Chapter 190 - 183: Then He Has No Chance

Chapter 190: Chapter 183: Then He Has No Chance

Chen Yue raised his hand. The saber scar on the back of it suddenly lit up as light surged from beneath his skin. The Jinghong Saber instantly appeared in his palm.

The patterns on the saber’s body flowed like molten lava in the morning light. Chen Yue gripped the hilt as the Ten Thousand Forms Tiger Roar Golden Bell and the Vast Heart Rock Skill activated simultaneously within him. Qi Blood and Inner Strength surged through his meridians, converging in his right arm before pouring into the Jinghong Saber.

The blade let out a low hum. He ignored the spinning scabbard flying toward him.

Chen Yue’s gaze locked onto Hua Guanzhi. He swung his saber with his right hand, cleaving down at Hua Guanzhi’s head.

The blade was wreathed in immense Qi and Blood Power. The saber’s gleam cut a fiery arc through the sunlight, and the air tore apart with a sharp shriek.

Before the blade even arrived, the Furious Wave Saber Intent, like a sharpened edge, had already surged from Chen Yue’s Sea of Consciousness and slashed directly into Hua Guanzhi’s.

Hua Guanzhi’s eyes narrowed, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks in that instant.

In his Sea of Consciousness, his still-unformed Sword Intent instantly trembled upon sensing the invasion of the Saber Intent.

The Sword Intent spread out like overlapping layers of an iron net, unfurling within his Sea of Consciousness.

The Panshi Sect had the Hidden Blade Technique for cultivating Saber Intent, but it also had the Spirit Containing Technique, which had no weapon requirements.

The Spirit Containing Technique wasn’t limited to specific weapons like sabers, swords, spears, or staffs. Instead, it focused on tempering the Heart Spirit itself to make it more resilient.

The prodigies of the Cyan Cloud Ranking within the sect would generally choose to cultivate one of these two Cultivation Techniques, as each had its own merits.

Hua Guanzhi began cultivating the Spirit Containing Technique not long after stepping into the Refining Organ Realm. After several years of arduous cultivation, although he hadn’t managed to fully form a true Sword Intent, he wasn’t without his gains.

After years of tempering, his Sea of Consciousness was already much more resilient than that of an ordinary Refining Organ Realm Martial Artist.

His unformed Sword Intent lacked offensive power, but for defense, especially when combined with the Heart Spirit-stabilizing effect of the Fifth Layer of the Panshi Skill, it was quite impressive for a short period.

Therefore, Hua Guanzhi’s movements didn’t change. His steps remained light, his gaze still locked on Chen Yue.

At most, because most of his Heart Spirit was focused within his Sea of Consciousness, the Qi in his longsword inevitably lessened, causing the power behind his blade’s edge to decrease.

CLANG!

With a loud bang, the Jinghong Saber split the flying scabbard. The scabbard shot away, hitting the ground with a dull thud.

The blade’s momentum didn’t falter as it continued straight toward Hua Guanzhi, who was right behind it.

But just as the blade was about to touch Hua Guanzhi’s iron sword, Hua Guanzhi’s figure, like a willow leaf in the wind, shifted slightly to the side, following the draft created by the Jinghong Saber.

At the same time, his body twisted in a way that defied logic. The tip of his sword passed through the gap beneath the saber’s blade, stabbing straight toward Chen Yue’s ribs.

It was an incredibly tricky angle, the most precise maneuver executed at the most dangerous distance.

Hua Guanzhi had no intention of clashing head-on with Chen Yue.

Before this match, Hua Guanzhi had specifically sought out the Cyan Cloud Ranking disciples who had witnessed Chen Yue’s duel with Ji Wanting to ask them in detail about Chen Yue’s fighting style.

He even went directly to Ji Wanting to get a clear understanding of the power behind each of Chen Yue’s strikes.

Ji Wanting’s answer wasn’t long, but Hua Guanzhi remembered the expression on his face as he spoke—the lingering fear left after being completely crushed.

So, for this match, Hua Guanzhi had never planned to confront Chen Yue head-on.

His power might have been inferior to Chen Yue’s, but he had his own advantage. The Willow Catkin Following the Wind Step, which he had perfected over many years, was a skirmishing Body Technique designed specifically to counter overwhelmingly powerful Martial Artists.

The core of this Body Technique wasn’t speed, but *flow*—moving with the wind, turning with the force.

Even the draft from an opponent’s saber, palm, or fist could be cleverly borrowed and converted into power for his own movement.

The stronger Chen Yue’s power and the fiercer the wind from his blade, the more force Hua Guanzhi could borrow, the faster he could move, and the harder he would be to hit.

Chen Yue watched the approaching sword tip and moved slightly.

He didn’t retreat. Instead, his body turned slightly, allowing the sword’s edge to graze past his robes. Simultaneously, the Jinghong Saber, already mid-swing, changed its angle and swept out horizontally.

The flash of the blade, like a crescent moon, slashed toward Hua Guanzhi’s waist and abdomen.

Hua Guanzhi’s figure shifted again. Like a true willow catkin, just as the Jinghong Saber’s edge was about to touch him, he borrowed its sweeping force to float several feet to the side.

He floated lightly behind Chen Yue, landed, and turned. The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, without the slightest pause.

His sword thrust out again, this time aiming for Chen Yue’s back.

Chen Yue didn’t look back. He simply took a step forward, his body already turning to face Hua Guanzhi as he moved. The Jinghong Saber in his hand swung upward from below and cleaved out once more.

Hua Guanzhi didn’t change his move this time.

