The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 151, page 166: Qu Ao's skills are impressive! But now they're mine!
Facing Qu Ao's claw strike, which embodied the essence of his life's martial arts, Lu Chen brought his five fingers together and unleashed a palm strike.

As he drew his sword, a burst of sword light erupted from his five fingers. Although the sword light was invisible, Qu Ao, who was directly in the path of it, still felt a sudden blaze before his eyes, as if a strong light was shining into his vision and trying to disrupt his sight.

Qu Ao was in excellent condition at this moment.

With his mind highly focused, although his vision was disturbed by the "invisible strong light," he still followed his spiritual perception. With a speed that was imperceptible to the naked eye, the five fingers of the eagle claw used exquisite techniques such as pressing, bumping, sweeping, stabbing, and chopping to collide with the invisible sword light on Lu Chen's palm sword.

The claw force clashed head-on with the sword's edge, producing a series of clear sword cries.

Amidst the sound of swords clashing, waves of wind and air burst forth, impacting in all directions and sweeping across the ground, causing sand and stones to fly everywhere. Even the nearby trees and artificial hills were slashed with sharp blades, creating cracks and dust that filled the sky.

With a collision, Lu Chen's sword strike came to an abrupt halt, and his figure swayed slightly. He thought to himself that Qu Ao truly lived up to his reputation as a grandmaster. Not only were his moves exquisitely varied, but the force in his five fingers was also overwhelming.

Even though his right arm's "tendon and bone strengthening" was nearing completion and his right hand's swordsmanship could be amplified by more than 50%, he still managed to fight Qu Ao to a draw.

but……

Although this collision put some pressure on Lu Chen, it did not make him feel overwhelmed or invincible.

He even felt that the pressure Qu Ao exerted on him was not as great as the white dragon-like palm strike that Wen Caiting, Elder Yun, and Elder Xia had unleashed together the night before.

This seems somewhat inconsistent with Qu Ao's status as "the top-tier expert below the Grandmaster level".

So, Qu Ao's strength has indeed declined, and he's a bit overrated?

In the blink of an eye.

Qu Ao used the force of the impact to soar into the air, rising more than two zhang into the air. Then, he circled like an eagle and accelerated down again, striking with his claws in succession, creating thousands of claw shadows.

A series of ferocious claw-like forces, powerful enough to shatter rocks into powder and even crush steel, completely enveloped the space within a three-zhang radius centered on Lu Chen, sealing off his room to move and dodge.

Witnessing this fierce onslaught of a roaring storm and towering waves.

Even bystanders who weren't there couldn't help but feel a sense of suffocation, and some who liked Lu Chen were secretly worried for him.

Dugu Feng's hands, which were pressed against the window frame, tightened slightly without her noticing, causing cracks to appear on the frame.

She knew Lu Chen's strength best and knew he wouldn't be easily defeated or injured.

But as the saying goes, concern leads to confusion.

Seeing Qu Ao's fierce offensive, Dugu Feng's heart was involuntarily in suspense, and her breath seemed to catch in her throat.

Lu Chen, enveloped by the claw's power, felt a slight tremor in his heart sword, and his spiritual sense expanded, reflecting everything within a 17-foot radius around him into his mind.

Lu Chen was able to perceive every single attack trajectory of Qu Ao's claw strikes, as well as the weak points in the circulation of true qi and changes in force.

In terms of perception, "Sword Four: Heart Sword" far surpasses the Longevity Technique.

Even though Lu Chen's "Sword Four" cultivation was still shallow and his perception range was not wide enough, with a radius of only 17 feet, within this 17 feet, his perception was already more refined than Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling's "Moon in the Well".

He stood still, making no attempt to break through Qu Ao's claw attack.

With his right index and middle fingers joined together as a sword finger, he concentrated his qi sword. Amidst the surging sword wind, the invisible qi sword would thrust, pluck, stir, or slash, using simple and unadorned basic sword moves to meet Qu Ao's claw force, which was like a storm or a tsunami.

