“You…”
“He’s way too arrogant! I have never felt like hitting someone so much in my life before!”
“In my two hundred years alive, I have seen countless geniuses, but this is the first time I’ve wanted to strangle someone so much!”
“Have we made a mistake by bringing him here?”
Hearing those words, Han Jianqiu, Elder He, and the others were so furious that they gnashed their teeth together.
When they first heard that someone had comprehended the Gods’ Sword Intent, they had been so excited that they had immediately put everything aside and even breached the conventions of the sect just to find him… but when they finally found him, it felt like they had just made the worst mistake of their lives.
By saying that you’ll pummel us with your sword, what you mean is that we won’t be a match for you even if all of us combine our might together, is that so?
Conceited!
Pompous!
Low profile your head!
Taking a deep breath, Elder He stood up and said, “That being said, even though he used the formation of the Elder Council to his advantage, the fact that he could defeat Elder Chou with a single move does show that he has superior battle senses. Allow me to give him a try…”
At that moment, Han Jianqiu shook his head and stood up. “He wishes to challenge all of us at once. Let’s not waste any time and fight him together.”
“Sect Leader Han…”
The faces of the elders around immediately stiffened. They had never thought that they would hear such words from the mouth of their sect leader.
They were the strongest experts on the continent! If someone learned that they had suppressed their cultivation to challenge a Pseudo Immortal realm lad… They would be mocked for their entire lives by their peers!
“One who has comprehended the Gods’ Sword Intent is capable of reaching the gods with his blade. It’s not an embarrassment for all of us to face him together,” Han Jianqiu replied calmly.
The crowd hesitated for a moment before eventually nodding in agreement. “Yes!”
The Forsaken Continent was a land abandoned by the gods. Comprehending the Gods’ Sword Intent meant that one’s mastery of swordsmanship had already reached a level that could compete with the gods.
Even though their cultivation was indeed much higher, there was no doubt that the other party had something in him that far surpassed the rest of them. Otherwise, it would not just have been the founder who had comprehended the Gods’ Sword Intent in the several thousand years since the founding of the sect.
Huala!
Several elders walked down to the open space at the center of the Elder Council with a sword each in hand.
They were Sect Leader Han Jianqiu, Elder He, Elder Bai Ye, and two other elders. All in all, there were five people.
Those five people represented the highest fighting prowess of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion. Every single one of them was ranked within the top thirty strongest cultivators of the Forsaken Continent.
“Wait a moment…” Despite the formidable line up before him, Zhang Xuan did not seem nervous in the least. Instead, he seemed to heave a sigh of relief before speaking up. “Don’t you think that a plain battle is too boring? Since we are going to fight, we might as well put something on the line to make things a little more interesting!”
“You want to make a bet?” Elder Bai Ye’s eyebrows shot up as an ominous premonition loomed over his mind.
This money-minded fellow could not be thinking of cleaning them out as well, could he?
As the sect leader and the four strongest elders of one of the Six Sects, if even they got robbed despite putting their strength together… Elder Bai Ye was not too sure if he would still be able to find the strength to continue existing in this world.
They would surely become the greatest joke in the Forsaken Continent in all of history!
“Bet? What kind of bet do you wish to make?” Han Jianqiu asked.
“If I win the duel, there’s something that I would like to ask you. If you know the answer, I hope that you can answer it honestly. If I lose, I’ll apologize for my earlier disrespect,” Zhang Xuan replied.
Hearing those words, Elder Bai Ye’s heart finally settled down a little. “All is fine as long as no money is involved…”
To be honest, he felt like he had already been traumatized by the word ‘bet’. Each time someone said that word, he would immediately jolt in horror.
“You wish to pose a question? Even if you lose this battle, I don’t see any harm in answering your doubts,” Han Jianqiu replied. “Also, there’s no need for you to apologize for your disrespect. It’ll suffice as long as you don’t speak of whatever that has happened here today!”
“Sounds fine to me.” Zhang Xuan nodded.
“It’s settled then,” Han Jianqiu smiled. “Let’s begin the duel!”
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xuan drew his sword from its sheath.
The reason he had made the bet was to inquire about Luo Ruoxin. Since the other party had agreed to it, what he had to do now was win the battle!
