Chapter 188 The Choice

The resisting force from her wrist startled He Yangxinci.

He couldn't recall the last time someone had blocked his sword... it was too long ago.

He also never imagined that anyone in the Central Plains martial world could do this.

"Who... are you?" He Yangxinci didn't recognize this young female swordswoman, even though he had memorized all the information about the martial world provided by the court. He couldn't find any record of her.

"Li Ruoyu." Ruoyu's answer was also very concise, just giving her name, without mentioning her sect or nickname.

He Yangxinci reacted quickly. He soon realized... that the other party might be like Oda Ai and the others, a so-called "outsider."

"May I ask... what sword technique do you use?" He Yangxinci asked again.

Ruoyu expressionlessly separated her two swords, deflecting He Yangxinci's dull sword, who then retreated a few steps.

The next second, Ruoyu first gently rotated the golden, glittering sword in her right hand: "Moliu Sword..."

Having said that, she slightly raised the invisible Yuanshui Divine Sword in her left hand: "...Feng Zhi Hen."

"Good..." When He Yangxinci saw the two swords, a look of solemnity appeared in his eyes. "I will use my Shentuan Jiji Jianliu to learn from your high skills..."

Just as he was gathering all his strength, preparing to attack.

"Hold on!" Suddenly, another voice rang out.

Just by hearing this shout, many people present could tell that this person had no internal energy at all.

However, this person's influence was not inferior to any famous martial arts master.

"Mr. He Yang, don't be in such a hurry." Wang Qiong said, walking out of an alley on the side of the street.

Cheng Wei followed him, and... was using a sword to hold someone hostage.

It was a woman, who looked to be about thirty years old; she was very beautiful, but not stunning. Even if she were ten years younger, she wouldn't be more beautiful than Ruoyu or Xu Huaishang in reality.

Her name was He Yang Jingzi, also known as "Flower" from Jing Hua Shui Yue.

"For the sake of your adopted daughter's safety..." Wang Qiong said as he walked, "I think we should talk first."

The moment he saw Jingzi, He Yangxinci had already roughly guessed what had happened, and his expression became even gloomier.

"Manor Lord Wang... is indeed not an ordinary person." He Yangxinci stared at Wang Qiong and said coldly, "The Shexin Souhun Divine Art that Jingzi has learned was created by my deceased wife's unique skill... Under the heavens, as long as they are normal men, they cannot be unaffected by it. The mental cultivation method that can ignore the effects of this divine art was only taught to me by my wife; and I... only taught it to my few disciples." He paused, "But you, Manor Lord Wang... as a man, are not only not controlled by the divine art, but you even have a way to dissolve the martial arts on Jingzi's body, this..."

"Heh..." Wang Qiong smiled when he heard this, "I know you must be very curious... why I can do such a thing." He walked forward a few steps with his hands behind his back. "Actually, it's very simple... because I have also practiced a unique mental cultivation method, which not only makes me immune to the influence of all mind-confusing skills and drugs, but also allows me to clearly see through the weaknesses of those who practice those skills."

He Yangxinci's eyebrows raised slightly, and he asked suspiciously, "You know martial arts?"

This... wasn't in the information the court gave him.

"Martial arts... are divided into many types." Wang Qiong said, "I don't know those fighting and killing skills of yours; I have only practiced a few martial arts that cultivate the body and mind, and prolong life." He paused for half a second, and said, "For example... the mental cultivation method I just mentioned was created by a master of the inner court more than a hundred years ago, called Yuanxin Dafa; this skill is not difficult to practice, and once it is mastered, there is no need to continue practicing it. The effect of the mental cultivation method is as natural as breathing, and it does not require any internal energy to activate."

"Absurd..." He Yangxinci seemed not to believe what he heard, "How can there be such a skill in this world? Even if there is... what is the point of creating such a martial art?"

