Rather than retreating, He An advanced, his body trailing a blurred afterimage through the air as he boldly met Tong Shanxiong's sweeping, snow-bright saber light.
He clenched his left fist, his knuckles cracking. Pale blue true qi enveloped it, faint phantoms of surging tides emerging as he smashed a punch into the side of the saber with the resolve to press forward even if jade and stone alike were shattered.
At the same time, the Azure Cloud Sword in his right hand became a streak of blue lightning, sweeping backward at an impossible angle. Sword qi condensed into a thread and stabbed straight toward Guan Dian's throat.
Bang!
Fist and saber collided violently with a deafening clang of metal.
Tong Shanxiong felt an immense, surging force pour endlessly through his blade like towering waves pounding the shore. That single punch knocked his ponderous saber strike off course.
Using the recoil and his own momentum, He An crashed into Tong Shanxiong's chest like a cannonball.
"Aaargh!"
Caught off guard, Tong Shanxiong felt as though a massive hammer had slammed into his chest. His protective true qi collapsed instantly, and his burly body flew backward off the ground, blood spraying from his mouth. With a crash, he smashed into the wall beside the street once again, sending bricks and stones cascading down.
He An's blood churned, and a metallic sweetness rose in his throat, but he paid it no heed. The Azure Tide Great Dao Scripture, circulating at full power within him, displayed astonishing might, sweeping away the pressure of the surrounding heaven and earth primordial energy.
Cold light flashed like lightning in his eyes as he instantly locked onto Qu Guangling, whose formation had begun to fluctuate. He pressed his left index and middle fingers together, and a point of utterly