Yan Xiao Liu slumped onto the cold, muddy ground. The agony of his wounds was nothing compared to the tumult raging in his heart. His eyes stretched wide, his pupils contracting violently in utter shock until they seemed ready to tear the corners of his eyes apart. He stared fixedly at the young man standing with a saber in hand—Ye Yun! The usually taciturn Ye Yun, whose skills were only above average among the constables! The colleague he thought he knew inside and out, the man he could trust to watch his back! Just now, right before his eyes, this "Ye Yun" had actually... had actually blocked Li San's earth-shattering full-force strike with casual ease—a strike infused with all the astral energy and killing intent of a peak Ninth Rank martial artist!
What did that even mean? During the pursuit, Yan Xiao Liu had glimpsed only the tip of the iceberg of Li San's strength. It was absolutely beyond anything he could have imagined! That saber had come down as fast as thunder. Before its edge even reached them, its razor-sharp wind had already pressed the breath from his lungs, as if it could cleave the air in two! Yan Xiao Liu was certain that if he had faced that strike, he would have had no choice but to close his eyes and await death. Yet Ye Yun... had merely raised his saber and blocked it, seemingly without a care!
"Clang—!!!"
The ear-splitting clash of metal still seemed to echo through the woods, sparks scattering like crimson fireflies! The violent force exploded around the two men, sweeping up dead branches, fallen leaves, and dust to form a visible ring of air. Yan Xiao Liu was standing fairly close, and the blast sent him tumbling backward several more times, his insides churning.
As the dust began to settle, he saw Ye Yun's saber arm, steady as a boulder, and his figure standing firm and unmoving. Li San, who had charged in with such confidence and momentum, had been jolted back a full step by that seemingly effortless block! His boots had gouged deep prints into the packed earth. The vicious grin on his face froze, replaced by utter disbelief, and even his saber-wielding wrist had gone numb.
"I never would have thought..." Li San's voice held a tremor so faint it was almost imperceptible. He stared at Ye Yun's still, placid face as if seeing him for the first time. "...You were hiding such strength!"
Shock gave way to deeper wariness, then to a surge of fury! To have his full-force strike so easily blocked by an "unknown nobody" was a humiliation beyond measure! A murderous glint flared in Li San's eyes. Holding nothing back, he roared, "Die!" He closed in again like a phantom, his long saber becoming a dense curtain of silver light. With a shrill whistle that tore through the air, a storm of blows poured down on Ye Yun! Each strike carried enough force to shatter stone, every one aimed at a vital point!
Ye Yun's gaze remained as calm as still water. As Li San's attacks crashed down like a raging storm, his footwork was exquisite, like a butterfly flitting among flowers. Each movement carried him just clear of the sharpest part of the blade. The ordinary service saber in his hand seemed almost alive: at times it darted out like a spirit snake, striking precisely at the weak point in Li San's attack; at times it stretched across the river like an iron chain, solidly turning aside his powerful chops; at others it drifted like willow fluff on the wind, skillfully guiding away the force of each blow.
"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang..."
The blows rang out without pause, as dense as a sudden shower drumming on banana leaves. Sparks burst again and again in the dim woods, illuminating two starkly different faces: one twisted in a savage grimace, suspicion and fury written across it; the other as calm as an ancient well, with only a cold, calculating glint flickering deep in his eyes.
Dozens of exchanges flashed by in an instant!
The longer Li San fought, the more alarmed he became. It felt as though he wasn't fighting a man, but facing a bottomless, frigid pool! No matter how he drove his power or how vicious and unpredictable his saber techniques were, Ye Yun always defused them with the least effort and utmost precision. Each time their blades clashed, the force transmitted through Ye Yun's saber was perfectly rounded, as if it had no bottom. Li San's strength sank into it like an ox made of mud falling into the sea, stirring not the slightest ripple! He couldn't even judge Ye Yun's true level. Ye Yun's presence was shrouded in mist: at times, he seemed utterly unremarkable; at others, as unfathomable as the ocean!
