novelden Chapter 1601: Deciding Life and Death Once Again
Chapter 1601: Deciding Life and Death Once Again
One hundred and seventy-four moves, in the blink of an eye!What fierce and rapid attack must an aggressor employ to launch one hundred seventy-four attacks in such a short time?
How swift and stable must the defender’s response be to entirely block such near-fatal assaults?
As they say, when masters exchange blows, every move is lethal!
Just as with Ye Xuan and the Sword God, in those recent one hundred seventy-four moves, any lapse, even a minor one, could have been the decisive factor.
It’s no exaggeration to say that from the moment they started, every second was filled with extreme danger.
A slight misstep, and you descend into the Netherworld!
"Incredible, truly incredible! Is this the true showdown of masters? Without drawing blades or spilling blood, they can create such heart-stopping tension!"
"So fast, unbelievably fast! I can’t see anything clearly!"
"What’s really happening? Between the Sword God and Ye Xuan, who is stronger?"
"..."
The sharp and intense crashing sounds made everyone’s emotions surge, making them especially curious about the outcome of this duel.
Yet, no one answered.
Those who could respond couldn’t see, and those who saw didn’t want to respond.
Thus, the atmosphere remained heated.
When the two reached the four hundredth and ninety-sixth move, finally, the balance of the evenly matched was broken, and the heated atmosphere instantly froze.
Crack!
An exceptionally crisp and piercing sound of breaking was heard.
All the onlookers, full of excitement, stared intensely as Ye Xuan and the Sword God both stopped all actions.
Ye Xuan stood calmly, with a noticeable split in the skin of his palm, bleeding profusely, a shocking sight.
And the Sword God... even worse!
After an intense and brutal fight, the Sword God, who not long ago appeared calm like a Saint, was now drenched in sweat, his face pale, eyes heavy with sorrow and indignation.
His hands were a bloody mess.
His dry stick, reduced to a stump!
His neck, coldly pressed by the stick, with Ye Xuan’s large hand at the other end!
The broken stick in his hand, the vital point at his throat locked, what does this signify?
The Martial Arts God of the Northern Federation, Sword God Chiba Choko... lost?
This is...
The whole scene fell into dead silence, an utter stillness.
Countless dull stares fell slowly and sluggishly on Ye Xuan, all filled with shock and disbelief, as if unable to accept that the person before them had actually defeated the Sword God!
What kind of person is the Sword God?
The Martial Arts God of a nation!
In decades, the Sword God’s only defeat was losing by one move to Ye Tianlong thirty years ago.
Thirty years later, the Sword God’s abilities were unfathomable, hardly finding a match. Even if Ye Tianlong were alive and fought again, he might not be the Sword God’s match.
And the result is...
This Ye Xuan, he’s merely a young man in his early twenties!
Silence.
Deathly silence.
Looking from afar at that stick pressing against the Sword God’s neck, everyone felt deeply shocked, unable to quickly accept this fact.
Not that they wouldn’t be surprised if only the Sword God won.
But wasn’t this too fast?
From start to finish, almost within less than three minutes, the venerable Sword God fell at Ye Xuan’s hands?
What kind of extraordinary talent is this young man, in all the Martial Arts world’s history, there may have never been such a being?
Even more inexplicable, even embarrassing is, Ye Xuan did not even come from the Martial Arts!
"Amazing, truly amazing, Ye Xuan, well done!"
"Hahaha, brilliant! Thirty years ago, Ye Tianlong held the fort, and thirty years later, Ye Xuan rises dramatically, boosting Yan Country’s prestige, crushing the Northern Federation’s spirit!"
"Ye Xuan is truly heaven’s favored child!"
"..."
After a brief silence, the scene erupted in cheers, blood boiling, passion surging.
Amidst such heated ambiance, another voice emerged.
"Heh, when masters clash, every move is lethal, didn’t Ye Xuan’s palms also split from shock? In my view, his winning move wasn’t solely due to his skills!"
"That’s right, this kid must have been just lucky!"
"Having decided the outcome, but also life and death, now that the outcome is known, Ye Xuan is considered lucky to win. Next, the true life-and-death battle will come, only those who survive can laugh last!"
"The Sword God’s move, the Falling Leaves and Floating Flowers Blade Technique, is overwhelmingly fierce; if he truly drew his blade, Ye Xuan would certainly not be his match!"
"Just wait and see, I want to see if, at the moment of life and death, Ye Xuan can still be this impressive!"
"..."
The entire Canglang Island was boisterous, filled with fervent Martial Arts experts, subtly dividing into two factions, opposing not only in thought but also seemingly in stance.
The tension rose, and the overall atmosphere grew increasingly severe and deadly.
Yet Ye Xuan and the Sword God seemed oblivious to it all.
The Sword God, facing the somewhat warm stick, his throat knot moving, could almost feel clearly the infinite power this dry stick could unleash in an instant, startling his soul.
Others only thought he lost by a move.
But only he especially understood, today’s duel was completely different from the one thirty years ago.
Back then, the Sword God indeed lost by just a move.
But today, in fact, he already lost by the fourteenth move!
It was only his fierce assault, making up for shortcomings with strength, plus Ye Xuan had no intent to harm, that managed to sustain until now...
If Ye Xuan was solely intent on victory, it wouldn’t even take fourteen moves, he should have lost long ago!
"Heaven’s favored one, truly a heaven’s favored one, why does my Northern Federation lack such extraordinary talent? Why!" Inside the Sword God’s mind, tumultuous and frantic were his roars and lamentations.
Before coming to Canglang Island, he already knew in his heart that if Ye Xuan didn’t hold back, he had no chance of winning.
Yet he didn’t expect the gap between himself and Ye Xuan to be this vast!
If Ye Xuan were born in the Northern Federation, with such a world-class talent, how could the Northern Federation’s Martial Arts not flourish?
The Sword God even dared to dream, if the Northern Federation’s Martial Arts had Ye Xuan, it wouldn’t take decades; Northern Federation Martial Arts would surpass Yan Country’s Martial Arts, reaching the world’s zenith!
What a pity, such a pity!
"Hoo—"
The Sword God exhaled heavily, returning to his senses, looked bitterly up at Ye Xuan, and said, "The outcome of today’s fight is already clear."
Ye Xuan smiled, "Then do you still wish to continue?"
"Of course." The Sword God clasped his hands again towards Ye Xuan, his voice increasingly solemn and determined: "Having decided the outcome, also life and death, now that the outcome is known, next, we fight to the death!"