Fierce Battle

"Hiss..." Even Wang Wu, who had always been as steady as a mountain and observed coldly, could no longer maintain his composure. He sucked in a bone-chilling breath! The muscles on his face twitched uncontrollably, his usually calm expression torn apart for the first time by extreme shock and surging rage! He stared intently at Ye Yun, his shocked and angry gaze seeming to pierce through Ye Yun's skin and reach the depths of his soul!

"Break... Mountain-Crushing Saber Technique!" Wang Wu's voice rasped, with a barely perceptible tremor and an unbelievable certainty. "The last strike... was the Ye Family's 'Tearing Silk'! You... you really are a remnant of the Ye Family! Ye Chen's bastard!" The mystery in his heart instantly unraveled. No wonder this brat had hidden so deeply! The Ye Family's bloodline, the Ye Family's legacy!

Yan Xiao Liu, lying on the ground, his mind had completely crashed, leaving it blank. Li San... that unfathomable Li San... that terrifying existence at the peak of the Ninth Rank... just like that... was split in half by Ye Yun... with one saber strike?! Was this still the Ye Yun he knew? This was simply a nightmare that overturned all his perceptions!

Ye Yun slowly retracted his saber, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground. A drop of thick blood slowly slid down the chipped blade. He turned around, his gaze as cold as two blades quenched in ice, devoid of any human emotion, locking onto Wang Wu.

"Your turn." Ye Yun's voice was calm and unruffled, yet it contained a killing intent more piercing than the harshest winter.

Wang Wu's heart lurched violently! Ye Yun's gaze made him feel a long-lost, bone-deep chill. He suppressed the storm raging in his heart, forcing an extremely ugly, conciliatory smile onto his face, his voice low and hurried:

"Brother Ye... Brother Ye!" He changed his address, trying to bridge the distance. "It's a misunderstanding! All a misunderstanding! You and I have no past grievances, no recent enmity, why must we fight to the death? Li San brought it upon himself, his death is not to be regretted! Today, I, Wang, can pretend I saw nothing! That Leopard King and all the prey, they all belong to Brother Ye! I, Wang, will leave immediately, and from now on, I will flee to a distant land and will never leak even the slightest bit of information about Brother Ye! What do you say?" As he spoke, he subtly adjusted his breathing, his knuckles white from gripping the saber too tightly.

Ye Yun remained expressionless, shaking his head slightly, but with an undeniable decisiveness. His voice was not loud, but it clearly cut through the pervasive smell of blood: "Tell me your mastermind, and the truth behind the Ye Family's annihilation back then. I can spare your life." This was his true objective! Li San and Wang Wu were merely two claws that needed to be removed!

Wang Wu's face instantly turned as dark as if water could drip from it. The last shred of luck in his eyes was extinguished, replaced by a sinister ferocity. He narrowed his eyes, a venomous snake-like glint flashing in his narrow slits: "Brat! Don't push your luck! The important figure behind me is someone a stray dog like you absolutely cannot afford to offend! You? A remnant of the Ye Family who luckily obtained some legacy? Hmph! It's yet to be seen who will win!"

Before he finished speaking, Wang Wu had already moved! He knew negotiation was hopeless, only a fight to the death remained! His speed was even faster than Li San's, and his footwork was more elusive and unpredictable, like a black ghost flitting through the forest! His long saber transformed into a streak of light tearing through the shadows, accompanied by a piercing shriek, heading straight for Ye Yun's throat! On the blade, the condensed Qi was a strange dark green, clearly containing potent poison or insidious force!

"Good!" Ye Yun's eyes flashed with sharp light. Without dodging or evading, his saber grew in the wind, and he also slashed out with a saber strike! He wanted to meet force with force, to gauge the strength of this peak Eighth Rank expert!

"Clang--!!!"

Another deafening roar! This collision was even more terrifying than Ye Yun's previous exchange with Li San! Two vastly different yet equally vast and mighty Qi forces fiercely collided! The violent energy exploded like a tangible shockwave, the ground beneath their feet cracked inch by inch, spreading like a spiderweb! The surrounding air was compressed, emitting a popping sound!

"Stomp stomp stomp!"

Both were sent flying backward by the immense recoil! Ye Yun retreated three steps, each step leaving a deep imprint on the ground. A strong numbness spread through his arm holding the saber, and his blood and Qi churned slightly. Wang Wu, however, retreated a full five steps before barely stabilizing his body. His face flushed, the hand holding his saber trembled slightly, and the tiger's mouth felt a tearing pain!

The difference in strength was clear! Ye Yun had the upper hand in a pure power confrontation!

Wang Wu was even more horrified! This brat was not only an Eighth Rank expert, but by no means a novice Eighth Rank! The condensation and explosive power of his true Qi faintly surpassed his own, an old hand who had been immersed in the peak of the Eighth Rank for many years!

"Kill!" Wang Wu suppressed his churning Qi and blood, his eyes filled with even greater ferocity, and he lunged forward again! He held nothing back, unleashing his most insidious saber techniques to their extreme! The saber light was like a viper's tongue flicking out, tricky and vicious, targeting the lower body and vital joints. The saber wind carried an icy, bone-chilling force, attempting to erode Ye Yun's meridians. At the same time, his footwork, coordinated with his saber techniques, moved erratically, from left to right, making him unpredictable.

Ye Yun responded calmly, unleashing the Mountain-Crushing Saber Technique. It was grand and sweeping, yet meticulously controlled. The saber light was sometimes like a surging river, majestic and powerful, forcefully suppressing Wang Wu's treacherous saber path; sometimes like a solitary peak standing tall, defending flawlessly, making it impossible for Wang Wu to shake his foundation no matter how he attacked. The two fought speed against speed, their figures rapidly interweaving, separating, and colliding in the forest!

"Screech!" "Crack!" "Rumble!"

Saber Qi crisscrossed the air! Wherever it passed, tree trunks as thick as thighs were easily severed, their surfaces as smooth as mirrors; hard rocks had thick layers scraped off by the saber wind, leaving deep grooves; the ground was repeatedly plowed as if by the claws of a giant beast, with crisscrossing ravines, a scene of utter devastation! The entire battlefield looked as if it had been ravaged by a storm. Yan Xiao Liu could only curl up behind a large rock, watching this battle, which far surpassed his understanding and resembled a myth, with terror. Every clash of saber blades made his heart clench.

In the blink of an eye, dozens more moves passed!

Wang Wu grew more shocked and anxious with each strike! He found that his proud, insidious saber techniques and elusive footwork were constantly at a disadvantage against the opponent's upright yet infinitely variable saber momentum! The opponent's saber techniques seemed to naturally counter his style, and the opponent's strength, speed, and endurance all firmly suppressed him! If this continued, defeat and death were only a matter of time!

"I can't delay any longer!" A hint of madness and desperation flashed in Wang Wu's eyes. He suddenly exposed a weakness, deliberately taking a saber strike from Ye Yun on his left shoulder, leaving a wound as deep as bone. The intense pain made him grunt. But he also used the force of this collision to retreat several yards!