That scene left Mu Yun staring dumbfounded.
What stunned her was not the battle between Xiao Bai and Lan Daozi, but the clothes she had painstakingly woven...
They had torn on the very first day!
For these two garments, she had pulled countless strings to gather innumerable rare materials, spent several days and nights on them, even postponing secret missions, before personally weaving these peak creations.
And they had been slashed to ruin by a single sword strike...
Mu Yun's heart ached at the sight, yet she could not say anything.
She understood that even if she used Forbidden Demonic Power, she could not guarantee victory over Lan Daozi.
She had heard the Onmyoji say that this Sword Fanatic alone could challenge all the elders and disciples of Hundred Herbs Peak.
Though the Onmyoji did not know her and Jade Gourd's true identities, that still spoke volumes of Lan Daozi's strength.
After all, growing herbs and refining pills did not require especially powerful cultivators, and Hundred Herbs Peak had never produced a Nascent Soul expert.
A sect's sword wielder was the vanguard in Slaying Demons and Exterminating Devils, dedicated to challenging the strongest Combat Power!
Lan Daozi's swordsmanship had reached divine heights. His Combat Power was second only to that of his master, Wei Shanjun, placing him second on Sword Wielding Peak.
Across the entire sect, Lan Daozi could rank among the top ten in Combat Power. Among the younger generation, none could surpass him.
Even so, in a sword duel at equal cultivation, Mu Yun inexplicably felt that Xiao Bai might not lose to Lan Daozi...
Where had this mysterious confidence come from?
She found it strange.
Then she looked at Jade Gourd... This Demoness had actually lifted a Celadon Teacup, utterly wearing the air of someone watching a show.
As expected of a heartless fox. You really were something!
Wasn't he your man?
For some reason, an unprovoked anger rose within Mu Yun.
Her thoughts were tightly seized by the battle on the arena, and she completely forgot that Xiao Bai had once run her through the heart with a sword.
The gale born from colliding magma and frost continued to ravage the arena.
Xiao Bai's brain crashed for an instant.
It had to be said that although Lan Daozi was small and his spiritual pressure was restricted, the Great Devil King's oppressive presence was as solid and immovable as Mount Tai.
Recovering his senses, Xiao Bai seized the chance to counterattack.
Close combat was his strength.
Lan Daozi's thrust had missed, and Xiao Bai would not give him the chance to swing a second sword.
Of course, at this distance, Xiao Bai himself could not swing his sword either.
So he raised his left arm and caught Lan Daozi's blade with his bare hand.
To his complete surprise, the instant his hand touched the blade—
Crack!
The sword shattered.
Xiao Bai was dumbfounded. Was his grip really that strong?
Could a Qi Refining grip crush a sword?
At this rate, he truly could not use his hand as a wife anymore.
In that instant of hesitation, Lan Daozi slashed horizontally with another sword!
Where had this guy gotten another sword?
Xiao Bai leapt up and stepped onto the Sword Body.
Lan Daozi said:
"Fine movement technique!"
Then Xiao Bai stomped down—crack, and the sword shattered again!
What kind of trash swords were these?
Lan Daozi flipped upright, raised another sword, and chopped down from above.
Xiao Bai's feet had not even landed yet.
That posture made evasion impossible. He could only raise two fingers and fiercely pinch the blade.
Following the force of the descending sword, Xiao Bai's feet actually shattered every bluestone slab within the arena.
Outside the arena, Master Chun Xiao firmly planted his feet on the bluestone pavement, which did not budge in the slightest.
For an instant, Xiao Bai felt a trace of resonant power spread through his entire body.
Once again, as his two fingers pinched the blade—
Crack!
The sword shattered again.
"Fine strength!"
Lan Daozi flipped away, opening the distance as he stood atop the jagged tips of broken stone.
Xiao Bai felt like he was being toyed with.
But this was only possible because he possessed max-level swordsmanship and martial arts. Otherwise, any of Lan Daozi's previous moves would have been enough to defeat him.
It felt completely different from when he had fought Mu Yun and the One-Eyed Octopus.
Even with his spiritual pressure sealed and no advantage in absolute power, Lan Daozi was still so at ease against Xiao Bai's max-level swordsmanship and martial arts.
No patterns, no chained moves—there was no way to know where his next sword would come from.
Xiao Bai could only meet him in frantic battle. Still shaken, he forcibly steadied his mind and asked:
"Where is your sword?"
Wrapped in Sword Qi, hidden fragments of iron condensed into a Sword Body in Lan Daozi's hand.
"Wherever this disciple's hand is, there is his sword."
Only then did Xiao Bai realize—Lan Daozi's sword had been broken from the start!
Carried by Sword Qi, the broken sword lacked force, but it moved faster than a person.
Xiao Bai knew he could not defend against the broken sword.
If this had been a fight to the death, with Spirit Recovery Pills automatically feeding him medicine, he would not need to care about this kind of swordsmanship at all.
But now, they were merely deciding victory and defeat.
The broken sword excelled at probing but was poor at killing. Yet if used properly, it could easily force Xiao Bai's body out of bounds, or make him lose his balance and fall flat on the ground.
