Editor: Areth Kyntaul
"I'll give you ten free moves… again."
The entire venue then went silent after Ming Feizhen said that. Neither of them moved.
Jia Yunfeng didn't respond, but he had regained the cold expression of his. His gaze moved like he had obtained something.
He aimed the tip of Beyond Heavens Edge at Ming Feizhen.
Jia Yunfeng indifferently asked, "Who… are you?"
He launched his attack as he asked his question. A light formed on his blade, which was a powerful wave of sword aura that enveloped him. The snowflakes that were falling randomly now flew toward Ming Feizhen. They flew at him with a large amount of cold force that surpassed how strong the wind blew naturally.
From the side, Princess Hongzhuang was astounded. She was aware that Ming Feizhen's skills were profound, but she had a vision that wouldn't go away which made her concerned for Ming Feizhen.
The fusion of the wind and the sword aura created powerful waves that rushed his opponent one after another. The clash of qi was akin to a huge pool between them. Jia Yunfeng's Beyond Heavens Edge acted as the source with an endless amount of qi, filling up the pool to the brim. As the volume of qi piled up, the pressure on Ming Feizhen would consequently increase.
The Emperor and the warriors were astonished; Such a miraculous technique has never been heard of. They hated Jia Yunfeng to his core at the start, but now they acknowledged his superior sword skills. As experts, comparing themselves to him without having fought him made them believe that their skills weren't too far off from his and that he was an eyesore.
Now, however, they were all admiring his skills after that move. When they imagined themselves in Ming Feizhen's shoes, they realised they wouldn't have lasted fifteen minutes. They would have to surrender or else die to their opponent's miraculous technique.
The huge build-up of sword aura locked his opponent down, taking away his opponent's chance at getting the first strike. However, pinning his opponent down cost him a lot of energy as well. The idea was to finish his opponent with the amount of sword-aura he had built up once his opponent could no longer fend off the pressure. Jia Yunfeng was able to get the upper hand using this technique even if his opponent was an expert among experts.
Jia Yunfeng's first move, when meeting after thirteen years, was Falling Wild Geese Soars the Sky once again. This was the first time Falling Wild Geese Soars the Sky had been executed so incredibly ever since its creation.
The most astonishing part was still Jia Yunfeng himself. Up until tonight, he was unable to execute such a miraculously sharp and difficult to defend against sword strike. He got many things off his shoulders when he met Ming Feizhen. Including his duty as the leader of Hua Shan and his mission as an assassin of the League of Assassins; The two identities conflicted with one another, but that vanished the moment he decided to fight Ming Feizhen.
Jia Yunfeng was unbelievably talented and focused. He had perfected his internal strength and sword techniques to an extremely high level. For him to improve at that point was easier said than done.
For the last thirteen years, he had lived in the shadow of his fight with Ming Feizhen. The opportunity to fight properly with Ming Feizhen gave him the feeling that time and space had been misplaced, bestowing him with the chance to undo the knot in his heart for the last thirteen years. All his emotions, from his frustrations with his plateaus to the conflicts with his identities, vanished into thin air.
Ming Feizhen was impressed. Jia Yunfeng qualifies to be noted as one of the greatest among the top masters with his ability to use his internal strength this well.
"After we parted ways that day thirteen years ago, I had always been trying to find out about you." Jia Yunfeng used voice transmission to speak to Ming Feizhen while continuing to churn up more internal energy. The ability to use his internal strength for two different tasks simultaneously was evidence of his profound internal strength.
"I investigated your shifu. He's the leader of Mount Daluo, 'Yuhua of the World', Ming Huayu. He's extremely famous in the pugilistic world. He was once listed as one of the Ten Ultimate Gods, one of the few greatest in the world. Back then, I thought it made sense for you to naturally possess great skills as his disciple, but you…" Jia Yunfeng's tone was steady. Despite Ming Feizhen being his opponent, his confidence in himself was unshakeable, "You're like someone that never existed. There's no information pertaining to you anywhere to be found within Mount Daluo, and nobody in the world has heard of Ming Huayu having you as his disciple. Who exactly are you?"
Ming Feizhen gave no response. His expression remained the same. Jia Yunfeng's sword-aura didn't seem to affect him at all. His body was still like it was locked in stone. He stood in place like he was deep in thought for a long time.
His memories returned like snowflakes flying towards him.
The things someone said to him back then plucked his heartstrings.
"You don't exist."
"It doesn't matter how well you do, or how famous you become. You're just a non-existent person."
"Ming Feizhen - can you even consider that a name? How much longer are you going to run away for, weakling?"
"I'll disappear from your sight. Don't even dream of ever being able to find me."
"…… Never existed?"
The voice behind the mask was faint and sounded somewhat lonely.
It was calm and slow, yet sounded like the speaker was slightly angry.
"I have to admit that I think you're right about that… God damned right."
He looked over again. His eyes behind his bronze mask flashed blood red. Jia Yunfeng's heart and mind received a shock. He felt his nerves heat up and his sword aura vanished, causing the snow and wind to return to normal.
Ming Feizhen took a step forward. The leftover sword aura vanished.
