When Intent Stirs, Sword Qi Is Born

When Intent Stirs, Sword Qi Is Born

By now, Su Kuang had completely forgotten why he had come to Taiyang Academy. His whole mind was fixed on hunting down the prey before him.

He seemed to know how formidable the Xia Sword in Zhang Yu's hand was and did not dare test it with his body. As he charged forward, he still had enough attention to spare for a glance, roughly judging the path the sword might take once it left its sheath.

This was not difficult. There were limits to the way a person's bones and joints could bend, and from Zhang Yu's stance, it was easy to determine the furthest reach his sword stroke could attain once he exerted force.

In truth, Su Kuang did not understand the knowledge behind this, but the Divine Robe he wore gave him an instinct for observing such things.

What made him even more confident was that, with his speed, even if Zhang Yu's awareness was keen enough to notice something wrong beforehand, there was no way he could adjust midway through. The reaction speed of an ordinary person simply could not be compared with that of someone like him, clad in a Divine Robe.

One was human.

The other... was a god!

Zhang Yu watched the other man rush toward him. He maintained slow, steady breathing as the Xia Sword in his hand trembled faintly, eager to leap forth. Its jade-bright blade slid a sliver from the scabbard.

Under the stimulation of such extreme danger, he felt everything around him fall still. The clear Heart Lake Seal reflected countless external auras within it, yet among them, one cruel and savage presence, utterly out of place with the entire world, forced its way in from outside.

He gave it no further thought. Guided by that stirring intent, he followed the presence and slashed out with his sword!

A clear flash of sword light was reflected in Su Kuang's eyes. He grinned, threw one hand outward, tilted his head to one side, and leaned his body in that direction, all while maintaining his forward momentum.

Past experience told him that this would ensure the sword stroke could do no more than skim past his cheek. Then would come the moment when he circled behind his prey and hunted it down.

He loved the thrill of walking along a blade's edge. Especially whenever the edge brushed past the surface of his skin, that icy stimulation always made him want to lick it with his tongue.

But this time, he had clearly miscalculated.

The sword light did not veer away from him. Instead, it pursued him along a mysterious arc. The tip of the sharp blade ignored the layer of radiance emerging around his body, cutting into his right cheek, splitting open hard teeth and bone, then cleanly sliding out from the other side.

As a snow-bright gleam rose into the night, part of his lower jaw, along with half his tongue, was cut away in one stroke. More than a dozen shattered teeth flew out with it, scattering all over the ground.

A distorted shriek burst from Su Kuang's throat. Blinded by pain, he could no longer control his balance and toppled sideways. Powerful inertia propelled him forward as he bounced and rolled, smashing through several shelves before finally crashing into a brick wall.

Having succeeded with one stroke, Zhang Yu held his sword tip angled outward, his wide sleeves fluttering without rest.

He slowly turned around to face the place where Su Kuang had been.

Yet in that brief moment, there was unexpectedly nothing left there.

Even within the Heart Lake Seal, the other man's presence had vanished.

He looked at the ground. Not a single drop of blood had been left where the severed jaw had fallen; only a few scraps of clothing remained.

A glint flickered in his eyes.

The material and style of those clothes were exceedingly easy to identify.

The Victory Frontier Garb of the Divine Commandery Army!

His gaze shifted into the distance. The Miscellaneous Storehouse guards lay on the ground, their faces deathly pale, as though drowning. Part of their throats had already been torn open by their own hands. Fortunately, someone was holding them down tightly now, but they still struggled desperately.

A thought turned in his mind. The Divine Commandery Army of the Protectorate Office drew its strength from Divine Robes, and every Divine Robe within the Eastern Court Protectorate had come from the Strange Gods of this continent.

His specialty was Ancient Natural History. From the abilities the other man had displayed, as well as the vaguely manifested divine shadow from earlier, he could roughly deduce the origin of the Divine Robe he wore.

Selmel. This was a rainforest deity known among the natives as the "God of Shadow Hunting." Legend said it wore the pelt of a holy panther and could travel through shadows. It had repeatedly spied upon the privacy and weaknesses of others, using them to ambush many powerful foes.

And if the abilities bestowed by a Divine Robe reached their peak, the wearer would be almost equal to a god from another realm. Under ordinary circumstances, however, they fell far short of that.

Zhang Yu looked around. Though the other man had been struck by his sword, his vitality was not weak. Since he had yet to reappear, he might be seeking an opportunity to flee or counterattack.

But Zhang Yu was in no hurry. This was Taiyang Academy. The disturbance just now would surely have drawn the attention of the Profound Residence. Someone would arrive soon enough, and waiting benefited him.

Su Kuang was currently moving through the shadows like a fish through water. He moved with astonishing speed and without a sound. Even if someone stood nearby, they would not notice his existence.

His heart was filled with terror, rage, and humiliation. No matter how he thought about it, he could not understand how that sword stroke had struck him.

