Whoosh!
The blade’s edge encountered resistance three inches from Qiu Qian’s neck. A barrier of clear energy rose, and as the black-gold long saber struck it, ripples spread, frantically dispersing the force.
Xu Qi An’s strike failed to connect, and he immediately retreated without hesitation.
“Senior Brother Yang, give me a cannon shot!” Xu Qi An shouted.
Whoosh…
A cannonball, wrapped in a piercing whistle, struck Qiu Qian directly. It exploded with a boom, instantly illuminating the surroundings with a flash of fire, rolling smoke billowing.
The Left Envoy stood watching from afar, seemingly aware that this blade strike and cannon shot couldn’t harm the Young Master. Thus, he didn’t take any rescue measures but habitually advised:
“Young Master, don’t drag this out. This old servant has discovered that this youth’s primordial spirit is unusual and extremely difficult to deal with.”
By now, Qiu Qian had shaken off the dizzying effect, his scalp tingling slightly as a feeling of fear welled up.
He lifted the purple jade pendant hanging from his belt and exhaled: “That was close. If not for this protective treasure, my head would have fallen just now. Heh, you have your invincible Vajra Body, and I have my protective artifact.”
Pay-to-win players should all die… Xu Qi An glanced at Yang Qianhuan in the distance, amidst the cannon fire, and refocused his attention on Qiu Qian.
Qiu Qian sneered, “Do you think you’re heaven’s chosen one? A genius no less than the Northern Border King? A figure rising from humble beginnings? Let me tell you a secret: you’re just a lowly, pitiful worm. You think you’re something special, but it’s just ‘power’ bestowed upon you by our family.”
“Your family?”
Xu Qi An casually swung his long saber, dispelling Qiu Qian’s sword energy with two booming sounds.
Qiu Qian said no more and charged with his sword.
The two young experts quickly clashed the sounds of sword and saber colliding becoming a dense tapestry, indicating the intensity of their confrontation.
Qiu Qian was at the fifth-grade Energy Consolidation, his strength surpassing Xu Qi An’s. He should have been able to overwhelm Xu Qi An, but to his annoyance, this youth’s saber technique was extremely peculiar. Each clash of their weapons was accompanied by intense dizziness.
His rhythm was constantly disrupted. Occasionally, when he managed to exert brute force and his Moonlight Sword struck Xu Qi An’s body, it only produced dazzling sparks, unable to break through his invincible golden body.
Damn this fellow, merely a sixth-grade yet so troublesome… Qiu Qian repelled Xu Qi An with a sword strike but didn’t pursue. Staring at the golden-glowing young man, he slowly said:
“Since I began practicing martial arts, I’ve only learned one saber technique, called ‘Nine-Ring Saber.’ This technique links one ring to another, one strike building upon the next. Since mastering this technique, I’ve never met a match among my peers.”
Qiu Qian ran his fingertip along the spine of his sword, staring provocatively at him: “In terms of strength, you’re no match for me at all. Do you dare to face my nine strikes?”
With that, he gripped his sword and charged forward.
He leaped skyward, soaring dozens of zhang high, like a swooping eagle. The Moonlight Sword was raised high, frantically absorbing moonlight.
Didn’t he say saber technique… Xu Qi An inwardly complained, raising his black-gold long saber to block.
Clang!
The horizontal saber met the vertical sword, sparks flashing as violent energy rippled outward.
The Moonlight Sword slashed downward, scraping dazzling sparks along the edge of the black-gold long saber. Qiu Qian used the momentum to spin, his second strike following immediately.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
He seemed to transform into a spinning top, one strike following another like ocean waves, each blow’s momentum accumulating into the next, each strike stronger than the last.
So strong… Xu Qi An pretended to stagger backward as if the wave-like sword strikes had left him unsteady.
After creating some distance, he sheathed his saber, suppressing all emotions and collapsing all his energy.
The Moonlight Sword erupted with dazzling light, shimmering in concert with the bright moon in the sky.
“I forgot to tell you, the Moonlight Sword has a spirit and can devour moonlight on its own. At night, it’s at its most ferocious.”
Qiu Qian grinned viciously, spinning to deliver his final strike.
This strike reached the limit below fourth grade as if it were the most brilliant sword light in the world.
Clang! The sound of a blade leaving its sheath came first.
In the night, a dark saber light flashed. It was extremely subdued, faster than light itself.
Heaven and Earth Slash!
After many months, Xu Qi An finally unleashed his signature technique, his only ultimate move!
Qiu Qian saw a flash of dark saber light, gone in an instant. Immediately after, the light concentrated on the Moonlight Sword scattered explosively. His hand split at the tiger’s mouth, and the long sword flew from his grasp.
