Chapter 142: Completely Unscathed?!
With a clang, the iron sword struck, carrying immense power.
Chu River didn't give Ji You much time to think, instantly pressing in with an aerial assault.
The iron sword, gleaming with cold light, was imbued with violent might, and it also reflected Young Master Chu's raging, murderous eyes.
Exhilarating!
Thrilling!
The Heavenly Book did not respond to him.
He had just broken through, only to be immediately suppressed.
In the Sword Forest, under everyone's gaze, his sword was taken, yet he dared not speak.
At this moment, countless humiliating scenes flashed before Young Master Chu's eyes. His killing intent had solidified to its Peak, roaring and surging!
The stone slabs on the Baiyu Platform shattered inch by inch beneath their feet, and the surging air currents, accompanied by whistling winds, swept across the field. In an instant, iron weapons clashed, and sparks flew, flashing with light.
Withdrawing his sword, Chu River's sword, imbued with the Huantian Technique, swept horizontally again with fierce Qi, saying,
"What's so fun about swords? They're just fancy tricks!"
"Ji You, today you'll be smashed to death by my Huantian Qi!"
With a roar, Young Master Chu's sword pressured Ji You, and at the same time, his fist, imbued with the technique, smashed down fiercely, directly striking Ji You's left shoulder.
The difference between a pure Dao Cultivator and a Sword Cultivator is that a sword is merely a tool for casting spells, but it is not the only means for the Huantian Technique to unleash its power.
Because fists and feet can also carry endless power.
Bang, bang, bang! The sound of fists striking rang out repeatedly amidst the clashing sword light.
Ji You dodged whenever he could, and if he couldn't, he would still draw his sword to probe the range and direction of the technique's Qi, his face expressionless as he silently cursed.
As fist winds and sword light intertwined, the expressions of the onlookers around the viewing platform varied, some surprised, others worried.
"How many punches?"
"Four and a half punches. One of them was deflected by Ji You's movement technique, taking the force off his shoulder."
"Four and a half punches—"
A Disciple looked back at the ancient tree behind them, where Du Zhu's blade had been embedded, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
That was a technique-infused punch that could directly shatter Du Zhu's treasured blade, yet Ji You had endured four and a half of them.
"Ji You is truly resilient—"
"No matter how resilient he is, if he can't retaliate, he's bound to lose. This Huantian Technique is too strong; it seems to contain the power of the Law of Thunder. Every punch unleashes a burst of lightning."
"Why doesn't Ji You use all seven swords? Is he willing to take punches just to hide his strength? What does this mean?!"
Ji You was most famous for his multiple swords. In the streets of Shengjing and within the ruins, his swordsmanship was astonishing. So many Disciples couldn't understand why Ji You didn't directly use multiple swords to counter his opponent.
However, only those in the Tong Xuan Realm and above, such as Ban Yangshu, Wen Zhengxin, Pei Ruyi, He Lingxiu, and others, remained silent upon hearing this.
It wasn't hiding his strength; it was meaningless.
Because in these few clashes, they had observed closely and already felt the technique's influence on the sword.
Wielding a sword in battle already made it difficult for the sword to move as one wished, so using sword control, a more unstable attack method, would be even more pointless.
If this technique wasn't broken, almost all of Ji You's methods would be completely suppressed.
It seems that when Chu River returned home to receive the Legacy, he wasn't just getting stronger through some unknown means; he also considered how to suppress Junior Brother Ji's advantages.
This Huantian Technique naturally suppresses Sword Cultivators.
This is the foundation of a Worldly Family.
The Dao is vast and formless. A complete system of techniques almost requires generations of continuous Legacy and exploration to mature.
It is already extremely difficult for an ordinary Cultivator to learn a mature set of techniques.
Who else could be like the Chu Family, able to find a set of techniques specifically designed to counter Sword Cultivators?
"Ji You, look closely."
"Open your eyes and see clearly, this sword is specifically for killing you!"
Amidst the discussions, Chu River, surging with Qi, suddenly erupted, his sword once again pressing down like a fierce wolf.
Looking at the wildly surging Qi of the technique, a golden light suddenly flashed in Ji You's eyes.
Then he lowered his body and drew his sword, rushing into the whistling air currents. The sword's edge suddenly shifted, using the upward momentum to perform a circular slash, and with a tearing sound,
Chu River's brocade robe was pierced by a single sword, a long, slanted opening extending from his waist to his chest.
Amidst the sword's hum, boiling Sword Intent gave rise to powerful Sword Qi. Chu River's eyes suddenly narrowed, and with a burst of Qi, he retreated with his sword.
At this moment, Ji You swung his sword back, tilting his head slightly. The air currents before his eyes began to show faint traces within his pupils.
And the many Disciples below the platform couldn't help but gape, a strange look flashing in their eyes.
Because since their first exchange, Ji You's sword had been very unfluent, seeming to be constantly obstructed, until now, when he finally showed everyone a glimpse of his rumored prowess.
"Ji You is borrowing momentum—"
"Borrowing momentum?"
He Lingxiu stood with her hands behind her back, nodding gently.
She had fought Yan Shujing on Lingjian Mountain using the technique of accompanying all methods, and in fact, that battle had many similarities to today's confrontation.
However, the Huantian Technique's suppression of Sword Cultivators seemed even more pronounced, causing Ji You's sword movements to be unfluent.
