Chapter 367: Su Li’s Gaze (Part 1)
At this time, the north of Tianliang Commandery was still somewhat cold. The sorghum was not tall, yet it could conceal a person. It seemed that person was extremely skilled at hiding their tracks—a true assassin.
Su Li paid no attention to the assassin hiding in the wilderness. No matter how dangerous that kind of shadow-dwelling creature might be, in his eyes, it was not as important as the bright and clear Xue He.
Xue He continued walking toward the two of them. His armor clanked, his blade intent whistled through the air, and his steps were steady and resolute, drawing closer and closer. He looked at Chen Changsheng with some vigilance and asked, “And who are you?”
Chen Changsheng had not deliberately restrained his aura, so Xue He could tell that he had already reached the upper level of Penetrating Obscurity.
To have reached the upper level of Penetrating Obscurity at such a young age was no ordinary feat. Xue He had never even encountered such a figure. He said expressionlessly, “If I didn’t know that Autumn Mountain Lord was severely injured by the Zhou Garden incident and far away at Li Mountain, and if you weren’t so ordinary-looking, I would really suspect you were Autumn Mountain Lord.”
Chen Changsheng finally confirmed that the demon race—or rather, that mysterious black-robed figure—had, for some reason, not passed on the news of him following Su Li to the south. He couldn’t help but wonder: if Xue He knew his identity, would he stop in his tracks? Just then, Su Li’s voice rang out: “If your elder brother Xue Xingchuan were here, he would never mistake him for Autumn Mountain Lord. This little fellow is only at Penetrating Obscurity’s upper level, while my Autumn Mountain has already succeeded in Star Gathering. Can’t you even tell such a difference?”
Only someone like Su Li would use the word “only” when commenting on such a matter. Among the younger generation of cultivators now, probably only Autumn Mountain Lord could firmly surpass Chen Changsheng.
This was the truth, but for some reason, Chen Changsheng felt a bit frustrated. It might have been because of the affectionate tone Su Li used when mentioning Autumn Mountain Lord. For a moment, he even forgot to tell Xue He his own identity.
And at that moment, Xue He had already come within less than ten zhang of the two. His hand had completely merged with the hilt of his blade, and those six strands of blade intent had become perfectly integrated, forming a world of their own.
Xue He was ready to draw his blade. His aura had already peaked, and the star domain that only a Star Gathering realm expert could summon was flawless.
He used a blade, so his star domain was a blade domain.
No matter how talented Chen Changsheng was, he was still too young. His cultivation time was limited, and his meridians themselves had problems. The amount of true essence he could unleash was limited, making it impossible for him to break through this perfect blade domain.
The gap between realms often cannot be bridged by courage, perseverance, determination, or skill alone.
He stared at Xue He’s faceplate, which gleamed brightly in the morning light, and slowly drew the short sword from its sheath.
In a very short time, he performed countless calculations in his mind. Countless battle examples he had read in the Daoist Canon and the National Academy’s library flashed before his eyes like images, yet still, he found no solution.
The twenty-eighth Divine General of the continent, Xue He—without a doubt, this was the most powerful opponent he had faced since beginning his cultivation. In terms of realm and strength alone, he was comparable to that pair of demon generals in the Zhou Garden. But those demon generals had forcibly suppressed their realms using secret techniques to enter the Zhou Garden, and due to the Garden’s rules, they had hardly displayed the true level of Star Gathering during their fight with him.
The Golden-Winged Roc, awakened by Nanke burning her soul, had been struck down from the sky by his ten thousand swords forming a dragon. But the power of that strike came mostly from the centuries of pent-up longing in the ten thousand remnant swords of the Sword Pool. That will and momentum had nothing to do with him, and the timing would never come again. Now, the ten thousand remnant swords in his scabbard could no longer unleash such immense power.
How could he defeat this powerful opponent?
Chen Changsheng gripped his short sword, staring at Xue He, who was drawing closer and closer, his heart growing more and more tense.