Although the sword moves were simple, each strike perfectly blocked Qu Ao's claw attacks aimed at his body, and directly targeted the weakest point of the claws.

Qu Ao's thousands of claw shadows seemed to have already engulfed Lu Chen, even sealing off the space around him within three zhang.

In reality, no matter how Qu Ao's claws changed, they failed to break through Lu Chen's three-foot sword circle and actually land on him.

Although Lu Chen is young, he has only been in the Twin Dragons World for less than half a year since he came from the low-level martial arts world. He has not yet consumed the He Shi Bi or the Evil Emperor's Relic. His power is still quite different from Qu Ao's decades of cultivation in the Twin Dragons World.

However, his swordsmanship had reached a level of unrestrained and traceless skill, and he could also perceive weaknesses. Furthermore, with the amplification of the power of his sword qi by the "sword body", his three-foot sword qi was already capable of contending with Qu Ao's fierce claw force, and would not be defeated by Qu Ao's claw force.

Therefore, even though Qu Ao's "Thirteen Strikes of Eagle Transformation" bombarded relentlessly and seemed to have the upper hand, Lu Chen remained as steadfast as a reef in the sea, unmoved by the raging storm.

Not only that.

While the sword energy clashed with the claw energy, he gradually dismantled Qu Ao's martial arts, deducing the mysteries of his three extraordinary skills: Seven Turns of Wild Waves, Eight Turns of Storm, and Nine Transformations of Condensed Truth.

Qu Ao's "Seven Turns of Raging Waves" can also absorb the enemy's attack force and add it to his own attack, which is similar to Lu Chen's "Shifting Stars" method of using the enemy's force to counterattack.

Furthermore, Qu Ao's technique allows him to accumulate the absorbed energy in seven acupoints.

Therefore, he can accumulate power up to seven times, and then unleash it all at once after accumulating it seven times. This method is more sophisticated and powerful than Lu Chen's method, which only allows him to accumulate power three times.

Whenever Qu Ao used this move, Lu Chen had to concentrate all his mind to deal with it, and he also had to rely on the fact that his right arm was almost fully trained and had extraordinary resilience that made it difficult for divine weapons to hurt him in order to withstand it.

Qu Ao's "Stormy Eightfold" technique made his lightness skill seem unbelievable.

With just a little bit of impact force, or even the gust of wind generated by the enemy's move, one can either circle and pounce in the air, or fly sideways and swoop, as if the whole person is completely weightless, just like a nimble and unpredictable flying eagle.

As for the "Nine Transformations of Condensed Truth," it goes without saying that it represents the culmination of Qu Ao's lifelong martial arts practice.

At this moment, Lu Chen was dismantling and deducing Qu Ao's lifelong martial arts techniques bit by bit.

He even gradually developed his "flat-handed sword" skills, guiding Qu Ao little by little in the ever-changing offense and defense, allowing him to fully utilize his lifelong martial arts skills.

This undoubtedly involves a great risk.

Because Qu Ao was indeed very skilled in martial arts, and his special techniques were very impressive.

Guiding Qu Ao to unleash his full power is like walking a tightrope on a cliff edge against a strong wind in a canyon; the slightest mistake could lead to a backlash and burns.

However, Lu Chen's mastery of the "flat-handed sword" technique was truly profound.

In terms of spiritual perception, it also has an overwhelming advantage.

Furthermore, he also possesses the defensive advantage of a "sword body".

Even though his current sword body cultivation is not enough to withstand Qu Ao's attacks, he can still reduce fatal wounds to ordinary serious wounds, serious wounds to minor wounds, and minor wounds to slight wounds.

He also possesses the ability to "split light and transform shadows," which allows him to dodge fatal blows in critical moments.

At most, he'll reveal this special skill in public.

Having the confidence to protect himself, Lu Chen naturally dared to take the risk of walking a tightrope.

