Chapter 588: 541 Probing

After the rules were announced, the battle erupted suddenly.

Atop the heads of the Wangliang Power warriors, two Sword Heroes engaged in a fierce sword fight, directly entering into a brutal melee.

To speak of Sword Heroes fighting, when not using Sword Techniques, it is nothing more than a battle of attack and defense, sword strike after sword strike, relying on the most reliable and primitive power, winning by using cold steel to cut and destroy the enemy's flesh.

It was just that both sides fought with the power and speed of Sword Heroes, their speed so fast that even their afterimages were blurred. Even from the perspective of a Sword Guest, it was easy to feel dizzy and dazzled, let alone for ordinary people, for whom appreciating a battle of this level was not a pleasure but a torment.

Later on, many people in the stands simply lowered their heads and stopped watching, only hearing the sound of swords clashing from time to time—sometimes a solitary ring, sometimes dense like a sudden downpour, and sometimes emitting a harsh, grating friction.

The sounds of clashing shifted suddenly east, then west, because the battlefield was a ring formed by ten Wangliang Power warriors, surrounding a large circle. Both sides were incredibly fast; perhaps with a single leap, they would jump from one head to another, exchange a few sword strikes, and shift again.

Jiang Shenyi was not a Sword Guest, but he had stabilized his Soul and his body had been reinforced; with his hardware and software upgraded, his eyesight did not lose to a Sword Guest's. He could clearly see how Tang Zhao and that Gui Rong fought from the head of one warrior to the shoulder, and from the shoulder to the head of another, dancing up and down around the ten giant statue-like warriors, fighting until sparks flew in all directions.

As he watched, he grew somewhat worried, because to him, it seemed that Gui Rong had the upper hand.

Gui Rong pressed closer time and again, attacking much and blocking little, while Tang Zhao often took the initiative to retreat and shift, defending more and attacking less. In terms of martial arts combat, this meant falling into a disadvantage.

In truth, he also knew that before Sword Techniques were used, close-quarters combat between Sword Heroes was merely a warm-up, let alone a battle between Sword Heroes. However, concern leads to confusion, especially since that Gui Rong looked extremely ruthless, with every sword strike aimed at vital points; even in a warm-up, a single mistake would mean total ruin.

He wanted to chat with someone to relieve his tension, but seeing that others were also full of nervousness—even that deadpan face who followed Tang Zhao and usually had no expression was pale with anxiety—chatting with them would not help him relax, and their eyesight might not be better than his own, so they could not answer his doubts.

After thinking it over, he still leaned toward Jinwu.

Jinwu's status was noble; those who did not know the details thought he was the New Master of Changfa Manor, while those who knew the details understood he was "His Highness." Either way, he was extremely noble, so how would others dare to speak to him casually? Usually, only Tang Zhao could talk to him, plus the somewhat special "outside helper" Jiang Shenyi, who counted as half a person.

Jiang Shenyi knew that Jinwu appeared arrogant but was actually quite easygoing inside, so he leaned in and asked directly: "YoungMaster, do you think Azhao is a bit outmatched? Is there a problem with his strategy? His advantage is not in sword moves; fighting with cold steel is not his specialty. How many years has he been practicing martial arts? And he practiced with me; he hasn't had much real combat experience since leaving the mountain. We both boast of being martial arts geniuses, but that depends on who you compare us to. Comparing with fellow disciples is one thing, but in terms of moves, we aren't even as good as those old-school Loose Practitioners. Isn't that Gui Rong a great killing star? It is said that given his kill count, he must be more skilled in combat. Fighting sword against sword, isn't that using his weaknesses against the other's strengths? Wouldn't it be better to just fight with Sword Techniques?"

His words lacked confidence, showing a clear intention of boosting the enemy's morale and dampening his own, which caused Weise, not far away, to frown slightly and glance over here.

Jinwu gave a hum and said: "Indeed... this sword fight has no level to speak of. Azhao's sword moves are not strong, and that big guy isn't much better."

Jiang Shenyi was stunned upon hearing this. He looked up again with a scrutinizing gaze and carefully watched, and sure enough, he felt it might be so. Although Gui Rong was pressing step by step on the surface, he was gaining momentum but not scoring points; he had not achieved a breakthrough with sharp sword moves or fierce assaults, and had not even used any exquisite moves that would surprise him. Instead, he revealed quite a few openings himself. He wondered: "Does he not have such a high level of Sword Technique? Is his martial arts on par with Azhao's? Isn't he a killing demon who has roamed Wangliang Mountain for decades?"

