Clash of the Titans

The two of them went one after the other, heading straight out of the town.

News that Zither Flute Maiden, sixth on the Earth Ranking, and Ouyang Ke, ninth on the Earth Ranking, were going to duel outside the town quickly spread through the town.

"What? Zither Flute Maiden is here?"

"Yeah. Jiang Feng squeezed her down to fifth, and she was unconvinced, so she came to challenge him. Ouyang Ke stopped her outside, and she spoke rudely and angered Ouyang Ke. That's how the two of them ended up fighting."

"Come on, let's go take a look!"

"There aren't many chances to see a scene like this."

At present, there were truly quite a few people waiting in Zhushan Town to catch a glimpse of Jiang Feng's true face—over ten thousand Black Martial Realm martial artists, and even several thousand Earth Martial Realm martial artists. It was certain that nearly one-tenth of all the Earth Martial Realm experts in the entire Hengshan Prefecture had come.

At this moment, all these people surged in a mighty tide toward the outside of the town.

They had not been able to see Jiang Feng, nor fight Jiang Feng, so being able to first watch two Earth Ranking experts exchange blows was also a great fortune.

The Dragon Tower Master naturally would not miss it either. Every time Earth Ranking experts fought, Dragon Tower would never let the chance to gather intelligence slip by, because it was highly likely to affect the Earth Ranking standings.

Outside the town, at the foot of a mountain, Ouyang Ke and Tang Wanjing stood facing each other.

Those who arrived first were naturally all Earth Martial Realm experts, and they stood relatively close. Among them were several at the perfected Earth Martial Realm, possessing the strength to challenge the Earth Ranking.

As for the Black Martial Realm martial artists who arrived later, they all climbed up the nearby peak. For a time, the aura in this tiny patch of land was without equal, and even some Magic Beasts withdrew one after another.

"Senior, in your view, which of these two is stronger?"

"Of course it's Zither Flute Maiden Tang Wanjing. Not only is her skill in bed remarkable, her skill with her hands is also far from ordinary."

"Mm, after all, she's ranked above Ouyang Ke."

"That isn't necessarily true. Maybe Ouyang Ke will win."

"Oh, stop it. Ouyang Ke's odds of winning aren't more than ten percent. And that's already an estimate I made assuming he's improved somewhat during this period."

"I'll bet one copper coin that Ouyang Ke wins!" someone joked.

"But the two of them won't be able to decide a winner in a short while. After all, apart from the two ranked first and second on the Earth Ranking, the strength of the others doesn't differ by much. Even the third on the Earth Ranking would probably find it very hard to decide victory or defeat against Ouyang Ke quickly."

"That's true. Without an overwhelming advantage, the two of them will certainly go all out. This battle is definitely going to be extraordinarily exciting."

Outside the field, discussions rose one after another, while inside the field, the two of them were also fighting so closely that they were hard to separate.

Zither Flute Maiden's set of Lianqing Sword Technique had reached perfection. The true intent of her sword technique was overbearing and domineering, its sharp edge fully exposed.

Ouyang Ke's set of saber techniques was equally formidable. The true intent of his saber technique was tyrannical and forceful, moving like drifting clouds and flowing water, watertight without a single gap. Dealing with Zither Flute Maiden's sword technique, he was also perfectly at ease, with room to spare.

The energy scattering from the two of them's collisions sent sand and stones flying all around, dust and mist rushing into the sky.

"This fellow seems to have grown stronger!" After more than twenty moves, Zither Flute Maiden Tang Wanjing's brows furrowed.

She could sense that Ouyang's saber technique seemed to have improved quite a lot. The true intent of her sword technique held not the slightest advantage. However, she could not say where exactly Ouyang Ke's saber technique had improved.

Ouyang Ke remained calm and composed. Following Jiang Feng's order, he had only used thirty percent of his strength.

That was right—thirty percent!

But this thirty percent of his strength was much stronger than the full power he had originally possessed.

Jiang Feng had instructed him that there was no need to reveal his full strength; it was still best for a person to keep a low profile.

So although he very much wanted to defeat Tang Wanjing within ten moves before everyone's eyes and thereby make his name resound, he still held himself back.

"Good, truly good!" Ever since learning the heart technique Jiang Feng had bestowed on him, this was the first time he had truly fought. The moment he made a move, he immediately felt the endless power within his body.

He firmly believed that if he attacked with full strength, Tang Wanjing absolutely could not withstand ten moves from him. He would not even need to use Unrestrained Blade to defeat Tang Wanjing until she was battered from head to toe.

"Fifty moves now..."

"A hundred moves now..."

"Look, Zither Flute Maiden Tang Wanjing seems to be falling into a disadvantage."

"Yeah. Just now, she almost failed to block Ouyang Ke's saber strike."

"Unexpected, truly unexpected! This Ouyang Ke's saber technique seems to have improved quite a lot!"

"Yeah. If Tang Wanjing wants to beat him, she'll probably have to start with martial skills."

"Right. Tang Wanjing's martial skill, Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin, is far stronger than Ouyang Ke's Unrestrained Blade. Once she uses it, Ouyang Ke will definitely be defeated on the spot."

