Chapter 336: The Gap with the World's Number One (Thanks to Silver Alliance Leader Feng Feng Mantian)

Crash, crash, crash～

Blade Qi came rolling in like a tide.

Wan Wan Zhuliu's opening slash never changed. Li Yuan stood gripping his hammer, but the primal terror was gone. When the blade-light came howling in, only then did he swing the hammer across his body.

Boom～

Hammer horizontal, push forward.

In an instant the tide-like blade-light was split apart, drawn up on either side like curtains.

Li Yuan stood within. Hearing the blade-song tremble, only then did he spin and raise his hammer. With a thunderous "BOOM," a blue-black thunder-dragon shattered the sky-filling blade-light.

'This kid…'

At the top of the bronze pagoda, the white-robed woman's fingers trembled. Under her gaze, the sky-filling blade-light shattered at the sound, and the blade-wielder wreathed in divine light halted for the first time.

That strike was an even match!

"Huff!"

One hammer-shatter of the blade-light, and Li Yuan stood gripping his hammer. He did not take the initiative; instead, with eyes half-closed, he felt the sound of the scattered blade-light slicing past his body.

The blade-light that months ago had filled him with dread now passed by no more than a breeze, stirring only the hair and clothes formed from his true Qi.

"Transformation!"

Li Yuan murmured to himself. He truly felt the transformation, his heart a rolling heat—this was the driving force that let him practice day after day for years on end.

Progress, progress and self-improvement visible to the naked eye.

Clang!

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But this time, he closed his eyes early, letting the darkness envelop body and mind. Then he swung the second hammer-strike since entering the pagoda.

Crack!

The white-robed woman, who had arrived inside the pagoda at some unknown time, felt as if a flash of light had sparked before her eyes. The darkness that had blanketed her five senses like a curtain split apart in an instant.

The hammer was like thunderbolt, like a thunder-dragon, tearing the darkness as it streaked across the long sky.

Boom!

Boom~~~

After that one hammer, Li Yuan poured out his full strength. The sky-filling hammer-shadows instantly replaced the tide-like blade-light, flooding every direction.

White Ape Cloak, Dragon-Tiger Heaven-Shaking, Soldier's Path Battle-Slay, Ancient Elephant Six Forms…

Driven by the thunder-drong that embraced a hundred forms, Li Yuan was like a bolt of lightning tearing the heavens. Every hammer technique and killing move he had, he unleashed them all, using this world's number one blade to hone his own hammer arts.

"Within a hundred moves, he is no longer at a disadvantage!"

The watching white-robed woman couldn't help but grip her fingers. It was clearly a clash at the Meridian-Opening level, yet she couldn't tear her eyes away—almost nervous.

Boom!

Thunder!

Li Yuan was immersed in it, oblivious to all else. Every hammer technique poured out like a raging storm, sparing not a drop of his true Qi.

In an instant, the entire bronze pagoda was shrouded in blue-black light, as if plunged into a sea of thunder.

Facing Li Yuan's ferocious assault, the blade-wielder wreathed in divine light changed from his earlier wide, sweeping style. Standing in place, unmoving as a green pine, he welcomed the storm coming from every direction.

"And this still can't press him down!"

Within the tide-like thunder-light, Li Yuan fought with growing exhilaration. This was the first time he had seized the initiative against this blade-wielder, yet the longer he fought, the more his heart pounded.

Even under an assault like his, the blade-wielder showed not the slightest decline—instead, he was like a volcano gathering force, about to erupt.

"One hundred blades!"

The watching white-robed woman's thought stirred.

Whooo—

Almost at the same instant, within the bronze pagoda, every clash of blade and weapon, every peal of thunder and ring of hammer, vanished without a trace.

Then, with a thunderous "BOOM," Li Yuan's wildly raging assault halted in an instant. The gloom returned, yet it did not strip away his five senses. Within the darkness, a pair of crimson dragon-eyes lit up.

"Subduing-Demon Dragon God Form!"

The heavy hammer bounced up, carrying Li Yuan flying a hundred meters away. His feet touched the ground, and the bluestone floor of the bronze pagoda was gouged with two trails dozens of meters long beneath him.

Thick smoke and dust from the violent friction rolled outward.

And two hundred meters away, the blade-wielder amid the divine light had still not retreated a single step. He merely raised two fingers together and wiped the snow-bright blade-edge.

"Finally, it has come."

Seeing the dragon eyes in the tide-like darkness, Li Yuan's gaze brightened. Accompanied by a dragon's roar, Lei Guang rolled behind him, and the Thunder Dragon, which had integrated Yi Bai Xing, slowly rose.

"Roar!"

Separated by two hundred meters, Lei Guang and the black tide were clearly distinct. The two colossal creatures gazed at each other from afar, and within the entire Bronze Tower, no other colors or sounds remained.

The white-robed woman watching the battle had knuckles that had turned somewhat white.

"This kind of momentum..."

Li Yuan gripped the heavy hammer tightly. His spirit was extremely tense, and he felt immense pressure.

In terms of momentum, the Subduing Demon Dragon God Manifestation behind the Blade Master, which had not yet appeared, was inferior to the nine-headed manifestation of the furious Master Mo Tian at Mount Mo Tian.

But in terms of pressure, it was even greater.

"Grade?"

This thought popped into Li Yuan's mind, feeling quite fitting.

