Blade Cleaves Li San

Yan Xiao Liu slumped onto the cold, muddy ground, the searing pain from his wounds a mere trifle compared to the tidal wave of shock crashing within him. His eyes were wide, pupils contracting violently in extreme disbelief, threatening to tear his eyes apart! He stared fixedly at the young figure standing with a knife – Ye Yun! That Ye Yun, usually taciturn, whose skills were only average among the constables! That Ye Yun, whom he thought he knew inside and out, someone he could trust with his back! Just moments ago, right before his eyes, this " Ye Yun" had actually... casually blocked Li San's earth-shattering, full-power strike, imbued with the peak Ninth Rank martial artist's entire Essence Qi and killing intent!

What did that even mean? Yan Xiao Liu had glimpsed the tip of the iceberg of Li San's strength during their pursuit; it was an existence far beyond his imagination! The strike came down like a thunderbolt, the blade's edge not yet arrived, but the fierce, unparalleled blade wind already made it impossible to breathe, as if even the air was about to be split in two! Yan Xiao Liu knew that if he had faced that strike, there would have been no other option but to close his eyes and await death! Yet, Ye Yun... he had merely, seemingly casually, blocked it!

"Clang--!!!"

The deafening clash of metal on metal still seemed to echo through the forest, sparks scattering like crimson fireflies! The violent surge of energy exploded outwards from the two figures, kicking up dead leaves and dust from the ground, forming a visible ring of air pressure! Yan Xiao Liu, who was slightly closer, was pushed back several more somersaults by the blast, his internal organs churning.

As the dust settled slightly, he saw Ye Yun's arm, holding the saber, was as steady as a rock, his stance unmoving. And Li San, who had been so aggressive and confident, was forced to stumble back a full step by that seemingly effortless block! The solid earth beneath his feet was pressed into deep footprints, the sneer on his face instantly frozen, replaced by an expression of utter disbelief. The wrist holding the saber even felt a dull ache!

"I never expected..." Li San's voice trembled almost imperceptibly. He stared intently at Ye Yun's still calm face, as if truly seeing him for the first time, "...that you were hiding such strength!"

After the shock came deeper apprehension, followed by surging rage! To have his full-power strike so easily blocked by an "unknown nobody" was an absolute humiliation! A fierce light flared in Li San's eyes. Holding nothing back, he roared, "Die!" He lunged forward again like a phantom, his long saber transforming into a dense curtain of silver light, whistling as it tore through the air, raining down on Ye Yun like a storm! Every strike carried the immense force to shatter stone, each aimed at Ye Yun's vital points!

Ye Yun's gaze remained as calm as still water. Amidst Li San's tempestuous assault, his footwork was exquisite, like a butterfly flitting through flowers. Each movement precisely avoided the most potent part of the blade. The ordinary regulation saber in his hand seemed to come alive, sometimes darting out like a viper to strike at the weak points of the opponent's attack, sometimes like an iron chain blocking a river, steadily parrying powerful chops, and at other times, like willow catkins in the wind, skillfully deflecting the violent force.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang..."

The continuous sounds of impact, like rain drumming on banana leaves, echoed incessantly. Sparks flew in the dim forest, illuminating two vastly different faces: one contorted in ferocity, disbelief, and rage; the other serene, with only a cold calculating glint deep within the eyes.

Dozens of exchanges passed in the blink of an eye!

Li San grew increasingly alarmed with every blow! He felt as if he wasn't fighting an opponent, but facing a bottomless, cold abyss! No matter how much he pushed his power or employed his most cunning and vicious saber techniques, the other party could always neutralize them with the most economical and precise methods. With every clash, the force transmitted from the opponent's blade was incredibly smooth and boundless, as if his own strength was sinking into a sea, unable to stir even a ripple! He couldn't even gauge Ye Yun's true cultivation level! The other's aura was shrouded in mist, sometimes seeming ordinary, other times unfathomably deep!

