Chapter 964: Subduing a Group of Ten with One
The scope of Xiao Chen and Qin Shaoqing's battle covered a mountain range spanning fifty kilometers. The startled birds and beasts in the forest already fled. The fight had crushed flowers, grass, and trees in large numbers.
Qin Shaoqing's sword Qi contained a powerful destructive force. When his sword Qi swept out, large swathes of trees turned into powder, reducing the land into a wasteland. Not a single blade of grass could be seen, and cracks extended everywhere.
In mere moments, the shock waves from the two's fight transformed a fifty-kilometer-long mountain range into bald craggy peaks.
Such a horrifying scene prompted the bladesmen from Heavenly Cauldron City, who came to watch the fight, to move farther back in fear of getting into trouble should the shock waves strike them.
Xiao Chen already used Flawless Four Seasons once through. However, he could not do anything to Qin Shaoqing. Qin Shaoqing's skill with the sword was extraordinary, possessing many killing moves.
Furthermore, before the strong destruction attribute, the might of these killing moves increased significantly. Qin Shaoqing used brute force to break the Flawless Four Seasons.
Xiao Chen could not bring out the Cycle of Seasons since he had to deal with killing moves continuously. This put him in a somewhat passive situation.
Forced into a corner, he could only completely unleash the immortal will of thunder. Using the Flawless saber Dao, he materialized the Lighting Tribulation Saber Technique, countering brute force with brute force.
One hundred lightning dragons with golden scales and a pair of horns howled ferociously as they circled around. They shook their heads and waved their tails, appearing very nimble and realistic. They even gave off a lightning dragon's aura, interfering with Qin Shaoqing.
Naturally, this dragon aura was not the true dragon aura. Instead, it was made of purple lightning-attributed saber Qi. However, its might was not inferior.
Occasionally, the lightning dragon aura landed on the mountains below. One-kilometer-tall peaks instantly vanished like a strange beast bit them off.
The Lightning Tribulation Saber Technique was extremely tyrannical. With every punch that Xiao Chen sent out, every slash he made with his palm, saber light flashed, and a lightning dragon appeared in the next instant to block the overbearing Qin Shaoqing.
Flames blazed on Qin Shaoqing's sword. Every time he swung his sword, flames poured out, triggering in another intense explosion.
It was not an exaggeration to call that horrifying destructive power earth-shaking. Fifty kilometers of mountain range below shook, and countless boulders tumbled down.
When Qin Shaoqing saw that the lightning dragons seemed to be unending and capable of stably blocking his Sword Techniques, he frowned, unwilling to let this fight drag on.
"Nine Suns Appearing Together, the Golden Crow Destroys the World!" Qin Shaoqing shouted. Twenty-five kilometers of resplendent flames manifested behind him and condensed to form nine three-legged Golden Crows. Each Golden Crow was as bright as the sun, dazzling and splendorous.
Qin Shaoqing pointed, and a sword light flashed. Nine huge flaming golden birds turned into nine beams of light, charging at the hundred lightning dragons.
"Ka ca! Ka ca!"
The Golden Crows were incomparably cruel. When they swiped with their three legs, they tore the lightning dragons into half one by one, making the lightning dragons cry out miserably.
Xiao Chen's heart sank. In terms of divinity, the Golden Crows made out of Qin Shaoqing's life flames far surpassed his lightning dragons, becoming the nemesis of the lightning dragons.
"Divine Lightning Tribulation! Chop!"
With a thought, Xiao Chen quickly gathered the remaining lightning dragons. The power of the purple Lightning Talisman continuously supported them.
A golden bolt of Divine Lightning appeared out of nowhere, turning into a strand of saber Qi and chopping at the nine Golden Crows.
The might of the Divine Lightning Tribulation immediately showed itself. The Divine Lightning knocked away the nine Golden Crows, which were as bright as the sun. The light of their flames dimmed significantly.
There was no time to lose. Xiao Chen took a step back, and his pupils constricted. The Soul Slayer Bow appeared in his right hand. He nocked a Star Breaker Arrow and drew the bowstring.
Xiao Chen circulated his energy, bringing out one Dragon Force. The bones in his body gave off thunderous rumbling.
