Through a crack in the window on the second floor of a building, Wang Huang observed the situation outside, listening carefully to any abnormalities coming from the direction of the Wu Mansion. In the silence of the night, it was not difficult for a Grandmaster to hear the sounds of battle several li away.
Less than three breaths after the Savant experts disappeared from his sight, Wang Huang’s ears caught a sudden explosion. Though faint, it left no room for doubt.
Something’s wrong! Wang Huang quickly pinpointed the location based on the sound. The fight was occurring roughly 700-800 meters away from his position, a significant distance from Wu Mansion. How was it possible for the three Savant experts to be detected so swiftly? A nagging doubt crept into Wang Huang’s mind.
Is it a coincidence? Even Cloudstride’s Gu Wang wouldn’t be able to detect them from hundreds of meters away. Wang Huang frowned. Could there be another Grandmaster?
Despite his suspicions, Wang Huang’s confidence in his abilities remained unshaken and he didnt flee immediately. After all, he was nearly two li from the battlefield, hiding here without making a sound. Unless there was someone who had achieved the Harmony of Man and Nature, it was normally impossible for other Grandmasters to detect him from such a distance.
But less than half a breath later, Wang Huang’s pupils contracted slightly. Hm?
In his line of sight, a figure shrouded in black robes had appeared at the end of the alley, 300 meters away. Each stride covered more than a hundred meters, barreling directly toward him. Yet it was silent as a whisper, leaving no trace in the snow.
Integration, it’s a Great Grandmaster! Run! Wang Huang’s scalp tingled with alarm.
Without hesitation, he burst through the window behind him. Before the dust and splinters had settled, he was already more than 100 meters away. And the moment he took off, the black-robed figure, as if sensing his escape, propelled himself over as well.
Whoosh! A blade ray blazed to life. The entire building exploded, a fearsome saber cleave etching a chilling mark, but it could not hamper Wang Huang’s retreat. The swing had missed.
Indeed, a Grandmaster. Since he fled as soon as he saw me, he must be an enemy! Wu Yuan’s eyes glimmered with icy resolve, instantaneously arriving at a conclusion.
There was no need for words. Kill!
Boom! Wu Yuan leaped to the top of the building. Pushing off a broken pillar, his speed suddenly increased, breaking past the sound barrier. Secret art: Ghostwalk!
In the blink of an eye, Wu Yuan caught up to Wang Huang, who was nearly 100 meters away.
Such speed, this burst speed is even faster than Chen Luo’s. Wang Huang’s mind was in turmoil.
Unbeknownst to him, over the past few months, Wu Yuan had not only been diligently cultivating the Majestic Earth and Oceans, but his physical constitution had also been steadily improving. Currently, he surpassed the first-grade threshold of 200,000 catties. Judging solely by physical constitution, Wu Yuan was no weaker than the average Grandmaster.
Indeed, in terms of secret arts execution, Wu Yuan was slightly lacking as Ghostwalk didn’t perfectly align with his current body. But in terms of skill level, Wu Yuan’s perfected Integration was comparable to the Great Grandmasters in the Land Rankings. Overall, Wu Yuan’s burst speed was comparable to Chen Luo’s.
“Die!” Wu Yuan swung his saber. The merciless blade ray shot right towards Wang Huang’s neck.
“Get lost!” Though Wang Huang was shocked by Wu Yuan’s speed, he reacted swiftly.
In a fluid motion, he unsheathed his sword and blocked Wu Yuan’s saber. The sword seemed to flow like water as it aimed for Wu Yuan’s arm. It was a flexible sword!
Retreat. Wu Yuan understood that he had been careless. The flexible sword, once mastered, became a formidable weapon akin to a venomous snake, completely unpredictable. In terms of martial skills, although Integration was higher than Perception, it wasnt enough for Wu Yuan to overwhelm his opponent.
Clang! Clang! Clang! As Wu Yuan retreated, his saber technique transformed, appearing dreamlike among the falling snowflakes.
Bang! Boom! Bang! The two sides clashed more than ten times.
