Wen Shu and his entourage were like birds startled by the mere twang of a bow, to begin with. They felt fortunate enough to have survived the battle of Jing Province. They were all injured to varying degrees. Therefore, the sudden voice startled and frightened them.
“Who’s there?”
“General Wen Shu, look out!”
A green-robed swordsman with a longsword in his hands perched on a branch of a huge tree. He looked down on everyone with a lofty bearing. He said with a smile on his face, “My apologies, but you must remain here.”
“You are…” One of them found this swordsman’s appearance extremely similar to a certain legendary individual.
“He’s… Yu Shangrong! The Sword Devil, Yu Shangrong!” someone cried out.
Wen Shu’s heart sank and thumped wildly in his chest. Even in peak condition, he was merely slightly stronger than Huang Shijie. There was no way he would be a match for Yu Shangrong or Yu Zhenghai. He had heard about the grand battle between the two Eight-leaf elites in Radiant Cloud Forest as well. The epic battle was well-known in the cultivation world. It was clear that Sword Devil Yu Shangrong whose name struck fear into the hearts of those who heard it was as strong as Yu Zhenghai. He continued staring at Yu Shangrong who was perched on the tree warily and in trepidation. ‘I can’t panic. I must pull myself together.’ In the end, he cupped his fists together and inhaled, gathering his Primal Qi. He said, “Your reputation precedes you, Sword Devil. Forgive our lack of hospitality.”
Yu Shangrong calmly said, “My sword never kills someone without a name. Apart from Wen Shu, the lot of you should leave. I’ll give you three breaths to do so.”
The remaining four soldiers exchanged a glance.
Wen Shu frowned. He hastily said, “Fleeing before the enemy is a death offense!”
The four soldiers were not fools. How could they deal with Yu Shangrong?
‘Fleeing before the enemy? Aren’t you doing exactly that, you old geezer?’
“We’re sorry, General Wen.”
What could they do in three breaths? The answer was simple; they could run for their lives, of course! Four of them did not hesitate; they turned tail and ran immediately. In just a blink of an eye, they vanished among the trees. They could not be blamed. After all, they were unaware that Yu Shangrong had severed his Golden Lotus. Who would not cower in fear before the Eight-leaf elite, Yu Shangrong?
Wen Shu furrowed his brows; his expression was dark. He suppressed the unpleasant feeling in his heart as he cupped his fists together again and said, “I heard that you’re at odds with Yu Zhenghai, the Sect Master of the Nether Sect. To be honest, I’ve fought with him for a hundred rounds earlier. If you find him now, I’m sure you’ll be able to easily defeat him now.”
Still perched on the branch, Yu Shangrong smiled faintly and said, “It looks like you don’t understand me at all.”
“Huh?”
“So what if I defeat him now? It won’t be a glorious victory,” Yu Shangrong said tonelessly.
Wen Shu relaxed and said, “I’m also injured. Dear sir…”
Yu Shangrong lowered his arms to cut Wen Shu’s words off. With the scabbard in his right hand, he tossed it up lightly and caught his Longevity Sword. With a push of his left hand, a blast of energy sent the scabbard flying.
Bam!
The scabbard was embedded into the tree.
The scarlet Longevity Sword was raised before Yu Shangrong. “Alas, you’ll have to die.”
After saying this, Yu Shangrong patted the sword. With movements as light as a swallow, he flew toward Wen Shu on his sword.
Wen Shu’s expression turned grim. He retreated at once while shooting multiple talismans from his palms.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Both of them started fighting.
Yu Shangrong appeared calm. He held his Longevity Sword behind him as he walked toward his target.
Wen Shu kept sending out talismans and script seals as though he was facing a great enemy. This was the Sword Devil, after all! This was the Evil Sky Pavilion’s Mister Second, Yu Shangrong, whose every move was to kill. He was given the moniker Sword Devil for a reason! Therefore, despite being seriously wounded, how could he hold back when facing such an opponent? He had to forcibly muster all the strength he had left in him to fight for his survival.
Wen Shu’s eyes widened. He had been sending more and more talismans and script seals out, and yet, the Sword Devil evaded all of them and danced around his attacks, unharmed. At this moment, the Sword Devil was fast approaching him!
Yu Shangrong swung the Longevity Sword!
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Several talismans were parried by the Longevity Sword. The sword shadows were densely packed that they looked like a blur.
When Wen Shu saw that the Sword Devil was finally upon him, he shouted, “Open!”
A round energy seal blast rippled out into his surroundings.
His Eight-leaf avatar appeared and grew in size.
Boom!
The trees in the vicinity of a few dozens meters fell.
However, after a few breaths, Wen Shu’s avatar vanished. He felt the pressure had alleviated slightly. ‘Where’s the Sword Devil?’
