Free Web NovelChapter 1133: Chapter 352: No Longer Dare to Claim Invincibility (Added for Alliance Hierarch Ah Shan’s little fan Di D!)
A glint of cold light sparked, and with a single sword, Wei Yu was forced back! freёwebnovel.com
As bystanders on the road turned their heads, what they saw was Wei Yu, with his sword held horizontally in front of him, standing against a wall.
They couldn’t help but hold their breath.
Wei Yu was no nameless warrior; he was recognized by the People of Qin as the world’s number one Teng Long, the pride of Great Qin! His future was boundless, not limited to the present.
Yet now, in combat with an equal, he appeared to be at a disadvantage.
Who was his adversary?
"Good!" Wei Yu praised aloud once more.
"I long for the glorious era of Flying Swords, cursing my inability to reach it. Never would I have expected, in this day and age, to witness such ancient Flying Sword Techniques. This is indeed Wei Yu’s fortune!"
He tilted his sword to the side and stood diagonally in front of himself, and with a stamp of his hind foot, he shot forward like a bolt.
A surge of extraordinarily fierce Sword Intent gathered around his body and mind, his momentum and strength churning and concentrating....
And in the end, both he and his sword thrust forward.
Yet Xiang Qian still stood in his original spot, leaning casually on the wall, simply raising his hand in front of his body, his index finger slightly lifted and gently flicking forward.
Clang!
A cold glint seemed to appear out of nowhere, meeting the tip of Wei Yu’s sword thrust abruptly forward.
Wei Yu hadn’t intended to release that sword thrust at this moment; his opponent was still seven steps away.
But he had no choice!
Just a moment ago, his sword had told him that if he did not strike... he would die!
His momentum was incomplete, his intent not fully realized, yet his sword was already unleashed.
It wasn’t until the very moment that their sword tips met that he truly saw his opponent’s sword for the first time.
It was a handle-less Flying Sword, now enlarged to over two feet in length, sharply radiant, with not a single spot that wasn’t piercingly bright.
It seemed as though it didn’t have any substance and was instead a sword made entirely of endless Sword Qi.
But as it met his own Longsword, it existed so tangibly.
No Technique could counter it; none of his Techniques could withstand this sword.
Wei Yu recognized this very clearly—all actions other than wielding a sword were superfluous at this moment. He could only rely on his sword in hand, on the Transcendent swordsmanship that he had diligently practiced!
His swordsmanship was indeed his strongest suit.
At this moment, Wei Yu fully infused his Path Origin into the sword, using his power to command the momentum, pushing that Flying Sword forward! Then he twisted his body, drawing a magnificent arc in mid-air that split the breeze, fast and fierce, as he advanced sword-first upon his foe!
Clang!
Another resonant sound echoed.
As Wei Yu drew his sword nearer, he was again forced to strike prematurely, stopped by the Flying Sword!
How could I allow this?
This was the only Thought in Wei Yu’s mind.
He twisted his wrist, and his Longsword writhed several times over that handle-less sword.
The swirling Sword Qi twirled into a vortex in the air, briefly restraining that extraordinarily nimble Flying Sword.
Marvelous swordsmanship indeed!
And Wei Yu himself, taking advantage of the opening created by his Sword Qi vortex, continued to press forward...
Clang!
The sword he had readied for a decisive strike had to be released prematurely in order to block that sudden Flying Sword in front of him!
Others might not understand, but he saw it all too clearly.
This Flying Sword was excessively sharp!
It easily shattered his spiral Sword Qi, utterly unconstrained.
The other wasn’t actually unable to dodge that twist; instead, they deliberately gave him the opportunity, just to waste his killing strike at this moment!
What kind of judgment was that? What kind of swordsmanship?
Wei Yu clenched his teeth, spun back around, and unleashed three successive slashes of sword light, forcing the Flying Sword back.
He stepped up onto the courtyard wall and then descended from high above, as graceful as a startled swan.