In the blink of an eye, they covered hundreds of meters. Their horrific clash, with a combined force exceeding a million catties, razed countless structures in their wake. Walls crumbled and debris scattered like confetti. In a single exchange, the two Grandmasters reduced half a street to ruins. The air filled with the anguished cries of innocent bystanders, caught unaware in their sleep. The destructive might of a Grandmaster was truly frightening.
“Who is it!”
“Who?”
“Stop at once!” Sensing the clash, the experts stationed throughout the district quickly rushed over.
From afar, even more experts made their way over. Horrified by the aftermath of the battle, some shot signal flares. A flurry of radiant lights shot upward, bathing the night sky in blinding brilliance. This was the unmistakable call for reinforcements from the sect headquarters atop Cloudhill, signaling that Grandmasters were engaged in combat.
On this wintry night, Wu Yuan and Wang Hu completely disregarded the rapidly gathering experts of the Cloudstride Sect.
A saber? The style and footwork bear no resemblance to Bu Yus. Even with Transfiguration, such a drastic change is impossible. Huan Jian? His expertise is in palm techniques. A torrent of thoughts flashed through Wang Huang’s mind. Who could it be?
The opponent’s strength was on par with his own, if not stronger.
Shadow Blade, I didn’t expect you to be a member of the Cloudstride Sect.Wang Huang suddenly declared, his voice ringing out across Cloudhill City. In just a brief exchange, Wang Huang had identified Wu Yuan.
Which other Grandmaster throughout the territory of the Cloudstride Sect wielded a saber, and would attack him on sight?
“What?”
“Is that Shadow Blade?”
“Grandmaster Shadow Blade is from the Cloudstride Sect?” The experts of the Cloudstride Sect rushing towards the scene were all taken aback.
“I have no relation to the Cloudstride Sect,” Wu Yuan said coldly, slightly lifting his saber, his gaze fixed on Wang Huang. “However, Wang Huang, as a Grandmaster of Great Jin, you have violated the rules by trespassing into Cloudhill City.”
His words also echoed through the air, reaching the ears of all present.
“Wang Huang! Grandmaster Wang Huang!”
“Erratic Sword Wang Huang? Isn’t he supposed to be in Jinyang City? Why is he in Cloudhill City, has Great Jin gone mad?”
“Quick, notify Cloudhill and get the Hierarchs here.”
“Is war about to break out again?” The many experts of the Cloudstride Sect were utterly shocked.
The mention of Shadow Blade did not cause much worry among the sect’s experts. Regardless of his ties to the sect, little hostility existed between Shadow Blade and the Cloudstride Sect from their intelligence. But Wang Huang? What was a Grandmaster of Great Jin doing in Cloudhill Province?
Hearing the sporadic murmuring, Wang Huang’s expression changed slightly. Though he had no desire to reveal his identity, he knew that he was the only Grandmaster proficient in the flexible sword throughout the Jiang Continent, making him easily distinguishable.
Completely enshrouded in black robes, Wu Yuan stood atop a three-story building, a long saber in hand. With his eyes concealed, an aura of mystery surrounded him. “Wang Huang! Jin Cang placed a bounty of 100 million silver taels on my head, tempting the world to hunt me down! Today, I’ll start by slaying you to cleanse my blade! In the future, I’ll invade Jin Hall to butcher Jin Cang!” Wu Yuan’s cold voice carried far.
Boom! Wu Yuans legs exerted a sudden explosive force, unleashing hundreds of thousands of catties of power. Combining the force with Ghostwalk, his speed instantly surpassed the speed of sound. In an instant, he was right before Wang Huang.
Whoosh! A fierce blade ray swept across the endless night sky, enveloping Wang Huang. Wang Huang’s face changed color, and he swiftly retreated, his long sword flickering like a venomous snake as he barely managed to block Wu Yuan’s ferocious attack.
A series of explosions followed as buildings, towers, and walls crumbled beneath the force of their clash. The air was filled with screams of terror as the Cloudstride Sects experts and city guards who failed to evade were swept away like leaves in a storm. No one else could participate in the battle!
In the blink of an eye, the two Great Grandmasters exchanged over a hundred moves. Wu Yuan’s saber technique was bold and unceasing. He displayed both Ghostwalk and Thousand Mountains, unleashing his maximum combat strength.
