activa-t Chapter 83: One Slash Cuts Down a Deer, the Entire Courtyard Submits
Chapter 83: One Slash Cuts Down a Deer, the Entire Courtyard Submits
Yu Lianzi formed a sword incantation with her left hand.
He raised the iron sword in his right hand to eyebrow level.
The sword tip dipped slightly, adopting the starting stance of the "Intercepting River Sword" from Lingjian Mountain.
The guards in the courtyard automatically stepped back, creating an open space about ten zhang in diameter.
Han Tieshan retreated to the eaves, his back against a pillar, arms crossed over his chest, and turned to Ma Ping in a low voice:
"Intercept the River! Back then, Liu Chenyu was suppressed by this move for a full thirty moves and couldn't catch his breath."
"I've seen Chen Yu's fists and feet. I was there when he killed Cai Zhongtie. In terms of penetrating fist power, he's indeed a master, but his swordsmanship? Hmph! I don't think he's anything special!"
Ma Ping didn't reply, but an undisguised expectation surfaced in his eyes.
In the west wing, Zhao Siping nudged Sun Dayong with his elbow.
He spoke in a very low voice, but very quickly.
"Commander Chen's sword is three inches shorter. As the saying goes, the shorter the sword, the more dangerous it is."
"Yu Lianzi has practiced swordsmanship for twelve years. I have personally witnessed no fewer than forty sword duels, and she only lost to Pei Shifeng once."
"It seems that Commander Chen's short sword, which is only three inches shorter, may have already foreshadowed the difference in skill between the two."
Sun Dayong nodded repeatedly, repeating the same sentence: "It's about to start! Don't blink, whatever you do, don't blink."
Behind the two, Ding Dangmao peeked half his head out from the crowd.
He asked timidly, "Does Commander Chen have any other tricks up his sleeve?"
"Yu Lianzi is backed by Deputy Commander Pei. If he loses... will we get punished when we get back if we just stand here watching?"
Zhao Siping said without turning his head, "Just watch. Yu Lianzi isn't a brainless person. Since he dares to provoke us, he must be confident. I wouldn't say he has a 100% chance of winning, but I estimate he has at least an 80% chance."
"They're here."
Sun Dayong suddenly exclaimed.
Yu Lianzi pushed off the edge of the stone steps with her right foot and fell into the air.
"call out!"
The iron sword drew a silver arc in the air, its tip whistling sharply as it cut through the wind.
The first sword strike was a straight thrust down the middle, without any feints.
Chen Yu did not block, but took a step to the right.
"laugh!"
The iron sword grazed the outside of his left shoulder and missed.
"Easy to dodge!"
Without pausing, Yu Lianzi's swordplay continued, her wrist flicking as the blade slashed across Chen Yu's neck.
"That's the trick!"
Zhao Siping's voice was deeply moving.
"As expected of a direct descendant of the Spirit Sword lineage! This stepping sword technique is absolutely amazing!"
Before he finished speaking, Chen Yu took half a step forward to meet the sword blade.
The blade is slashed diagonally upwards, the back of the blade striking precisely the middle of the sword.
There was a crisp "clang".
The iron sword trembled violently, and Yu Lianzi's sword momentum was abruptly interrupted.
The trajectory of the hanging sword veered off course, passing half a foot beyond his shoulder.
"What! The stepping forward to hang the sword was interrupted?!"
Zhao Siping's voice suddenly changed tone.
Yu Lianzi was slightly startled, but he reacted very quickly.
He lunged forward with his left foot, flipping the sword hilt.
"Slanting Strike Sword!"
The sword tip drew a slanted arc from bottom to top, aiming straight for Chen Yu's chin.
Chen Yu leaned back.
"Whoosh!"
The tip of the sword grazed three inches in front of his chin.
"Three moves already!"
Han Tieshan slammed his hand on a pillar in the corridor, turned around and shouted at Ma Ping, but there was something wrong with his tone.
"Something's not right! Three moves have passed! Yu Lianzi hasn't gained the upper hand yet!"
Ma Ping, who was about to grin, suddenly froze.
He noticed a detail.
Yu Lianzi had already used three moves, but Chen Yu had not retreated an inch.
He merely dodged and parried, but his feet seemed nailed to the blue bricks, not moving an inch!
No! It's not that there was no movement!
It's not that I didn't see it!
Ma Ping lowered his voice and said to Han Tieshan, "His movements are wrong, too fast! I didn't even see it clearly!"
Yu Lianzi's three moves were ineffective, so she immediately changed the sword stance.
He no longer held back, unleashing a torrent of sword strikes from the Thirteen Forms of the Spirit Sword.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
One sword after another.
They aimed directly at Chen Yu's wrist, throat, ribs, and knees.
The pace of the attack is getting faster and faster, and there are almost no gaps between the moves.
The guards in the courtyard were filled with excitement.
Some people clenched their fists, some grinned, and some couldn't help but cheer loudly.
"This is the Thirteen Forms of the Spirit Sword, its sword intent continuous and relentless, giving the opponent no time to breathe!"
"Brilliant! If it weren't for Vice Commander Yu, we would never have witnessed such a skill!"
"That's incredible! I feel like he could kill Chen Yu with the next sword strike!"
Ma Ping exclaimed in admiration.
He had just thought Chen Yu was quite capable.
In retrospect, it was nothing but a bluff.
If we're talking about real skills, we have to look to Yu Lianzi.
If Yu Lianzi gets serious, she can kill him in no time.
"Show some respect! What Chen Yu? Is that something you can call him? How dare you address the commander by his full name!"
One of the more experienced sword guards reprimanded him.
"Okay, I understand. It won't be Chen Yu, it'll be Yu Zi!"
Ma Ping didn't care, since Yu Lianzi was about to win anyway.
