168: Winning over Hades

Shen Guyan naturally would not let this opportunity slip by. He stepped forward, rushing toward Harosa like an arrow leaving a bowstring, and unleashed "Traceless Sword Intent." The canglang sword danced in his hand, and his seemingly casual sword Moves left behind invisible sword marks in the air. These marks appeared harmless, but they harbored hidden killing intent.

Harosa felt the threat within Shen Guyan's sword Moves. He concentrated, waving the longsword in his hand rapidly to form a black light screen that protected him. The Sword Qi struck the light screen, making a "sizzling" sound as sparks flew in all directions.

Even though Harosa had suppressed his cultivation to the same Spirit Ancestor level as Shen Guyan, his rich combat experience as a Quasi-God still made it difficult for Shen Guyan to achieve a Breakthrough against his defense for a time.

Harosa felt the threat of these invisible sword marks, and the Soul Power around him surged slightly, making his black robes flutter. He focused entirely, his longsword dancing even faster, precisely parrying the attacks of the invisible sword marks with his keen perception of danger.

At the same time, Harosa spotted the moment Shen Guyan transitioned between sword Moves. His figure flashed like Gui Mei, and his longsword lunged out at a tricky angle. This strike was incredibly fast, the blade shimmering with an eerie light as it went straight for Shen Guyan's vital chest area.

Shen Guyan's heart tightened, and he quickly performed "Swallow Returns to the Morning Sun." The canglang sword traced a graceful arc in the air, blocking Harosa's fierce strike with powerful sword force. The blades collided, producing a crisp ringing sound and a burst of sparks!

Shen Guyan used the counter-shock force to spin his body around, charging at Harosa like a whirlwind while executing "Heavenly Peak Five Cloud Sword." Five sword clouds condensed out of thin air, emitting sharp Sword Qi as they drifted rapidly toward Harosa.

Harosa's expression grew solemn, knowing that the power of these five sword clouds was extraordinary. He retreated several steps while spinning his longsword like a windmill, shattering the sword clouds one by one.

However, Shen Guyan's offensive was like a rising tide, giving Harosa no room to breathe as he followed up with "Rain Falls, Clouds Fly."

The canglang sword moved like a gale and torrential rain, with continuous sword Moves attacking Harosa from every angle. Harosa defended with all his might, his black longsword dancing into a black light screen in front of him, airtight. But Shen Guyan's sword Moves were unpredictable, and the whistling sword wind made Harosa gradually feel the strain.

Harosa marveled inwardly at the exquisite nature of Shen Guyan's swordsmanship. At the same time, he grew more excited, as this intense exchange caused inspirations for a Self-created Spirit Ability to spark continuously in his mind.

He decided not to merely defend anymore. Spotting a tiny gap in Shen Guyan's sword Moves, he suddenly exerted force. Harosa's figure rose instantly, and he held the pluto sword high. His Sword Intent surged as he slashed down violently from above. The majestic Sword Intent contained in this strike caused the very air to emit a sharp whistle under the pressure of the sword wind.

Shen Guyan felt the immense power of this strike. His eyes narrowed, and he concentrated all his focus to hold the canglang sword horizontally in front of him. The moment Harosa's sword slashed down, Shen Guyan performed a Move from the Taibai Sect's ultimate arts that turned defense into offense.

The canglang sword precisely met Harosa's longsword. A soft yet resilient force emanated from the canglang sword, skillfully redirecting part of the power from Harosa's strike while rebounding it back along the sword's path.

Harosa gave a cold snort. His wrist jerked suddenly, and the longsword trembled slightly. The originally straight downward slash abruptly changed, the blade twisting like a spirit snake to bypass Shen Guyan's sword and strike at his throat once more.

Shen Guyan's brow furrowed slightly as he leaned back, narrowly avoiding the strike. Simultaneously, he quickly raised his leg and kicked toward Harosa's sword-arm. Harosa shifted his arm slightly to avoid the kick, while leaning his body forward, his longsword following like a shadow as it lunged again.

Shen Guyan retreated like a ghost, his canglang sword waving rapidly to form a sword screen to block Harosa's attacks. Harosa pressed on relentlessly, his longsword constantly changing Moves, each strike containing the experience and exquisite skill of years of fierce battle.

Shen Guyan continued to parry. He knew that as the Pluto Douluo, Harosa's strength was far above his own, and even if they were only comparing swordsmanship, he could not afford to be careless.

Seeing the tide of offense and defense reverse, at the moment Harosa's longsword lunged, Shen Guyan suddenly sidestepped. Simultaneously, the canglang sword in his hand lunged out at a bizarre angle. This strike was incredibly fast, aimed straight for Harosa's ribs.

Harosa cried out inwardly as he hurriedly withdrew his sword to defend. But Shen Guyan's strike was a feint. Seeing Harosa Move to defend, he quickly changed his Move, turning the blade to slice toward Harosa's wrist instead of lunging.

Left with no choice, Harosa had to release his longsword and leap backward.

Shen Guyan did not pursue. Instead, he sheathed his sword and stood there, looking at Harosa.

"Senior Underworld King, thank you for the match."

After Harosa landed, his eyes were filled with fanaticism. This was the swordsmanship he had always pursued; Shen Guyan seemed to have opened the door to a new World for him.

This swordsmanship exchange had yielded great gains for him. His ideas for a Self-created Spirit Ability became clearer, and he gained a deeper level of understanding and insight into his own swordsmanship.

"You are very good." Harosa had seen Shen Guyan's battles in the Youth Genius Competition, but this time he had experienced it firsthand, and he praised him sincerely.

"Yesterday I mentioned you to the Ghost Emperor. With your talent, I believe that in less than twenty years, you will become a Super Douluo or even a Limit Douluo."

Ghost Emperor? Shen Guyan muttered to himself. Having just arrived, he had already met almost all the high-level members of the Holy Spirit Cult. This treatment could be said to be extraordinary. He believed that in the near future, he would be able to see the Ghost Emperor.

And then there was that legendary Demon Empress; he didn't know when he would see her. If he could get close to the Demon Empress in advance, he would be above ten thousand and below only one in the Holy Spirit Cult.

For now, winning people over was the most critical task. Although he didn't know if these guys in the Holy Spirit Cult had hearts to win over, as the old saying goes, money makes the mare go.

"From Senior's sword Moves just now, could it be that Senior is honing your own sword skills?" Shen Guyan made up his mind and asked with a half-smile.

"That is indeed the case." Harosa nodded noncommittally. Shen Guyan's behavior felt very novel to him. He didn't know how many years it had been since someone had talked and laughed with him like this.

More importantly, he didn't seem to feel any aversion toward the youth before him; instead, there was an indescribable sense of kinship.

Logically speaking, there should not be anyone in this World capable of making him feel kinship.

Shen Guyan chuckled, then took out a thick sword manual from his storage spirit tool. It was none other than the Taibai Sword Dao he had just demonstrated.

However, this copy for Harosa was quite different from the one he had presented to the Shen Family. The one Shen Guyan had given to Old Master Shen was a version he had improved after going into seclusion, while the one Harosa received was the original.

"This..." Harosa took the sword manual and merely flipped through a few pages before a look of surprise appeared on his face.

To think that such a profound sword path existed in this World! And it was a complete version!

If he could practice this sword technique to Major Achievement... Harosa's cold and silent heart felt a rare throb, and the way he looked at Shen Guyan seemed to become even more friendly.

"I accept this favor."