Transcending the Nine Heavens

Chu Yang’s mind was clear, having put everything out of his mind. He merely went along with the opponent’s sword momentum as he displayed the Gentle Water Sword Intent.

In fact, he didn’t even need to display any moves.

And yet a seamless and perfect defense had already formed!

“If the opponent’s sword is the same as torrential waves and a turbulent storm, then mine is just a pool of blue water...” Chu Yang thought, “But... Just because it’s a pool of water, is it unable to launch attacks?”

“If I were a river, what would I do when facing a turbulent storm?”

“No!”

“If I were a river, then the wind and rain should be giving me additional power instead! Whether it’s raining or snowing, or even a fog, they should only be providing me with additional power...” Enlightenment suddenly flooded Chu Yang’s mind.

The next moment, his sword technique underwent another change!

It turned into acceptance instead!

The next instant!

Slash, slash, slash...

Chu Yang yelped, rolling outwards a hundred feet. Just this change in moves alone and he had already gained more than ten new wounds all over him. If it weren’t for the fact that he had ducked fast enough, his entire left leg would have been severed.

A cruel and ruthless look appeared in Ye Zui’s eyes. The demonic sword shot after him, piercing through mid-air toward Chu Yang’s heart!

Chu Yang rolled pathetically on the ground and jumped onto his feet. His sword clashed against the other sword with a loud clang. An overwhelming reverberation rushed toward him and Chu Yang was thrown back another hundred feet or so again.

The other party’s sword had already reached him.

From the start till the end, Chu Yang didn’t even have the time to consume a Nine Tribulations Pill!

Extremely frustrated, Chu Yang could only display the Gentle Water Sword Intent once more and stabilize the situation.

He was filled with perplexion in his mind, however.

My theory was definitely correct. This philosophy should be right, but why is it that the moment I put it into action, I am met with devastating blows instead?

The clanging of swords clashing against each other became denser and denser. It was apparent that the opponent’s momentum was becoming faster and faster!

Chu Yang let out a muffled grunt and retreated once more.

However, it was precisely this particular clash that allowed him to suddenly understand!

Yes, so that was it!

A tiny stream was certainly able to hold itself against a turbulent storm. However, if the storm was too violent, it would destroy the stream instead!

If the tiny stream’s continuous and gentle nature lost its dam, then there would be nothing left of it!

And his position right now was that of a tiny stream. If he didn’t make any move, then no matter how the other party came at him, he would still be that tiny little stream.

But if he were to overestimate his abilities and release an opening to try and contain other water sources, his capacity was something that he needed to consider.

The current Ye Zui was equivalent to another tiny stream, a small river or perhaps a large river...

But he only had the capacity of a tiny stream; it was impossible for him to contain the other party. In that case, he only had the option of being destroyed by the other party!

Therefore, he could only go on the defensive with the Gentle Water Sword Intent right now, and was unable to attack!

Or at least, before he grew into a large river, he couldn’t go on the offensive.

A large river was able to contain small streams, but it was impossible for it to contain another large river!

If he wished to use this sword technique to go on the offensive and wound others, perhaps even those more powerful than himself, then at the very least, he needed to become a vast and boundless ocean first.

With that, no matter what happened, he would be able to stay undefeated and even be able to counterattack anytime.

Even if the enemy was stronger than him, it would be the same.

The ocean naturally came with its own violent winds and turbulent waves; the stronger the opponent’s attacks, the more violent the waves in the ocean.

But this was something that neither a river nor a stream... was incapable of!

When he thought of this, Chu Yang’s mind calmed down at once.

He believed that he had already found a pathway to heaven! Right now, as he walked along this path, he was only capable of self-preservation and preventing external harm from injuring him. This was enough for him.

But when he grew stronger, he would be able to use the strength of this great ocean to drown any enemy!

Sword light rampaged through the place. Ye Zui battled on with satisfaction but also felt incredibly frustrated at the same time. In this battle with another Sword Supremacy, the omnipresent sword intent had certainly benefited him a great deal.

But what he found the most frustrating was that the other party had never once launched an attack from the beginning till the end!

The other party was completely suppressed by him.

This made Ye Zui extremely uncomfortable.

If you don’t attack me or go on the offensive, even if I can gain enlightenment, it is going to be very limited. But why are you just not attacking? You obviously have the ability to.

What Ye Zui didn’t know, of course, was that it was precisely this unreasonable and savage attack of his that led to the birth of a truly invincible sword technique in this world!

Up till now, he hadn’t suffered a single injury and he had certainly gained a fair bit of insight. However, even though the other party looked battered and worse for the wear, the benefits that he had gained were something that he couldn’t even begin to dream of!

If Ye Zui could be said to have gained an ingot of gold, then... in this battle, Chu Yang had gained a national treasury!

How much gold was there in a national treasury?

“Let’s end this!” Ye Zui let out a long howl. “Since you won’t attack, then you can die!”

“The demonic sword annihilates the heavens!”

A ferocious shout resounded!

Raging demonic flames suddenly spread quickly in the surroundings and permeated the place!

Both the human and sword had merged completely as one to perform this move, with the sword as the main guiding force!

This was a true demonic sword!

Chu Yang let out a clear howl and shouted, “‘The world of mortals originates from the path of heartlessness’, ‘Do not restrain the blade when slaying the whole world’!”

All of a sudden, he completely restrained his Gentle Water Sword Intent. What followed instead was vast and mighty murderous intent!

All of Ye Zui’s battle tactics were meant to counter his Gentle Water Sword Intent. And now, he had indeed found a way to counter it — Using the absolutely most violent attack and putting everything into one attack to blast the other party apart!

