Chapter 894: Battle Against the Sword Saint
Although they had not yet begun to exchange blows, Zhang Ruochen knew that there was a vast gap between him and Ling Feiyu.
One was a peerless Sword Saint who had cultivated for three hundred years, while the other was a low-rank Half-Saint who had cultivated for less than thirty years. The difference between them was like that between a Sword Dao master and an ignorant child.
However, Zhang Ruochen very much wanted to know just how great the gap truly was.
Therefore, this battle was inevitable.
The Sword Saint's Sacred Soul continuously mobilized the world's spiritual energy, converging it toward Zhang Ruochen. The power fluctuations within his body grew increasingly intense, transforming into a five-colored chaotic cloud of mist.
"Whoosh—"
The Sword Spirit awakened.
The Sky-Soaring Sword emitted a blinding light. A Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force surged from within the sword body, shooting toward Ling Feiyu in the distance.
The more inscription patterns that were activated, the greater the power of the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force.
Previously, even when Zhang Ruochen exhausted his Saint Qi, he could barely activate a thousand inscription patterns. But now, with the Saint Qi stimulating it, thousands of inscription patterns emerged from within the sword body.
Though both were called the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force, the former and the latter were simply incomparable.
Ling Feiyu stood in place, allowing the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force to strike her body. "Zhang Ruochen, if you can withstand three of my strikes, I will apologize to the Skyward Sword Lineage. The key point is, I doubt you can even block three."
"Sizzle, sizzle."
The Lightning Mother Purple Robe emitted tens of thousands of bolts of lightning, writhing like dragons and snakes, forming a spherical lightning domain ten miles in diameter.
"We will only know after we fight."
Zhang Ruochen thrust his sword forward. A thick sword qi surged out like a river of stars.
At the tip of the sword, an extremely bright, circular radiance formed, like a bright moon hanging in the nine heavens. Its brilliant light illuminated the dark Sword Grave, turning it as bright as day.
"Nine Stars Encircling the Moon."
The bright moon and the river of stars descended from the heavens simultaneously. With a tearing sound, they ripped apart the lightning domain and enveloped Ling Feiyu from above.
Ling Feiyu remained perfectly calm, standing serenely at the center of the lightning domain. Against the backdrop of the purple electric light, her skin appeared exceptionally fair, like translucent, crystalline Sacred Jade.
"Using merely a Ghost-class top-grade sword technique against a Sword Saint? Zhang Ruochen, your sword moves are like a child playing with a wooden sword—far too clumsy. Aside from brute force, there is no finesse at all."
Ling Feiyu's voice came from behind Zhang Ruochen, entering his mind as if she were already right next to him.
Ling Feiyu's speed was many times faster than the speed of sound.
If her voice had already reached Zhang Ruochen's ears, then he would surely have already died by her sword.
Clearly, that sentence just now was transmitted to Zhang Ruochen through spiritual power, not through sound waves.
Even so, Zhang Ruochen's expression changed slightly. He could sense Ling Feiyu's aura behind him, charging toward him at a speed like flowing light.
If he turned around now, he would surely be defeated.
Could it be that, even with the power of an ancestor, he still couldn't withstand a single move from a Sword Saint?
Zhang Ruochen was naturally unwilling to accept this. He immediately swung his arm, placing the Sky-Soaring Sword horizontally behind his back, forming a sword-behind-the-back stance.
"Bang!"
Ling Feiyu struck the blade of the Sky-Soaring Sword with a single finger, producing an extremely loud sound. A powerful surge of air dispersed in all directions.
Blood spurted from Zhang Ruochen's mouth. His body shot forward like a ray of light, crashing into the ground and creating a deep depression in the earth.
The ancestors of the Skyward Sword Lineage all sighed. Some began to scold Zhang Ruochen, while others offered guidance on how he should have responded to that move.
"How foolish! In a battle between Sword Saints, how can you focus all your attention on the sword technique itself?"
"Your attention should be on your opponent. Use your sword intent to control the sword technique. Otherwise, before your sword move even lands, your opponent will have already changed position."
"If I had been forced into that situation, I would have used a mutual-destruction sword technique to force her back."
"You say it so easily. Zhang Ruochen is only a First-Rank Half-Saint. How could his reaction speed be that fast? The fact that he blocked that move at all is already quite remarkable."
...
Ling Feiyu still stood at the center of the lightning domain, her eyes fixed on the ground below.
She saw Zhang Ruochen slowly climb out of the dirt, holding his sword in one hand and wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with the other. He smiled and said, "As expected of a Sword Saint. Your reputation is well-deserved."
"You have some skill to have blocked my first move. But can you withstand the second?"
Ling Feiyu pressed her right index and middle fingers together. A vast sword intent surged forth, gathering before her to condense into a white light sword.
