Chapter 562 - 558: You’re Not the Only One with a Trump Card
Chapter 562: Chapter 558: You’re Not the Only One with a Trump Card
After dozens of blows were exchanged—
BANG!
A figure shot backward out of the swirling dust of battle. His speed was astonishing, like a pebble struck by a giant hammer.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The figure’s back slammed into an elm tree as thick as a bowl, and the trunk snapped on impact, sending splinters flying.
His momentum didn’t stop there. He crashed through a second tree, then a third, only coming to a halt when he hit a fourth—an old locust tree so thick it would take a person’s full embrace to circle it.
He slid to the ground, landing on one knee. He supported himself with his weapon, steadying his body.
This figure was Fang Han.
The cyan robe over his left chest was torn, revealing the Silver Soft Armor underneath, which faintly shimmered with a dark light.
A shocking, foot-long gash ran across the Soft Armor, cutting diagonally from his shoulder blade to his chest.
At the edges of the tear, silver threads were broken and curled outward. Blood was slowly seeping from the gash, soaking his tattered robes.
This was only a Top-Grade Soft Armor; it was no longer sufficient and had been damaged in the fight.
"Ngh—"
Fang Han grunted, glancing down at the wound on his chest.
Fortunately, he had reached Minor Achievement in his Cultivation of the Xuanwu True Skill, granting him a defense that an ordinary Late-stage First Grade Martial Artist would find difficult to pierce.
Otherwise, given the terrifying destructive power that even his Top-Grade Soft Armor couldn’t fully block, he would have been severely injured.
He definitely wouldn’t have gotten away with a wound that, while bleeding, had only broken the skin and was far from reaching bone and sinew.
He raised his head, his gaze falling on the dark golden figure several dozen feet away.
Qi Zhen stood with his sword in hand, his chest rising and falling slightly, his breathing a little more ragged than before.
His sharp eyes landed on Fang Han, sweeping over the bleeding but not-so-serious wound. His brow slowly furrowed.
’This level of a Body Hardening Technique?’
Qi Zhen’s voice was hoarse, tinged with an irrepressible surprise.
"Not only is your Swordsmanship god-like and your Body Technique uncanny, but you’ve also cultivated a Body Hardening Technique, and to a high degree."
"You took a direct blow from me, the Gang Leader, and only sustained a minor injury."
His gaze lingered on Fang Han for a moment before the corners of his mouth curled into a cold arc.
"But today, you will still die."
Before the words had even faded, he moved.
His dark gold brocade robes snapped sharply in the wind. The bizarre, blood-colored Inner Qi around him surged and writhed like a living creature, enveloping him in a faint, bloody mist.
His speed suddenly exploded, and he became like a streak of light dyed in blood, crossing several dozen feet in an instant.
He raised his long sword high overhead. Upon its blade, the blood-colored Inner Qi gathered and compressed with mad intensity, becoming almost solid.
The bloody color wasn’t a bright crimson, but a dark, dull shade like dried blood, emitting a nauseatingly sweet and metallic stench.
He slashed down with his sword.
Before the blade arrived, a brutal killing intent washed over Fang Han like a physical force, making the surrounding air feel thick and stagnant.
Fang Han’s expression grew more solemn than ever before.
He took a deep breath.
Then, he did something completely unexpected—
He let go with his right hand.
The Cloud Splitting Sword slipped from his grasp. Its tip sank into the earth below, and the blade trembled slightly, letting out a soft hum.
A flicker of doubt crossed Qi Zhen’s eyes, but his Sword Momentum continued unabated.
But in the instant the Cloud Splitting Sword left his hand, Fang Han’s left hand reached for his waist, his five fingers closing around empty air.
In the next instant—
A sheathed longsword appeared in his palm out of thin air.
The Sword Scabbard was pale cyan, utterly devoid of decoration. It was simple to the extreme, yet it emanated a restrained but undeniable sharpness.
