Clang!
The strength Hong Yuan displayed exceeded Bai Yunsheng's expectations, but though startled, he remained composed. He straightened his back, and the sword strapped behind him suddenly sprang from its sheath, tracing a cold streak of lightning before landing in his hand.
Then the sword light shot through the air like a flying star.
His thrust had been aimed straight at Hong Yuan's arm, swift as a startled swan and flashing lightning, powerful enough to tear walls of bronze and iron to shreds.
Yet this strike, launched like a thunderbolt and powered like crashing thunder, had barely traveled halfway when Hong Yuan's unhurried finger intercepted it.
Ting!
Finger met sword!
One snap of the fingers contained twenty instants, and one instant contained twenty thoughts.
Within a single thought, dozens of shocks struck.
Only one clear note rang out, like a light tap on a bell, yet the painstakingly forged sword in Bai Yunsheng's hand seemed to suffer thousands upon thousands of blows at once. It quivered with a mournful cry, then burst into a skyful of silver fragments and dust.
Bai Yunsheng watched helplessly as the blade disintegrated, unable to move. A force that seemed to encompass all things spread through his wrist and coursed through his entire body.
Crackle!
Arcs of lightning exploded around him, as though the air itself had caught fire. Then Bai Yunsheng saw that the finger which had shattered his sword had not stopped. It passed through the blazing sparks, still advancing slowly.
It touched the center of his brow.
Pop!
As though a tiny bubble had been pinched out, Bai Yunsheng's body shook violently. He flew backward, smashing through wall after palace wall before finally crashing through a hundred yards away.
Before the dust could spread, a sweep of a sleeve cleared it away.