Chapter 1320: Victory and Defeat

Chapter 1320: Chapter 1320: Victory and Defeat

Pei Yan’s longsword in his hand changed shape again, turning into a knuckle duster worn over his mechanical iron fist, and with a sound of wind and thunder, it aimed for his own abdomen.

Dodge! This punch contains the force augmented by the Divine Artifact, getting hit surely won’t be pleasant! Liu Xuanji, after sealing his hearing, reacted immediately, forcing down the dizziness in his brain and sidestepping to try to avoid the blow.

"Ugh~!"

Contrary to his wishes, Liu Xuanji’s body did not move as he desired. A strong current surged through his body instantly, putting him in a state of paralysis!

Electric current? Pei Yan’s every move is under my watch, where did this attack come from? As Liu Xuanji was puzzled, the severe pain from his abdomen pulled him back to reality.

The two pauses allowed Pei Yan’s iron fist to hit solidly on Liu Xuanji’s belly, damn it! The Power of Origin, which can eliminate all Source Qi, broke open his flesh, and this strange power—was it a bit like his own Sword Qi stacking? This strike actually caused damage to his internal bones!

Under the severe blow, a trickle of blood appeared at the corner of Liu Xuanji’s mouth, his footsteps unstable as if he were about to retreat! However, he steadied himself and held his ground!

Under full force confrontation, he didn’t force the opponent back even one step, but instead, he was retreating? Such a thing would never happen to Liu Xuanji out of his dignity!

"Eighth move! Rushing Tiger!" The seventh move had already been interrupted, but Liu Xuanji wouldn’t shamelessly not acknowledge it. Gritting his teeth to endure the attack, Liu Xuanji forcefully swung his longsword at Pei Yan’s incoming arm.

"Ninth move! Water on Flowers!" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

"Seventeenth move! Moon Over the River!"

"Twenty-seventh move! Moon on Willow’s Crest!"

A string of more than twenty moves in confrontation! The onlookers were utterly shocked by the battle, which was originally just to resolve the feud between the two factions under Spirit Emperor’s wager, where Pei Yan and Liu Xuanji both fought with true passion! Pei Yan, from the beginning, stood without moving as stipulated, but Liu Xuanji gave up the grace and elegance of his Swordsmanship, standing in front of him to engage in a face-to-face confrontation, rarely moving left or right, never retreating a single step.

In these more than twenty moves, both used strange techniques repeatedly. Liu Xuanji isn’t blamed for this, not that he is weak, but being peers on the Daoist Plane, all the Sect Leaders undoubtedly had a sense of what to expect, so nothing seemed new. In contrast, Pei Yan was different with his soundwave attacks, Source Qi diversions, and even resorting to toxic gas toward the end. Using every extreme trick, he put Liu Xuanji into a panic.

In the midst of conversation, the duel had reached twenty-nine moves; whether it was Liu Xuanji on the offense or Pei Yan on the defense, neither was in an easy state. Liu Xuanji, no longer with the prior Grandmaster-like elegance, seemed to be in the mire, covered in grime, with wounds upon his body both inside and out, while Pei Yan wasn’t much better. Every move of Liu Xuanji carried damage-multiplying effects; some methods were flawlessly blocked, some were interrupted midway, yet he still suffered several hits. By the twenty-ninth move, the damage had multiplied a hundredfold, and nearly every strike seemed capable of bursting Pei Yan’s body open. If it weren’t for Pei Yan’s Ancestral God Origin Power secretly protecting and a greatly increased body strength post-modification, he might have already fallen stock-still by now.

"Cough! Cough! Ugh!"

At this point, both were coughing up blood, and it had reached the last move, the one that would decide the outcome of this gamble!

The final move! Liu Xuanji’s White Jade Feather Duster Sword unleashed a piercing chill, as if about to freeze everything around it. The sparkling light of the longsword in the cold gleam seemed to have a hallucinogenic effect, even causing Pei Yan, whose eyes were sealed, and who used sensing and cameras to track his opponent’s form, to be affected by the transformation.

Is this one of the attributes of this Divine Artifact? Liu Xuanji previously only showcased the freezing effects of the sword, but this illusion never displayed before, was it kept as the trump card?

Not good! In a flicker of thought, just as Pei Yan prepared to respond to Liu Xuanji’s attack, he suddenly found that the little Streaming Light that was still beside him moments ago had vanished!

Abandoning what seemed an unfamiliar style of dual-sword combat, pretending to be reckless, engaging me in a stationary face-off, using rapid twenty-move assaults as a prelude, leading me to gradually forget the existence of this Divine Artifact until this final sword attack.

"White Jade Reflecting Streaming Light"

A frontal ambush! The little Streaming Light, driven by the White Jade Feather Duster Sword, shot up from the ground, slanting directly at Pei Yan! Must I retreat? If not withdrawing, and either sword hits, he’ll surely be gravely injured, unable to stand!

Retreat? How can I comply with these two women’s expectations!

"Ah~!"

An angry roar erupted from the field where Pei Yan stood, shockingly swinging his longsword, facing Liu Xuanji’s frontal attack, indifferent to the small Streaming Light attacking from his side.

"Pei Yan! Have you gone mad?" gasped Liu Xuanji, surprised. If Pei Yan doesn’t defend against this sword, it could very well prove lethal!

"I’ve always been a madman!"

"Bastard!"

"Use your sword to dodge this strike, or you’ll die!"

Looking at Pei Yan’s decisive appearance until the very last moment, although he spoke of fighting with all his might regardless of life or death, at this moment Liu Xuanji still had concerns in his heart, eventually diverting the little Streaming Light to avoid Pei Yan’s vital areas.

"Is it over?" Feng Tianhe, captivated by the battle, murmured.

"Yes! It’s over!"

At the final moment, the little Streaming Light was intercepted—thanks to the combination of Pei Yan’s Divine Artifact and the Shadow Control Technique and Source Qi Iron Wire—to halt its path, though the sword was stopped, the contained Sword Qi still wounded Pei Yan’s body, altering the site of injury from the original chest and abdomen to his lower leg.

On the other side, Liu Xuanji wasn’t faring well either; his White Jade Feather Duster Sword developed a notch, as Pei Yan in the last instant issued a warning to Liu Xuanji before firing a shot from a revolver, which Liu Xuanji blocked with his Divine Artifact. This resulted in the sect’s Divine Artifact fracturing at bullet contact, causing the bullet to deflect.

Looking at the White Jade Feather Duster Sword in his hand, Liu Xuanji felt heartbroken. This Divine Artifact is ruined; no Artifact Refining Master can repair it. This was Pei Yan’s annihilation power wielded in the Sword Discussion Conference; the damaged parts are completely gone, forever irreparable. If not for Pei Yan’s warning, if the bullet had hit him, he might be dead by now.

"I lost!" Liu Xuanji tossed the broken sword to the side, speaking helplessly to Pei Yan: "Did you count on me sparing you at the end? Aren’t you afraid I would drag you down with me? Do you think I wouldn’t dare?"

"Afraid! I believe you dare! But based on what I’ve come to understand, I feel you’re not that type of person! You owe me a favor, you wouldn’t let me die like this."