"Bring it on," said Xiang Shaoyun calmly.
His curiosity had been piqued when he heard what the crowd was saying about the supposedly powerful sword formation these four knew. Within the pool of soul spring, his cultivation level had reached peak eighth-stage Transformation Realm.
After the massive battle with Lightning Kid, signs were showing that he was close to breakthrough. If he could have a few more big battles, he might be able to directly enter the next stage.
"Since you have a death wish, don't blame us for what we're about to do. Activate the sword formation!" said the leader of the four.
The Four Divinity Swords drew their swords at the same time. Each of them stood at a different position, and using four completely identical swords, they sent four sword energies flying toward Xiang Shaoyun.
It was an extremely fast attack. Coming from four directions and with such speed, it was an attack not many people could avoid. Xiang Shaoyun activated his gift of instincts only to find no openings around him except the one upward.
Without any hesitation, he leaped and avoided the four's joint attack. But he found that the four were actually smiling, as if he had fallen into their trick. Suddenly, all four sword energies changed direction and shot upward toward him. The four sword energies had seemingly combined, were extremely terrifying, and were slicing even the air apart.
"Shit!" Xiang Shaoyun cried out when he finally found out how serious the mistake he had made was.
Any Transformation Realm would temporarily lose their mobility when midair since a Transformation Realm couldn't fly. The mobility would only return when they landed. Evidently, the first joint attack of the Four Divinity Swords was for the purpose of forcing their opponent to jump in the air before finishing the opponent off.
Such an attack was very hard to defend against and death was very likely. The crowd was watching with bated breath, wondering if Xiang Shaoyun could survive the attack.
Xiang Shaoyun was forced to once again draw his saber. He did not fly away using his White Tiger Wings, as he still wanted to keep that trump card hidden. Thus, his only option was to meet force with force.
Lightning Slash From the Clear Sky!
Using all his power, including the innate purple lightning, he slashed his saber downward. The slash was akin to a bolt of lightning with a destructiveness no weaker than the attack launched by the four.
Rumble! Rumble!
The sword energies collided with the saber energy, resulting in a series of rumbling as a massive shockwave spread outward from the impact. Clouds of dust formed, and the sharp energies shredded the pebbles and rocks in the vicinity.
Even though Xiang Shaoyun had destroyed the combined attack on him, he was still sent flying away by the impact of the collision. On the other hand, the Four Divinity Swords did not seem affected, as they had scattered the moment Xiang Shaoyun attacked.
"Shift of Four Divisions!" shouted the leader of the four.
Instantly, the four lined up and sent four beams of sword energy shooting in one straight line toward Xiang Shaoyun. They moved like the wind and attacked like the lightning, their attacks extremely thorny to deal with.
Not even Xiang Shaoyun had expected the four to be such difficult opponents. He had barely landed and the four sword energies had already arrived right before his head. His heart thumped as he immediately collapsed on his back as the sword energies sliced past his face. A few strands of his hair were sliced off, and a sharp pain assailed his cheek. Evidently, his face had been cut, and blood started flowing from it.
Before Xiang Shaoyun could even rejoice that he had avoided the attack, the follow-up attack arrived. Four sword energies arrived for him again, forcing him to take them on with a new energy barrier around him.
The sword energies pierced through his energy barrier and headed straight toward his body. If he was struck, even with the armor he wore, he would still be gravely injured. It was at this moment of crisis that Xiang Shaoyun's rich combat experience came into play. He flicked his wrist and swept his saber at the four sword energies and shifted their trajectories.
Cling! Clank!
The sword energies thus sliced across his clothes but did not leave a scratch on his flesh. In fact, the sword energies had still struck. The force behind them had merely been weakened by the shift of trajectory, and protected by the armor, Xiang Shaoyun remained unharmed.
Xiang Shaoyun then slashed his saber madly, forcing the Four Divinity Swords to pull away from him. He took the chance to get back on his feet. They stood facing each other. It was rather obvious that Xiang Shaoyun was the one at a disadvantage in the last exchange.
Xiang Shaoyun was staring at the four, and the four were staring at him. None of them said anything, but their battle intent was growing even more intense. Their next clash would definitely be an intense one. The observers stood still. They all held their breath and nobody made any sound, waiting for the next round of battle to start.
"Big Dipper Relocation!" The leader of the Four Divinity Swords was the one to break the silence.
The four started moving around rapidly at a speed so fast that nobody could clearly see who was standing at which position anymore. Nearly 100 sword energies circled around Xiang Shaoyun, slowly forming a cyclone as they slowly closed in on Xiang Shaoyun.
During their previous clash, Xiang Shaoyun still had an option of escaping to the air above him. This time, all his paths were sealed. The sword energies surrounded him from all directions, not leaving a single opening.
The only way to escape the attack was to break out through brute force, and one needed to be far stronger than the four to accomplish that. Was Xiang Shaoyun capable of that? His Purple Lightning Saber shone brightly as his innate purple lightning and astral energy erupted, pushing him to his strongest state. His Nether Soul Domain and gift of instincts were also fully activated, assisting him in searching for a way out. Just as the sword energies were about to fully close in on him, he moved.
Saber intent!
He swung his saber in a certain direction. It was toward the weakest link of the Four Divinity Swords, the person ranked fourth among them. Before he was able to move away, Xiang Shaoyun's saber energy arrived. Xiang Shaoyun then became one with his saber, and together with the saber energy, he charged straight at the weak link.
Cling! Clank!
Numerous sparks appeared midair, and crisp sounds rang in the air.
Sphhlt!
Xiang Shaoyun's judgment proved to be correct as his target was indeed the weak link of the Four Divinity Swords. His target failed to block Xiang Shaoyun's slash, and all his sword energies shattered. He himself was slashed into two, his blood splashing everywhere. Xiang Shaoyun killed his target, but now his back was completely exposed to his other three opponents.