Bat Prince, roaming the heavens

"clang--!!"

The deafening clang of metal against metal sent rose petals flying everywhere, sparks flying in all directions.

Although Dongfang Bubai's first strike missed, his sword momentum remained unimpeded.

With a swift, unpredictable flick of his wrist, the sword slid down the spine of Yuan Suiyun's sword, slicing through Yuan Suiyun's wrist.

This sword strike was fluid and continuous, displaying the style of a master.

Yuan Suiyun remained calm and composed, using a strange and unpredictable footwork technique, and with a deep press of his wrist, he blocked the attack with his sword.

Under the cold moonlight, the two figures completely transformed into two intertwined swirling shadows.

The sword energy surged and rippled, carving deep furrows into the bluestone slabs of the small garden.

The sword light intertwined like a bolt of silk, and the clang of metal clashed like a sudden rainstorm!

Dongfang Bubai's swordsmanship was sharp yet composed; every move was upright and his advances and retreats were well-founded.

He was neither impatient nor greedy, nor timid; his swordplay was like a surging river, wave after wave.

Yuan Suiyun's swordsmanship was ethereal and graceful, like a gentle breeze under the moon, penetrating everywhere, yet always managing to seal off Dongfang Bubai's killing moves at the last possible moment.

Thirty moves, fifty moves, eighty moves...

The pace of their fight quickened, until, in the eyes of onlookers, only two intertwined curtains of light, one black and one red, remained in the center of the flowerbed, illuminating the surrounding red plum blossoms and green bamboo in a flickering light.

No matter how fast he was, every sword strike from Dongfang Bubai carried a clear sound of air being cut; he never attacked by surprise or used any tricks.

Bao Dachu and Huang Zhonggong were dumbfounded.

They had lived most of their lives and had never seen such a thrilling sword duel.

This no longer seemed like a life-or-death struggle, but rather a duel between two peerless swordsmen under the moon, discussing the Dao through swordsmanship.

After two hundred moves, the tips of the two longswords collided inevitably in mid-air.

The terrifying internal energy surged through the swords and collided violently. The powerful recoil caused both of them to exert force simultaneously, and the swords separated as soon as they touched.

Whoosh!Whoosh!

The two figures, like kites with broken strings, each floated backward several feet before landing gracefully.

The black robe and pink shirt fluttered gently in the night breeze, their breathing slightly unsteady, yet they still maintained the composure they had before making their move.

"No wonder Ren Woxing brought a blind man like you up the cliff," Dongfang Bubai sighed. "With your martial arts and swordsmanship, given time, I should relinquish my title of invincible under heaven."

Yuan Suiyun remained silent for a moment, then slightly cupped his hands in greeting: "Master Dongfang, you flatter me."

He paused, then said, "If the leader had continued to fight with needles, I would have been in grave danger. But the leader abandoned the needles and used a sword, which was upright and honorable, and he did not take advantage of me in the slightest. I admire this magnanimity."

Yuan Suiyun truly hadn't expected that Dongfang Bubai would display such a masterly demeanor.

Upon hearing this, Yang Lianting's eyes darted around, his sinister gaze sweeping back and forth between Yuan Suiyun and Dongfang Bubai.

He could tell that Dongfang Bubai had developed a sense of kinship with the blind man, and he also realized that if the sword fight continued like this, the outcome would be unpredictable.

"Dongfang!" he said, "What's the point of talking about chivalry with these rebels? Use needles! Kill them!"

Dongfang Bubai lowered his eyes and remained silent for a moment.

"Young Master Yuan, you are a good person." Dongfang Bubai sighed softly, his voice becoming high-pitched and cold again, "But since Brother Lian wants to kill you, I have no choice but to apologize."

He suddenly loosened his grip on his right hand, and the longsword made of refined steel fell to the bluestone slab with a clang.

She reached into the pink sleeve and her pale, slender fingertips once again picked up a delicate embroidery needle.

The moonlight, like a ribbon, condensed on the tip of a needle, reflecting a cold and bloodthirsty gleam.

Ren Yingying stood aside, watching all of this unfold, and the anger in her heart could no longer be suppressed.

She looked at Yang Lianting and saw a smug sneer on his bearded face, and anger welled up in her heart.

"Shameless scoundrel!"

She drew her short sword and, like a streak of blue lightning across the night sky, headed straight for Yang Lianting.

"Brother Lian!"

Dongfang Bubai's expression changed drastically.

He leaped up suddenly, his pink robes blurring into a blur, and the embroidery needle flew straight towards Ren Yingying.

"Master Dongfang, your opponent is me." Yuan Suiyun, his black robe fluttering, moved several feet in mid-air like a ghost, blocking the only path between Dongfang Bubai and Yang Lianting.

His expression was calm as he drew his longsword horizontally, the sharp sword wind howling and surging like a black iron wall rising from the ground, forcefully stopping the pink afterimage.

Dongfang Bubai had no choice but to stop his attack. The embroidery needle spun in the air and collided with Yuan Suiyun's longsword.

With a crisp "ding," sparks flew everywhere.

Seeing that Ren Yingying was already close to Yang Lianting, Dongfang Bubai, desperate to save people, completely went mad.

He let out a hysterical roar, and with a sudden flick of his left sleeve, more than a dozen flying needles, shimmering with a bluish-green light, rained down on Yuan Suiyun, who was standing right next to him, like a storm!

The two were standing very close to each other at that moment.

Even Yuan Suiyun, at such a short distance, simply didn't have time to use his Flowing Cloud Flying Sleeves to deflect the flying needles.

At the same time, the true energy within his body surged outward like a raging tide, condensing into an invisible and intangible protective energy shield in front of him!

This was a method he specifically prepared to deal with Dongfang Bubai's embroidery needles, a protective energy shield created based on the "Primordial Qi Gong".

The powerful true energy was perfectly integrated and airtight, protecting his entire body completely.

"Ding ding ding ding—"

The flying needles rained down like a storm, striking the air shield and producing a series of crisp, delicate sounds.

Each needle carried the terrifying power of Dongfang Bubai, enough to pierce through metal and stone, but when it hit the barrier of true energy, it was like a mud ox entering the sea, its force being dissipated layer by layer, and it fell to the ground.

Dongfang Bubai's pupils suddenly contracted.

He was arrogant and considered himself the best martial artist in the world. He never imagined that there would be someone in the martial arts world who could withstand his full-force Sunflower Flying Needles with pure internal energy cultivation!

In that instant when Dongfang Bubai was terrified and lost his composure, Yuan Suiyun moved.

Before his figure even landed, the longsword in his hand had already transformed into a streak of green light.

The final move of the Thirteen Styles of Gentle Breeze.

The wind passes without leaving a trace!

There was no sound of air being cut, no sharp sword energy, and even the killing intent was extremely faint.

Only the wind.

A gentle breeze swept by, leaving no trace.

Dongfang Bubai's hair stood on end, and he instinctively wanted to use his ghostly movement technique to retreat.

However, he had acted too hastily in order to save Yang Lianting, and now his old strength was exhausted and no new strength had been generated.

His unparalleled agility was strangely slowed down at this moment.

That one moment is enough.

The sword pierced Dongfang Bubai's neck.

A light touch, just right.

Fresh blood seeped from the wound, dripping slowly down the blade, its crimson color glaringly bright in the moonlight.

The embroidery needle slipped from Dongfang Bubai's fingers and fell silently into the grass.