"You don't need to go searching for my shadow. I'm standing right here." His gaze intensified and in an awe-inspiring voice said, "Sect-leader Jia, come at me."
"I don't need you to tell me what to do!"
Jia Yunfeng focused himself and then leapt through the air before swinging his sword downward violently from up high. His Falling Wild Geese Soars the Sky move was powerful but different to how he previously executed it. It looked like he was trying to split Ming Feizhen's skull.
Just as Ming Feizhen went to turn side on to evade the strike, he suddenly sensed an odd vibration from the tip of Jia Yunfeng's sword. The strike was most certainly powerful, but what made it lethal was yet to be revealed. It appeared as though the technique didn't end and could change at any moment. That was completely different to Jia Yunfeng from thirteen years ago. Similarly to how he now held two identities, his sword technique also had two uses.
Ming Feizhen reacted with surprise, "No wonder you became a new venerated member of the League of Assassins. Your skills have improved significantly. Congratulations." Ming Feizhen didn't look distressed. He shifted his feet six inches, evading the area where Falling Wild Geese Soars the Sky was aimed.
The Emperor exclaimed, "Brilliant qinggong, great hero!"
Indeed, his movements were difficult to predict. Back then, Ming Feizhen didn't even dodge Jia Yunfeng's strikes, though.
After his loss to Ming Feizhen, Jia Yunfeng suffered mentally and went as far as to sell himself out to acquire Demon Shadow Light Splitter and other styles. That's how he found a way to defeat Ming Feizhen. Back then, Ming Feizhen used a similar qi sensing technique to detect his movements, allowing him to dodge even the well-hidden moves of his. They both had the same ability now, though. Jia Yunfeng was confident with his sensing ability. In fact, he believed he was superior to Ming Feizhen. Even if he wasn't able to manoeuvre as quickly as Ming Feizhen, with his unparalleled sensing ability he knew what move his opponent would make next and could stop it.
Jia Yunfeng had gained the upper hand with just his first move.
Somebody shouted, "Careful!"
Beyond Heavens Edge suddenly changed as if a layer of blue enveloped it, creating an eerie aura around the sword. He transformed Seven Shining Sun Rays into Seven Blue Sun Rays. His sword aura slashed, causing a long and shocking sword cut mark on the stone ground.
The ground was made using premium materials. It wasn't likely that one could scratch it like that with a large saw. While Beyond Heavens Edge may be sharp, its blade is light and thin at the end of the day. The only way it was able to create the big cut on the ground was through Jia Yunfeng's internal energy.
What happened was Jia Yunfeng cleverly directed his sword aura to his sword when he used this second move.
Sword aura is a skill in the advanced stage of sword-qi. Usually Jia Yunfeng used sword aura with his finger which was enough to clash with real weapons. When he used it with a sword like Beyond Heavens Edge, it was invincible. The Jia Yunfeng of the past would never have been able to think of this, but he was able to concoct the excellent idea today.
Jia Yunfeng thundered, "That's what you get for fighting me bare-handed!"
His qi-sensing ability was able to counter his opponent's body movements. Combining sword aura with Beyond Heavens Edge countered his opponent's bare-hands. Jia Yunfeng utilised such a formidable strategy without even thinking.
His third, fourth, and fifth moves were executed consecutively. All of his selected moves came from Beyond Heavens Three Peaks Sword Style. The power and sharpness of Beyond Havens Edge could swallow everything in its path. Even the onlookers, who knew they would be faced with a tragedy once he emerged victorious, couldn't help but marvel at his sword skills.
Upon closer inspection, there was another layer to its greatness.
Although his three strikes originated from Hua Shan, they belonged to different sword styles. They were utilised very differently to how the creator wished for them to be used; However, the moves were unhindered, smooth like running water, blending together perfectly.
You could call it three sword strikes, but it wouldn't be incorrect for you to call it a single sword strike either. Everybody present was a martial artist and they marvelled at how amazing the strike was.
Poor Ming Feizhen had to dodge continuously left and right. No matter which side he evaded to, Jia Yunfeng intercepted him with his sensing ability. If he wasn't faster than Jia Yunfeng, he'd have multiple holes in him.
He said he would give him ten free moves, so he couldn't counterattack.
Jia Yunfeng, on the other hand, was putting on a more and more impressive display. He was improving with every strike and every strike worked as intended. It was as though he was heartily releasing all of the confusion he had in regards to his sect's sword styles in this battle.
Jia Yunfeng was right.
The white-haired boy… was now an adult. He was the best stepping stone for Jia Yunfeng to reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship. The experience he gained when he suffered a disastrous defeat to him back then helped him mature. Meeting him again helped him ascend to a new level. He was determined to acquire what he had always wanted in this fight.
Jia Yunfeng could see his future. His magnificent condition today that came on by chance couldn't be maintained forever. That wasn't important though.
Having gotten a sneak-peek of the most advanced approaches in martial arts, he will figure out a way to go further beyond. Before this fight, he was lost in confusion and couldn't untangle it. As long as he was willing to train diligently after this fight, he would immediately become one of the strongest swordsmen of this era.
l