Xue He knew that Chen Changsheng was his opponent, but he paid him little attention. His gaze fell past him, always fixed on Su Li.
Even if he were gravely wounded, even if he were now on his last breath, as long as Su Li was still alive, he was the most terrifying expert on this continent.
Su Li was also looking at him.
But in truth, Su Li wasn’t looking at him—he was looking at his blade domain.
Suddenly, Su Li’s gaze fell on a certain point in the air before him. At the same time, he reached out and grasped the handle of the yellow paper umbrella.
Inside the yellow paper umbrella was the Sky-Covering Sword; the umbrella handle was the sword hilt.
Back on the snowy plains, when Su Li grasped the sword hilt, his sword intent burned like fire, directly slaying a demon general dozens of li away.
Now Xue He was right in front of him, and he could feel that intense danger even more keenly.
Without any warning, purely out of instinctive wariness, Xue He erupted with an incredibly powerful aura.
The morning light was as before. His armor instantly became blindingly bright. With a clang, the iron blade left its sheath, and passing over Chen Changsheng’s shoulder, it slashed down toward Su Li’s hand gripping the umbrella handle.
A violent hurricane arose in the green sorghum field.
……
……
Having followed Su Li south the entire way, Chen Changsheng knew best what state Su Li was in now. He couldn’t even walk, let alone move his sword to kill an enemy.
He didn’t understand why Su Li would grasp the umbrella handle, why he would use his sword intent to force Xue He to suddenly draw his blade.
This was a problem Su Li had set for him.
Chen Changsheng’s time to think was very short, but he quickly arrived at the answer, because Su Li had taught him a great deal, and he had studied very seriously, never forgetting a single word or sentence.
A few days ago, Su Li had told him that the most important moment in battle was the instant of turning defense into offense. If one could truly catch the opponent off guard, even the most powerful enemy might be defeated. Xue He’s blade strike seemed to be a forced reaction to Su Li’s movement, driven by vigilance and unease, but in truth, it was also following the natural flow—because only like this could he truly achieve surprise. To kill an expert of Su Li’s level, Xue He must have calculated every detail before drawing his blade.
Indeed, the most important moment in battle was the instant of turning defense into offense. But was it only because doing this well could bring benefits? No, Chen Changsheng remembered clearly that after saying this, Su Li had given another explanation: Even the most powerful opponent, in that instant of turning defense into offense, must expend more mental effort, and that was when they were most likely to reveal a flaw.
In other words, an enemy so powerful as to be nearly perfect could only become less perfect in that instant of turning defense into offense.
Chen Changsheng’s eyes brightened.
Because of the snow-like blade light falling from Xue He, and also because of the gradually intensifying morning light.
His sword had already thrust out.
Wenshui Three Styles, Sunset Hanging.
The short sword hummed, carrying all the morning light over the sorghum field, trembling at high speed as it stabbed toward Xue He’s chest.
As a Star Gathering realm expert, Xue He’s domain, composed of seven blades, was indestructible. Even in this instant of turning defense into offense, where a relatively weak defensive point might be left, how could he let Chen Changsheng see it?
Chen Changsheng truly couldn’t see it, but someone could.
Su Li only took one look and saw where the weakness in Xue He’s blade domain lay.
He reached out and grasped the handle of the yellow paper umbrella, provoking Xue He to draw his blade, his gaze always fixed on a certain point in the air before Xue He.
Chen Changsheng’s short sword thrust along the line of Su Li’s gaze.
With a soft pop, like a wineskin full of wine being punctured, or like a blown-up sugar figurine being secretly pricked by a mischievous child’s bamboo skewer.
The bright morning light enveloping Xue He suddenly opened up a passage.
The sharp sword light had already reached his chest.
On the gleaming armor, the shadow of the sword could even be seen.
……
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(My mood is a bit off, so writing is somewhat difficult. The next chapter update will be very late; everyone doesn’t need to wait.)