Section 76: Slaying the Mad Lion!
By: Gu Zhenren
February 9, 2013
The saber strike appeared so suddenly that Hongshang Fairy couldn’t react in time.
The dazzling saber light illuminated her delicate and beautiful face, making it glow.
The Mad Lion’s eyes snapped open wide, revealing an expression of extreme shock and utter terror.
He tried to turn and defend himself, but the saber had been hidden too stealthily, arriving too quickly and unexpectedly. The saber light was like snow, sharp and merciless, displaying the attacker’s icy calm and ruthless precision. It gave him no time to counter.
*Swish!*
The saber body broke through space, carving a stunning silver arc in the dim expanse, carrying a fatal killing intent.
*Whoosh!*
At a critical moment, the Five Elements Sky Wheel automatically defended, spinning madly and positioning itself behind the Mad Lion.
However, this was a strike Chu Yun had accumulated for a long time. The saber blade sent the Five Elements Sky Wheel flying, and with ferocious power, it struck the Mad Lion’s back, sending blood splattering.
“Aaaargh!” the Mad Lion roared, emitting a sound of extreme, tragic pain.
Like the king of beasts whose dignity had been offended, his whiskers bristled, his eyes turned crimson. Though gravely wounded, his cruel ferocity was ignited. He didn’t retreat an inch but spun around, swinging the Golden Dragon Swallowing Sun Saber with him. In an instant, a dazzling and magnificent golden blade aura erupted.
The blade aura was incredibly imposing, and its power was terrifyingly potent. Where it passed, even the dim space was shaken, creating ripples like water.
Yet, it didn’t hit Chu Yun.
“I missed?!” The Mad Lion’s heart sank. This was another surprise.
Ordinarily, after landing a successful blow, one would feel a surge of fighting spirit and increased confidence, leading to a second attack. This was human nature. But this sneak attacker, after a single successful strike, decisively retreated. What kind of mindset was this?
Neither arrogant nor timid, calm as ice. He had even calculated his own reaction.
What a terrifying mind!
“Who are you?!” The Mad Lion’s facial muscles convulsed. His previous counter-attack had doubled his injuries. He was furious, roaring with rage. In the Archipelago, someone could actually injure him, the Mad Lion!?
*Swish!*
The bright saber light reappeared.
This time, the target was not the wary Mad Lion, but the Five Qi Grasping Hand.
Within the Drunken Snow Saber lay five incomplete Dao techniques: Fire Conversion, Thunder Conversion, Wind Conversion, Water Conversion, and Darkness Conversion. All were Upper grade Dao techniques. Struck by this saber, the fire and water elements of the Five Qi Grasping Hand first collapsed, and then the entire massive hand disintegrated. Hongshang Fairy regained her freedom.
“Chu Yun?!” she cried out, looking at the young man before her, her tear-filled eyes filled with surprise.
Chu Yun had left a deep impression on her, and they had been partners before. Even though Chu Yun’s appearance had changed, she recognized him at a glance.
“Chu Yun? You’re that young master of the Shu Family?! You dare to wound me, dare to offend me? You are dead! You are dead! I will tear you limb from limb, then sever your head and present it to the Shu Family Island Master!”
Seeing Chu Yun, the Mad Lion exploded with rage. He, the glorious Mad Lion, had been wounded by a junior.
Humiliation!
A deep sense of shame made his attacks extraordinarily ferocious. The Golden Dragon Swallowing Sun Saber vibrated, its blade light like the sun hanging in the sky, its golden radiance shooting out. In an instant, the entire dim space was filled with golden light, and a golden dragon, vaguely visible within the golden beams.
An incomparably sharp saber wind, before it even struck, made Chu Yun’s face feel pain.
“Chu Yun, let’s go quickly!” Under such fierce saber intent, Hongshang Fairy exclaimed repeatedly, not daring to confront its edge.
“What are you afraid of? I’m here.” Facing the overwhelming golden saber light filling the universe, Chu Yun remained fearless, his face calm, his fierce eyes shining.
Shining radiance, dragon pattern!
*Roar!*
This was a heaven-shattering duel, dragon against dragon. The shining saber light was like a glacier cracking, a mountain avalanche, suddenly erupting outwards. The shining dragon head opened its maw and roared. Amidst thunderous growls, it fiercely collided with the golden saber aura covering the sky.
*Boom!*
Amidst the violent surge, both dragons simultaneously vanished. The golden light suddenly disappeared, and the snowy saber intent also abruptly retracted.
“You actually blocked my strike?” The Mad Lion was astonished; this development was beyond his expectations. “Are you really only [Age] years old?!”
“Age means nothing. Your Golden Dragon Swallowing Sun Saber has the cultivation of a peak Spirit Monster, and so does my Drunken Snow Saber. You have perfected Saber Techniques, one step away from supernatural mastery. I am the same. Take this, Snow Moon Heavenly Charge!”
Chu Yun let out a light cry. The Drunken Snow Saber body flashed with dazzling light, too bright to look at directly. With a fierce slash, the saber light erupted, charging towards the sky, rapidly condensing into a massive, five-zhang wide, crescent-shaped silver moon saber energy.
The saber energy was ferocious. With a roar like a collapsing mountain and a tidal wave, it pierced through space, slashing towards the Mad Lion.
“Hmph! Do you think I’m afraid of you? Great Sun Wheel Slash!” The Mad Lion’s golden hair danced wildly, like a descending deity. He held the saber with both hands, making the Golden Dragon Swallowing Sun Saber rotate like a wheel.
He unleashed a strike no less powerful than his previous one. The saber intent was incredibly violent, as if destroying the heavens and earth. It collided with the Snow Moon Heavenly Charge, and they cancelled each other out again.
