Chapter Forty-Four: The Broken Sword

  The second watch

  ——

  Splash!

  As soon as the words fell, Li Hua's figure jumped continuously several times, transforming into a series of residual shadows, which was an optical illusion formed when speed reached a certain level.

  Very soon!

  Li Hua in the arena was like a ghostly figure, wandering and patrolling unpredictably. The fine sword edges covered his entire body, swallowing and spitting out uncertainly, like a sharp arrow waiting to be released.

  Like a gust of wind, his body was as swift as lightning, and suddenly he was employing the Li family's ancestral, ultimate technique - the Wind Sweeping Phantom Step!

  In the cultivation world, although different grades of gongfa can be purchased on the market, there are also some rare and precious gongfa that are extremely difficult to buy even with yuan stones.

  Like the great sects and large families that have been passed down from ancient times to the present, various qigong techniques and secret skills are not seen by non-core disciples, let alone practiced and studied. Moreover, these sects and families have extremely strict rules, and those who leak their secrets will be severely punished, with lighter punishments being expulsion from the sect and heavier punishments being death.

  The principle is simple. For any sect or family, the transmission of kung fu is its foundation. Leaking the transmission of kung fu is undoubtedly self-destructing its foundation.

  At this moment, Li Hua is displaying his family's heirloom, a rare and precious footwork technique that records in detail the three realms of foundation, subtlety, and unity of heaven and man.

  Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!...

  Li Hua's feet trod the Whirlwind Phantom Step, his body enveloped in layers of sword shadows, like a hedgehog with spikes all over its body. Swords shot out one after another, radiating cold light.

  Because his movements were too fast, and he was circling around Chen Yao's body, these sword lights flashed through the air, their trajectories appearing extremely cunning and ruthless, as if they came from all sides, locking onto Chen Yao's throat, eyes, heart, abdomen, back of the head, and back, as if he had already treated Chen Yao as a target.

  Are you going to use your seniority to suppress me?

  A faint glint flashed in Chen's empty and hollow pupils, his toes tapped, and his body suddenly darted out, while his hands and feet swung and twisted like a whirlwind dancing willow, his posture was strange as he rushed towards Li Hua in the distance.

  "Faced with this relentless and all-pervasive sword attack, this guy doesn't even know how to defend himself, yet he still wants to charge forward - does he not want his life?"

  Someone couldn't help but scream out loud, yet as soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly discovered that Chen Xiao, while charging forward with an awkward and ugly posture, was able to accurately dodge those sword blades' encirclement. His entire body was like a slippery loach, darting back and forth in the space of a square inch, his clothes were torn into strips, but his body didn't receive any damage, not even a single hair was harmed!

  "This is... the Eight Trigrams Dragon Palm?"

  Du Mu Ze blurted out, and as soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a wave of embarrassment in his heart. What's wrong with him today? He lost his composure one after another, just like an inexperienced fool...

  If Chen Tang's move was a rare technique, Duanmu Ze wouldn't have been so flustered. After all, in the entire Chu Kingdom, there were nearly 10 billion cultivators and tens of millions of sects and academies. The number of techniques was as numerous as the stars in the sky, and even the most powerful cultivators couldn't possibly know them all.

  Tanmu Ze's loss of composure was due to the fact that Chen Tai's "Fengjian Swordsmanship" and his current "Tianlong Eight Steps" were ordinary skills that could be bought on the market, but after being performed by Chen Tai, their charm and essence had completely changed, and their power had increased greatly. They were no longer inferior to some precious high-level martial arts techniques. In this situation, Tanmu Ze almost couldn't believe his eyes, and losing his composure was unavoidable.

  Du Qingxi was just as puzzled as Duanmu Ze, but she remained calm because she knew that Song Lin beside her would definitely give herself a satisfactory answer.

  As expected, after seeing Chen Xiao's unprecedented Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps, Song Lin's eyes became even brighter, and he exclaimed excitedly: "This kid must have a powerful master with a realm that communicates with the heavens behind him, to be able to elevate the Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps by an entire rank... it's too formidable..."

  Hiss!

  His clothes were torn and fell off again, but Chen Tai's expression remained unchanged. The Tianlong Eight Steps of the Zhimiao realm was performed to the extreme, surpassing Li Hua's Sweep Wind Phantom Step in every way.

  Is this guy's footsteps also so fierce?

  Li Hua was shocked again, and immediately gritted his teeth secretly. The sword edge shot out from the Xuanjian Sword became more dense, like a heavy rain, covering Chen Tai who was getting closer and closer.

  Bang bang bang......

  Facing Li Hua's nearly crazy sword attack, Chen Tai's pressure suddenly increased. In the face of some swords that really couldn't be dodged, the Qingchong sword in his right hand was like it had grown eyes, stabbing, slashing, wiping, and chopping... accurately shattering one by one the swords approaching him.

  Thirty Steps!

  Twenty steps!

  Ten steps!

  ……

  Every step Chen Yao took closer to Li Hua, the crowd couldn't help but hold their breath in anxiety, yet they were increasingly shocked. The gaze towards Chen Yao also gradually added a hint of admiration and respect.

  Knowing that the sword is coming like rain, yet still advancing in reverse, is indeed foolish, indeed stupid, because there are too many ways to resolve this move, and it's not necessary to put oneself in such a desperate situation. However, as this seemingly foolish behavior gets closer and closer to its target, who can help but admire the fearless and tenacious spirit?