On the other hand, Ye Yun, through these brief exchanges, had already formed a clear assessment of Li San's strength: peak Ninth Rank, with fierce power and a savage saber style, but his moves were slightly crude, his energy circulation not smooth enough, and his combat adaptability lacked finesse. For Ye Yun, who had now solidly reached the Eighth Rank, possessed the Ye Family's ultimate techniques, and had combat experience far exceeding his peers, such an opponent had lost the value of a "sparring partner."

Ye Yun inwardly shook his head slightly: "Nothing special."

Li San also keenly caught the fleeting indifference and... a hint of imperceptible disappointment in Ye Yun's eyes? This completely ignited the raging fire in his heart! Humiliation! Naked humiliation!

"Kid! Don't get cocky! Take my final strike – Cleaving Mount Hua!" Li San's hair and beard bristled, his eyes blood red, his muscles bulging like coiled dragons beneath his skin! He poured all the Essence Qi from his Dantian into his arms without reservation, leaped high into the air, and raised his saber above his head. The blade hummed and vibrated, emitting a blinding pale white light! A terrifying pressure, heavy as a collapsing mountain, instantly enveloped an area of several feet! Before the blade even fell, the ground beneath had slightly caved in from the invisible force, pressing the grass flat!

Facing this ultimate strike, imbued with Li San's lifelong cultivation and overwhelming fury, a hint of seriousness finally flickered in Ye Yun's eyes. He no longer held back. The dormant Eighth Rank true qi within him surged like a slumbering dragon awakening! An aura far more refined, condensed, and potent than Li San's erupted instantly!

He shifted his left foot back half a step, lowered his body, and assumed an ancient, steady starting stance. The saber in his hand was raised level, the tip pointing diagonally towards the sky. It appeared slow, but was actually incredibly fast! A trace of condensed, solid light-gold Essence Qi flowed silently along the blade, emitting a low hum.

" Mountain-Crushing Saber Technique, first stance – Rip the Silk!" Ye Yun chanted inwardly, his voice as cold as iron.

The two figures, one saber descending from the heavens with immense force, aiming to cleave mountains and break peaks; the other, rising from below, condensing a single sharp edge, aiming to tear the sky and cleave the clouds!

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

The next instant!

"BOOM--!!!!!"

The two figures, wielding terrifying power, and the two sabers, imbued with the will to fight to the death, collided head-on without any fancy moves!

There was no clash of metal, only a terrifying roar like a thunderclap from the heavens exploding in their ears! A visible shockwave, centered on the two figures, spread outwards like a tsunami! The ground within a ten-foot radius was overturned as if by an invisible giant plow, earth, grass, and stones erupting skyward like a fountain! Several trees as thick as a bowl were snapped in half, emitting a grating groan before crashing down! Dense dust instantly swallowed everything, forming a murky mushroom cloud!

Yan Xiao Liu was flung far away by the terrifying shockwave, crashing heavily onto the ground, blood flowing from his nose and mouth, his ears ringing, his vision blurred, only boundless fear and confusion remaining in his heart: "This... is this something a human can do?!"

The dust slowly settled in the dead silence.

As his vision cleared, Yan Xiao Liu struggled to look up, his heart nearly stopping.

He saw Ye Yun still maintaining his saber-raising posture, standing firmly in place. Apart from his robes fluttering slightly and his breathing being a bit uneven, he appeared completely unharmed! The regulation saber in his hand had a small chip on its edge, but it did not diminish its owner's imposing aura.

A few steps away from Ye Yun, Li San stood rigidly like a clay statue, his long saber still in the downward chopping pose. The ferocious and confident expression was still frozen on his face, but all the light in his eyes had been extinguished, leaving only a hollow, ashen gray. A thread-like line of blood ran straight down from his brow, across his nose, lips, throat, chest... all the way to his abdomen!

A gentle breeze blew, rustling the last few scattered blades of grass.

The moment the grass fell.

"Screech--!"

A skin-crawling tearing sound rang out! Li San's body, along the path of the bloodline, neatly split in two! Scalding innards and thick blood gushed out like a broken dam, instantly dyeing a large patch of the ground red! The two halves of his corpse, with expressions of unbelievable shock, fell heavily into the pool of blood!