There was no time. Chen Yue’s tempo was too fast.

Hua Guanzhi’s eyes narrowed slightly. The edge of his sword met the Jinghong Saber’s blade head-on. DING! Sparks flew as the weapons clashed.

But before the immense power from the saber could be unleashed upon him, Hua Guanzhi had already used the brief contact from the collision to float backward.

His foot tapped lightly on the bluestone slabs, and he had already retreated several dozen feet, landing steadily. His breathing was stable, and he showed no signs of injury.

From beginning to end, his Heart Spirit had not been shaken by Chen Yue’s Saber Intent, nor had he lost his balance from the overwhelming power.

Below the Martial Arts Arena, the eyes of many disciples lit up.

They had originally thought today’s match would end with Chen Yue crushing another opponent.

Ten days ago, Chen Yue’s fight against Ji Wanting had been too easy—so easy that many felt Chen Yue’s ranking on the Cyan Cloud Ranking ought to be much higher.

Yet, unexpectedly, Hua Guanzhi was using a skirmishing style to maintain a stalemate.

「On an old pine tree on a cliff miles away.」

Mo Ciqiu folded her arms, her body leaning slightly against the gnarled trunk of the old pine. Her gaze pierced the distance, falling upon the two constantly moving figures in the Martial Arts Arena.

"Hua Guanzhi’s Body Technique is quite good."

Mo Ciqiu’s voice was as light as if she were watching a play. "That rhythm of borrowing and redirecting force isn’t something you can get from just a few years of hard training. You have to have the Talent for it."

She paused, tilting her head to look at Meng Yu Jin, her tone laced with a hint of teasing.

"Have you taught your precious disciple a Body Technique? It’s not still that basic Panshi Stepping, is it? If that’s all he knows, I’m afraid Hua Guanzhi is going to run circles around him today."

Meng Yu Jin’s gaze remained on the Martial Arts Arena. He shook his head. "I’ve taught Chen Yue the Soaring Void Nine Transitions. I tested him on it once before. He grasped it very quickly and has already reached a very high level of mastery."

Mo Ciqiu’s eyes lit up slightly. The Soaring Void Nine Transitions. That was an extremely profound technique among the Panshi Sect’s Inner Sect Body Techniques.

It emphasized explosive bursts and repositioning over short distances, a completely different path from a skirmishing Body Technique like the Willow Catkin Following the Wind Step, which relied on borrowing force.

If the Willow Catkin Following the Wind Step was about moving *with* the wind, then the Soaring Void Nine Transitions was about *breaking* the wind. It didn’t rely on external forces or objects, instead using one’s own explosive power to instantly change position and angle.

"Then Hua Guanzhi doesn’t stand a chance!" Mo Ciqiu laughed softly.

The words had barely left Mo Ciqiu’s lips when, back in the Martial Arts Arena, Chen Yue watched Hua Guanzhi float away and stomped his foot down hard.

The bluestone slab beneath his foot let out a muffled BOOM. Spiderweb-like cracks spread out from under his sole, sending rubble flying.

His figure abruptly vanished. The next moment, he was right in front of Hua Guanzhi.

Hua Guanzhi had just regained his footing and had yet to shift from his evasive posture back into an attack. Chen Yue was already less than three feet in front of him, the Jinghong Saber cleaving down again.

Hua Guanzhi’s eyelid twitched violently. His body instinctively pushed the Willow Catkin Following the Wind Step to its limit as he thrust his longsword to meet the Jinghong Saber.

’He didn’t need to block the strike completely. He just needed a brief point of contact to borrow the force and slip away.’

DING!

A sharp clang echoed across the Martial Arts Arena, the aftershock vibrating through the air. Sparks flew from the point where the saber and sword met.

Relying on the subtlety of the Willow Catkin Following the Wind Step, Hua Guanzhi once again borrowed the force from Chen Yue’s blade, his robes whipping in the wind.

Like a willow leaf caught in a gust, he carved a smooth arc through the air.

But Hua Guanzhi was fast, and Chen Yue was faster.

Chen Yue stomped a foot on the ground, his body shooting after Hua Guanzhi like an arrow loosed from a bow.

In that instant, what looked like nine phantoms of Chen Yue appeared in the Martial Arts Arena. The one closest to Hua Guanzhi swung his Jinghong Saber down again.

Hua Guanzhi’s expression changed dramatically. He had just borrowed the force from the Jinghong Saber and hadn’t yet fully dispersed it.

Normally, an expert of the same Refining Organ Realm would find it difficult to catch Hua Guanzhi when he was using the Willow Catkin Following the Wind Step at full power.

After all, he wasn’t just propelled by his own power, but also by the immense impact from the saber strike. The two forces combined to send him flying back as fast as an arrow loosed from a bow.

That kind of speed was beyond what most Refining Organ Realm Martial Artists could hope to match.

And yet, Chen Yue had caught up in an instant.

Hua Guanzhi was still in mid-air, with no foothold from which to leverage his technique. Unable to use any of the subtleties of his Body Technique, he was trapped with no way to dodge.

As for borrowing force again, the Willow Catkin Following the Wind Step was incapable of it.

The technique could borrow the residual force from an opponent’s attack to move and evade, but this ability had strict limitations.

After each use, he needed brief contact with the ground to shed the borrowed force and readjust his center of gravity and posture before he could do it again.

But right now, Hua Guanzhi’s feet were off the ground. His body was coasting on inertia, unable to change direction while suspended in the air.

Chen Yue’s Jinghong Saber was already cleaving down, sharp and unstoppable.