Chapter 101 - Blade Intent Sword Qi

"Deep Sea Profound Iron?" Under the moonlight, Baili Gucheng let out a light laugh and looked at the man who stood in the distance like a drawn blade.

"How did you know I have it?" Baili Gucheng's fingers brushed against the hilt of his sword at his waist.

The man's face was hidden under a conical hat, making his features indistinct. His clothes were ragged, revealing only a glimpse of an ordinary soldier's leather armor and an obviously military-issue blade that hung at his waist.

"A drunk told me."

"A drunk." Baili Gucheng nodded. "So it was him, no wonder."

Baili Gucheng paused momentarily, then walked toward the lake.

"But even so, why would I give you something for no reason? Since you have come all this way, you must know that this is no ordinary treasure."

The man with the military-issue blade reached up to remove his hat, and his aura suddenly surged!

The man quietly said, "I... know."

Impending Sword slowly turned back with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, looking at the man whose aura had suddenly changed.

"So you plan to rob me openly?"

This time, the man with the blade did not reply. Instead, he drew his blade and pointed it at Baili Gucheng from a distance.

"Interesting." Baili Gucheng gently shook his head and said, "From your attire, you seem to be a soldier from the border. Why not go and kill enemies properly instead of coming to provoke me?"

The man with the blade took a long time to respond. "I'm not a soldier anymore."

"Not a soldier?" Baili Gucheng raised an eyebrow. "Then what are you?"

"I'm just like you," the man answered indifferently.

"Huh?" Baili Gucheng looked at the man in the distance in confusion.

"You are Impending Sword." The man paused. "They call me... Stormqueller."

Upon hearing these words, Baili Gucheng immediately narrowed his eyes and stared at the blade-wielding man, considering his words.

After a long while, Baili Gucheng finally spoke, "You are part of the Ghostbane Association?"

The blade-wielding man silently nodded.

"Earth-ranker?" Baili Gucheng asked with a frown.

The man shook his head.

"Heaven-ranker?"

The man shook his head again but said, "I said... I am the same as you."

Baili Gucheng's brow furrowed even deeper.

"Nihil? With what qualifications?"

The man said nothing, just stared intently at Baili Gucheng.

Baili Gucheng fell silent as well.

"What do you want the Deep Sea Profound Iron for?" Baili Gucheng asked while walking toward his thatched cottage.

"To forge a blade."

"To forge a blade?"

Baili Gucheng looked back in confusion, and only belatedly realized that the blade the man was holding was already covered in fine cracks.

"Ah... I see." Baili Gucheng smiled and shook his head, then turned and entered the house.

After a while, Baili Gucheng emerged holding a cloth bag.

He tossed the cloth bag to the ground.

"It's is here. Take it... If you can."

"Very well!"

Bang!

As soon as the man finished speaking, an explosion rang out!

Impending Sword only saw a blur, and the man appeared behind him, the blade cutting through the air with a sharp

whoosh,

aimed at his neck!

Baili Gucheng neither expected this person to be so direct, attacking for the kill before he had finished speaking, nor he did not anticipate that the strike would be so fast! He had completely underestimated this man!

Despite his surprise, Impending Sword was not one to sit idly by. He glared angrily and shouted, "How brash!"

His sheathed sword moved first, directly blocking the path of the military blade.

Clang!

The clash of blade and sword echoed through the air.

"Scram!"

Baili Gucheng turned and kicked out, aiming directly at Ye Beizhi's chest.

Ye Beizhi withdrew his blade to defend, raising the blade just in time to block the kick, but he was still pushed back and sent flying involuntarily anyway.

Stormqueller performed a backflip mid-air to dissipate the force, trying to land steadily, but Baili Gucheng, having gained the upper hand, did not show mercy.

The sword qi around Baili Gucheng stirred like boiling water. At that moment, Stormqueller was still in the air, with nowhere to evade!

Baili Gucheng held the sword still in its sheath, and the sword qi began to swirl rapidly around the blade just as Stormqueller was about to land!

The sword suddenly thrust out!

"Go!"

With a loud shout, Baili Gucheng unleashed the sword qi he had been accumulating, which violently surged toward Ye Beizhi!

As soon as Ye Beizhi landed, he looked up and saw a massive dragon formed from sword qi surging toward him, aiming to consume him completely.

For the first time, Ye Beizhi displayed a serious expression! He took a deep breath, facing the incoming sword qi head on without any intent to dodge or evade!

Instead, he crouched slightly, holding the blade vertically in front of his chest, and his entire aura suddenly surged!

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Blade intent abruptly enveloped his entire body.

The next moment, the sword qi and the blade intent crashed violently against each other!

The collision made no sound, but trees were flattened around them, the lake surged with giant waves, Ye Beizhi's clothes fluttered wildly, and Baili Gucheng's white hair whipped about in the intense wind!

The sword qi and blade intent consumed each other and dissipated as if they had never existed.

Stormqueller exhaled a breath of turbid air and slowly straightened up.

Impending Sword looked up at the sky, where there should have been an endless expanse of thick clouds. There was now a large hole that revealed the blue sky behind.

Baili Gucheng stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the man in the distance. "What blade art is that?"

"I never learned any blade arts, only how to kill." Stormqueller said as he slung the fractured blade to his waist.

"Never learned any blade arts?" Baili Gucheng didn't doubt his words, instead nodding seriously. He took a few steps forward, cautiously approaching Ye Beizhi until they stood face to face.

"Interesting." Baili Gucheng's eyes shot wide for the first time. "You really don't fear my sword qi..."

The whirling vortex of sword qi swirling around Proximate Sword Baili Gucheng within three zhang, automatically diverted upon nearing Ye Beizhi, as if it had hit a reef.

"Why is that?" Proximate Sword Baili Gucheng reached out his hand, trying to touch Ye Beizhi.

Sure enough, as he approached Stormqueller, Baili Gucheng no longer felt his omnipresent sword qi... he sensed another kind of qi instead. It was equally sharp but even felt more substantial.

Proximate Sword Baili Gucheng opened his mouth, a bit astonished. "This is—"

Stormqueller nodded. "—Blade intent."

Impending Sword gasped, "You... your blade intent is so substantial... I see that your skills are only at the Martial Master level... How can you have such terrifying blade intent?"

Ye Beizhi ignored Baili Gucheng's surprise and walked straight over to pick up the cloth bag. He coolly said, "It’s only about killing."

The cloth bag felt heavy in his hand, surprising Ye Beizhi. The Deep Sea Profound Iron was denser than he had imagined.

He held the bag and said to Baili Gucheng, "I'm leaving."

Baili Gucheng smiled gently and nodded, "I keep my word. You can take the item, but where do you plan to go next?"

Stormqueller slung the cloth bag behind him, looking in the direction he came from.

"Xuanfeng Valley."