At the spot where Lu Yin had been standing, his body seemingly dissolved into nothingness. He had chosen to evade Liu Shaoqiu’s First Sword, but just experiencing the technique for himself was enough to nearly startle him out of his skin. This was the Thirteen Swords.
Lu Yin stepped out of the void and stared in amazement at Liu Shaoqiu. Against that sword, every single cell in his body seemed to be trembling. It was not from fear, but rather from excitement. Lu Yin had finally met an opponent who he could battle with all his heart after overcoming death twice. He considered the situation for a moment before four-lined battle force covered his body without any further hesitation. “Again.”
With a whoosh, Lu Yin’s body tore through the void and appeared in front of Liu Shaoqiu after he used Flash at his top speed. He pressed down, releasing a Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm.
Liu Shaoqiu remained calm and merely shifted his heels, but then, his body suddenly vanished. Lu Yin felt his scalp tingle before instinctively dodging right as a giant crack appeared in the void where he had been standing. After Liu Shaoqiu started his attack with his iron sword, Lu Yin extended his index finger that was flickering with purple battle force and tapped at Liu Shaoqiu’s forehead. The sword genius followed through with his attack, causing the two young men to essentially swap positions. Each of their attacks had landed in the same patch of empty air at the same time, and they ended with their backs to each other. One blade had sliced through the void, and one finger had pierced nothingness. Two indescribably terrifying attacks had been used at the same time, dividing the arena plains into two neat halves.
Their first exchange had taken place in a single moment, but it was already enough to amaze many. Even those who could understand what they were watching were all stunned. The power of Liu Shaoqiu’s Thirteen Swords went without saying, but most of the audience members could not understand how Lu Yin had managed to avoid the First Sword.
If the Thirteen Swords were that easily avoided, then Chilian Daynight and Kuang Wang would not have died to a single move. Since Lu Yin had relied on pure speed to avoid the First Sword, then just how fast was his extreme speed?
On the high peak, Feng Shang was astonished by what he had just seen. “His speed is so high that he can actually tear through the void by just moving. His physical body is too tough. This guy really hid his abilities well.”
Dao Bo marvelled, “He actually avoided the First Sword and even made Liu Shaoqiu dodge his attack in turn. This junior is much stronger than what we thought.”
Starsibyl merely revealed a slight, mysterious smile as she watched on, surprised.
Not only were the academy leaders shocked, but many of the Astral Combat Academy’s students were astonished as well. The most surprised out of all of them, however, were those from the Sword Sect, as they had never thought that someone here would be able to avoid the First Sword, let alone a mere Melder.
In the Sword Sect, someone yelled in disbelief, “How is this possible? How could anyone in this universe in the same realm as Liu Shaoqiu avoid his First Sword?”
“This person is very quick, and his attack was rather sharp too. Look, he concentrated all of his battle force onto his fingertip. This shows that he has a very deep comprehension of four-lined battle force. Of course that attack would be enough to make even Liu Shaoqiu afraid of receiving it head-on.”
…
Under the “Yōu” flag in the dusky land, the little girl clapped her hands and cheered while Grandma Du was dumbstruck by what she had just witnessed. “A Melder actually dodged the Thirteen Swords? Such impressive speed. This fellow’s not ordinary.”
The little girl, on the other hand, was delighted. “Grandma Du, don’t brag about Liu Shaoqiu anymore. The Sword Sect has elevated the Thirteen Swords’ power too highly. In reality, it looks like there are many battle techniques in the universe that can rival or even surpass the Thirteen Swords. Our Yōu family-”
The girl was hurriedly interrupted by the old maid, whose face had paled. She stared in horror at the little girl. “Little princess, don’t spout nonsense!”
The girl pursed her lips in annoyance, but she nonetheless stopped speaking.
In the arena, Lu Yin and Liu Shaoqiu turned around at the same time to face each other. They were not even three meters apart.
“As expected, your power is astounding.” Liu Shaoqiu was the first to speak when their eyes met again. He had a burning battle intent in his eyes, clearly no longer carrying the calmness that they had held before.
Lu Yin’s lips quirked up when he sensed this intense battle intent that seemed ready to explode at any moment. He still had not had a chance to use his full strength after overcoming that calamity, and he had barely suppressed his desire to test his new limits all this while. “Come, let me experience the Second Sword.”
