Free Web NovelChapter 170: Chapter 165: Four Lightning Strikes
By this point in the ranking tournament for the younger generation of the Four Races, only two questions remained. First, between Zhaang Ye and Luo Yongsheng, who was stronger? Second, could Zhaang Ye’s strength truly be mentioned in the same breath as Zhaang Yijian’s?
The time to reveal the answers was fast approaching.
In the seventh match of the competition, Zhaang Ye and Luo Yongsheng stepped onto the Martial Arts Arena together.
Their eyes met. In Luo Yongsheng’s gaze, Zhaang Ye saw an intense will to fight, along with a hint of unwillingness to accept defeat and a touch of madness.
Zhaang Ye’s brow furrowed slightly as he reached back and drew his Heavy Saber.
’Now that I’m a True Dao Disciple, Luo Yongsheng would never dare to kill me. But in a fight, anything can happen. I’d better be careful.’
The two stood silently. After the referee announced the start, a sharp glint flashed in Luo Yongsheng’s eyes. His Sharp Sword let out a clap of thunder as it transformed into six streaks of lightning, hurtling toward Zhaang Ye.
Having seen Zhaang Ye fight several times, Luo Yongsheng knew his opponent’s strength was exceptionally formidable. If he gave Zhaang Ye time to use the same Saber Technique that had defeated Lee Lie, even he might not be able to block it. With this in mind, he immediately unleashed the full power of his Thunder Shock Sword Technique, launching an all-out offensive to deny Zhaang Ye the chance to use that move.
Zhaang Ye’s expression remained unchanged. His body began to spin in an instant, and as it spun, the Heavy Saber in his hands rotated in a marvelous arc, drawing a jet-black line through the air.
"CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!"
After the six clashes, Zhaang Ye had completely blocked every strike of Luo Yongsheng’s Thunder Shock Sword Technique.
"Hm?"
Seeing his Swordsmanship blocked by Zhaang Ye’s sheer speed, a look of astonishment crossed Luo Yongsheng’s face. With a flick of his wrist, he sent seven streaks of Sword Light flying this time.
Zhaang Ye didn’t even blink. His saber moved as he turned, and with another swing, he blocked all seven streaks of Luo Yongsheng’s Sword Light.
The crowd below the Martial Arts Arena was slightly surprised to see Zhaang Ye so effortlessly block Luo Yongsheng’s attacks twice in a row. Luo Yongsheng’s Thunder Shock Sword Technique was renowned for its speed; cultivated to its peak, it was said to be even faster than thunder.
The Swordsmanship itself was already fast, but combined with Luo Yongsheng’s marvelous Celestial Net Step, his sword became even faster. When facing his Thunder Shock Sword Technique and Celestial Net Step, an ordinary Martial Artist wouldn’t even have time to think of blocking before they were run through and defeated in the blink of an eye.
Facing this kind of Swordsmanship was a real headache, as a moment’s carelessness could result in a bloody hole in one’s body. Earlier, Zhou Yuhe had been relentlessly pressured by Luo Yongsheng’s thunder-like Swordsmanship, forced to the point of breathlessness and having to concede defeat.
Even someone as strong as Zhaang Yijian was unwilling to compete with Luo Yongsheng in speed, instead using a unique Swordsmanship that countered speed with slowness to cleverly restrain him.
After watching Zhaang Ye’s match with Lee Lie, everyone knew his Saber Technique was domineering and fierce. But they hadn’t expected that, in addition to being domineering and fierce, it was also incredibly fast—perhaps not much slower than Luo Yongsheng’s Thunder Shock Sword Technique.
"SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH—"
Seeing that Zhaang Ye could easily block his Swordsmanship without even using his Ultimate Techniques, Luo Yongsheng’s heart sank. He fully unleashed his Celestial Net Step Technique, his body dissolving into countless afterimages that circled Zhaang Ye.