"Ha!" Wang Qiong showed a look of disdain and laughed dryly, "The martial arts of the Central Plains are broad and profound... 'Wu' does not necessarily have to be martial force, it can also be 'Dao', and it can also include 'De'; as the saying goes... 'The benevolent is invincible.' The skills that you think are meaningless are precisely the true superior martial arts. Entering the Dao through martial arts, cultivating the heart through the Dao... such martial arts are the nemesis of your martial arts that only pursue 'slaughter' and 'control.'"

"Hmph..." This was the second time He Yangxinci's values had been denied in a short period of time, and the anger in his heart was imaginable. "Good... then try to use your 'superior martial arts' that can only cultivate the mind... to survive under my sword!"

As soon as he said this, the surging killing intent in his body was about to burst out.

"Wait..." This time, Wang Qiong was really surprised, "Your disciple is still..."

"Hahahaha..." He Yangxinci laughed loudly, "If you're happy... then kill her! She's useless now."

As soon as he said this, the surprise of Wang Qiong and the others was needless to say, but He Yang Jingzi was completely stunned.

Buzz——

In the nick of time, He Yangxinci's laughter hadn't stopped, but his sword had already moved.

Fortunately, the person standing on the front line facing his dull sword was the calmest person among everyone present.

"Shentuan Jiji Jianliu · Iai · Duanshui!" (God-given Extreme Sword Style, Iai, Water Severance)

"Feng Guo · Liu Hen." (Wind Passes, Leaving Traces)

Both sides used their ultimate moves, both blades moved together, carrying endless sword might, as fast as shooting stars.

Clang——

Immediately afterwards, there was a loud bang, blasting out a violent shock wave.

This invisible impact force caused the ground where the two were standing to suddenly sink, and the buildings on both sides of the street were shaken to the point of collapsing.

Feng Meiyu, who was standing behind Ruoyu, reacted quickly. At that critical moment, she had already used her lightness skill, turned around and fled, and conveniently picked up Wang Qiong, who had no time to make any movements.

Seeing this scene, Cheng Wei gave her a grateful look, and at the same time, he also dragged Jingzi out of the terrifying killing array created by He Yangxinci and Li Ruoyu.

At this time, Ruoyu, who was in the center of the battlefield, secretly thought to herself, "At this rate... I'll lose."

Although she had only taken two swords from the opponent, this was enough for Ruoyu to make a certain assessment of He Yangxinci's strength.

With the first sword, Ruoyu used a "move" to fight against a "slash" containing 100% of the opponent's strength, and the two sides barely reached a tie.

Afterwards, He Yangxinci was forced back by Ruoyu's sword, but his action of widening the distance for the sake of caution did not mean that he had to retreat.

And with this second sword, He Yangxinci used a "move", and Ruoyu still used a "move" to fight against it; the result seemed to be evenly matched, but in reality... Ruoyu knew in her heart that under the same conditions, the two of them could only fight five more moves at most, and she would be at a disadvantage.

Ruoyu didn't think about this for too long, because after this second sword, He Yangxinci made the same judgment as her, so... He Yang decisively made the most correct choice - taking advantage of the situation to continuously slash, summoning a series of moves.

…………

At the same time, at the other end of the main street.

Juan Menghuan had also seen the confrontation between Ruoyu and He Yangxinci.

So... he finally made his move.

At first, Juan Menghuan showed up to put on a show of fighting against many people, to make the two Sengoku members relax their vigilance and seize the opportunity to win.

However, after hearing the name Bi Laoshi, the two of them immediately adopted a cautious defensive posture, which led to a stalemate between the two sides.

Now, Ruoyu's appearance has made the matter even more urgent. If she takes the Jian Wu Cao Ji first, things will become even more complicated.

And Juan Menghuan is not a person who likes to deal with complicated situations. He would rather suffer a small loss than have things resolved on a simple track...

"Drink!" A stern shout announced the start of the battle.

The moment their angry eyes met, killing intent rose from both sides.

Juan Menghuan attacked head-on, facing two enemies who were already on guard. In this situation, speed and skill were not very important, absolute power... was the most effective starting move.

However, Juan Menghuan's attack was a move called Cui Ling Lie Feng (Crushing Mountain Splitting Peak), his long spear swept out with vast power, and the fierce spear momentum came surging.

