swordsmanship

On the thirteenth day of the seventh month in the three hundred and seventy-sixth year of the Zhou Dynasty, at noon, the city of Yanjing was bustling with excitement. The martial arts arena was packed to the brim, yet when Jiang Yun arrived, everyone instinctively made way for him.

"Look, Lord Xiao has arrived. Quick, look!"

Xiao Dong almost followed immediately after Jiang Yun. The two locked eyes as soon as they saw each other. Xiao Dong maintained his expressionless and cold demeanor, while Jiang Yun smiled and nodded.

Soon, the two stood facing each other on the stage.

"I have to admit, your swordsmanship is impressive, but it means nothing in the face of absolute strength!" Xiao Dong sneered, curling his lips with contempt. His aura radiated, making it clear what he meant by his words.

"At the third level of Yuanwu, after four years, Xiao Dong has undoubtedly surpassed his peers by a great margin. He has reached the third level of Yuanwu. This time, it seems Li Tao doesn't stand a chance."

"Yes, have you noticed? Li Tao's actual strength doesn't seem very high. We can't sense any leakage of his aura, so it's hard to determine his realm. But judging from his performance, he definitely hasn't reached the Yuanwu realm."

"There's another possibility. His mastery of aura manipulation may have reached an extraordinary level, using minimal amounts for each move. Based on that, I think he still has a chance to win."

In reality, Jiang Yun's physical body was only at the sixth level of the Jiuli Divine Technique, equivalent to the eighth level of Body Martial Arts. As for his internal cultivation, it was at most equivalent to the eighth level of Qi Martial Arts.

Despite this, Jiang Yun's internal energy had an extraordinary effect in resisting such pressure. He continued to smile calmly in the face of Xiao Dong's rising aura, now reaching the third level of Yuanwu.

"Unfortunately, you use a sword."

Jiang Yun's seemingly random statement made Xiao Dong furrow his brows, unsure of its meaning. However, after making a move, Xiao Dong seemed to understand what Jiang Yun meant by those words.

"Hmph!"

Xiao Dong snorted coldly. With the activation of his aura, his sword emitted a splendid green light and swiftly approached Jiang Yun.

In contrast to Xiao Dong's dazzling attack, Jiang Yun's sword strike seemed ordinary. He simply thrust his sword forward at an angle. Yet, this seemingly ordinary thrust caused Xiao Dong's attack to retreat halfway.

Only those who personally faced Jiang Yun's sword could feel the pressure within it. It seemed that Jiang Yun had already calculated all the subsequent changes in Xiao Dong's swordsmanship. That one sword strike was Xiao Dong's vulnerability. If he didn't withdraw his attack midway, he would have collided with Jiang Yun's sword.

Cold sweat poured down Xiao Dong's face, and he dared not act rashly. He finally understood the meaning behind Jiang Yun's "Unfortunately, you use a sword." All of his sword techniques had been exposed. How could he continue to fight?

The two opponents faced each other on the stage for about the duration of a joss stick, while chaos ensued among the spectators.

"What's going on? Why aren't they attacking?"

"You don't understand. In a duel between experts, victory or defeat is often determined in a single move. They must be searching for each other's weaknesses."

Just then, it was Jiang Yun who made the first move. His sword drew a peculiar arc and slashed diagonally towards Xiao Dong.

Xiao Dong sneered. He was actually afraid that Jiang Yun wouldn't make a move. If Jiang Yun didn't attack, he wouldn't be able to find his weakness. Once Jiang Yun made a move, with his third level of Yuanwu's spiritual cultivation, he would be unstoppable against Jiang Yun.

At this moment, seeing Jiang Yun's sword strike, Xiao Dong felt a glimmer of joy. Instead of retreating, he advanced, his long sword shining brightly under the activation of his aura, viciously hacking towards Jiang Yun's sword.

Of course, Jiang Yun's sword strike was not that simple. Just as Xiao Dong's sword was about to hit his own, Jiang Yun quickly changed his move, appearing somewhat awkward.

Xiao Dong's eyes lit up. He saw through Jiang Yun's awkwardness, and how could he let go of such a good opportunity? Instantly switching from defense to offense, his sword radiated brilliance, covering the entire martial arts arena in a sea of green light.

"What's going on? Why is Li Tao falling behind when he makes a move?"

Someone below the stage couldn't understand and blurted out.

"I don't think it's that simple. Maybe he has other follow-up moves. After all, I believe someone who can execute yesterday's breathtaking sword technique wouldn't lose so easily."

"I think it's possible that he was too anxious. After all, he's facing Xiao Dong, who is at the third level of Yuanwu. It's not impossible to become nervous. If things continue like this, he won't be able to use that one sword."

"Perhaps."

The discussions below the stage abruptly ceased because, at this moment, Jiang Yun's ancient sword was knocked out of his hand under Xiao Dong's increasingly fierce attacks.

A swordsman without a sword became like a fish on a chopping board.

Xiao Dong laughed. Jiang Yun had no sword in his hand now. What could he use to block Xiao Dong's next strike? Activating his aura, Xiao Dong converged all the sword energy at the tip of his sword, pointing it directly at Jiang Yun.

Jiang Yun could only retreat, swiftly moving backward. But how far could he retreat? After all, the martial arts arena was only so big.

Xiao Dong could already imagine himself after this one sword strike, and that so-called "sword god" was nothing at all. Under his satisfaction, Xiao Dong glanced at the people below the stage from the corner of his eye.

Something's not right?

Why do the people below have such strange expressions, as if they've seen something unimaginable? Didn't they expect me, Li Tao, to be victorious? Hmph, a bunch of foolish people. Can't they see something so obvious?

Why is he also smiling?

Amidst his confusion, Xiao Dong turned his head and saw a hint of a smile at the corner of Jiang Yun's mouth. Xiao Dong couldn't comprehend why he was smiling.

With the tip of his sword still two steps away from Jiang Yun's body, Xiao Dong suppressed his emotions and fully activated his aura, wanting to quickly end this match.

Everyone in the audience stared at Xiao Dong's back. A simple and unadorned ancient sword pierced towards Xiao Dong's back at an even faster speed. It was the same ancient sword that Jiang Yun had wielded.

Yesterday's breathtaking sword technique could still be attributed to the fusion of man and sword. But today, the sword had already left his hand, and yet Jiang Yun could still control it. Could it be that he was an expert in Earth Martial Arts?

However, judging by Jiang Yun's performance, everyone knew that he was definitely not an expert in Earth Martial Arts.

Could it be Jiang Yun's swordsmanship?

But what kind of swordsmanship could control a sword that had left the hand? It was too terrifying.

Xiao Dong didn't have eyes on his back, so naturally, he couldn't see what was happening behind him. At this moment, he could only focus his attention on the distance between the tip of his sword and Jiang Yun.

Three steps, two steps, one step.

When the tip of Xiao Dong's sword was only one step away from Jiang Yun's chest, it could no longer advance a hair's breadth. All the sword energy dissipated into the air. Xiao Dong understood the meaning behind the smile on Jiang Yun's face. Looking at the ancient sword that had pierced through his chest, Xiao Dong unwillingly asked, "How did you do it?"

"Sword Riding Art." Jiang Yun bypassed the sword that was pointed at his throat and walked behind Xiao Dong, pulling out the ancient sword and departing.

"Thud!"

Xiao Dong fell to the ground with wide eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing. Although Jiang Yun's sword didn't take his life, it took away all of his pride. Perhaps he would never have the courage to wield a sword again.

"Sword God!"

The silence in the martial arts arena was broken by this exclamation, followed by waves of cheers.