When Qingyangzi's figure swooped out from the ninth-floor window of Wangchao Pavilion, he did not make a single sound.
He was like an owl spreading its wings, his blue cloth Daoist robe fluttering loudly in the dusk, while the dark purple radiance upon the Black Iron Heaven-Measuring Ruler in his hand dragged out a long trail beneath the dim sky.
His speed was blazingly fast—so fast that among the thousands of spectators atop the city walls, hardly anyone could discern the trajectory of that blue-grey afterimage.
Yet his intent to kill unfolded without the slightest pretense of concealment.
The killing intent of a Boundless Realm peak Grandmaster poured down from high above Wangchao Pavilion like a surging tide, causing the air to stagnate wherever it passed.
Several lower-cultivation martial artists atop the wall immediately found it difficult to breathe, feeling as though a heavy boulder were pressing down upon their chests, making even taking a breath agonizingly hard.
Qin Tiegu was the first to react.
His gaze had remained locked on Chen Zui, so when that blue-grey figure swooped out from Wangchao Pavilion, he sensed the anomaly almost at the exact same moment.
“Someone's trying to harm Young Hero Chen!”
Qin Tiegu roared, his wrought bronze staff already in hand. He stomped his foot violently against the ground, preparing to leap down from the city wall.
Yet before he could rise even three feet, a hand reached out from the side, clamping down firmly onto his shoulder.
The force was as heavy as a thousand jun, pressing him back behind the ramparts.
“Don't move.”
Lu Yang's voice came from behind Qin Tiegu, low and steady.
Qin Tiegu spun around in shock, only to find Lu Yang standing behind him at an unknown moment.
The Boundless Realm Staff Grandmaster had a face as somber as still water, his deep eyes staring fixedly at the blue-grey figure rapidly approaching the reef beach.
“Senior Lu! Young Hero Chen, he—”
“I know.”
Lu Yang interrupted him, his voice remaining composed.
In his grip, a pitch-black fine-iron long staff had appeared at some point.
“I will stop him.”
Lu Yang uttered only those few words before his figure vanished from the wall.
He did not swoop outward, nor did he leap down; he simply took a single step forward.
Yet with that single step, his entire being seemed to melt into the dusk, leaving behind not even a trace of an afterimage.
Qin Tiegu's eyes widened as his gaze desperately scoured the sea, but he could not catch even a glimpse of Lu Yang's trace.
He only knew that Lu Yang was Sword God Lü's sworn brother, a Boundless Realm Staff Grandmaster, an existence looked up to by every staff-wielding martial artist in the world.
Yet he had never seen Lu Yang make a true move.
Now, he finally witnessed it.
When Lu Yang reappeared, he was already thirty feet above the reef beach.
He merely held the fine-iron staff across his front before sweeping it out in a heavy strike.
Qingyangzi's diving momentum was abruptly cut short by this single blow.
Twisting his waist violently in midair, his figure vaulted thirty feet diagonally upward, barely dodging the cataclysmic staff wind.
Lu Yang stood suspended in midair above the reef beach, stepping upon an invisible wave of qi.
The sea breeze fluttered his grey cloth tunic, outlining his muscular, burly frame like an iron tower.
“Qingyangzi.”
Lu Yang spoke slowly.
“You are a practitioner of the Dao. Ruining another person's opportunity is a taboo in cultivation. Are you not afraid of heavenly retribution?”
Qingyangzi hovered thirty feet opposite Lu Yang, his blue cloth Daoist robe whipping in the sea wind.
His face bore no expression, but the fingers gripping his ruler tightened slightly.
The dark purple glow upon the Black Iron Heaven-Measuring Ruler flared even brighter than before. The markings along the ruler lit up one by one, and with each illuminated increment, his surrounding aura grew a degree heavier.
“Lu Yang, you and I have no old grudges. Today's matter has nothing to do with you. Step aside.”
Lu Yang did not step aside.
He lowered his staff slightly, pointing its tip from afar straight at Qingyangzi's throat.
