Chapter 123: One Stab

Just as the Armored Talisman General was about to emerge from the ground to assassinate the Crown Prince, Wu Liuding distinctly felt Li Chungang’s attention waver. Although the pressure from Li Chungang did not diminish, and the Green Serpent Sword Aura coiling around his sharp sword still stretched a full *zhang*, Wu Liuding knew this was the optimal moment to receive his sword. The Sword Servant, in perfect telepathic harmony with Wu Liuding, unhesitatingly unsheathed the renowned Suwang sword. Wu Liuding swept his sleeves, transforming two clumps of uprooted reeds behind him into dozens of “swords” to block the old sword god’s powerful Green Serpent Sword Qi, attempting to retreat and catch the Suwang sword. Unexpectedly, Li Chungang gave a cold smile, his tattered sheepskin robe contracting and expanding as a torrent of energy suddenly burst forth, scattering the reed "sword rain," which was far sharper than ordinary weapons. His three-foot sword, along with its aura, was already long like a spear; in that instant, it surged towards Wu Liuding like a cascading Milky Way, while the Suwang sword was still some distance away from Wu Liuding.

Li Chungang was a battle-hardened veteran. His mastery of swordsmanship and sword aura was beyond compare, and every feint and pause in combat was flawlessly executed. This seemingly natural distraction was merely a deliberate opening offered to the young man from the Wu family. Wu Liuding's inherited family legacy was undeniably renowned, unique under heaven. However, while the Sword Tomb practiced with "dead" swords—famous outside but with old swordsmen inside merely serving as "sword slaves" of the Wu family, providing countless training moves—it ultimately couldn't compare to real combat, where there were no set patterns. Facing her master in mortal danger, the female Sword Servant who had sent out Suwang was indeed as impassive as rumored, her cold eyes fixed on the old sword god, whose audacity was likened to having "Green Serpents in his sleeves." Even after such an intense fight, Li Chungang's sword aura was terrifying, but she was certain he was still some distance from fully unleashing his "Two Sleeves Green Serpents." Clearly, with her master unarmed, there was no way to force this elder, who had made the Sword Tomb bow for thirty years, to display his famous technique.

Was this generation's Sword Crown about to fall, so soon after emerging into the world? Wu Liuding's sleeves rustled without wind, whether due to the circulation of his inner energy or the oppressive, bone-chchilling sword aura. His expression calm, he formed a sword-seal with two fingers and softly said, "Open the box."

"I control the sword with calm energy, ascending Kunlun."

The Suwang sword, which was flying directly towards Wu Liuding’s back, seemed to be pulled by something, curving into a crescent arc. Its speed did not decrease but accelerated, eventually becoming too fast to be seen by the naked eye. Clearly different from the Heavenly Dipper Sword Array set up by the mystic Wei Shuyang, this was truly an immortal's flying sword, taking heads. Although only a prototype, it was enough to prove the constant emergence of talents from the Wu Family Sword Tomb. One must know that before Li Chungang gained fame, even when the Wu family sent nine riders and nine swords into Beiliang two hundred years ago, defeating ten thousand elite cavalry with only three returning alive, it was still the Wu family known for “Of all the sword intent under heaven, I alone possess eight-tenths.” It was only regrettable that in the last hundred years, Li Chungang and Deng Ta'a successively emerged, and only then did the Wu family lose the prestige of the previous five hundred years.

When Wu Liuding finally grasped the Suwang sword, the surrounding reed marsh collectively fell backward, propagating in layers—an inconceivable sight.

Li Chungang narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Interesting, young man. With your current skill, barely able to control a sword for a few *zhang*, you're not worthy of me revealing my full power. But since the Suwang sword has appeared, I don't mind letting you open your eyes, so you won't be utterly lost when Deng Ta'a whips you with a peach branch."

Wu Liuding's mind was still as water; he gripped the sword, raised his arm, and stood his ground like a lone warrior blocking a pass. He performed the opening stance of the Sword Tomb.

The Sword Servant Cuihua closed her eyes, not to look, but to gain more beneficial insights. She had injured her eyes at the age of ten and had practiced swordplay with her eyes closed ever since, becoming accustomed to practicing "blind sword" in the desolate tomb. The first time she opened her eyes while holding a sword after ten was during the battle before leaving the tomb, which is why she ascended to the peak with a single sword.

She murmured, "Is it finally coming? But after so many years of seclusion, does Li Chungang truly only have 'Two Sleeves Green Serpents'?"

