CH 217

Ever since he started training in the way of the sword, the River Sword Policy was the first set of sword manuals he practiced! It could even be said that the Flexible Sword Art that allowed him to comprehend the sword intent behind softness and strength qi was the one was the most familiar with! 

Out of the six different sword intents he comprehended, he was most comfortable with River Sword. It was also the technique that possessed the strongest offensive ability!

He didn’t notice anything off when Yang Chao dodged his first strike, but his curiosity was piqued when Yang Chao avoided his second move!

There were several explanations for the matter, and one of them was that Yang Chao had already grasped the way to break Shang Xia’s technique! Another was that Yang Chao had some sort of special method to predict where Shang Xia’s strike would go!

Shang Xia was naturally more inclined to believe the latter. After all, Yang Chao would probably have launched a fierce counterattack if he understood how to break Shang Xia’s technique.

With the opponent avoiding two of his strikes, Shang Xia felt a sense of danger slowly encroaching on him. He didn’t dare to attack recklessly anymore and he changed his focus to defense.

The moment the intention to defend crossed his mind, Yang Chao attacked!

It seemed as though Yang Chao was a special type of person. He would remain still when required, but he would strike like lightning the moment the opponent showed signs of wavering!

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With his sword back in hand, Yang Chao stabbed at Shang Xia with frightening speed. His strike was even faster than when he threw the sword out earlier, and the power contained behind the strike was countless times stronger.

When Shang Xia unleashed his martial intent comprehended from the Flexible Sword Manual, the River Sword, his strike was unhurried and it contained an astounding amount of power. Somewhat similar to Shang Xia, Yang Chao’s stab contained a frightening amount of power. However, it was a lot faster, and it arrived when his opponent was retreating.

If he was facing any other ordinary opponent, he would probably have been the victor right then and there. Even if the opponent wasn’t defeated immediately, they would have to retreat heavily in order to survive. 

Too bad for him, Shang Xia wasn’t an ordinary opponent!

Not flustered in the slightest, Shang Xia no longer cared about the consumption of his inner qi. He transformed his Yin Yang Essence Qi in a torrential fashion and a dense layer of sword light appeared in front of him.

Yang Chao’s strike was unable to penetrate the web of sword light that was formed around Shang Xia and the closest it got was three inches away from his target.

Those three inches were like an insurmountable gap that mocked Yang Chao unceasingly.

Trapped in the web of sword qi, Yang Chao’s strike finally lost all the energy contained in it. Seeing as it was time to counterattack, Shang Xia launched his offensive immediately. Long strands of sword light emerged from the web of sword qi. They extended quickly towards Yang Chao, but when they were three inches away from the man, they were shattered by Yang Chao’s sudden withdrawal of his sword.

Once again, Shang Xia failed to triumph over his enemy!

It was the third time that happened, and that was after Shang Xia had used a different technique! He was using the moves contained in the Hidden Needle Manual, and he was defending and attacking at the same time! He wanted to draw Yang Chao closer to end the battle quickly, but to his surprise, the man avoided it at the last second!

Yang Chao might have dodged the third round of Shang Xia’s attack, but unfortunately for him, they were too close to each other at that moment. Shang Xia finally caught on to the weakness behind his technique!

When Yang Chao retreated tens of feet away, he felt Shang Xia’s playful gaze landing on him. 

“Haha, as it turns out, you’re training in the dao of movement and stillness!”

A frosty light flashed through Yang Chao’s eyes suddenly as killing intent threatened to leak out of his body. His expression sank as he glared at Shang Xia.

His vaguely concealed anger was met with a chuckle from Shang Xia. “Your sword technique is truly profound. You seem to be able to see through your opponent. You act decisively by striking the moment your opponent shows the slightest weakness. I wonder what sword art you train in?”

“This… I train in the Agile Sword Manual!” Yang Chao growled. “I thought that I would be able to see through your moves, allowing me to seize the initiative during our battle. Who would have thought that I would still be defeated in the end…” Shaking his head, Yang Chao continued, “Your technique has touched on the realm of perfection. It’s nearly impossible to predict your move and even though I managed to see through them at the last moment, I had to react accordingly. It was fortunate for me to be able to keep my life, but defeating you should be impossible…” 

“Agile Sword Manual? The dao of movement and stillness…” Shang Xia muttered under his breath. After a second of contemplation, a smile appeared on his face and he chuckled, “A second of stillness might be better than charging forth recklessly. Counter aggression with passiveness, strike when you have grasped the enemy’s intentions. Brother Yang, you have reached a high level of achievement in your sword art. You stood immobile when required but you struck like lightning the moment you noticed an opportunity.” 

Shang Xia wasn’t messing around with him. Instead, he spoke about his comprehension of the battle. He recalled a saying from his original world and he casually spoke of it.

Yang Chao, who was standing opposite him, was unable to maintain his calm appearance after hearing what Shang Xia said. Those words were like massive bombs exploding in his head. He couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Shang, did you also train in the Agile Sword Manual?”

He quickly realized that his question was rather foolish. If Shang Xia had trained in the Agile Sword Manual, he wouldn’t have been able to last three moves against Shang Xia.

Watching how Shang Xia was trying to control his laughter, he quickly suppressed the raging waves battering against his heart. “I wonder how Brother Shang came up with the theory. Moreover, the techniques you used when fighting against Li Xi and Ma Qi were completely different. I heard rumors of the Murong Family’s Triple Mystery Polarity Art and I wonder if that’s how you managed to display so many different skills?”

Chuckling slightly, Shang Xia replied, “You’re not far off from the truth. I drew on the experience of cultivating the Triple Mystery Polarity Art and made a few changes!”

From the time Ma Qi appeared, Shang Xia knew that some of his secrets would be seen through by those present. Revealing some information to Yang Chao might not be a bad thing. Sating their curiosity could allow him to avoid many troublesome matters in the long run.

Yang Chao nodded slowly and muttered to himself, “Brother Shang is really a genius. You definitely used several sword intents earlier…” 

Shang Xia nodded politely but remained silent about the matter. Seeing Shang Xia’s reaction, Yang Chao decided to end things there. “Brother Shang definitely received a lot of insights after the multiple battles today. Let’s call it a draw, shall we?” 

Despite Yang Chao’s attempt to end the battle, a playful grin returned to Shang Xia’s face. “Brother Yang, I’m afraid you’re looking down on me.” 

Yang Chao’s expression sank instantly. “What’s the matter? Do you wish to continue? If that’s the case, I’ll definitely play along!” 

Yang Chao had high achievements in his Agile Sword Manual. Even though he wasn’t able to defeat Shang Xia, he felt that it was impossible for him to be defeated by the other party! At worst, they would fight till both sides were exhausted, resulting in a draw! That was the reason he made the suggestion. Who would have thought that Shang Xia would be unwilling to reciprocate his goodwill?

“Sure. I don’t plan on embarrassing myself on my own territory anyway. If you’re able to remain unscathed after taking on my next attack, I’ll renounce the draw and you can be the ultimate victor. How about it?” Shang Xia smiled.

Turning deadly serious, Yang Chao raised his sword and pointed it at Shang Xia, showing off his intentions.

Keeping the smile on his face, the Jade River Sword stabbed forward unhurriedly as a sword domain descended.