54: Chapter 54 Give me the sword to prove my worth, and you will die a worthy death.

Lord Zheng of the Shun Kingdom was quickly tortured until only half his life remained.

He had come carrying the decision of the imperial court.

He had thought he could stay out of it, simply watching the show and supervising the completion of the matter.

He never expected that the first person to suffer a loss would be him.

A moment later, a middle-aged woman walked out from the back of the crowd.

She waved her hand, and the Jin Kingdom soldiers who were still attacking Lord Zheng were all pushed away by a burst of Qi.

After resolving his predicament, the middle-aged woman did not spare Lord Zheng a second glance.

Her gaze remained fixed on Li Yuan.

Her eyes held a sharpness, as if she intended to see right through the disguise Li Yuan used to hide his identity.

“The Jin Kingdom's top Eighth-Grade Expert, Lady Sword Su Mei...”

On the Shun Kingdom's side, many people had already recognized her identity.

No man under heaven is worthy; only a precious sword may wed the Lady.

Amidst the hesitation, another Eighth-Grade Expert from the Jin Kingdom appeared from the back of the crowd.

Li Yuan was somewhat more familiar with this person's aura.

Prince Fang had previously infiltrated the territory of Da Shun, intending to lead a group to scout for information.

But at that time, after sensing Li Yuan's aura, he had fled without the slightest hesitation.

He was very clear that he was absolutely no match for Li Yuan.

The reason he dared to show himself now was actually because he relied on another mountain-guarding Supreme behind him.

Lady Sword Su Mei looked back at Prince Fang, a look of disdain appearing on her face.

“A person's cultivation is like plants passing through winter; if one hopes to rely on hiding to avoid the bitter cold, they will only be a weed in the future.”

“Only by facing the biting winter head-on can one have the day they grow into a towering tree.”

“Mysterious expert—if you are an expert, why the need for mystery?”

Lady Sword looked at Li Yuan, her commentary seemingly full of contempt.

As she spoke, Su Mei glanced at Prince Fang beside her again.

“Our Jin Kingdom's Prince holds you in quite high regard, even losing his arrogance because of that encounter.”

“I hope that today, you do not disappoint me.”

As her voice fell, a longsword had already appeared in Su Mei's hand, its sharp, cold light quite piercing.

“This sword is named qinghe, three feet three inches long, forged by quenching in the Qinghe Pool.”

“Since its edge was formed, it has yet to be stained with the blood of an Eighth-Grade.”

“Today, you shall attest to my sword; you die a worthy death.”

Li Yuan just listened to her talk, completely bothered to respond.

Instead, with a wave of his hand, he snatched a sword from a Jin Kingdom soldier.

Seeing that Li Yuan intended to exchange blows with her using that sword, Su Mei's expression gradually darkened.

After the gloom, she soon felt relieved.

“Prince, there is no need for me to strike against someone who doesn't even respect the weapon in his hand.”

“You go; he is not as powerful as you previously claimed.”

From the moment Li Yuan picked up that sword, Su Mei felt she had already seen through him completely.

But hearing this, Prince Fang still retreated warily.

He could perceive the power within Li Yuan.

Compared to when they first met, the aura on Li Yuan's body seemed to have weakened.

But this feeling of weakening made him even more nervous and alert.

“With such a weak mental state, it's no wonder the Ninth-Grade Realm has no affinity with you.”

Lady Sword Su Mei raised her sword; since Prince Fang was unwilling to strike, it could only be up to her.

From the beginning, she had some contempt for this mysterious expert.

Now, Li Yuan showed no respect or obsession for weapons.

In Su Mei's eyes, his actual combat ability was naturally a level lower.

Before the city gates of Yingyang Pass, the two armies faced off, yet not a single person made a sound.

Everyone's gaze fell upon the clash between these two Eighth-Grade Experts.

Suddenly, a sword was drawn.

Su Mei truly lived up to the title of Lady Sword; she and the sword in her hand were a seamless whole.

It gave the impression that it wasn't her striking with the sword, but the sword leading her.

In every Move and style, those with slightly lesser strength could not see a single flaw.

Watching her strike, it wasn't just the Shun Kingdom's side that was surprised.

Even in the Jin Kingdom, many people were extremely surprised.

She was clearly just making casual Moves, yet the power within these techniques had clearly surpassed Prince Fang.

Previously, the people of the Jin Kingdom said Prince Fang was the number one person below the Ninth-Grade.

But now, the actual situation was laid out before everyone.

Su Mei was the true number one below the Ninth-Grade.

The sword Moves flashed with sharpness, pouncing toward Li Yuan with an eerie momentum.

Su Mei was actually still using this Move somewhat casually.

Both were Eighth-Grade, but there are gaps in Eighth-Grade strength, and sometimes that gap is very large.

She believed this level was already sufficient.

In an instant, Li Yuan also moved.

The longsword snatched from the ordinary soldier was covered in a layer of chill from the depths of the Nine Nether.

The Nine Nether Azure Sword, the sword Moves of Senior Emperor Chen, were unleashed.

The top-tier sword Moves of a Ninth-Grade Supreme.

The swordsman falls beneath the abyss of the Nine Nether, where eyes cannot see and ears cannot hear.

In the bottom of this abyss, the swordsman perceives the world through touch, becoming the Lord of the Nine Nether.

The core of the Nine Nether Azure Sword is for the swordsman to become the Sword Master, the Lord of the Nine Nether who controls everything.

This set of sword Moves fundamentally crushed the pillar of Su Mei's mental state.

The unity of man and sword is indeed a remarkable Realm.

But what if the man is the Master of the Sword?

Could Su Mei's Realm even be compared?

Sure enough, the sword in Li Yuan's hand was clearly just a common blade of an ordinary soldier.

Yet in this instant, it forced her famous sword, qinghe, to lose its luster.

The sword edges began to clash a moment later.

After the first Move, the casualness on Su Mei's face vanished.

She was an Eighth-Grade Martial Artist and had already sensed that her opponent was extraordinary.

The words she had spoken earlier were indeed a slap in the face.

But now, she could no longer care about face or anything else.

If she remained arrogant and conceited, she would likely be injured in the exchange.

Unleashing her sword Moves again, Su Mei no longer had that contempt, and the sharpness of her sword Moves was fully revealed.

She was getting serious.

The two armies in confrontation had unconsciously cleared a space.

In a clash between Eighth-Grade Experts, if ordinary people were even slightly affected by the aftershocks, they might lose their lives.

Su Mei's sword Moves became increasingly sharp, and her sword momentum was far stronger than that of other Eighth-Grade Martial Artists.

Those present who focused on the Dao of the sword should also be able to see Lady Sword's extraordinary strength.

But the mysterious expert before her was not afraid at all and met her head-on.

That ordinary sword dared to slash directly at her sword's edge.

The surging and sharp sword edges and Sword Qi collided time and time again.

This Lady Sword had nearly been wounded several times.

Panic rose in her heart.

She was clearly serious now, so how could she still be at a disadvantage?

The Realm displayed by her opponent was the same as hers, both Eighth-Grade.

Yet he was forcefully suppressing her with his sword techniques alone.

The current situation was that of being slapped hard in the face in front of everyone by an opponent she had looked down upon.

Su Mei panted heavily; at this moment, she was no longer just responding seriously.

She, the Lady Sword, was going all out!

A hint of crimson began to seep through the sharpness of the sword edge.

This was Su Mei using her own blood to soak the sword.

When blood and sword merged, she was the true Lady Sword.

The sword struck!

The qinghe sword traced a red silken line, stabbing directly toward Li Yuan's vital points.

With this sword strike, victory and defeat would be decided.