Sword Intent

Although startled, Tang San did not hesitate to use Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track again, swiftly retreating.

As he retreated, he saw a bizarre sight.

Meng Yiran, wrapped within the Blue Silver Grass, twisted as though she had no bones. Her body suddenly turned soft, and she quietly slipped out of the Blue Silver Grass as if coated in oil. The snake-headed cane in her hand came smashing toward Tang San.

From the snake head at the tip of the cane, a two-foot-long Tongue Blade shot forth, instantly closing the distance between them. It gleamed with a deep blue light, clearly carrying a deadly poison.

Meng Yiran activated two soul skills at once: her first soul skill, Tongue Blade, and her second soul skill, Snake Body.

With Snake Body, she slipped free of the Blue Silver Grass's bind, while the Tongue Blade erupted with a fierce offensive force, instantly reversing the initiative.

Seeing that the Blue Silver Grass was ineffective, Tang San frowned slightly. The Tongue Blade had already reached him. Its sudden extra two feet had caught him completely off guard; he could no longer keep dodging.

He twisted his body and stopped retreating. Pushing off with his feet, he charged forward in reverse, nearly brushing past the Tongue Blade. At the same time, his left hand used Crane Control Strength to guide it aside, while his right hand struck out with Dragon Grasping Strength, targeting the spot beneath the snake head on the Serpent Cane.

Tang San now understood why Meng Yiran had been immune to the poison on his Blue Silver Grass. Her martial soul itself was highly venomous, so she naturally possessed a certain immunity to poison.

That was also why she had managed to escape his binding skill.

With a muffled bang, the snake-headed cane tilted upward slightly. Meng Yiran's Soul Power was even more domineering than Tang San had imagined. Although the Serpent Cane was knocked aside, Tang San did not gain a chance to press his attack. Meng Yiran forcibly pulled the cane back, and with a slight shake of both hands, it turned into eight streaks of light that simultaneously stabbed toward Tang San.

The eight streaks of light shifted between real and illusory, carrying surging, tyrannical Soul Power and covering nearly every direction Tang San could dodge.

Then, Tang San's eyes suddenly lit up, deep purple light shooting forth like lightning. It was Purple Demon Eyes.

When Meng Yiran saw Tang San's eyes suddenly turn purple, she froze for a moment, and her movements slowed slightly.

Every one of the eight light streaks created by the snake-headed cane could be said to be real, yet every one could also be said to be false. Only by constantly shifting between real and false could they continue to exist.

Even an expert like Zhao Wuji would have had no choice but to block such an attack head-on, but before Tang San's Purple Demon Eyes, everything was seen through.

Tang San's hands moved, extending forward without hesitation. A soft force caused Meng Yiran's Serpent Cane to suddenly halt.

Immediately afterward, Tang San's right hand darted in like a divine stroke, lightning-fast, and seized the body of the snake-headed cane in one grasp. The spot he grabbed was precisely the seven-inch point he had struck earlier.

Meng Yiran felt the Serpent Cane tighten in her hands, and every illusory streak of light vanished.

But Meng Yiran's attack was not over.

The Tongue Blade that had shot from the snake-headed cane suddenly dipped downward in a bizarre arc, slashing directly at Tang San's right hand gripping the cane.

The chilling blade flashed with a dark blue gleam. Anyone could tell that if it landed, then...

The rest of Shrek were tense to the extreme, but Bai Ge alone looked relaxed. "Why are you all so nervous?

"When it comes to poison, no one on Douluo Continent can beat Tang San.

"If he really gets turned around by this little girl, then San'er really will be a Silly Kid."

The words "Silly Kid" made Tang San choke on his breath, and he nearly got struck by Meng Yiran's Serpent Cane.

With a heavy palm strike, Tang San blocked it and turned back. "You idiot, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Their rapid exchange left everyone present completely baffled.

