Chapter 75: Intense Battle with the Holy Master

The Light Wind Sword cut through the defenses like a bamboo splitter, directly breaking the shockwave formed by the Holy Power inside the middle-aged man's body. Despite this, the speed of the sword thrust was slightly slower than before. When the Light Wind Sword pierced the weak shield formed entirely by Holy Power in front of the middle-aged man, the tip of the sword paused for a moment, but it quickly broke through the shield's defense and continued to stab towards the middle-aged man. The two defensive measures formed by the middle-aged man only lasted for less than a breath before shattering, but this gave him enough time to retreat several meters away using the wind attribute Holy Power, which allowed him to move at a speed far beyond that of an ordinary person.

The middle-aged man stood several meters away, his gaze fixed intently on Jianchen, who had already sheathed his sword. His expression became serious as he said in a deep voice, "What incredible speed."

Jianchen stared at the middle-aged man with a calm gaze, remaining silent. In his heart, he felt very regretful. That sword thrust was already the limit of his current strength, and that speed was the fastest he could achieve. Since his all-out attack was dodged by the middle-aged man, it would be very difficult for Jianchen to kill him later. After all, the middle-aged man was much stronger than him and was an enemy with wind attribute Holy Power, excelling in speed. It could be said that Jianchen had completely lost his advantage against the middle-aged man.

No matter how exquisite his sword techniques were, without a speed that could not be reacted to, everything would be in vain. Moreover, given the significant difference in strength, Jianchen did not dare to engage the middle-aged man in a direct confrontation.

"Your strength should have reached the Holy Master stage, right?" Jianchen asked, his gaze calm as he stared at the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man did not hide anything and said, "Yes, my strength has indeed reached the Intermediate Holy Master stage." He paused, his eyes gleaming with a strange light as he asked, "Your strength is not great, and your Holy Power is not of the wind attribute. However, the speed of that sword thrust was so fast that even I almost couldn't dodge it. I wonder how you managed to achieve such speed." The middle-aged man's voice was filled with curiosity. He truly wanted to know the answer. For someone with wind attribute Holy Power, if they were surpassed in other areas, they wouldn't care, but if they were surpassed in speed, it would be hard for them to let it go. Especially when the person who surpassed him in speed was weaker than him and did not have wind attribute Holy Power, it was natural for the middle-aged man to feel curious.

"Sorry, I cannot answer that question," Jianchen's tone was very calm.

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man's eyes turned cold, and he said in a cold voice, "If you tell me what method you used to increase your speed, I will let you leave today. Otherwise, hmpf, do you really think that speed alone makes you my match?"

"Whether I am your match or not, you can try it out," Jianchen faced the middle-aged man's threat without fear, instead radiating a high-spirited fighting spirit. The Light Wind Sword in his hand, already stained with blood, emitted a faint sword glow enveloping the entire blade.

The middle-aged man's gaze was fixed on Jianchen, his eyes flickering with uncertain light. In his heart, he still had some reservations about Jianchen's extremely fast sword thrust. The speed of that sword thrust was so fast that even he found it hard to match. Despite having wind attribute Holy Power, which gave him a natural advantage in speed, he could not execute such a fast attack. To dodge that extremely fast sword thrust, he had to use all his strength. If he had been a bit slower, he had no doubt that his heart would have been pierced. Therefore, the middle-aged man now had some apprehension towards Jianchen.

Moreover, seeing Jianchen's composed and unflinching demeanor, the middle-aged man could not determine how many times Jianchen could execute such a fast attack. If Jianchen could launch continuous attacks at the same speed, it would be very difficult for him to handle.

Seeing that the middle-aged man did not attack, Jianchen was content to maintain the standoff. He was very clear that, given the similar speed, it was almost impossible for him to kill the middle-aged man. Now, his only goal was to hold the middle-aged man back and prevent him from slaughtering the weaker mercenaries. He would wait for the experts from the mercenary group to return and deal with the middle-aged man.

The battle on the field did not stop because of the standoff between Jianchen and the middle-aged man. The cries of battle continued, and the bodies of mercenaries and bandits on the ground increased, the ground completely stained with blood. In some uneven areas, the blood had even formed small pools.

The bandits continued to fight fiercely. Those who survived to the end were either very intelligent or had outstanding strength. Now, the numbers of mercenaries and bandits were still relatively balanced.

After a brief standoff with Jianchen, the middle-aged man finally made his move again. The large guandao in his hand emitted a pale green light, like a bright lamp in the dark night sky. Holding the guandao, which was over two meters long, the middle-aged man charged towards Jianchen once more.

Seeing the middle-aged man charging towards him, a sharp look flashed in Jianchen's eyes, and he gripped the Light Wind Sword even tighter. He then raised his sword and moved to meet the attack.