With five thousand tons of force, the Soul Slayer Bow's attack gained an overwhelming cold Qi, which immediately canceled out the heat that the flaming Golden Crows emitted into the air.
Qin Shaoqing's expression changed. The bow in Xiao Chen's hand gave him a bad feeling. He withdrew his sword, and the Law Energy in his body surged as he directed the nine Golden Crows to merge into one.
"Whoosh!"
Unfortunately for Qin Shaoqing, he was still too late. Xiao Chen released the bowstring. The Star Breaker Arrow flashed and pierced through the nine Golden Crows, immediately neutralizing the killing move that Qin Shaoqing spent so much effort to execute.
Xiao Chen's lightning dragons were destroyed. However, Qin Shaoqing's nine Golden Crows were destroyed as well, gaining him no advantage.
The two people in the sky recommenced their intense fight. Having exchanged several moves, they knew how hard the other was to deal with. So they both became considerably more cautious.
As Bai Lang, Lin Yan, and the others watched, they sighed and said, "Brother Xiao is lacking only a good saber. Otherwise, he would not be so passive."
"This Qin Shaoqing is really incredible. The First Disciple of the Sword Sovereign indeed cannot be underestimated," Feng Xingsheng said as he shook his head. Xiao Chen was clearly on the defensive and was at a disadvantage when facing Qin Shaoqing's raging inferno.
The Inferno Saber Sovereign's Lin Yan smiled and said, "As the saying goes, 'something overly hard can be easily broken.' Although Qin Shaoqing's attacks are ferocious, if he does not gain a suppressive advantage in another hundred moves, he will definitely lose."
Bai Lang nodded and said, "That's right. The most crucial thing now is whether Xiao Chen can last another hundred moves or not. With no weapon in his hand, he's just using his fleshly body to receive Qin Shaoqing's sword moves, which contain the destructive attribute. No matter how strong his body is, it has its limits."
Dugu Jue, who rarely spoke, was not optimistic about the situation. He said sullenly, "It is hard. I think Xiao Chen is already in trouble. He will definitely crumble within another hundred moves."
"By using your physical body to receive three hundred moves from me, even if you have a body of steel, you should already be suffering." Qin Shaoqing smiled coldly as he looked at Xiao Chen, revealing an easygoing expression.
Xiao Chen's expression remained calm. He did not bother to explain anything. His physical body was already a peak Rank 3 Sage Body. Furthermore, he nourished it with plenty of divine materials. His body was already no weaker than that of a quasi-Emperor.
Although the attacks of Xiao Chen's opponent were tyrannical, inflicting significant injury, they could not break his body down without another two hundred moves at least.
Seeing that his taunt did not work, Qin Shaoqing snorted coldly, and his attacks become even more ferocious and intense.
In the blink of an eye, fifty moves passed. The shock waves swept away more of the fifty kilometers of mountains and forest below. Anyone who saw this scene would tremble in fear.
When Qin Shaoqing saw Xiao Chen still lively and unflustered, he could not help feeling anxious. He was very clear about his own situation.
Qin Shaoqing's sword strikes were incomparably tyrannical. Every move was a killing move. With each move, he could bring out ferocious might akin to that of a volcano eruption. However, the energy demand was tremendous.
If he still could not take down Xiao Chen, he would end up exhausting his Law Energy.
At that time, no matter how capable Qin Shaoqing was, he would not be able to do much, becoming a sitting duck.
I cannot afford to lose. Otherwise, this will be too embarrassing. I can only settle this with one final move.
However, just at this moment, something strange happened. Xiao Chen, who had been defending passively, suddenly make a move. He seized the moment Qin Shaoqing was flustered and took the initiative to charge over.
Qin Shaoqing only saw eighteen Azure Dragons circulating around Xiao Chen, exuding horrifying Dragon Might. Strands of azure saber light flashed everywhere and chopped down.
This was Xiao Chen's strongest move: Flawless Azure Dragon, Subduing Dragon Profound Slash!
The might that this move erupted out with was actually no weaker than Qin Shaoqing's strong volcanic-eruption-like sword intent.
