Chapter 749: The Lord Master’s calculations (1/2)

Was He Yilian fighting for himself or as part of Cang Qiuzi’s plans? Perhaps there was even another force behind him? Not everyone had realized the serious implications at stake. They watched Long Feiye’s continuous stabbing and He Yilian’s growing collection of wounds as he failed to dodge them all. The empty sockets from his missing arms were already pouring blood, but he still held on!

He didn’t even knit his brows beyond continuing to evade the blows, stubbornly clinging to life instead of toppling. Everyone was shaken by the sight. They weren’t sure which stab of Long Feiye’s would take He Yilian’s life. Although Long Feiye hadn’t said a sword, they were certain that he was holding back to wait for He Yilian to admit defeat.

Cang Xiaoying couldn’t watch anymore and cried out, “Eldest martial brother, you should admit defeat! Just admit your loss!”

Her voice sounded especially dreary and miserable in the silence. But He Yilian didn’t seem to hear at all as he continued to avoid the attacks. Blood and flesh flew in his wake! That’s right, he wasn’t only losing blood, but pieces of his flesh. The sections that Long Feiye had grazed were flapping in the wind, turning the formerly fresh-faced gentleman into a dismembered body as time passed!

Humans had their compassionate side. Aside from disciples of Lockheart Courtyard, many others were starting to feel distressed for He Yilian’s sake. Even various disciples behind Granny You were beginning to reproach Long Feiye.

Isn’t he going too far?

Suddenly, Cang Xiaoying ran to the foot of the stage and shouted, “Long Feiye, you might as well kill him in one shot! My senior brother has no grudge with you. If you want to take revenge for Han Yunxi, aim for me and my father!”

That’s right. He Yilian had no grievances with Long Feiye. How could a proper and upright eight level expert torment him like this? Why drag on the fight? At first, everyone suspected that He Yilian was stalling for time on purpose because he had other ploys in mind. But now everyone was suspecting Long Feiye of drawing things out instead. Only Han Yunxi and the sword sect elder knew that something was wrong. Long Feiye wasn’t dragging things out on purpose, but He Yilian was using his own life to keep the fight going.

Long Feiye had been utterly contained by He Yilian.

“Grandmaster, he…just what’s wrong with him? His internal injuries haven’t fully healed, have they?!” Han Yunxi asked desperately.

The sword sect master watched with knitted brows, his eyes fixated on Long Feiye. It wasn’t clear whether he was ignoring Han Yunxi or just hadn’t heard her question at all. Actually, his keen senses had already noticed that Long Feiye seemed stuck after he discovered He Yilian’s weak point. Once an expert discovered a vital weakness, they could determine victory instantaneously. With Long Feiye’s style, he would’ve killed the man within three strikes. But after all this parrying and all those injuries, he still hadn’t finished him off! Those who were ignorant would only assume that Long Feiye was torturing He Yilian on purpose as revenge against Cang Qiuzi. But he who knew the truth understood: Long Feiye couldn’t finish him off.

His every stab sought to take He Yilian’s life, but he couldn’t pierce the proper spot. Despite this, Long Feiye could have used his powerful sword qi to quell the man! He Yilian was no Cang Qiuzi. All Long Feiye had to do was call upon his eight level Nirvana Heart Arts to channel sword qi and shatter his internal organs!

But Long Feiye did no such thing. Forget about sword qi, even his swordplay was looking weaker. If not for the fact that he was steadily standing on stage with that expressionless look, everyone else would have noticed something wrong about him already!

What now?

The sword sect master was about to lose his mind. They had focused all their efforts on Cang Qiuzi and never predicted this “Cheng Yaojin”1 to show up out of the blue! If this kept on, Long Feiye would enter cultivation insanity! The sword sect master was certain that He Yilian had to know something!

But who else would know of the Lustbite Seal atop Celestial Mountain besides him and Long Feiye? Even Han Yunxi, who stayed by his side daily, was ignorant. How could anyone else have found out? But the sword sect master had no time to worry about any of these. The most important thing now was to end the ranking matches quickly. He Yilian was hanging on while refusing to admit defeat. So what about Long Feiye?

The sword sect master rejected the thought as soon as it popped up. Leaving aside the fact that Long Feiye will disagree, even a master like me won’t accept it! He was a proud and venerated duke with a dauntless, indomitable spirit. How could he admit defeat?

But what else can he do?

“Long Feiye!” Han Yunxi suddenly cried out. By the time the sword sect master looked down, he saw Long Feiye fall heavily to one knee after striking out with his sword! His blade should have stabbed through He Yilian’s heart, but only reached air. In a flash, all of the hubbub died down in the crowds. Everyone watched stunned. Second elder, third elder, and Granny You all stood up at the same time to stare tongue-tied, never expecting this outcome. Even the white-haired Honored Elders seated high above had to exchange glances.

What was wrong with Long Feiye?

The sword sect master’s pride and joy who had reached level eight in the Nirvana Heart Arts, Celestial Mountain’s miracle and the martial arts community’s marvel, had suddenly knelt on stage? What was the matter with him? Were his internal injuries very severe?

So just then, he wasn’t missing on purpose. He simply…didn’t have the strength to kill He Yilian?