"What?"
The intent of the blade resounded, followed by a terrifying and heart-pounding blade aura that made He Yinhai and Zhang Qizhi's pupils constrict.
This strike would mean death!
In an instant, a chill permeated their bodies.
They couldn't dodge this strike either!
But this strike could only kill one person. It was a choice between two, who would die?
"Old bastard, die for me!"
Chen Jiuyang roared, his blade aimed at Zhang Qizhi.
An incomparably domineering blade descended upon him, filled with killing intent, impossible to dodge or withstand.
The terrifying sharpness of the Hanhai blade made Zhang Qizhi's eyes turn red, and he roared, "I am not resigned! You little beast!"
After the roar, Zhang Qizhi was enveloped by the cold light, and his voice abruptly ceased.
"Boom!"
Tens of meters of water exploded from the river, churning the surging currents in all directions. In an instant, the moist soil of the riverbed vanished.
This single strike split the river, severed the waterway, and killed a person. It was utterly domineering!
He Yinhai's face changed drastically, his scalp tingling. He looked at Chen Jiuyang in disbelief, "This little bastard actually hid such a terrifying move!"
"Whoosh!"
After killing Zhang Qizhi with one strike, the Yansheng blade absorbed a surge of pure life essence, healing some of Chen Jiuyang's injuries and significantly advancing his martial arts cultivation!
Every pore on his body emitted a comfortable sensation, bringing Chen Jiuyang some relief.
"This..."
Li Can and Shi Dang, standing on the cargo ship, watched the scene before them, their eyes dazed, unable to recover for a long time.
Chen Jiuyang had killed Zhang Qizhi, a renowned sword master at the peak of the Divine Intent realm, with a single strike!
That strike had dispelled the darkness within a thousand-meter radius, instantly illuminating it like daylight, impacting their minds.
"Is this truly a move a martial artist at the third level of the Earth Realm can execute?"
He Yinhai's face contorted, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Chen Jiuyang, filled with intense killing intent, "You little beast!"
He roared verbally, yet he also looked at Chen Jiuyang with apprehension.
He had suffered an unexpected defeat. Zhang Qizhi was dead. While his own vital energy and true qi were considerably depleted, this little beast before him was still brimming with vitality, seemingly inexhaustible.
"...Old man," Chen Jiuyang said with a relaxed expression, flicking the blade lightly in his hand, his eyes surging with fighting spirit, "Next, it's time to send you on your way!"
He Yinhai's mastery of the blade was profound. Chen Jiuyang, having used the Hanhai strike to kill Zhang Qizhi, left him alive to serve as a whetstone for honing his own blade path.
As the words fell, Chen Jiuyang stood on the river, blade in hand, and then charged towards He Yinhai.
"Clang!"
As the blade edge rose, the two blades collided. Chen Jiuyang's Yansheng blade phantom expanded and pressed forward.
"Chiss—"
He Yinhai's withered body immediately split open with a wound, and he was forced to retreat sharply.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
In the blink of an eye, Chen Jiuyang moved with incredible speed, delivering dozens of strikes in succession. Each strike was perfectly blocked by He Yinhai.
"On the path of the blade, your mastery is indeed not shallow."
Although He Yinhai could block Chen Jiuyang's blade, he couldn't block Chen Jiuyang's momentum. After dozens of strikes, his body was covered in dozens of wounds, and he was instantly covered in blood, appearing extremely disheveled.
"You little beast, how dare you be so arrogant!" He Yinhai, both shocked and enraged, looked at Chen Jiuyang with a ashen face.
"While your blade is sharp, your martial path is flawed, lacking in essence and spirit!" Chen Jiuyang commented calmly after exchanging hundreds of blows with He Yinhai.
"The path of martial arts should be one of divine invincibility, complementing each other, allowing one to kill enemies across realms. Learning the divine might of the prison path, the roads are different, a single step difference leads to a thousand miles apart."
