Chapter 76: Tai Chi Against the Enemy

Jianchen kept retreating until he was twenty meters away before he stopped. Now, he could no longer maintain his previous calm and composed demeanor; his originally calm face had turned a bit pale.

After all, the gap in strength between him and the middle-aged man was too great. He could only rely on his agility to engage with the middle-aged man. When his Sword of Light collided with the middle-aged man's holy weapon, the Great Guandao, Jianchen suffered a significant disadvantage. Although the holy weapon itself was not damaged much, the holy power of the middle-aged man, which was several times stronger than Jianchen's, transmitted through the Sword of Light and caused considerable internal damage to Jianchen, leaving him with some minor injuries.

The middle-aged man stabilized his stance and looked at Jianchen with a serious expression. For this person who had almost made him suffer three times, the middle-aged man did not dare to underestimate him at all, even though the latter's strength was very weak in his eyes. However, with a speed that was not inferior to his and extremely fast attacks, the threat posed to the middle-aged man was even greater than that of an opponent of the same level.

However, when the middle-aged man saw Jianchen's condition, he seemed to understand something and couldn't help but chuckle, saying in a deep voice, "Boy, I admit your speed is fast, but your strength is ultimately too weak." As soon as he finished speaking, the middle-aged man did not give Jianchen any time to catch his breath and immediately swung his over two-meter-long Great Guandao, launching a fierce attack on Jianchen.

Due to the light injuries caused by the collision between the Sword of Light and the Great Guandao, although these injuries would not normally hinder Jianchen much, they were very fatal in a battle against a middle-aged man who was two levels stronger and had already reached the Intermediate Holy Master stage. Only at his peak, using all his strength, could Jianchen勉强 use his mysterious agility to barely keep up with the middle-aged man by speed. Now, with his injuries, Jianchen's speed could no longer maintain its previous agility, and he was gradually finding it more and more difficult to dodge.

After a few rounds of engagement, the middle-aged man seemed to realize that the current Jianchen posed much less of a threat to him. His vigilance towards Jianchen decreased, and he unleashed all his strength, attacking with no holds barred, each move aimed to be fatal, and his speed was even faster than before.

As the middle-aged man's attack speed increased, Jianchen found it increasingly difficult to dodge. If he were at his peak, Jianchen could not only dodge the middle-aged man's attacks but also find opportunities to counterattack. However, in his injured state, he could only dodge and had lost the ability to counterattack. With the middle-aged man's speed increasing, each time Jianchen dodged his attacks, it was a close call.

The middle-aged man's attack speed was extremely fast. In just a few breaths, he had launched dozens of attacks. Now, the coarse cloth robe Jianchen was wearing had multiple tears, and streaks of blood had dyed the edges of the tears red. From the small bloodstains, it was clear that Jianchen's wounds were not deep.

A pale blue light flashed in the darkness, and the middle-aged man's Great Guandao seemed to be enveloped in a gust of wind, cutting through the night sky at an incredible speed, heading straight for Jianchen.

Despite his best efforts to dodge, Jianchen's already slowed speed could not completely avoid the Great Guandao, which left a deep, bone-visible wound across his chest, the torrent of blood quickly staining his chest red.

The middle-aged man sneered, his movements not pausing for a moment. Taking advantage of the fact that Jianchen had not yet distanced himself, he immediately stepped forward, closing the gap between them. His right foot, glowing with a pale blue light, kicked Jianchen's chest with lightning speed.

"Bang!"

Jianchen's body was kicked away like a cannonball, and while still in mid-air, he could not help but spurt a mouthful of blood. His body flew over twenty meters, colliding with several bandits along the way, before landing on the ground in a wretched manner. Another mouthful of blood spurted from his mouth, and his face turned deathly pale.

With a flash of blue light, the middle-aged man had crossed the twenty-meter distance and appeared in front of Jianchen, looking at him with a cold smile. He said, "I'll give you one last chance. If you tell me how you can use such low strength to display speed that matches mine, I'll spare your life today. Otherwise, you die!" The middle-aged man's eyes gleamed with intense excitement. He was indeed very eager to know how Jianchen could use such low strength to display speed that matched his. For him, who practiced wind-attribute holy power, speed was crucial. Once he mastered such a secret technique, the middle-aged man could not imagine how fast he would become, but he was certain that his strength would increase significantly, and his status in the Cangmang Bandit Group would greatly improve.

Thinking of this, the middle-aged man felt his blood boil, and he was extremely excited, even his facial expression became somewhat agitated.

Jianchen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, slowly stood up from the ground, and looked at the middle-aged man with a cold, icy gaze, saying with a sneer, "I'm afraid you don't have the ability." Despite his serious internal injuries, Jianchen did not show any fear towards the middle-aged man, who was stronger than him.