“Mad Lion, you are famous for your Saber Techniques, but I have surpassed you. You can’t defeat me!” Chu Yun laughed heartily. His physique was no weaker than the Mad Lion’s, like a savage beast from the primeval times, containing infinite power.
He activated the Snow Fang Saber Technique, making the Drunken Snow Saber as large as a door panel. Stepping forward with his Swift Grass Shoes, he advanced with every saber strike fierce and violent, engaging the Mad Lion.
*Boom, boom, boom…*
Saber energy crisscrossed, saber lights competed in brilliance, snowy and golden streams of light entangled and collided. Every time the sabers met, they erupted with thunderous explosions!
The battle was so fierce and brutal that Hongshang Fairy had to pilot her flower boat to retreat to a corner.
“I can’t believe it. Chu Yun can actually fight the Mad Lion head-on?!” Her beautiful eyes widened, staring intently at Chu Yun with astonishing surprise.
She still remembered the time when Chu Yun had cooperated with her to escape the pursuit of the Yan Family’s old ancestor.
But in the blink of an eye, he had grown to this extent. He could rival the Mad Lion! Every clash of saber blades, the resulting roar, shook Hongshang Fairy’s heart. Chu Yun’s heroic bearing in battle, his domineering and unrestrained Saber Techniques, were deeply imprinted in Hongshang Fairy’s mind.
Both sides’ fighting styles were incredibly ferocious, but there were subtle differences.
The Mad Lion’s Saber Techniques carried a trace of crazed brutality. Chu Yun’s Saber Techniques, however, contained a calm sharpness.
Both exerted their full strength, without respite, fighting continuously for over fifty moves. Each wanted to suppress the other’s offense, a true clash of titans.
After more than fifty moves, the snowy saber light greatly intensified. The golden saber aura was firmly suppressed and at a disadvantage, repeatedly failing to counterattack.
This should have been a battle of evenly matched strength. However, the Mad Lion’s back injury severely hampered him.
Chu Yun’s first strike was intended to take the Mad Lion’s life! But it was blocked by the Five Elements Sky Wheel protecting its master, ultimately hitting his back and opening a deep, bone-chilling wound.
Each violent saber swing by the Mad Lion caused blood to spurt from the wound. Sometimes, with a larger movement, one could even see his spinal bone in the wound! On the pale white bone, there was a deep saber mark.
Chu Yun had almost shattered his spine!
However, due to the spiritual energy feedback from the Golden Dragon Swallowing Sun Saber, his spine, as black as gold, was as hard as steel. If not for the Golden Dragon Swallowing Sun Saber, he would have been cleaved in half by Chu Yun long ago.
“Good, very good! Chu Yun, I remember you. You will face the most terrifying revenge of your life. I, the Mad Lion, swear that I will sever your head and, in front of your family, kick it around like a ball.”
The Mad Lion’s face was pale, his eyes filled with extreme malice. His hair disheveled, he let out a chilling, sinister laugh: “Hehehehe, aren’t your Shu Family fighting the Shui Family? Once I get out of here, I’ll join the Shui Family’s army. I will harvest your head on the battlefield, in my full vigor, in front of tens of thousands of people!”
“Hmph! Think you can just run?” Chu Yun sneered, his fighting spirit soaring, his offense doubling, determined to kill the Mad Lion.
“If I want to leave, who can stop me? Brat, you still have much to learn. Five Elements Child, Sky Wheel Dances in the Sky!”
As the Mad Lion roared, the Five Elements Sky Wheel suddenly split into five streams of wondrous light, transforming into five cherubic children, all exquisitely carved and glowing.
They encircled the Mad Lion, forming a peculiar battle formation that rotated like a mighty wheel. Space immediately tore open, and an escape route was about to open.
“You dream too sweetly. Eight Trigrams Battle Formation!”
As soon as Chu Yun’s voice fell, both the Mad Lion and Hongshang Fairy heard a thunderous roar in their ears. In the blink of an eye, the world changed.
Within the Eight Trigrams Formation Space, Chu Yun stood proudly in the air, his black robes fluttering without wind, like an ancient god, his palms holding the sun and moon, looking down upon all living beings.
“Five Elements Formation, this is truly the Eight Trigrams Battle Formation! The technique of the Ten Thousand Beasts King!” Hongshang Fairy’s eyes widened, her cherry lips parted in astonishment.
“How can this be?! My Sky Wheel Dances in the Sky can’t break through space anymore!” The Mad Lion’s expression completely changed, his voice filled with terror.
He was truly panicked!
With his severe injuries, he was not in top condition. If this continued, he would be in grave danger.
Chu Yun attacked without holding back. The Mad Lion found it increasingly difficult to resist. He roared until his throat was hoarse, like a cornered beast.
Hongshang Fairy remained silent. The Mad Lion, who not long ago was high-spirited and controlled life and death, now had no aura of glory, only desperate struggle.
“Torrent of Dao!” Chu Yun pointed, unleashing a fatal blow.
“Sky Dance Treasure Wheel, protect me!” The Mad Lion cried out in panic, clinging to the only straw of hope. The Five Elements Sky Wheel, a combination of Demon Soldiers, was indeed incredibly powerful when united. It blocked the Torrent of Dao.
“Heh heh heh, you can’t kill me, you can’t kill me!” The Mad Lion, having narrowly escaped death, laughed wildly.
“Torrent of Dao! Torrent of Dao! Torrent of Dao! Torrent of Dao!” Chu Yun was enraged, unleashing four consecutive Tountains of Dao.
This was no longer a river flowing backward, but mountain floods and tidal waves, pouring down overwhelmingly!
The Mad Lion’s laughter abruptly ceased. His expression of desperate fear was the last moving feature on his face before he died.
