Editor: Areth Kyntaul
"This is Jade Maiden Golden Needle Nineteen Swords. Pay attention!"
After Jia Yunfeng said that, his aura instantly changed. He extended his arm straight out and then utilised a finger as his sword, an action that was completely unorthodox compared to usual methods of attacking in martial arts. The creator of Jade Maiden Golden Needle Nineteen Swords was a senior in Hua Shan who was a strange character. He oftentimes made techniques no other would think of, this being one of them.
This move wasn't an actual sword technique, but a sword-qi technique. It's executed by pointing one's sword tip at the opponent and employs one principle for its entire execution. It attacks the opponent by flushing them with waves of sword-qi like drowning someone with continuous running water. When the opponent can't ascertain your move; that is when you strike.
Before today, Jia Yunfeng extremely disliked this move, but now he felt like everything worked synergistically when he executed his techniques. He had comprehended the thought process of the senior back then.
Princess Hongzhuang shouted, "Ninth move!"
Ming Feizhen somersaulted sideways, evading the surrounding attack of Jia Yunfeng's sword-qi. As soon as he got his head out of the way, a sword-qi immediately emerged from where he was standing just before. It targeted him like a venomous snake, shattering a white-jade handrail with a vicious bite.
That was a close call. Princess Hongzhuang gasped when she watched the exchange. She, too, didn't understand why the hero gave someone like Jia Yunfeng ten free strikes.
Jia Yunfeng's sword skills appeared to continuously improve throughout their exchange. The first move he unleashed was incredible, and every move that followed appeared to exhibit his enlightenment for a sort of swordplay. It was like he was demonstrating the techniques of an excellent sword manual. Every technique was distinct, a result of a clear sequence of ideas, making him very much like a venerable master of an era.
Such skill was something Princess Hongzhuang had only seen her shifu display. She never imagined that Jia Yunfeng had also reached that level.
There are not many warriors of that level, as only top experts could attain it. There are not even one-hundred people who have reached that level in today's age, where martial arts are flourishing.
Jia Yunfeng had managed to exceed his own limits now, putting him among said list of experts. Even if it was just now; he was a swordsman with skill would be rare to find.
Ming Feizhen and Jia Yunfeng were originally face-to-face with the emperor and everyone else behind. However, they were now outside the imperial study as a result of their fight and Ming Feizhen's forced evasions, which had taken them to where the jade handrails. Therefore, they were now some distance away.
Ming Feizhen hopped on the white-jade handrail. He took advantage of the fact that his Qinggong skills were superior to Jia Yunfeng's to create an opportunity.
It was initially a good idea. But it was pointless before Jia Yunfeng of today. The consequence of his plan was being forced to get off the handrails as a result of Jia Yunfeng's ninth move.
Hua Shan's Five Peaks Swordplay is named after Hua Shan's five mountain peaks which are: Rising Sun, Falling Geese, Lotus, Jade Maiden, and Cradle Head. Jia Yunfeng used all five in succession just now. The only move-set he had yet to use was Heavenly Dragon Swordplay.
Jia Yunfeng combined sword-qi with his sword again. Beyond the Heaven's Peak and sword-qi fused, augmenting the strength of sword-qi to the extreme. This was the final move Jia Yunfeng was going to use to determine the victor.
Ming Feizhen didn't spare him a glance. He stated, "Tenth move."
"Die!"
Beyond the Heavens Edge's shine suddenly went dull. The exchange of light and darkness was so sudden that the eyes of the onlookers felt agonised as though they had gone blind. Even when they did widen their eyes to look at them, they didn't see anything.
Jia Yunfeng suddenly moved when his sword went dark as if he was blending into the darkness. Ming Feizhen stood still. Suddenly, a sword-qi appeared on the sword handle. It transformed into hundreds of blue snakes slithering toward Ming Feizhen.
"Demon Shadow Light Splitter!"
Jia Yunfeng used Demon Shadow Light Splitter. He positioned his sword-qi horizontally, as it flashed interchangeably between light and darkness. He himself had blended into the darkness. He then suddenly appeared next to Ming Feizhen with his sword already aimed at Ming Feizhen's chest. Ming Feizhen quickly retreated and Jia Yunfeng didn't give chase. He instead blended into the darkness again, but then Beyond the Heavens Edge stuck toward the side of Ming Feizhen's neck.
Everyone present noticed that Jia Yunfeng's skills had improved yet again. The move was still fresh in their minds from when he used it to control the people at the venue. However, it wasn't as complex as it was this time. His utilisation of it was more than twice as incredible as it was before.
Demon Shadow Light Splitter is an assassination style. Jia Yunfeng disliked the sneaky nature of it, so he only took the techniques from it to supplement his existing swordplay and to use the qi-sensing ability. It was indeed formidable. However, an assassination style is an assassination style at the end of the day. Due to the change he made to its nature, he reduced its formidableness by a fair bit.
Jia Yunfeng's comprehension skills were at a higher level now. He used the style as it was intended, striking from the light and shadows, forcing Ming Feizhen to avoid left and right. Jia Yunfeng's execution was superb, gradually making it difficult for Ming Feizhen to evade his strikes, putting him in a position where he couldn't evade again.
From in the distance, Princess Hongzhuang suddenly shouted, "What are you trying to do, scum?!"
What she saw was the assassin closest to Ming Feizhen suddenly draw the sword on his back and stab toward Ming Feizhen.
It appeared as though he had applied something to his sword so that it wouldn't reflect light. However, the sound of the sword flicking was loud, indicating that his internal strength was surprisingly on Nan Junfei's level. He should be Jia Yunfeng's strongest subordinate. He suddenly launched a sneak attack on Ming Feizhen from behind, yet was bold enough to allow his sword to make noise. He was certain that Ming Feizhen couldn't dodge the attack from this angle. Plus, his blade was wide, so it wasn't suited to silent sneak attacks.
Ming Feizhen was already mindful of the others even before Princess Hongzhuang shouted out, so he immediately evaded to the side. The assassin, however, very quickly switched his attack. He swung his blade in a semi-circle straight toward Ming Feizhen's throat.
Jia Yunfeng then suddenly popped out from the other side, catching Ming Feizhen in a pincer attack. Ming Feizhen was cornered.
They were so close to each other that your heart would virtually pop out of your chest if you saw them!
Then Ming Feizhen suddenly lifted his left arm up faster than words could tell at the same speed as Beyond the Heavens Edge. When he stopped the sword before his neck, he flicked it upward with one finger. Beyond Heavens Edge was enshrouded in qi, but Ming Feizhen knocked it upward several inches with a single finger, nonetheless.
After Beyond Heavens Edge was flicked away, Jia Yunfeng slowed down due to the weight coming down on the handle of his sword. He felt like a massive boulder he couldn't hold up with his arm strength had suddenly dropped down, causing his sword to shoot straight downward.
One sword went upward while the other went downward, creating an opening. Ming Feizhen laughed and then escaped from the death-trap.
"You make me feel like I'm actually having a real fight. You're not the strongest opponent I've met in the last few years, but you're the first one to make me feel like I'm actually fighting genuinely. It feels okay."
Jia Yunfeng's sure-kill technique didn't kill Ming Feizhen. However, he wasn't very angry about it. He had improved drastically today, so he didn't care about winning in a single move any longer. No matter how powerful Ming Feizhen was, he was only slightly stronger than he was in the past. He couldn't see any reason for him to lose to Ming Feizhen in his current state.
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