Chapter 1006

Hu Xiaotian's greatest skill is picking at sore spots; his past-life psychology research wasn't for nothing. Everyone has weaknesses, even a master like FengXingyun is no exception—the higher the master, the more they hold reputation above all.

FengXingyun shouted angrily: "Scoundrel, today if I don't kill you I swear I won't be human!" He drew a long saber from behind his back; this saber is longer than the Eyebrow Knife and much broader, suggesting FengXingyun still has many spares.

Hu Xiaotian sent a mental transmission to Yan Nujiao: "Take them to the rear courtyard first; I'll deal with him. Remember, you must protect the princess."

FengXingyun swooped down from the main hall's roof, both hands raising the long saber overhead, man and blade becoming one; to onlookers he seemed like a peerless famous sword, its edge exposed, killing intent pressing.

Hu Xiaotian had just exchanged blows with FengXingyun; then he used a soft sword while FengXingyun used the Eyebrow Knife. In that recent clash, Hu Xiaotian was mostly on the defensive until a sudden inspiration struck, realizing that not only emitted sword qi can kill invisibly, his Void Grand Method can achieve the same effect. More importantly, the range of his sword qi emission is far from being at will—it's hit or miss—yet his application of the Void Grand Method has already reached the point of being at will.

Although the long saber FengXingyun used this time is also not ordinary, it simply cannot compare to the Eyebrow Knife. Hu Xiaotian's insight far exceeds his own cultivation; from FengXingyun's attack this time he already sensed the subtle difference, which lies in the weapon—FengXingyun's attack this time did not prioritize guiding qi. Whether he changed tactics or his internal energy was depleted from the previous fierce battle is unknown.

In a head‑on clash Hu Xiaotian never fears; the Eyebrow Knife comes forward to meet him, he doesn't know saber techniques, so he uses the saber as a sword.

FengXingyun, leveraging his high ground, chopped down. The long saber and the Eyebrow Knife collided, sparks flying; FengXingyun's strike missed, he quickly retreated, rebounding off Hu Xiaotian's force to return to the main hall's roof.

Hu Xiaotian also worried he might have a follow‑up move, stepping back three steps. This tactical withdrawal is certainly not because he cannot withstand the opponent's force.

FengXingyun held his long saber upright, and a nick the size of a soybean had already appeared on its blade. Though this saber is not ordinary, its toughness falls short of the Eyebrow Knife by a margin. In the head‑on clash, FengXingyun clearly came off worse. He has grasped the unity of man and blade, but he hasn't gone far in that realm—achieving man‑blade unity requires wielding the Eyebrow Knife; swapping weapons would greatly diminish his swordsmanship, and even when using this long saber he cannot be certain of emitting sword qi a hundred percent. That is the true reason he chose to clash head‑on with Hu Xiaotian as his first move.

But FengXingyun is after all a saber grandmaster, a top‑tier expert; this head‑on clash immediately put him fully into combat mode. A true master quickly adjusts himself in actual combat, finds his shortcomings, becomes familiar with his weapon, and selects the most suitable fighting style accordingly.

Hu Xiaotian's martial insight falls far short of FengXingyun's realm; compared to him, FengXingyun is like a skilled financier. Yet no matter how adept a financier, if he faces a rich scion with an endless treasury, even if Hu Xiaotian loses repeatedly, he cannot exhaust that windfall fortune.

FengXingyun's second strike had already been launched, but this time the target was not Hu Xiaotian—a Void Slash, the fierce sword qi cutting invisibly through the night sky, sweeping past above Hu Xiaotian's head.

Hu Xiaotian had prepared to dodge, but he never expected the opponent to miss the target; he wondered silently, for such a mistake shouldn't happen to FengXingyun—not only did he miss, but the margin was wide, the sword qi's sweep passing at least three zhang away from him.

The sword qi swept past the bell tower behind Hu Xiaotian; the fierce sword qi shattered the tower's outer‑wall bricks, severed the iron chains binding the bronze bell—clang! —the thick iron chain snapped, the bronze bell weighing thousands of catties broke free, plummeting from height, landing on the stone steps, then tumbling and rolling forward to crush Hu Xiaotian.

FengXingyun's this blade was calculated with extraordinary cleverness; his grasp of force and direction was near perfect, even the landing point of the bronze bell was computed with crystal clarity.

Hu Xiaotian had no choice but to dodge to the right; he had no confidence he could block that bronze bell.

In the instant Hu Xiaotian dodged, FengXingyun's offensive surged again—the bronze bell being an inanimate object, his prior exchanges with Hu Xiaotian had made him realize Hu Xiaotian could dodge the bell; FengXingyun wasn't hoping the bell would smash Hu Xiaotian to death, his aim was to use the bell to seal off Hu Xiaotian's retreat and squeeze his movement space.

Drive the dog into a dead‑end alley, then deliver the killing blow. The internal energy accumulated over time poured into the blade, causing it to blaze with dazzling radiance; even the most ordinary long saber in FengXingyun's hands can emit the most brilliant light.

