Chapter 872: Contrast (4/2, April 1200 monthly votes extra chapter)

Raising the Heavenly Sword high, Jian Wufeng prepared to deliver the final strike to Fang Yue.

But just at this moment, he suddenly sensed a change in Fang Yue.

That change was swift and extremely violent.

Jian Wufeng could not say exactly what this change was, but over his long years, the intuition that had saved his life countless times was urging him to kill Fang Yue immediately, right now! Otherwise, something very, very bad would happen!

So, Jian Wufeng moved!

He brought down this final sword with a force far more intense than the previous two strikes!

Hum!!

The wandering dragon phantom on the Heavenly Sword nearly solidified, slashing down violently like a guillotine!

This sword should have cleaved Fang Yue in two, should have killed Fang Yue completely.

But from the instant a half pitch-black wing suddenly burst out from Fang Yue's back, everything that 'should have been so' turned into nothing!

Jian Wufeng's Heavenly Sword stopped.

It stopped in midair, held firmly between one person's index and ring fingers, unable to descend another inch!

"How… is that possible?!"

Jian Wufeng's eyes widened in shock, his face full of disbelief.

Because the one who had caught his Heavenly Sword between two fingers was unmistakably the Fang Yue who should have been waiting to die on the ground!

And now, looking carefully, one could see that around Fang Yue's two fingers, dense tiny tadpole-like characters seemed to appear, seeming both illusory and real, rising and falling.

In this instant, he completely lost his ability to gauge Fang Yue's strength.

Fang Yue in this instant was like a bottomless pit, unfathomably deep!

"Who exactly are you… exactly!"

Jian Wufeng's lips trembled as he tried to say something, but his body, as if beyond his control, suddenly wrenched the sword free from between the two fingers and once again aimed at Fang Yue, slashing down!

The Heavenly Sword's backlash!

It had taken control of his body in reverse!

Jian Wufeng's heart gave a sudden lurch, and he immediately understood what was happening.

But he had to admit, at this moment, he actually had a bit of a thought to go along with it.

His sword could not break free from Fang Yue's fingertips, but the Heavenly Sword controlling his body could do so—this itself already said something.

He wanted… to borrow the Heavenly Sword's power to probe Fang Yue's limits!

He had to admit, in this battle so far, Fang Yue had brought him one wave of surprise after another.

But, it ends here.

Because, the Heavenly Sword… is invincible!

All the powerful enemies he had encountered up to now had all been killed by the Heavenly Sword! And he was merely the Heavenly Sword's vessel! Even the Heavenly Sword Sect was the Heavenly Sword's Heavenly Sword Sect! Every generation's Sect Master was only the Heavenly Sword's vessel!

And the next vessel was… Tian Ruichi!

"Invincible Heavenly Sword, reveal your divine might!!"

Jian Wufeng shouted excitedly in his heart. Clearly, the sword in his hand and the movements he made were all done by his own body, but the expression on his face was like a devout believer praying to a deity, not someone in the middle of a dangerous battle.

However, what Jian Wufeng did not expect was—

The deity he had placed such high hopes on—

The great and invincible Heavenly Sword—the strike his body delivered did not succeed.

Because this sword… fell too slowly!

Slowly, slowly! Slower and slower, slower and slower!

As if the flow of time itself had slowed at this moment!

Jian Wufeng's consciousness remained clear and awake.

The power brought by the Heavenly Sword controlling his body, the force in his hand, the sword intent of the final slash—none of it was watered down in the slightest.

Only the speed slowed down, slower and slower, slower and slower!

Even the Heavenly Sword suddenly released control of his body and returned into the sword's body!

"Wha…t… is… going… on…"

After a brief daze, Jian Wufeng could not help but speak.

But the words from his mouth became drawn out, broken and intermittent, as if slowed down more than tenfold.

Such a bizarre situation—one that had even affected him personally—caused Jian Wufeng, for the first time since clashing with Fang Yue, to feel panic in his heart.

Could there be a Rain-level Weird passing by nearby?! And its ability has already been activated, and I am already deeply caught in it?!

Rain-level warriors, on the surface, were beings who stood above all other warriors of Qing Guo.

They were also the pinnacle of the warrior strength pyramid in Qing Guo, enjoying the treatment of being above others.

However, this was only with regard to human society and the warrior class.

Facing Weirds in the wild, it treated everyone equally.

If a Rain-level warrior encountered a Rain-level Weird outside, it would also be quite a struggle.

After all, among those of the same level, Weirds were generally several times stronger than humans!

If one encountered a Mo-level Weird or a Transcendence-level Weird, a Rain-level warrior would also perish in minutes.

Therefore, the wilds were also a dangerous place for Rain-level warriors.

It was only relatively much safer compared to ordinary beings.

But now, Jian Wufeng had suddenly fallen into some kind of special Weird ability, and even a Rain-level warrior like him had been affected. He could not help but consider whether the opponent was a terrifying existence so powerful it exceeded the range of what he could handle!

Yet just as panic rose in Jian Wufeng's heart, in the world where his actions had completely slowed down, the Fang Yue who should have become a soul beneath the sword calmly, smoothly, completely unaffected, raised his head and looked straight into his eyes.

Jian Wufeng's pupils contracted 'slowly,' his eyes filled with utter shock.

Could it be…

"Boom."

【Boom!!】

Twisted ancient script, half-illusory half-real, briefly materialized out of thin air, and in the next instant…

Bang!!!

A violent explosion erupted with him at its center.

Jian Wufeng's body was sent flying high backward, smashing through more than a dozen large trees in succession, gouging a long trench across the ground, before finally coming to a stop.

But compared to Fang Yue's state earlier, Jian Wufeng's current appearance was rather miserable.

Bloodstains covered him from head to toe, his clothes tattered, a picture of utter disarray.

Yet Jian Wufeng's hand still gripped the Heavenly Sword, and his will to fight had not faded!

His eyes stared fixedly ahead — there, a figure with a single black wing was rising into the air and diving down toward him!

"Speed!"

【Speed! Whoosh whoosh!】

"Power!"

【Power!! Heh heh!】

"Guile!"

【Guile! More, more!!】

"Bind!"

【Bind, bind, bind!! Your death-star is shining!!】

"Void!"

【Void, void, void!! Today you shall perish of void-weakness! Roar roar roar!】

As Fang Yue dove down, large swaths of twisted script — half-illusory, half-real — rapidly surfaced across his body, vanishing again almost the instant they appeared.

And the moment the script vanished, Fang Yue's power surged another notch!

Like stacking buffs, in a short span of time Fang Yue had piled on a great mass of Ancient Script power, his strength skyrocketing wildly.

From the moment the parchment drew on power, Fang Yue had already possessed Rain-rank strength.

And the stacking of Ancient Script's blessing pushed him yet another step further on that foundation!

In the past, the parchment's Ancient Script blessing had been limited.

But after so many "upgrades," the parchment's power had risen to a new level, and along with it Fang Yue's strength ceiling had also been lifted considerably in one go.

(End of this chapter)