Jinwu said: "He probably really did kill people, acting decisively and ruthlessly, but I don't feel his moves are very seasoned or refined. Who knows if his killing was a series of bloody battles or just the slaughter of civilians?"

Jiang Shenyi was startled: That's true. This Gui Rong is a Sword Hero, and there are not many Sword Heroes on Wangliang Mountain; those at the same level as him are almost only the Abyss Envoys. He could crush others just by his realm, so killing more was just a matter of ease. Except for that battle with the unknown outcome back then, who knows if he has ever fought other Sword Heroes of the same level?

Killing Sword Guests, killing manor owners, killing others—this is bullying the weak. Aside from becoming numb to flesh and blood from killing, how much can it train a person? Perhaps after bullying the weak for so long, his own skills have even grown rusty.

Perhaps his experience is on par with Tang Zhao's.

Thinking it was using weaknesses against strengths, was it actually just two chickens pecking at each other?

Thinking this way, Jiang Shenyi's confidence rose again: It's just an opening warm-up; Tang Zhao might not lose, and the subsequent battle remains to be seen. Once it enters the stage of Sword Techniques and Sword Law, that is Tang Zhao's strength; his sword is far stronger than others'. So this match is still winnable.

He watched with a critical eye, gradually becoming harsh, and said: "Ha, an opening—he didn't seize it. Looking at it this way, he really has quite a few openings. I roughly counted them, and there are no fewer than five. It's a pity Azhao didn't seize the opportunity even once."

Weise glanced at Jiang Shenyi again and shook his head slightly: He discovered that the Master was already quite naive, but his senior brother was ten times more naive.

Does he really believe whatever Jinwu says?

Jinwu Dianxia said Gui Rong might not be battle-hardened, so he really thinks Gui Rong is unworthy of his reputation?

His Highness didn't lie, but you have to look at who is saying it, right?

That is Jinwu Dianxia; although he hasn't manifested, the Master mentioned that he likely inherited the memories and history of Ju Dongjun from the moment of his birth. What kind of vision is that? I'm afraid the number of Sword Heroes in the world that he would consider worthy can be counted on one's fingers.

In any case, Weise had his own set of views.

If one speaks of combat experience, especially combat experience against people, there is truly no "person" here who can surpass Weise. Although he was just a Sword Student who had just obtained the Jingzhe Sword and was not even a Sword Guest, his eyesight was definitely not bad. He saw that Gui Rong was absolutely battle-hardened; his sword moves against others were both seasoned and skillful, definitely forged in one life-and-death bloody battle after another.

At the very least, it could not be mentioned in the same breath as Tang Zhao's shallow experience.

His gaze remained focused on the two people going back and forth, mainly staring at Tang Zhao, feeling a slight worry in his heart: Tang Zhao's experience was not as good as the other's, and it could even be said that his combat talents, such as intuition and adaptability, would not be stronger either.

In other words, if Tang Zhao and Gui Rong learned the same martial arts to fight, Gui Rong would still be the stronger one.

Tang Zhao was not a transcendent genius in the traditional sense of "Sword Technique," nor was he a combat genius.

Being inferior in every way, he should have definitely lost in a sword fight; the reason he hadn't lost was actually—Tang Zhao's sword move heritage was stronger than Gui Rong's.

He didn't know where Tang Zhao learned such brilliant sword moves, but as martial arts, they were truly exquisite. Weise had studied Killing Technique at the Yama Shop for many years and had seen the kung fu of various sects, so he couldn't help but marvel. He didn't know which expert taught Tang Zhao martial arts; each move didn't look complicated or flashy, but every move was precise, like flowing clouds and water. One more part would be redundant, one less would be crude; it could be called the Great Dao simplified.

This must be the secret lore of some famous sect!

Compared to Tang Zhao, Gui Rong was simply a wild practitioner. He might never have formally learned sword moves; to put it nicely, his moves were straightforward and effective for killing, and to put it bluntly, they were wild and unorthodox, with too many flaws. They were just patched up by his beast-like intuition and the experience he had fumbled for himself, making them look like something.

By comparison, Tang Zhao was a disciple of a famous sect with strict laws, while Gui Rong was a fighter forged in the slaughterhouse.