It was the Low-Grade Spiritual Weapon, the Wind Shocking Sword.
Fang Han’s right hand gripped the hilt.
KLANG—!
The Wind Shocking Sword was unsheathed.
An incomparably clear sword cry rang out across the open field, overpowering the whistle of the Sword Gang slicing through the air.
The blade was a pale cyan, as clear as the sky after a rain. It shimmered under the afternoon sun with a heart-stopping brilliance.
The edge was as thin as a cicada’s wing, yet it exuded an aura of ultimate sharpness, as if it could slice one’s very gaze.
Back in the Commandery City, Qi Zhen had hidden some of his strength, not daring to use his full Inner Qi to avoid exposing his Demon Skill. But hadn’t Fang Han done the same?
To prevent others from coveting his Spiritual Weapon, the Wind Shocking Sword, he never showed it to anyone unless it was a matter of life and death, like now.
Qi Zhen’s charging figure came to a sudden halt.
His pupils contracted for an instant at the bizarre way the sword had appeared.
Appearing from nothing.
It wasn’t unhooked from his waist, nor was it drawn from his back. It simply materialized in Fang Han’s palm.
"A Storage Ring?!"
The words burst from Qi Zhen’s lips, his voice hoarse with unrestrained shock.
A Storage Treasure... a legendary item that existed only in ancient records. And this young man, barely in his twenties, actually possessed one.
"You actually have a Storage Ring..."
Qi Zhen’s tone changed, the initial shock replaced by a much more fervent emotion.
Greed.
It was a greed that burned like a raging fire in the depths of his eyes.
A Storage Ring—an item that even a Grandmaster Powerhouse would covet.
And right now, Fang Han had one.
’If I just kill Fang Han—’
"That Storage Ring on you will belong to me!"
Qi Zhen roared, and his blood-colored Inner Qi erupted with unprecedented intensity.
The bloody Sword Aura on his long sword flared, and the blade hummed and vibrated, letting out a screech like a starving beast.
He gripped the sword with both hands and slashed down with all his might.
This single strike contained all of his Inner Qi, all of his power, and all of his killing intent.
The Sword Gang stretched over a hundred feet long, so condensed it looked solid. Its bloody light was blinding as it descended upon Fang Han with the terrifying power to destroy everything in its path.
Fang Han’s eyes narrowed.
The Inner Qi from the Cyan Profound Technique surged through his body at an unprecedented speed, and the full power of his Early Stage of Second Grade Cultivation erupted without reserve.
His physical strength of three hundred thousand jin was poured into the Wind Shocking Sword in that instant.
He pushed his Wind Sword Intent to its absolute limit, unleashing his Great Success Realm Sky-Splitting Sword Technique without holding anything back.
The cyan-gold light on the Wind Shocking Sword’s blade suddenly transformed, becoming an almost transparent, yet tangibly solid, sharpness.
A Low-Grade Spiritual Weapon, doubling one’s combat power.
He met the attack with a single slash of his own.
The Cyan Sword Light and the bloody Sword Gang collided violently in mid-air.
CLANG—!!!
A deafening explosion of screeching metal erupted.
But this time, it was completely different from before.
There was no stalemate, no equal match of strength.
The moment the solidified, bloody Sword Gang touched the Cyan Sword Light, it was silently split in two, as if sliced apart by an invisible blade.
The sword light’s momentum did not diminish as it continued straight for Qi Zhen.
Qi Zhen’s pupils contracted sharply.
He put all his strength into blocking with his sword held horizontally.
CLANG—!!!
Another tremendous crash.
The Wind Shocking Sword struck the blade of Qi Zhen’s sword, sending sparks flying.
Qi Zhen felt an unstoppable, overwhelming force travel up from his sword. His entire right arm went numb in an instant, and the web between his thumb and forefinger split open.
He was sent flying backward like a kite with a snapped string.
