Ten Directions Sword Master

The setting sun was like blood, and a frosty wind began to rise.

The challenge did not mention a specific time. After having lunch and taking a short rest, Lu Li left the city and headed towards White Elephant Mountain.

A century ago, Emperor Taizu of the Great Kang Dynasty fought a decisive battle here against five rebel kings, which lasted for three days and three nights.

Blood flowed like rivers, and millions of corpses lay strewn about.

White Elephant Mountain, named for its white rocks that resemble a giant elephant, was dyed red, and it took several months of washing to bring the color back to its original hue.

This battle became the founding war of the Great Kang Dynasty. Although it suffered heavy losses, it left the country without a large-scale fresh army.

Half an hour later, Lu Li met an old man at the foot of the mountain. He was unremarkable, the kind of person you wouldn't even glance at if you threw him into a crowd.

His face was covered in wrinkles, even age spots, and he leaned on a long sword that looked like a wooden stick.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Sword Saint Senior."

Without asking, Lu Li immediately recognized the old man's identity.

As he stood there, gazing intently at the longsword in his hand with passionate eyes, the frost, fallen leaves, and withered branches all stopped within three feet of him, surrounded by an invisible aura of sword energy.

"You've arrived."

The Sword Saint straightened his back, and an invisible sword aura erupted from him. He showed no signs of emotional fluctuation despite the long wait.

"I'm too old. I thought I could only wither away, clinging to my swordsmanship, and be sealed in a coffin... Fortunately, someone sent me your information!"

"Your growth trajectory is very similar to mine. You were a greenhorn when you first started out, full of ambition to test your skills against the world... No, you were even more outstanding than I was back then. Give you another three to five years, and perhaps that will be the best time for a major battle."

"But I can't wait any longer. Dying by the sword is a hundred times, a thousand times better than dying in bed."

Lu Li watched as the Sword Saint, like an ordinary old man, rambled on and on, and wondered if this state could really lead to an epic duel.

He was an old man on the verge of death; no matter how high his swordsmanship level was, he still needed a physical body to support it in order to unleash its full potential.

It's impossible for the Sword Saint to finish the battle in ten moves against himself.

"My sword is named 'Sun-Covering,' please enlighten me, senior."

Lu Li took a deep breath, entering a state of perfect clarity, and all sorts of conjectures, the faint yet powerful auras hundreds of feet away, and the obscure shadow in the distance, were thrown into his mind.

With only one opponent in his sights, the Sword Saint, a martial arts legend of the Great Kang world.

"As people get older, they become more talkative."

The Sword Saint loosened his grip, and the two pieces of wood scattered, revealing the longsword that had been with him since his childhood.

A straight thrust forward—this is a move that even a child who has just learned swordsmanship can execute well; it's simple and unremarkable.

A cold star traversed the distance, and in the instant the sword was drawn, it was only three inches away from Lu Li's chest.

"How could it be so fast!"

If he had given it to the Copper Coin Immortal that day, he could have returned it to him intact. Lu Li didn't even have time to react.

The sword that concealed the sun was drawn horizontally, blocking the attack perfectly, startling the person into a cold sweat.

The sword was in his mind first; it was the swordsmanship he had honed countless times that saved him this time. His mind didn't react, but the intuition of the sword in his hand told him what to do.

The Sword Saint drew his sword again, a simple sweep that seemed to slice through the heavens.

The sky was divided by him, one side overcast, the other sunny.

Anything that stands in the way of the Heaven-Cutting Sword has only one fate: to be cut in two like paper.

Lu Li remained unmoved, and the Hidden Sun Sword suddenly turned, becoming steady and restrained, transforming into a perfect circle.

A series of rapid collisions and impacts, like large and small pearls falling onto a jade plate, formed a continuous line.

The sword stance at the end of summer emphasizes stillness over movement, prioritizing defense.