Just like an entire river suddenly gushing into a stream from all directions!

It was capable of flooding and destroying it instantly!

His battle strategy was completely correct!

But he didn’t expect in the least that his opponent would suddenly abandon that seamless defense at this point and go on the offensive instead. All the power concentrated as one and came shooting toward him!

A sword, as though a shocking clap of thunder, pierced right through Ye Zui’s demonic sword’s sword light. Just one move alone and it had already stabbed right into Ye Zui’s right chest!

The world suddenly fell silent!

Blood flew everywhere.

Blood spurted from all the sword wounds on Chu Yang at the same time. This was caused by his final attack! Although his injuries looked frightening, they were not fatal.

His sword stopped at Ye Zui’s chest, entrenched three inches deep without going further.

However, this was a fatal move!

Chu Yang did not go any further, choosing instead to retreat a couple of steps and withdrawing his sword.

There was a look of disbelief in Ye Zui’s eyes. His body suddenly froze, as though he had been struck by lightning!

Ye Zui’s expression changed into one of the complex emotions. “Why didn’t you continue? Wouldn’t it be the end of it all if you killed me instead?”

Chu Yang shook his head, replying with a hoarse voice, “There’s no point in doing so! Besides, I’m not able to kill you.”

There was a venomous look in Ye Zui’s eyes, like that of a vulture. “Oh?”

Chu Yang shook his head once more. “You’re a peak-level fourth-grade; my sword, if it goes further in, wouldn’t be able to break past your defenses. The battle between swordsmen today ends here!”

Ye Zui mused over this for a moment before he replied, “If you had continued to press on and I decided to counterattack and resist with full force, you are sure to die. Although I will survive, I would also become an invalid from then on. Fine, we’ll take it that you’ve won this battle! When battling at the same level, I am not your match!”

Chu Yang smiled. “How decisive!”

Though his words were pretty, it was far from the truth. The reason why he did not fully pierce his chest was not in the least because he couldn’t kill Ye Zui. While taking advantage of Ye Zui’s underestimation of the enemy, Chu Yang totally could have soundlessly activated the Nine Tribulations sword intent and wiped out this dangerous enemy!

Moreover, if he had done so, Ye Zui didn’t have the chance to counterattack at all!

The real reason was — Chu Yang already had the intention to enter the Ye Clan. A sword maniac like Ye Zui was a fantastic opportunity that he could make use of, so how could Chu Yang possibly let go of it?

In Chu Yang’s eyes, this battle was a legitimate path for him to enter the Ye Clan!

The other reason, however, was that a Sword Supremacy like Ye Zui, in Chu Yang’s eyes, was a good whetstone for Gu Duxing! If Gu Duxing weren’t able to battle him, he would probably regret it for life.

It’s too much of a waste for you to die now! If you must die, then please... die under my brother’s sword!

Snorting, Ye Zui said, “I won’t appreciate your kindness either. Even though your attack did not injure my internal organs, the nine waves of sword intent rampaging and interlocking have dealt me considerable damage. All your wounds are external wounds, but you bastard, your last move damaged my meridians and bones!”

Chu Yang replied frankly, “If I didn’t injure you, what am I to do should you go back on your word after the battle?”

Ye Zui burst into laughter.

To be honest, he certainly did have such an intention. After the battle, no matter whether he won or lost, he would immediately display his true level of cultivation and eliminate this person!

Who cared about these supposed rules among swordsmen?

But this was no longer a viable option.

Chu Yang’s attack had damaged his meridians. Even if he were to reinstate his fourth-grade cultivation and forcefully wield his sword, it would cause him to become unable to recover for an extremely long period of time. If serious, he might even become disabled for life!

At this point, after battling for so long, both of them were utterly exhausted. Chu Yang was honestly out of strength. Although Ye Zui didn’t reach the same extent of exhaustion, he wasn’t any better due to his injuries. They sat on the ground and exchanged a smile.

But both of them knew very well that within themselves, there was absolutely no such thing as mutual appreciation.

Ye Zui still desired to kill Chu Yang while Chu Yang... also didn’t hold any kind intentions toward Ye Zui. But on the surface, they smiled amicably at each other, as though they were terribly afraid that the other party wouldn’t be able to feel their ‘mutual appreciation’ for each other.

“That felt great!” Ye Zui smiled. “What is your name? That defensive sword technique is truly marvelous!”

He paused for a moment before he continued. “Especially suddenly going on the offensive after taking a defensive stance the entire way and deciding the outcome of the battle in one strike. That was even more of a stroke of genius! I am truly impressed!”

This was a very simple logic. Just like table tennis — If one kept doing forehand chops throughout the whole match and then suddenly did a drive out of the blue, even a world champion would probably be too stunned to react.

But of course, this was easy to say, but how difficult was it to actually achieve?

Chu Yang was just about to respond when a sneaky and cold laugh suddenly rang out. It definitely didn’t come from afar; the voice came from just within a few hundred feet of where they were.

Both of their expressions changed drastically at once.

There was absolutely no good intention in this laughter whatsoever. It was obviously an enemy, and one who had likely prepared for this since long ago and only approached them when the battle ended.

Earlier, both of them had been totally engrossed in the battle. One was a sword maniac while the other was under so much pressure that he didn’t have the luxury to notice anything else. Once the battle ended, both of them had heaved a great sigh of relief. Even when considering the fact that they didn’t put up much of a guard toward their surroundings, to be able to approach them within such a short time was something that no ordinary person was capable of!

From this, it was clear that the person incoming was no simple person!

Right now, both of them were heavily injured. The situation could be said to be extremely terrible.