The middle-aged man raised the large guandao, which emitted a pale green light, and swung it down at Jianchen's head with great speed.

Facing the attack of an Intermediate Holy Master, Jianchen did not intend to block it directly. Instead, he used his agile movements to dodge and then counterattack.

However, just as Jianchen's sword was about to thrust out, the large guandao swung by the middle-aged man suddenly changed direction in mid-air, slicing through the air with a whistling sound, accompanied by a gentle breeze, towards Jianchen's Light Wind Sword.

Jianchen's expression changed slightly, and he immediately retracted the Light Wind Sword, avoiding a direct clash with the middle-aged man's guandao.

The Light Wind Sword was Jianchen's life-bound Holy Weapon, and his life was closely tied to this seemingly fragile sword. If the Light Wind Sword were damaged, it would cause harm to Jianchen himself. If the Light Wind Sword were to break, Jianchen would not only lose all his martial arts skills but also face a threat to his life.

On the Tianyuan Continent, there were many examples of people dying due to their Holy Weapons breaking, and such incidents were common. However, although Holy Weapons were formed from the Holy Power within the body, once summoned outside, they became extremely hard and would continuously strengthen as the owner's strength increased. Unless the difference in strength was too great, Holy Weapons were generally not easily damaged.

The middle-aged man's current strength had already reached the Intermediate Holy Master stage, two levels higher than Jianchen. Although the collision between the Light Wind Sword and the large guandao might not cause significant damage to the Light Wind Sword, the intense counterforce would still be unbearable for Jianchen. Therefore, Jianchen could not engage the middle-aged man in a direct confrontation, as he would be the one to suffer.

After dodging the middle-aged man's attack, a subtle flaw appeared in the middle-aged man's defense. Jianchen's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he seized this rare opportunity. His body moved like a ghost, silently appearing behind the middle-aged man. The Light Wind Sword in his hand burst with a fierce sword aura, transforming into a blood-red light, and stabbed towards the middle-aged man's back. The sword cut through the air, emitting a sharp, piercing sound. In front of this sword, it seemed as if the air itself was sliced, and the speed was so fast that it instantly approached the middle-aged man's back. Just as the sword tip had not fully touched the middle-aged man's back, the sword aura at the tip had already cut through the fabric of his back, piercing the skin.

Feeling the intense pain from his back, the middle-aged man's expression changed dramatically, but he did not show much panic. He had been prepared for Jianchen's extremely fast sword thrust. Immediately, powerful Holy Power surged from his body, forming a strong energy shield on his back to block the sword. At the same time, the pale green light around his body intensified, and he had already pushed his speed to the limit. His body left a trail of afterimages as he moved half a meter to the side, escaping the range of the Light Wind Sword just as its tip was about to pierce his back.

The middle-aged man guessed that Jianchen's extremely fast sword thrust was his all-out effort, and his defensive strength was now at its lowest. Therefore, he seized this rare opportunity. After dodging Jianchen's sword, he immediately raised his large guandao. The pale green light on the blade, which was flashing in the dark night sky, gradually turned into a bright lamp. The large guandao left a trail of green light in the air and swung towards Jianchen at an extremely fast speed. This was the middle-aged man's all-out attack.

After several exchanges with Jianchen, the middle-aged man deeply felt how difficult it was to deal with him. Jianchen's rich combat experience made it impossible for him to find any flaws in their battles, whether in attack or defense. The coordination and transformation of his techniques were seamless, leaving no room for the middle-aged man to exploit. This time, taking advantage of Jianchen's all-out attack, which left his defense weak, might be the only chance to deal a heavy blow to Jianchen. Therefore, the middle-aged man did not hold back at all.

The large guandao cut through the air at an extremely fast speed. If it were a person with slightly weaker strength, they would not even have time to react.

"Whoosh!"

With a sound of a sonic boom, the large guandao, enveloped in a layer of pale green light, cut down on Jianchen's head, slicing through his body, and finally struck the ground with full force.

With a loud boom, the large guandao, powered by the middle-aged man's all-out attack, deeply embedded itself in the ground, the powerful Holy Power on the blade creating a one-meter-wide crater in the soil. Dust flew up, completely obscuring Jianchen's figure.

However, the middle-aged man's face did not show any joy; instead, it became extremely serious.

"An afterimage!" The middle-aged man inwardly exclaimed. Just as this thought crossed his mind, a strong sense of danger spread throughout his heart. Without any hesitation, his body instinctively leaned to the side, and he immediately pulled the large guandao out of the ground, swinging it behind him without looking.

"Clang!"

With a clear sound, the large guandao in the middle-aged man's hand collided with a thin, blood-stained long sword that suddenly appeared.

At the moment the long sword and the large guandao collided, Jianchen's face turned pale, and his chest heaved violently. He immediately retracted his sword and quickly retreated.

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