Chapter 552: Defeating the Sword Saint in Two Moves

Since the appearance of the Fourteen Terrors list, it has stirred up a monstrous wave in the pugilistic world, and Wushuang City has thus received much attention. In these days, one cannot know how many experts have been lurking in the shadows, with undercurrents surging.

The mobilization of the Wushuang City guards clearly could not escape the notice of those with ulterior motives.

Therefore, at this moment, many people are secretly watching the battle between Sword Saint Dugu Jian and Yu Liancheng.

Dugu Jian is the leader of the Sword Dao who once rampaged through the world; his Holy Spirit Sword Art is unparalleled under heaven, having only been defeated by the Martial Arts Myth Wuming. Now, after many years of closed-door cultivation, it is feared that the height of his sword art attainments is beyond what a mortal can imagine.

But facing such a peerless swordsman, Yu Liancheng actually claimed he could defeat the opponent in two moves. Even though many experts present had guessed that he was the mysterious Fourteenth Jinghuang "I," and had witnessed the scene of the formless Sword Qi instantly killing twenty-one assassins of the Iron Wolf organization, they still believed he was boasting.

There may be people in the world who can defeat the Sword Saint, but it is absolutely impossible to defeat the Sword Saint in two moves.

Even the Martial Arts Myth Wuming cannot do it.

And all of this still requires facts to speak for themselves.

The Sword Saint's first sword has already been thrust; as soon as he made his move, he brought out his trump card, the Holy Spirit Sword Art.

Sword One!

Although this was only the first form of the Holy Spirit Sword Art, the people watching from the surroundings only felt the sharp and terrifying sword light shooting out like lightning, pressing upon them until their hearts and gall turned cold.

If the onlookers were like this, Yu Liancheng, who was facing this sword directly, was naturally under even greater pressure, yet he remained calm throughout, as if this sword was nothing more than a gentle breeze brushing his face, not worth mentioning.

And just at the moment when the Sword Qi struck his body and the sword light was about to arrive, Yu Liancheng's figure did not move, but one finger had already pointed out; whistling force surged toward his fingertip, transforming into a sharp and exquisite Sword Qi, meeting the Wushuang Sword.

Ding!

The fingertip and the long sword collided, unexpectedly emitting a crisp sound.

And the ground beneath the two of them, after a moment of stagnation, bloomed with cracks; with a loud "Crack! Crack!" sound of shattering, pieces of broken floor tiles flew up, centered on the two of them, and shot out in all directions carrying fierce force.

The walls on both sides of the street were struck by the floor tiles and collapsed with a boom, dust and smoke flying. There were also screams ringing out; it was the Wushuang City disciples at the ends of the street who were caught in the crossfire.

Seeing that the opponent had received his Sword One with just a single finger.

The Sword Saint's expression sank, but his eyes became even brighter like a drawn Divine Sword, while the Wushuang Sword in his palm was far colder, sharper, and more chilling than his gaze.

Another dragon's roar sounded, and two streaks of Sword Qi shattered the air, leaping and dancing like two swimming dragons; the brilliance of the sword light and the sharpness of the Sword Qi were such that even an expert like Jia Dugu felt a stinging sensation in his eyes.

——Holy Spirit Sword Art, Sword Two.

And facing such a sword, Yu Liancheng still did not transform the Divine Stone into a sword, but merely held his palm upright like a blade, wreathed in sharp and terrifying energy, and swept it across the air.

This understated strike was a blade technique refined to the peak. Moreover, it cut into the two streaks of Sword Qi with perfect precision, shattering their incomparably harmonious offensive.

Dugu Jian was not surprised, and backhanded another sword thrust through. It appeared to be one sword, but there were three streaks of Sword Qi crisscrossing. Unlike the previous two forms, this strike was treacherous and tricky, stabbing toward Yu Liancheng from three different directions, speeds, and forces, giving one a feeling of being caught off guard and difficult to defend against.

Yu Liancheng's expression remained unchanged; he curled his five fingers into a claw and grasped the open air. Each finger was like a sharp sword, and as his five fingers swirled in the air, they stirred the airflow to form a vortex; the three streaks of Sword Qi were influenced by the vortex and involuntarily projected into it, only to be annihilated into nothingness.

Sword Saint Dugu Jian's expression became increasingly grave; to receive his three forms of the Holy Spirit Sword Art with only a palm, it is feared that even that old rival Wuming could not do it.

Once this thought arose, the Holy Spirit Sword Art was unleashed in its entirety. His movement technique came and went abruptly, and the sword momentum was even more unpredictable. At times he sat high in the clouds, ethereal and sharp. At times he was like a clear breeze and flowing water, leaving no trace to be found.

With the two of them as the center, sharp Sword Qi raged within a radius of several dozen zhang, destroying everything.

Some experts tried to get closer to watch the battle, but as soon as they entered within twenty or thirty zhang, they felt their whole bodies turn cold, aching as if cut by knives, and they retreated in a hurry.

This battle was magnificent and exquisite, making the crowd of experts, especially the swordsmen, watch with great satisfaction.

