Chapter 77: Battle Skills

The middle-aged man's frenzied attacks put a tremendous pressure on Jianchen. After all, Jianchen had to give it his all to use the not-so-proficient Tai Chi sword technique to deflect the middle-aged man's attacks. Each time he deflected the terrifying force from the large guandao, it caused a significant drain on his Holy Power. The intense battle with the middle-aged man had already consumed most of his not-so-abundant Holy Power, and now, with his body heavily injured, Jianchen gradually felt his strength waning, making it increasingly difficult to defend against the middle-aged man's attacks.

Jianchen, with the strength of a newly ascended Holy Warrior, could hold his own against the middle-aged man, who had already reached the level of a mid-rank Holy Master. This was not only due to his superb sword skills but also to his extensive battle experience, which had been honed through countless battles. If another person with the same strength as Jianchen faced the middle-aged man's storm-like attacks, it would be hard to say whether they could survive even ten rounds.

After all, the gap between a Holy Warrior and a Holy Master was too great, with a difference of two entire stages.

As a pale green light once again sliced through the sky, when the light breeze sword in Jianchen's hand lightly touched the rapidly slashing large guandao, he finally lacked the strength to deflect the terrifying force. The light breeze sword was directly deflected by the large guandao, and under the pressure of the large guandao, it returned to its original path, ultimately striking Jianchen's chest with great force.

Jianchen's body was directly sent flying, and he landed on the ground after flying over ten meters. A mouthful of hot blood uncontrollably surged up from his throat and was sprayed out, forming a mist of blood in the air.

"Boy, now I see what you can do to escape my grasp. Why don't you just come with me obediently?" the middle-aged man sneered. Without giving Jianchen a moment to catch his breath, he moved his body, crossing the ten-meter distance in an instant, and extended his large hands to grab Jianchen's neck.

Jianchen looked coldly at the rapidly approaching hand of the middle-aged man. A fierce look flashed in his eyes, and he sighed inwardly, "Sigh, it seems I have to use my last move."

The last move was Jianchen's life-saving ultimate skill, and it was also the only life-saving technique he had when he roamed the Tianyuan Continent alone—Controlling the Sword with the Spirit.

Controlling the Sword with the Spirit was a skill that Jianchen had comprehended after his strength broke through just before his death in his previous life, during his battle with Dugu Qiubai.

However, just as Jianchen was about to use his last ultimate skill, Controlling the Sword with the Spirit, to deal with the current predicament, a fiery red giant sword suddenly swept across the sky, heading straight for the middle-aged man's arm that was reaching for Jianchen.

Glancing at the fiery red giant sword out of the corner of his eye, the middle-aged man's eyes showed a hint of disdain. He snorted lightly, and the arm that was reaching for Jianchen immediately stopped. The pale green light on his palm surged, completely enveloping his hand. Then, the hand, wrapped in the pale green wind-attribute Holy Power, swung towards the incoming fiery red giant sword, firmly grasping it.

Seizing this opportunity, Jianchen, despite his severe injuries, struggled to get up from the ground. He instinctively looked at the person who had come to his aid. Just as he was about to express his gratitude, his eyes suddenly narrowed.

He saw that the owner of the fiery red giant sword was a young man who looked to be in his twenties. The young man had an ordinary appearance, the kind that could easily be found in a crowd. However, Jianchen was not unfamiliar with this young man; he was the mercenary, Mu Yun, with whom he had talked very well during their journey.

The middle-aged man looked at Mu Yun, who held the fiery red giant sword, with a sneer and mocked, "Overestimating yourself."

Hearing the middle-aged man's words, Mu Yun's face showed a hint of a strange smile. He laughed lightly, "You are only a mid-rank Holy Master, not much stronger than me. How dare you speak such big words?" As he spoke, the fiery red giant sword in Mu Yun's hand glowed intensely, emitting a scorching heat. In the dark night, the fiery red light was particularly prominent, dispelling the surrounding darkness. As the fiery red light grew stronger, the temperature continued to rise. In just a few breaths, the fiery red giant sword was enveloped in a blinding fiery red light, the light flickering like a flame.

Feeling the increasing heat and the surging Holy Power from the giant sword, the middle-aged man frowned. He suddenly loosened his grip on the giant sword and struck the blade with a powerful palm.

"Bang!"

Under the powerful blow from the middle-aged man, Mu Yun's fiery red giant sword was knocked to the side. However, Mu Yun, with his combat experience, used the force of the giant sword to his advantage, turning his body and swinging the giant sword in a circle in the air, once again aiming at the middle-aged man.