While Han Jianqiu had said that he would answer his question even if he lost the battle, Zhang Xuan knew that the matter concerning Luo Ruoxin was likely classified as the most confidential secret of the Forsaken Continent. After all, the fact that the Spirit God Palace had the character ‘神 (God)’ in its name spoke volumes about the significance of its existence.
As such, he could not just rely on Han Jianqiu’s goodwill. He needed a compelling reason to force the latter to answer his questions. He could not afford to lose this duel!
While he had been putting up a leisurely front all along, he knew that defeating the opponents before him would be no easy feat. Dealing with one of them would be well within his means, but dealing with all of them at once would definitely pose some trouble.
Meanwhile, Han Jianqiu glanced at the other four elders and said, “He is the man who has comprehended the Gods’ Sword Intent. It would be a horrible mistake to underestimate him. We have to go all out right from the start!”
“Agreed,” the other four elders replied solemnly.
They, too, understood this. Just the fact that Zhang Xuan was able to defeat Chou Huo in a single move proved his prowess.
Sou!
Han Jianqiu’s sword burst forth as he claimed the first move.
While he had suppressed his cultivation to the Lesser Pseudo Immortal realm, his Sword Intent still gushed forth like a boundless ocean. His very presence left one feeling as if one was falling continuously in the endless abyss. Even escape was impossible.
Seeing this, Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes warily.
As expected of the sect leader. Han Jianqiu’s mastery of swordsmanship was too much higher than the earlier Elder Chou Huo.
As soon as he made a move, Zhang Xuan could already feel great pressure being heaped upon him.
Flaws! Zhang Xuan willed.
The main reason for him challenging all of them at once was to analyze their flaws. This was the perfect opportunity for him to do so.
Weng!
There was a light buzz before a book materialized within the Library of Heaven’s Path. Tapping on it lightly, knowledge flowed into his head.
“Han Jianqiu. 23rd Sect Leader of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion. Semi-Divinity realm cultivator. Comprehended the Emerald Ripple Tides Swordsmanship, resulting in the relentless nature of his swordsmanship. There is a total of twenty-three flaws, namely…”
Semi-Divinity realm cultivator? Zhang Xuan nodded in realization. So, that’s the realm that’s above High Immortal…
He had previously noticed that Han Jianqiu’s strength was far above that of Elder Bai Ye and Elder He, and that was indeed the case.
While there was the prefix ‘Semi’ in front, the fact that it carried the term ‘Divinity’ showed what kind of frightening existence he was.
But as powerful as Han Jianqiu was, once his cultivation was suppressed down to Pseudo Immortal realm, there was no way he could be a match for him.
Just the flaws reflected in the Library of Heaven’s Path would allow Zhang Xuan to defeat him without any trouble.
Zhang Xuan flicked his sword toward one of the flaws reflected in Han Jianqiu’s swordsmanship.
His movements were imposing like a great dragon, and his swordsmanship carried the indomitable aura of the Gods’ Sword Intent.
Due to the limitations of his cultivation, he had not been able to utilize too much of the prowess of the Gods’ Sword Intent. However, with his cultivation rising to Heavenly Pseudo Immortal, it had already fused together with his body, allowing him to exert seventy to eighty percent of its true might!
“Hmm?”
Han Jianqiu did not expect Zhang Xuan to be able to see through the flaws in his moves with just a glance. Taken aback, he retreated a step as he hurriedly gestured for the others to join him. “Let’s attack him together!”
At this point, the others had also finished their preparations. Four swords bolted toward Zhang Xuan from four different directions. A metallic screeching sound reminiscent of the cry of a banshee echoed throughout the room.
Flaws!
With just a slight sidestep, Zhang Xuan was able to evade their collaborative offense with ease. At the same time, four books materialized in the Library of Heaven’s Path with a jolt.
Before long, he gained some degree of understanding of the four elders too.
Other than Sect Leader Han Jianqiu, Elder He was the strongest expert within the group. His cultivation had also reached the Semi-Divinity realm.
Elder Bai Ye and Elder Huang Qing were both at the Heavenly High Immortal realm, and they were just a step away from reaching the Semi-Divinity realm.
The fifth elder shared the same surname as him, and his full name was Zhang Wushang. His cultivation was conspicuously lower than the rest of the group, being only at Earthly High Immortal. However, just because his cultivation was at a lower level did not necessarily mean that he was the weakest of the group.
