Chapter 226 Breaking Through

Chapter 226: Chapter 210: Breaking Through

On the Martial Arts Arena, the situation changed in an instant.

After sending Cheng Jiang flying with a single slash, Chen Yue’s gaze locked onto the remaining two, Wu Guanyu and Liu Shizhang.

The moment he landed, his body showed no hint of hesitation, retreating abruptly.

The timing of this retreat was executed to perfection.

Wu Guanyu and Liu Shizhang were charging forward madly, their longswords imbued with the ferocious power of the Sword Waterfall Secret Technique, thrusting straight for the spot where Chen Yue had just been.

But Chen Yue’s retreat caused their attacks to strike nothing but air.

The momentum they had built to a peak inevitably faltered and stagnated for a split second.

In a duel between masters, even a momentary lapse is enough to decide victory and defeat.

In the instant Wu Guanyu and Liu Shizhang’s momentum faltered, Chen Yue fiercely stomped on the air.

A low boom echoed through the air.

Instead of slowing down from his retreat, he used the force of that step to accelerate once more.

Immediately after, he stomped on the air twice more in quick succession.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The three booms were so close together they sounded like one.

Chen Yue’s body traced an unbelievable arc through the air, his speed reaching its peak. As if teleporting, he instantly appeared at Wu Guanyu’s side.

The expressions on both Wu Guanyu and Liu Shizhang’s faces changed drastically.

Cheng Jiang had just demonstrated how miserable the outcome was when facing Chen Yue’s attacks one-on-one.

The strength Chen Yue was displaying now was even more exaggerated than when he fought Zhao Jiuchu. Both his ghostly Mid-air Change Direction Body Technique and his saber’s aura, which had surged to a heart-stopping intensity, were far beyond their expectations.

Fortunately, Wu Guanyu and Liu Shizhang were less than three feet apart.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to be closer, but getting any nearer would interfere with the range of their respective techniques, hindering their movements.

Three feet was the closest they could get while still maintaining the full power of their individual Swordsmanship.

Liu Shizhang reacted with extreme speed. The moment Chen Yue appeared at Wu Guanyu’s side, he stomped his right foot back and instantly circled around Wu Guanyu.

The Sword Momentum in his longsword was charged to its absolute limit, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

However, just as Liu Shizhang moved to Wu Guanyu’s side, his longsword poised to thrust,

Chen Yue once again stomped hard on the empty air.

An even deeper boom ripped through the air!

Before Wu Guanyu and Liu Shizhang’s disbelieving eyes, he forcefully changed direction again, instantly appearing on Wu Guanyu’s other side.

This position was not only the weakest point in Wu Guanyu’s defensive Sword Momentum, but it also caused Liu Shizhang’s fully charged strike to completely lose its target.

Wu Guanyu’s pupils contracted violently.

’His Body Technique is too fast! So fast I can’t keep up! This isn’t a Body Technique a Refining Organ Realm Martial Artist should possess!’

Wu Guanyu had no time to think. He could only act on instinct, madly twisting his body and holding his longsword horizontally before him.

The power of the Sword Waterfall Secret Technique within him poured out without reservation, creating layer after layer of Sword Barriers in front of him.

Those Sword Barriers shimmered with a dazzling Sword Aura, enveloping him completely.

He had only one thought in his mind right now: ’Block it!’

’Even for just an instant!’

’As long as I can hold on until Liu Shizhang’s attack arrives, the two of us can join forces and continue the siege.’

Chen Yue’s eyelids lifted slightly.

His Heart Spirit was operating at its absolute limit.

In this slow-motion world, Chen Yue could clearly see Liu Shizhang’s face, contorted from the frantic chase.

He could see an infinitesimal flaw in the overlapping Sword Barriers before Wu Guanyu—a flaw born from his opponent’s desperation and imperfect control over the power of his Life-or-Death Secret Technique.

The flaw was tiny—so small it would be nearly impossible to spot in a normal battle.

But under the perception of Chen Yue’s Heart Spirit, now operating at its peak, it was perfectly clear.

The next instant, Chen Yue swung his Jinghong Saber!

This slash had no extraneous moves; it was a simple, straight chop. But its speed was pushed to the absolute extreme!

Where the blade passed, the air was torn apart, letting out a sharp, piercing shriek!

The brilliant, surging Saber Aura struck with unerring precision upon that infinitesimal flaw in Wu Guanyu’s layers of Sword Barriers.

SHIIING!

A soft sound, like cloth being torn!

The Sword Barriers Wu Guanyu had painstakingly erected were like paper in the face of Chen Yue’s Saber Aura. Starting from that single flaw, they were torn right apart.

The Saber Aura continued onward, its momentum unbroken, and struck the longsword Wu Guanyu held horizontally before him.

CLANG!!!

A world-shaking clang exploded across the Martial Arts Arena once more.

Wu Guanyu’s eyes widened involuntarily. Reflected in his pupils, he saw his own blade’s edge, where the Sword Aura empowered by the Sword Waterfall Secret Technique shattered like glass before Chen Yue’s Saber Aura!

Immediately after, the flesh on his wrist began to tear under the impact of that ferocious power, splattering blood everywhere!

