Sage of Humanity

Chapter 241 As Long as My Knife is Sharp Enough

In Hao Ren's brother and sister's field of vision, the two figures within the array diagram were clearly engaged in weapon control combat, standing a certain distance apart with dark traces crisscrossing between them.

Inside the array diagram, amidst the jumble of rocks, Lu Ye and Yuan Guang were about thirty-five zhang apart. Sword flashes shuttled back and forth between the two, occasionally colliding, emitting dazzling sparks.

At this moment, Yuan Guang was shocked, having realized his predicament.

He had been drawn into an inner array diagram; recalling his recent experience, it must have happened when he was briefly blinded by the bright light. Although he had promptly activated his weapon control and sword flashes to protect himself, his opponent had obviously been well-prepared. Moreover, as a cultivator of an Earth-class technique at the Spirit Stream Level 9, how could he withstand the might of the array diagram?

The situation was dire!

Since it was an array diagram, there must be someone operating it besides this enemy before him. Just now, he had heard the young man utter something about "yi-yi." Hence, at least two opponents were involved—one was the young man before him, the other being the operator of the array diagram, yi-yi...

The young man before him was only at Level 7, yet in the brief encounter, Yuan Guang felt the difficulty in handling him. Not to mention the burst of speed and strength the young man had shown in a flash, even the might of his weapon control was not something ordinary at Level 7 could match.

In terms of speed, distance, or power, it was almost on par with him at Level 9.

If that was all the ability the opponent possessed, then he could manage. Now, the critical issue was guarding against that "yi-yi"; the opponent would undoubtedly try something surreptitiously.

What he did not know was that Lu Ye had chosen to use the array diagram against him, intending to duel him one-on-one.

In the Mirage Realm, he had killed some Level 9 cultivators emerging from the mist. He wanted to see what difference there was between the Mirage Realm's Level 9 and the real Level 9, which was also the best way to measure his own strength.

Furthermore, he wanted to coordinate with Yiyi in using the Nine Worlds map. Although he had given it to Yiyi after obtaining it from Madam Yun, he had never used it against an opponent - using it more would help in getting familiar with this spirit treasure.

With Yiyi's current strength, maintaining the operation of the array diagram was not too problematic in the short term. If she had to manipulate something in secret... she could, but her power would drain quickly.

All things considered, Yuan Guang was perhaps overly worried.

As the two weapons clashed, the sound of metal clinking endlessly ranged. Lu Ye, his longsword strapped to his waist, stared into the air, appearing fully engaged. In reality, he was observing the gap between his and his enemy's weapon control.

There was indeed a gap; by Lu Ye's estimation, the might of his weapon control was similar to that of a typical Level 8, slightly inferior to Level 9. This was evident from the frequency of the collisions between the sword flashes; he could keep up at first, but gradually, he was overwhelmed, his spiritual artifact barely managing to defend, hardly able to counterattack.

While he was observing, Yuan Guang made up his mind on the other side, deciding to ignore "yi-yi" and strike down the young man before him first.

A clear sound of sword singing erupted, Yuan Guang's spirit force surged around him, and his longsword slashed repeatedly, as he called out lowly, "Sword Stream Three Thousand Blades!"

Sss sss sss...

Several whip-like sword flashes slashed towards Lu Ye across a distance of thirty-something zhang, incredibly fast. Simultaneously, Yuan Guang himself charged towards Lu Ye, continuously swinging his longsword as he sprinted.

The number of sword flashes increased!

In his mind, the young man was "utterly focused" on wielding the might of his controlled weapon, utterly unable to block his attack. If the young man was distracted in defending, even better: his opponent's controlled spirit artifact was no match for his own anyway; once distracted, certainly even weaker, then he would demonstrate his skills.

Being able to use other techniques while controlling a weapon was a basic skill of a cultivator at the Spirit Stream Level 9.

After layers of sword flashes came the rapidly advancing figure of Yuan Guang. The distance of thirty-something zhang was quickly closed.

Lu Ye, looking at the clash of the two spiritual artifacts, lowered his gaze; his sharp eyes seemed to pierce through the sword flashes, discerning Yuan Guang hidden behind.

With a slap to his storage sack, a flash of light shot out, moving incredibly fast, constantly creating a melodic din as it tore through the sword flashes.

"!" A shocked expression appeared on Yuan Guang's face as he maneuvered his longsword to block the sweeping attack of the light.

Two weapon controls?

He almost doubted if he was seeing things.

Normally, a Level 7 cultivator, even if capable of executing weapon control technique, had to dedicate their whole mind and body to the task and could hardly do anything else.

To control two weapons required immense control over one's spirit force, and also a very powerful focus, to multitask like that.

To manage two weapon controls, one must at least convert to cultivating a Heaven Rank technique, and not every cultivator who did so could achieve this.

Weapon control might look effortless, but it actually depended highly on talent, and more wasn't always better, as controlling too many spiritual artifacts increased the burden on oneself.

At the Spirit Stream level, only Li Baxian had perfected weapon control to an extreme, rumored to simultaneously control a hundred flying swords, true or not.

