Chapter 631 - 626: Sword Shatters
Chapter 631: Chapter 626: Sword Shatters
Yi San felt a terrifying, unstoppable force travel up from the blade of his sword.
The power was so condensed it felt tangible, carrying a sharpness that seemed capable of tearing anything apart as it surged up his arm and into his body.
"Hmph—"
He let out a muffled groan. The arm holding his sword trembled violently, and the web of his hand ached and went numb.
His entire body was thrown backward uncontrollably, his feet stumbling more than ten steps across the ground.
Each step left a deep imprint on the hard-packed official road, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading out from around them.
After steadying himself, he glanced down at his right hand, which was still gripping his sword.
Though the skin on the web of his hand hadn’t split, his entire right arm was faintly numb, and his fingers trembled slightly.
He looked up, a trace of astonishment appearing in his otherwise unremarkable eyes.
Even though Fang Han might have sensed him in advance, he had been extremely confident in his assassination attempt.
He believed that even if he couldn’t kill Fang Han, he could at least injure him.
But not only was Fang Han unharmed, he had forced Yi San back and even made him suffer a minor setback.
’His combat power has already surpassed the Third Breakthrough... The intelligence was wrong!’
Yi San’s eyes were fixed on Fang Han, who stood several dozen feet away with his sword. According to the intel, Fang Han’s combat power was at the Third Breakthrough level.
But the strength Fang Han was displaying now had clearly surpassed that.
’This assassination probably won’t go smoothly.’
"Who are you?"
Fang Han leaped off Chi Huo’s back, landing steadily on the ground.
He looked at the middle-aged man opposite him, who was dressed in gray robes and had an utterly plain face, and asked with coldness filling his calm eyes.
Yi San didn’t answer.
Assassins never waste words on their prey or reveal information about themselves.
His unremarkable eyes held nothing but icy killing intent and focus.
The next instant—
SWOOSH!
Yi San moved again.
He took a step forward, and the ground beneath his feet shook violently.
His Fast Sword Intent erupted without reservation as he pushed his Cultivation to its absolute limit.
The Silver-Gray Longsword in his hand became a streak of silver lightning, moving so fast that it left a series of blurry afterimages in the air.
The first sword strike thrust toward Fang Han’s throat.
The second slashed at Fang Han’s left side.
The third aimed to sever Fang Han’s right wrist.
The fourth flicked toward Fang Han’s heart.
...
Each strike was faster than the last, raining down on Fang Han like a raging storm.
Every strike was astonishingly fast, precise, and vicious, targeting the vital points all over Fang Han’s body.
Under the morning light, the glinting sword strikes wove a silver net of death, trapping Fang Han completely within it.
Fang Han’s eyes narrowed.
He activated Wind God Step, unleashing the Lower Grade Mental Realm Body Technique at the Realm of Perfection.
His figure became like a true wisp of gentle wind, flitting and weaving through the gaps in the endless sword shadows.
At the same time, his Cloud Splitting Sword traced streaks of azure-gold light in front of him, executing the techniques of the Void Wind God Sword one by one.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG—!
The sound of metal clashing rang out in a dense, rapid-fire succession, like popping beans, sending sparks flying everywhere.
Each collision produced a deafening roar, and shockwaves spread outward one after another.
The official road was plowed with a crisscrossing web of sword marks. The trees on both sides were repeatedly sliced by the aftershocks of Sword Qi, filling the air with a storm of shredded leaves and branches.
Several ancient trees, so thick it would take multiple people to encircle them, were cut in half at the trunk, the severed surfaces as smooth as mirrors.
The shockwaves shaved away layer after layer of the ground, exposing the bare rock beneath.
The rock itself was covered in a network of deep, bottomless cracks.
WHIMPER—
Chi Huo had long since retreated to a safe distance. Its dark-gold, vertical pupils were fixed on the two figures locked in fierce combat, a low whimper rumbling in its throat.