Bang bang bang bang bang...

The sounds of their clashing energies were as dense as a sudden downpour.

The shattered and scattered claw-like sword energy blasted the ground within a three-zhang radius around Lu Chen, leaving it in pieces, with mud and rocks flying everywhere, making it look like the ground had been plowed by cannonballs.

Such a fierce offensive and defensive scene made the spectators in the four towers so tense that they didn't dare to breathe.

Dugu Feng nervously bit her lip, pressed her slender hand to her chest, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, as if she herself was the one being attacked by Qu Ao.

So far in the battle, Qu Ao has not landed once, having been flying in the sky the entire time.

Lu Chen did not move an inch, his feet seemed to be rooted to the ground, and he remained firmly in place.

It is said that "defense cannot last long" because the attacker always has the initiative, while the defender must always respond to the attacker's changes and will always be one step behind in terms of adaptability.

The attacker can try countless times, but the defender cannot afford to make a single mistake.

One wrong move could lead to total defeat.

However, Lu Chen's defense was not simply a passive defensive posture.

He used offense as defense, constantly intercepting Qu Ao's attacks with his three-foot invisible sword. Each sword strike could block Qu Ao's offensive in advance, preventing Qu Ao's powerful, dense, and seamless attacks from being able to finish the job. Qu Ao was often forced to change his moves.

Judging from the situation, Qu Ao still holds the initiative, overwhelming Lu Chenda with a storm of attacks.

However, some highly discerning masters and renowned figures have already vaguely sensed that something seems amiss with the situation on the field.

Qu Ao, who seemed to be on the offensive and firmly in control, had somehow found that the rhythm of the battle had fallen into Lu Chen's hands without him even realizing it.

If at the beginning Qu Ao's offensive was initiated by him and he held absolute initiative, now Qu Ao's still fierce offensive seems to be not out of his own will, but rather forced by some situation to launch a relentless attack.

A glint of light flashed in You Chuhong's old eyes as she murmured:

"Qu Ao is already in a bind and can only keep attacking relentlessly. Otherwise, once his offensive slows down and his momentum shifts, he will fall into a disadvantageous position and even show signs of defeat, ruining his lifelong reputation!"
"Therefore, he must press on relentlessly and try to break through Lu Chen's defenses before his momentum fades..."

As the top expert and backbone of the Dugu Clan, Old Madam You, though not one for prolonged battles, was still someone Zhu Yuyan couldn't afford to underestimate before her sudden outburst, even after her illness. With her martial arts prowess, the old lady could naturally discern the delicate nature of the situation.

But what puzzled her was, when exactly did this shift in rhythm occur?

When exactly did Lu Chen quietly seize the initiative, causing Qu Ao to dance to his rhythm and fall into a situation where he had no choice but to launch a full-scale attack?
even……

Did Qu Ao, as the person in charge, realize that he had fallen into the rhythm of Lu Chen?
In a dimly lit side room.

A tall, slender woman, with her hair styled in an elegant updo, dressed in an elaborate white dress and her face veiled, revealing only a pair of deep black eyes, gazed at the arena in the courtyard and said softly:
"Lu Chen's swordsmanship, in terms of its layout, bears a striking resemblance to the 'Yi Sword Technique.' This young man seems to be extremely skilled at 'guiding,' even Qu Ao was unknowingly drawn into his trap and caught in his rhythm..."

Wanwan's beautiful eyes sparkled with a strange light as she softly asked:
"Master, do you mean that Qu Ao is no longer in control of himself?"

“Indeed. Qu Ao’s offensive seems to be getting more and more fierce, and his momentum is overwhelming Lu Chen, but... if he cannot break through Lu Chen’s defense before his momentum weakens, then Qu Ao will surely be defeated.”

“Wan’er and Lu Chen exchanged a blow. Although his skill was slightly better than Wan’er’s, and he also relied on illusion techniques and Dugu Feng’s ambush to kill Uncle Bian by trickery, he couldn’t possibly be able to defeat Qu Ao, could he?”

