Chapter 103: I Strike Only Once—Watch Closely

Just as Gu Xingjian let out a gasp of astonishment.

Jiang Daoxuan flicked his wrist, and the branch wrapped in Yang Essence surged forward at high speed!

A cold wind slashed across his face, like steel blades scraping his skin.

Gu Xingjian's expression panicked—he sensed dire trouble, frantically steadying his trembling sword and holding it horizontally before his chest to block the strike!

Boom—

A muffled crash echoed.

The instant the blade met the branch, a terrifyingly powerful divine force erupted!

In a single glance, it sent Gu Xingjian flying—him and his sword hurtled over twenty meters away!

Only when his back slammed into a boulder as tall as a man did he finally stop.

The impact shattered the boulder's surface, cracking it with a dense web of fissures like a porcelain vase shattered by impact!

"Cough—cough."

Gu Xingjian's face turned ashen; he planted his left hand's sword into the ground to stabilize himself.

Even with his Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer cultivation base, facing Jiang Daoxuan's terrifying divine force, he found it excruciatingly difficult to resist!

A single casual strike had sent his internal energy churning—what if he unleashed a few more?

At this point, he had no doubt whatsoever: even without any weapon, the man could simply crush him to death with his bare fists!

Thinking of this, he felt a deep sense of humiliation, then glared at Jiang Daoxuan and said coldly: "Jiang Jianzong! Outside, everyone praises your swordcraft as unparalleled—but now I see, you rely solely on brute force, with not a single refined sword technique to show!"

"Does Jiang Jianzong look down on Gu Xingjian? Do you think I'm unworthy of you drawing your sword?"

This duel was meant to be a sword exchange.

Yet Jiang Daoxuan never once drew his blade, let alone unleashed a single sword technique!

Worse still, he picked up a roadside branch as his weapon, using his innate godlike strength to crush me with absurd force!

This miserable experience completely contradicts the purpose of my visit—I've merely been brutally humiliated!

Seeing Gu Xingjian's expression darken further, Jiang Daoxuan shook his head and said casually:

"I'll only strike once. Watch closely."

To this day, besides Ten Thousand Swords Pay Homage, he had mastered four Earth-Class Supreme Sword Arts.

He would casually use one.

Guiyuan Sword Art!

In an instant, vast amounts of Yang Essence surged forth, clinging entirely to the branch.

Light swirled, radiating a thick aura of death—as if all life perished, all things fell into silence!

The sudden eruption of overwhelming power swept through the surroundings, snapping grasses and flowers, shaking green leaves from trees, and scattering a storm of fallen foliage!

Facing this sword technique—still unlaunched, yet already manifesting such astonishing phenomena—

Gu Xingjian involuntarily swallowed hard, his left fingers gripping the hilt so tightly his knuckles turned white, holding his sword before his chest, ready to block this strike at any moment.

To ensure absolute safety, he urgently activated the perfected sword intent sealed within his body!

Sword intent erupted, forming a unique pressure that stood equal to Jiang Daoxuan's terrifying aura!

But at that moment, a dazzling, terrifying blade of light shot skyward, brimming with lethal sharpness!

Sensing his perfected sword intent being crushed, Gu Xingjian's pupils shrank—he cried out: "Perfected Sword Intent?!"

The moment the words left his lips—

Shhh—

A freezing wind, filled with endless chill, slashed across his face!

Gu Xingjian's body froze; every hair on his skin stood on end—he felt his bones turn to ice!

When the cold wind faded, all around fell silent.

Gu Xingjian was drenched in cold sweat.

Pearls of sweat, the size of soybeans, trickled down his jaw and dripped onto the ground.

He slowly lowered his head, stiff with dread.

There, just half a finger's breadth from his neck—

Rested a fragment of branch, mostly severed, leaving only a sharp tip.

Seeing this, Gu Xingjian felt his scalp go numb.

Had the man not held back—if that branch tip had moved forward just a little more—

His throat would have been pierced, and he would be dead here!

"Such a fast sword… I yield…"

Seeing he couldn't even block one strike, Gu Xingjian hung his head in defeat.

His words instantly stunned the two Jiang family youths watching nearby.

In their eyes, everything had happened too fast—within mere breaths, the outcome was decided.

And the result of the sword duel far exceeded their expectations.

They had assumed it would be a evenly matched contest.

Yet this famed Gu Jianzong had been utterly crushed before their clan chief, with no chance to fight back.

Just how powerful was the clan chief?

Under their worshipful gazes,

Jiang Daoxuan looked at Gu Xingjian and smiled faintly: "How was my sword strike?"

"I've traveled a hundred cities and fought countless swordsmen—but your sword, Jiang Jianzong, surpasses them all. It is the most exquisite I have ever seen. Such a lethal technique is exceedingly rare, even among powers ruled by Moon Wheel Realm masters."

"Moreover, you, with only a Foundation Establishment cultivation base, have attained the Perfected Sword Intent—a realm beyond comprehension. I humbly admit defeat. I once heard tales of your deeds and thought them exaggerated—but now I see the opposite: the rumors still understate your true strength…"

Gu Xingjian shook his head.

A bet is a bet—since his skill was inferior, he might as well own up to his shortcomings openly and without fuss.