Meanwhile, Wang Huang struggled to hold his ground despite also employing his secret arts. As time passed, panic began to take hold of Wang Huang. He wanted to escape, yet his attempts were futile!
Something’s wrong. How can Shadow Blade be so strong? Chen Luo said he was only at the threshold of the Grandmaster level, but in terms of combat power, this Shadow Blade is almost reaching the Peak Grandmaster level!
At this point, Wang Huang was clinging desperately to survival. His judgment was spot on. Compared to other Grandmasters, Wu Yuan’s physical constitution was slightly inferior and his weapons and secret arts were weak, landing him among the bottom tier of Grandmasters.
But in terms of martial skill, Wu Yuan was a force to be reckoned with. Furthermore, Wu Yuan’s soul was extraordinarily powerful, and his Soul Force could detect every minute detail of his surroundings. When applied in concert with his martial skills, the saber skills he displayed were simply inconceivable.
“Go to hell!” Wu Yuan’s battle intent surged like a blazing inferno.
Kill! Kill! Kill!
Ever since he was declared a wanted man by the Great Jin Empire, a deep-seated anger had been simmering within Wu Yuan. Yet he forced himself to swallow it down. All this time, he had been looking for an opportunity to vent it. And today, the Great Jin Empire had the audacity to dispatch assassins to invade the Wu Mansion, touching on Wu Yuan’s most sensitive nerve – his family!
He had arrived in the Middle Land with no attachments, let alone a sense of belonging.
With the integration of memories and emotions, his mother and sister became his biggest priority aside from the martial arts.
He just wished for his family to live in peace. Anyone who dared lay a finger on them would be killed. Even Imperator Jin wouldn’t be spared!
Boom! Boom! Boom! The two Grandmasters were locked in a life-and-death struggle. The speed of their movements bordered on supersonic. Like two hurricanes sweeping across a large area, countless casualties lay in their wake.
“This!”
“A catastrophe.” Several Savant experts of the Cloudstride Sect who had arrived in haste could only watch the terrifying battlefield from a safe distance, not daring to get any closer. Even the strongest among them, Gu Wang, feared that he would be killed instantly if he interfered in such a fight.
“Grandmaster Shadow Blade seems to be stronger!”
“Wang Huang is ranked 193rd in the Land Rankings. His strength is relatively weak among the Grandmasters, but he is still a true Grandmaster.”
For now, Zhang Changsheng and Gu Wang were helpless to stop the battle, and could only evacuate the citizens as far as possible from the battlefield. Countless precedents had demonstrated that when a confrontation between Grandmasters erupted within a city, the casualty toll was often grave.
The fierce battle between Wu Yuan and Wang Huang continued, leaving a radius of several square li in complete disarray. Wu Yuan did his best to dictate the course of the fight, forcing Wang Huang to flee to an area far from the Wu Mansion where fewer people lived.
As the old saying goes, a prolonged attack is hard to maintain. Yet despite maintaining two secret arts, Wu Yuan showed no signs of fatigue, growing bolder in his attacks as the fight went on. Conversely, Wang Huang was getting more and more anxious, his body strained to its limits. Contrary to the previous adage was another saying a prolonged defense would inevitably crumble!
Wu Yuan deftly evaded yet another lunge from Wang Huang’s sword. At that moment, his saber flashed mysteriously, connecting with Wang Huang’s chest.
Rip~ Under the impact of hundreds of thousands of catties, Wang Huang’s clothes were instantly torn apart, revealing his sturdy soft armor underneath. Despite the protection of his divine-grade soft armor, Wang Huang was still forced to retreat.
Undeterred, Wu Yuan twisted his waist in a peculiar way, bearing the brunt of Grandmaster Wang’s retaliatory sword strike. Meanwhile, his blade ray bore down with the pressure of an unstoppable mountain, piercing straight through the enemy’s skull.
It was too fast! In this life-or-death faceoff, there was no avenue for Wang Huang to retreat.
Plop~ His head went flying.
The sword that grazed Wu Yuan’s waist caused his qi to roil. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his body was blown back nearly 100 meters.
Boom~ A headless corpse fell heavily, and the divine-grade flexible sword clattered to the ground.
Grandmaster Wang Huang was dead!