Sky Rift End Shadow, which fused the subtleties of the Flowing Light Thirteen Swords, was not only incredibly swift, but its Sword Light was incomparably heavy and solid, carrying the force of stacked swords—one sword surpassing thirteen.
Although the Sky Rift End Shadow Ling Lanxiu unleashed in that fleeting instant of brilliance could not gather the power of all thirteen swords, it still bore the force of four or five.
Zhu Xiao hastily met it head-on, yet he found it utterly impossible to withstand.
Almost instantly, the longsword held across his chest was struck crooked by Ling Lanxiu's domineering sword, a finger-wide notch appearing in its blade.
The remaining force could not be shed. Zhu Xiao was sent flying backward, pressed against the bent sword at his chest.
He crashed heavily to the ground.
Zhu Xiao's eyes were filled with disbelief. He had never imagined that, in that fleeting instant of brilliance, Ling Lanxiu could erupt with such a swift and tyrannical sword.
Had she been even half a fraction slower in that situation, the outcome would have been entirely different. He would certainly have been able to exploit the opening he had deliberately sold and defeat his opponent with a single sword.
Then it would have been Ling Lanxiu lying on the ground.
Unfortunately, there were no ifs.
Feeling the hand gripping his sword numbed by the impact, Zhu Xiao helplessly accepted reality. His expression suddenly dimmed, and he wilted at once like a deflated ball.
"I lost."
Zhu Xiao lowered his head in shame. He understood that Ling Lanxiu's sword had not been an impromptu response, but something she had calculated long ago—a strike born of turning his own scheme against him.
She had seen through his sword long ago.
Feeling the stares around him, Zhu Xiao scarcely