With both sides fighting sword moves like this, although Weise was always worried about Tang Zhao, he still believed that as long as he didn't act rashly, he would at least remain in an invincible position.

Only...

Was he not being too cautious?

Jiang Shenyi was right about one thing: Gui Rong's sword moves really had many openings. So many that he often made mistakes in a round of attacks that anyone with street-fighting experience wouldn't make, making Weise think he was possessed by a ghost.

And Tang Zhao, for his part, never once seized the opportunity to launch an attack.

Even if he was in the middle of it and couldn't see as clearly as those on the outside, he shouldn't have missed every single one. Sometimes, even without specifically attacking the openings, he should have been able to drive straight in and break the opponent's sword moves.

"Is it that the Master saw that those openings were all intentionally sold by that person, and that if he launched an attack, he would fall into a trap like a delayed-blade tactic, and therefore he never attacked, using stillness to control movement?"

Weise muttered softly.

When he said this out loud, it was meant as a question, wanting to ask for Jinwu's opinion, only he wasn't as bold as Jiang Shenyi to ask directly.

Jinwu was truly easygoing, and upon hearing this, he said directly: "None of you are Sword Guests, and this thinking is not the thinking of a Sword Guest. When a Sword Guest or a Sword Hero fights and sees the opponent full of openings, as if they are intentionally baiting you to attack, should you suspect they are about to use a delayed-blade tactic? You should suspect whether their Sword Intent is related to needing you to actively attack! What 'striking after the enemy,' what 'defensive counterattack,' what 'sealing the throat upon seeing blood'—he is sealing your throat upon seeing blood; once you fall for the opponent's Sword Technique, you'll be in trouble. If you are a Sword Hero, you should consider the Changjie Sword Technique; will your attack become a step for his Sword Technique? Azhao is right to be this cautious."

Jiang Shenyi and Weise were enlightened at the same time.

In a duel between Sword Guests, information about Sword Intent is of the utmost importance.

The process of testing swords is also the process of testing each other's Sword Intent. Currently, both sides were protecting their Sword Intent well, so although the fighting was intense, there was actually no progress. If Tang Zhao really went to attack the openings when the opponent revealed them, it wouldn't be a bad strategy of taking a risk to test them; one could gamble on fishing out the opponent's Sword Intent, but if the gamble was lost, it would be troublesome.

However, for such a tall, mighty, and destruction-mouthing Gui Rong, could his Sword Image actually be of the defensive-counterattack type? This really is a case of not judging a book by its cover.

Or perhaps that aggressive momentum and even the tall, mighty figure were all illusions that could be created, and in essence, just like the pure Sword Light Tang Zhao intentionally released while hiding the Sunlight, it was a means of confusing the senses?

Jinwu watched the two fighting and suddenly said: "I don't know if Azhao has discovered it. This person's Sword Intent might not be simple."

Weise, Jiang Shenyi, and all the companions who were listening on the side were startled: If even Jinwu says the Sword Intent is not simple, what level could it be?

At this moment, the fierce fighting above paused slightly, and Tang Zhao took the initiative to open up the distance.

"That's enough, right? There's no point in continuing to fight like this."

Tang Zhao said in an extremely calm voice; the entanglement that had just lasted for nearly an hour, with the distance covered back and forth likely being over a hundred miles, could not make him even slightly disrupt the rhythm of his breathing.

Of course, Gui Rong over there was the same.

"Ever since you failed to lure me into attacking you the first time, the rest of your attempts to draw me in have been impossible to fool me with. Everything after that has just been your desperate struggle. You've wasted a lot of time."

He stared at Gui Rong and said, "Of course, if you truly want to waste time, I can keep you company, but what would it matter even if we fought for three days and three nights? Do you think either of us fears this little bit of consumption? It would only become a joke. Why not switch to a more serious method?"

Gui Rong laughed heartily and said, "Are you losing patience? I've only just started to get excited. I want to play, so you have no choice but to play with me. You cannot decide whether to fight or not, you cannot decide when to change methods, and you certainly cannot decide what a 'serious method' is. The only thing you can decide is when it ends, because you can choose to die."

Tang Zhao said, "I decided to change methods because I have made some guesses about your Sword Intent. So, there is no need to play with you anymore. Come, I shall change first as a gesture of respect."

As he spoke, he drew his sword!

"Sword Art—Golden Tiger!"