It is worthy of being the unparalleled Holy Spirit Sword Art, worthy of being the unparalleled Sword Saint, and worthy of being the unparalleled Wushuang Sword. The sword art was pushed to the extreme in its changes, simply beyond mortal imagination, and was extremely stunning. If they were placed in Yu Liancheng's position, they feared they would not even be able to receive a single sword before being decapitated.

However, compared to the Sword Saint, what was even more surprising was Yu Liancheng.

Yu Liancheng was like a giant rock on the seashore that had long been battered, remaining unmoved no matter how the wind and waves rolled.

No matter how the sword art—like a tidal wave, like a gale, like lightning—changed, it could not shake his figure in the slightest.

Soon, Sword One through Sword Eighteen had all been unleashed.

Sword Nineteen was unleashed immediately after, and the moment it was used, the Sword Saint's expression became even colder, and his whole person also radiated a Sword Qi sharper than the sword in his palm.

It turned out that when the Sword Saint was young, he sought a perfect sword art, thinking hard but in vain. Later, he learned that he had once taken "Seven Generations Forgetting Emotion" and was emotionless, and thus could not possess a perfect life, naturally unable to possess a perfect sword art. He went through great hardships to find the "Half Heart," recovered his emotions, and subsequently traveled far to Dongying, where he chanced upon his lifelong love, Gongben Xueling.

And the Sword One to Sword Eighteen of the "Holy Spirit Sword Art" were created by the two of them together, and the sword names were taken from the "Sheng" and "Ling" in their names respectively; they were swords of emotion.

Later, the "Half Heart" lost its effect, and the Sword Saint returned to the Central Plains from Dongying, changing from a person of emotion to a person of no emotion; Sword Nineteen to Sword Twenty-Two were naturally swords of no emotion.

The sword art was ruthless and swift, unleashed with the momentum of thunder; every strike was murderous, as if an evil ghost from hell demanding a life, all unleashed solely to take a human life.

Especially the final form, Sword Twenty-Two; as soon as the Wushuang Sword unleashed it, within a radius of ten zhang, the grass and trees quickly withered and turned yellow, all vitality was cut off, and the ground seemed to be struck by thousands of thunderbolts, exploding in succession. With one sword thrust, the killing intent was so thick it was almost tangible, descending from the sky, wanting to turn this human world into hell.

It is just a pity that Sword Twenty-Two is ultimately Sword Twenty-Two.

Without reaching Sword Twenty-Three, it is absolutely impossible to shake Yu Liancheng.

Of course, facing such a powerful sword, Yu Liancheng naturally would not take it head-on; his palm pressed close to the sword light, guiding and leading, using the method of Moving Flowers and Grafting Jade.

The Moving Flowers and Grafting Jade of today, when unleashed in his hands, was already close to myth; even the founder of this martial art would find it unbelievable if they saw it.

Boom!

The Sword Qi had already slammed into the ground, causing the already dilapidated ground to turn into powder layer by layer.

At this point, the twenty-two forms of the Holy Spirit Sword Art were finished.

And from beginning to end, Yu Liancheng only used his bare palms to face the enemy, skillfully neutralizing the entire sword art.

Sword Saint Dugu Jian's face was pale, his expression was stunned, and his body trembled slightly from excitement.

Before this battle, he absolutely could not have imagined that the Holy Spirit Sword Art he was so proud of would be broken by someone with bare palms.

Without a doubt, he had lost.

And it was an unprecedented, crushing defeat.

No!

The Sword Saint suddenly raised his head, sword light shooting from his eyes, and looked at Yu Liancheng with a cold sneer: "You lost; we have already exchanged twenty-two moves. And you said you could defeat me in two moves."

"I did indeed say I would defeat you in two moves; if I cannot defeat you, I shall draw my sword and commit suicide. However..." Yu Liancheng was calm and composed, a smile always on his face: "This is only the first move now."

"What nonsense are you..." The Sword Saint let out a cold snort, thinking the opponent was going to renege, but suddenly felt the scene before him shatter; in a trance, the world turned upside down, and his whole person felt as if he had awakened from a dream.

The street was still the street.

The ground was still the ground.

The Wushuang City disciples were still standing at both ends of the street.

Except for several sword marks on the ground and the walls of the streets and alleys, and the surprised and puzzled expressions of the disciples, it seemed exactly the same as before the great battle; there was no sign of the desolate, broken, and shattered aftermath of a great battle.

Sword Saint broke into a cold sweat like rain for a moment.

"The first move has passed."

Yu Liancheng smiled with his hands behind his back: "By the way, this move is called 'A Glance of Shock'."

On a tall building in Wushuang City, there were also people watching that astonishing battle from afar.

"Sword Saint has lost." A cold, pleasant, and elusive voice rang out, yet it was filled with a sense of coldness and dominance.

The person speaking seemed to be shrouded in a layer of black mist, eerie and bizarre. But if one could look through the mist, one would discover that the speaker was wearing a pitch-black dress with the hem trailing on the ground, and a head of ink-colored long hair cascading down like a waterfall, fluttering with the wind. And her face was even more stunningly beautiful, peerless in the world.

