Yang Lianting was utterly miserable. He had no idea how he had offended this fellow. Of the four people attacking together, his opponent ignored everyone else and stubbornly focused on him alone.
When that greatsword weighing over a hundred jin came slashing at him, he dared not meet it head-on, even with a divine sword in hand.
After all, the greatsword itself was not much inferior in quality to his own weapon. With its broad blade as well, he lacked the strength to cut through it, even with his divine sword.
Since he could not sever it in one strike, he naturally had to bear the force behind it, and that was a real disaster.
As a result, he fought with his head tucked in and his tail between his legs. In the end, all he could do was defend, leaving him in a sorry state.
The other three brocade-clad youths were just as frustrated. Every attack they unleashed with all their strength was blocked by the longsword in their opponent's left hand, and they found it hard to break through his sword defense.
Even when they occasionally broke through, their attacks had already spent their force. At most, they left a harmless wound on his body.
Thus, even though they had been fighting for an hour, they still had nothing to show for it.
Meanwhile, Zhao Fengxue sat upright on the raised platform, his face twitching incessantly. He could naturally tell that the left-handed swordsmanship Wang Hao was using was his own family's inherited sword art.
He also knew that Wang Hao's talent in swordsmanship was monstrous, so it was barely acceptable that he had cultivated it to a proficient level within an hour.
But that was still his family's inherited sword art!
It was even one passed down to sons but not daughters, yet that brat had learned it.
Forcing down the violent urge in his heart, Zhao Fengxue turned and glared fiercely at his son, Zhao Dachui, behind him, giving him a look that said he would deal with him later.
Since the brat had already learned Blood Wind Fast Sword, there was little point in holding him accountable. Besides, the brat was penniless now, so even if he wanted to pursue the matter, he would get nothing out of him.
All he could do now was teach his son a lesson afterward and vent his anger.
That glare from his father made Zhao Dachui's heart and liver tremble. He understood that a vicious beating afterward was unavoidable.
But it did not matter. He, Zhao Dachui, was the kind of man who would take a knife in the ribs for his brother.
At worst, he could just make the brat compensate him afterward.
Mm, afterward, I'll have the brat find me another divine sword. Then I can try my hand at two-handed swordsmanship too.
His family's Blood Wind Fast Sword could be used in conjunction with mainstream right-handed sword arts. His father was even a Grandmaster swordsman who wielded two swords with ease.
But using two different sword arts placed extremely high demands on the wielder. The first step alone, dividing one's attention between two tasks, stumped many people.
Still, none of that mattered. After so many years of training, he could barely manage to divide his attention between two tasks. He had only refrained from practicing dual-sword techniques because he had not found a suitable treasured sword.
And now his future treasured sword would come from Wang Hao.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
In the midst of the battle, Wang Hao suddenly turned the greatsword in his right hand and unleashed Sweep Away a Thousand Troops from the Ten Stances of Bloody Battle, knocking aside all the longswords attacking from Yang Lianting and the other three in one sweep. Then he stomped hard and used Lightning Straight-Line Step to retreat from the fight.
Yang Lianting and the other three had exhausted themselves considerably by now. Moreover, they had no confidence in defeating Wang Hao, so they did not pursue him. Instead, they stopped and quietly regulated their breathing.
After briefly regulating his breathing, Yang Lianting suddenly spoke. "There's no point in continuing like this. We can't kill you, and you can't hurt us. This battle should be a draw."
Though unwilling to accept it, he understood that continuing like this was pointless. They simply could not kill Wang Hao.
In just this short time, they had used up nearly half their internal force, while the fellow opposite them still looked as though nothing had happened. His stamina was astonishing.
If they dragged this out, their chances of losing were far too high, so they had no choice but to make it a draw.
The hall masters seated on the raised platform showed a slight change in expression, but said nothing.
With their discerning eyes, they could naturally see how the battle in the training ground stood. If it continued, their side was far too likely to lose. Making it a draw now was the best outcome.
