Chapter 95. Phantom Bow Swordsman (1)

Swords and sabers clashed, sending sparks flying as life and death intertwined in a chaotic dance on the battlefield.

While Zhou Xuchuan had spoken confidently earlier, in reality, he was sweating profusely from nervousness.

"Zhou Xuchuaaaaaaan!"

Ju Zhong swung his saber, shouting his enemy's name.

It wasn't just any saber—it was an absolute saber coated in aura.

Not even Tai'e, one of the Three Swords of the Spring and Autumn Annals, would be able to hold on for long if he were to block it head-on continuously. After all, it wasn't called aura for nothing.

"Come, Colossal Saber!"

An eye for an eye!

A tooth for a tooth!

An aura for an aura!

Time seemed to slow as qi began to coat Zhou Xuchuan's sword. Transparent threads swirled around his sword without form, gradually condensing and rippling like waves until they solidified before their eyes.

In an instant, the sword aura formed, and Zhou Xuchuan met Ju Zhong's saber head-on, as it threatened to cleave him in two.

BANG!

A deafening explosion echoed across the hills.

The very air seemed to bubble like lava as the ground shook, throwing the warriors off balance. The collision of their auras sent shockwaves through the earth and sky, enveloping everything in its path.

What a brute!

Zhou Xuchuan was amazed.

The force transmitted to his sword was anything but ordinary. His fingers trembled momentarily from the backlash that surged through the hilt.

"AGHHHH!"

Ju Zhong screamed, swinging his saber.

The power and speed of his strikes were explosive, seemingly calm one moment and erupting violently the next.

A saber too large to be considered a weapon swung repeatedly. Saber strikes sliced through the air above Zhou Xuchuan's head in a dizzying flurry.

"Hmph!"

Without panicking, he calmly took on Ju Zhong's attacks. Every time the sword and the saber collided, the air ruptured.

As expected of someone in the Harmony Realm!

It was clear that Ju Zhong had fallen into cultivation deviation and had gone half insane, however, that didn't mean that he was swinging his sword recklessly.

Despite his insanity, he moved steadily according to his saber technique while maintaining his saber aura.

It was muscle memory that he had ingrained into his body over several decades, so it was natural for it to come out unconsciously, even during this manic spree.

How impressive, really!

Zhou Xuchuan kept exclaiming in admiration while fighting.

While this wasn't the first time he had fought a Harmony Realm Master, it was the first time he was doing so one-on-one. In his previous life, he had only barely managed to defeat one with an entire team.

So, this is what fighting aura to aura is like!

The last time he had eked out his way to the Harmony Realm, he had been at the end of his rope. By that point, he hadn't even been able to properly display his sword technique, let alone fight.

"Pfft!"

He laughed involuntarily.

It was a joy he had never known before.

A spirit of competition, igniting his curiosity for martial arts!

"This is it!" He let out an excited shout without realizing it.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

His heart pounded like an angry bull.

He couldn't express this feeling in words.

"The One Hundred Experts Under Heaven!"

It seemed like an era ago.

A nobody whose name was unknown to anyone.

A swordsman who admired the famed Plum Blossom Swordsmen.

An elder who had only reached his position by a lucky twist of fate.

"This is it!"

His heart raced. He couldn't breathe properly.

He could feel his heartbeat echoing in his head.

Zhou Xuchuan couldn't see or hear his surroundings.

The only thing reflected in his two eyes were the two masters who had formed the same body.

"The Harmony Realm!"

His lower dantian, dormant below his navel, suddenly erupted. The mass of qi that had been sleeping like a dormant volcano exploded in an instant.

It quickly rushed through the meridians that had become wide and strong due to the Bodily Reformation. With no impurities congesting the meridians, there was no blockage in its circulation, and its speed was incomparable to before.

The stream of qi poured down like a waterfall, spreading through Zhou Xuchuan's body, flowing through his arm, and headed toward the sword in his hand. His muscles contracted and relaxed repeatedly, finally swelling slightly.

If this had been his original body, it would have ruptured under the immense pressure of qi surging through his meridians. However, there were no limits to his newly reconstructed body.

ROAR!!!!

AGH!!!!

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

Iron clashed against iron, aura against aura.