As he moved, Luo Yongsheng’s Long Sword swung fiercely, sending streaks of Sword Light like lightning bolts toward Zhaang Ye. Endless peals of thunder exploded around Zhaang Ye, completely drowning out the sound of his own sword strikes.
Zhaang Ye used his Cloud Stepping Technique, executing Gentle Wind Slash and Reverse Flow Slash to meet each of Luo Yongsheng’s sword strikes. Internally, he couldn’t help but admire his opponent. ’Luo Yongsheng’s Swordsmanship is fast, and his Body Technique is fast, too. The combination of the two multiplies their power, and it’s even a bit taxing for me to handle. In the face of this lightning-fast offense, I can’t even find an opening to use my powerful Mountain-Breaking Slash.’
Zhaang Ye’s Mountain-Breaking Slash had only just been conceptualized; he hadn’t even reached the Minor Achievement stage of its Cultivation. To execute it now, he still needed a brief moment—a process that took no more than the blink of an eye. But he couldn’t even find that tiny sliver of time. In the blink of an eye, Luo Yongsheng could attack five times!
’With this level of Swordsmanship and such a marvelous Footwork Technique, it’s no wonder Luo Yongsheng is ranked second among the Younger Generation! He truly lives up to his reputation,’ Zhaang Ye praised inwardly.
Although he was unable to launch a counterattack, Zhaang Ye was in no hurry. He knew that unleashing both his Swordsmanship and Body Technique at full power like this was incredibly draining, and Luo Yongsheng definitely wouldn’t be able to keep it up for long. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Sure enough, after executing dozens of consecutive sword moves, Luo Yongsheng’s striking speed and movements slowed slightly.
Zhaang Ye smiled faintly, continuing to parry Luo Yongsheng’s attacks in an unhurried manner.
Seeing Zhaang Ye completely unmoved, Luo Yongsheng couldn’t help but feel frustrated. He, too, knew he couldn’t last much longer, so he had intentionally slowed his pace a little to bait Zhaang Ye into attacking, hoping to launch a counter. But he hadn’t expected that, despite his youth, Zhaang Ye was as cunning as a fox. His plan to lure the enemy had failed completely.
Since Zhaang Ye didn’t fall for the bait, Luo Yongsheng had no choice but to maintain his speed and continue attacking relentlessly.
Suppress, suppress, and suppress again!
Luo Yongsheng had to use this rapid assault to suppress Zhaang Ye and prevent him from using that terrifying Saber Technique. But as time went on, Luo Yongsheng discovered to his horror that the more he suppressed his opponent, the more of his own True Qi he consumed. If this continued, Zhaang Ye wouldn’t even need to counterattack; he would simply exhaust himself to death!
Luo Yongsheng’s expression changed. ’I have to use my strongest Combat Skill right now,’ he thought. ’It’s my only hope of victory. Otherwise, my defeat is certain!’
His body suddenly shot back thirty feet. With a tremble of his blade, he thrust his sword forward. Amid a loud SWISH, the air above the arena suddenly filled with a shower of sparks. As brilliant as a sky full of shooting stars, they streaked across the air in beautiful arcs, heading for Zhaang Ye!
’What a marvelous Sword Technique!’ Seeing Luo Yongsheng unleash this move, Zhaang Ye’s eyes couldn’t help but light up.
The process of Luo Yongsheng executing the technique took only the blink of an eye, but Zhaang Ye’s perception was so sharp that he saw through the entire process at once.
As it turned out, when Luo Yongsheng’s blade had trembled, he had actually shattered the tip of his Long Sword. Before the broken piece could fall, he had used a marvelous technique, a single thrust, to pulverize it into countless tiny metal particles. What astonished Zhaang Ye even more was that with another sword move, these metal fragments were ground together until they became red-hot, transforming into a myriad of sparks that flew toward him.
"Good!" Zhaang Ye shouted. His figure blurred into motion, and he finally unleashed the Mountain-Breaking Slash.
"SWOOSH!"
The moment Zhaang Ye’s Mountain-Breaking Slash appeared, the jet-black Heavy Saber became like a black ribbon cutting across the Martial Arts Arena, instantly annihilating the shower of sparks.