"Since you want to die, I'll grant your wish!" The middle-aged man snorted, and his large guandao glowed with a pale green light. He swung the large guandao, which was enveloped in a gust of wind, at an extremely fast speed towards the incoming fiery red giant sword.

"Clang!"

Mu Yun's fiery red giant sword and the middle-aged man's large guandao collided, producing a loud clanging sound. The two holy weapons separated upon contact, and Mu Yun staggered back over ten steps. In contrast, the middle-aged man stood firmly on the ground, immovable like a mountain, without even a slight wobble.

The strength disparity was clear at a glance.

Jianchen, standing to the side, understood the situation. Mu Yun's strength was slightly weaker than the middle-aged man's, but he was definitely stronger than Jianchen. Based on his estimation, Mu Yun's strength should be between mid-rank and high-rank Holy Warrior. Even so, he was still no match for the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man's wind-attribute Holy Power was adept at speed, and in terms of attack power, it was far inferior to Mu Yun's fire-attribute Holy Power. After all, fire-attribute Holy Power, aside from the relatively rare light and dark attributes, was widely recognized as the most powerful in terms of attack.

The middle-aged man, relying on his wind-attribute Holy Power, could completely overwhelm Mu Yun in a direct confrontation. If the middle-aged man were to leverage the speed advantage of his wind-attribute Holy Power, Jianchen was certain that Mu Yun would not last long against him.

If Jianchen and Mu Yun were to team up against the middle-aged man, Jianchen was confident that they could hold him off. However, it was a pity that Jianchen had been severely injured several times by the middle-aged man. His internal organs were severely damaged, and in his current state, he could hardly stand, let alone help.

After a quick retreat, Mu Yun, the middle-aged man's eyes flashed with a stern killing intent. Without giving Mu Yun time to adjust, the pale green light on his large guandao surged, and his body left a faint shadow on the spot, instantly appearing in front of Mu Yun. He swung the large guandao at Mu Yun's head with extreme speed.

The middle-aged man did not hold back against Mu Yun. He immediately went for a killing blow, aiming to end Mu Yun's life. After all, there was nothing on Mu Yun that interested him.

Mu Yun's expression turned serious. He suddenly let out a loud shout, and his giant sword instantly turned red, emitting an even more intense heat. At the same time, a raging flame suddenly appeared, completely enveloping the giant sword. He then swung the giant sword, aiming at the incoming large guandao.

As soon as Mu Yun's giant sword was swung, it suddenly split into three fiery snakes. Two of them, carrying raging flames, headed towards the large guandao, while the third fiery snake aimed directly at the middle-aged man's face.

"Boom!"

The large guandao collided with the two fiery snakes, producing a loud explosion. The two fiery snakes, burning with raging flames, were split apart, scattering sparks in all directions. From a distance, it looked like a blooming flower, a beautiful sight.

After splitting the two fiery snakes, the middle-aged man's large guandao's attack was forcibly halted. The third fiery snake, like a fierce tiger, continued to rush towards the middle-aged man's face, carrying intense heat and raging flames.

Just as the third fiery snake approached the middle-aged man's face, he suddenly released his right hand from the large guandao. A powerful wind-attribute Holy Power gathered instantly, and he struck the fiery snake with his palm.

When his palm collided with the fiery snake, a loud explosion sounded. The fiery snake was scattered by the middle-aged man's palm, once again scattering sparks in all directions, dispelling the surrounding darkness.

After dispersing the fiery snake with his palm, the middle-aged man did not continue his attack. He stared at Mu Yun with a look of surprise and exclaimed, "This is a battle skill, you actually know a battle skill." No one noticed that the middle-aged man's right hand, which had been hanging down, was now extremely red and had swollen to a larger size.

Hearing the middle-aged man's words, Jianchen also cast a surprised glance at Mu Yun. Jianchen was not unfamiliar with battle skills. He was well aware that battle skills were a highly valuable and unique form of cultivation on the Tianyuan Continent. Using battle skills could unleash attacks several times, or even ten times, more powerful than one's own strength. Their value far exceeded that of cultivation techniques, and they were not something ordinary mercenaries could possess. Jianchen had not expected that Mu Yun, who appeared to be an ordinary mercenary, would possess such a valuable skill. After all, given the rarity and high value of battle skills on the Tianyuan Continent, even some experts who had reached the level of a high-rank Holy Master could not possess them.

Battle skills also had different levels. Although Jianchen was new to the Tianyuan Continent, his extensive reading in the library gave him a broad knowledge. With his discerning eye, he could see that both the battle skill and cultivation technique Mu Yun used were of the highest quality. Ordinary battle skills or cultivation techniques would not allow Mu Yun to manifest tangible flames with the strength of a high-rank Holy Warrior.

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End of Chapter 77

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