Chapter 460: How unsightly
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Am I hallucinating?" Shan Ling blinked as he took a second look at the person lying prone on the ground.
Was he...
Really dead?
As Shan Ling was thinking about it, Nangong Hao's sword had already reached Canyang.
It was a transparent sword.
It was named Standstill.
The tip of the blade exuded an icy chill. A thick mist enveloped Nangong Hao, almost as if he was being wrapped by an icy wind.
Everyone looked at Nangong Hao.
Including Canyang.
Even though he couldn't see, he was still calm as a mountain. He was the all-powerful Canyang. Nothing could beat him.
The golden Light of the Sage glowed radiantly.
Canyang's action was simple. It wasn't fancy but Nangong Hao's sword stopped in mid-air, almost as though it had been caught by the Light of the Sage.
It wasn't anything unexpected...
But Nangong Hao's expression changed, almost as though a giant rock had been thrown into a calm lake.
A multitude of emotions could be seen on his face.
The next moment, Standstill hummed...
Then, Nangong Hao sprang into action...
It was almost as if he forcefully extracted the sword from the Light of the Sage. To be precise, it felt as though the sword had done so independently.
It was a strange feeling...
But those were the facts, the transparent Standstill sword was removed from the Light of the Sage.
A sword within a sword!
What was even stranger was that Nangong Hao's Standstill Sword seemed to be dragging countless shadows with it.
As he moved back, countless copies of the Standstill Sword appeared.
Each one as transparent as the original.
"Hum!" The blade hummed.
The swords began to twirl manically, almost like a tornado around Canyang. At the same time, Nangong Hao disappeared from sight.
The blade's humming intensified.
The golden Light of the Sage exploded outwards at the tornado.
Everyone tensed up. They knew how powerful the Light of the Sage was. They had witnessed it with their own eyes.
However, the countless Standstill Swords all expanded with the Light of the Sage.
Even though...
Half were shattered by the light, the remaining half returned to their original state, twirling into a tornado.
This was an even more intense tornado.
The golden Light of the Sage receded.
The tornado followed suit...
This was a shocking sight. What was even more shocking was that when the tornado receded, there was an opening on Canyang's robe.
It had been sliced open...
The opening was small!
But it was clear for all to see.
"Wow!"
The Dragon Protection Squad and the Mountain Breaking Army were excited. After Canyang became a Sage, Nangong Hao was the first person to injure him...
Or at the very least slice open his clothing!
The fire in the soldiers of the joint forces was reignited.
Shan Ling felt a chill down his spine as beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
He finally understood why Nangong Hao had dared to stay behind... he also understood what Nangong Hao meant when he challenged him.
"Nangong Hao!"
...
"Good, what a strike! Using Standstill to bend the rules!" Xing Yuanguo looked on approvingly.
"Using Standstill to bend the rules?" The Dragon Protection Squad and Mountain Breaking Army knew that Xing Yuanguo was describing Nangong Hao's technique...
But they couldn't understand what that statement meant...
That being said...
This was clearly not the right time to ask...
Chi Guyan was also looking at the sky. She seemed to be thinking of something as she watched the tornado of blades.
Few people knew how powerful Nangong Hao was.
It was rare that someone could force Nangong Hao to use everything in his arsenal.
Chi Guyan was one of them.
When Chi Guyan had taken the top spot on the Double Dragon Honor Rolls, Nangong Hao had tried his best but failed.
He had been defeated by Chi Guyan.
"One achieves success not by standing still, but by playing by the rules... even so, I do not have confidence!" Chi Guyan murmured to herself.
"What is Sister Yan saying?" Ping Yang couldn't understand.
"Nothing much." Chi Guyan shook her head.
...
In the sky...
The sword continued to hum in the sky. The sound and waves in the air were completely controlled by the tornado formed by the Standstill Swords.
Canyang did not move. He stood quietly in his original spot.
At that moment...
A ray of light shot past...
Opening another hole in Canyang's robe.
The previous damage had been to his sleeve. But this time, the sword had sliced just below his chest, and it seemed to have drawn blood.
The Dragon Protection Squad and Mountain Breaking Army rejoiced.
"Nangong Hao!"
"Nangong Hao!"
"..."
The demons reacted differently.
The demon soldiers were all furious. They knew what tactic Nangong Hao was employing.
Canyang was a sage...
But he was still Canyang.
He was different from other sages. He could only determine location based on sound and the waves from his surroundings. Right now, Nangong Hao was disrupting both.
In other words...
Nangong Hao had caused himself and his sword to disappear in front of Canyang's 'eyes'.
What was even stranger was that the blades could expand and contract with the Light of the Sage.
Even though they didn't know how Nangong Hao was doing it, they weren't happy about it.
"Despicable!"
Their eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets.
They wanted to curse and swear, but they knew that Nangong Hao was fighting intelligently.
The only thing that mattered in battle.
