“Getting straight to the point?”
Hearing this, Xuan Ke thought to herself.
‘Chen Yuyang truly is a straightforward person. However, given his strength and the character he’s displayed, he shouldn’t really care about sparring with me. So why did he bear the pressure and agree so readily to a stranger like me? Could it be that Chen Yuyang also intends to build a good relationship with my Xuan Clan?’
Xuan Ke’s heart stirred, because she knew that testing her moves was only one aspect; more importantly, she wanted to use this opportunity to establish contact with Chen Yuyang and build ties with this favored son of heaven and the rising Hehuan Sect.
Seen in this light, in a sense, their interests aligned.
They simply understood each other tacitly.
With that realization, Xuan Ke’s mood instantly relaxed, and she even found Yan Luo a bit more agreeable.
“In that case, please enlighten me.”
With that, accompanied by a clear sword chime, Xuan Ke drew her twin swords.
As she circulated her spiritual power, the air around the girl twisted, the light dimmed, and the temperature soared.
Then, crimson thunderfire flickered across her body, and her aura climbed steadily.
A fierce battle intent erupted.
Xuan Ke’s gaze sharpened, and she continued, “Daoist Chen, be careful.”
Chen Yuyang nodded slightly upon hearing this, but his stance remained tall and straight as a pine, without assuming any combat posture.
However, the air around him also rippled faintly under the pressure of his circulating spiritual power.
Chen Yuyang was ready.
The next instant, Xuan Ke moved!
The girl’s figure instantly became a blur, leaving a trail of crimson in the air.
The sword blades, with a sharp sound of cutting air, came straight at Chen Yuyang.
The twin swords crossed, moving at such extreme speed that Xuan Ke’s figure was almost impossible to see.
Just as she approached Chen Yuyang, her figure suddenly split into three.
Three crimson figures attacked simultaneously from the front and both sides, aiming straight for his vital points.
In truth, upon closer inspection, only the middle figure carried the most concentrated thunderfire aura.
That was the real Xuan Ke’s body, while the two on the sides were merely phantoms formed from lightning light.
But that did not mean the side phantoms were harmless.
On the contrary, this move was still “Divine Might,” but a modified version she had improved.
The lightning phantoms on the sides were even faster than Xuan Ke’s main body by three-tenths, arriving first at Chen Yuyang’s front.
Though their threat was far less than the main body, the thunderfire power they carried was still domineering.
If struck, while not fatal, it would wound the body, numb movements, and slow actions.
That was the cunning aspect of this modified move.
If entangled by the side phantoms, then the follow-up strike from Xuan Ke’s main body could truly kill in an instant!
But if ignored, one would certainly suffer considerable damage and fall into a disadvantage.
A simple modification.
The lethality might not have increased substantially, but by combining illusion and reality and alternating speed, its threat level had risen by at least fifty percent.
That was the purpose of techniques: to pressure the enemy in the most efficient way and create openings.
Battle, sometimes, was actually quite simple, like a game of chess.
When strength was equal, within a limited time, the responses both sides could make were limited.
Combat was a contest of exchanges.
If you could execute a move in one exchange that forced your opponent to take more exchanges to counter, you had the advantage.
Such a move was a technique, a pattern, experience.
Chen Yuyang knew that if he were her equal in strength, facing this modified move, he would most likely have to endure the paralysis of the lightning phantoms to block Xuan Ke’s fatal sword strike.
Unfortunately, her opponent was him.
After a hundred lifetimes of re-cultivation, his combat style had been honed to perfection, leaving almost no flaws.
Faced with this seemingly tricky move, dozens of solutions flashed through Chen Yuyang’s mind.
Endure the phantoms.
Dodge at even greater speed to nullify the move.
Use more exquisite techniques to defend and counter.
Also, mimic her swordsmanship on the spot and turn her own methods against her…
But since the purpose was a spar, and in her perception his greatest strength was his physical body…
Step.
Chen Yuyang’s right foot stepped forward, and the bluestone floor beneath him instantly cracked.
In that short burst of forward movement, Chen Yuyang’s right fist had already punched out violently!
The fist wind, carrying arrogant spiritual power, crushed the air and emitted a whistling sound as it blasted toward the lightning phantoms!
The fist easily tore through the lightning phantoms, as simply as tearing a piece of paper.
The shattered phantoms turned into streams of electricity scattering in all directions.
Some struck Chen Yuyang’s clothes, and since he did not channel spiritual power to block, his garments were torn into several holes.
Beneath the holes was a lean but well-proportioned and distinct physique.
The flickering lightning landed on his skin without leaving even a trace.
The extent of his toughness was evident.
Having shattered the phantoms and let the electricity course through his body, Chen Yuyang’s movements did not pause in the slightest.
He turned his wrists, his hands became palms, and his fingers accurately caught the blades of Xuan Ke’s thrusting twin swords.
There was no sound, no movement.
The blades were firmly held in his hands, immobile.
Xuan Ke felt an immense force transmitted through the sword body.
No matter how she channeled her spiritual power or adjusted her strength, the twin swords seemed welded into Chen Yuyang’s hands, unable to move a fraction.
She could even feel that the thunderfire on her swords was crushed by an even stronger blood-and-qi force the instant it touched the young man’s palms.