Though it appeared to be a very casual move, it exuded a profound and profound feeling. It was the "Sword One" from the *Wordless Sword Manual*.
Sword One, executed by Ling Feiyu—just how powerful would it be?
Zhang Ruochen gradually came to his senses, now understanding the intentions of the various ancestors.
They probably didn't truly want to teach Ling Feiyu a lesson. Instead, they wanted to use her to test Zhang Ruochen's attainments and potential in the Sword Dao.
At the same time, this battle could help Zhang Ruochen adapt to the power of a Sword Saint and learn how to fight against top-tier experts.
After all, once the Undying Blood Clan invaded the Sword Grave, Zhang Ruochen, as the Sword Bearer, would have to borrow the ancestors' power to defend the Sword Grave and resist the Undying Blood Clan's experts.
Only by adapting to the power of a Sword Saint could Zhang Ruochen play the greatest role when fighting the Undying Blood Clan.
Ling Feiyu was probably also aware of this. Only Zhang Ruochen was slow to catch on.
Now that he had figured out the cause and effect, Zhang Ruochen completely let go of his worries. He closed his eyes, cleared his mind of all distractions, and slowly raised the Sky-Soaring Sword.
At the same time, a vast sword intent surged from within his body and merged into the sword.
"Shua, shua."
On the black plain, all the discarded swords trembled, flew out from the ground, and converged toward Zhang Ruochen, spinning around his body.
"That's... the Unity of Man and Sword. Good lad, at only the First-Rank Half-Saint realm, he has already achieved the Unity of Man and Sword. That's at least ten times stronger than I was back in the day!"
"Xuanji has taken on a Sword Dao prodigy. This child's talent in the Sword Dao is in no way inferior to Xue Hongchen. In the future, he might become a Great Emperor of the Sword Dao."
...
The ancestors of the Skyward Sword Lineage were all extremely excited and thrilled, for Zhang Ruochen was their grand-disciple, inheriting their lineage.
Ling Feiyu's gaze also sharpened slightly, a flicker of surprise passing through her eyes.
She knew that when she was at the Ninth-Rank Half-Saint realm and comprehended the Unity of Man and Sword, she had received countless honors. Some even compared her to Empress Chi Yao.
From this, one could see just how difficult the realm of "Unity of Man and Sword" was.
Yet Zhang Ruochen had comprehended it at the First-Rank Half-Saint realm. It was truly heaven-defying.
Ling Feiyu parted her lips slightly and softly uttered two words: "Sword One."
The white light sword flew out, striking toward Zhang Ruochen's brow.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen also executed Sword One, thrusting forward.
The tens of thousands of ancient swords that had been spinning around him, guided by his sword intent, all surged forward, forming a torrent of ancient swords that collided with the white light sword.
"Bang, bang."
Explosive sounds rang out continuously. All the ancient swords were shattered, turning into pieces of scrap metal.
Of course, that white light sword was also neutralized, dissipating completely.
But before Zhang Ruochen could even breathe a sigh of relief, Ling Feiyu had already executed her third sword technique. Nine light swords appeared from nine different directions, each evolving into a different sword move, all attacking Zhang Ruochen simultaneously.
One of the ancestors let out a cry of surprise, "Nine Deaths Sword Technique. Girl, you are a Sword Saint after all. Using such a profound sword technique, isn't that a bit like bullying the weak?"
Ling Feiyu, however, remained composed, "He now possesses the power of a Sword Saint as well. There's no bullying involved. Besides, this is already the third sword. I must defeat him."
Zhang Ruochen had naturally heard of the fearsome reputation of the Nine Deaths Sword Technique. It was a King-rank sword technique, in other words, it had reached the level of a Sacred Art.
Facing the Nine Deaths Sword Technique was like fighting nine Sword Saints simultaneously, all of them unleashing killing moves at the same time.
Even if Zhang Ruochen had three heads and six arms, he couldn't possibly block it.
However, just as the nine light swords descended, Zhang Ruochen vanished from his spot. The nine powerful killing moves all struck empty air, hitting the ground instead.
"Space Displacement."
Ling Feiyu was slightly startled, but quickly regained her composure. She extended a finger and shot out a sword wave, striking toward the front-right position.
The moment Zhang Ruochen reappeared, Ling Feiyu's sword wave had already been unleashed, reaching him.
"Such a fast reaction speed. Using Space Displacement to ambush a Sword Saint is nothing but a path to death." This thought flashed through Zhang Ruochen's mind.
Zhang Ruochen did not retreat. In fact, retreat was impossible.
At such close range, Ling Feiyu's sword wave reached Zhang Ruochen's chest in an instant.
But Zhang Ruochen refused to accept defeat. So, as the sword wave struck his body, he swung his sword first.
"Instant Without Trace."
The speed of this sword strike was even faster than the sword wave Ling Feiyu had unleashed.