On the contrary, Zhang Wushang’s mastery of swordsmanship was actually above that of Elder He. While he was still some way off from matching Han Jianqiu, the gap was not extremely large. As a result, of the four elders he was facing, the one who posed the greatest threat to him was actually Zhang Wushang.
Each of their swordsmanship has its own flaws and problems, but the issue is that their reflexes are simply too quick. Before I can even finish exploiting one of their weaknesses, the other one will swiftly step in to intervene…
After trading a few blows, Zhang Xuan’s complexion was looking more and more awful. He knew that it would not be easy to win against them, but they were tougher opponents than he had expected.
As expected of the top experts of the Forsaken Continent. The likes of He Jingxuan and the others could not begin to compare to them.
I’ll have to calculate their openings as a collective group in order to deal the conclusive blow, Zhang Xuan thought.
Back on the Master Teacher Continent, he had noticed that it was possible to view a collaboration among multiple individuals as an entity and have the Library of Heaven’s Path compile a book on that. Naturally, that would be much more useful than analyzing each of the individuals.
The Library of Heaven’s Path jolted, and a book materialized. It was filled with the information and flaws of the collaboration of the five sword practitioners.
“I see…” Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.
After coming to know the flaws of their collaboration, it was as if everything before him suddenly cleared up.
Hu!
He flicked his wrist and took out a piece of black cloth.
“What is he intending to do?”
Han Jianqiu and the others were having a difficult time as well. The young man had been striking at their flaws one after another in quick succession, such that they had their hands full just trying to defend themselves. Thus, they had been brainstorming ways to turn the tables around and at least push the duel to a draw when they noticed Zhang Xuan’s anomalous actions.
Frowns of bewilderment filled their faces.
“Sect Leader Han and Elder He, hurry up and attack him! He’s intending to cover his eyes!” Elder Chou Huo shouted by the side.
“He’s intending to cover his eyes?”
“He feels that he can cope against the five of us even without his vision?”
“Screw this, I’m going to kill that b*stard!”
…
The five sword practitioners were astounded for an instant before something erupted within them.
You can’t humiliate us like that!
It’s already beneath the five of us to gang up against an individual like you, but you still want to cover your eyes to fight with us?
Sou sou sou sou!
Under the effects of their rage, their swords grew even faster and mightier. They swiftly sealed Zhang Xuan’s surroundings with their sword qi, such that numerous holes would be punctured into the young man if he took the slightest misstep.
But for some reason, even as the other party was tying the black cloth around his eyes, every step that he took evaded their sword qi with such incredible precision that it seemed as if he had measured every step with a ruler. Even though their offense crashed down like raging tides, it did not seem to have fazed him in the least.
It was almost as if he was a specter treading around their wrath rage without sustaining the slightest bit of damage.
Hu!
After tying the black cloth over his eyes, Zhang Xuan continued treading around their attacks, but vaguely, it seemed like his movements were getting more and more agile.
His eyes were no longer distracted by the feints executed by his opponents, and he could ignore all the baits that his opponents laid out before of him. All he had to do was focus on the flaws listed in the Library of Heaven’s Path and execute his moves one after another.
Deng deng deng deng!
With the flaws of their collaboration exploited again and again, it did not take long for their teamwork to fall apart.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Zhang Xuan decided to end the battle.
“Break!”
Infusing the Gods’ Sword Intent into his blade, Zhang Xuan executed eight stabs consecutively. Each strike was aimed at the flaws of their collaboration once more.
Dang lang! Dang lang! Dang lang!
The sounds of swords falling to the ground echoed loudly in the Elder Council.
The five experts felt a sudden numbness in their hands, which caused them to lose their grip on the sword in their grasp.
Making use of this opening, Zhang Xuan moved with such agility that he seemed to have warped into five silhouettes as he stationed five surges of sword qi right next to their throats.
Of course, as High Immortals, it was likely that sword qi of such a level would not have been able to harm them… but the same could not be said now that they had suppressed their cultivation to the Pseudo Immortal realm.
If the other party willed it, he could have killed them all!
“We have lost,” Han Jianqiu conceded with a bitter smile.
The five of them, despite being the strongest existences in the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, had actually been defeated by a blindfolded individual. It seemed like Zhang Xuan was a much more fearsome sword practitioner than they had imagined!