In the field, the more Tang Wanjing fought, the more aggrieved she became. She had already pushed her sword technique to the extreme, and the true intent of her sword technique had reached the point of seeping into every crack. She had even forced herself to temporarily raise her true intent to the subtle realm, yet it was still blocked back by Ouyang Ke.

"How is this possible? How is this possible?" The more Tang Wanjing fought, the more panicked she became, and the more anxious she grew. Where exactly has his saber technique improved? If I can see through it, I can also find a way to break it!

She could not find a single point in Ouyang Ke's saber technique that she could counter!

Just then, Ouyang Ke gave a cold snort. "Fighting me, yet you dare let your mind wander!"

As soon as these words came out, the saber in his hand suddenly smashed through the true intent of Tang Wanjing's sword technique and swept toward Tang Wanjing's armpit.

Tang Wanjing was greatly shocked. Her protective energy directly collapsed, and this saber strike landed directly on the ribs beneath her armpit.

"Ah!" With a miserable cry, Tang Wanjing was sent flying backward.

Fortunately, after this saber strike was blocked by the true intent of her sword technique, its power was reduced by two-thirds, and after being weakened by her protective energy, only one-fifth of its original force remained in the end.

But one fifth of its power had landed solidly on her physical body.

Fortunately, her Cliff Stone Body possessed astonishing defensive power, so she was not heavily injured and suffered only a few light wounds.

Even so, this had already made her lose a great deal of face!

None of the onlookers had expected Tang Wanjing to be defeated so quickly.

"It seems Ouyang Ke's strength really has grown quite a bit. He actually managed to send Tang Wanjing flying."

"Has Tang Wanjing lost just like that?"

"Impossible. What Tang Wanjing is truly formidable for is her Cliff Stone Body. Ouyang Ke's slash just now could at most leave her lightly wounded. However, her body-protecting qi has collapsed, and she won't be able to condense it again for a while. If Tang Wanjing is hit again next, it won't be this easy for her."

"Right. Tang Wanjing couldn't possibly admit defeat just like this."

In the arena, Tang Wanjing stood up in a sorry state, a trace of ferocity appearing on her beautiful face. "Good, Ouyang Ke. Your abilities really have improved."

Ouyang Ke was in an excellent mood at this moment. In his first test of strength, he had defeated Tang Wanjing using only thirty percent of his power, so naturally he was extremely excited. "Is the great beauty Tang praising me?"

Even the way he addressed Tang Wanjing had become somewhat frivolous.

Tang Wanjing gave a cold snort. "Don't get smug!"

After speaking, she attacked again.

It was still the Lianqing Sword Technique, but what was different this time was that she intended to use the sword technique flexibly, seeking an opportunity to unleash Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin.

The moment Ouyang Ke saw how agile the changes in Tang Wanjing's moves had become, he knew that she definitely had this plan.

"Hmph, you want to win with Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin?"

"Then I'll make you lose thoroughly!"

Although Ouyang Ke was fully capable of taking Tang Wanjing down directly, he did not dare disobey Jiang Feng's instructions.

So, if he wanted to destroy Tang Wanjing's strongest martial skill, Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin, he could only use his own martial skill, Unrestrained Blade.

Otherwise, with only thirty percent of his strength, he would not be able to block Tang Wanjing's Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin.

Sure enough, Tang Wanjing seized the instant when Ouyang Ke's blade stance sank backward and swiftly unleashed Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin.

In an instant, the longsword in her hand surged violently, sword radiance shot into the sky, and light exploded. Countless sword shadows, as if given substance, rang out with clangs and rapidly floated around her, making her seem as though she stood within the embrace of ten thousand swords.

For a time, Tang Wanjing seemed to transform into a dazzling star beneath the night sky, brilliant and conspicuous amid all things around her.

"Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin!" The surrounding onlookers recognized it at once.

"As expected, as expected—she really is going to use Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin."

"Hmph, just as I predicted!" Ouyang Ke had been prepared for this long ago, deliberately pretending that his blade stance had sunk backward to lure Tang Wanjing into making her move.

He had experienced the power of Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin before. To be honest, back then he had also used Unrestrained Blade to withstand it, only to lose in an extremely sorry fashion.

"Tonight, I will wash away my former shame!"

Ouyang Ke let out a muffled grunt. "Unrestrained Blade!"

He raised both hands, and blade radiance soared into the sky. In that instant, his entire presence was unparalleled.

"It's Unrestrained Blade!" The surrounding onlookers also reacted.

"The two of them are going to clash head-on with martial skills!"

Tang Wanjing's Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin emphasized profundity, while Ouyang Ke's Unrestrained Blade emphasized tyranny. The two were unleashed almost simultaneously, with less than one thirtieth of a breath between them.

Everyone present was wildly excited!

How rare it was to see two great experts of the Earth Ranking unleash martial skills at the same time.

One had to know that when these two usually made a move, they almost never used martial skills. Now, with two martial skills unleashed together in a direct collision, the visual effect was even more dazzling and explosive.

It sounded long in the telling, but in truth it happened in an instant!

The ten thousand swords around Tang Wanjing suddenly shot out all together, going straight for Ouyang Ke with sharp swish, swish sounds. Countless sword radiances shook the air, giving off a pleasant sword hum.

At the same time, the heavy blade in Ouyang Ke's hands sank, and blade radiance, wrapped in an overwhelming force of ten thousand jun, slashed viciously toward the surging sword radiance.