He Yinhai's blade aura, his blade techniques, his strength, and his skill were all excellent. Chen Jiuyang, also a blade user, learned a great deal from observing He Yinhai's hundreds of moves.
"Hum!"
Chen Jiuyang raised his hand and flipped it. The Yansheng blade in his hand, without relying on vital energy, simply used his physical strength to unleash a fierce and unparalleled strike.
"Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!"
He Yinhai endured Chen Jiuyang's strike and retreated three steps on the river surface, his figure almost unable to remain steady, the hand holding the blade numb.
"Your martial path is incomplete. No matter how well you train your blade, you can no longer advance on the martial path. No wonder at your age, you are still only at the sixth level of the Earth Realm, peak Divine Intent."
Chen Jiuyang's path of divine invincibility had a significant advantage: his vital energy and soul were condensed and did not disperse, allowing him to consume very little vital energy and soul.
However, the path of divine might of the prison was powerful in its moves, but it also consumed a great deal. Walking the path of the soldier, hah, it was truly taking the wrong road and learning the wrong method.
"Little bastard!"
He, He Yinhai, had practiced martial arts his entire life. When had he ever been so humiliated in martial arts, and by a junior who had practiced for less than a decade? His eyes blazed with anger, and he unleashed a strike using all the true qi and soul within him.
Chen Jiuyang's Yansheng blade phantom surged again, intending to forcefully block He Yinhai's strike. This time, as the blade phantom collided with the blade aura, his blade phantom no longer showed any gaps. He had learned thoroughly, mastering the use of the blade with greater precision.
"Rest in peace, your companion awaits you on the road."
Chen Jiuyang unleashed another fierce strike. Facing this strike, He Yinhai's expression was ferocious, his eyes filled with venomous resentment, "How could I, an old man, fall into the hands of you, a mere child..."
After his resentful cry, he was struck by Chen Jiuyang's blade aura, a bloodstain appearing on his brow.
"Plop—"
He Yinhai's life force was extinguished, and his body sank into the river.
"Whoosh!"
Chen Jiuyang exhaled a long breath of turbid air, his eyes flashing with sharp light.
On the path of martial arts, great opportunities truly accompanied great life-and-death struggles.
This time, his cultivation had improved, he had grasped a few moves of the Yuan Dao, and his mastery of the blade had advanced further.
This journey was not in vain. After killing two powerful enemies, Chen Jiuyang's mind could finally relax a little.
It was then that he noticed Li Can and Shi Dang standing on the cargo ship not far away.
Chen Jiuyang smiled faintly at them, "Brother Li, it's been a month since we last met. How have you been?"
Li Can finally came back to his senses, cupped his fists in greeting, and said loudly, "Greetings, Brother Chen. Congratulations on your martial arts advancement!"
How long had it been since the battle between Jian Fengshan and Xi Butui? Chen Jiuyang's martial arts had advanced to a realm that made his peers tremble in awe, making him feel ashamed.
He was also a renowned genius elite among the younger generation in Dong Province, and was considered the most talented by the Li family. However, seeing Chen Jiuyang, Li Can couldn't help but feel a pang of bitterness.
Shi Dang looked at Chen Jiuyang, his expression still stuck in shock, unable to extricate himself, "Is this the gap between me and the current provincial martial arts champion? It's like heaven and earth..."
"It was just a bit of good fortune..." Chen Jiuyang sighed, then his brow furrowed, "I originally wanted to catch up with Brother Li, but I don't have time. Brother Li, farewell for now. We'll meet again if fate allows."
With that, Chen Jiuyang turned and leaped away.
A few minutes later, hundreds of martial artists arrived at the scene and pursued Chen Jiuyang.
"Are they all after Marquis Xuanyang?"
Seeing this scene, Li Can and Shi Dang's faces turned pale, then they felt a tremor of fear.
"There seems to be an elder from my Li family among them..."
"There also seems to be an elder from my Shi family..."