His severe injuries had already robbed him of the ability to counterattack. Even with his extraordinary physique, he could only barely maintain consciousness now.

What he needed to do now was leave this place, then find an opportunity to take revenge.

But he had come here today to carry out an assignment from the Divine Commandery Army. There was something he had to find a way to take back. That way, this operation would not count as a complete failure.

Keeping far away from Zhang Yu, he passed person after person, yet not a single one noticed anything amiss.

His entire body seemed to have merged with the shadows.

Before long, he entered the building Old Yang had blown apart. He darted back and forth through the shadows amid the rubble, and those dim cracks and corners were as clear to him as if each hair were visible.

After only a few circuits, he found what he wanted: a vine rope, neither too long nor too short, the one tied around Old Yang's wrist.

Once the item was in hand, he had no desire to remain. He shot out from the shadows, ran two steps, then leaped fiercely and plunged into another shadow. Repeating the process, he flickered in and out of sight, moving at tremendous speed toward the outside of the Miscellaneous Storehouse along an utterly unpredictable path.

Zhang Yu's Heart Lake Seal sensed that cruel, vicious aura once more. This time, however, it appeared behind him and was rapidly moving away, as though today's battle could only end here.

But at that moment, the sliver of intent within him to kill his foe drove the sword in his hand to hum and tremble without cease.

He drew a breath, closed his eyes, raised the Xia Sword, then spun and hurled it!

Whoosh!

A streak of sword light shot forth like a bolt of lightning!

Su Kuang had already put considerable distance between himself and Zhang Yu when he suddenly sensed intense danger from behind. At that moment, he was leaping through the air. The instincts granted by the Divine Robe enabled him to make the correct judgment, and he twisted his body with all his strength, barely evading the sword stroke.

A vicious gleam and delighted surprise appeared in his eyes.

Throwing his sword at him was undoubtedly a foolish move. Without that sword, what could Zhang Yu use to contend with him? Should he turn back and kill him after a while?

But just as the blade passed by his side, before it had fully flown past, the Xia Sword, which had been traveling in a straight line, suddenly trembled lightly and gave a hum. As though pulled by some force, it turned in midair, changing from a thrust into a spinning slash!

His pupils contracted. He twisted desperately, but even so, half his neck was still caught by the sword light.

A figure fell from midair in a twisted posture. After lying there for a while, his limbs twitched a few times before he barely crawled back up. Clutching one side of his neck, he staggered as he fled outward.

The glow that should have covered Su Kuang's body had vanished completely. Blood continually seeped from his wound, more and more of it.

He panted violently, terror filling his heart. Ahead was a patch of shadow. As long as he hid within it, he would be safe.

But just as half his body was about to disappear into it, a slender jade hand gleaming with light reached out from behind him, seized him by the neck, yanked him back out, and smashed him hard onto the ground, knocking him unconscious on the spot. Then a delicate foot came down without mercy. With a crack, it crushed his hip bone. The newcomer bent down and took the vine rope from his hand.

Zhang Yu had just retrieved the Xia Sword from a stone wall to one side. As he was about to see where Su Kuang had gone, he saw a graceful woman emerge from the night. She wore a white deep robe, a bamboo sword at her waist, and spectacles on her face. Dragging Su Kuang by one foot like a dead dog, she pulled him out and flung him onto the ground before them.

He sheathed his sword and nodded in greeting. "Instructor Xin."

Xin Yao pushed up her glasses and looked at him. "Junior Brother Zhang, that was a beautiful sword stroke."

"Inspection by the Sikou Office! Bystanders, stand aside!"

A loud shout rang out. Amid disorderly footsteps, more than a dozen Sikou constables charged in aggressively with fire lances in hand. Yet the scene before them made their breathing hitch, their expressions freezing at once.

Su Kuang lay on the ground like a dead dog. The lower half of his face was gone, leaving him almost unrecognizable.

Though Zhang Yu and Xin Yao wore instructors' robes, both held swords. The captain had enough discernment to guess from the sight that they were most likely from the Profound Residence. Farther behind them, Academy guards carrying fire lances were gradually gathering.

The Sikou captain's mouth went dry and sweat seeped from his palms. He wanted to say something, but no words came out.

Xin Yao said flatly, "The Sikou Office arrived rather quickly. You would not happen to be in league with the person who damaged the Academy, would you?"

"Of course not!"

The Sikou captain hurriedly denied it, but the moment the words left his mouth, he felt something was wrong.

Sure enough, Xin Yao said, "Then all the better. This Sikou officer, please come over here." She drew the bamboo sword at her waist and lifted aside Su Kuang's already tattered cloak, revealing the Divine Commandery Army's Victory Frontier Garb beneath.

She gave a soft sound and pushed up her glasses. "So it was someone from the Divine Commandery Army causing trouble here." She turned to the Sikou captain. "I ask that everyone from the Sikou Office bear witness."