NOVEL WEB Chapter 263: Crushing
[Book of Black] still can evoke their Original Sin from the depths of their souls, but to crush their [eggshell] and recklessly extract the rich nutrition within, the difficulty is not just a bit higher...
With his mind divided, facing Yan Yunsheng's probing sweep, Zhu Haomiao simply took a half step back, allowing the blade to scrape past his hem.
Immediately, Zhu Haomiao lifted his sword and pointed lightly, a visible sword glow shooting straight toward Yan Yunsheng's face.
[Flying Brilliance·Star Fall]!
Pupils suddenly shrinking to pinpoints, Yan Yunsheng bristled with all his hairs standing on end, mustering all his strength to lift his knife and slash.
Clang~
The collision of the sword glow and blade produced a sharp clinking sound of metal striking metal, the semi-transparent glow shattered like glass, the broken Sword Qi instantly evaporating, causing slight ripples on Yan Yunsheng's protective Qi Force.
Even though he had already mentally elevated the boy to the status of a superior, Yan Yunsheng still couldn't believe what he saw.
Qi Force detached from the body, solidified yet not dispersing!
This is a High Realm technique that many experts of the [Middle Three Grades] might not master!
Could a fifteen-year-old lad really achieve such mastery just by relying on family heritage?
With a bit of thought, Yan Yunsheng knew it was impossible.
Many Heaven's Chosen Sons born with a gold spoon also have access to secret techniques, but due to either laziness or insufficient talent, they spend their lives in the [Lower Three Grades], unable to master various advanced techniques.
Let alone employ them so effortlessly in actual combat!
Based on the boy's relaxed and casual point earlier, the sword glow pointed directly at his weakness, forcing him to hastily retract his knife to defend, interrupting his attack and wiping out the momentum he had been building.
In an instant, Yan Yunsheng had an epiphany; the opponent was definitely not a delicate flower raised in an ivory tower, but a master honed through blood and fire, tempered by countless trials!
Such strength, such temperament, such realm, such composure — these cannot be cultivated in a day!
Thinking of this, Yan Yunsheng looked at Zhu Haomiao with bewilderment.
No, with such stunning talent and prowess, why pretend to be a wimp?!
In a flash, various risky political maneuvering legends flashed through Yan Yunsheng's mind, and he immediately had a theory.
Perhaps, the previous generation of the [Pingyang Earl] had strong political enemies, and after his father's death, Li Lin pretended to be foolish to avoid making himself a target.
Now that the crisis should have been resolved, he began to reveal his extraordinariness!
Instantly, Yan Yunsheng's impression of the other as a useless fool collapsed, replaced by a terrifying genius with deep ambitions, a mind as deep as the sea, and adept at concealing himself.
On the other side, unaware of Yan Yunsheng's brilliant mental drama, Zhu Haomiao, seeing him hesitate, took the initiative to lift his sword and attack.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
With three quick points, three sword glows traced arcs in the air like living creatures, shooting towards Yan Yunsheng's left, right, and center.
His heart tightened, Yan Yunsheng slashed left and right, easily cutting through the three sword glows, immediately feeling relieved.
By now, he had noticed that restrained by age, the opponent's True Qi was not very abundant; although the martial arts realm was advanced, the speed and force of the sword glows "unsheathed" were not strong enough.
If they were wielded by a true expert of the Middle Three Grade, one sword glow would have him lying on the ground, making it impossible to cut them apart so easily.
Moreover, apart from the thickness of True Qi, the opponent's speed, power, physique, and other aspects seemed inferior to his own.
Cautiously defend, and don't give him a chance to show off; perhaps he still had a chance to win!
Understanding his advantages, Yan Yunsheng immediately launched an attack, attempting to engage in close combat and draw the opponent into a melee, using his all-around superior hard strength to wear him down!
On the other side, seeing the opponent charging towards him with high spirits, Zhu Haomiao, with a probing mindset, clashed his sword against the long knife.
Clang!
The knife and sword clashed without any ornamentation, sparking a string of brilliant fireworks.
The next second, strong force infiltrated his body, numbing almost half of Zhu Haomiao's body, forcing him to retreat ten meters along with the opponent's force.
[Strength] attribute is at least twice mine!
Cannot withstand forcefully!
Retreating all the way to dissipate the force, Zhu Haomiao had an insight, slightly narrowed his eyes, and fully activated his Extraordinary Power.
[Stacked Waves Strength·Fierce Wave]!
[Gale Force·Spirit Rhinoceros]!
Swoosh~
The subtle sound of ocean tides rippled and spread, as Yan Yunsheng, who was about to proceed in stages, suddenly noticed the boy's aura becoming somewhat ethereal, with an inexplicable, uneasy feeling of being unable to lock onto him.
The next second, intuition proved correct; the sure-to-hit blow slashed through empty air, as if the boy had seen through his move, almost brushing past the blade to dodge the attack, like an elusive butterfly, easily fluttering to his side.
Swish~
The cold blade, devoid of any earthly aura, aimed at Yan Yunsheng's neck, forcing him to defend with the knife.
Clang~
Returning to defend with the long knife, it hacked against the sword blade, but the immaterial feedback felt like punching into cotton, causing Yan Yunsheng such discomfort that he wanted to cough blood.
On the other side, Zhu Haomiao switched to offense, with a fierce sword momentum enveloping Yan Yunsheng's body's vital points, driving him into desperations.
Clang clang clang~
The big knife and long sword collided repeatedly, but the boy's long sword always remained intangible, disengaging immediately, occasionally firing two sword glows that left Yan Yunsheng flustered.
Clearly, with overwhelming hard strength, Yan Yunsheng couldn't find a single chance for a head-on clash, feeling utterly frustrated with nowhere to exert his power!
The opponent seemed to have seen through his mind, always able to predict his predictions, easily dodging all his attacks with much slower speed and frequency!
All his actions seemed to be entirely exposed in the enemy's eyes, and it felt as though they looked down on everything from a higher dimension, making all his moves appear immature and ridiculous.
In a trance, Yan Yunsheng felt as if he were standing naked in an arctic snowfield, bristling with chill throughout his body.
More terrifyingly, as the battle continued, the faint sound of ocean tides grew more pronounced, and the opponent's strength seemed to grow steadily stronger.
The feedback from the blade became increasingly firm and solid, and instinctually, a pressure akin to the heaven's might suffused around him, giving Yan Yunsheng a sense of helplessness before nature.
But as a combat pragmatist who fought his way up from the bottom, Yan Yunsheng soon realized he was influenced by Martial Arts might, biting his tongue hard to forcibly break free from the oppression.
Yet it merely halted the downward trend; in the situation, Yan Yunsheng was still being pressed by the youth.
With every blade-and-sword contact, an eerie Power infiltrated the meridians like a living thing.
One kind had extreme penetration, penetrating into the internal organs, shaking him almost to the point of vomiting blood.
The other seemed to have a will of its own, devouring True Qi, provoking backlash, disturbing energy circulation.
Although he could extinguish these foreign Powers in an instant, the accumulation of tiny injuries still fought Yan Yunsheng with rising urgency and fury.