Chapter 491 Bring It All Out
Qin Ziren felt a bitterness he couldn’t express.
Jiang Huai, standing before him, wore an expression of gentle benevolence. He even held Qin Ziren’s shoulder to prevent him from falling. The porcelain bottle of healing pills in his hand seemed to shimmer. Qin Ziren now regretted his earlier refusal of Jiang Huai’s offer to draw his sword. But if he brought it up again now… would it make him seem like a sore loser?
He hesitated before accepting the healing pill, eventually Shaking his head. “It’s just a minor injury. Brother Qin has excellent boxing skills; it was my carelessness.”
He attributed it to carelessness, not to a concession of defeat.
Jiang Huai glanced back at the stage. Mu Yao, at this moment, had a slight curve to her lips. Although she had doubted Jiang Huai’s strength on the spirit boat earlier, it was only due to fear that he was too far from her, an unconscious, petty jab, nothing more.
Qin Ziren’s defeat brought not only a loss of face but also grim expressions to Mu Jianghe on the stage and the Qin family members at Qin Ziren’s table. Jiang Huai looked around. Seeing Qin Ziren’s reluctance to take the pill, he didn’t press the issue. Gazing at Qin Ziren’s pained, stifled expression, he hesitated before speaking softly, “Ultimately, I did have an advantage. Since you are a sword cultivator, if you wish to have another match, I can accommodate you.”
One leads to another. Since the first match had already been fought, Jiang Huai didn’t mind giving the other party a chance. A dignified loss was certainly better than the lingering regret of defeat. Qin Ziren was startled by his words, but a moment later, his eyes lit up. “Brother Qin, do you truly wish to have another match?”
“I’m amenable to anything, as long as you desire it,” Jiang Huai replied. He stepped back a few paces and stood quietly. No further words were needed. Qin Ziren instantly drew the three-foot-long Qingfeng sword at his waist. As the blade was unsheathed, a cold light flared, and wind and thunder surged.
His sword edge flashed with arcs of lightning, crackling and exploding in the air. Without further ado, Qin Ziren no longer held back. He stepped forward, launching into the sixth stance of the Qin family sword technique: Moon Gazing.
The sword’s angle was uniquely cunning, and a cold light traced a crescent in the air. Against an opponent of equal cultivation, this sword would be difficult to evade. Unfortunately, the radiance of the blade seemed slow to Jiang Huai’s eyes.
It wasn’t that he was slow to draw his sword, but rather that Qin Ziren was too fast.
With a slight sidestep, he easily evaded the crescent moon. The next moment, Qin Ziren changed his move, his wrist twisting, sword flowers blooming. Bursts of thunder erupted around Jiang Huai. His body twisted in seemingly irregular, awkward ways. While appearing somewhat comical, these movements precisely dodged the center of each thunderous explosion. The residual shockwaves that hit him left him unharmed.
The Overlord Art was considered one of the most powerful body-refining techniques in the world. Upon reaching its seventh stage, its miraculous applications were endless. The Overlord Qi within his body coursed through his limbs, having honed his physique to an extraordinary degree. Without deliberate training, Jiang Huai could easily contort his body into various peculiar shapes. His control over the strength of every inch of skin and every muscle had reached a state of perfection.
Jiang Huai’s movements remained unhurried. This wasn’t because he underestimated his opponent; rather, observing Qin Ziren’s flashy yet formidable sword moves piqued his interest in learning. He focused on evading each sword strike, allowing Qin Ziren to exert himself to his fullest, panting heavily, yet ultimately failing to touch even a corner of his robe. It was as if every sword strike landed on cotton.
A sword cultivator’s set of moves ultimately consisted of no more than a dozen styles. To perform them all took less than the time it took for an incense stick to burn. Sword duels between cultivators were often decided within these few moves. At this moment, Qin Ziren gritted his teeth, held his breath, and swung his sword, continuously searching for a weakness in Jiang Huai’s defense. But no matter how he swung, Jiang Huai slipped away from his sword with the ease of a mudfish.
His swordplay yielded no results. The more he swung, the more the strange sense of powerlessness welled up in Qin Ziren’s heart. His eyes widened, and he channeled all his strength into his final strike. This was the ninth stance of the Qin family sword technique: Soul-Chasing Broken Moon. He gathered all his spiritual energy into a single point, along with the sword energy he had cultivated over time. His pupils blazed with a true red light. This strike was not merely physical but also imbued with spiritual energy.
Jiang Huai was momentarily taken aback by the spiritual energy in the sword. He ceased his evasive maneuvers and, almost instinctively, raised his hand. The Overlord Qi from the seventh stage of the Overlord Art surged into his raised arm. Then, naturally and with ease, he grasped the sword’s blade, preventing it from falling any further.
Even with all his might, his spiritual energy burning within him, Qin Ziren couldn’t move his sword another inch.
He had often sparred with his elders, but this feeling of powerlessness and humiliation was a first.
“If you could catch my blade bare-handed, why did you bother dodging?”
“You!” Qin Ziren rushed forward, bringing his other hand to grasp the sword hilt together. But his sword was held so firmly by Jiang Huai that he couldn’t even pull it out. Jiang Huai’s palm glowed with a jade-like luminescence. Aside from leaving two white marks on his palm, the lightning coiled around the blade caused him no harm.