Since he could not defend, he could only attack!
With that in mind, Xiao Bai stepped forward quickly and took the initiative, swinging his sword to attack.
If he used the Butcher's Sword Technique, it would be easy for his moves to be dismantled.
Since his opponent was deliberately dismantling the Butcher's Sword Technique, Xiao Bai simply slashed around like mad, trying to hack the old master to death with a chaotic barrage of swords!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
The disorderly sword shadows slashed even the raging wind into confusion, leaving it unsure which way to blow.
The facts proved that as long as your movement technique was fast enough, your strength great enough, and your blade sharp enough, you really could reach Xing Yusen's realm: if your sword had no patterns, how could your opponent break it? There was no way to break it.
So-called Sword Dao was merely something one needed to consider when one's strength, speed, or sword had flaws.
If you were a six-sided warrior, then slashing around like mad was the fiercest style of all!
Especially Xiao Bai, who had mixed the essence of the Butcher's Sword Technique and Xiahou Movement Technique into his wild slashing, making it seem particularly bizarre.
And just like that, Lan Daozi was driven back step by step beneath Xiao Bai's barrage of random sword swings.
Suddenly—
A cold glint flashed!
Xiao Bai launched a serious sword strike from an oblique angle, shooting straight for Lan Daozi's neck.
Lan Daozi abruptly stopped, raised his hand sharply, and pointed his fingertips upward to brace the blade.
Sword Qi burst from his fingertips and transformed into binding force, instantly covering the Sword Body.
The sword tip froze an inch before his Adam's apple, unable to advance another fraction.
Xiao Bai was dumbfounded.
A proper move was actually worse than slashing around like mad!
It was precisely that serious strike amid his chaos that had given Lan Daozi an opening.
His sword could no longer move...
Lan Daozi sighed, suddenly feeling somewhat regretful.
In those few moments just now, he had clearly seen the profound meaning of Balanced Sword Dao in Xiao Bai's eyes.
In battles where strength differed greatly, only the stronger party had the leisure to pursue neatness, sharpness, or romanticism—to unleash beautiful moves and win a hall full of applause.
If it were a truly evenly matched battle, where both sides differed by only a hair, then to kill the enemy through pragmatism, the scene would certainly be very ugly. Not a single complete sequence of moves would be visible.
To outsiders, it would look like two rookies pecking at each other.
To experts... it was a meat grinder.
Swordsmanship was the art of killing. Being able to kill was what made it most practical.
Practicality was the highest profound meaning of Sword Dao!
Only in an evenly matched battle could one see this kind of profound meaning!
Unfortunately, the light in Martial Uncle Xiao's eyes had completely faded with that sneak attack of a sword strike.
Because he had wanted to deliver a beautiful finishing move.
Lan Daozi had originally wanted to maintain the state of not winning for a little longer.
But Martial Uncle Xiao was too strong. He could not maintain a stalemate with him and could only win quickly.
The last time he had encountered someone in a sword duel whom he could not stalemate against had been over twenty years ago.
That time, he had been swiftly defeated.
Now, seeing the shadow of that woman in Martial Uncle Xiao, he could not help but sigh at life's twists and turns.
In swordsmanship alone, he even felt that Martial Uncle Xiao was slightly stronger.
Unfortunately, Martial Uncle Xiao's cultivation limited him. His divine sense and battle experience were both lacking, and that was why he had lost.
"Martial Uncle... you almost defeated me."
Lan Daozi shook his head and sighed.
Those words were not boasting, but the highest tribute he could offer a Qi Refining Realm cultivator.
He truly meant it.
However.
Xiao Bai saw the shadow of Jordan showing off in those words.
As an elder-level figure, Xiao Bai could not tolerate being flaunted at to his face by a junior!
Xiao Bai felt that what Lan Daozi meant by saying he had almost won was—
The advantage was his!
In truth, though Xiao Bai appeared to have lost control over his dharma sword, he had closed the distance between himself and Lan Daozi.
So much so that, with his impressive reach, he could instantly extend his left hand.
Thus!
The moment Lan Daozi finished speaking, Xiao Bai suddenly struck.
With one hand, he seized Lan Daozi by the throat and actually lifted his small body into the air.
With the slightest exertion, he could send Lan Daozi's head tumbling to the ground.
Lan Daozi's face changed in shock. Before he could react, he nearly raised his spiritual pressure on instinct...
Those who plan ahead succeed; those who fail to plan ahead perish.
Last night, in the Pine Forest at the foot of Hundred Herbs Peak, Xiao Bai had already made preparations on two fronts.
He would seize both swordsmanship and martial arts, and make both strong.
It did not matter if he lost with the sword. As long as he could win barehanded, that was enough!
After all, he was not a professional sword cultivator, and this match was not solely about swordsmanship. He had no psychological burden.
A true strong person did not belittle others, but helped them stand higher.
Xiao Bai clutched Lan Daozi's throat tightly, granting him the qualification to look him in the eye, and calmly said:
"When you said I was just a little short of defeating you... did you mean I was short one head?"
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