His feet plowed two deep furrows in the ground as he was pushed back several dozen feet before he managed to stabilize himself.
He looked down at his right hand, which was still gripping his sword.
A deep gash tore across the web of his hand, and blood dripped down the hilt of his sword.
His entire right arm was trembling uncontrollably.
He snapped his head up, staring at Fang Han.
On his dark, rugged face, shock, disbelief, greed, and fear—
—a myriad of emotions swirled together, finally coalescing into two hoarse, trembling words:
"Spiritual Weapon..."
His voice was almost inaudible, yet it carried a horror that was bone-deep.
Weapons below the level of a Spiritual Weapon could enhance one’s combat power to a certain extent, but the boost was extremely limited—barely better than nothing.
Only weapons that reached the level of a Spiritual Weapon could significantly increase one’s combat power.
For Fang Han’s combat power to have skyrocketed like that, the sword in his hand had to be a Spiritual Weapon.
"Correct."
Fang Han stood with his sword, a cold arc forming on his lips.
There was no derision in that smile, no mockery, only a coldness that was utterly serene.
"Unfortunately, there’s no prize."
Before his voice faded, he moved.
SWOOSH—
He activated Wind God Step at full power, unleashing the Grandmaster-level Body Technique at the Mastery Realm without holding back.
His figure, clad in cyan robes, transformed into a barely perceptible streak of light. His speed was so astonishing that he left only a distorted afterimage in the air.
In the blink of an eye, he crossed several dozen feet and appeared before Qi Zhen.
He slashed out with the Wind Shocking Sword once more.
This strike was faster and more ruthless than the last.
The sword light was like a silken thread, tracing a faint, almost invisible arc under the afternoon sun.
Wherever the tip of the sword passed, the air silently split, leaving a fine crack behind it, like a fissure in space itself.
Qi Zhen gritted his teeth, desperately raising his sword to block as he frantically poured his blood-colored Inner Qi into the long sword in his hands.
CLANG—!!!
The swords met, sending sparks flying.
Qi Zhen felt that unstoppable, overwhelming force surge through him again. His entire right arm went completely numb, and he nearly lost his grip on his long sword.
He staggered backward, his feet stamping deep prints into the ground.
Fang Han followed like a shadow.
The third strike.
The fourth strike.
The fifth strike.
...
Each strike was faster and more ruthless than the one before.
Cyan Sword Lights crisscrossed the open field, forming a vast, inescapable net that trapped Qi Zhen within.
Qi Zhen did everything in his power to defend himself, but every block forced him back several steps. His defense grew more and more difficult to maintain.
After just a dozen more exchanges, his guard was broken, revealing an opening.
Naturally, Fang Han would not miss such an opportunity. He unleashed a swift strike, aiming for the opening.
SHLICK—
The Wind Shocking Sword slashed across Qi Zhen’s right shoulder. His dark gold brocade robe tore apart, revealing the Soft Armor beneath and scraping a shower of sparks across its surface.
The terrifying Power blasted through the Soft Armor, leaving a deep wound on Qi Zhen’s body.
Blood gushed from the wound, immediately staining a large patch of Qi Zhen’s robes red.
Qi Zhen’s body flew backward uncontrollably, only stopping after he crashed through several trees.
His long sword touched the ground, and blood dripped down its length.
"Hah—"
Qi Zhen gasped for breath, his chest heaving violently. Blood continued to seep from the wound on his right shoulder, dyeing his dark gold brocade robe a deep crimson.
He lifted his head, his gaze fixed on the cyan-robed figure standing with a sword several dozen feet away. His sharp eyes roiled with a mixture of terror and unwillingness to accept defeat.
"I’ll return your earlier words to you. The one who will die here today is you!"
Fang Han raised the Wind Shocking Sword, its tip pointed at Qi Zhen from afar.
The Inner Qi from the Cyan Profound Technique surged through his body at an unprecedented speed, all of it pouring into the blade of his sword.