With combat power merely comparable to a First-Breakthrough Martial Artist, it was completely unable to interfere in a battle of this level.
The longer Yi San fought, the more frightened he became.
He had already pushed his Fast Sword Intent to its limit, and each of his strikes should have been enough to overwhelm an ordinary Third Breakthrough Martial Artist.
But Fang Han’s Body Technique was too fast, too ethereal.
It was as if every strike he made was anticipated, allowing his opponent to dodge with ease in the nick of time.
What made his heart pound even more was the astonishing power of Fang Han’s Swordsmanship.
It not only surpassed the Third Breakthrough level and approached that of a Grandmaster, but it seemed he had already traveled far down that path.
Every time their swords met, an incomparably sharp Power surged through his blade, making his arm go numb and the web of his hand throb with pain.
It felt as though he wasn’t striking a sword, but a "wind" that had been condensed to its absolute limit.
All-pervasive and all-destroying.
After more than ten exchanges,
SWISH—!
A sharp glint flashed in Fang Han’s eyes.
’I’ve figured out his swordsmanship style,’ he thought. ’It’s fast—unbelievably fast. But for all its speed, the Sword Techniques lack Transformations.’
He seized a minuscule opening in Yi San’s Sword Momentum. The vast Inner Qi from the Cyan Wood Antitoxic Scripture within him erupted without reservation.
His entire Early First Grade Cultivation was poured into the Cloud Splitting Sword.
At the same time, he mobilized the 300,000 jin of his physical strength, his muscles and bones thrumming in unison.
The Sword Techniques of the Void Wind God Sword were executed to their peak in that instant.
The Wind Sword Intent on the blade condensed until it was almost tangible, and the air around the sword silently tore open, revealing dark, web-like fissures.
He slashed out with his sword!
This one strike contained all of his power.
The sword light was like a startling azure-gold rainbow, carrying a terrifying sharpness capable of tearing through anything as it viciously chopped toward Yi San’s chest!
Yi San’s pupils abruptly shrank to the size of pinpricks.
He could feel the terror of this strike—it possessed enough power to severely injure, or even kill him!
It was too late to dodge. He gave it his all, pushing his Fast Sword Intent to an unprecedented limit.
His Silver-Gray Longsword transformed into a streak of silver light, moving back to block at its top speed.
CLANG—!!!
The two swords met once more, erupting with a colossal sound far more violent than any before.
The sound was so terrifying it could be heard clearly from dozens of li away.
A massive crater, dozens of zhang across and several chi deep, was blasted into the ground with the point of impact at its center.
Soil and shattered rock sprayed outward like rain, striking the surrounding tree trunks with a dense staccato of impacts.
The shockwave was like a physical tsunami, uprooting every tree within a several-hundred-zhang radius, churning the earth, and sending a pillar of dust and smoke into the sky.
Yi San felt an indescribably terrifying force travel up from his sword.
That condensed, razor-sharp Power was like countless red-hot steel needles surging up his arm and into his body, wreaking havoc in his meridians.
PTUI—!
A sweet taste rose in his throat, and he uncontrollably sprayed a mouthful of blood, which traced a grimly beautiful arc in the sunlight.
His entire body was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily onto the official road dozens of zhang away.
His body tumbled several times through the gravel and dust before finally coming to a stop.
Sharp pains wracked his chest. He looked down to see that the robes over his chest had been torn apart by the sword wind, revealing the sturdy physique he’d gained from practicing a Body Hardening Technique.
A deep sword gash was clearly visible on his body, with blood oozing from it.
If not for the fact that he was a "Second Stage Martial Artist" and one of the two barriers he’d broken was the "Flesh Body Barrier," giving him an extremely tough physique...
...this single strike would have been enough to gut him.
"Cough, cough—"
Yi San coughed up a few more mouthfuls of blood, his utterly plain face filled with extreme horror.
’I’ve lost.’
He had lost in just over ten exchanges.
And it was a complete and utter defeat.