At this moment FengXingyun suddenly forgot the distinction between this saber and the Eyebrow Knife; the blade was merely a carrier, the true killing move being the formless sword qi—a formless sword qi detached from the blade and flew forth to slash, its power not inferior to that emitted by FengXingyun using the Eyebrow Knife. It was then he suddenly understood why, despite years of arduous training, he had made no progress: the Eyebrow Knife had shackled his advancement. A blade can give you wings like a tiger, but once your saber technique reaches a certain level, the blade becomes a fetter that hinders forward motion. Had Hu Xiaotian not snatched his Eyebrow Knife away, he would not have grasped this truth for a while yet.

Hu Xiaotian naturally wouldn't know FengXingyun's current change of heart; he could sense the arrival of FengXingyun's sword qi. Although the Eyebrow Knife is in his hand, to him a straight sword still feels more natural—even a bare sword hilt can condense water into a blade via the Void Grand Method—but now Hu Xiaotian doesn't know how to respond; his only option is to evade, avoid the edge, and continue using the earlier tactic to drain FengXingyun's internal energy.

Hu Xiaotian successively shifted through three body techniques, thereby completely dodging the sword qi FengXingyun had swung; the sword qi flew sideways past his side, continued forward, and hacked at the gate of the Lonely Mountain Temple—the gate had already been burned down halfway by flowing fire, and the sword qi easily shattered it into fragments; the scorched courtyard walls also collapsed under this blow, amid the smoke and dust countless sparks rose.

Hu Xiaotian gazed at the countless fireflies flying toward him from behind, inwardly crying "uh‑oh"; his Dantian Qi Sea naturally opened like a valley, the Void Grand Method causing the surrounding intangible space to seem to sink, forming a tremendous suction that drew the fireflies toward him, tracing a beautiful arc in the night sky, brilliant as a galaxy—yet the galaxy's convergence point was the Eyebrow Knife in Hu Xiaotian's hand.

The fireflies gathered around the Eyebrow Knife, forming a long saber that emitted dazzling light.

FengXingyun also, because of this astonishing sight, temporarily forgot to attack; having seen Hu Xiaotian condense water into a sword earlier, and now seeing this fellow gather fire into a blade, such youth possessing such cultivation—what will become of it? If this continues, in a few years even he will not be a match for him.

Hu Xiaotian brandished the Eyebrow Knife in his hand, exhaling his inner breath violently; the myriad points of phosphorescence on the blade suddenly detached and slashed toward FengXingyun. The firefly‑composed long saber is not sword qi, obviously incapable of tracelessness, yet a saber made of phosphorescence striking at full speed toward FengXingyun is a rare sight.

FengXingyun dared not meet it head‑on; he waved his long saber, emitting another formless sword qi that struck the phosphorescent blade's image. In the collision, light and shadow shattered like glass, re‑forming into countless points of phosphorescence; pale‑green fireflies spread in all directions, enveloping FengXingyun.

FengXingyun shook his long saber, rotating it clockwise to form a light shield before his body, intending to block the fireflies; but once the saber touched the phosphorescence, it immediately ignited, the flames racing toward the scabbard at astonishing speed. FengXingyun's face changed, he hastily threw away the saber and fled toward the rear courtyard, not daring to continue the fight.

Hu Xiaotian laughed loudly: "Coward, you thought the Blade Demon was fearsome, but you're just a timid, useless rat!"

Heavy footsteps sounded behind him; Hu Xiaotian turned, only to see a monster in scale armor slowly emerging from the temple gate collapsed in blazing fire, his eyes fixed on Hu Xiaotian as he gritted his teeth and asked, "Are you Hu Xiaotian?"

Hu Xiaotian smiled, nodded, and said, "I go by my name and keep my surname—it's me!"

The monster nodded and said, "Excellent, today I happen to settle all my great grudges at once—was it you who killed my junior brothers and sisters?"

Hu Xiaotian deduced his identity from the words and smiled, "You are Shuihuo Wuqing Du Tianhuo?"

Shuihuo Wuqing Du Tianhuo said: "Do you want to be drowned or burned to death?"

Hu Xiaotian pointed the Eyebrow Knife at Du Tianhuo and said, "Do you want me to chop off your head or dig out your black heart?"

Du Tianhuo stepped forward across the flames; fire ignited at his right foot and quickly spread over his whole body, the flames outside his scale armor showing a lurid green hue. Du Tianhuo said, "I'll make you regret coming into this world." He spread his arms and embraced the bronze bell lying sideways before him; the fire crept along his arms, enveloping the entire bell in that eerie green fire. Du Tianhuo snorted coldly, "Die!" The bronze bell weighing thousands of catties was actually hurled by him, carrying green flames, tumbling toward Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian marveled at Du Tianhuo's tremendous strength; he shifted his body sideways a step to dodge the bell's strike. The bell smashed into the already collapsed, fractured bell tower; the tower's broken walls and remnants suffered another destructive blow—boom! —another half of the wall collapsed.

Hu Xiaotian raised the Eyebrow Knife and strode forward to meet Du Tianhuo.

Fourth more delivered! Still owe four more; I'll make them up as soon as possible. Zhangyu dares not promise a specific time, but I'll do my best—everyone, throw your monthly tickets my way! (To be continued~^~)