Was the outcome...
Was the process important?
No one bothered about the process.
...
"Not bad, the disciple of the Nangong family doesn't disappoint..." Canyang's voice rang out as he retracted the Light of the Sage.
The symbol on his forehead continued to glow.
All of the demons were shocked to see this. Their jaws dropped, unable to understand why Canyang was doing this.
Wasn't this equivalent to dropping his defences?
He was blind...
Why would he forgo the protection offered by the Light of the Sage?
None of the demons could understand.
Yun Qingwu clenched her fists anxiously as she watched Canyang hover in mid-air.
Just at that moment...
A figure appeared in the middle of the tornado.
This was a figure who had melded completely into the tornado. He held a sword in his hand.
It was a sword that was mere inches from Canyang's forehead.
There were no disturbances in the air to announce its arrival.
It was silent and deadly.
It had one name...
The Dragon Combat Plan!
Everyone's eyes were locked on the sword. They wanted to shout, but they couldn't. The sword was too fast! They didn't even have the time to make a sound.
"Clang!" A soft sound echoed out.
It seemed rather insignificant during the chaos of the battle, but after this clash, all of the humming stopped.
Two hands...
Clasped together...
In between was a sword, a transparent, silent, deadly sword.
Nangong Hao's expression changed.
"Senior, you..." Nangong Hao was in disbelief. He had tried the attack twice and didn't fail.
"Do you have any other choice other than to target my forehead?" Canyang's expression was calm as he held the blade of the sword in his hand.
"I see." Nangong Hao nodded.
Everyone was silent.
The demons smiled because their hope had been restored.
The Dragon Protection Squad, Mountain Breaking Army, and Southern Region soldiers despaired. Their hopes had been quashed once again.
Was it...
All in vain?
Was the war going to end here?
"He may not have a choice, but I do!"
A voice interrupted the silence. The voice had strangely come from the sky.
There were only two figures in the sky.
Canyang and Nangong Hao.
There was no third person.
Yet, the voice had come from the sky. To be precise, it had come from behind Canyang. It was sudden and unexpected.
Canyang's expression changed instantly.
He paled.
Just as that voice rang out, he felt an unbearable pain below. He had never felt such pain in his life.
"He doesn't have a choice, but I do!"
The voice echoed in Canyang's mind.
He was extremely bitter.
He had always known that he had an Achilles heel. That was his forehead... and he would stop at nothing to protect him.
That was his only weakness.
But now...
He realized that he had another weak spot.
That was a spot that no one could possibly know about.
Canyang rarely writhed in pain, but right now, his face was contorted.
"Fang Zhengzhi!" Canyang bellowed in embarrassment and anger.
As a Sage...
He never thought that he would be injured in that area.
But Fang Zhengzhi...
Fang Zhengzhi had aimed for it twice now. More importantly, he had hit his mark this time.
Rage and embarrassment!
Canyang's body shot skyward before he crashed into the ground with a shudder.
Silence...
The silence previously was a result of joy and sorrow respectively...
But this time, it was a result of shock an awe...
Because...
Everyone knew what had just happened.
They saw a figure standing behind Canyang. That was a naked, bloodied figure.
However, the figure's posture sent chills down everyone's spine.
He held his hands together...
It was similar to how Canyang had captured Nangong Hao's sword, but he had clasped two fingers together.
In a single move...
He struck upwards...
Fang Zhengzhi had used it once and wasn't going to hesitate to use it again. This time, he poured every ounce of energy he had into it.
"Attack!"
He knew that it was bound to work...
Everyone was stunned as they stared at Fang Zhengzhi. They couldn't figure out how someone they had left for dead...
Could reappear...
How did he manage to pull that off?!
"He's not dead!"
"Fang Zhengzhi is alive!"
"He didn't die?"
No one could believe their eyes... how did Fang Zhengzhi survive that?
That was a gigantic Fruit of Dao.
How did he manage to swallow it?
They were even more shocked by Fang Zhengzhi's audacity and lack of manners.
That was a Sage!
He actually used such despicable tactics against a sage - twice! How audacious could this man be?
The soldiers of the joint forces concluded that only a man standing on the borders of death would dare to do such a thing.
However, the demons did not think so.
"Shameless!"
"Immensely audacious!"
"How dare he?!"
The soldiers were furious! Their Sage, the most powerful and revered person in their hearts... had just been stabbed!
In the privates!
Most importantly, Canyang fell to the ground?
He crashed!
How embarrassing!
This was unbearable!
All of the demon soldiers pulled their bows taut. They decided to shoot Fang Zhengzhi off the face of the earth.
However, they never released their arrows.
Because...
They saw a pair of eyes.
It was a strange pair of eyes. One of Fang Zhengzhi's eyes was a deep purple. His other eye was filled with a myriad of colors.
Red, yellow, blue, green...
Never in their wildest imaginations did they think that someone's eyes could look like that.