C383 The Sword Was Drawn the Sword Was Drawn

"Even if he uses dark arts to boost his power to match the Reality Condensing Stage, so what? We have nearly twenty Shape Gathering Stage practitioners. If we all strike together, we might just take down one of those four witches and break this kid's spell!" declared Shao Jingyu, the Sect Master of the Luo Xing Sect.

Many spectators were displeased with him calling Bing'er and the other three "witches," especially Woo Zhengyang.

"If you call my skills dark arts, then watch as I use them to take your head!" Woo Zhengyang retorted, raising his No Life Sword and swinging it in Shao Jingyu's direction.

Having witnessed Woo Zhengyang's strength before, Shao Jingyu was terrified, even from a distance of about 200 feet, and frantically dodged.

However, the No Life Sword that Woo Zhengyang raised had no real power behind it...

Shao Jingyu's face flushed with embarrassment. As the Sect Master of the Luo Xing Sect, he had been fooled by Woo Zhengyang. The fact that he had ducked for cover at the mere raising of a sword would likely become a laughingstock.

"That was a mistake..." Woo Zhengyang explained.

"You little punk, you're asking for it," Shao Jingyu snapped back.

Woo Zhengyang didn't bother to explain further, knowing that no one would believe him anyway. Only Huo'er, one of the four women, covered her mouth to hide her laughter.

The four women and Woo Zhengyang were in sync, fully aware of the situation. Woo Zhengyang had indeed intended to strike, but his move faltered, rendering his sword ineffective.

"Don't hesitate, everyone! Today, it's do or die. If we don't kill him, he'll surely wipe us out!" Shao Jingyu warned.

"Alright, let's give it everything we've got. If we can take down even one of the four women, it might turn the tide!" Wong Jinghai added.

"You don't stand a chance!" Woo Zhengyang declared, bringing down the No Life Sword.

Once again, the sword showed no sign of its usual power. This meant either Woo Zhengyang was bluffing to toy with them, or he was using a technique that required a concentrated burst of energy at the right moment. The latter was incredibly powerful but needed close combat to be effective. Given the distance between Woo Zhengyang and Wong Jinghai's group, even if he unleashed it, it wouldn't pose much threat. Activating the sword's energy would have been more effective.

So, they quickly concluded that Woo Zhengyang was merely bluffing again.

Shao Jingyu scoffed, "You think I'd fall for the same trick twice..."

Before he could finish, his expression changed drastically. His energy flared up, and he pushed his movement technique to the limit, dodging to the side...

As everyone stood in confusion, a burst of blood mist suddenly erupted from Shao Jingyu's side.

*Clang...*

A sharp sound echoed as Shao Jingyu's weapon fell to the ground from the blood mist. When the mist cleared, revealing Shao Jingyu once more, everyone was stunned. His right arm was gone, with blood staining the entire right side of his body.

"Ah..." Shao Jingyu cried out, his face a mask of terror and pain upon seeing his missing arm.

"What just happened?"

"Wasn't Woo Zhengyang just toying with him with that strike?"

Voices filled with confusion echoed around.

As people searched for answers, Wong Jinghai, standing not far from Shao Jingyu, suddenly gasped in disbelief.

"Sword force! You've actually condensed your martial will!"

"Sword force! That's right, that strike just now contained sword force!"

Hearing Wong Jinghai's exclamation, someone realized the truth and was equally shocked.

Among the onlookers were those who had come directly from Heavenly Martial City, familiar with Moh Lunhui's ruthless swordsmanship. Yet, they never expected that in just a few days, Woo Zhengyang had also condensed his own martial will, imbuing his sword with force.

Moh Lunhui, with the prowess of a martial master, had shattered records that had stood throughout history.

Woo Zhengyang, in just a few days, broke Moh Lunhui's record with the same level of cultivation but at a much younger age.

"How is this possible..." Wong Jinghai was still lost in disbelief, muttering to himself.

"Nothing is impossible!" Woo Zhengyang declared, swinging his sword once more.

The force of the world, drawn from the heavens, hidden within, leaves no trace, no mark. Thus, a simple sword force is invisible to the naked eye. The ultimate use of an alchemist's sword force is to integrate it into sword skills, exponentially increasing their power.

When Woo Zhengyang faced the Fallen Moon Sect's elder, he didn't use his sword force. His skill hadn't reached even a minor level, so it wouldn't significantly harm a master at the Reality Condensing Stage and would only reveal his hand prematurely.

However, when Woo Zhengyang executed the third form of the Ink Night Sword Washing Arts to defeat the elder, a bold idea suddenly flashed in his mind. The first form, Hidden Sword in the Ink Night, focuses on illusion; the second, Sword Light as Star Traces, on speed; and the third, Cleansing Sword Intent, on intent.

This intent is the will of martial arts. Woo Zhengyang had refined his martial will, with his sword carrying sword force and his fists carrying fist force. Yet, truly merging these with martial skills was incredibly challenging.

The unique aspect of the third form of the Ink Night Sword Washing Arts gave Woo Zhengyang a sense of finding a breakthrough. When he first struck at Shao Jingyu, Woo Zhengyang intended to test this idea. Unfortunately, his attempt failed. As Woo Zhengyang admitted, that strike was a pure mistake, startling Shao Jingyu and resulting in an unexpected advantage.

Realizing he hadn't grasped the key, Woo Zhengyang set aside his idea for the moment. With his second strike, he focused solely on executing the sword force. This strategy had its merits. As expected, after Shao Jingyu's initial panic, he became careless. It wasn't until Woo Zhengyang's straightforward sword force approached that Shao Jingyu realized it wasn't just a bluff. Sadly, it was too late, and his right hand was obliterated by the explosive energy.

By the third strike, Wong Jinghai was on guard, so relying on sword force alone wouldn't catch him off guard. Woo Zhengyang continued his experiments, but once again, he failed. The third form of the Ink Night Sword Washing Arts emphasizes holding back the sword's brilliance. Woo Zhengyang aimed to extend the attack's range to match a typical sword's reach. However, the explosion of the sword's brilliance negated the sword force altogether.

It's a shame, but the ridiculous situation has happened again.