Blue and red rays of light collided repeatedly, exploding and intertwining.

It was like watching a meteor storm, light raining down from the horizon, leaving behind messy, dissipating trails.

"Zhou Xuchuaaaaaaan!"

Ju Zhong stepped back and swung his saber in a wide arc.

Zhou Xuchuan raised his sword to block the attack.

"Ugh!"

The force behind the saber was extraordinary.

Despite his vast reserves of qi, Zhou Xuchuan was still pushed back by Ju Zhong's enhanced physical strength, boosted several times over by the Flashing Waterfall Cultivation Art.

In the end, Zhou Xuchuan was unable to block the saber completely and was thrown back, flying out of the broken gate.

The battle on the battlefield was also nearing its end. The forces of the two sides had gathered at the top of the hill. Miao Zhenge had also moved quickly after assessing the situation from afar.

If he were to lose here, he wouldn't be able to handle the fallout.

Although it was dangerous, he knew that he had to step forward and take command. Moreover, he also wanted to know what was going on.

As he approached the foot of the hill, the warriors, who had gathered like a swarm of ants, stepped aside.

No...

They had indeed stepped aside, but not for him.

The moment he stepped forward, someone was suddenly thrown out of the camp, drawing a great arc in the air.

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"What the hell is going on over there... Colossal... Colossal Saber?"

He saw Ju Zhong chase after someone.

No one could ever forget the giant. His sheer size made him recognizable from afar.

Despite seeing his enemy, Miao Zhenge wasn't angry. Instead, he was puzzled.

"ZHOU XUUUUUCHUAAAAAN!!" Ju Zhong shouted, drawing out each syllable.

His voice was filled with such intense hatred and rage that it seemed to shake the very earth.

"Zhou Xuchuan?"

The name wasn't unfamiliar to him; he recognized it almost immediately.

"Resonating Death Bow? Wasn't he supposed to be dead?"

"No, he isn't," a warrior in front of him replied, looking back.

"What the hell is going on here?"

"The Resonating Death Bow killed the Four Dogs of the Flashing Waterfall."

"What?"

"And that one over there..."

"...!"

Ju Zhong's saber sliced through the air. Zhou Xuchuan tightened his core and raised his sword vertically.

Clang!

"AGHHHH!"

Ju Zhong bellowed in frustration, enraged by his inability to land a solid hit on his opponent.

Once, twice, three times. A total of ten slashes flew toward Zhou Xuchuan. Zhou Xuchuan also roared and blocked them all.

Even as time passed, Ju Zhong's attacks didn't weaken for some reason.

"Ha-eup!"

Zhou Xuchuan held his breath as his eyes lit up. His sword, which had been solely defending until now, found an opening and aimed for Ju Zhong's shoulder.

Squelch!

The sword, coated in aura, sliced through Ju Zhong's clothing, grazing his shoulder. Blood spurted out as the wound split open.

Woosh!

Ju Zhong spun around, his saber tracing a semicircle in the air before slashing downward at a slight angle.

Analyzing Ju Zhong's saber technique alone on its technique itself... it was quite poor. Although it was considered a saber technique, it was really simple compared to other sword or saber techniques.

However, Ju Zhong had put all his effort into increasing its speed and power, and in the end, Zhou Xuchuan was forced to allow the saber to hit him once.

Squelch!

A sharp laceration cut across his chest from his left shoulder to his side, nearly a foot long. Fortunately, Zhou Xuchuan managed to avoid a direct hit to his abdomen.

Blood spurted out, soaking Ju Zhong's upper body muscles red.

"Ugh!"

Zhou Xuchuan gritted his teeth and endured the pain. It was the first fatal wound he had received since his regression.

His current stance was too awkward for him to counterattack properly. Even if he tried, his sword wouldn't do much damage in this position.

So, he chose another method.

Instead of using his sword, Zhou Xuchuan struck Ju Zhong with his palm before quickly backing away.

Cough, cough!

Ju Zhong tried to follow, but he suddenly vomited black blood.

It worked!

Ju Zhong's body, already in a state of cultivation deviation, was far from normal.

His qi wasn't just moving too fast, it was completely out of control, tearing his meridians apart. In some places, they had even collapsed, causing serious damage.