"I can't hurt you, but killing you won't be hard!"
To their surprise, Wang Hao's face remained icy. He casually tossed the divine sword in his left hand toward Zhao Dachui on the raised platform and said, "Leader, this is a life-and-death battle. It won't end until someone dies. Sorry for the trouble, but please bear witness, so no one slips away at the end."
Though Blood Wind Fast Sword was powerful, it was a sword art that emphasized flexibility and speed, making it less than well suited to him. Using it briefly was fine, but it was unsuitable for a decisive battle.
Earlier, he had only used it temporarily for defense, buying time to use True Spirit Sword Intent to discern his opponents' sword arts. After this quarter-hour of fighting, he had basically understood the sword arts of the four men opposite him and seen their various flaws.
In that case, there was naturally no need to keep the divine sword in his hand. From here on, he only needed the Ten Stances of Bloody Battle to end the fight.
"No problem!"
Zhao Dachui seemed to understand something and readily agreed. But just as he reached out to catch the incoming divine sword, a withered hand snatched it away first.
"This divine sword is mine now. You can use this one from now on!"
Zhao Fengxue happily took the divine sword and examined it closely, while tossing one of his own two swords to Zhao Dachui.
"..."
Zhao Dachui stared blankly at the treasured sword in his hand, which was a grade below the divine sword. He did not know what to say, nor did he dare say anything.
There was nothing he could do. The man was his father, and more importantly, he could not beat the old fellow!
Frustrated, Zhao Dachui could only accept his fate. Holding the treasured sword that was a grade lower, he flashed to the edge of the training ground, his starry eyes coolly surveying Yang Lianting and the other three.
Though he was no match for his old man, dealing with these four weaklings was no problem at all.
At the same time, the Blood Wind Hall assassins watching from outside drew their weapons one after another, surrounding the training ground so tightly that not even water could leak through, leaving Yang Lianting and the others no chance to escape.
"What do you mean by this? Do you really want us all to perish together?"
After glancing at Zhao Dachui standing outside with his sword and the assassins surrounding them, Yang Lianting and the other three glared angrily at Wang Hao.
They believed they had already taken a step back, yet this fellow now refused to know what was good for him. How could they not be furious?
Though their chances of losing were high if they continued, they were not without the strength to fight back. If they truly fought for their lives, even if they died, they could still gravely wound Wang Hao, perhaps even cripple him.
Strictly speaking, there was no great enmity between them. There was no need to risk their lives like this; it would do none of them any good.
"Enough nonsense!"
Wang Hao could not be bothered to waste more words on these men who were about to die. He stomped hard on the ground and abruptly crossed nearly two zhang to reach a tall brocade-clad youth, thrusting his greatsword straight at him with Charge into Battle.
The tall youth was startled but did not panic. He met the attack with a sword move.
Though he considered himself no match for Wang Hao, he could still hold out for a dozen or so moves now that he was on guard. By then, his other three companions would surely come to his aid, so he had nothing to worry about.
But just then, the greatsword in Wang Hao's hand suddenly trembled, its edge shifting three inches. It deftly avoided the other man's longsword and stabbed straight toward his chest.
Pff!
The broad, heavy greatsword pierced the tall youth's heart. Without pausing, Wang Hao pulled it free and immediately used Besieged on All Sides, blocking all the longswords thrusting at him from Yang Lianting and the other two as though he had foreseen their attacks.
Then he stomped hard on the ground, withdrew from the fight, and came to the side of another, thin brocade-clad youth. He slashed out with Sweep Away a Thousand Troops.
The thin youth was horrified. Not daring to meet the blow head-on, he shifted and prepared to withdraw.
Unfortunately, Wang Hao again seemed to foresee his move. The greatsword in his hand abruptly changed course, pursuing him with Force Like Splitting Bamboo from the Ten Stances of Bloody Battle and cutting straight through him.
Clang! Clang!
After killing the thin youth, Wang Hao used Besieged on All Sides again, blocking the attacks of Yang Lianting and the other man pursuing him from behind.
