Chapter 519: Youth Radiates Brilliance
When those three painters from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion cried out in shock, many people on the great ship had already guessed what sword Xu Yourong was using. It was just that they were too stunned to believe it, until they heard Mao Qiuyu and the others confirm it, finally realizing that their suspicions were indeed correct.
A dead silence fell, so quiet that only the Luo River gently lapped against the ship's hull.
People gazed at the distant stone bridge shrouded in mist and snowy haze, at that scene that seemed like a celestial realm, and thought in shock: Could the Great Radiant Sword be reappearing in the world?
Countless years ago, at the beginning of the national religion's division into north and south, the first Southern Saintess had comprehended the Dao while observing the steles at the Heavenly Book Mausoleum. From autumn to summer, she eventually created two great Daoist techniques beneath the pavilion before the Divine Path. One was the supremely profound and elusive "Spring Has Departed," and the other was the legendary Great Radiant Sword.
The Great Radiant Sword possessed a sacred significance surpassing the mundane world and terrifying power beyond imagination. Along with the national religion's Sun Scroll, the White Emperor's Sea-Burning Art's seventh form, the Two-Severing Blade's "Sky Breaker," and the Chen Imperial Clan's spear technique's "Autumn Slaughter," it was known as one of the five ultimate techniques of the continent.
The Sun Scroll comprehended the Heavenly Dao and forgot the Star Sea; the Sea-Burning Art was unrivaled in its dominance; the Two-Severing Blade slaughtered all living beings; the Frost-Left Spear watched all things in the world wither away. Each had its own path, excelling in temperament and spirit. But the Great Radiant Sword was different—it was more like an offering to the starry sky, a transcendence of the sword's path itself.
The Great Radiant Sword was an unimaginable sword technique. It had no specific forms, but was more like the essence of ten thousand swords—an infinitely complex trajectory of starlight, ultimately manifested in the simplest way.
This sword technique was both the simplest and the most complex. Every ray of light was a sword strike, and light traveled between heaven and earth, capable of taking any form, reaching any distance. If one stood between heaven and earth, how could one avoid it?
Apart from the legendary "Spring Has Departed" and "Scroll of Time," the national religion had no other technique so profound and difficult to comprehend. Naturally, learning it was exceptionally hard. The practitioner must have a clear understanding of all sword techniques in the world, then, using the sacred aura within the Zhai Sword, perfectly integrate that understanding of the sword path with the orthodox Daoist methods of the national religion.
To learn the Great Radiant Sword, one had to rely on the sacred aura within the Zhai Sword for enlightenment. Many years ago, Zhou Dufu had stormed the Saintess Peak and taken the Zhai Sword away, causing the Great Radiant Sword to be lost.
"Hasn't the Great Radiant Sword been lost for centuries?"
The people on the great ship stared at the Naihe Bridge, which seemed like a celestial realm, and at Xu Yourong's figure faintly visible in the snowy mist, unable to suppress their shocked whispers.
The King of Linghai said, "The Zhai Sword has reappeared in the world."
Only then did people realize that the sword in Xu Yourong's hand was the Nanxi Zhai's Zhai Sword. Then, recalling the rumors that Chen Changsheng had discovered the Sword Pool in the Zhou Garden, they understood that this Zhai Sword must have been returned to the Nanxi Zhai by the Li Palace. They couldn't help but feel that this matter was somewhat chaotic.
Mo Yu looked at the Naihe Bridge, her willow-shaped brows slightly raised.
To comprehend and experience the sacred aura within the Zhai Sword, there was no method other than time. Back when the Zhai Sword was still on the Saintess Peak, not every generation of Saintess could master the Great Radiant Sword. Those who did master it often only achieved full enlightenment after reaching great heights in their cultivation, relying on decades of effort. She knew very well that Xu Yourong had only turned sixteen last month and had obtained the Zhai Sword from the Li Palace just seven days ago. How could she have accomplished this?
Just as the people on the ship were stunned into silence, the scene on the bridge changed again. Countless bright but not blinding golden rays of light pierced through the snowy mist, illuminating the Luo River beneath the bridge and the cold-resistant willow branches on both banks. The celestial realm instantly transformed into a divine kingdom, and the stone bridge seemed to become the path leading to it.
There was no longer any doubt—Xu Yourong was indeed using the Great Radiant Sword!
The light penetrated the snow, and within the snowy mist, shadows shifted, giving rise to countless faint traces. Every single trace was sword intent—condensed but unmoving, hidden but unreleased.
If those rays of light within the snowy mist touched anything, then these countless sword intents would arrive with the snow and reveal themselves in the rain. Although people had not yet seen these sword intents transform into actual sword techniques, they could already faintly sense that countless sword techniques were hidden within them.
This was the most terrifying aspect of the Great Radiant Sword. If Chen Changsheng raised his sword to meet it, those sword intents would spontaneously change. Who could extinguish the light between heaven and earth?
If it were a powerhouse like Mao Qiuyu or the King of Linghai, who were only one step away from the sacred realm, they could naturally rely on their abundant true essence and profound cultivation to forcibly crush Xu Yourong's Great Radiant Sword, paying only a correspondingly small price. But Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong were on similar cultivation levels, and his true essence quantity and spiritual perception intensity were even far inferior to hers. How could he break this sword technique?
Of course, since the Great Radiant Sword was not a mundane sword, using it would inevitably come at a great cost. Even with Xu Yourong's Heavenly Phoenix bloodline, she could probably only unleash it once at most.
If Chen Changsheng could not break this Great Radiant Sword, he would surely lose. If he could break it, Xu Yourong would surely lose. This was exactly why the painter from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion had cried out in shock earlier.
Today's battle on the Naihe Bridge was the focus of everyone's attention. The people of the capital had waited months for this duel—one could even say they had waited nearly two years.
—Was this duel going to end so quickly?
Many were astonished. Whether it was Mao Qiuyu, the King of Linghai, or the Daoist Siyuan, none of them would have forced themselves into such a desperate situation so early.
Yes, this was a desperate situation.
For both Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong, it was the same.
Victory or defeat would be decided in a single sword strike. Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong were both people with great confidence in themselves. Confident people would not allow themselves to be forced into such a situation.
Yet they had done exactly that, leaving themselves no retreat.
Chen Changsheng had drawn a path on the snowy bridge using Wang Po's blade path. Xu Yourong had her own path, but she calmly accepted his, because they were both in the prime of their youth.
Youth does not need to hold back.
It does not hide one's shortcomings, nor does it conceal one's edge.
What youth demands is to be overwhelming.
And so, this duel had just begun when it reached its conclusion.
The senior powerhouses like the King of Linghai were no longer young, and had even forgotten their own youth, so they could not understand. Tang Thirty-Six could understand, Su Moyu understood, Chen Liuwang vaguely understood, and Zhe Xiu understood best, because they were young people.
"Whether it's Chen Changsheng or Xu Yourong, neither of them likes to put on a show for others," Tang Thirty-Six said, turning to look at the dense crowds on both banks of the Luo River. "It will end very quickly."
Just then, a cry of surprise suddenly came from beneath the great ship.
On the Naihe Bridge, the snowy mist wildly danced, and the rain and fog abruptly scattered.
Countless rays of light, concealing countless sword intents, surged toward Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng raised his sword and thrust it toward a certain point in the rain and snow.
This sword strike had no novelty, nor any deeper meaning.
Yet, the rain and snow on the bridge suddenly stopped.