Jiang Huai possessed the Silver Dragon bloodline. Silver Dragons were supreme Dragon Emperors who mastered ice and lightning. His lightning resistance was already maxed out. Seeing Qin Ziren’s bulging eyes, Jiang Huai paused for a moment, then released his grip, allowing him to withdraw the blade.
Qin Ziren stood frozen, his blood boiling. He stammered for a long time, unable to utter a word. Finally, he glared at Jiang Huai in frustration and declared with great humiliation, “I concede!”
“You are too kind,” Jiang Huai said, looking at the white marks on his palm. He was gaining a deeper understanding of the Overlord Art’s power. Indeed, true combat was the fastest way to familiarize himself with his body. Jiang Huai then looked towards the stage and spoke slowly, “Senior Mu, can I accompany Mu Yao to the Ancestral Secret Realm now?”
Mu Jianghe’s eyes, which had previously held disdain and coldness, now showed a flicker of interest. However, a moment later, he snorted coldly, “Even without young master Qin… Hmph, Qin Ziyi, step forward.”
Qin Ziyi, the eldest young master of the Qin family, whose name had been called by Mu Jianghe, stood up with an innocent expression and looked towards the stage.
“Are you willing to escort my Mu family’s sixth young lady during her exploration of the Ancestral Secret Realm?”
Qin Ziyi was stunned for a moment, then respectfully replied, “If the Mu family patriarch is willing, this junior will naturally do his utmost.”
“Go. If you win against him, the task of escorting my Mu family’s sixth young lady will be yours,” Mu Jianghe said indifferently, then looked at Jiang Huai on the stage. Jiang Huai now looked like the most innocent one. Mu Jianghe hadn’t said this previously.
He sighed helplessly, “Alright, alright. Bring it all out.”
Mu Yao, watching his dejected, reluctant expression, couldn’t help but quirk her lips. She understood Jiang Huai’s temperament; the guy was incredibly lazy, often too lazy even to argue, let alone fight.
Qin Ziyi had already stepped onto the stage. He was slightly taller than Qin Ziren had been. Their faces were similar. Before coming, he had patted Qin Ziren’s shoulder and said, “Big brother will avenge you.”
Qin Ziyi stopped in front of Jiang Huai. He wore a white robe and had a jade-colored spirit sword at his waist, but he had not drawn it. The moment his cultivation aura was released, the peak of the fifth stage of Body Integration instantly drew gasps of admiration from the onlookers.
“My cultivation level is much higher than yours. You specialize in body refinement, and I won’t take advantage of you. I won’t draw my sword.”
“You can draw if you want,” Jiang Huai sighed helplessly.
“No need,” Qin Ziyi shook his head. Although his eyes held arrogance, it wasn’t outright disdain. He stated earnestly, “If I defeat you with my sword, the victory would be unfair and uninteresting.”
“My body refinement is my path of cultivation, and your sword cultivation is yours. We are both following our own paths. Whether or not the sword is drawn, how can it be an unfair victory?”
Having said that, Jiang Huai no longer had the energy to persuade him further. “Then I’ll use my fists.”
Qin Ziyi nodded and assumed the same starting stance as Qin Ziren. But at that very moment, a loud bang echoed in his ears. Jiang Huai had already left his original position. The bluestone beneath his feet was now completely cracked, leaving a deep pit. By the time he heard the sound, Jiang Huai’s fist had already reached his chest.
Even as he raised his hand to block, with lightning surging in his palm and spiritual energy forming a massive phantom, the punch easily pierced through the force of his palm, shattering the spiritual energy phantom as well. The fist landed directly in the center of his palm. In an instant, the immense force shattered all the bones in his palm, and then, like an avalanche, his entire hand disintegrated inch by inch.
When he regained his senses, Jiang Huai was already ten meters away, his expression one of utter helplessness.
“Draw your sword?” he asked again.
Qin Ziyi tried to wiggle his finger but found that his left arm was now hanging limply, completely numb. Hastily, he retrieved a healing pill with his usable right hand, swallowed it, and then gripped his sword hilt, his jade-colored longsword held tightly in his hand.
“This sword is called Jade Tribulation. It was refined over thirty years using the spiritual spring jade marrow from the Yu Lin Mountain range in the Southern Region, and tempered day and night with fire and lightning. Its blade has the effect of breaking spirits. You must be careful.”
Jiang Huai stared at him for two seconds before nodding slightly.
Qin Ziyi swung his sword, but his technique was almost identical to Qin Ziren’s. Jiang Huai had already dismantled all his moves and memorized them thoroughly. He had only executed the third stance and hadn’t even begun the fourth when Jiang Huai struck his wrist with a heavy blow. The moment his hand ached, he came back to his senses to find his sword already in Jiang Huai’s grasp.
Jiang Huai took a step back and leisurely drew the sword across his palm, leaving a white mark. He commented softly, “It is indeed a good sword.”
Sword cultivators cherished their swords. But Jiang Huai felt he was becoming increasingly mischievous lately. Hearing the opponent boast about his sword’s value, Jiang Huai’s mind conjured the peculiar thought of smashing the sword with a punch and shattering its blade.
He tossed the sword back to Qin Ziyi. Qin Ziyi’s face flushed green and white. He stared at Jiang Huai for several seconds before finally lowering his head in shame and anger. “I concede!”
He shouted loudly, his admission of defeat much better than his fleeing younger brother’s. Jiang Huai merely glanced helplessly at Mu Yao on the stage and replied softly, “You are too kind.”
