As he thrust that sword, Zuo Lishan already understood—his heart was in disarray.
"Dai Zong He Ru He" is the strongest move in Mount Tai Swordplay, yet it is not a preemptive strike, but a reactive sword move.
He could not believe the fact that Li Miao had easily snapped that sword; he was unwilling and dared not to believe it.
Emotions overwhelmed his mind, causing him to thrust that sword again, as if to prove something. To prove that he, Zuo Lishan, was not a frog in a well, not a self-important joke.
Snap—
The sword edge broke again. This time, Li Miao backhanded the broken sword hilt back.
Whoosh—
A thin piece of iron grazed Zuo Lishan's cheek, a few strands of hair fell, and a streak of blood flowed down his face.
Thump, thump, thump, thump—
Zuo Lishan retreated rapidly, raising his hand to wipe his face, then bringing his hand to his front, looking at the crimson blood on his palm.
After a long pause, he spoke hoarsely, "Who exactly are you, sir?"
Li Miao spread his hands and said, "Master Zuo, you've asked that question three times today."
"You can't be that Four Seasons Commander!"
Zuo Lishan stared intently at Li Miao's face: "Thirty-five years old, he's only thirty-five years old!"
"I've studied martial arts since childhood; in terms of bone structure, aptitude, and comprehension, I believe few in the world can compare to me! I've practiced diligently every day, without a single moment of slack! Only then did I reach my current realm at thirty-eight!"
"How can you be only thirty-five years old!"
"That's right, that's right, ageless appearance, invulnerable!"
"I never expected that Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) would hide such an old monster like you!" Zuo Lishan said with a look of sudden realization, coming to his own conclusion.
The more accomplished a person is in their field, the harder it is for them to accept things beyond their understanding.
A person's character is determined by his experiences. It was Zuo Lishan's masterful maneuvering in the first half of his life that laid the foundation for his domineering, fierce, and arrogant swordplay. He was unwilling and unable to accept that someone younger than him had achieved a realm he might never reach in his lifetime.
Once he accepted this fact, the state of mind supporting his swordplay would collapse. At best, he would suffer qi deviation and a regression in his internal energy realm; at worst, his self-created swordplay would lose its artistic conception and revert to its original form, becoming mere Mount Tai Swordplay again.
By then, his status as a grandmaster would also fall back to that of a first-rate expert.
"I thought your swordplay's artistic conception was so fierce, your character should also be tenacious, but I didn't expect it to be just a castle in the air," Li Miao said.
"If you don't believe it, then don't. What you should be thinking about now isn't who I am."
"Rather, it's how you're going to survive today."
With that, Li Miao stood up and walked towards Zuo Lishan.
"Master!" Fei Junxuan shouted, pointing his fingers like a sword and striking at Li Miao.
Whoosh!
Before he could get close, Mei Qinghe forced him back with a sword, blood gushing from his arm, which then hung limply.
"Master!" Fei Junxuan gritted his teeth, covering his wound, and shouted again.
Zuo Lishan suddenly reacted—that's right, now was not the time to be distracted.
The immediate problem was how to survive at the hands of this person.
He couldn't flee; if he turned his back, his entire back would be exposed to this person, and he would die even faster!
Zuo Lishan was not a novice fresh out of the jianghu; he had seen life and death! He knew what to do!
In jianghu struggles, one seeks life in death, and is born towards death!
With his mind set, Zuo Lishan immediately cleared his thoughts, raised the broken sword in his hand, and slashed at Li Miao!
This sword was both real and illusory, concealing countless variations and follow-up moves.
Li Miao chuckled, "That's more like it."
With that, he still reached out to grab the sword edge, but grabbed nothing.
Zuo Lishan's broken sword changed its move, sweeping past Li Miao's palm, then suddenly dropping down to slash at Li Miao's lower body.
"Tsk!"
Li Miao turned sideways, taking the sword with his forearm. It cut through his clothing but left no mark on his skin.
Martial arts are killing techniques; the throat, groin, eyes, and back of the head are vital points that are difficult to train with horizontal body tempering. Attacking where the enemy must defend, Zuo Lishan aimed at these areas of Li Miao, intending to break through his defenses.
In a life-and-death struggle, one uses every means possible, and Li Miao would not say much, just a little displeased.
With this displeasure, Zuo Lishan suffered greatly.
Whoosh!
Li Miao spread his fingers into a claw, striking at the back of Zuo Lishan's head with a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.
This move was precisely Wang Hai's fundamental martial art, "Leaf Removal." Used by Li Miao, if it connected, it would result in a shattered skull and death.
Zuo Lishan ducked low, attacking Li Miao's lower body. His head was down, and he heard the chilling wind, which made him shiver, coming from the back of his head.
The sword hilt in front of Li Miao was like a crispy pastry, it couldn't block, it couldn't be caught. At this moment, Zuo Lishan was too late to dodge and was in a desperate situation!
In an instant, Zuo Lishan's wrist rotated, and the broken sword spun in his hand, the hilt gripped in the tiger's mouth.
He raised his hand upwards, thrusting it towards Li Miao's palm above!
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But it was the sword hilt!
No matter how the sword blade is forged, it is light and sharp. However, Mount Tai Swordplay follows a grand and upright artistic conception, requiring the longsword to be heavy and stable.
Therefore, the hilt of Fei Junxuan's sword was a solid piece of wrought iron!
You, with your perfected horizontal body tempering, can snap a sword blade with your bare hands! Then I'll use this wrought iron sword hilt to block your palm!
Try to break it again!
Mei Qinghe sighed softly, and Li Miao smiled.
Without changing his move, Li Miao was pierced in the palm by the sword hilt, and his five fingers formed a claw, gripping the hilt.
Screech—
With a piercing sound, Li Miao's fingertips deeply pierced the wrought iron hilt, and then twisted.
Crack!
The sword hilt snapped cleanly!
Zuo Lishan abandoned his sword and rolled, his right hand trembling, blood continuously flowing. When he raised it again, only three fingers remained.
He had thrust with the sword hilt, which was only a few inches long. Li Miao's claw had literally "pinched" his thumb, index finger, and the web between them together with the sword hilt.
Clang—
Li Miao tossed the deformed iron piece onto the ground, flesh and blood already fused with the wrought iron.
Zuo Lishan's right hand was crippled.
Zuo Lishan's face was expressionless. His crippled right hand trembled as he picked up the sword he had worn, which Li Miao had broken earlier, and transferred it to his left hand.
He charged at Li Miao again!
The sword in his left hand thrust directly at Li Miao's throat!
Li Miao grabbed the sword edge with his right hand and crushed it directly.
Just then, Zuo Lishan raised his mutilated right hand, three fingers pressed together, and thrust them directly at Li Miao's eyes.
Li Miao grabbed Zuo Lishan's right hand with his left and squeezed with force.
He crushed Zuo Lishan's right hand directly from the wrist!
Zuo Lishan's face was expressionless, and his right arm, now only a bare wrist, swung violently towards Li Miao's face!
Whoosh!
A spray of blood flew towards Li Miao's face.
Li Miao raised his sleeve to block the blood rushing towards him.
A moment later, Li Miao lowered his arm, and the space before him was already empty.
Spots of blood dotted the ground, extending towards the door.
Zuo Lishan, at the cost of his dominant hand, cut off his tail to survive, and finally escaped.