In contrast, after their brief exchange, Ye Yun had already formed a clear assessment of Li San's strength: peak Ninth Rank, with raw power and a fierce saber style, but his moves were somewhat crude, his force lacked smoothness, and he was slow to adapt in actual combat. For Ye Yun, now firmly established in the 8th Rank, with the Ye Family's secret techniques at his command and far more combat experience than others at the same level, such an opponent was no longer worth using to test his moves.
Ye Yun shook his head inwardly. Nothing special.
Li San also caught the fleeting indifference in Ye Yun's eyes—and perhaps even a hint of disappointment. That sight set the flames of his fury roaring. Humiliation! Utter, naked humiliation!
"Kid! Don't get cocky! Take my final strike—Cleaving Mount Hua!" Li San's beard and hair bristled, his eyes blood-red. Every muscle bulged, and veins writhed beneath his skin like coiling dragons! He poured every last trace of astral energy from his dantian into both arms and leaped high into the air, raising his long saber above his head. The blade hummed and trembled, giving off a blinding, ghastly white light! A terrifying pressure, heavy as a collapsing mountain, instantly engulfed the area for several dozen feet around them! Before the saber even fell, the invisible force had pressed the earth below into a slight depression, flattening every blade of grass!
Facing this killing strike, infused with Li San's lifelong cultivation and boundless fury, Ye Yun's eyes finally showed a hint of seriousness. He stopped holding back. The 8th Rank Essence Qi dormant within him surged awake like a sleeping dragon, roaring through his body! A wave of power burst forth, far purer, more concentrated, and more boundless than Li San's!
He eased his left foot half a step back, lowered his body, and settled into a simple, steady opening stance. He raised the saber in his hand levelly, its tip angled toward the sky. The movement seemed slow, yet was faster than the eye could follow! A concentrated, almost tangible strand of pale golden astral energy flowed quietly along the blade, which gave off a low hum.
"Mountain-Crushing Saber Technique, First Form—Rending Silk!" Ye Yun thought, his resolve cold as iron.
One saber descended from the ninth heaven, bearing the weight of a thousand jun and seeking to split mountains and cleave peaks; the other rose from below, its edge focused to a single line, seeking to cut the sky and rend the clouds!
Time seemed to freeze in that instant.
The next moment!
"BOOM—!!!!!"
Two figures bearing terrifying strength, two long sabers infused with the will to fight to the death, collided head-on without a trace of flourish!
There was no ringing clash of steel, only a terrifying roar like thunder exploding beside one's ears! A visible shock wave burst out from the two men and spread in every direction like a tsunami! The ground within thirty yards was churned as if by an enormous unseen plow. Dirt, grass, and rocks shot into the air like fountains! Several trees as thick as bowls snapped in the middle with a teeth-grinding groan and crashed down! Dense dust swallowed everything in an instant, forming a murky mushroom cloud!
The terrifying shock wave hurled Yan Xiao Liu far away. He hit the ground hard, blood spilling from his nose and mouth, his ears ringing and his vision blurred. Only boundless fear and bewilderment remained in his heart. Could... could a human really do this?!
The dust slowly settled in the deathly silence.
When his vision cleared, Yan Xiao Liu struggled to lift his head and look. His heart nearly stopped beating.
Ye Yun still stood where he was, holding his saber in an upward swing. Apart from his fluttering sleeves and slightly uneven breathing, he seemed completely unharmed! A small chip had broken off the edge of the saber in his hand, but it did nothing to diminish its wielder's imposing presence.
Several paces away, Li San stood rigid as a clay statue, his long saber still poised for a downward strike. His face remained frozen in a mixture of savagery and confidence, but every spark of life had gone from his eyes, leaving only empty, ashen hollows. A thread-thin line of blood ran straight down from the center of his forehead, over the bridge of his nose, his lips, his throat, and his chest... all the way to his lower abdomen!
A breeze stirred, brushing the last few drifting leaves.
The instant they touched the ground—
"Rrrip!"
A ripping sound that made the scalp crawl rang out! Li San's body split cleanly in two along the path of the bloodline! His steaming entrails and thick blood gushed out like floodwaters bursting through a dam, staining the ground beneath him red! His two halves toppled heavily into the pool of blood, frozen in expressions of utter disbelief!
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