Another sword strike, vast and mighty, transformed into hundreds of sword lights that slashed down simultaneously.

Every sword light was real and not an illusion, and the long sword hidden within could not be found; there was only death.

"This shouldn't be! This sword technique looks similar to the one on the bamboo slip, but it's completely different... How can such a sword technique exist in this world, capable of suppressing me so completely!"

Lu Li simply closed his eyes, convinced that there must be some mystery he hadn't figured out.

However, he believed the rumor that no one had ever been able to last ten moves against the Sword Saint.

Even if his swordsmanship wasn't as sophisticated and wondrous thirty years ago, it was still beyond the reach of a mere Innate Martial Saint.

The power of heaven and earth evoked by the sword technique was so great that, if it hadn't been within the limits of the innate realm, he would have thought he had encountered a swordsman who was about to enter the Foundation Establishment stage of the Divine Refinement realm.

"White Dew, Golden Wind, Broken Mountain."

Lu Li abandoned his defensive stance, and countless frost crystals erupted around him, triggering subtle yet incredibly sharp golden phoenix sword energy that frantically cut and destroyed from the inside out.

The fusion of the White Dew and Autumn Wind sword techniques existed only in theory, but it proved effective in a desperate battle.

Amidst the clashes with hundreds of sword lights, a subtle disharmony was keenly sensed; the swords moved like startled swans, faster than meteors.

Pong!

The rocks exploded, and the white elephant lost a forelimb.

The swordsman leaped backward, dodging the seemingly inevitable counterattack perfectly.

"I see, I see!"

When the Cold Dew solar term failed to arrive, Lu Li suddenly realized something and revealed a joyful expression.

"No wonder you were so restricted everywhere, almost losing your life in one move. Even with your superior swordsmanship, you shouldn't have suffered such a loss... It turns out, you activated your spiritual platform beforehand and enhanced your mental power!"

When one cultivates Qi to its peak, there is a chance that one will awaken their Qi ahead of time and master the wonders of a Foundation Establishment martial artist. This is not uncommon among disciples of major sects.

Those who have reached the Foundation Establishment stage and opened their spiritual platform ahead of time, possessing spiritual power, can be called half-step Spirit Refinement cultivators, and are often the key talents cultivated by sects.

To transcend two great realms and master spiritual power is unheard of.

It's no wonder that Lu Li didn't think in that direction at all. It wasn't until the sword missed that he realized his senses had been misled since the start of the fight.

Whether it's distance control or the speed of the sword light.

"You call it the Spirit Platform? I mastered this power thirty years ago, but no one is worth taking it seriously."

The Sword Saint raised his longsword, his aura reaching its peak, and a faint afterimage appeared behind him.

"My body can no longer withstand any more fighting. With this sword, I will prove what I have left behind in this world!"

As the sword slashed down, it subtly conformed to some kind of natural law. With each step forward, the sword light merged with other objects, and its power grew stronger.

As the power advanced layer by layer, the immense force gathered caused White Elephant Mountain to shake, as if it had exceeded the limits of this world.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged wildly, converging into a genuine Foundation Establishment level sword light.

A white rainbow pierces the sun, penetrating everything.

"When the splendor fades, the sword returns to its true nature..."

Lu Li's face contorted as the Autumn Sword Style, which he had been studying for over a month, inexplicably surfaced. In a moment of inspiration, he slashed with a single, simple sword strike.

when!

He took a step back, his forearm bent unnaturally, his internal organs jolted and displaced, and blood gushed out.

But he didn't fall; his eyes shone brightly, as if he wanted to swallow the white rainbow in front of him.

Ding ding ding ding ding!

Six consecutive sword strikes, all hitting the same spot, without any variation; he simply executed the Akibe Six Swords technique flawlessly.

"Master Qiu, so this is where it was left!"

Lu Li wiped away the blood and laughed heartily.

He blocked a sword strike from a Foundation Establishment level swordsman and survived!