Beyond him, even those who shifted to cultivating Heaven Rank techniques at Level 9 didn't control many weapons. The more instruments one controlled, the more dispersed their power would be; it was often better to concentrate power.

But what did he see? A Level 7 cultivator who could control two Spiritual Artifacts!

Moreover, the power of each controlled artifact was nearly the same, which meant that controlling two did not cause any dispersion of power.

The plan for a surprise assassination had failed, and before he could marvel at the other's talent, Yuan Guang immediately concentrated his mind. The longsword in his hand trembled, creating bursts of sword flowers, and occasionally he slashed out sword qi, cutting through the surrounding streamers of light.

He was at Spirit Stream Level 9; the idea that someone would rely on controlling artifacts to kill him was absurd!

As he was thinking this, Lu Ye suddenly began walking toward him step by step.

Could it be... A shocking thought emerged in Yuan Guang's mind, but he quickly dismissed it as impossible. Controlling two artifacts at once was exaggerated enough; this kid must have exhausted his spirit force. His actions were merely a way to exert pressure on himself!

The slash that came directly at him completely shattered that ludicrous thought in his mind.

Only at this moment did Yuan Guang realize there was a reason why someone at Level 7 dared to face him alone. While controlling two artifacts, he could still engage in close combat!

In the chaotic stone forest, lights swirled, figures interchanged, and the constant clang of metal echoed. In a brief exchange, Yuan Guang was pressured into a forced retreat step by step.

It wasn't that he wasn't strong, but the methods of this Level 7 youth were too cunning; he had to guard against not only the other's cleaving slashes but also the swirl of controlled artifacts around him, and the longsword's force being sometimes light, sometimes heavy, speed varying, left him overwhelmed.

What was worse, the opponent's blade was sharp to an excessive degree. He had been careless and got cut once, dulling the luster of the treasure armor he wore significantly, which startled him.

This close-fitting treasure armor, which he had spent a significant amount of Spirit Stones to buy from the Heaven's Augury treasure vault, had excellent defense—none at Spirit Stream Level 9 could hope to break through it.

Yet after taking one strike from his opponent, he distinctly felt his treasure armor grieving.

There's no sun in the Nine Worlds map, yet there is light, and the terrain of this chaotic stone forest isn't large, only a few square miles -- making it one of the smallest in size among the nine types of terrains.

The whole small space, apart from the chaotic stone forest, which is the same as the terrain in reality, had clusters of dark halos swirling in the sky and around the perimeter of the terrain. It seemed as if a child had dripped ink there; the halos twisted and changed, harboring great peril. Should one accidentally fall into it, no one knew what the outcome would be. Your next read is at My Virtual Library Empire

Within this few square miles, Lu Ye and Yuan Guang were fiercely combating each other. Hardly thirty breaths had passed since the fight began, and Yuan Guang completely fell into a disadvantage. A prestigious Spirit Stream Level 9 was pressured by a Level 7 to the point where there was hardly any respite, the bitterness in his heart greater than if he had swallowed Huanglian.

He genuinely regretted it: just passing by should have been enough, but what did he come down here for after hearing the sounds? Curiosity killed the cat.

Now ensnared and with a bad situation on hand, this would lead to his death sooner or later.

Unless he could capture the young man opposite and force "Yi Yi" to let him leave.

Thinking this, facing the relentless thrust from Lu Ye, Yuan Guang steeled his heart, neither dodging nor evading, but simultaneously thrusting his sword towards Lu Ye's wrist.

He intended to endure the cutting strike. Protected by his treasure armor, his life was not in danger, but if he could sever the opponent's tendons, he could capture him, and that was his way out!

Young man, this world is perilous. If your sect elders haven't taught you, let me teach you, Yuan Guang thought silently.

Clang...

The longsword aimed at Lu Ye's wrist was blocked by Defense Spirit Runes.

Yuan Guang's body stiffened abruptly on the spot, acute pain spread across his chest and abdomen as he distinctly perceived his lung being pierced. His eyes widened, failing to understand how his opponent had broken through his treasure armor and pierced his body.

The opponent's blade was indeed sharp, but not to such an extent.

Moreover, what was that thing that emerged at the opponent's wrist and blocked his sword?

Face-to-face, with their eyes locking, Lu Ye's gaze remained calm. Trading injury for injury was all too familiar to him; he used to do it often, so the moment Yuan Guang made his move, he knew exactly what the other had in mind.

Yuan Guang was at Level 9, indeed a formidable force. Up until now, Lu Ye had been successfully blocked with every slash he made, only managing to land one lucky hit without much effect.

Lu Ye was looking for an opportunity, planning on a slow and steady approach until Yuan Guang provided him with this opportunity.

In the instant he struck with that slash, the Boulder Mountain Saber wasn't enhanced by one Sharpness spirit rune but two.

There were some leaves on the Talent Tree that didn't serve a specific function but served as connections. These could no longer be called spirit runes; they were rather techniques, techniques of using spirit runes.

Lu Ye used this technique, instantly activating both Sharpness runes, using them as a foundation to connect and blend the two Sharpness spirit runes together.

The opponent had treasure armor; I have Sharpness. If one isn't enough, then two will do! As long as my blade is sharp enough, any defense is like paper!