Qiu Xianguang was already poised for battle. The moment Li Chenzhou moved, he surged forward to meet him. As the current Sword Palace Master, his martial arts and sword techniques were naturally far from ordinary. Their swords collided in midair, and the tremendous force transmitted through Li Chenzhou's blade sent a violent tremor through Qiu Xianguang's arm. He had to retreat a step to dissipate the impact.
Driving Qiu Xianguang back with a single stroke bolstered Li Chenzhou's confidence. He would carve out a bloody path and kill Xue Daoming. Just then, however, the Sword Palace disciple beside them suddenly moved. The man had only a left arm. While Li Chenzhou's attention was focused entirely on Qiu Xianguang, he launched an ambush as swift as thunder before one could cover one's ears. A deep blue gleam in his left hand stabbed toward Li Chenzhou's right ribs.
Li Chenzhou reacted promptly, twisting clockwise to evade the surprise attack as best he could. But the thrust came far too quickly. This is bad! he thought. Still, he wore tough inner armor beneath his outer armor and trusted that his opponent would not pierce it so easily. Yet the Blue Short Sword in the man's hand was razor-sharp. It sliced effortlessly through Li Chenzhou's armor, and even the rare inner armor beneath could not stop it. Li Chenzhou already felt bitterly cold sword energy assailing his skin. In that moment of crisis, he contracted his body with all his strength, drawing his chest inward to its limit.
Although Qiu Xianguang had retreated a step, that did not mean Li Chenzhou had defeated him utterly and opened an escape route. In fact, Qiu Xianguang had resolved not to yield an inch today. He would kill Li Chenzhou in the court itself. After stepping back,