As he spoke, Jianchen's body made slight adjustments. At this moment, his entire body was completely relaxed, as if he had no defenses at all. His right hand, which had been tightly gripping the sword, also loosened. His current state looked completely unguarded, not like someone in the middle of a battle.

Jianchen's words immediately made the middle-aged man's expression turn serious. He coldly snorted, "Boy, with your current strength, you don't have the right to talk big. Since you won't tell me, I'll just have to make you suffer." As soon as he finished speaking, the middle-aged man swung his Great Guandao towards Jianchen's right shoulder.

Facing the middle-aged man's attack, Jianchen did not make any attempt to dodge. Instead, he raised his sword and met the attack head-on. The speed of this sword was incredibly fast, but it gave a feeling of being light and soft, completely different from the previous fierce and deadly sword techniques.

When the Sword of Light and the Great Guandao collided, there was no sound at all. The two weapons touched silently, and then the seemingly soft Sword of Light stuck to the Great Guandao like a leech, cleverly guiding it off its original attack path. It drew several circles in the air, completely neutralizing the terrifying force of the Great Guandao, and then smoothly redirected it to the side, causing it to cut into the ground.

The middle-aged man's expression changed slightly, and he looked at Jianchen with a hint of surprise. Just now, he had lost control of his Great Guandao, which was a strange occurrence, especially since his opponent was much weaker than him. This was something the middle-aged man found hard to accept.

"What kind of combat technique is this?" the middle-aged man asked in surprise.

"Tai Chi Sword Technique," Jianchen replied. He was not proficient in the Tai Chi Sword Technique, but in his previous life, he had interacted with many experts from the Wudang Sect, gradually understanding the principle of using softness to overcome hardness and the concept of "four ounces to move a thousand pounds." In his current situation, where his strength was inferior to the middle-aged man and he was almost at the end of his resources, Jianchen had no choice but to use the Tai Chi Sword Technique, which he was not proficient in, to defend himself.

The Tai Chi Sword Technique emphasizes using softness to overcome hardness, using stillness to counter movement, and using weakness to defeat strength. It also contains the principle of "four ounces to move a thousand pounds." This technique could indeed provide significant help in his current predicament. However, the only drawback was that Jianchen only had a superficial understanding of the Tai Chi Sword Technique and was not proficient in it. Despite this, it was enough to allow him to hold his ground against the middle-aged man for a while.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head and muttered, "Tai Chi Sword Technique, never heard of it." He then looked at Jianchen again, his eyes gleaming with an unknown light, and sneered, "Boy, I didn't expect you to have so many combat techniques despite your weak strength. It would be a pity to just kill you. I should capture you and take you back. I'm sure this would be a significant achievement." As soon as he finished speaking, the middle-aged man attacked again, his Great Guandao carrying powerful holy power towards Jianchen. He had made up his mind to capture Jianchen today, and while he did not take the Tai Chi Sword Technique, which could deflect his attacks, seriously, what truly excited him was the secret of Jianchen's speed.

Jianchen, using his not-so-proficient Tai Chi Sword Technique, barely managed to engage with the middle-aged man. With the subtlety of the Tai Chi Sword Technique, he could neutralize each of the middle-aged man's attacks, and the technique's guiding method often made the middle-aged man lose control of his Great Guandao.

In the face of Jianchen's not-so-proficient Tai Chi Sword Technique, the middle-aged man's formidable strength seemed to disappear. However, Jianchen was not as relaxed as he appeared. Although the Tai Chi Sword Technique allowed him to use softness to overcome hardness and the principle of "four ounces to move a thousand pounds," with his current strength as a newly advanced Holy Master, he had to use all his strength to barely meet the requirement of "four ounces" to neutralize the terrifying force of the middle-aged man's Great Guandao. Therefore, each time he defended against the middle-aged man's attacks, it was extremely difficult for him, despite appearing calm.

However, using the Tai Chi Sword Technique, Jianchen could only defend and temporarily protect himself, with no ability to counterattack. He could only endure, with no chance of victory. If he had not been pushed to the brink, Jianchen would not have used this technique he was not proficient in.

After a few more rounds of engagement, the middle-aged man's face gradually showed a hint of anger. Each of his attacks was deflected by a weaker opponent in a mysterious way, and he lost control of his weapon, which was a great humiliation for him.

"Damn brat, I won't believe I can't deal with you today," the middle-aged man said in anger, his attacks becoming even more fierce.

As the middle-aged man's attacks grew stronger, it became increasingly difficult for Jianchen to defend. His forehead was covered in sweat, his face was deathly pale, and his holy power was almost depleted.