This sword move, bright and splendid...
Clang!
This strike, out of nowhere, was again forcibly reversed!
In the eyes of the servants at Yi’an Manor’s gates, and the ever-growing crowd of onlookers in front of the manor, what they witnessed was Wei Yu, acclaimed as the top Teng Long of Great Qin, exhibiting various offensive sword techniques of exquisite brilliance. Constantly attacking, constantly advancing.
But... constantly being forced into retreat.
From start to finish, he couldn’t get within five steps of his opponent!
The man who stood like a rock against the wall, unmovable, merely lifting a finger to control his sword, now seemed terrifyingly imposing.
"It seems... this is it."
Xiang Qian whispered in a voice that no one could hear.
He had only lifted a forefinger thus far, but now a middle finger joined it, bordering one another, while the thumb, ring, and little fingers all closed together.
His right hand, in the posture of thrusting a sword, thrust forward and instantly became rigid.
His sword fingers aligned, pointing directly at Wei Yu!
All of a sudden, a shrill screech sounded.
Due to the proximity, Wei Yu found it hard to discern whether he heard the screech or saw the flash of cold light first.
In any case, as he exhausted his strength and continued to advance fiercely...
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Three sounds rang out in quick succession.
For the first time, he closed within five steps of his opponent.
However, all that remained in his hand was a sword hilt.
He held the bare hilt, only four steps away from his opponent.
But he remained frozen there.
These four steps would forever remain uncrossable.
For Wei Yu’s stance was too resolute, his advancing momentum too fierce.
Thus, the image of him rigidly offering the sword hilt seemed particularly absurd and ironic.
But no one laughed.
Not even his opponent, the man named Xiang Qian, showed any hint of mockery.
Clang!
Perhaps the street was too quiet.
The sound of the three sections of the sword falling to the ground was exceptionally crisp.
It was as if people came to realize only then that Wei Yu’s famous sword had been directly chopped into four pieces along his charging path.
And just like waking from a dream, Wei Yu too came to a realization.
Holding the hilt, he looked at Xiang Qian.
His eyes could no longer see the Flying Sword, but he asked, "What is the name of this sword?"
The sharpness in Xiang Qian’s eyes had disappeared.
He seemed to turn back into the disheveled, down-and-out fellow, staring with lifeless fish eyes, listlessly facing the Human World.
Except...
Except when those four words were mentioned, he tilted his chin up slightly with an implied pride that spoke for itself.
"Longguang Shooting Fight," he said.
Wei Yu inverted the hilt in his palm, clasping it to his chest, and bowed to Xiang Qian with his hands together, "Wei has fallen short in skill and admits defeat. From now on, I will no longer claim to be unbeatable."
No excuses, no reasons, winning and losing had always been matters so simple.
For Wei Yu, losing today meant losing the halo of being the number one Great Qin’s Teng Long, being "stripped" of his reputation, and having his sword broken. The bitterness of this defeat was undeniably severe.
But for Xiang Qian, the victor of this battle, there was no expectation for his name to spread far and wide.
His expression of dejection, like a man mourning, revealed no signs of excitement.
He simply said, "I’ll take my leave."
Then he turned, walking alone into the distance amidst the gaze of the crowd.
Wei Yu’s words stirred no waves in his heart.
Perhaps to Wei Yu, not daring to claim invincibility represented immense acknowledgment.
But to him... Wei Yu should never have claimed invincibility in the first place.
That person is no longer here; who then can claim invincibility?
As for the so-called "prestige" of defeating the number one Teng Long of Qing Country, it was nothing substantial.
He could have come quietly and left just as noiselessly, much like he had done for most of his journey. Seeking only victory, not the name that came with it.
It was Wei Yu’s own pride that did not allow room for retreat.
But for Xiang Qian, from the beginning to the end, as he had said himself, his journey was not to tarnish one’s face nor to take one’s fame...
He sought only to inquire about the sword.
Only about this sword.