Sasakikokuro's "sick sword" series of moves are mostly known for their softness, strangeness, and changeability. Faced with such a deadly move, he can only avoid its sharp edge and use his body skills to dodge.

But Oda Ai is different. Her personality is passionate and arrogant. As one of the "geniuses" recognized by Meng Jingchan, in terms of combat talent and the hard power of her character, she is definitely no less than Juan Menghuan.

If it weren't for her fear of Bi Laoshi, she would have already gone up to fight Juan Menghuan one-on-one.

The moment this move attacked, Oda Ai, who had already mustered her strength, decided to counterattack head-on almost without thinking...

At that moment, she saw her body sink, her foot strength tilted and vented, and her whole person seemed like a beast out of its cage, rushing out fiercely, and rushing towards the opponent's skill.

Clang——

A moment later, Oda Ai's move, Shikuiki Setsugekka (Thicket Snowfall), cut out a gap from Juan Menghuan's Dou Qi (battle energy) formation of Cui Ling Lie Feng.

This tactic of breaking the "surface" with a "line" was not something that Oda Ai came up with after thinking about it, she just used this move subconsciously... this is "talent".

"Using instinct to complete things that others need to use thinking to complete"—it doesn't sound like a very complicated definition, but when you think about it carefully, it is a ruthless gap.

Juan Menghuan doesn't have that kind of talent, and he knows very well... that he may never be able to reach the realm that those geniuses can easily step into.

But it doesn't matter, even if Oda Ai's talent and strength are above him, it doesn't mean that he will definitely lose.

"Well done!" Looking at Oda Ai who had broken through the move and was close to him, Juan Menghuan looked excited, but his heart was still as calm as ice.

As he spoke, he had already taken advantage of the situation to turn his spear back and advance with a fierce move. His spear tip flashed and turned into three cold stars.

Oda Ai stepped on dangerous ground and fell into a dangerous situation, but she had not yet reached the point where she had no way to deal with it. Faced with that sharp and dangerous move, not only did she not slow down her forward speed, but she also took advantage of the situation to rise up, allowing her body to rotate forward in the air, turning "slash" into "thrust", drilling into the center of the spear shadow.

The two did not give in to each other, and their killing moves intersected.

Between the back and forth of the knife and the spear, sparks collided, and bursts of fierce sounds were emitted.

After the exchange of moves, both of them were injured to varying degrees, but their killing intent did not diminish. In a flash, they came back...

Seeing this, Sasakikokuro also took the opportunity to advance, helping Oda Ai to charge and kill. His sick sword style was extremely dangerous, and in a blink of an eye, he suppressed Juan Menghuan's spear momentum by thirty percent.

Just then, suddenly!

"Ah—" A man who looked like a player, shouted as he ran wildly from the direction of the town entrance.

If it were someone else, the two Sengoku members might not care much, but this person was none other than the legendary Bi Laoshi...

The two Sengoku members just felt that they could take down Juan Menghuan, but when they saw Bi Laoshi appear, their offensive unconsciously weakened a bit... and Juan Menghuan was temporarily given a chance to breathe.

"Heh..." At this time, Juan Menghuan himself also gave a wry smile, "Unexpectedly, I was saved..."

Originally, Juan Menghuan had already discussed with Bi Laoshi that no matter what happened, even if the former died, the latter should not come to support him; because Bi Laoshi's strength was really average. Letting him come to fight head-on with these top players in the town was definitely impossible, so it was better to let him hide outside all the time and hold on to the end... Maybe at the very end, when the various forces had fought and suffered heavy losses, he would still have a chance to steal a chicken.

But unexpectedly, just as Juan Menghuan was trapped in this crisis, Bi Laoshi actually rushed into the town by himself and relieved Juan Menghuan's siege.

"Old Bi, that's really awesome." While fighting and retreating, Juan Menghuan also raised his voice and greeted his teammate.

Unexpectedly, the line that responded to him was...

"Ah—" Bi Laoshi was still shouting, "Feng Bujue is coming over in a mech!"