Saber lights chopped down. A total of eighteen saber lights chopped down in turn, not giving Qin Shaoqing any time to think or opportunity to use his killing techniques.
By the time the final saber light landed, Qin Shaoqing's stance was completely messed up. He vomited a mouthful of blood as his body went flying back.
Myriad Heaven Divine Fist, Deities Descending, tenfold combat prowess!
It was difficult to seize an opening in his opponent's mental state and throw him off guard to injure him. How could Xiao Chen miss the chance to land a fatal blow?
"Clang! Clang!"
Just at this moment, two sword lights flashed in the sky, infused with sword intent and flying at Xiao Chen without any warning.
The timing of these two moves' appearance was extremely opportune. It happened to be the moment divine light covered Xiao Chen. Furthermore, they were fatal strikes from the other two that held nothing back.
Xiao Chen's physical body was already significantly injured, and he was drained. He had no way to completely dodge them.
"The one who wins is king. Xiao Chen, you may be able to endure and scheme, possessing sharp eyes and great insight. Even so, so what? I never said that I would fight you alone."
Qin Shaoqing laughed coldly and suppressed the injuries in his body. Disdain flashed on his face as he charged at Xiao Chen together with the other two. The three of them surrounded Xiao Chen.
The situation instantly turned around. Xiao Chen, who held the upper hand earlier, was now in danger.
The expressions of Bai Lang and the others immediately changed drastically. Clearly, they had not expected these two other swordsmen to be so despicable. Even if the bladesmen made a move now to try and help Xiao Chen, they would be too late.
"Elder Brother Xiao Chen, just focus and make your move. Xiao Bai will help you block these bad people."
A fragrance blew in the intense battlefield. A pretty figure arrived at lightning-speed. In the time it took for a spark to fly, she drew the sword hanging at her waist.
Instantly, snow feathers drifted everywhere. A shocking sword light hummed gently. As it flew casually, it blocked Gu Jianheng's and Liu Kun's moves.
Xiao Chen smiled faintly and looked Qin Shaoqing, whose expression was rapidly changing. He said coldly, "To think that there is such trash like you among the disciples of the Sword Sovereign! Today, you have embarrassed not only yourself but all the swordsmen of the Profound Domain as well."
"Bang!"
Xiao Chen no longer had anything to fear. This punch contained ten Dragon Force. With a loud 'bang,' he instantly knocked back the approaching Qin Shaoqing, sending him crashing into a mountain.
That peak crumbled. Loud rumbling resounded. Tons of rubble buried Qin Shaoqing, his survival unknown.
"Gu Jianheng, Liu Kun, you two bastards, bring Qin Shaoqing away and scram from Heavenly Cauldron City!"
Bai Lang led Feng Xingshen and several dozens of other bladesmen over quickly. Without saying anything else, they surrounded Gu Jianheng and Liu Kun, whom Xiao Bai blocked.
Since the other party broke the rules first, Bai Lang did not need to worry. No matter how powerful the two were, with so many people surrounding them, they would only end up beaten up.
Gu Jianheng and Liu Kun got thrashed until their noses were bloody and their faces swollen. As they were disciples of the Sword Sovereign, Bai Lang and the others did not dare to kill them. However, the two still received a full serving of pain and suffering. The swordsmen were also already thoroughly embarrassed.
The original plan of the two was to take down Xiao Chen while he was off guard. Then, using the strength of their First Senior Brother, they would sweep through the others.
At that time, as the victors, they would be in the right. The world would only know that Qin Shaoqing disrupted the saber school tea party. No one would remember that two of them mounted a sneak attack.
These two had not expected Xiao Bai to charge out. The Spirit Fox King's adoptive daughter, who was originally with them, blocked them at the crucial moment.
"Yuan Shichen, you can forget about entering the Heavenly Sword Pavilion," Gu Jianheng said hatefully as he brought Liu Kun to the collapsed mountain to dig Qin Shaoqing out before running away in sorry states.
Xiao Bai did not care. She smiled gently and stood cutely behind Xiao Chen.
[TL Note: The title is a Chinese idiom meaning that a strong layman is capable of defeating ten trained martial artists. It means that before overwhelming strength, all plans and techniques are useless.]