Xia Yu let out a low shout and abruptly thrust the Sin Dragon Spear forward.
A glint of cold steel surged like rushing thunder, instantly growing larger in An Qing's eyes.
Heaven-Splitting Three Forms: Heaven-Breaking!
An Qing raised her sword, holding it horizontally before her.
The spear was too fast. That was all she could do.
Clang!
Looking at the spear tip that had stopped at her throat, An Qing's expression darkened slightly before returning to normal.
"My spear is too powerful. Winning with it wouldn't be fair. I'll use another one."
As he spoke, Xia Yu put away the Sin Dragon Spear and took an ordinary spear out of his Heaven and Earth Ring.
He slowly retreated fifty feet.
"Here I come!"
Xia Yu let out a low shout and suddenly drove his feet against the ground.
Bang!
Having activated three small worlds, he possessed three streams of ancestral dragon power, each granting him a hundred thousand jin of strength.
The force of that step punched a huge hole in the ground.
In an instant, the spear tip reached An Qing.
This time, An Qing was ready. She had also switched to an ordinary sword and struck as swiftly as lightning.
Sword light flickered and flared!
Boom...
A tremendous explosion rang out.
An Qing retreated repeatedly, while Xia Yu remained rooted to the spot.
The spear and sword shattered into fragments that flew in every direction.
Their strength was too great. Ordinary swords and spears simply could not withstand it.
"Good! Take this sword strike!"
An Qing abruptly twisted as she retreated, then shot back toward him like lightning.
She raised a hand, using her fingers as a sword.
Sword Qi radiated fiercely from her slender, delicate hand, sword light flickering and flaring.
Xia Yu clenched his fist and punched!
Ancestral Dragon Fist!
Boundless, stacked twice!
Boom...
Another tremendous explosion rang out.
An Qing retreated three large steps, while Xia Yu still did not yield a single step.
A small wound on his fist was healing rapidly.
"That body of yours... it's so powerful!"
Xia Yu grinned and said, "Without a dantian, I naturally have no choice but to be a body cultivator."
An Qing raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.
Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. "At the same cultivation level, I'm no match for you. But I want to know where your limits lie."
"I'm going to unleash a sword strike with all my strength."
"An Qing, is that really necessary? We've never had any grudge or feud!"
Xia Yu froze for a moment, then hastily refused.
He did not want to reveal too many of his trump cards.
A trump card had to remain unknown to others to work wonders at a critical moment.
If someone learned all about it and devised a counter, it would cease to be a trump card.
The corners of An Qing's lips lifted slightly. "It is!"
The next moment, An Qing's aura abruptly soared into the sky.
A circle of light twenty feet across lit up beneath her feet.
She instantly rose into the air.
Streaks of sword light darted back and forth within the circle, radiating a formidable sword presence.
An Qing stood within the circle filled with sword light, her long hair flying and her skirts billowing, like a sword immortal descending to the mortal world.
"This is a sword strike with all my strength. I won't hold anything back. Be careful!"
"Take this!"
Her clear shout rang out.
The countless streaks of sword light within the circle gathered into a colossal sword over a hundred feet long and more than ten feet wide.
The colossal sword cleaved down through the air amid repeated sonic explosions, as though even space itself had been split open.
Xia Yu's expression turned grave. This was only a spar. Why was she acting as though he had murdered her father?
He sensed danger in this strike.
Extreme danger!
He knew very well that one careless move could get him killed beneath that sword.
"Boundless!"
Xia Yu roared and stamped hard against the ground, shooting into the sky.
When foes met on a narrow path, the brave prevailed!
From the day he began cultivating, he had told himself he would rather fight to his last drop of blood than retreat.
The ground behind Xia Yu abruptly exploded, leaving a pit ten feet deep.
Dirt and shattered stones shot backward like arrows.
The stones struck trees dozens of feet away, punching straight through their trunks and snapping several smaller trees outright.
Xia Yu charged straight at the colossal sword, unleashing all his ancestral dragon power and stacking Boundless three times.
Boom...
The earth shook and the mountains trembled!
Space quivered!
An invisible shock wave spread in every direction like a sharp blade.
Wherever it passed, trees were sliced clean through, their cut surfaces as smooth as mirrors.
The powerful recoil sent An Qing flying dozens of feet upward against her will.
Xia Yu plummeted and slammed hard into the ground.
He fell at least twice as fast as he had risen.
Bang!
The ground trembled.
Xia Yu lay sprawled motionlessly in the deep pit his impact had created.
Countless jets of blood spurted from his body.
His body was covered in cracks, like shattered porcelain.
Pfft!
Xia Yu spat out a mouthful of blood and struggled to open his eyes, looking up at An Qing in the sky.
"Seventh Princess, we've never had any feud or grudge. That was far too ruthless!"
As he spoke, Xia Yu slowly stood up.
The blood also stopped spurting from his body.
The ancestral dragon power within his three small worlds frantically repaired his body.
An Qing froze in midair...
She had thought that even if this blow did not take half his life, it would at least leave Xia Yu severely injured.
After all, she truly had not held back.
Although this was not her ultimate move, she was at the second level of the King Realm, while Xia Yu was only at the first level of the Spirit Origin Realm.
They were separated by two entire major realms and one minor level.
Normally, even someone at the first level of the King Realm would be severely injured, if not killed, by that sword strike.
Yet this fellow had actually swayed a little and stood right back up.
Even the medicinal pill she had prepared in advance had become useless.
Most importantly, she had also discovered that Xia Yu's body was repairing itself at tremendous speed.
This...
After a long while, An Qing murmured, "Just what kind of monster are you?"
"I'm human, a hundred percent man! Why don't you try me if you don't believe it?"
The moment Xia Yu said that, An Qing's expression darkened and her gaze turned icy.
Only then did he realize his words could be taken the wrong way.
"Well... I didn't mean what you're thinking. I meant that I'm human, not some monster! A genuine man, through and through!"
Xia Yu smiled awkwardly.
An Qing watched him coldly and said slowly, "It seems your injuries aren't that serious. Then take another sword strike from me."
"No, An Qing! Please, no more! I was wrong! I beg for mercy. I admit defeat. Is that all right?"
An Qing froze.
"As a cultivator, you're actually admitting defeat of your own accord?"
"Yes, An Qing, you're far too powerful! I admit I can't beat you! I surrender!"
Xia Yu nodded emphatically.
This was a completely meaningless battle.
"Do you want to save your sister?"
An Qing suddenly asked.
Xia Yu froze, his smile fading as he looked at her silently.
"Your sister's condition should have been suppressed by medicinal pills, but that only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. Her constitution is very unusual."
"I know how to save her."
Xia Yu gave An Qing a long, searching look. Then he abruptly bowed at a right angle and said earnestly, "Seventh Princess, please tell me. I would be eternally grateful! Should you ever need anything of me, I, Xia Yu, would never refuse, even if I had to cross mountains of blades and seas of fire!"
An Qing paused, looking at Xia Yu with clear surprise.
The bond between this sister and brother ran so deep!
She thought of her own life in the imperial family, where familial affection was so terribly faint.
The next moment, an indescribable emotion surged into her heart.
"Want to know? Defeat me first!"
Before you continue