While I was chanting a curse, the system said I was Xiao Yan?

With a flick of his wrist, Zenji's sword drew a sharp arc in the air, its tip pointing directly at Yamada's nape on the ground.

"I'll use the simplest method from the Zen temple to show you what happens to the weak!"

Tianyan's eyes widened suddenly.

Without hesitation or warning, Zen-in-chan's sword slashed down directly!

That strike had no fancy techniques whatsoever; it was pure speed and power!

The katana slashed through the air with a sharp screech, and the magical energy flowing along its blade left a trail of afterimages in the morning light, its target being the neck!

If it were to strike, it would be an instant kill!

"stop!"

Tianyan's body reacts faster than his brain.

He didn't even realize he was moving before his foot had already left a deep footprint in the ground, and he shot out like an arrow.

In the blink of an eye, his right arm ossified, and black iron-colored scales spread from the base of his fingers to his shoulder blade. He spread his five fingers and grabbed directly at the blade of the Zen Temple Fan!

"court death!"

Zen Temple Fan snorted coldly, his sword stance unchanged, but he added even more force.

The deafening clang of metal striking metal echoed through the bamboo grove at dawn, startling a flock of roosting birds.

A sharp pain shot through Tianyan's palm as fine cracks appeared on his bone armor. The blade had cut two inches deep into the bone, nearly touching his flesh.

But his fingers gripped the blade tightly, and his magical power surged wildly into his palm, causing the cracks to heal at a visible speed.

"Godfather!"

Tian Yan gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead: "Stop!"

Zen-in-sen looked at the hand that was gripping the blade, his gaze momentarily complex, but it was quickly overwhelmed by a deeper anger.

"You think you have the right to negotiate with me just because you can hold my knife?"

With a flick of his wrist, the katana spun ninety degrees in his palm, the blade cutting through the gaps in the bone armor and leaving a bloody gash in Tianyan's palm.

"Get out of the way!" The Zen temple fan's voice was as cold as ice.

"No! I cannot stand by and watch a member of a Zen family die meaninglessly!"

Zen Temple Fan stared into Tianyan's eyes and remained silent for three seconds.

Then he laughed.

That smile was so cold it sent chills down your spine.

"it is good."

He suddenly drew his sword, the blade forcibly pulled from the bone armor and flesh, raising a cloud of blood mist.

The wound on Tianyan's palm deepened, and fresh blood dripped onto the ground.

Zen-in Han took a half step back, held the katana horizontally in front of him, pressed his left hand on the back of the blade, and assumed a standard starting stance.

"Since you're so stubborn, I'll beat you until you come to your senses."

The power of the spell erupted from his body like a torrent, making the surrounding air feel heavier!

That was the oppressive aura of a first-level sorcerer, far surpassing the level of Naoya, who had just barely reached the threshold of first-level.

Tianyan felt as if a mountain was pressing down on his shoulders, making it difficult to breathe.

But he did not back down.

He shook the blood off his hands, resumed his stance, and bone armor spread from his palms, covering the wounds. The black iron scales gleamed with a cold, hard light in the morning light.

The Zen temple stirred.

There was no warning, no starting stance, not even a sound of footsteps.

He simply stood there, and in the next instant, the blade was already in front of Tianyan.

fast.

It's not like Naoya's "24 frames per second," a speed that can be calculated.

It is a kind of natural, almost instinctive speed.

It was like breathing, like a heartbeat, like swordsmanship that was etched into his very bones, requiring no thought whatsoever.

Tianyan only had time to turn his head to the side.

The blade grazed his ear, severing several strands of hair and leaving a deep, bone-revealing cut on the stone pillar behind him.

A stone pillar with a diameter of half a meter collapsed with a crash, its cross-section as smooth as a mirror.

"Too slow."

The sound of the Zen Temple Fan came from Tianyan's side, as cold as quenched iron.

The second cut followed immediately.

This time, it was an upward slash, the blade trailing a silvery-white arc, aimed straight for Tianyan's ribs. If this strike landed, neither bone armor nor flesh could withstand it.

Tianyan twisted his waist sharply, his right elbow sank down, and the bone blade protruding from his elbow forcefully blocked the blade.

"clang!"

Sparks flew everywhere, and a chip the size of a fingernail appeared on the bone blade. The recoil traveled from his arm to his shoulder, making his entire right arm go numb.

But that's not the worst part.

The most fatal thing was that the Zen monk's sword never stopped.

The third cut, the fourth cut, the fifth cut...

Each strike was seamless, like flowing water, like falling rain, one after another, each faster than the last. Tianyan couldn't even see the trajectory of the blades, and could only rely on his body's instincts and the feel of the bone blades to parry.

"Clang clang clang clang"

The sounds of metal colliding with bone echoed densely through the bamboo forest, like someone rapidly beating a drum.

Tianyan is retreating.

It wasn't that he wanted to back down, but that he had no choice but to!

The Zen Temple Fan's sword was too heavy; each strike was imbued with a level-one incantation, and the impact of the blows on the bone blade made his hands go numb and his joints ache.

The vortex of cursed energy within his body was spinning wildly, continuously channeling cursed energy to every bone in his body, but even so, he still couldn't stop it.

"Is this all you've got?"

The sound of a Zen temple fan rang out amidst the flashing blades, devoid of any emotion: "Is this the confidence you have to stand up for others?"

Before he finished speaking, the sword's momentum suddenly changed.

The continuous slashes transformed into a powerful, straight thrust.

The blade cleaved through the air with a sonic boom-like shriek, heading straight for Tianyan's heart!

Tianyan's pupils suddenly contracted.

He couldn't block that blow.

It wasn't because he lacked strength, but because his bone armor was already covered with fine cracks from continuous parries, and it simply couldn't withstand such a thrust that concentrated all his magical power.

retreat!

His toes slammed into the ground, propelling his body backward. At the same time, he crossed his hands in front of him, fingers spread, and a dense cloud of bone spurs exploded out in front of him.

It wasn't to harm the enemy, it was just to block something.

"A trivial skill."

With a flick of his sword tip, the spiked club was swept away by the wind from the blade, scattering in all directions, and even his sword strike was not slowed down in the slightest.

But this is exactly the moment Tianyan wants.

Taking advantage of the slight delay caused by the bone spikes, he forcefully twisted his body in mid-air, and swept his left leg out, the kick, wrapped in curse power, aimed straight at the wrist of the Zen Temple Fan holding the knife!

The Zen temple fan was not even glanced at.

Raise your left hand, spread your fingers, and grab Tianyan's ankle.

The force was astonishing, like an iron clamp, firmly locking Tianyan's ankle.

"I told you, it's too slow."

With a flick of his wrist, Zen Temple Fan sent Tian Yan flying.

Tianyan's body drew an arc in the air, his back slammed heavily against the stone pillar, and he rolled three or four times on the ground before coming to a stop.

"cough!"

Tianyan propped himself up, a trace of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

A burning pain shot through his back, but he had no time to catch his breath.

The sound of Zen Temple Fan's footsteps could already be heard.