Chapter 78

"It is indeed an extremely excellent sword technique."

Ye Gucheng spoke sincerely and struck out suddenly with his sword; a sword light flew diagonally, like a startling flash of lightning, like a long rainbow across the sky.

Two incredibly strong Qi forces surged from the youth in red's toes, turning into an indestructible and fierce sword Qi.

The "Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens" was worthy of being the pinnacle of sword techniques; the arbitrary changes in swordplay and the transition between extreme hardness and extreme softness shredded the fierce sword Qi that was blocking it.

Yet the youth in red's ten fingers made several "chi-chi" sounds, striking out more than a dozen sharp, bone-eroding sword Qi that were soft as whips, nimble and fast.

Ye Gucheng's "Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens" changed accordingly, using extreme hardness against extreme softness; the sword light suddenly became even more brilliant, like thunder and lightning, wanting to crush everything it encountered.

"Boom!"

After the two exchanged moves, the ground where they stood sank three inches.

In an instant, the two fought fiercely together. One struck with a sword, arbitrarily changing various sword stances, nimble and ethereal, as if performing all the changes of all the sword techniques in the world.

The other's hands and feet surged with Qi, as if carrying hundreds or thousands of sword Qi with him, and with every lift of his hand or stomp of his foot, numerous sword Qi struck his opponent.

The force contained in the sword Qi was different in each case: some had the momentum of a mountain collapsing and a storm arriving, some were ingenious and flexible, hard to fathom, some were sweeping and grand, with a majestic aura, some came and went suddenly, with subtle changes, and some used clumsiness and simplicity to control the enemy.

After more than a hundred rounds of fighting, the two finally separated and stood on opposite sides.

"A true martial arts expert calculates every bit of force they use to perfection and would never waste a single bit of energy; and an expert among experts is not only like this, but is also incredibly confident in their own moves and even less willing to waste the slightest bit of strength."

Ye Gucheng said coldly:

"Furthermore, a sword is not used the way you use it."

"You are relying on your proficiency in the martial arts of a hundred schools and your own mellow and surging internal energy to reach the level of controlling a sword with Qi."

"As long as it leaves a sword wound, why so many problems?" the youth in red said lazily:

"The more profound my technique is practiced, the shorter its name becomes. The initial name, 'Innate Body-Breaking Formless Sword Qi,' means that both hands and feet can emit sword Qi."

"The next step can be called 'Body-Breaking Formless Sword Qi,' regardless of Pre-Heaven or Post-Heaven. Once the technique is activated, the Innate sword Qi transformed from internal energy naturally circulates and flows endlessly, covering the whole body like ten thousand swords protecting the body."

"In this way, the sword Qi refines the body and Qi, and the sword intent tempers the soul and will, which can be called 'Formless Sword Qi.' It is not limited to inside or outside the body; it is released at will, without the need for conscious gathering. Every lift of the hand or movement of the foot is the pinnacle of martial arts."

"The next step is called 'Sword Qi.' There is no part of the body that does not possess sword Qi, and even a flick of the eyebrow can emit a sword Qi."

"And the so-called 'Body-Breaking' does not break the body, but the celestial body, the space. Only in this way can it be born from thought and break through the air."

Hearing this, Ye Gucheng said word by word:

"So, what you practice is not a sword at all, but Qi. In the end, there is no 'sword' word, and you use the vast aura of the world to fight the enemy."

"City Lord White Cloud, I have only one question," Zhuang Buran laughed softly:

"After wounding or killing someone, is the wound left behind a sword wound?"

Ye Gucheng was silent for a while and said:

"You are not sincere. You borrow the name of the sword to carry out the slaughter of the sword. You are neither sincere to the sword nor to people."

"Hahaha, City Lord Ye really knows how to joke. Could it be that you are both sincere to the sword and to people?"

The youth in red laughed out loud:

"Today, on a whim, before coming to the Pingnan Prince Mansion, I used three thousand lives to sacrifice to the sword, just to have a good fight with City Lord White Cloud."

"It's a pity... you disappointed me."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed, especially Hua Manlou, who no longer looked as gentle as jade.

"This technique of mine, at the beginning, the more people I kill, the thicker the accumulated power, based on the resentment of death."

"Afterward, death turns into life, based on the essence of flowers, plants, and trees. In this way, driving the sword Qi can make it even more powerful."

"When it reaches the realm of perfection, based on the colorless and tasteless energy of heaven and earth, making heaven and earth the weapons in my palm, to go against me is to go against heaven."

Ye Gucheng was calm and composed:

"If you were not the creator of this technique, I would believe that you would kill without restraint and use three thousand lives to sacrifice to the sword."

"City Lord Ye has good eyes. I have indeed stepped into the realm of death turning into life, but after wandering around the city, the desire to kill gradually arose."

Zhuang Buran tilted his head, as if thinking, and then said:

"There is no reason; perhaps I just wanted to kill, so I killed. That is why there is not a trace of killing intent or blood on me."

The emotions of the onlookers were fluctuating. They had thought the youth in red was a lawless demon, but hearing Ye Gucheng's words, they thought the youth in red was just joking and playing around. Who knew he was actually a reckless madman.

