Heavenly Gang Realm warriors faced Zhu Zhiling, they could easily hold out for half a quarter of an hour.

Not to mention facing those three targets whose cultivation was only at the first or second level of the Celestial Realm.

If there are no mistakes, a hundred breaths should be enough to take down these three.

However, in Shen Ping'an's observation, although these Heavenly Gang Realm warriors clearly held the dominant position and were able to injure these three Heavenly Human Realm warriors several times, the other party did not directly take advantage of this weakness.

From the start of the battle, the group used Shen Ping'an's sword intent to clearly observe the entire battle taking place.

Upon hearing Shen Ping'an's words, the others also focused their attention.

A few breaths later, Zhang Sanniang said in a deep voice, "As expected, they were holding back."

Yaoyue frowned and said, "We are currently in the palace, facing a group of experts at the Celestial Realm. If this drags on, things will change. Why don't they end the battle quickly instead of delaying?"

Shen Ping'an did not rush to respond, but was also thinking about this.

After a short while, Shen Ping'an glanced at the still closed door of the Imperial Study, a thought flashed through his mind, and then a smile appeared on his lips.

The battle on the field was raging.

On Dugu Qiubai's side.

After exchanging dozens of blows with Zhu Jinqian, Dugu Qiubai remained calm and composed, one hand behind his back. Zhu Jinqian, however, was sweating profusely, his breathing becoming increasingly disordered.

This clearly shows the pressure Zhu Jinqian was under at that moment.

"Impossible. I have never heard of a martial artist at the ninth level of the Celestial Realm in the Great Ming Dynasty who has the strength to reach your level. Tell me honestly, who are you?"

Dugu Qiubai's identity was already special. Even though he was not worried about being retaliated against by other Celestial Realm cultivators with his current cultivation and strength, he had no interest in causing trouble for himself.

Naturally, when faced with Zhu Jinqian's question, how could Dugu Qiubai voluntarily reveal his identity?
"You still have the energy to speak at this point, it seems I haven't put enough pressure on you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Dugu Qiubai's offensive accelerated by three points.

Previously, Zhu Jinqian was already struggling to cope with Dugu Qiubai's offensive.

Not to mention that Dugu Qiubai's offensive has accelerated again at this moment.

Even though Zhu Jinqian tried his best to deal with it, he was still injured by Dugu Qiubai's sword energy, leaving several wounds on his body and blood splattering everywhere.

Meanwhile, on Gongzi Yu's side...

Gongzi Yu ran two fingers of his left hand across the spine of the sword, and the originally soft blade suddenly straightened like cold iron, creating a three-foot-long chain of fire as it slid down the back of the blade.

The instant Zhu Zhiling abandoned his knife and switched to palm strikes, the soft sword had already struck his right shoulder acupoint like a poisonous venomous needle. The sword energy pierced through the armor and exploded a bowl-sized hole in the wall behind him.

Immediately afterwards, under the moonlight, the soft sword transformed into a gentle, pliable motion, wrapping around the ghost-headed saber and tossing it into the air.

Gongzi Yu spun around and kicked the back of the knife, and the hundred-pound weapon was driven into the vermilion wall seven inches deep like an arrow.

Its sword flashed with a cold light and went straight toward Zhu Zhiling.

The battle has already become one-sided.

However, at that moment, a sword blade suddenly pierced through the window and wall of the Imperial Study and headed straight for Gongzi Yu outside the courtyard.

Sensing something amiss behind him, Gongzi Yu narrowed his eyes, then turned slightly, the blade in his hand transforming into a gentle, gliding motion that brushed against his shoulder, knocking something off his back.

At the same time, Gongzi Yu dodged and instantly retreated ten feet to create distance.

When Yaoyue and the others looked over, they discovered that what was on the ground was actually a gleaming golden dagger.

At the same time, the door to the Imperial Study, which had been tightly closed, opened, and two figures filed out of the Imperial Study.

A man dressed in a dragon robe, with a dignified appearance, looked to be in his thirties.