In that sort of situation, it was obvious what would happen if he got poisoned. Rather than being detoxified, the poison qi would just accumulate and make his injuries worse.

Zhou Xuchuan pressed some of his acupoints and stopped his bleeding.

"Let's go."

Bang!

He climbed the hill. Or, to be precise, he leaped.

Ju Zhong seemed to sense something and moved. Despite the black blood still dripping from his mouth, he didn't care. He had already forgotten about the pain.

Now, the Harmony Realm Master, who had already passed the point of no return from his cultivation deviation, focused solely on killing his enemy.

Zhou Xuchuan faced Ju Zhong, and poured all of his qi into his next move.

Violet Haze Dawnbreaker!

CRACK!!

A roar like thunder erupted. The warriors fighting around the hill were startled and fled.

Zzztt!!

Zhou Xuchuan's sword shot forward, not in a straight line but like a whirlwind, spinning at a terrifying speed.

Ju Zhong used the flat of his blade to block the coming sword strike.

The moment the tip of Zhou Xuchuan's sword met the saber, an explosion of aura tore through the surroundings.

"AGH!!!"

A wave of qi swept through the area, tearing up the tea fields by their roots and sending warriors tumbling to the ground.

Arc Flower Rain!

Without pulling his sword back, Zhou Xuchuan immediately used the momentum of his sword to chain his move into the second form.

The aura that had been spinning fiercely around his sword suddenly spread out like the ribs of a fan and shot forward.

SSSS!

Ju Zhong quickly formed a qi barrier around himself.

Though it was difficult to see from afar, it was easy to guess what it was up close.

After all, there was only one barrier that could block aura!

Defensive Qi!

Moreover, it was defensive qi that had been amplified several times over.

Zhou Xuchuan used every ounce of his strength to draw out his qi, pushing himself to the brink. He hadn't reached the bottom of his qi reserves in a long time, but now, he could finally see it.

If he didn't give it his all, there was no way he could break through this barrier.

He tightened his grip on his sword. The fan-shaped clusters of aura began to converge.

Crimson Setting Plum Blossoms!

Violet Haze Sword Sutra, Third Form!

Zhou Xuchuan's bluish aura turned red, like Ju Zhong's.

The aura that had been stretched out like a bunch of thin lines eventually gathered together and poured down toward the enemy like a waterfall.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

The defensive qi that boasted an absolute hardness like that of Ten Thousand Frost Iron now had cracks like that of a turtle shell.

BOOM!

The ground beneath the two masters caved in.

Sand and gravel swirled like a storm, preventing any of the surrounding warriors from getting close.

Men who had been fighting for their lives just moments ago now stood frozen, blankly watching the battle between the superhumans.

"Ha."

Amidst the storm that drowned out even the sound of iron clashing, a hollow laugh could be heard.

"Just who the hell are you?" Ju Zhong asked.

"A swordsman of Mount Hua," Zhou Xuchuan answered.

"To think I would meet my end by a sword. How unfair."

Ju Zhong closed his eyes and sighed.

"You were also poisoned, so don't be too sad."

"I was blinded by my enemy and acted foolishly. It's a shame we couldn't fight properly."

"I feel the same way."

"My sons and I will curse you from hell."

Squelch!

Ju Zhong felt the tip of Zhou Xuchuan's sword pierce through his flesh. The aura of his defensive qi vanished and the sword drove through his chest, emerging from his back.

Ju Zhong struggled to open his eyes and squeezed out what little he could.

"To... think a mon... ster... Looks.... Like... the Evil... Valley... is ruined!"

With that, the light in Ju Zhong's eyes faded.

When it was all over, silence fell over the battlefield.

Zhou Xuchuan took the Mind Qi Separator from Ju Zhong's corpse.

There was no such thing as

What If

or

But.

The Gate Master Ju Zhong of the Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate of the Eight Gates of the Evil Dao had lost his life ten years earlier than in Zhou Xuchuan's previous life.

Zhou Xuchuan looked around and shouted.

"The Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate Master died at my hands, me, Zhou Xuchuan!"

ROAR!!!!

"Surrender if you value your life!"