PFFT!

Wu Guanyu violently spat out a mouthful of blood mist. He could no longer hold his longsword; it flew high into the air, tumbling end over end.

As for him, his entire body was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the ground.

A mist of blood spread through the air. Wu Guanyu struggled for a moment but couldn’t get up, his blood pooling on the ground.

Even though he had defended with all his might, in the face of such a vast gap in strength, his fate was no different from Cheng Jiang’s.

On the Martial Arts Arena, Chen Yue slowly turned his head, his gaze falling upon Liu Shizhang.

At this moment, they were the only two left standing on the entire Martial Arts Arena.

The sunlight stretched their shadows long across the blood-stained flagstones, where they intersected. A wind blew from the distance, sweeping up a few fallen leaves that drifted between them.

Liu Shizhang had been charging madly toward Chen Yue, trying to form a pincer attack with Wu Guanyu.

His Sword Momentum was charged to its peak, the power of the Sword Waterfall Secret Technique surging wildly within him, ready to be unleashed in a single thrust.

But now, he had forcefully ground to a halt.

Because Wu Guanyu had already been sent flying.

Right before his eyes, in the final moment before he reached striking range, Wu Guanyu was sent flying by Chen Yue’s slash.

The longsword that had accompanied Wu Guanyu for many years tumbled through the air and landed several dozen feet away. The clear notch on its blade reflected a blinding light in the sun.

Liu Shizhang’s hand tightened around his sword, but his feet seemed to be nailed to the ground, unable to take another step.

It was clearly a three-on-one siege against Chen Yue. In their minds, failure was never a possibility.

They had even unhesitatingly used the Sword Waterfall Secret Technique from the very beginning, just to ensure a foolproof victory.

But what was the result?

Chen Yue, relying on that incredible Mid-air Change Direction Body Technique, had forcefully turned their three-on-one siege into a series of one-on-one duels.

More importantly, neither Cheng Jiang nor Wu Guanyu could withstand a single slash from Chen Yue. This was the most crucial reason for the failure of their ambush.

Who could have imagined that a top prodigy from the Sword Heart Ranking couldn’t even block a single move from a Martial Artist of the same realm, especially while using a Secret Technique?

If either Cheng Jiang or Wu Guanyu had been able to block Chen Yue’s slash, even for just an instant, it would have been enough time for the others to arrive and form a true encirclement, preventing the current scene from unfolding.

But now, it was too late for regrets.

They couldn’t block it, and that was that. There were no do-overs.

Even if they could do it over, knowing that Chen Yue could use Mid-air Stepping would at most only prolong the battle. The final outcome would likely remain unchanged.

The gap in strength was already too great for tactics to overcome.

Chen Yue looked at the motionless Liu Shizhang and slowly began to walk toward him.

His pace wasn’t fast, but every step he took seemed to land heavily on Liu Shizhang’s heart.

Liu Shizhang watched the approaching figure in green, his mouth moving slightly. He wanted to say something, but his throat felt as if it were blocked, and no sound came out.

He wanted to tighten his grip on his sword, to charge forward recklessly and fight Chen Yue to the death.

But in his mind, the images of Cheng Jiang and Wu Guanyu being sent flying by a single slash appeared unbidden.

If he charged, what would he gain, other than being gravely injured and left on the brink of death?

Liu Shizhang’s expression twisted, his gaze flickering wildly. Finally, all the momentum and presence he had built up dissipated in an instant.

"I surrender."

These two words escaped Liu Shizhang’s lips, his voice hoarse and low, as if uttering them had drained all the strength from his body.

It was as if all of Liu Shizhang’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit had been drained away, leaving his expression listless. The tip of the longsword in his hand drooped to the ground, as if he no longer had the strength to even hold it.

Around the Martial Arts Arena, there was dead silence.

The disciples of the Liuyun Sword Sect stared blankly at the scene on the arena.

Some stared at Chen Yue in a daze, unable to comprehend his almost perversely powerful combat ability. Others looked at Liu Shizhang with resentment, wanting to scold him for surrendering without a fight, but when they opened their mouths, they found they had nothing to say.

With two slashes, Chen Yue had just demonstrated what it meant to crush an opponent with the ease of snapping dry twigs.

The two sides didn’t even seem to be Martial Artists of the same realm. The combat prowess Chen Yue displayed was like that of someone in the Innate Realm.

Liu Shizhang kept his head down, not looking at anyone. He turned, silently walked off the Martial Arts Arena, and headed down the mountain path without a single glance back.

A few disciples from the Liuyun Sword Sect silently walked onto the arena and carried away the unconscious forms of Cheng Jiang and Wu Guanyu.

Both were gravely injured. If their treatment was delayed, even if they didn’t die, they would likely suffer from severe, long-lasting complications.

On the Martial Arts Arena, only Chen Yue remained.

He raised his head, his gaze traveling across the empty arena to land on the Liuyun Sword Sect’s Observation Platform.

Bei Sujian and the others were also staring intently at Chen Yue.

Their expressions were incredibly grim, but they said nothing.

A three-on-one siege, yet Chen Yue had easily picked them off one by one with a single slash each. What else could they say?

They were outmatched. There was nothing left to say.