“I asked you a question. You have yet to answer.”
Qingyangzi remained silent for a moment before speaking slowly.
“Years ago, this poor Daoist violated sect rules on Mount Longhu and was expelled.
The world was vast, yet I had nowhere to go.
It was His Highness the Third Prince who took me in, providing me a bowl of rice and a room to live in, sparing me from freezing to death on the streets like a stray dog.
This debt of gratitude, this poor Daoist cannot forget.”
He paused, holding the Black Iron Heaven-Measuring Ruler horizontally before him. All the markings along its body were now fully lit, the dark purple glow casting shifting shadows across his face.
“Now that His Highness has given the order, even if I know I shall suffer karmic backlash, I will not frown for a single instant.
Lu Yang, you are also one who serves another; you should know the weight of the words 'gratitude and loyalty.'
Step aside.”
After listening to this, Lu Yang's expression remained entirely unchanged.
He held the long staff across his front, gripping it with both hands in a stance suited for both offense and defense.
“Gratitude and loyalty—of course I know the weight of those words.”
Lu Yang's voice deepened.
“So if you risk your life for the Third Prince, I won't stop you.
And since I guard this city for Lü Beisheng, don't expect me to step aside either.”
He paused, pointing the tip of his staff directly at Qingyangzi.
“Let's see if you can get past me.”
Qingyangzi spoke no more.
A resolve surged within his aging eyes as the dark purple light on the Black Iron Heaven-Measuring Ruler suddenly erupted, condensing into a ten-foot ruler phantom around his body.
The ruler phantom was dark purple throughout, its dense markings seeming to come alive, constantly shifting and flowing across its surface.
In the next instant, the two figures collided violently midair.
Lu Yang's fine-iron long staff struck Qingyangzi's Black Iron Heaven-Measuring Ruler, unleashing an earth-shattering clash of metal on metal.
The shockwave exploding from the collision blew away all the sea mist within several hundred feet, and even the ancient reefs on the beach trembled violently beneath the impact.
The weathered outer layer of the reefs crumbled and fell away in showers, exposing the pitch-black bedrock beneath.
The crowd watching atop the city wall gasped in unison.
Most of them could not even see clearly the clash between the two sword immortals over the sea.
Yet this head-on clash between Lu Yang and Qingyangzi was genuine close-quarters combat; every hit was plain as day.
That visceral violence and raw force resonated far more deeply with the primitive thrill in human hearts than the lofty, soaring sword intent duels of sword immortals.
The thundering crashes of staff against ruler echoed one after another, as dense as heavy rain pounding on roof tiles.
The two figures darted and crossed midair, changing positions with every passing instant.
Lu Yang's staff technique was grand and sweeping, every strike carrying the momentum of ten thousand jun. Wherever the staff wind swept past, the ocean water was split open into deep trenches.
Qingyangzi's ruler technique was the exact opposite—agile, treacherous, and ruthless. His ruler's edge targeted the tiny gaps in Lu Yang's staff momentum, every strike shockingly insidious.
Yet while the two were locked in a fierce, deadlock battle, Chen Zui on the reef beach remained completely oblivious.
His entire mind was absorbed by the violent transformation within his body.
At this moment, those two distinctly different sword intents raged wildly inside his meridians.
Tearing at every inch of his flesh, crushing every single bone.
It hurt.
It hurt far too much.
Chen Zui gritted his teeth so hard they creaked. His lip bled where he had bitten through it, blood trickling down the corner of his mouth.
His hands leaning on the long spear trembled violently.
The butt of the spear was wedged into a reef crevice, groaning under the vibration of his shudders.
Yet even clearer than the agonizing pain were the continuous system notifications ringing in his mind.
【System detected an influx of fragments of the laws of heaven and earth. Passive Skill: Purple Qi from the East is continuously triggering.】
【Law fragments converted into EXP. Current conversion efficiency: 67%. Loss rate: 33%.】
【EXP +860】
【EXP +920】
【EXP +780】
【EXP +1150】
【EXP +640】
【...】
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