Nine Swords of Dugu: Arrow Breaking Style, Tang Hao's Astonishment! (Please Vote!)

Holy Soul Village, back mountain, halfway up the slope.

A gentle breeze swept through, sending fallen leaves fluttering.

On a patch of grass stood several towering trees. Beside them, Lin Ye held a longsword and slowly lowered it, his gaze sharp as lightning as he fixed it on Tang San.

Tang San's eyes glimmered with purple light as he slowly raised the bracer on his right wrist.

"Lin Ye, be careful! My Sleeve Arrow fires a sharp steel needle. It can pierce wood as thick as three fingers, and it makes almost no sound, making it hard to detect. You must be extremely careful!"

Looking at Lin Ye, Tang San raised his bracer and spoke in a deep voice.

Although he told Lin Ye to be careful, Tang San did not believe Lin Ye could block his Sleeve Arrow.

That was right. In terms of strength, Tang San admitted that he was no match for Lin Ye! But as a disciple of the Tang Sect, Tang San knew his sect's Hidden Weapons better than anyone.

The key word in Hidden Weapon was hidden.

Hidden Weapons were usually extremely small, convenient to carry, and when launched, they made almost no sound while moving at astonishing speed.

Without preparation, even experts could be caught off guard.

And although Lin Ye was powerful, Tang San did not consider him an expert yet.

Though he had mentioned Hidden Weapons, this world had no such things. Even if he said the words, Lin Ye would not know what a Hidden Weapon actually was.

In that sense, Lin Ye was just as unprepared.

Although Lin Ye had a longsword, blocking a Hidden Weapon with one was something only a very small number of swordsmanship masters could accomplish.

Such masters had usually immersed themselves in the way of the sword for years, even decades, until swordsmanship had become instinct.

But Tang San had watched Lin Ye's sword being forged. At most, Lin Ye had only practiced swordsmanship for a little over two months. There was no way he could have reached the realm of those swordsmanship masters, able to locate an attack by sound and move his sword at will.

Therefore, in Tang San's eyes, it was nearly impossible for Lin Ye to stop his Hidden Weapon with a sword.

Believing that he had figured out Lin Ye's level of swordsmanship, Tang San was brimming with confidence.

"I know. Come on!"

Lin Ye gripped his longsword, staring intently at Tang San as he spoke slowly.

"Alright!"

Tang San shouted in response and immediately raised the Sleeve Arrow. The Purple Demon Eye in his eyes was pushed to its limit as he locked onto the hem of Lin Ye's upper garment.

Since he believed Lin Ye had no way to block his Sleeve Arrow, Tang San naturally had no intention of deliberately hurting him in this spar.

And the reason he aimed at the hem of Lin Ye's upper garment was because clothing covered a large area.

As long as Lin Ye did not run around, the Sleeve Arrow could not hit anywhere else.

After taking aim, Tang San moved his right hand and triggered the Sleeve Arrow's firing mechanism.

Whoosh! Accompanied by the turning of its mechanism, amid an almost inaudible whistle through the air, a steel needle shot explosively from the Sleeve Arrow's launch port toward Lin Ye.

The Sleeve Arrow's steel needle was exceptionally thin, nearly no thicker than a sewing needle. It was one finger-length long, with a twisted, barbed tip.

If it struck someone, pulling it out definitely would not feel good!

"It's here!"

As the steel needle fired by the Sleeve Arrow tore through the air, Lin Ye, who had long practiced according to the methods recorded in the Nine Swords of Dugu and trained his eyesight, instantly spotted the streak of silver light flying toward him. A sharp gleam flashed through his eyes.

The steel needle flew incredibly fast, reaching Lin Ye in the blink of an eye.

As Tang San saw it, for a swordsman whose swordsmanship had not reached the realm of locating attacks by sound and moving the sword at will, blocking a Hidden Weapon was indeed extremely difficult.

Lin Ye had not reached that realm, so in theory, he should have been unable to block Tang San's Hidden Weapon.

But... that applied only under ordinary circumstances! Ordinary swordsmen might be like that, but Lin Ye was no ordinary swordsman. What he cultivated was the Nine Swords of Dugu.

And one of the Nine Swords of Dugu's nine great sword styles, the Arrow Breaking Style, was specifically designed to counter weapons like Hidden Weapons.

Over the past two months, Lin Ye had learned the Arrow Breaking Style.

Though he had not fully mastered it, he could already use it proficiently.

With the Arrow Breaking Style of the Nine Swords of Dugu, even if Lin Ye had not reached the realm of locating attacks by sound and moving the sword at will, he could still block Hidden Weapons! Nine Swords of Dugu, Arrow Breaking Style!

Just as the steel needle was about to reach him, Lin Ye gave a low shout in his heart and finally unleashed the Arrow Breaking Style of the Nine Swords of Dugu.

In an instant, Lin Ye swung his right hand. A flash of sword light streaked out as the longsword suddenly slashed along a strange trajectory. The sword light flickered and shifted like waves in the sea, endlessly flowing and changing, yet also like an antelope hanging its horns, leaving no trace to follow.

In only an instant, it struck the steel needle fired from the Sleeve Arrow in an inexplicable posture.

Clang!

With a crisp ring of metal striking metal, the sharp steel needle's trajectory was unexpectedly knocked aside by Lin Ye's sword. With a whoosh, it shot into the ground, the finger-length needle nearly instantly sinking completely into the grass.

"This... how is that possible!!!"

Seeing what had just happened, Tang San's mouth fell open, his heart filled with shock.

How could this be? His Sleeve Arrow had actually been blocked by Lin Ye's sword! But hadn't Lin Ye only started learning swordsmanship a little over a month ago? Could he have entered the realm of top-tier swordsmen in less than two months? That was monstrous, wasn't it?!

His duel with Lin Ye ended in defeat.

Carrying a heart full of complicated emotions, Tang San made his way down the back mountain and returned home.

At home, his father Tang Hao was already awake and sitting by the table.

When he saw Tang San return, Tang Hao, who had been waiting in the living room for quite some time, frowned and asked.

"Why are you back so late today?"

"Lin Ye and I agreed to spar on the back mountain today, so I came back a little late."

Tang San lowered his head and answered.

"So, who won?"

Hearing Tang San's words, Tang Hao poured himself a bowl of wine and asked casually.

"I lost. I couldn't beat him at all..."

A trace of bitterness appeared at the corner of Tang San's mouth. He clenched his fists, only to loosen them helplessly again.

"Heh."

Tang Hao tugged at the corner of his mouth and raised the bowl in his hand to take a sip of wine. "Dad, aren't you surprised? Did you just think I was bound to lose?"

Seeing Tang Hao's calm expression, Tang San could not help asking.

"Mm."

Tang Hao nodded indifferently.

He was not surprised in the slightest. Ever since Lin Ye had comprehended the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer before him, Tang Hao had gained a clear understanding of Lin Ye's monstrous talent.

And when Lin Ye had brought over wild boar meat a month ago, Tang Hao had carefully examined it. With his experience, he could tell at a glance that it had come from a gigantic wild boar over three meters long! From the sword wounds on the meat, Tang Hao had also deduced that when Lin Ye hunted this boar, he had used his sword to kill it in a single strike from top to bottom! To kill such a fierce, three-meter-long wild boar so easily and even bring it back...

This Lin Ye's strength was rather terrifying. Based on Tang Hao's understanding of his own child, Tang San was definitely nowhere near his match.

It would have been strange if he had won!