But at that very moment, Ji You used the momentum of the deflection to directly change his sword move, borrowing the force to change from a diagonal chop to a circular slash, which caught Chu River off guard.
"He can see through the technique's trajectory?"
At this moment, on the Peak of Ni Mountain, a hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of Chang Sheng Dian Master Chai Hu.
All techniques are formless, existing within the Law of Heaven and Earth, invisible to the naked eye, and can only be perceived by Divine Thought.
But what they all hadn't expected was that Ji You had actually found an opening from which he could borrow momentum.
"It must be because of his Clear Sword Heart."
Zuoqiuyang couldn't help but say, "When he broke through the Sword Forest on Lingjian Mountain, some said he possessed a Clear Sword Heart. He might not be able to see through Chu River's technique, but he can use his Clear Sword Heart to capture the optimal direction for his sword strikes."
Lu Fengchuan couldn't help but chuckle, "It seems what those outside Sect wanderers said is true. He really is a natural-born Lingjian Mountain Disciple."
"But, what a pity—"
The word "pity" is not a good word. In a head-to-head battle, these two words could very well foretell one side's defeat.
Because even with a Clear Sword Heart, Ji You still took many punches, while Chu River's clothes were merely damaged.
This was not a good trend.
Judging by the Qi that Chu River used to shatter that dark iron blade earlier, Ji You was likely already seriously injured. If he took a few more punches, he would probably lose.
On the viewing platform, the heads of the Chu Family, Bai Family, and Du Family all looked indifferent.
They seemed to have long known that Chu River would gain the upper hand and overwhelm all Outer Courtyard Disciples to enter the Inner Courtyard.
Just then, a gasp of surprise came from the Wudao Field.
The next instant, Chu River, his clothes torn, soared into the air, purple-red Qi swirling around him as he ascended.
All techniques followed the spiritual sword, beginning to roar madly.
He had deliberately intended to humiliate and defeat Ji You earlier.
Those punches landed on his shoulder, back, and waist, all to see his disheveled expression, his incredulous look, and even to see fear slowly appear in Ji You's eyes.
But even though Ji You was indeed severely struck several times by his heavy Huantian Technique, Chu River found that he remained expressionless.
It was this calm demeanor, despite being injured, that infuriated him beyond measure!
And that sudden, unexpected sword strike just now pushed his vexation to the extreme.
Since he couldn't see the expression he desired, Chu River no longer wanted to hold back, deciding he wanted to see the final scene of Ji You's guts spilling out, his corpse lying on the spot.
With a roar, the Huantian Technique pressed down from the sky, purple-red Qi rising like a tsunami, causing everyone to widen their eyes.
The next instant, the Qi struck down fiercely, and Ji You on the Baiyu Platform directly raised his sword and blocked horizontally!
Clang!
Ji You's sword burst forth with endless spiritual light at this moment, almost blocking eighty percent of the terrifying Qi from the Huantian Technique, but there was still scattered Qi that swept down.
And so, with a tearing sound, his immortal robe was directly ripped apart.
Everyone in the field—Worldly Family guests, Disciples from other Sects, imperial relatives, and Inner Courtyard direct Disciples—all stared at Ji You. Their initial gasps were caught in their throats, replaced by a deathly silence.
Ji You held his sword with one hand, torn strips of cloth hanging diagonally from his waist, his brow only slightly furrowed.
And his left shoulder, back, chest, and waist showed absolutely no signs of damage. His physique was sharply defined yet smooth as jade, with spiritual light faintly visible and a burning aura emanating from his body.
It wasn't until someone observed closely with Divine Thought that they discovered the previously struck areas had only slight red marks.
"This..."
"How could this be?"
"I clearly saw him take several punches, why—why is he completely unscathed?"
Above the silent Wudao Field, there was first the frantic sound of paper and pens behind the imperial relatives, as if the Lingjian Mountain Disciple wanted to stab his pen through the paper.
This was followed by a wave of confused clamor throughout the field.
They had clearly witnessed Chu River use less than fifty percent of his Qi to shatter Du Zhu's iron blade, and some were even almost injured by the flying fragments of the blade.
And the Huantian Qi Chu River used against Ji You was almost twice that used against Du Zhu, so everyone had judged that Ji You must already be covered in wounds.
But it wasn't until this body, like profound jade, appeared that the truth was revealed.
At this moment, even the indifferent Worldly Family heads of the Bai Family and Du Family couldn't help but widen their eyes, leaning forward from the high platform, as if they had never imagined such a thing would happen.
In their view, this rural private Cultivator, whose name they barely remembered, was just an interlude.
An interlude not worth caring about.
No matter how famous he was, he was merely in the Tong Xuan Realm of this Qingyun World.
Just like a pebble encountered by a moving carriage, you wouldn't pick up each one; you'd just think of rolling over it.
But none of them had ever imagined that this pebble would be sharper and larger than they had imagined.
"Indeed—"
He Lingxiu couldn't help but widen her eyes, her gaze lingering on his chest, recalling the hot Qi that had rushed at her back then.
On her way to Lingjian Mountain to seek the Dao, she had always paid attention to Ji You, feeling that he seemed to be Cultivating his Physical Body.
The Inner Courtyard Autumn Tournament now confirmed her thoughts.
But even with psychological preparation, she still found it hard to believe that there could be such a powerful Physical Body in this world.
And Chu River had the same thought.
He had fallen into his first silence since stepping onto the stage, and the "incredulity" he had not seen in Ji You's eyes slowly appeared in his own.