373: Showdown with Jade Dragon

[Zhong Linger leaned against the living room door, a relaxed smile playing on her lips, watching you leisurely.]

[She simply didn't believe Immortal Master Jade Dragon would lose.]

[Immortal Master Jade Dragon was a renowned Late Golden Core Stage expert in Tianshu City.]

[And you?]

[You were just a new face at the Early Golden Core Stage.]

[The difference in Realm was like a chasm, not to mention Immortal Master Jade Dragon was seasoned in combat experience and had profound reserves.]

[Unless you were a peerless Genius rarely seen in a century, or carried a Heaven-Defying Legacy.]

[Otherwise, fighting across Realms?]

[It was simply a pipe dream.]

[She looked at you and didn't think you had that kind of background.]

[If you really had connections, would you care about her small Jiang Clan Merchant House?]

[Immortal Master Jade Dragon held the same thought.]

[He stood calmly in the courtyard, even making a 'please' gesture with a smile on his face:]

["Fellow Daoist, please."]

[Letting you strike first was a sign of confidence, but also contempt.]

[You didn't stand on ceremony, either. The corner of your mouth lifted slightly, and you raised your hand, making a sweeping motion—]

[A streak of youguang, flickering in and out of sight, arrived instantly before Immortal Master Jade Dragon!]

[Fast! It was so fast it barely resembled flight; it was more like a shadow's leap.]

[It was precisely one of your Magic Treasures—the youguang sword.]

[Immortal Master Jade Dragon's pupils suddenly contracted!]

[A chill shot up from his tailbone without warning.]

[His mind raced, and the power of his Golden Core erupted, forming a layer of solid, pale-gold Protective Aura around his body.]

[At the same time, a jade pendant he had nurtured for many years shone brightly on his waist, instantly flying in front of him, transforming into the phantom image of a half-human-tall Black Tortoise Shell Shield. Runes flowed across the shield's surface, making it feel heavy as a mountain.]

["Buzz—"]

[The moment the defense barely solidified, the youguang sword arrived!]

["Buzz!!!"]

[There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a dull impact sound that made one's chest tighten.]

[The smile on Immortal Master Jade Dragon's face instantly froze, turning into horror.]

[The phantom image of the Black Tortoise Shell Shield, which had previously blocked several fatal attacks for him, shattered inch by inch the moment it touched the youguang sword. Spiritual light scattered, and the physical jade pendant cried out before flying backward!]

[The sword's momentum was almost undiminished!]

[The youguang sword pierced the pale-gold Protective Aura without hindrance.]

[The Protective Aura violently fluctuated, emitting a sharp, grating 'hissing' sound, and was forcibly drilled open, leaving a hole!]

[Immortal Master Jade Dragon felt a sudden chill run through his body, and relying on years of combat instinct, he flashed sharply to the side and back.]

["Pfft!"]

[Blood spurted out.]

[The youguang sword grazed his arm, drawing a string of blood droplets.]

[The sword edge hadn't fully struck, only slicing through the flesh, leaving a gruesome, bone-deep wound.]

[Blood immediately gushed out, dripping down his arm and blooming into dazzling red flowers on the bluestone ground.]

[If his reaction had been even a moment slower, his entire arm would have been severed.]

[Immortal Master Jade Dragon staggered, stabilized himself, looked down at his profusely bleeding arm, and then suddenly looked up, staring at you, his face filled with incredulous shock and rage.]

[He was injured in just one exchange?]

[And this was despite his dual defenses!]

[His Divine Sense frantically swept over your body—]

[That’s right, the spiritual energy fluctuation was indeed that of the Early Golden Core Stage; it didn't seem like a disguise.]

[But how was this possible?!]

[A casual strike from an Early Golden Core Stage Cultivator first shattered the defensive Magic Treasure he had refined for years, and then pierced through his Late Golden Core Stage Protective Aura like a hot knife through butter?]

[This was definitely not just a matter of whether the spiritual energy was abundant!]

[The quality and total volume of spiritual energy at the Late Golden Core Stage were overwhelmingly superior to the Early Stage.]

[Even if the opponent held a top-grade Magic Treasure, it should be impossible to break through two layers of defense so easily!]

[Unless...]

[His gaze locked onto the youguang sword that had flown back to your side—the sword body was dull, without any treasure light. It looked, by all appearances, like an ordinary Magic Treasure, with absolutely nothing special about it.]

[Naturally, he did not know that you had already achieved initial comprehension of the Sword Law.]

[Even though you only used your Early Golden Core Stage cultivation at this moment, and even if you didn't actively invoke the Law Power for augmentation, your understanding of the 'Sword,' your mastery of sword momentum, and your utilization of the essence of 'Sharpness' had long surpassed that of ordinary Cultivators.]

[The sword under your control was no longer merely a dead object infused with spiritual energy.]

[This was, naturally, the result of you intentionally holding back.]

[Otherwise, you had far too many ways to make this Money Gang leader disappear silently.]

[However, killing him now would be alerting the enemy and running completely counter to your plan; it was entirely unnecessary.]

[Zhong Linger, standing nearby, was already stunned rigid.]

[Her eyes were wide, her body trembling uncontrollably, and her lips quivered as she uttered a few almost soundless words:]

["How... how could this be?"]

[But immediately afterward, the fear receded as quickly as the tide, replaced by an unrestrainable excitement and anticipation.]

[In just one move, the scales in her heart had completely tipped.]

[The victor was the one worth following.]

[This almost instinctive admiration for strength instantly Dominator-ed her thoughts.]

[The 'high mountain' that Immortal Master Jade Dragon once represented, which she had to look up to, suddenly collapsed and shrank under your light and casual sword strike, even causing her to feel a slight disdain.]

[Looking at Immortal Master Jade Dragon's embarrassed state—his arm bleeding, his face livid—a trace of contempt even flashed through her heart:]

[Her judgment back then was truly poor.]

[Immortal Master Jade Dragon's face was so gloomy it looked like water might drip from it. His initial contempt was completely gone, replaced only by intense wariness and killing intent in his eyes.]

[Although he suffered a setback in the first move, he did not panic.]

[With his rich combat experience, his mind raced, and he quickly formed a conjecture:]

[You most likely possessed some kind of Sword Dao Physique and cultivated an extremely profound sword art, which was why your attack was so sharp and strange.]

[If so... your defense was probably your weakness!]

[Thinking this, he slapped his Storage Pouch, and a massive axe, dark in color and antique in design, was instantly in his hand—]

[A top-grade Magic Treasure, the Mountain-Splitting Axe.]

[A faint phantom image of a Dragon coiled and swam around the axe body, emitting a heavy, mountain-like, and incomparably overbearing Spiritual Pressure. The air around the axe blade shrieked under the strain even before it moved.]

["Good! Very good!" Immortal Master Jade Dragon squeezed out the words through gritted teeth, his eyes flashing with cold light. "This Immortal Master was blind... Your Excellency hides your depth well!"]

[Before his voice faded, the Spiritual Pressure of his Late Golden Core Stage cultivation erupted without reservation!]

[The bluestone slabs in the courtyard cracked inch by inch, and the flowers and plants were flattened.]

["Try taking this axe strike!"]

[Before the words settled, he gripped the axe with both hands and delivered a move called Splitting Mount Hua!]

[The Mountain-Splitting Axe let out a shriek that tore the air. The Dragon phantom at the axe edge solidified, as if a true enraged Dragon, carrying the power to shatter mountains and split the earth, was smashing down upon your head!]

[This axe strike was utterly devoid of flourish, a pure, extreme outpouring of spiritual energy and brute force, enough to cleave a small hillock into dust.]