Chapter 752: Ling Xiaozui's Regret
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Since he could not be certain of when his enemy would change his form of attack, he opted to meet all the possible variations consistently , to ensure his safety as much as possible before thinking of subsequent counterattacks.
To face all the possible variations consistently; perhaps it was the same as sticking to one method and figure out the rest of the changes!
The soft breeze turned into a harsh tornado, spitting out biting iciness. Ling Xiaozui felt chilled to the bone. It was as if the blade could cut any part of the body.
Unfortunately, there was no way for him to back down now, as Yun Yang had disappeared alongside the breeze, as he had never existed.
The source of the attack was gone – Ling Xiaozui could not even enact a risky or extreme counterattack that might strike right back at the source!
Such a change was not due to Yun Yang's cloud manifestation, but from a natural phenomenon derived from the style Wind Beyond the Sky. With Ling Xiaozui's mastery, he could still recognize this well.
However, comprehension was merely an acknowledgement. how to rebuff it was an entirely different matter . It was the same as understanding how something worked; it didn't necessarily mean knowing how to manage it.
At this moment, Ling Xiaozui had a random stray thought, "It'd be great to let Dugu Chou teach him… Why did I volunteer?"
It seemed that he regretted his decision.
It was too bad that man would always regret after facing an issue, though it was too late, when things could no longer be mended.
Ling Xiaozui, who was in a dire state, made up his mind. He exerted more force to continuously shield himself with the sword mountains; he turned the attribute of his sword energy from aggressive to gentle as well, leaving instantly once it came into contact and never lingered. Whatever direction the attack came from, he would have a countering strike ready. Although it was hopeless to rebuff, there was no doubt it could maintain the current status – not a victory, but not a defeat.
Ding, ding, ding, ding…
The collision of saber and sword went on consecutively for dozens to hundreds of times, but what was heard was only soft noises akin to the sound of silver needles falling to the floor.
Ling Xiaozui let out a breath of relief, discreetly breaking out in cold sweat. It was fortunate that Yun Yang had not fully mastered this style yet. Perhaps his current cultivation base was limiting him, and he could hardly exude the real essence of the style. This allowed Ling Xiaozui to retain his last line of defense.
Otherwise, this style alone should have sufficed to defeat him and sweep his grand reputation off his shoulders!
The intricacy of the style was exceptionally divine, so much so that it was completely unpredictable. If a level had to be attributed to the style, only a phrase could describe it; it was not of the human realm!
Then, a devastating sense of murderous intent flooded the air. It was extremely inexorable, looking like it was going to massacre the entire human realm.
"This style is called – Mountain of Ivory Bones!"
Yun Yang spun in the air. His saber light sprayed out hundreds of flickering glints, each one hundreds of feet long. When he turned again, he drew an odd arc with the weapon in his hand, targeting it right at Ling Xiaozui, and dealt the blow in the most direct, extreme and violent way.
Simultaneously, the hundreds of saber energy rays spilled earlier returned, as if summoned, when the pitiless blow was levelled. All of them had gathered into the strike Yun Yang was making.
Faced with the force of this blow, Ling Xiaozui who was in the battle and Dugu Chou who were outside were both baffled – this attack had exceeded their knowledge of forms and styles!
If they were to dissect the saber style, it was easy to explain. The hundreds of saber glints splattered during the initial stage of Yun Yang's style was a wide-ranged attack intended to lock onto a target, a prelude to the lethal kill. As for the killing stroke, not only would it heighten the attacker's attacking power to its maximum, the shower of saber energy could ensure the target's inability to avoid the attack, leaving it to tackle it head-on.
The convergence of the saber light looked bizarre as well, but it belonged to an ace cultivator's trick of morphing his saber forms and styles.
Applying these singularly was not worthy of a marvel, the most it could achieve was to be exceptionally brilliant. What happened was indeed a combined display of the narration above. However, the final assembly of the dispersed saber energy by Yun Yang was without loss, fortified, even. The converged attack was basically the act of merging the hundreds of rays of saber energy all into the final blow. This was a terrifying method which had never been heard of!
No matter how excellent a saber style was, it had to follow the most basic laws of physics. The spread of saber energy had dispersed – how did one retract it after changing the style?
The two elder men's thoughts flashed back to the instant when Yun Yang made a twist to his style when he drew an arc. Could that be the moment where he recollected the hundreds of saber glints he littered?
However, the arc was supposed to act as a barrier to the outer world. How could it work like a whirlpool? Furthermore, the energy was drawn in without any loss. How did he actually do it?
Both seniors pondered and calculated. To be able to do this, Yun Yang would have to cultivate Qi and manipulate his pulses in a logic-defying way, countless times within himself. Once such a lightbulb went off in their mind, it seemed like they realized the works behind it yet the actual elaboration only chilled and astounded them further.
This was contradictory to normal cultivation theory. It was something that should not be happening at all!
In spite of that, it had actually happened to Yun Yang.
The reality of it was somewhat disconcerting!
Compared to Dugu Chou, who was a spectator and had time to slowly consider the possibilities, Ling Xiaozui who was battling had no opportunity to go through any more details. What he could do now was only to cope as well as he could, based on his extensive experience and knowledge, as well as his personal grasp on cultivation. He transformed into a flash of sword gleam and soared into the sky, making an aggressive counterattack.
When one was faced with such a strike, one could only live through death, seeking for the survival path from the lethal impasse.
Ling Xiaozui really felt like it was a mountain of corpses and an ocean of blood before him, that he was stood right in front of an actual ascent of ivory bones!
The style lived up to its name indeed. Just the devastating murderous intent and sanguinariness could evoke fear in any expert before they even fought.
Cold sweat drenched Ling Xiaozui's back.
With a boom, the saber and sword met once more. The split second where the collision happened, Ling Xiaozui retreated swiftly as if admitting defeat. His withdrawing form swapped between some twenty to thirty spots in the yard, deep tightly packed saber dents marking everywhere he had been.
Ling Xiaozui had still managed to evade the blow.
The style's killing threat was already formed. In addition to its prior target, it was simply impossible to avoid it. One just had to deal with the attack. However, a direct solution meant facing a fatal assault, the convergence of hundreds of saber light beams. Not only was it difficult to seek an opportunity, almost certain defeat might be lying in wait!
Ling Xiaozui was, after all, a master of his art. He had still come up with the best countermeasure in that instant. Bringing up eighty percent of his force, he deflected the attack vigorously to cope with Yun Yang's savage style. Yet, he withdrew and left without hesitation once he had slightly rebuffed the initial point of attack. It was because he had withdrawn first and Yun Yang's initial point of attack was slightly hindered during the parry that even when the latter had given chase with all his might afterwards, it was futile against Ling Xiaozui. He had managed to safely retire, despite the risky façade.