52: Chapter 52: The Family Heirloom Sword, Nothing More

Dongfang Shuo thrust out with his sword; the man was the sword, and the sword was the man.

His footwork was strange; it didn't look fast, but with a single step, his body glided forward several meters. In the blink of an eye, the cold tip of the sword was already pressed against Jiang Ning's face.

"What a fast sword!" Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo cried out in alarm.

He didn't understand martial arts, but he could see that this strike was meant to kill. Fast, accurate, and ruthless, without a sound, it gave no one time to react. He thought that if it were him, he probably wouldn't even know where the sword came from before he died.

Chief Engineer Wang Heshan also had a solemn look on his face. He had learned a few moves in the army when he was young, but compared to this kid's swordplay, he really wasn't fit to carry his shoes.

"Director Zhao, is the Chief Consultant... alright?" Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo asked Director Zhao Lixin nervously, his palms covered in sweat.

Director Zhao Lixin didn't say anything, just stared fixedly at the field. He believed in Jiang Ning, but that sword that could cut through iron like butter was no joke, and his heart was still in his throat. After all, the Chief Consultant was flesh and blood; if she were stabbed...

In Dongfang Shuo's eyes, only Jiang Ning's throat remained.

This was the Dongfang Family's killing move—"One-Line Throat Piercer." It focused on speed; once the sword was drawn, it wouldn't be returned until it saw blood. He had already decided that even if he couldn't actually kill her, he had to leave a bloodstain on her neck with the tip of his sword to give her a lesson!

He could even imagine the fear that would be on her face when the cold blade sliced her skin.

But none of what he imagined happened.

Just as the tip of the sword was about to touch Jiang Ning's neck, Jiang Ning moved.

Her movement wasn't fast; it was even a bit slow. She simply tilted her body to the left.

With such a simple movement, Dongfang Shuo's lethal strike brushed past the edge of her clothes and stabbed into empty air.

Dongfang Shuo was stunned, cursing "lucky" in his heart, thinking she had just lucked out. With a twist of his wrist, his sword technique changed immediately. The straight long sword curved into a strange arc, slicing horizontally toward Jiang Ning's waist.

This "Spirit Snake Swings Tail" move was even more sinister and poisonous than the previous one.

But Jiang Ning's response was still absurdly simple.

She just took half a step back.

Just this half-step, no more and no less, allowed the sharp blade to graze past her clothes, not even cutting a single thread.

"This... how is this possible?" Dongfang Shuo's heart skipped a beat, feeling that something was wrong.

The first time was a coincidence, but what about the second? Her movements were clearly so slow, so why could she always dodge with the smallest movement at the exact point where his strength was spent and his move couldn't be changed?

It was as if... she could calculate in advance where his sword would strike!

"I don't believe it!"

Dongfang Shuo's arrogance was completely ignited. He shouted loudly, and the "sword" sword in his hand danced even faster.

For a time, the open space was filled with sword light and a biting chill.

Thrust, chop, lift, sweep, dot... He unleashed all seventy-two routes of the Dongfang Family's Wind-Chasing sword Technique. The sword light was sometimes so dense that not even water could get through, and sometimes so tricky that no pattern could be found.

Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo and the others nearby were completely dazzled, seeing only a mass of white sword shadows that swallowed Jiang Ning whole. Their hearts were in their throats, fearing they would see blood splatter in the next second.

But the strange thing was, no matter how Dongfang Shuo's sword technique changed or how fierce it was, Jiang Ning remained as if she were taking a stroll in her own backyard.

Within that lethal sword light, she moved forward half a step, moved aside an inch, or retreated a little. Every step was extremely calm, and every dodge was just right. It didn't feel like two people fighting for their lives; it was clearly an adult playing with a child waving a wooden stick.

The more Dongfang Shuo fought, the colder his heart became and the more frustrated he felt.

He felt like he was using all his strength to hit a ball of cotton; every strike was full of power, but the opponent could always lightly deflect his strength. He even had the illusion that he wasn't attacking her, but rather she was using an invisible force to lead his sword, making all his moves hit empty air.

The set of seventy-two sword routes was soon finished.

Dongfang Shuo stopped, panting heavily, his arm holding the sword trembling. He stared fixedly at the girl opposite him, who wasn't even out of breath, his face turning red and white.

From beginning to end, she hadn't even moved a finger; she had just walked around and completely neutralized his most proud sword technique.

This was no longer a question of whose martial arts were better.

This was a total crushing.

A Dimensional Reduction Strike!

"You... who exactly are you?" For the first time, Dongfang Shuo's voice carried a trembling fear.

Jiang Ning looked at him and finally felt it was a bit boring.

"Your sword technique has too many flashy moves," she shook her head and commented. "You blindly pursue speed and change, but you've forgotten the most fundamental things about a sword."

"What... fundamental things?" Dongfang Shuo asked subconsciously.

"Sharpness and power," Jiang Ning said calmly. "Your sword isn't fast enough, nor is it hard enough. Therefore, it cannot harm anyone."

"My sword isn't hard enough?" Hearing this, Dongfang Shuo laughed out of anger. He raised the "sword" sword in his hand, his face wearing a trace of bleak arrogance. "Look closely, this is the "sword" forged from Star-fall Iron! It cuts through iron like butter! And you say it's not hard enough?"

This was his last bit of dignity.

He had lost in hand-to-hand combat and in swordplay, but at least he still had a divine weapon!

"Is that so?" Jiang Ning's gaze fell on that sword, then she turned to look at the nearby construction site.

On the site, there was a pile of rebar used for building houses, covered in red rust.

She casually beckoned toward the pile of rebar.

Under everyone's terrified gazes, the thickest piece of Threaded Rebar, weighing at least forty or fifty pounds, flew up from the pile on its own!

It wobbled and flew in front of Jiang Ning, stopping in mid-air.

"This..." Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo and the others were completely stunned; what little physics knowledge they had was utterly shattered at this moment.

Dongfang Shuo's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Telekinesis!

This... this was the ability of the "God Realm" Earthly Immortals mentioned in legends!

Before he could recover from the shock, an even more mind-blowing scene occurred.

Jiang Ning extended two fingers and lightly brushed them against the suspended rebar.

A ball of pale golden flame appeared out of thin air, completely enveloping the thick rebar.

The temperature of the flame was terrifyingly high, distorting the surrounding air. That hard threaded steel, within the flame, quickly melted into a ball of glowing red molten iron like a wax stick!