For some reason, at such a critical moment when her master’s life hung by a thread, the female Sword Servant opened her eyes again, not looking at Wu Liuding or the old sword god, both preparing their stances, but instead gazed with slight surprise at the Crown Prince, who had unleashed nineteen consecutive moves with his two sabers. His techniques were exquisite, his posture excellent, and his momentum abundant. If those nineteen consecutive moves could transition with a bit more fluidity, then they would deserve the evaluation of "perfect connection." When she practiced swordplay, at twelve she was evaluated as "fluid" by the Wu family patriarch, and at eighteen, she achieved "perfect connection." Before leaving the tomb, the patriarch said nothing because she had retrieved the Suwang sword. She wondered how long the Crown Prince had been practicing saber techniques—five years? Ten years? Or since childhood?

She suddenly shifted her gaze, not towards the misnamed Armored Talisman General, but towards a young woman who had forcefully entered the battlefield, with black hair, green clothes, and green embroidered shoes, yet holding a crimson long spear. She wondered if this delicate-looking woman's name contained the character "Qing" (green).

When the Sword Servant saw the woman use one spear thrust to knock the Armored Talisman General to the side of the road, then another to pierce its armor and hoist it into the air, followed by withdrawing the spear and stabbing countless holes into the still-airborne armored figure, and finally, once the figure landed, striking down with a single spear thrust, brutally smashing the massive armored figure deep into the ground. The Sword Servant grew even more astonished, slowly saying, "Remarkable spear work. I've heard spear techniques are divided into seven grades: contending strength, extending reach, mastery, upholding integrity, unpredictability, subtlety, and divine transformation. In the past hundred years, only the Spear Immortal Wang Xiu reached the divine transformation realm. But this woman... she should be at subtlety, shouldn't she? Is that spear 'Chana' (Moment)? Her spear movements are truly fast, similar to my swordplay at twenty. But for her to reverse her vital energy like this, disregarding her life and damaging her blood vessels—what is that but suicide?"

If anyone had heard her muttering to herself and linked it with the Crown Prince's and Qingniao's respective actions, they would probably have thought this woman was far too conceited.

But as a Sword Servant qualified to wield Suwang, it was hard to say whether it was conceit or confidence.

"Let's go."

Wu Liuding, who was just about to witness if Li Chungang's Two Sleeves Green Serpents remained invincible after losing an arm, abruptly withdrew his sword, tapped his foot, leaped a hundred paces, and pulled the Sword Servant Cuihua into the reed marsh to flee.

As the Sword Servant retreated, her steps were agile, like a dragonfly skimming the water; she merely frowned without speaking.

Holding Suwang, Wu Liuding said bitterly, "I just remembered, the Eleventh knew I couldn't defeat Elder Li's Two Sleeves Green Serpents. Since the Armored Talisman General failed, if he doesn't quickly kill the Prince of Beiliang now, he might never succeed. And if he disregards those Beiliang iron cavalry, the Elder will definitely come after me to save the Prince, and then it might not just be the Two Sleeves Green Serpents. This sword can't compare. I need to go back and practice with you more. We haven't lost anything in today's fight."

The Sword Servant Cuihua seemed to have no aversion to the Sword Crown's cowardly act of fleeing in the face of battle; after hearing Wu Liuding's rough explanation, she simply murmured, "Oh."

As expected, when Wang Mingyin, the Eleventh Under Heaven, simultaneously saw the Armored Talisman General destroyed by the maid Qingniao, and Li Chungang preparing to deal with the talented Wu family Sword Crown, he endured a minor injury from Ning Emei’s saber and rushed directly towards the Crown Prince. From his stance, it was clear he was determined to kill Xu Fengnian, even if it meant enduring another blow from the Chana Spear.

Li Chungang spun around, disregarding Wu Liuding, and a sword aura in his hand, like a hundred-zhang green serpent, shot through the air.

Heaven and earth dimmed.

As the green serpent coiled and lunged towards Wang Mingyin, a massive crack split along the entire wide official road.

Wu Liuding chuckled, "See that? That sword is truly terrifying. If Wang Mingyin isn't in a hurry to kill the Prince of Beiliang, then it's fine; it won't be difficult to block that green serpent. If he disregards the consequences, then it's hard to say."

The Sword Servant hummed in affirmation.

"By the way, Cuihua, have you learned the elder's sword aura?"

"Yes."

"Alas, it's a shame today. Never mind, next time we fight, you can secretly learn the Two Sleeves Green Serpents too."

"Okay."

Her tone when speaking with her sword master, Wu Liuding, was usually like this.

"Cuihua, what are you thinking about? You're distracted."

"I'm wondering if that person likes pickled vegetables."

Wu Liuding asked in puzzlement, "Who? Elder Li Chungang?"

The Sword Servant didn't speak.

"Damn it, don't tell me it's the Crown Prince?"

She remained silent.

