Sword Intent Seed, Nine Syllable Mantra Seal Shows Its Might

"Arrogant! You really think killing Li Baichuan means you have nothing to fear!"

"Today, I'll make you understand that there is always a heaven beyond heaven, and always someone greater than you."

Before his words had even faded, Fang Yuan's sword flashed from its sheath. With a flick of his wrist, a glint of cold light tore through the air, faster than a bolt of lightning.

There was no overwhelming display of force, only an absolute sharp intent that seemed capable of severing all things and piercing anything, surging toward Zhou Qing along with the sword.

At the same time, Zhou Qing's Mysterious Iron Saber cleaved out. A blue saber radiance burst from its edge, and a chill spread outward as though even the air itself were about to freeze.

Before the blade and sword collided, two different powers of momentum clashed first.

The power of momentum was a confrontation on the level of the mind.

When martial artists who had grasped the power of momentum fought, their momentums would collide first. If one's momentum fell into a disadvantage, the martial artist himself could suffer a mental impact, his fighting spirit collapsing and directly affecting the execution of his later moves.

Simply put, once a martial artist's momentum fell behind in battle, he had already lost half the fight.

Riiip!

On the mental plane, the Ice Momentum Zhou Qing released collided with the Sword Momentum. That terrifying sharpness was unstoppable, tearing the Ice Momentum apart almost instantly.

"This Sword Momentum!"

Zhou Qing narrowed his eyes slightly.

The Sword Momentum Fang Yuan unleashed was far stronger than the Blood River Momentum mastered by the Blood Hand Butcher, and even more terrifying than Zhou Qing's own Ice Momentum.

One had to know that his Ice Momentum had already reached perfection.

Yet Fang Yuan's Sword Momentum seemed to have surpassed perfection, while not having fully transformed into an artistic conception. It lay somewhere between momentum and artistic conception.

No wonder Fang Yuan had dared to chase after him despite knowing he had slain the Blood Hand Butcher Li Baichuan. So he had mastered a power of momentum beyond the level of perfection.

Perhaps it could no longer even be called the power of momentum.

However, although his own momentum had been shattered by Fang Yuan's Sword Momentum beyond perfection, Zhou Qing did not panic.

Lin Character Immovable Wisdom King Seal!

Zhou Qing directly unleashed the Lin Character Immovable Wisdom King Seal from the Nine Syllable Mantra Seal.

Hummm—

In an instant, Zhou Qing's internal energy, blood vitality, and mental power converged, forming a golden vajra barrier around his body with absolute defense.

This defense was not merely physical; it could also block mental attacks.

Clang!

Fang Yuan's sword struck Zhou Qing's body as though it had hit incomparably hard mysterious iron, sending sparks flying.

"What?!"

Fang Yuan's expression changed slightly.

His full-force strike had failed to harm Zhou Qing in the slightest. Worse still, a rebounding force crashed into him, making his blood vitality churn.

He had spent years comprehending the Divine Intent Diagram of Sword Intent, using the true Sword Intent within it to temper his Sword Momentum. The Sword Momentum he cultivated had already advanced a step beyond perfection.

A step beyond perfected Sword Momentum meant condensing a Sword Intent Seed, beginning the transformation toward Sword Intent. One day, that Sword Intent Seed would mature and become true Sword Intent.

Even perfected momentum could be broken with a single sword strike before a Sword Intent Seed.

Yet now, Zhou Qing had used some unknown secret art to block the Sword Intent Seed's attack, a power beyond perfected momentum, and his mind had not been affected at all.

"It seems I still underestimated you."

Fang Yuan drew a deep breath, steadying himself as he prepared to attack again.

But Zhou Qing gave him no such chance.

Bing Character Great Vajra Wheel Seal!

Zhou Qing instantly formed a hand seal with his left hand and blasted it toward Fang Yuan.

The Bing Character Great Vajra Wheel Seal specialized in offense, compressing internal energy to unleash an ultimate attack.

In an instant, nearly half of Zhou Qing's Profound Ice Internal Energy was drained away. All of it compressed and gathered at his fingertips as an even more terrifying chill spread outward, ice crystals directly forming in midair.

"Cold!"

Before that finger even reached him, Fang Yuan felt an incomparably terrifying cold assault him, drilling into his body through his pores. Even with internal energy protecting his body, he still felt bitterly cold.

Nearly half the Profound Ice Internal Energy within Zhou Qing had been extracted and condensed into a single strike. That compressed internal energy was like solid ice, exuding waves that made one's heart palpitate.

The power erupted by this compressed internal energy might not have matched Xiantian True Qi, but it likely was not far off.

The true qi wielded by Innate Grandmasters was in fact a higher-grade power formed by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into internal energy, then continuously refining and compressing it.

Now, Zhou Qing activated the Great Vajra Wheel Seal from the Nine Syllable Mantra Seal, extracting half of the Profound Ice Internal Energy within him. The attack it unleashed had already come extremely close to true qi.

As that finger landed on Fang Yuan, a thick layer of ice crystals immediately appeared over his body, turning him into an ice sculpture.

His flesh, bones, and even that razor-sharp internal energy were all frozen.

Though Fang Yuan's Sword Intent Seed was powerful enough to easily crush perfected momentum, it was ultimately only a Sword Intent Seed. It had not transformed into true Sword Intent.

Without true Sword Intent, one could not interfere with reality.

If it were true Sword Intent, then with a single thought, it could draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, turn the intangible into the tangible, manifest itself, and sever all things.

Sword Momentum could only affect the mind.

The power of momentum had no effect whatsoever on dead objects.

For example, using Sword Momentum to attack dead objects such as stones or trees would not have the slightest effect. It could only affect living beings with consciousness.

Sword Intent, however, had leaped from the mental level to one capable of interfering with reality.

At this moment, the power of Zhou Qing's finger completely froze Fang Yuan. The flow of blood and internal energy within his body halted instantly, and his entire person became like an ice sculpture, devoid of the slightest vitality.

Crack!

The next moment, Fang Yuan's ice-sculpture body immediately shattered, turning into icy fragments that scattered through the air.

"Is that all you can do?"

Zhou Qing withdrew his finger, his tone cold.

Although the Bing Character Great Vajra Wheel Seal consumed internal energy, draining half of his Profound Ice Internal Energy in a single strike, the power it unleashed satisfied Zhou Qing.

Used at a critical moment, it was enough to turn the tide of battle.

"What?!"

"Th-this is impossible!"

Watching Red Wolf Commander Fang Yuan turn into icy fragments, the other two Red Wolf Deputy Commanders stared wide-eyed, their mouths hanging open wide enough to fit a fist. They could not believe what they were seeing.

Red Wolf Commander Fang Yuan was no ordinary Peak First-rate Martial Artist. He was someone who had comprehended a Sword Intent Seed.

Wanzhou had sixteen prefectures in total. Among all the Red Wolf Commanders, Fang Yuan could rank in the top three, and on the Human Ranking released by the Wind Full Tower, Fang Yuan was ranked thirty-seventh.

A vicious criminal like the Blood Hand Butcher Li Baichuan would tuck his tail and flee in advance upon hearing Fang Yuan's name, never daring to face him.

Ordinary First-rate Martial Artists were not even worthy of a single exchange with Fang Yuan.

Yet now, Fang Yuan had shattered like porcelain and turned into icy fragments. How could they not be shocked?