Without penetrating Yin and Yang, without the Spirit Realm or True Qi, no matter how lifelike the Yi Xing combinations were, they were not Spirit Manifestations. Yet, Spirit Manifestations themselves were born from Yi Xing combinations.

With just a single glance, he could feel the gap.

The grade of this Subduing Demon Dragon God Manifestation was far higher than the Nine-Headed Spirit of Mount Mo Tian, and also stronger than the Thunder Dragon that integrated Yi Bai Xing...

"There is a gap, but, we can still fight!"

"Roar!"

The Thunder Dragon roared, and Li Yuan raised his hammer.

In a single step, he crossed two hundred meters horizontally. Accompanied by rolling thunder, he struck first, exerting all his strength like a long rainbow piercing the sun, horizontally striking Wan Wan Zhuliu.

Whoosh~

Illuminated by the tide-like darkness, the Blade Master, wreathed in divine light, appeared even more sacred. Facing Li Yuan's all-out attack, his movements were actually very slow; he raised his blade and struck horizontally.

Shhh~

With just one slash, the sky-filling Lei Guang seemed to be split in two. A chill ran through Li Yuan's heart as he felt an extreme sharpness that seemed to penetrate his soul, intending to cleave him completely in two.

The appearance of the Subduing Demon Dragon God Manifestation marked the moment when this number one under heaven truly exerted his power.

Boom!

Though his mind was racing, Li Yuan's reaction had not the slightest delay; he blocked this horizontal slash with a weapon technique.

"Blocked it!"

The white-robed woman watching the battle wiped away a cold sweat. Although Li Yuan was knocked flying dozens of meters in response, he had withstood this one strike.

"If he can withstand one strike, he can withstand at least fifty. Perhaps, he can approach the two-hundred-strike threshold!"

The white-robed woman held Xin Xia Qi in her heart.

"If this young man can maintain such a speed of progress, within at most two years, there is hope for an even match..."

Shhh shhh shhh~

The appearance of the Subduing Demon Dragon God Manifestation shifted the balance of offense and defense. The seemingly faint sound of the blade ringing seemed about to tear the entire Bronze Tower apart.

Li Yuan, exerting all his strength, finally fell to a disadvantage.

"The only difference between me and this Zhenwu King is the Spirit Manifestation!"

Forced to retreat continuously, Daoist Li felt extremely gratified in his heart. In the end, when he had endured one hundred and seventy-six strikes, he felt he had the will but not the strength.

Shhh!

After a few more strikes, Li Yuan's techniques finally faltered. His form could no longer avoid all the blade lights, and he nearly had his head severed by a single strike.

If defense was already insufficient, let alone counterattacking.

'Is this the end?'

The white-robed woman felt somewhat regretful, and somewhat disappointed.

"Hah!"

At this moment, Li Yuan exhaled a long breath. Amidst the white-robed woman's surprised gaze, he advanced instead of retreating. Intense True Qi erupted from his body, as if burning violently.

"Command and Control: Thunder Dragon Jun Tian Hammer!"

Only at this moment did Li Yuan activate the Command and Control Talisman.

"Three Thunder Dragon Jun Tian Hammers, two high-grade famous heavy hammers, plus fifth-tier boots—can they make up for the gap in Yi Xing combinations?"

Striding forward to charge, Li Yuan's eyes shone terrifyingly bright.

With True Qi refined and Yi Bai Xing achieved, he could now withstand the enhancement and explosive power of three Thunder Dragon Jun Tian Hammers. With this, he wanted to try.

How much greater was the gap between him and this number one under heaven?

Boom!

Terrifying Lei Guang once again engulfed the darkness and tore through the blade lights.

Li Yuan, who had activated the Command and Control Talisman, moved with extreme speed, and his pure strength surged to a terrifying level in an instant.

"Puff!"

The hammer light was dazzling, illuminating the darkness. At this moment, Li Yuan finally saw the true form of the Subduing Demon Dragon God Manifestation beneath the shroud of darkness.

It was a massive black dragon, its color like ink, domineering and majestic. This black dragon had not a single scale on its body, only intricate patterns that outlined scenes of slaughter and warfare.

In that fleeting glance, Li Yuan did not see very clearly, but it seemed that in one of those scenes, he saw a Bronze Tower similar to this one?

Accompanied by a trembling sound of clashing weapons, as the force and dust spread, the white-robed woman's expression finally changed.

The Blade Master, wreathed in divine light, actually fell to a disadvantage in this collision. Not only did he retreat, but he was lifted off the ground and knocked flying by the shock!

Even with the Subduing Demon Dragon God Manifestation, in terms of pure strength, he was far inferior to Li Yuan at this moment!

"Refreshing!"

At the instant the Blade Master was separated from his body, Li Yuan instinctively felt a numbness shoot from the base of his tail all the way up to the back of his skull. The intense stimulation made him unable to help but roar to the sky.

After hundreds of bitter battles, he finally gained the upper hand, matching the enemy head-on and driving back Wan Wan Zhuliu of the same rank!

"Dao-ye, number one under heaven!"

No words could describe Li Yuan's feelings at this moment, but it did not affect his movements.

After one hammer strike, his figure instantly caught up to the retreating Long Long Daozhu, and a mountain-like heavy hammer came crashing down.

With a single surge of momentum, he wanted to draw his blade today!