That saber light, faster than light itself, collided with the clear energy barrier. They remained locked for a few seconds before the saber light reluctantly exploded into a rain of fine energy particles, leaving shallow craters in the surrounding ground.
Qiu Qian stumbled backward, looking down in disbelief at the purple jade pendant hanging at his waist.
This protective artifact, capable of withstanding a fourth-grade martial artist’s attack, now bore a crack.
Qiu Qian’s face suddenly froze, and he muttered, “How is this possible…”
He knew Xu Qi An possessed an extremely powerful saber technique with incredible explosive force. Even when Xu Qi An was still in the Spirit Refining realm, he relied on this technique to break through the Copper Skin Iron Bones realm’s physical defense.
However, after that fleeting display, he never used it again.
This led people to mistakenly believe it was just an early-stage technique with major flaws, gradually losing its potency as one’s cultivation increased, and thus abandoned.
“Never met a match among your peers…” Xu Qi An reversed his saber, sneering, “Is that all?”
Qiu Qian’s face turned ashen.
At this moment, the distant Left Envoy lifted his cloak, revealing a uniquely shaped, giant crossbow resembling a bird’s spread wings. He aimed it at Xu Qi An and pulled the trigger.
Twang!
The bowstring’s sound was deep and powerful.
The arrow, upon release, suddenly expanded with blinding light, transforming into a streak of light shooting towards its target.
Xu Qi An instinctively dodged, avoiding this incredibly powerful arrow. To his surprise, the arrow seemed to lock onto him. After traveling dozens of zhang, it suddenly turned and shot back.
Defying the laws of physics, it was faster and more powerful than when it left the string.
“This arrow is called ‘No Regrets.’ Once fired, it never regrets. It’s the most special and powerful artifact I’ve brought this time,” Qiu Qian smiled as he watched the spectacle.
He had calmed his earlier anger, suppressing the jealousy and sense of defeat he didn’t want to acknowledge.
After dodging twice, Xu Qi An was shocked to find that the arrow’s aura grew more powerful and its speed increased with each miss.
It seemed that every time it missed, it accumulated more power.
This isn’t scientific. Where is its power source? Xu Qi An felt confused, instinctively trying to understand the situation with knowledge from his previous life.
I don’t believe its speed will keep increasing infinitely.
Xu Qi An muttered to himself but didn’t dare risk his safety to test it. He stepped forward to meet the arrow head-on, slashing down with his saber.
“Boom!”
The light stream that was the arrow scattered. Fragments and light particles collided with the surface of Xu Qi An’s golden body, splashing golden sparks in waves, the sound like a hundred shotguns firing against a steel wall.
Having barely endured it, Xu Qi An’s golden body dimmed, severely damaged, and on the verge of breaking.
Then, he found he couldn’t move.
A bright silver mirror light had frozen him in place. Qiu Qian, having succeeded in his sneak attack, wasted no time. He removed the leather pouch from his waist and shook it vigorously.
Cannons and crossbows appeared. The cannons raised their muzzles, and the crossbows aimed at Xu Qi An.
“I must admit, your strength exceeds my expectations. As a sixth-grade, you managed to break my protective artifact. That last strike, if not for my artifact, my Copper Skin Iron Bones alone wouldn’t have saved me. If you were allowed to grow further, it would truly be nurturing a tiger to endanger us. Of course, you won’t have the chance to grow. You have no idea the executioner’s blade hanging over your head is about to fall.”
Qiu Qian stared at Xu Qi An, his face gloomy, no longer hiding his jealousy and hatred:
“In terms of status, you’re not as noble as I am. In terms of followers and attendants, you’re not my equal. In strategy and methods, you’re still being played in the palm of my hand. What do you have to compete with me?
“You’re just a commoner who took advantage of what should have been mine. Everything you have now should have been mine. But it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m always merciful to the defeated. I won’t kill you today. I’ll cut off your limbs, destroy your cultivation, and take you back to claim merit.”
The Left Envoy praised, “Young Master is gifted and talented, a dragon among men. But don’t be too proud. Act quickly to avoid any unforeseen circumstances.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He copied Yang Qianhuan’s tactics, using heavy weaponry meant for battlefields against a sixth-grade martial artist.
Facing the overwhelming barrage of artifacts, Xu Qi An only uttered three words: “They all missed.”
Suddenly, the dense volley of cannonballs and arrows changed direction, some veering left, some drifting right, some floating upward, perfectly avoiding the target.
The effect of his words becoming reality was still active.
“You…” Qiu Qian’s pupils suddenly contracted in disbelief.
His face turned red, then ashen, as he roared, “Impossible! You had no chance to use Confucian magical texts. You had no opportunity to use them!”