Wu Liuding said earnestly, "Cuihua, he's a Crown Prince! Why would he eat your pickled vegetables? Don't think about it. It's fine if I eat them."

Cuihua, who had the Suwang sword on her back, said blandly, "But every time you eat them, you say they're so sour they make your teeth ache."

Wu Liuding paused, then sighed honestly, "They really are sour."

She softly asked, "What does it matter if I can make pickled vegetables, and whether he eats them?"

Wu Liuding asked in surprise, "You weren't planning to make pickled vegetables for him to eat?"

She shook her head.

Wu Liuding stopped, first holding his belly laughing, then, not satisfied, burst into laughter towards the sky.

Why did this Sword Crown and Sword Servant, lauded by the Sword Tomb as the most gifted in three hundred years, always discuss topics completely unrelated to the demeanor of grandmasters when they were together?

Wang Mingyin indeed forcefully withstood a rolling green serpent. He had already drawn the golden soft sword from his waist, infused it with true energy, and severed most of the green serpent sword aura. As his body swayed, he was precisely struck in the chest by the crimson Chana Spear. Even with Wang Mingyin's impenetrable physique, he could not emerge unscathed. Without looking at the face of the Chana Spear's owner, from whose seven orifices blood was already oozing, Wang Mingyin, who had been sent back a dozen steps by the spear, roared in fury. His soft sword shot out like a feathered arrow towards the Crown Prince. At the same time, his body darted forward to the troublesome woman wielding the Chana Spear. With a shoulder charge like a mountain crash, the young woman, who was sacrificing her life for her master's, was slammed against a locust tree by the roadside, weapon and all. Wang Mingyin continued his advance, so swift that he could grasp his soft sword when he was ten paces from the Crown Prince.

A second green serpent arrived.

Wang Mingyin’s feet sank deep into the ground. He raised his soft sword to shoulder height, adopting a long spear stance to shatter the monstrous green serpent formed by converging sword energy. As long as he withstood this "Sleeve Green Serpent," no matter how severely wounded, he was confident he could take the head of that Xu family descendant.

In fact, Wang Mingyin did withstand it. The Green Serpent Sword Qi, whose power was rarely seen in the world, burst forth explosively before this unassuming man. The hundred-zhang green serpent was shattered by this man, who had indeed spent years with his back to the heavens and face to the earth like a farmer. The hundred-zhang stretch of the official road was enveloped by the pervasive green sword energy, and the two rows of affected locust trees were broken into countless pieces. This terrifyingly powerful man wasn't just *like* a farmer; he *was* one. The world laughed at his title, "The Eleventh," saying he was the martial artist who should most resent Wang Xianzhi, because the City Lord of Martial Emperor City insisted on calling himself "Second Under Heaven," pushing the respectable Top Ten Masters to eleventh place, and Wang Mingyin consistently appeared on the list and remained firmly in eleventh position. But Wang Mingyin didn't care about any of that. He only cared about his small plot of land in a picturesque place, where a gentle woman awaited his return. The crops always needed a man to tend them. Since she met him, she had never seen a "soft sword," nor known anything about "The Eleventh Under Heaven." She only knew he was a quiet, honest, good man, trustworthy for a lifetime, and it didn't matter if their family was poor.

He finally blocked it.

Next, there was only that one head.

Qingniao lay exhausted by the roadside, struggling to get up and retrieve the Chana Spear lying nearby. She spat out a mouthful of dark blood but still couldn't stand. She hated her father who had killed her mother, and thus she hated this famous spear that had been stored in Tide-Listening Pavilion. Originally, this Chana was meant only to kill the man who was first in spear techniques but no longer used a spear. But before leaving Beiliang, the Grand Pillar of the State said it might be useful and presented Chana to her. She unhesitatingly accepted it. Today, she unhesitatingly took it out. She excelled at assassination, so direct confrontation was never her strong suit. But as a death warrior, specifically "Bing" among the Heavenly Stems Death Warriors, how could she not know how to die? She unhesitatingly went to her death.

Like Qingniao, everyone on the road was too late to save the Crown Prince. Even though Li Chungang had already swooped through the air, Wang Mingyin was about to strike, but found himself unable to move.

He slowly lowered his head. He saw an arm, coming from behind, piercing completely through his chest. It was a fair-skinned arm, not bulky. This was an unbelievably insidious hand strike. It was believed that no other assassination in the world could cause such a sensation throughout the martial arts community.

Xu Fengnian stood holding his saber, expressionless yet drenched in sweat, and saw a head emerge from behind Wang Mingyin. This assassin, destined to be famous throughout the world, did not look fierce or menacing at all; her face was youthful and delicate, and she was still a young girl.

She smiled.