Just as the sparks were annihilated, "CLINK! CLINK!" The sound of shattering metal rang out. Two more, larger clouds of sparks had appeared over the arena, each one glowing dazzlingly and carrying fierce True Qi as they flew toward Zhaang Ye.
It turned out that Luo Yongsheng’s move was called "Four Lightning Strikes." When executing it, the Long Sword would break three times. The shattered pieces of the blade, propelled by True Qi, would transform into a sky-filling storm of metal shards to injure the enemy. Each of the Four Lightning Strikes was fiercer than the last. In the final strike, every single shard of metal contained immense power, enough to easily pierce a sheet of iron!
But the true deadliness of the Four Lightning Strikes didn’t end there. After the first three strikes, the final attack used the cover of the sparks for one last assault with the Broken Sword in hand: a Sword Qi Strike!
’What a terrifying and bizarre attack!’ Even for someone as skilled and bold as Zhaang Ye, his expression couldn’t help but change when faced with such an assault. He let out a great shout as his Heavy Saber became a black ribbon, coiling slightly to sweep away the incoming sparks. At the same time, his body abruptly transformed into a Tornado, using the momentum from his saber’s sweep to dodge to the side.
The Mountain-Breaking Slash was a Saber Technique executed with Rotating Power. Although each slash was exceptionally fierce, the user could disengage at any time. If a strike missed, one could transform into a whirlwind and gracefully retreat. A slash, once unleashed, could also be easily retracted through the subtle application of Rotating Power, making it utterly marvelous. Zhaang Ye’s instantaneous shift from an all-out attack to retracting his saber and dodging was so wonderfully executed that even the four Elders’ eyes lit up in appreciation.
"SWOOSH!"
Zhaang Ye’s Mountain-Breaking Slash was a Combat Skill that integrated both offense and defense. After evading the storm of sparks made from metal shards, his body spun abruptly, and he once again unleashed the Mountain-Breaking Slash.
"KRA-ACK—" freewёbnoνel.com
As Zhaang Ye’s Mountain-Breaking Slash cut out, the black Saber Qi that erupted from the blade seemed to rip and shatter the very air above the Martial Arts Arena. The final streak of Sword Qi that Luo Yongsheng had unleashed was instantly annihilated upon contact with Zhaang Ye’s Heavy Saber, which continued on its path with undiminished speed, chopping straight toward Luo Yongsheng!
At this moment, Luo Yongsheng held only a very, very short Broken Sword. Faced with Zhaang Ye’s strike, a chill ran down his spine. He opened his mouth to shout his concession, but in the face of that slash, he could only gape, unable to make a sound no matter how hard he tried!
"Ah!"
Seeing Luo Yongsheng about to be cut in two by Zhaang Ye’s saber, the Luo Family Elder’s expression changed drastically. He shot to his feet, wanting to intervene, but Zhaang Ye’s slash was so fast that even with his own heaven-defying abilities, he was powerless to help!
Zhaang Tianlong, the Lee Family Elder, the Zhou Family Elder, as well as Zhaang Yijian, Zhou Yuhe, and Lee Lie—all of them revealed a hint of pity in their eyes as they witnessed Zhaang Ye’s strike. In their minds, Luo Yongsheng was already a dead man! Cyan Mulberry City was about to lose one of its geniuses!
Just when Luo Yongsheng himself thought he was dead, Zhaang Ye suddenly let out a soft shout. The fully-powered slash veered slightly, grazing past Luo Yongsheng’s forehead. The ferocious wind from the blade scraped off a layer of skin, and in an instant, Luo Yongsheng’s face was covered in blood!
"Ah!"
Having brushed shoulders with death, no matter how firm Luo Yongsheng’s willpower was, he couldn’t help but plop down onto the ground, panting heavily. He had completely lost the bearing of the second-ranked expert of the Younger Generation. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.com and vote with Recommendation Tickets or Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation!)