He knew Xu Qi An possessed Confucian magical texts and had been vigilantly preventing their use, never seeing him employ them from start to finish.
Xu Qi An snorted, “Did you think that cannon shot I asked Yang Qianhuan for earlier was just a rash decision?”
Yang Qianhuan abruptly appeared nearby, adding salt to the wound: “A brute is just a brute, so crude it’s pitiful.”
He vanished again, continuing his game of chase with the Right Envoy.
Qiu Qian’s body swayed as an overwhelming sense of defeat washed over him.
Xu Qi An had another method for quick victory. He only needed to recite: “My energy increases tenfold!”
He guaranteed he could kill Qiu Qian with a single strike.
The cost would be: Constable Xu perishing along with his enemy.
The Confucian ability to make words reality was a violation of rules, and it would face backlash from those rules. Xu Qi An didn’t know this initially. During the battle between Heaven and Man, he had recited:
“My primordial spirit strengthens tenfold.”
The consequence was that after the spell’s effect passed, his primordial spirit shattered.
Fortunately, Li Miaozheng woke up in time to find her male internet friend had blown his own horn too hard, but he could still be saved. She quickly gathered his fragmented soul and used Heavenly Sect techniques to repair it.
If she had awakened a quarter hour later, Xu Qi An would have truly bid farewell to this world.
One could only say his luck was overwhelming.
How to use Confucian magic reasonably? Xu Qi An’s conclusion was to blow only small, reasonable boasts.
His first boast was to “delay the after-effects of Heaven and Earth Slash by two-quarters of an hour,” and his second was “they all missed,” both belonging to the category of fresh and elegant small boasts.
Xu Qi An sheathed his saber and said softly, “I’m behind him!”
As the words fell, his image suddenly vanished from the mirror light, and the next moment, he appeared behind Qiu Qian.
Clang!
Heaven and Earth Slash was unleashed once more.
The dark saber light flashed and disappeared.
Boom, crack…
Qiu Qian heard the sound of the jade pendant at his waist shattering and the muffled explosion of the barrier-breaking.
Then, his body sank, falling to the ground. His knees had separated from his body, blood gushing out.
“Ahhh!” Qiu Qian screamed in agony.
“Young Master!”
The Left Envoy roared, rushing over.
“Save me, quickly save me…”
A strong desire to live burst forth in Qiu Qian’s eyes. With the Left Envoy’s strength, killing Xu Qi An, whose Vajra Body was on the verge of breaking, would be effortless.
Yang Qianhuan was being chased by the Right Envoy. Even if he reacted now, the most he could do was take Xu Qi An away, which would save Qiu Qian’s life.
The Left Envoy’s form flickered, turning into a blur as he rushed over. The dozen or so zhang distance would take less than a breath to cover.
At this moment, a black shadow was seen sprinting at high speed, seemingly predicting the Left Envoy’s path.
Boom…
The black shadow, like a wild bull, actually headbutted the Left Envoy, sending him flying like a cannonball.
It was a stunningly beautiful woman wearing a night watchman’s uniform, with a golden gong embroidered on her chest.
She seemed a bit dizzy, swaying unsteadily as she stood.
Then she disappeared again. In the distance came the sound of energy explosions and the Left Envoy’s angry roars.
The light in Qiu Qian’s eyes slowly dimmed.
“How about this: I’ll give you a quarter-hour. If you can crawl twenty zhang, I’ll spare your life,” Xu Qi An said with a smile, leaning on his saber:
“A kind reminder, crawl quickly. You might still receive treatment before you bleed out.”
Qiu Qian screamed neurotically and crawled forward with all his might, leaving two trails of dark red blood on the ground.
Fear exploded in the heart of this young man born with a silver spoon. He smelled the scent of death and trembled in its presence.
Xu Qi An slowly followed, bent down, grabbed Qiu Qian’s hair, and forced him to look at the distant battle. He said in a low voice, “In terms of combat power, you’re not my match. In terms of methods, you’re not my equal. In strategy, you’re still inferior to me. What do you have to compete with me?”
Killing the body to destroy the spirit!
The last glimmer of light in Qiu Qian’s eyes completely faded, leaving only deep despair.
The Left Envoy roared, “You can’t kill him, Xu Qi An, you can’t kill him. If he dies, my master will exterminate your entire clan.”
“Then watch carefully.”
Xu Qi An raised his saber and severed Qiu Qian’s head. Then he opened the fragrant pouch at his waist and collected his “Heaven and Earth” dual souls.
It’s over!
Seeing this, the Left and Right Envoys felt their scalps tingle as if plunged into an icy abyss.