Chapter 420 - 226: Defeating the Grandmaster

Chapter 420: Chapter 226: Defeating the Grandmaster

The two men were both shocked and furious. However, Yao Yilong had completely unleashed the might of a Grandmaster. Poised in mid-air, he was beyond their reach, so they could only scramble around to block the rampaging Sword Qi from destroying the surrounding homes.

But it was like trying to plug a dozen leaks at once. With Yao Yilong high in the air, firing Sword Qi in every direction, how could they possibly block it all? In a matter of moments, nearly half the street was reduced to ruins.

Shock and fury warred within them, and their hearts grew heavy. They knew Yao Yilong was serious. Even with his twisted justifications and the Yao family’s control over Jinling, the aftermath of this would be a massive problem. Yet he was willing to pay such a steep price, dead set on finding Xie Yuan and never letting him leave. His resolve was plain to see.

The situation was absurd. As the de facto masters of Jinling, a member of the Yao family was wreaking havoc, while two from the younger generation were scrambling to play firefighter. It was as if they were the ones being threatened, with the local citizens as hostages.

Yao Yilong’s Sword Qi streaked through the air as he scanned the area with a cold gaze. Though the two men below intercepted some of the blasts, he wouldn’t waste a second strike on a location once the first confirmed Xie Yuan wasn’t there.

He wasn’t actively trying to harm the commoners, but he didn’t particularly care about them, either. To him, they were simply not important.

In the eyes of the lofty, great families, the common folk were no different from livestock. They had their value, but that value was clearly less than the importance of finding Xie Yuan.

Assets like livestock and crops could always be regrown after a harvest. A threat like Xie Yuan, however, if not crushed while still insignificant, could one day prevent them from reaping their harvests altogether.

The great families were, after all, merely farmers. It was just that their fields encompassed the entire world, and their crops were the masses of common people.

Yao Yilong’s eyes flashed like lightning. He had practically plowed through the entire district, yet there was still no sign of movement.

Doubt began to creep into his mind. ’Has Xie Yuan already escaped?’

But his expression remained grim and impassive. He turned toward another area and began unleashing his Sword Qi once more.

Just as he was about to unleash another wave of destruction, a flicker of movement in his peripheral vision caught his eye—a shadow.

He whipped his head around to see Xie Yuan leaping high from a rooftop, soaring through the air toward him, hands raising a great axe high above his head.

Behind Xie Yuan, a silver moon hung in the sky, a single corner chipped away. The cold, white moonlight glinted off the great axe’s edge as it descended as if from the heavens, cleaving down toward Yao Yilong.

Yao Yilong’s pupils shrank, but the corners of his mouth curled into a smile. He laughed, overjoyed.

"So you couldn’t hold back after all!"

’At this distance, now that I’ve spotted him, he can’t possibly harm me, no matter how powerful his axe technique is!’

Xie Yuan’s eyes bulged as he roared,

"Stop, you old villain!"

His axe would have limited effect on Yao Yilong in mid-air, but how could Xie Yuan simply stand by and watch him cause such destruction, listening to the wails of innocent people?

"An ant trying to shake a tree!"

Yao Yilong sneered, his Long Sword striking out like a viper. Though he moved second, his blade would arrive first, instantly jabbing toward Xie Yuan’s ribs!

Xie Yuan felt as if time itself had slowed. He could see every detail: the downturned corners of Yao Yilong’s mouth, the deep-set wrinkles by his eyes.

On the ground, a brilliant golden light flared in Huie Jue’s widening eyes, while Zhang Junyi, his face a mask of anxiety, reached into his robes.

From the nearby homes came the screams and wails of the people, the endless crying of infants, an unceasing chorus of calls for help...

Everything was revealed in exquisite detail. In that instant, it was as if Xie Yuan’s mind had absorbed the entire environment. A gust of wind blew past, and he could feel the subtle ripples in the air. He felt as though he had become a part of his surroundings.

Xie Yuan’s mind suddenly drifted, recalling the boat ride to Jinling. He had felt something similar then—a sense of becoming one with the waves. He let the feeling wash over him, as if he were merging with the world itself.

And within this merged reality, the most prominent object was the incoming sword.

Even within his slowed perception of time, the sword was still incredibly fast, its momentum terrifyingly sharp.

But then, something shifted in Xie Yuan’s mind. He could perfectly perceive the trajectory of the Sword Edge, as if seeing the very flow of energy along the blade. Its strengths and weaknesses were laid bare before him.

’A Grandmaster’s technique is truly extraordinary,’ he thought. ’It has almost no flaws.’

’But it isn’t completely perfect. There are still openings to exploit.’

Xie Yuan felt his Sword Heart fuse with this wondrous new perception. In that moment, even the Grandmaster’s sword technique was laid bare before him. Then, as if guided by inspiration, his hands shifted slightly, turning the axe to strike the side of the Long Sword’s blade.

Time snapped back to its normal speed. The Long Sword flashed like lightning, but Xie Yuan’s axe—moving neither too quickly nor too slowly—struck the precise midpoint of the blade.

CLANG! Yao Yilong’s killing blow was abruptly knocked aside.

He felt a massive, irresistible force travel up the Long Sword, making him feel like a novice who couldn’t maintain his grip. The weapon was nearly torn from his grasp!

Yao Yilong’s face fell in utter shock. He had poured the majority of his power into that strike; how could it have been deflected by an axe from a mere Qi and Blood Second Transformation Realm cultivator?

But there was no time to dwell on it. The axe blade, shimmering with a ghostly light, had already exploited the massive opening in his defense and was now right before his chest.

Yao Yilong’s expression grew grim. After a flicker of consideration, he suddenly exhaled a long breath. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

The air before him abruptly thickened. Xie Yuan felt his axe strike a dense shield of energy, just as it had when he fought and killed Deng Wan, hacking into his protective Blood Qi barrier at close range.

’This is his final defense!’ Xie Yuan thought. ’If I can shatter this layer, the Grandmaster will be completely exposed!’

Xie Yuan roared again, putting more strength into his arms and pouring every last shred of his Blood Qi into the great axe. Slowly, arduously, he cleaved through Yao Yilong’s protective energy until his axe at last reached his chest.

With a muffled thud, Yao Yilong’s magnificent robes were torn asunder, revealing the golden-threaded Soft Armor beneath, which finally stopped the axe, its momentum now spent.

Yao Yilong’s face was a shade pale. With a heavy grunt, he struck out with his palm, instantly blasting Xie Yuan down to the ground and smashing him into a deep crater.

He gave his Long Sword a flourish, and the protective energy he had just gathered around himself surged outward, collapsing the house beneath his feet.