Wen Shu looked up cautiously. He saw Yu Shangrong gracefully flip in the air above the cloud of dust that was stirred up. It seemed to him like he managed to push Yu Shangrong back? He found this hard to believe. Although he had used all his strength to attack, it should have been easy for the Sword Devil to destroy his avatar and kill him. It baffled him to see Yu Shangrong retreating at this moment.
Meanwhile, Yu Shangrong avoided the shockwave from the Eight-leaf avatar’s appearance. When he landed, he advanced again at a much faster speed.
“Are you toying me?” Wen Shu asked, incensed and offended. He kept pushing his palm out as different talismans appeared between his fingers. A faint golden light could be seen swirling around his palms. He pushed forward.
Yu Shangrong tapped the ground with his feet and shot into the air. His sword hovered beside him. Densely packed energy swords appeared in the air.
“Sword Devil’s Destiny.”
Countless energy swords shot toward Wen Shu.
Wen Shu scoffed. “Is this all the Sword Devil’s got? You’ll pay for underestimating your opponent.” He joined his palms together. His left index finger connected with his right index finger. Then, he stomped his feet on the ground before the golden light between his fingers flashed brighter than before.
This was the best opportunity to unleash Abandon Wisdom. All elements were in place. The Sword Devil was above while Wen Shu was below. The angle was perfect, and the timing was impeccable. Wen Shu would never give up on such a wonderful opportunity! A string of words hung above his hands: Abandon Wisdom. This was the most powerful technique of the Confucian Societies. The energy seals formed streamlined bullets above his fingers. Then, he shot toward Yu Shangrong like a cannonball.
The energy swords from the Sword Devil’s Destiny collided with the energy seals of Abandon Wisdom.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Sword Devil’s Destiny could not block Abandon Wisdom.
Yu Shangrong’s expression remained the same. He did a 180-degree flip and retreated as he unleashed his avatar.
Whizz!
When his avatar appeared, it made for a shocking scene.
Yu Shangrong merged with his avatar. His palms joined with its palms.
The four palms advanced against Abandon Wisdom.
Time seemed to slow down at this moment.
It was a move that could decide the outcome of the battle in an instant, but it seemed to be taking too long.
The trees fell as the two opponents advanced to each other. They flew upward; one pressing forward while the other retreating.
Wen Shu caught a glimpse of Yu Shangrong’s avatar’s Golden Lotus before he burst into a peal of laughter. “It seems like the heavens are on my side today. Who knew I’d meet the Sword Devil who has severed his Golden Lotus? You’re seeking death!” He felt invigorated and hopeful now that he had seen Yu Shangrong’s lack of a Golden Lotus. The flames of his fury finally found an outlet. The radiance of Abandon Wisdom shone between his fingers as he charged toward the four palms.
Their energies collided!
Boom!
A horizontal streak of energy swept through the surroundings…
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The huge trees around them were felled by the collision of energies.
Their lines of sight were suddenly unobstructed now.
Wen Shu maintained the Abandon Wisdom.
Yu Shangrong’s four palms were crossed as he parried the blow!
Wen Shu thought that Yu Shangrong would be heavily wounded from this, but that did not seem to be the case. Yu Shangrong was not only unharmed, but he still managed to maintain his avatar. A shocked expression bloomed on his face as he looked at Yu Shangrong incredulously. “Three-leaf… Y-you’re just a Three-leaf cultivator! How did you block that? Why is your avatar still here?” His voice was trembling when he spoke.
At this moment, the duo began to descend to the ground.
“You know too little about avatars,” Yu Shangrong said nonchalantly. He looked at Wen Shu as though Wen Shu was a dead man walking.
Wen Shu felt his temper rising. He said contemptuously, “So what? Even if I’m heavily wounded, I won’t lose to a mere Three-leaf cultivator like…”
Swoosh!
Three leaves shot out at lightning speed toward Wen Shu and slashed his neck, creating a neat wound before Wen Shu even finished speaking.
Both of them finally touched the ground.
Wen Shu’s eyes were widened as he looked at the three leaves incredulously. Fresh blood was constantly gushing out of his wound.
At this moment, the three shining golden leaves returned to the Longevity Sword’s side.
Rip!
Two of the leaves suddenly split into two. They shone with a brilliant golden light. Five leaves circled in the air and eventually flew toward the avatar before it finally disappeared under the glaring sunlight.
Yu Shangrong stood with his back against the sun. His slender figure seemed lofty and untouchable.
Wen Shu could not see his expression against the glare of the sun. He could only hear Yu Shangrong say, “I’m a peerless Eight-leaf elite… Always have been and always will be.”