“As you wish.” Liu Shaoqiu had an indifferent expression as he gripped his sword hilt. “But let me give you a warning—no amount of speed will help you against the Second Sword.” He then closed his eyes. Although nobody else felt like anything had changed, in Liu Shaoqiu’s mind, the entire arena had turned into a world of swords that was centered around Liu Shaoqiu himself. This was the domain that the Thirteen Swords created. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that to understand the Second Sword, one had to first comprehend the basics of a domain.
Lu Yin’s eyes turned grave, and he scanned his clothes, but he could not see any changes. Through the surrounding star energy, he could feel that cracks had appeared everywhere. These cracks weren’t restricted to just his clothes; they covered his body, the entire arena’s ground, and even appeared in the sky. It was as if nothing could withstand the Second Sword’s oppression.
At the same time, the energy barrier that protected the audience from the arena had actually started twisting. Before, no matter how intense a battle had been, that barrier had never shaken, but it was actually distorting before an attack had even been launched. Many students were horrified by the sight and quickly retreated.
On the high peak, Feng Shang and the rest were watching seriously, as they also felt an acute sense of danger.
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. He wanted to act, but there were no openings for him to take advantage of. Liu Shaoqiu was still standing with his eyes closed, motionless, but Lu Yin felt as if he could not make a move. The Thirteen Swords had no gaps, even if Liu Shaoqiu was just standing there like that.
Suddenly, Liu Shaoqiu opened his eyes, and his gaze intensified a little more as he looked at Lu Yin. “You’re more interesting than I expected. You didn’t even try to attack just then. Did you sense it?”
Lu Yin calmly replied with a question of his own. “Let me ask you this, how many swords have you comprehended?”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone focused on Liu Shaoqiu. Lu Yin was not the only one curious about this; everyone was. Even those in the Sword Sect wanted to know exactly how many swords this young genius had learned.
Liu Shaoqiu’s eyes brightened as he clearly answered, “Three.”
Many people felt afraid, as if their dreams had been trampled upon. The First Sword was already enough to slay an academy leader. The second could at least rival the strongest moves of the top academy leaders and was enough to trample the entire Astral Combat Academy. So then just how strong was the third? The rumors that Liu Shaoqiu had travelled through space and injured an Explorer by himself must be true then.
Although a Limiteer was only one realm below an Explorer, it was still a vast difference. Many Sentinels or Melders could be Realmbreakers, but there were almost no Realmbreaker Limiteers who could crush an Explorer as the difference between the two realms was essentially twice that of any other two realms. Only the Ten Arbiters had been Limiteer Realmbreakers who could crush Explorers.
Outside the plains, Liu Xiaoyun gripped her hilt with a look of disbelief. Three swords. It’s actually three swords… She had already suspected that Liu Shaoqiu had comprehended three swords, but having those suspicions verified as true was different. She felt an unbearable pressure crush her as she could at most rival the First Sword. She would be powerless against the second, and she would not even be qualified to force out Liu Shaoqiu’s Third Sword.
This was the Sword Sect’s monster, the Ten Arbiters candidate.
On the sidelines, Kuang Wang was in agony. As the leader of Astral-5 and the Dao of Heaven’s Realm Master, he had not even been able to force Liu Shaoqiu to reveal the Second Sword. It was too humiliating to him when he realized that he could not even compare to a Melder junior.
Wu Da could hardly control his own excitement, as Lu Yin had indeed forced out Liu Shaoqiu’s Second Sword and even caused such valuable information to come out. While Liu Shaoqiu may or may not have spoken the truth, it was highly likely that he had comprehended three swords. It was rumored that not even the Sword Sect member of the current Ten Arbiters had comprehended past the tenth sword.
“Three swords, what terrifying talent. In that case, I won’t shrink back. I will take the Second Sword straight on,” Lu Yin said as he raised his head and lifted his right arm. There was a gentle boom as the void rumbled ominously before rippling out and forming layers that smoothly spread out. “Nine Stack, Fifteen-Fold Shockwave Palm.”
Not too long ago, before Lu Yin had comprehended the ninth star, his strongest attack had been a fusion between his battle force and the Nine Stacks technique in the form of Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm. Today, since he was restricted and unable to use his Cosmic Palm, he had increased his Shockwave Palm to fifteen stacks. The muscles in his right arm gave out a mind-numbing ripping sound; his right arm was nearly at its limit, but the four-lined battle force’s purple color continued to darken.