Even Ye Gucheng was silent; as a relatively normal person, how could he understand the thoughts of a madman?

"City Lord Ye, your 'Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens' has been used in front of me so many times; do you know that I have already discovered the weakness of your sword technique?"

Zhuang Buran said to himself:

"Although the sword technique has reached the pinnacle of the human world, people are ultimately too weak."

After saying this, his aura surged, blooming with a sword Qi that was brilliant to the extreme.

With a "bang," Ye Gucheng was actually sent flying. Upon landing, he managed to use a "thousand-catty drop" to stabilize himself, then knelt on one knee, leaning on his sword to keep from falling. His face was flushed, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

At this moment, Jin Jiuling shouted:

"There is a rebel who wounded the Prince's tutor; capture him immediately, dead or alive!"

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Arrows flew like locusts toward the youth in red.

But they saw a flowing Qi like water appearing on the youth in red's skin, weaving into a net like a form-fitting armor, flowing freely from his face to his feet.

His body shook, and the many arrows were reflected back; the screams outside the treasury were endless.

In a breath, Zhuang Buran's figure flashed and appeared beside Jin Jiuling, startling him so much that he didn't dare to move at all, feeling that if he moved even slightly, his life would no longer be his own.

Ye Gucheng stood up leaning on his sword and said coldly, and the guards who were constantly gathering in the mansion retreated one after another.

The youth in red was indifferent, not even looking at the guards who were on high alert, and said lightly:

"Lu Xiaofeng, what do you think of the She Wang?"

Lu Xiaofeng's thoughts were mixed, as if the answers to many intricate and confusing events were placed in front of him, but they were too numerous and strange, and he couldn't sort them out for the time being.

He calmed the surging waves in his heart slightly and said:

"Although I have many friends, regarding the She Wang, I feel that whoever can make a friend like him is lucky."

"Then what do you think of Jin Jiuling?"

"I love to meddle in other people's business, and he is a constable who punishes evil and promotes good. We can be considered like-minded and are also very good friends."

"Then what about Huo Xiu?"

Lu Xiaofeng's eyes brightened, but then dimmed:

"Let's count him as an old friend who has already passed away."

"If they are all friends, why do they all want to harm you? Let's not talk about Huo Xiu. You think the She Wang, a friend you can make by luck, wants to send your beloved woman to the bed of your friend whom you think is like-minded."

Zhuang Buran was halfway through his sentence when he saw Jin Jiuling tied up tightly by vines, his mouth wrapped several times by vines, leaving him only able to roll and struggle on the ground.

"And this like-minded friend of yours is even more overjoyed, because not only does he want the best of everything in terms of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, but he is also a lecherous demon."

"Xue Bing, one of the four tigresses of the Jianghu and also one of the most outstanding beauties, was truly entrusted to the wrong person. Because she trusted you, she trusted the She Wang, but ended up in a miserable state."

Lu Xiaofeng's pupils shook, and he couldn't help but look at Jin Jiuling, who was struggling on the ground.

"The constables of Yangcheng are all Jin Jiuling's disciples and grand-disciples, and he has become the Wangfu steward. Doesn't that mean he has completely manipulated the She Wang?"

"How much ability can a street person have to be able to get an incredibly detailed map of the Wangfu for you?"

"And Jin Jiuling's salary, even if he didn't eat or drink and didn't spend a single penny, would take decades to save up one hundred thousand taels of gold and silver, yet he can produce ten thousand taels of silver at any time."

"The Embroidery Bandit has shown so many suspicious points; why are you even more blind than a blind man like me? No wonder you sent your beloved woman to her death."

"What a Lu Xiaofeng, who has many friends everywhere!"

After hearing this, Lu Xiaofeng was struck by lightning and stood there in a daze.

Hua Manlou seemed to have guessed something, his complexion improved significantly, and he said:

"Xiao Ba, since you know so clearly, you must have saved Xue Bing, and the words you just said about using three thousand lives to sacrifice to the sword were likely about wiping out the She Wang and his gang."

"Not fun, I was actually guessed," the youth in red shook his head and smiled.

Lu Xiaofeng breathed a sigh of relief; his legs had been weak just now, and he had almost fallen to the ground.

"I never want to meddle in other people's business. For Hua Qitong's sake, I helped once and cleared out the filth of Yangcheng along the way," the youth in red showed a meaningful smile:

"So, shouldn't you give me some reward? The so-called 'Heart Has Lingxi'..."

"Isn't it just a finger technique? I'll teach you."

Lu Xiaofeng interrupted readily, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in his left index finger. Looking down, he saw blood gushing like a fountain, and his index finger had fallen to the ground.

"Not to mention that the girl almost lost her purity because of you and nearly lost her life, just based on the fact that I saved you from a lifetime of guilt, asking for one of your index fingers shouldn't be too much, right?"

"After all, you have another hand that can perform the so-called 'Heart Has Lingxi'."

"And this severed finger is also a friendly reminder from me to you. I hope you will be less arrogant and impatient in the future and not be as stupid as a pig."

(End of chapter)