The woman in white said calmly:

"Lu Chen is very strong. But Qu Ao also has his own problems in getting into this situation."

"Qu Ao appeared cautious, but deep down he unconsciously underestimated Lu Chen and was too arrogant. Without any testing and without any understanding of Lu Chen, he launched a full-scale attack, hoping to finish the battle quickly. However, he did not expect Lu Chen to be so resilient and withstand his offensive."

"Furthermore, Qu Ao's mental weakness has also caused him to fall into a daze without realizing it... If Qu Ao were at his peak, when his mind was still without any weaknesses, he would have noticed something was wrong and changed his tactics to fight for control of the rhythm when Lu Chen tried to 'guide' him and take control of the rhythm. He would not have ended up in such a quagmire and a predicament now."

If Qu Ao could have noticed this earlier, he would have had a chance to change his tactics, break the deadlock, and regain the initiative.

But in the current situation, the two are intertwined and entangled too deeply, so even if Qu Ao senses something is wrong, there is nothing he can do.

He has lost the possibility of regaining control of the rhythm, and once he tries to change the current situation where he is on the offensive and Lu Chen is on the defensive, it will trigger Lu Chen's thunderous counterattack under the pull of the energy, leading to unpredictable consequences.

Therefore, Qu Ao had no choice but to continue his relentless attack.

Either break through Lu Chen's defenses with an even more ferocious burst of power and truly secure victory, or exhaust Lu Chen to death through sheer cultivation.

Either...

During the fierce attack, despite maintaining a superficial advantage, they were worn down and killed by Lu Chen.

Qu Ao's choice was...

Burst with all your strength!

Although Qu Ao's mind still had flaws and his martial arts skills were far inferior to their peak, his fundamentals were still intact.

Even though they were slow to realize it, they gradually discovered that something was wrong.

However, his mental weaknesses meant he couldn't sustain a prolonged battle.

It's not that his body will have problems after a long battle, but rather that his mentality will be affected if the battle drags on for too long. He will become increasingly anxious and impatient, revealing his weaknesses.

He certainly understands his problem.

But how easy is it to mend a broken heart?
Even if they understand their own problems, they are powerless to control themselves and find it difficult to restrain themselves.

and so.

Qu Ao dared not attempt to wear Lu Chen down in a prolonged battle.

He had no choice but to erupt, attempting to end the battle before the effects of his mental weakness manifested.

When Qu Ao enters his full-power burst state, his demeanor changes again.

The barrage of claw shadows became faster and more powerful, with increasingly unpredictable and cunning changes in attack angle and force.

As a result, Lu Chen's Qi sword had to be shortened step by step, from three feet to two feet seven inches, two feet five inches, then back to two feet, and finally to one foot eight inches, in order to ensure that the Qi sword would not be destroyed by Qu Ao's violent claw force.

When Lu Chen's originally unbreakable "three-foot sword circle" shrank to one foot and eight inches under Qu Ao's even more ferocious attack, it seemed that Qu Ao's sharp claws might break through Lu Chen's defense at any moment and strike his vitals. The onlookers in the surrounding towers who had a good impression of Lu Chen couldn't help but widen their eyes and hold their breath.

Dugu Feng's full chest heaved rapidly as she raised her longsword, ready to draw it and lend a hand.

Kou Zhong suddenly stood up and picked up the moon in the well.

Xu Ziling also picked up a short spear.

at the same time.

Shangguan Longyi heard Zhu Yuyan's telepathic message, stared intently at Lu Chen, and prepared to rescue Qu Ao—the Tiele Flying Eagle was an ally of the Yin Gui Sect.

Although the performance of Qu Ao and his son Ren Shaoming has repeatedly disappointed the Yin Gui Sect, Qu Ao's martial arts skills still have some value, and if they can be saved, it would be better to save him.