Liu Shaoqiu’s eyes grew fervent when he saw Lu Yin’s movements. “Second sword.” As his words finished, the sky darkened, and an endless sword qi covered the sky. This was the Second Sword of the Thirteen Swords. It was a sword that could not be dodged even if one hid in the void.
Lu Yin’s eyes suddenly widened as he struck out with his palm.
A pressure that could crush mountains swept out in all directions and sundered the earth. The void collapsed as infinite lines of sword qi pierced through space, even affecting the high peak where the other academy leaders were seated. Feng Shang and the rest had to retreat from the high peak and appear outside the arena plains.
The initial energy barrier laid down by the mentors did not last for even five seconds before being shredded to pieces; only the second energy barrier managed to withstand the Second Sword.
No one could understand what was going on in the battle on the plains, as the void had distorted so badly that they were unable to make anything comprehensible out. On the screens, all the viewers could see was distortion spatial cracks.
Nightqueen Yanqing’s eyes were grave. The collision of the two combatants’ attacks was definitely enough to threaten her. She could accept Liu Shaoqiu being this powerful, but what was Astral-10’s leader relying on to contend against the Second Sword?
Her question was similarly shared by those in the Sword Sect. The Second Sword easily tore through the void, and every Astral Combat Academy student leader should have been instantly vanquished when struck by this sword. However, to their disbelief, the current situation on the plains was a clear indication that Astral-10’s leader was still alive.
Lu Yin had acutely sensed the power of the Second Sword even before Liu Shaoqiu struck out, and he knew that the omnipresent terrifying cutting edge would be able to rip anyone to shreds. It reminded him of what he had witnessed at the Dao of Purgatory’s Blackwater Lake inheritance, the flowing vortex. Unfortunately, Yue Xianzi could not display even one percent of that vortex’s power; otherwise, she would not have been crushed so easily by Charon. At this moment, the power of the Second Sword that Lu Yin was facing was about the same as that flowing vortex. If not for his four-lined battle force, then even his tough physical body would have suffered severe injuries. That is, if it could even withstand the attack.
As the shock waves from their attacks reverberated through the entire arena, the high peak nearby shattered as it was turned to dust. Most of the arena plains no longer existed, but Lu Yin and Liu Shaoqiu still stood facing each other, a hundred meters apart.
Liu Shaoqiu’s white clothes had not been dirtied by the dust storm in the slightest. However, as he held his sword made of star energy, he stared across the arena in shock.
Lu Yin was panting heavily, his right arm trembling non-stop. The recoil force from Nine Stacks, Fifteen-Fold Shockwave Palm could only be withstood by an Explorer’s body. The current Nine Stacks was something that his physical body could already barely handle with. Fortunately, this gamble had stopped the Second Sword.
Everyone fell silent as they stared at Lu Yin as if he was a monster. This person had actually managed to block Liu Shaoqin’s Second Sword when Astral-5’s leader had not even been able to withstand the First Sword. No one had ever thought that Lu Yin would last to this point.
Wu Da gaped blankly with an open mouth while a daring idea lit up his brain. He had just thought of the newspaper’s biggest headline—The Preemptive Final Battle.
In the city floating in the sky, San Dios, Wendy Yushan and Puyu were silent as they stared at the screen in shock.
In the dusky land where the “Yōu” flag was flapping in the wind, the little girl clapped merrily. “Well done. Look, Grandma Du, he didn’t lose.”
The old maid was shocked beyond belief, “Some mortal actually blocked the Second Sword… But that’s all he can do. The Third Sword will wipe him out.”
The girl pouted unhappily.
In the arena, the plains no longer existed. The ground had been blasted into smithereens and even sunk by a dozen meters. The two students were now floating in mid-air, still staring at each other.
Liu Shaoqiu exclaimed, “You really didn’t disappoint me. You’re the first person in the same realm as me that’s forced me to bring out the Third Sword.”
Lu Yin shook his right arm. “Truthfully, your Second Sword is already absolutely terrifying—just my four-lined battle force would not have been able to receive it. It really does live up to the reputation of the Thirteen Swords. If possible, I really want to fight you in the real world.”