It was just that her whole body exuded a faint chill, as if it could freeze all living things in the world.

"Black Child does not understand, these two have clearly not yet made a move, how did Master determine the outcome between the two?"

Beside the black mist, there was also a woman entirely shrouded in a black robe. Her face was covered by a mask, carrying a thick aura of death. What was even more terrifying was that this woman's eyes seemed to reveal madness and paranoia at every moment. Only when looking at her Master would a trace of gentleness and reverence appear.

"No, the two have actually already exchanged one move, and in this next move, Sword Saint will undoubtedly be defeated," the stunningly beautiful woman shrouded in black mist said calmly.

"Please enlighten me, Master," said the woman who called herself Black Child.

"That Yu Liancheng is indeed an expert, a peerless expert. But without a doubt, there is no one in the world who can crush Sword Saint head-on within two moves," the woman in the black mist said in a flat tone: "Unless, Sword Saint himself has a problem with his state of mind, letting dust stain the flawless Holy Spirit Sword Art."

"But Sword Saint has fought countless battles in his life, cold and heartless, so how could his state of mind be stained with dust?" Black Child shook her head.

"Yu Liancheng first used the agreement of two moves to shake Sword Saint's state of mind. And immediately after, he cast a martial art similar to 'Heart-Lost Crossing' to drag Sword Saint into an illusion and seize his willpower. Previously, you only saw the two confronting each other without making a move; it was only because Sword Saint's Sword Qi was occasionally leaking out uncontrollably that this was the reason."

The woman in the black mist explained slowly: "And now, although Sword Saint has awakened from the psychedelic realm, his mind has suffered heavy damage, his fighting spirit is gone, and I fear he can only exert at most eighty percent of his ten-percent cultivation. Next, it will be the move that decides the outcome."

Under the gaze of countless people, Yu Liancheng produced a glowing sword and said calmly: "Sword Saint, you must look clearly. This next sword of mine and Twenty-Three are different paths to the same destination. If you can comprehend this sword, perhaps you can understand Twenty-Three."

After the words fell, a sword had already been thrust out.

This sword had only just been unleashed, but it gave people the feeling that the sword momentum had already reached its end.

But just when all the sword momentum reached its "conclusion," the tip of the sword suddenly had a strange vibration, undergoing an incomprehensible change.

In an instant, the falling leaves dancing all over the sky suddenly all scattered; those that were moving suddenly all became still.

——Absolute stillness.

Even the flowing wind fell into a silent stillness.

The Sword Qi lingering around Sword Saint also suddenly froze and did not move.

In the heavens and on earth, in the entire universe, except for that glowing sword, everything seemed to have stopped, everything had died.

Sword Saint could not help but feel fear. He had roamed the Edo all his life and killed countless enemies. As long as he had a sword in his hand, he could laugh proudly at the Edo. But now, he suddenly discovered that although Wushuang Sword was still in his hand, it had already become dead.

All the changes and power of Wushuang Sword had been taken away by this sword, and all had died.

Swish!

In this moment of absolute stillness, Yu Liancheng waved the Divine Stone in his hand. The Divine Stone bloomed with a dazzling white light, a kind of white light carrying destruction, death, and ominousness.

And now, this ray of white light could pierce Sword Saint's chest and throat at any time, and there was no power in the world that could stop it.

Because this sword was "death."

When "death" arrives, what power in the world can stop it?

But this sword did not truly thrust out.

At the moment when it was only a hair's breadth away from Sword Saint's throat, it stopped.

Then the world that had been still and dead suddenly began to become vivid, having vitality.

The endless murderous aura that filled the world was also swept away at this moment.

Only a faint sense of unwillingness came from the glowing long sword, as if it were a poisonous dragon choosing someone to devour, finally being forcibly pressed back by someone, returning in low spirits.

"You lost," Yu Liancheng said calmly.

"I, I lost..."

Sword Saint let out a light sigh, his tone low, his face desolate, as if he had aged ten or twenty years in an instant.

He had lost again.

Since his defeat to Wuming, he had lived in seclusion for many years, devotedly studying the Holy Spirit Sword Art.

Now that he had returned to the Edo, under the eyes of everyone, he had lost again.

And from beginning to end, the opponent had only used two moves.

This time was also the closest he had ever been to death; the sword tip, which was only inches away, had already made his throat feel a stinging sensation.

Humiliation, shame, and other emotions erupted like a volcano. Sword Saint, whose character was not high on ordinary days, could not help but curse: "Mo..."

The word "ther" (part of a curse) had not yet been cursed out when his face suddenly turned pale, because the Divine Stone erupted with astonishing Sword Qi, seizing his mind, and no matter what, he could not spit out the last word.

"Cursing people is wrong. Twenty-Three has not yet been deduced; if I were to break my character like this, wouldn't all my hard work be in vain?"

As everyone knows, in the Feng Yun world, cursing people represents breaking character, and one's martial arts and intelligence plummet. The most famous is Di Shitian; after one "Damn it," the all-encompassing Heart of the Holy Art would only be able to use one move, the Emperor's Heavenly Wild Thunder.