Another person was dressed in black and masked, but he was exceptionally tall and imposing, as steady as a towering mountain.

Moreover, his eyes were a deep blue, like two precious gems in the night, shining brighter than the brightest stars in the sky.

The fluctuations of true energy emanating from his body clearly indicated that he was also at the ninth level of the Celestial Realm.

The reason Shen Ping'an noticed this person immediately was not because of his appearance or eye color.

Rather, it was because, as this person rushed out of the imperial study, Shen Ping'an could sense that the person's first glance was directed in his direction.

Shen Ping'an could even sense a chilling killing intent emanating from it.

Shen Ping'an narrowed his eyes slightly at this: "This feeling is more like it's aimed at me!"

It was also at this moment of sudden change that Gongzi Yu's expression under his mask subtly shifted.

But before Gongzi Yu could react, the martial artist at the ninth level of the Celestial Realm who had just come out of the Imperial Study rushed in front of Gongzi Yu and swung a large hand at him.

It was a seemingly casual palm strike, but it gave the impression of a mountain collapsing.

Gongzi Yu instinctively wanted to resist, but when his gaze fell upon the masked man's azure eyes, he suddenly felt a blur before his eyes and his consciousness momentarily went haywire.

"No, this is a mind-controlling technique powered by mental energy!"

The next second, Gongzi Yu was startled, and his consciousness returned.

Even though his eyes regained focus, the momentary daze had left him disoriented. By the time Gongzi Yu came to his senses, the other person's hand was already slamming down on him, less than three feet away.

At such a short distance, even Gongzi Yu had no time to react.

"Whoosh~"

However, just as the masked man's palm was about to land on Gongzi Yu, a sword aura suddenly tore through the night and rushed towards the masked man's hand.

Sensing something amiss, the masked man froze slightly. As he turned around, layers of purple true energy surged from his large hand as he reached out to grab the sword energy.

However, as the sword energy approached, the layers of purple true energy in the masked man's hand were easily torn apart by the sword energy, like withered leaves.

Sensing the unusual nature of the sword energy, the masked man let out a "Huh?"

"Boom!"

Just then, a burst of piano music erupted.

The moment the masked man heard the music, his eyes narrowed, and then an even stronger surge of true energy flowed from his hands as his five fingers bent, crushing the sword energy.

Immediately afterwards, the masked man began to circulate his own internal energy.

Almost the instant the opponent activated their internal energy, a white sonic blade suddenly shot out from the southeast, only to be neutralized by the masked man's internal energy as it approached.

However, this delay allowed Gongzi Yu to take the opportunity to retreat again, increasing the distance between himself and the masked man.

The masked man ignored Gongzi Yu completely, turning his body slightly to look at Shen Ping'an again.

Seeing this, Shen Ping'an sighed softly and slowly said, "Well, in the end, those outside the play still can't help but get caught up in it."

"Let's go!"

As he spoke, Shen Ping'an stood up and stepped out with one foot.

With sword energy emanating from his feet, Shen Ping'an's body moved swiftly like a shadow, appearing in front of Gongzi Yu.

Upon seeing this, the others followed suit.

After scanning the masked man opposite him, Zhu Zhiling behind him, and the man in the dragon robe, Shen Ping'an looked at Gongzi Yu and said, "Is this the situation you expected?"

In response to Shen Ping'an's question, Gongzi Yu's solemn voice came from behind his mask.

"I didn't expect there would be a martial artist at the ninth level of the Celestial Realm."

The fact that he could say this indicates that the current situation has exceeded Gongzi Yu's original plan.

Seeing this, Shen Ping'an asked again.

Instead, he looked again at the tall, masked man in black standing ten feet away.

After pondering for a moment, Shen Ping'an slowly said, "If I'm not mistaken, you should be Meng Chixing, the former Demon Master of the Demon Master Palace, one of the three great masters of the Great Yuan Kingdom, nicknamed the Demon Sect. Senior Meng?"

(End of this chapter)