171 Chapter 1329: The Stifled Qin Jiansheng (1/2)

”Let me try out the real Sea Severing Sword then!” With eyes gleaming with excitement, Zhang Xuan grabbed at the surrounding air forcefully.

What he had executed earlier was only the Sword Intent of the Three Swords of Lingxu, he didn't really go all out. However, seeing how Jian Qinsheng had managed to deal with his first attack with such ease, the final shred of hesitation within him finally vanished.

Pilipala!

A series of resounding cracking sounds echoed as more than a hundred Saint intermediate-tier weapons floating in the air shot forth.

”Go!” Lines of insight rippled in Zhang Xuan's eyes as he adeptly maneuvered an extremely complicated sword art toward Qin Jiansheng.

The Sea Severing Sword might only be a single sword art, but it was also a massive Sword Formation made up of 108 swords. Every single sword would be executing a sword art of its own, and collectively, it was as if an entire army was charging at one.

Boom!

The barrage of swords swiftly turned into an imposing wave collapsing down upon the room, and countless intersecting sword qi permeated the room.

”Th-this is… the Old Sword Maestro's secret art? But…” Jian Qinsheng, whose tension had just alleviated slightly after successfully fending off the first attack, suddenly saw the formation of swords before him, and he nearly fainted on the spot.

The Old Sword Maestro was a renowned swordmaster in history, so he had heard of his name and secret art before.

In fact, when he was traveling around the world, in seek of inspiration to further his swordsmanship, he had paid the Sword Lagoon a visit and trained there for quite a while, but due to the clashes in ideology, he eventually gave up on the notion.

He thought that the Old Sword Maestro's heritage should have already died out by now, but who could have thought that he would see it from the young man before him? Furthermore, it seemed to be sharper, swifter, and stronger than what he had heard in the legends.

And more importantly… he had just thought that the other party had no suitable weapon and gave him a Saint intermediate-tier sword, but in the blink of an eye, he suddenly whipped out this entire bunch.

If you have so many swords with you, why in the world did you accept my Saint intermediate-tier sword?!

Jian Qinsheng's face twitched uncontrollably. However, in this moment, he had to devote his all into fending against the attack that was diving right at him. Thus, he opened up his two both hands and skillfully weaved another barrier of flowing sword qi, just that it was clearly much more fortified this time around.

Boom!

Barely after he was done, the assault of the hundred swords arrived right before him. With overwhelming force, they collided on the barrier. 'Kacha! Kacha!', amidst a series of crisp echoes, the barrier of flowing sword qi began shattering like a broken mirror.

”How could those sword qi know the flaws of my Flowing Water Swordsmanship?” Jian Qinsheng's body jolted.

The Flowing Water Swordsmanship was extremely difficult to overcome due to its ability to spread out any force falling upon it over its entire area, but the young man was still able to shatter it in an instant. This could only mean to say that the latter had found the openings within his Flowing Water Swordsmanship, making it impossible for him to sustain its flowing state.

One must know that even someone as strong as that man from the Zhang Clan was unable to accomplish such a feat, so how did the young man before him manage to do it?

Shocked by the situation before him, Qin Jiansheng swiftly moved to repair the barrier of flowing sword qi, but he realized that it was already too late. The hundred swords had already slipped through the openings in his defenses, and they were surging swiftly toward him from all directions with devastating forces reminiscent of a storm.

Before he could do anything, the swords had already pierced into him.

Pu!

A sweet sensation welled up in Jian Qinsheng's throat as he was sent flying. Peng! He was slammed into the wall.

Hulala!

The Fortification Formations reinforcing the room also creaked loudly under the overwhelming impact, seemingly ready to break apart at any moment.

Hu hu hu!

Jian Qinsheng was already plastered on the wall, but Zhang Xuan's attack wasn't over yet. The hundred swords overlapped with one another and launched attacks one after another, reminiscent of the relentless waves of the sea, each more powerful and imposing than the previous.

In a moment, Jian Qinsheng's body was surrounded by the silhouettes of countless swords, and the cold glint reflected from them made it difficult for one to see what was ahead.

Boom!

Unable to withstand it any longer, the Fortification Formation finally burst apart, and 'jiya!', the room swiftly collapsed under the immense force.

Rock fragments ricocheted around the room amidst a rain of dust.

But even at this moment, the offense of the swords still showed no signs of halting. Jian Qinsheng attempted to flee to regain his momentum, but the swords were ingeniously aimed at the openings of every single he made, such that even fending against them already took up all of his strength and attention.

Boom boom boom!

Forced back by the barrage of the swords, Jian Qinsheng eventually knocked down seven to eight rooms before everything finally came to a halt.

Hu!

Exhaling deeply, Zhang Xuan retracted his palm. His face had turned pale at some point in time, and his body was aching from head to toe. He couldn't even find the strength within him to lift his fingers.

When he had practiced the Sea Severing Sword earlier in the Compendium of Sword Arts, he did so through mental imagery to sharpen his form, so it wasn't possible for him to get a clear idea of how powerful it would be. It was only after executing it did he realize how frightening the sword art actually was. In fact, in the midst of the execution, he found that he had lost all control over the sword art, and every last bit of zhenqi was squeezed out of his body before the sword art finally came to a halt.

”This is too scary, losing control of my body. I better not use this sword art unless in times of emergency…” Cold sweat rained down Zhang Xuan's head as he patted his heart fearfully.

It was not to say that there was something wrong with the Sea Severing Sword but that his cultivation was simply too low, making it impossible to him to wield full control over the sword art. This was similar to how a child could swing a hammer too, but the child's lack of strength would make it difficult for him to control it, especially when the hammer was in motion.

In this moment, Zhang Xuan was the child swinging the hammer. Once the Sea Severing Sword was executed, he couldn't stop until every last drop of zhenqi in his body was sapped dry.

Ever since he had undergone the Saint Ascension Ordeal and reached Saint realm, he had never depleted his zhenqi before. Yet, the Sea Severing Sword was actually able to drain every last bit of energy within him, which went to show just how powerful the sword art was.

However, it was also extremely dangerous for a cultivator to use up all of his zhenqi in the midst of a battle. It would mean that he was powerless against anything that his opponent would throw at him next.

”Right, is Jian Qinsheng alright?” Too engrossed in himself, Zhang Xuan forgot about the plight Jian Qinsheng was in. Looking at the rubble all over the ground, he couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Even though Jian Qinsheng said that he wouldn't lower his cultivation, he still suppressed his strength to a hundredth of his original might. There was no saying that the other party might just succumb to his sword art in his weakened state… and that would mean that he was a murderer!