"Stop holding back! Use your killing move!"
Yang Lianting's face was grim. After calling out to the brocade-clad youth beside him, he prepared to unleash his strongest killing move.
"All right!"
The youth froze for a moment, then nodded resolutely.
He too had a killing move, but it placed an enormous burden on his body. Once he used it, the meridians within him would suffer severe damage that could not possibly be repaired without several years' time.
But now that his life hung in the balance, he could no longer worry about that.
"Venomous Dragon Thrust!"
"Slaughter God Slash!"
The brocade-clad youth and Yang Lianting roared at the same time. The youth used the so-called Venomous Dragon Thrust to stab at Wang Hao, but Yang Lianting turned and attacked Zhao Dachui, who stood outside the fight. At the same time, he shouted, "Hall Master, save me! I'm the only one who can complete that mission!"
That was right. Yang Lianting had never intended to fight Wang Hao to the death, because there was little hope of success. At most, he would gravely wound him, while losing his own life.
As a man with lofty ambitions, he had no desire to die here for nothing.
To stay alive, he did not hesitate to use that mission to pressure them.
After all, the mission was of great importance, and so far, he alone met the conditions to carry it out. That was also a major bargaining chip for him.
However, if he wanted his hall master to intervene without breaking the rules, he first had to get past Zhao Dachui and cross the boundary.
Sure enough, the balding elder seated beside Zhao Fengxue-the same man who had mocked him at the beginning-had a flicker in his eyes. He prepared to rise and save Yang Lianting, who was about to cross the boundary.
But as soon as he stood, he felt a chilling murderous intent lock onto him. He turned to look, and who else could it be but Zhao Fengxue?
"Since we agreed this was a life-and-death battle, it naturally cannot end until someone dies. Only one person can survive. Hall Master Fu, you had best sit down and have some tea with me."
Zhao Fengxue held the divine sword he had snatched earlier in one hand and his other original sword in the other. He locked his Qi onto the balding elder beside him, with every appearance of a man ready to kill if the other dared move.
The balding elder's expression shifted, but in the end he reluctantly sat back down.
There was nothing he could do. His strength had originally been on par with Zhao Fengxue's, but he had tossed his own sword to Yang Lianting earlier. Now, empty-handed, he truly was no match for Zhao Fengxue.
The other hall masters had no intention of helping either. After all, almost everyone they had brought had been killed by Wang Hao, and they had already lost their right to a share of this year's dividends. They were eager for the others to fail as well!
Why would they intervene and break the rules to help him?
On the other side, in the training ground, Wang Hao did not dodge the Venomous Dragon Thrust coming swiftly from the brocade-clad youth. Instead, he chose Two Armies Facing Off, the move with the greatest explosive power from a stationary position, and swung his greatsword upward to meet it.
In a head-on clash, he feared no one!
If Yang Lianting had attacked alongside the youth with his killing move, Wang Hao would have had some apprehension. But now, with only one of them, there was little threat.
Clang!
The broad greatsword collided with the longsword, producing a muffled clash. Both men's bodies jolted; clearly, both had suffered some backlash.
Wang Hao's expression remained calm, however, while the brocade-clad youth opposite him looked despairing.
Before his opponent could do anything else, Wang Hao swung his greatsword, and a flash of sword light swept across the youth's neck.
Having dealt with that opponent, he did not pause for an instant. He used Lightning Straight-Line Step repeatedly, charging toward Yang Lianting, who had already crossed the boundary.
At that moment, Yang Lianting had actually managed to withstand Zhao Dachui's assault with the explosive power of Slaughter God Slash, blocking at least two moves.
But Zhao Dachui did not strike a third time. Instead, he flashed backward some distance in mockery, sheathing his treasured sword as he did so.
There was no longer any need for him to act!
Zhao Dachui's retreat did not delight Yang Lianting. Instead, it made him even more terrified. Without thinking, he turned and thrust his sword out.