Qu Ao's three disciples, Chang Shumou, Hua Lingzi, and Geng Gehu'er, listened to the voice transmitted through some kind of secret sound transmission technique, their expressions filled with astonishment:
Master is about to be defeated, are you ready to lend a helping hand?
How can this be?

Master had the upper hand the whole time!
Lu Chen's defensive circle has shrunk by nearly half, and his master's eagle claws could fall on him at any moment. How could he be about to be defeated?
despite this.

Changshu and the other two were still prepared.

The four Tiele king's archers in the side room each carried a ten-stone bow, with the shafts lengthened and thickened, and the arrowheads also lengthened and heavier, making them heavy arrows that resembled small short spears.

Just as some people were secretly making preparations.

Qu Ao unleashed his full potential once more, intensifying his attack by three times, and Lu Chen's defensive sword encirclement was compressed to only one foot.

But this is the limit that Qu Ao can achieve.

No matter what, he could no longer force Lu Chen to retract his sword energy, nor could he break through the last remaining foot of the defensive sword enclosure.

What shocked Qu Ao even more was that he discovered that Lu Chen's invisible sword of energy, which had shrunk to one foot, actually used a technique that he was extremely familiar with when it blocked and intercepted his eagle claw attack!

Lu Chen...

During the collision, it continuously absorbed his energy and, using a method highly similar to "Seven Turns of the Raging Waves," multiplied the absorbed energy multiple times to unleash a counterattack!

Before this, although Lu Chen had also used similar methods of borrowing force to counterattack, the core method was very different from the Seven Revolutions of Raging Waves. Moreover, the number of times he borrowed force to stack up and the degree of absorption of true energy were not as good as the Seven Revolutions of Raging Waves.

But at this time.

When Lu Chen used the momentum to counterattack again, the technique he used already had some of the charm of Qu Ao's unique skill, the Seven Turns of Wild Waves!

This discovery shocked Qu Aoxin to his core!

Just as his mind was in turmoil, the effects of his mental weakness finally became apparent. He began to become impatient and agitated, his attacks became too hasty and fierce, and his moves showed some oversights.

Lu Chenxin's sword trembled, keenly sensing the change in Qu Ao's mentality. The sword energy, which had been compressed to its limit and had been used seven times to gather strength, suddenly extended and shot out, passing through a flaw in Qu Ao's claw attack in the blink of an eye, and swiftly stabbed into Qu Ao's heart.

at this time.

Suddenly, the whistling of arrows filled the air.

Four thickened and lengthened heavy arrows, resembling short spears, shot out like lightning from the room where the Tiele people were. Three of the arrows were aimed directly at Lu Chen's throat, heart, and lower abdomen, while the fourth arrow was aimed at Lu Chen's right armpit—Lu Chen raised his arm to draw his sword, and his armpit was exposed.

Two more round iron shields, their edges covered in serrated lines like a rotary saw, came hurtling towards him, one aimed at his neck and the other at his waist.

Shangguan Longyi also leaped out, wielding his dragon-headed staff, and roared:
"Stay on!"

With a roar, he hurled the dragon-headed staff with all his might. The sound of it tearing through the air was as fierce as thunder, and it slammed into Lu Chen's back like a battering ram.

at the same time.

Dugu Feng angrily shouted, "Despicable!"
He hurled his sword sheath, intercepting the iron shield that was aimed at Lu Chen's neck.

As she threw her sword from its sheath, she leaped forward, her longsword flashing like lightning, intercepting the four powerful arrows.

Xu Ziling then threw his short spear, which flew to pierce the iron shield that was slashing at Lu Chen's waist and abdomen. He then leaped into the courtyard.

Kou Zhong picked up the Moon in the Well, leaped down, and his long sword shone with a clear yellow light, directly slashing at the dragon-headed staff thrown by Shangguan Long.

A one-on-one fight was about to turn into a brawl.

[This chapter has 5K words, please vote with monthly tickets!]

(End of this chapter)