A deep sense of powerlessness surged in Xuan Ke’s heart.
At this moment, her only choice was to release the twin swords; otherwise, in a real battle, Chen Yuyang would sweep his leg out in the next second and send her flying.
What made her feel even more helpless was that she saw everything Chen Yuyang did clearly.
There was no fancy technique, just pure suppression with raw power—a perfect example of “one force defeating a thousand techniques.”
The overwhelming sense of absolute strength made her proud swordsmanship seem ridiculous.
This scene left Yan Luo, who was watching from the side, stunned.
Was that it?
Blinking, Yan Luo still couldn’t snap out of it.
Wait… wasn’t Yuyang a sword user?
Earlier, Yan Luo had been too overjoyed at his presence to think carefully.
Now, witnessing this exchange, she belatedly realized that Chen Yuyang’s fighting style seemed somewhat different from what she had known.
Well, it was completely different.
Previously, she had seen him display his might in the Ziyang Secret Realm.
He wielded a long sword, moving like a dragon, and slew many powerful fiend beasts.
Since then, she had always thought he was a sword cultivator, or at least a cultivator who focused mainly on sword techniques and sword arts.
Yet now, he was bare-handed, displaying such terrifying physical strength.
Taking Xuan Ke’s move head-on without any injury.
That sword strike from Xuan Ke just now—even she, as a Nascent Soul cultivator, wouldn’t dare claim she could withstand it as effortlessly as Chen Yuyang did.
She would mostly have to rely on her faster speed, reflexes, and stronger cultivation to evade or neutralize.
There was no way she could directly catch the blades with her hands.
Yan Luo was still in shock.
Chen Yuyang released his grip on Xuan Ke’s swords, clasped his fists, and said calmly, “I concede.”
Xuan Ke withdrew her twin swords, shook her head, and showed a wry smile.
However, being able to fully execute her sword strike also allowed her to see clearly some shortcomings in her swordsmanship.
“Again!”
Xuan Ke took a deep breath, her gaze sharpening again.
“I have some new ideas.”
Chen Yuyang nodded slightly and made a gesture for her to proceed.
The battle resumed!
Xuan Ke’s body moved, and crimson thunderfire flickered again, still the same “Divine Might” move.
However, this time, she only split off one lightning phantom.
That phantom was several times more solid than before, almost indistinguishable from the main body, and even faster.
A hint of slight surprise flashed in Chen Yuyang’s eyes.
Without moving his feet, his right fist simply punched out again, targeting that condensed lightning phantom.
Shatter this phantom, then block Xuan Ke’s sword.
Everything seemed no different.
But just as Xuan Ke’s twin swords approached, the girl’s figure flickered, and she split into two more lightning phantoms at close range, one left and one right.
For a moment, two extremely fast figures interlaced.
With thunderfire flashing and sword shadows overlapping, it was suddenly difficult to distinguish the real one.
If it were a cultivator of the same realm, caught off guard, they might really be unable to react in time.
But Chen Yuyang was only slightly surprised.
His gaze remained clear.
The moment the phantoms split, he used his perception to lock onto Xuan Ke’s main body.
The young man’s movements showed no hesitation.
He reached out his hands and once again precisely caught the blades of Xuan Ke’s main body’s thrust.
However, at the same time, another lightning phantom used the opportunity to strike with its twin swords—one slashing at his left shoulder and the other stabbing at his right ribs!
The lightning phantom’s sword edge tore Chen Yuyang’s already tattered clothes, but didn’t cause any real damage.
However, one of the twin swords wielded by the lightning phantom was a real sword. Xuan Ke had given one of her swords to the phantom.
This might make her killing strike less lethal, but it greatly increased the chance of seriously wounding the enemy.
When unable to kill directly, this was not a bad choice.
The sword blade slashed toward Chen Yuyang. But before that, Chen Yuyang reacted even faster, lifting his lower leg.
The blade cut through his shoe but was firmly clamped between his toes.
Though he wasn’t injured, Chen Yuyang was genuinely surprised this time.
Because anyone else would have been either dead or severely wounded.
It was only because of his quick reflexes and strong physique.
Undeniably, Xuan Ke’s adjustments and changes made this sword strike far more sudden and threatening.
This girl reacted quickly.
Targeting a body cultivator like him, she changed tactics on the fly and caught him off guard.
If it were an ordinary body cultivator, with insufficiently keen spiritual sense and a slightly slower reaction, unable to distinguish the real body, they would be injured by her main body.
But even if they identified her real body, if they didn’t notice the twin swords split apart and lacked such a physique, they would still be injured by the phantom.
It was just a matter of severity of the injury.
Chen Yuyang looked at Xuan Ke, a flash of approval in his eyes, and slowly nodded.
“Very good technique.”
These words were sincere.
Being able to adjust according to the actual situation in such a short time, Xuan Ke’s adaptability and understanding of techniques had already surpassed countless cultivators of the same rank.
Hearing Chen Yuyang’s praise, Xuan Ke couldn’t help but show a gratified smile.
Although this sword strike still didn’t bring her victory, and didn’t even break through his defense, she clearly understood what she had gained in this process.
Though she didn’t defeat him, through this spar of two moves, she had learned quite a bit.
Xuan Ke sheathed her swords and stood, her gaze at Chen Yuyang growing even brighter.