With a light ding, Tang San's left hand had firmly seized the Tongue Blade. By then, both his hands had turned a crystalline jade color. This was the Tang Sect's ultimate technique, Mystic Jade Hand.

Mystic Jade Hand used Mysterious Heaven Skill as its foundation, making the palms as tough as cold jade. It was immune to all poisons, difficult to injure with blades or swords, and unafraid of water or fire.

Of course, Mystic Jade Hand also had a limit to what it could withstand. If an attack exceeded that limit, the hands could still be injured.

However, Meng Yiran was clearly nowhere near capable of reaching Tang San's Mystic Jade Hand's limit.

Snake Woman Chao Tianxiang might have stood a chance.

With the Tongue Blade in his grasp, Tang San tightened his five fingers. One hand held the Serpent Cane, the other gripped the Tongue Blade, firmly controlling the upper end of Meng Yiran's snake-headed cane.

Each stood at one end of the Serpent Cane, and the two immediately fell into a deadlock.

The Tongue Blade was the essence of the snake-headed cane. Many techniques could only be used through the Tongue Blade. Yet now that it was held in Tang San's hand, it was as immovable as cast copper and forged iron.

Meng Yiran exerted force several times, but not only could she not reclaim her Serpent Cane, she could not even cut Tang San's suddenly jade-white palm.

All of Meng Yiran's strength lay in this Serpent Cane, so she naturally could not easily abandon her weapon.

Tang San naturally understood this as well. This Serpent Cane became the key point of contention between them.

Almost without hesitation, both of them simultaneously channeled their Soul Power through the Serpent Cane to attack the other.

Tang San's Soul Power was blue, while Meng Yiran's was gray. The two differently colored glows appeared upon the Serpent Cane at once, erupting into a fierce collision.

At this point, soul skills were no longer of any use. Their Soul Power levels were not far apart, and faced with the other's storm-like onslaught of Soul Power, neither had a hand free to interfere by any other means.

Thus, Tang San and Meng Yiran's battle evolved into a contest of Soul Power.

The kind of internal energy contest found in martial arts novels.

One misstep, and they could both perish together.

By then, the grudge between their two sides would truly be irreconcilable.

With a sigh, Bai Ge flashed forward in a streak of golden light, arriving between them.

He held two fingers together like a sword, his blazing golden Soul Power condensing into Sword Qi as he lightly tapped the Serpent Cane.

In an instant, Tang San and Meng Yiran's Soul Power was separated.

Both staggered back several steps, staring at Bai Ge in horror.

As those who had personally experienced it, no one understood better than they did that incomparable sharpness.

Before that single sword strike, their Soul Power had been as fragile as paper, utterly unable to resist!

Even more terrifying was that after he separated them, neither of them suffered any backlash!

In other words, Bai Ge's strike separated the two of them and neutralized the impact of their Soul Power clash without a single trace of excess force!

Meng Yiran's eyes widened as she looked at Bai Ge. "You... how did you do that?"

"Sword Intent." Bai Ge smiled. "To put it simply, before Sword Intent, anything weaker than it—whether power, spirit, or will—cannot stop it. It can only be crushed and destroyed.

"Under such will, condensed to the utmost extreme, every attack gains spirituality. Nothing can block it."

"Kid, what is Sword Douluo to you?"

Chao Tianxiang suddenly spoke.

"He is this kid's master." Bai Ge was briefly stunned, but he answered nonetheless.

"Sword Intent. What fine Sword Intent! As expected, a famous master produces outstanding disciples.

"Back then, Sword Douluo once said that to break through beyond rank ninety-five, what mattered was comprehension.

"But what exactly one had to comprehend could only be understood, never explained.

"Now that I think about it, it was these words—Sword Intent. No wonder no one in the world can block Sword Douluo's single strike."

Chao Tianxiang sighed. "The green hills remain, the rivers flow on. We shall meet again."

With that, Chao Tianxiang left with Meng Yiran.