  "Li Hua is in danger, should I lend a hand?" asked Cang Tuan with furrowed brows.

  "Not yet, it's not the last moment." Su Jiao bit her lip and said softly, but in her gaze towards Li Hua, there was a strong sense of disappointment and indifference.

  Chen Yao's posture was very ugly as he dodged the sword lights, but his footsteps were extremely firm. Surrounded by the sword lights in the sky, he was like a monk who walked forward against the stormy rain, with an expression that was neither sad nor happy, and his eyes were calm and undisturbed.

  How is it possible that he, a mere waste of a declining family and an apprentice craftsman who only knows how to forge symbols, could become so formidable?

  As Chen Tai approached, Li Hua's mood became increasingly anxious. The battle had reached this point, and although the outcome was still undecided, the current situation was completely beyond Li Hua's expectations.

  A useless thing can actually be as hard to get rid of as a sworn enemy?

  What would Su Niang think of herself? What would everyone present think of themselves?

  Damn it, Nanyuan Mingyu, how can you restrict cultivation? If it weren't for this, I would have killed this waste long ago!!

  A surge of violent emotions was rising in his chest, and Li Hua was almost suffocating with rage.

  But at this moment, a sense of extreme danger surged up in his heart, and Li Hua suddenly woke up from that violent clarity. However, he saw a sword tip gathering sharp cold light rapidly expanding in his pupils, the icy sword wind seemed to bring a breath of death, rushing towards him!

  No!

  Li Hua let out a loud roar in his heart and suddenly retreated back.

  But... it was still one step too late.

  Chen Yao's Qing Chong sword was like a maggot in the heel bone, and at the moment when Li Hua retreated, it directly pierced his chest center.

  Bang!

  The sword tip had barely touched Li Hua's chest when it seemed to have stabbed a steel plate, emitting a clear and crisp metallic ringing sound.

  Nei Jia Fa Bao?

  Chen Xiao was taken aback for a moment.

  Just then, Li Hua suddenly swung up the sword in his hand and slashed down fiercely. Chen Tai's Qing Chong sword was cut off into two pieces in an instant.

  However, Chen's sword, though not injuring him, had its terrifying impact force concentrated on it, directly throwing him flying out of ten or so seats, and he fell to the ground in disarray, barely managing to steady his body without falling over.

  This change almost happened in the blink of an eye.

  Although the process was brief, the shocking and thrilling changes within it still made the onlookers' emotions fluctuate wildly, almost forgetting to breathe.

  Wow!

  The broken sword fell to the ground with a crisp sound, and everyone suddenly woke up from their dream, letting out a long sigh of turbid air, their faces already filled with shock.

  If Li Hua hadn't worn the Inner Armor Technique treasure, wouldn't he have died under Chen Xiao's sword just now?

  "That's amazing!"

  "Broom... no, Chen Tai is actually so fierce, his swordsmanship and footwork seem to be even better than Li Hua's, such combat power is simply unimaginable!"

  "Cross-border battle? No, this is the Southern Barbarian Nether Domain. At most, Li Hua is only at the Pre-Heavenly Round Completion Realm. Even so, it's hard to believe that Chen Tang can defeat him."

  ……

  It was as if a pot had been opened, and everyone in the scene was talking about their own feelings. In the conversation, they couldn't help but look at Chen Suo with new eyes. Those monks from Songyan City even quietly changed the way they addressed Chen Suo.

  "What a pity... that sword is only a high-quality ordinary artifact, if it were an entry-level magic treasure, Li Hua would have been severely injured even if he didn't die." Duanmu Ze clicked his tongue and shook his head in regret.

  "Chen Xiao's abilities have exceeded my expectations. I originally only regarded him as a skilled chef, but it turns out that he has achieved a high level of mastery in both swordsmanship and physical movement through his innate talents. This kind of comprehension would be considered top-notch even among the young generation of Dragon Spring City."

  Du Qingxi exclaimed and then slightly furrowed her brow, saying: "However, if Chen Su has only this one sword, the situation that follows will become unfavorable..."

  Song Lin didn't say a word, with his messy hair like a bird's nest, staring at Chen Tai in the arena without blinking, his bright eyes revealing a hint of expectation.

  "Your strength is indeed beyond my expectations, but if we were outside, I wonder if you could get close to my body?" Li Hua said coldly.

  Indeed, in the outside world, Li Hua can rely on the means of the Purple Mansion Realm to fly into the air. Chen Tang, unless he also advances to the Purple Mansion Realm, cannot even touch the corner of Li Hua's clothes.

  "Even here, you are still no match for me, because... I possess a more massive True Essence than yours, and a more powerful magical treasure, while you..."

  Li Hua glanced at the broken sword in Chen Tai's hand, his eyes filled with disdain. "This sword is probably your only weapon, isn't it? Now that it's been destroyed, how can you still wield your sword skills?"

  At these words, the crowd of people who were discussing and arguing all closed their mouths and fell silent.

  Yes, battle is indeed battle, it's not just about comparing cultivation levels, but also about testing martial skills, weapons, bravery, strategy... and many other factors.

  Chen Cui, who had been poor since childhood, might not be inferior to Li Hua in terms of cultivation, but what about their weapons? As the eldest son of the Li family, Li Hua's equipment was top-notch and complete, how could Chen Cui compare with that?

  Wow!

  Chen Xiao casually discarded the broken sword and looked at Li Hua with a calm expression, saying slowly: "Killing you would only take one punch!"