Chapter 211 - 123: Crushing Embracing Pill, One Sword to Defeat the Enemy, Zhang Su’s Pill Force is Invincible

"This first match... Let’s see what you’re really made of!"

Zhou Dingshan’s gaze was also locked on the fighting ring.

His eyes narrowed slightly, the azure-robed figure on the ring reflected in his pupils.

It wasn’t just Ye Ling and Zhou Dingshan; many of the Jianghu Martial Artists were also in an uproar.

Zhang Su, the man rumored to have slain an Embracing Pill Martial Artist while only at the Huajin realm, had actually advanced to the Pill Force realm.

And he was even participating in the Three Sects Gathering of Heroes.

What’s more, for his very first match, Zhang Su’s opponent was a long-established figure in the Jianghu.

"Zhou Yue... He may only be at the Pill Force realm, but he has mastered the Rainbow Transformation Saber Technique. He’s a peak Embracing Pill expert. With Zhang Su facing him, this is going to be a true clash of titans."

A few Jianghu Martial Artists were eagerly anticipating this battle.

The speaker was a middle-aged Martial Artist with a long spear slung across his back. He stood in the back row of the eastern stands, craning his neck and standing on his tiptoes to get a better view of the ring.

He had heard of Zhou Yue.

Zhou Yue had a considerable reputation in the Jianghu. His Rainbow Transformation Saber Technique was lightning-fast, making him a top-ranked Danjin Martial Artist.

He had once seen Zhou Yue fight with his own eyes. The slash was so fast all you could see was a flash of rainbow light, and his opponent was already on the ground.

But the disciples of Medicine Valley, the Five Elements Sect, and even the Guiyuan Sect all scoffed at this.

’Zhou Yue? A mere Embracing Pill Martial Artist from the Jianghu? How could a fight with him possibly be called a clash of titans?’

They were mainly interested in seeing just how powerful Zhang Su had become after reaching the Embracing Pill realm.

They wanted to see if he was truly as incredible as the legends claimed.

The disciples of the Guiyuan Sect sat in the western stands, their faces alight with excitement.

Zhang Su was one of their Fellow Disciples, and the better he performed in the ring, the prouder they felt.

The disciples from the Five Elements Sect and Medicine Valley, however, had more complicated expressions.

At this moment, all eyes were on the ring where Zhang Su stood.

There were over a dozen rings in the Martial Arts Arena, but at this moment, every single gaze was fixed on Zhang Su’s.

Matches were underway on the other rings, but they were almost completely ignored.

In the stands, people stood up, rose to their tiptoes, and craned their necks.

Thousands of pairs of eyes were fixated on the azure-robed figure.

Zhang Su’s opponent, Zhou Yue, was a Swordman from the Jianghu.

Zhou Yue wore a grayish-blue robe, a long saber hanging from his waist.

The scabbard was dark brown, inlaid with several copper studs, and the hilt was wrapped in black hemp cord.

His face was gaunt, with high cheekbones and deep-set eyes. He looked to be in his thirties.

His expression was grave.

Of course, he knew all the rumors about Zhang Su.

Others could make light of the rumors about Zhang Su, but he couldn’t.

They weren’t the ones who had to face him. He was. That made all the difference.

He had to be exceedingly careful.

Zhou Yue stood on one side of the ring, his hands hanging naturally at his sides, his fingertips growing cold.

He could feel his heart beating faster than usual.

It wasn’t fear.

It was tension.

The instinctive tension of facing a powerful and unknown opponent.

"Zhou Yue, an independent from the Jianghu."

"Zhang Su, from the Guiyuan Sect."

The two introduced themselves.

Zhou Yue’s voice was somewhat hoarse. Zhang Su’s was as calm as still water.

And then...

SHING.

Zhou Yue drew his saber.

He was a Swordman, and the Rainbow Transformation Saber Technique he cultivated was considered a masterpiece in the Jianghu.

Thanks to his Rainbow Transformation Saber Technique, he had remained undefeated in the Jianghu.

In recent years, he had seldom fought.

Because there was hardly anyone worthy of his blade.

But the man before him, Zhang Su, was different.

He was self-aware enough to know that Zhang Su was nothing like the other Jianghu Martial Artists he had encountered.

Therefore, he held nothing back from his very first move.

Zhou Yue’s saber became a streak of rainbow light.

The light burst from its scabbard, leaving a faint, reddish afterimage in the sunlight.

The blade split the air with a piercing whistle.

In the blink of an eye, it was before Zhang Su.

Fast!

Too fast!

Even the Three Sects’ Disciples were somewhat surprised.

To their surprise, this Zhou Yue did indeed have some skill.

A disciple from Medicine Valley nodded slightly, acknowledging that the attack was indeed powerful.

A Five Elements Sect Disciple narrowed his eyes, mentally gauging the speed of the attack.

But most people turned their attention to Zhang Su.

They wanted to see how Zhang Su would counter this attack.

Zhang Su remained perfectly calm throughout.

His expression didn’t flicker in the slightest.

He stood there, his azure robe fluttering gently in the wind, the Shadow-Stealing Sword at his waist still sheathed.

His eyes watched the rainbow light, watched the approaching saber, watched the cold glint on its edge.

His breathing was steady, and even the look in his eyes remained unchanged.

Zhou Yue’s technique was one of speed.

In the eyes of the crowd, and even to other Embracing Pill Martial Artists, it was incredibly fast.

But to Zhang Su’s keen senses, Zhou Yue’s Saber Technique was far too slow.

So slow that he could clearly see the trajectory of the blade.

He saw the cold glint on the edge, saw the Pill Force erupting from the hand Zhou Yue used to grip the saber.

CLANG.

The next moment, Zhang Su drew his sword.

He didn’t even use a particularly profound form of Swordsmanship.

The technique he used was the Nine Shadows Sword Technique.

It was once merely a Qi Blood Realm Sword Skill.

The Nine Shadows Sword Technique originally produced only nine sword-shadows, but Zhang Su had cultivated it to the point of manifesting Divine Intent.

When powered by Divine Intent, it could produce far more than just nine.

A dense flurry of sword-shadows filled the air.

In that instant, it was as if dozens of swords had been unsheathed on the ring at once.

Flickering sword light and pinpricks of cold glint completely enveloped the space before him.

But in the next moment, the countless sword-shadows merged into one.

He had struck second, yet his sword was unimaginably fast, appearing at Zhou Yue’s throat in an instant.

The sword stopped!

Its tip hovered steadily three inches from Zhou Yue’s throat, perfectly still.