Chapter 222: The Third Sword (1/2)

Lu Yin laughed happily. “Sure. The hundred strongest in the universe’s younger generation—I’ve long wanted to experience them. It will be very liberating to challenge them together with the Sword Sect’s genius.”

Liu Shaoqiu smiled in response. “The prerequisite to that is you can block my Third Sword.” He then turned completely calm as a strange radiance appeared in his eyes. Star energy billowed away from his body like ocean waves, but his star energy was colorless. It was as if a pure sword qi had directly manifested in the sky; its power pressed down upon the entire arena and caused the very earth to tremble. Countless tiny dust particles floated into the air before disintegrating into nothingness.

Outside the plains, many students looked down at the field below them, but they could only see a dust cloud whirling about as it rose into the skies. At this moment, everyone had a dangerous premonition that not even the mentors’ energy barrier could block Liu Shaoqiu’s killing blade. This was the Third Sword.

In the Astral Combat Academy, many mentors were shocked by what they were seeing. “I haven’t seen the Third Sword in a while. This is the end for that student.”

“It’s a pity, but the Third Sword is a domain that nearly none of these students can comprehend. Normal students won’t even be able to withstand it. Of those present, perhaps only Starsibyl might be able to.”

“There’s Nightqueen Yanqing as well. Don’t forget that the Daynight clan has many battle techniques that have more or less integrated that kind of power.”

“That’s not enough—this is the Sword Sect’s Thirteen Swords that we’re talking about. Just having comprehended the Third Sword proves that this child has a rare talent, or else he would not be able to exhibit the Third Sword. The Nightking clan is powerful, true, but that girl would still fall to this Third Sword.”

…

Liu Shaoqiu’s sword fell once more, just like how the First Sword had. This time, however, no one knew what was happening. Only Lu Yin knew, as he was the one who had been struck by a viciously, formless attack. The attack contained a very familiar aspect: spiritual force oppression. The Daynight clan’s battle techniques and the second layer of the Sand Ocean had the same type of oppressive force, but there was a large disparity when they were compared to the Third Sword.

Liu Shaoqiu sheathed his blade, as in his mind, the match had already ended. Even a peak Limiteer or an Explorer might not be able to withstand this strike of his, let alone a mere Melder. He had relied on this Third Sword once to severely injure an Explorer. Starsibyl was quite possibly the only student in the entire Astral Combat Academy who he thought could withstand this attack. As Liu Shaoqiu’s thoughts drifted towards her, he looked outside the arena plains and exchanged glances with Starsibyl.

Suddenly, Liu Shaoqiu’s body trembled, and his head snapped back. He saw a calm pair of eyes looking back at him, shocking him to the core. “You- you’re fine?”

Lu Yin feigned ignorance. “Did you attack yet?”

Liu Shaoqiu’s pupils shrank to pinpoints as he gazed at Lu Yin in astonishment. This was the first time since he had inherited the Thirteen Swords that he had ever been so flabbergasted.

It wasn’t just Liu Shaoqiu; even the academy mentors were astonished, and so were the ancestors of the Sword Sect who were watching through the screens. Also, there was the old maid standing under the “Yōu” flag. Many stared in amazement at Lu Yin. They were all elite who understood the terror of the Third Sword, and it was this understanding that caused them to be so shocked. What about Lu Yin allowed him to withstand the Third Sword?!

If this was before he overcame his near-death experience on Driftcharge Planet, then Lu Yin definitely would not have been able to resist Luo Shaoqiu’s Third Sword—he would have dropped dead long ago. But on Driftcharge Planet, he had spent his days memorizing those strange, ancient stone scriptures. Compared to when he had only been able to recite those scriptures for twenty minutes, he was now able to recite them for an hour before fainting. Although he was still far from being able to recite the Stonewall Scriptures in its entirety, his spirit had already become much more durable compared to before. The elder had even said that, if he could ever recite the Stonewall Scriptures in its entirety from memory, then no one beneath the Hunter realm would be able to harm his spirit.

Lu Yin had not believed his words and had just taken those words as encouragement, but now, he fully believed that elder as the Third Sword had only nudged him slightly and was far from being able to harm him. This sword of Liu Shaoqiu’s was completely ineffective against Lu Yin.

Liu Shaoqiu stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. “How is this possible? You’re immune to the Third Sword!?”

Lu Yin squinted before duly saying, “Your attack’s ended, so it’s my turn now.” He then used Flash to appear before Liu Shaoqiu, pressed down with a palm, and immediately used a Nine Stacks, Fifteen-Fold Shockwave Palm. This was a terrifying attack that rivaled the Second Sword. Liu Shaoqiu had no choice but to raise his sword and directly display his Second Sword to parry it. The endless blade radiance filled the sky above the arena plains as the terrifying attack ruptured the void; the scene from before had reappeared once again.

Countless audience members stared at the stage, but they were only able to see Lu Yin using Flash to move around at extreme speed while Liu Shaoqiu followed Lu Yin’s actions with his rusty sword. The two constantly collided in midair, accompanied by brilliant flashes and giant spatial cracks that reached far into the distance.

Suddenly, during one of their exchanges, two black shadows appeared before quickly charging into the distance. They were war spirits.

War spirits were created when powerhouses battled within the trial zones. Lu Yin never expected that he would one day personally witness a war spirit of himself being birthed.

Many students felt numb when they realized what had just happened. “Hurry! Take out those two war spirits, or else, anyone who meets them will die.”

Lu Yin and Liu Shaoqiu’s war spirit were far too terrifying for the other Astral Combat Academy students to handle. Not even the other Realm Masters were confident of defeating them. No, there was no possibility of them defeating those war spirits; only Starsibyl, Han Chong, and Nightqueen Yanqing had a chance of standing up to them.

But unfortunately, the war spirits were too fast for anyone to catch, and they both vanished into the distance.

Bang!

The two fighters in the arena collided and then separated, their movements synchronized. Liu Shaoqiu no longer seemed as confident as before, and he was panting heavily now. Even the hand gripping the hilt of his rusty sword was trembling, as Lu Yin’s attacks were not easy to block.

Lu Yin was not faring much better, and traces of blood had appeared all around his body. Liu Shaoqiu had harmonized the first two swords into a singular strike against Lu Yin, which made his attacks much more difficult to defend against. Each of the two swords by themselves was already enough to kill an academy leader like Kuang Wang. Together, they were so dangerous that Lu Yin had nearly suffered severe injuries multiple times.

Nearly all of the observers throughout the universe were glued to their screens in nervous excitement. This battle was definitely this season’s Astral Combat Tournament’s highlight match, but they could not understand it no matter how many times or how intently they watched. Still, the viewers’ lack of understanding did not stop them from appreciating the terror of this battle. Even the peak that the student leaders had been sitting upon had been destroyed, to say nothing of the first energy barrier set in place by the mentors.

The four-lined battle force on Lu Yin’s body gradually dimmed, but Liu Shaoqiu was also starting to feel the aftereffects of using the Third Sword; both fighters’ deterioration was evident from their pale faces and labored breathing.