’Fang Han’s combat power not only surpasses the Third Breakthrough and is approaching a Grandmaster’s, but he’s already traveled an immense distance down that path.’
’If this continues, not only will I fail to kill Fang Han, I’ll likely lose my own life here.’
For an assassin, the greatest taboo is to refuse to give up on a failed mission.
Knowing when to cut your losses is the only way to survive long-term.
Yi San endured the sharp pain in his chest, slammed a palm on the ground, and used the force to escape into the dense forest beside the road.
But just then—
CRACK—!
An extremely faint, yet piercingly clear cracking sound came from Fang Han’s hands.
Yi San’s movement froze abruptly.
He looked up, his gaze locked on Fang Han.
Fang Han’s brow also furrowed slightly at that moment.
He looked down, his eyes falling on the dark azure longsword in his hand.
On the blade, starting near the hilt, several fine, spiderweb-like cracks quietly appeared and spread rapidly.
The next moment—
The Cloud Splitting Sword in his hand silently shattered into more than a dozen pieces.
The fragments clattered to the ground, landing on the official road that had been torn to shreds by Sword Qi. They refracted a few last, dim glints of sunlight before falling completely silent.
Only a bare hilt remained in Fang Han’s hand.
He looked down at the hilt in his hand and was silent for a moment.
This Cloud Splitting Sword was a Low Grade Magical Soldier he had exchanged for 50,000 Contribution Points after becoming a True Inheritor.
It had been with him for nearly two years and had seen him through countless battles, big and small.
In the battle against Qin Yuan, the blade had already been nicked and damaged.
Today, after a fierce battle with Yi San, a powerful enemy whose combat strength surpassed that of a Third Breakthrough Martial Artist, it finally could not endure any longer and shattered completely.
’An opportunity!’
A sharp light erupted from Yi San’s unremarkable eyes.
Just as he was about to retreat, his figure suddenly changed direction, closing in on Fang Han like a phantom.
He had been planning to flee, but in an unexpected turn of events, Fang Han’s sword had shattered.
A swordsman without a sword is like a tiger without its claws and fangs.
His combat power would surely be greatly diminished, perhaps reduced to less than a tenth of what it was.
’The chance to kill Fang Han is here!’
SWOOSH—!
Yi San pushed his Fast Sword Intent to an unprecedented extreme, and the Inner Qi in his body erupted without reservation.
His entire body became a gray bolt of lightning, crossing a distance of dozens of zhang in an instant.
His Silver-Gray Longsword, wrapped in an extremely condensed beam of silver sword light, thrust straight for Fang Han’s throat with resolute, do-or-die killing intent!
Where the sword’s edge passed, the air was torn open, creating a white fissure several zhang long that emitted a sharp, piercing shriek.
Fang Han’s gaze shifted from the bare hilt in his hand to the silver sword light hurtling toward him.
There was no panic, no attempt to dodge.
His expression was as calm as still water.
He simply released the hilt with his right hand.
Then, he made a grasping motion with his left hand.
The next instant—
A sheathed longsword appeared out of thin air in his palm.
The Sword Scabbard was a pale azure color, devoid of any extra ornamentation. It was minimalist to the extreme, yet it exuded a restrained but undeniable sharpness.
It was none other than the Low-Grade Spiritual Weapon—the Wind Shocking Sword.
’A Storage Treasure?’
This scene, reflected in Yi San’s eyes, filled his unremarkable gaze with utter shock.
Making an object appear from nothing—that was clearly the work of a legendary Storage Treasure.
’Fang Han actually has a legendary Storage Treasure!’
’I thought Fang Han had become a tiger without teeth, but I never expected this tiger to grow a new set!’
’It’s too late for regrets. The only option now is to fight with everything I have.’
BOOM!
He grit his teeth, pushing his Inner Qi beyond its limits at the cost of complete exhaustion.
His Sword Momentum didn’t falter. Instead, it grew even faster, and the already immense might of his sword intensified.