Chen Yu will definitely be kicked out then, so there's nothing to worry about.
"Yuko! Hahaha!"
These words drew laughter from the surrounding crowd.
After Ma Ping finished speaking, he walked out from behind the pillars.
He no longer lowered his voice and shouted into the arena, "Commander! Can't your sword reach it?! Vice Commander Yu's sword is three inches longer than yours!"
There was a guy named Fang Dachuan who was always in cahoots with Ma Ping.
Seeing Ma Ping's rude remarks, he also leaned against the locust tree trunk, cupped his hands around his mouth, and joined in the commotion.
"Commander Chen, aren't you good with your fists? Drop the knife and fight with your fists!"
"Let's see if your fist is sharper, or Vice Commander Yu's iron sword!"
"Hahaha, are you trying to get Yu Zi to die?"
"His fists are powerful? Look at his stupid face, does he look like he's anything but powerful?"
Ma Ping laughed heartily and cursed Chen Yu, who was like a drowning dog, which made him feel extremely happy.
Chen Yu was not disturbed by the noise from outside the arena.
He focused intently on fighting the enemy, constantly moving through the rain of swords.
Yu Lianzi's swordplay was fast, but Chen Yu's movement was even faster.
His dodges were always just an inch faster than the tip of the sword.
He chopped at his wrist, but his wrist was no longer there.
The stab aimed at his throat, and his body had already shifted half a foot to the side.
He slashed towards the ribs; his knife was already waiting in that position.
"clang!"
After a clang of metal on metal.
The deer-slaying knife blocked the iron sword again, causing the iron sword to tremble slightly.
Yu Lianzi unleashed eleven sword strikes in quick succession, but Chen Yu blocked three and dodged eight.
His serpentine footwork allowed him to move effortlessly left and right amidst the sword light.
Although his robes fluttered in the wind, not a single sword could touch his flesh.
"Something's not right! Something's definitely not right!"
Han Tieshan's expression changed, and his voice sounded worried.
"Yu Lianzi's sword is famously fast; others can't even dodge it. How does he do that? His movement technique is just ordinary snake-like kung fu, so why can't Yu Lianzi hit him?"
Yu Lianzi herself also sensed that something was wrong.
His sword strike suddenly stopped, transforming from a continuous drizzle into a rainbow piercing the sun.
This is the final strike of the Thirteen Forms of the Spirit Sword.
"A rainbow pierces the sky!"
The sword tip flickers, thrusts forward, then sheathes and thrusts again.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
The sword shadows wove together to form a flickering curtain of light in front of Chen Yu.
The entire courtyard of sword guards held their breath.
Chen Yu did not dodge the sword.
He held the sword horizontally in front of his chest, blade facing outwards.
A very faint red sheen suddenly appeared on the blade.
That wasn't sunlight reflecting off the blade; the blade itself was emitting light, as if something inside the Deer-Slaying Knife had been awakened.
"Sizzle!"
The tip of the sword, "Rainbow Piercing the Sky," is about to pierce through.
Immediately afterwards, everyone heard a dull, short sound.
The moment Yu Lianzi's sword tip came into contact with the red blade light, a fine crack appeared at the tip.
The crack spread rapidly along the spine of the sword, extending from the tip all the way to the middle of the blade.
"clang!"
The iron sword broke in two!
The broken sword tip spun out, tumbled a few times in the air, and then clattered into a crack in the blue brick.
The sword tip penetrated three inches into the brick, and the sword body still hummed and vibrated.
"What?! The Jade Lotus Sword is broken...broken?!"
Zhao Siping had an incredulous expression on his face.
"He used the back of the blade...no, he didn't even cut! I didn't see him cut! Did the sword break on its own?"
The cheers from the guards in the courtyard were cut short before they could even leave their mouths.
Yu Lianzi held the broken sword, which was now only half intact.
The cracks on the sword were still spreading towards the guard, and tiny metal fragments kept falling between his fingers.
He glanced down at his sword, his pupils contracting to their maximum size in that instant.
"How could this be? How could this happen?"
This Jade Lotus Sword was forged from refined iron through a hundred refinements. It had been with him for twelve years and remained undamaged in sixty sword fights.
Now it's broken, broken inexplicably, broken without warning.
Yu Lianzi didn't have time to think about why.
Because Chen Yu is about to get serious.
Previously, he did not take the initiative to attack, but only dodged and blocked, just to see what kind of person Yu Lianzi, the deputy commander, was.
After several attempts, he was finally certain.
A deputy commander is a deputy commander.
There's a reason why Yu Lianzi couldn't become a leader; his strength and speed were far inferior to Cai Zhongtie's.
Even Cai Zhongtie could only gain a slight advantage in hand-to-hand combat.
If the two sides were to fight armed, he would certainly be no match for him.
With the added benefits of weapons and equipment, no one can rival him when they are of similar skill level and strength.
Chen Yu got bored and decided to end the battle.
"Deer-Cutting Domain!"
He raised his sword above his head, the tip pointing to the sky.
In that instant, the blood-red jade stone inlaid at the end of the hilt suddenly lit up.
Two scarlet beams of light shot out from the jade, like a pair of eyes suddenly opening.
In the blink of an eye, with Chen Yu's feet as the center, the blood-red sword energy spread outwards, forming a circle with a radius of five meters on the ground.
Inside the circle, the color of the blue brick floor suddenly darkened, as if it were covered by a dark red filter.
The edge of the halo perfectly enveloped the jade lotus seed.
"What is this?"
Fang Dachuan straightened up from the locust tree trunk, but his heel was tripped by a tree root, and he staggered backward.
"Blade aura? Blade demonic energy? Hey! Old Ma, can you figure out what's going on?"
He shook Ma Ping, who was standing beside him.
Ma Ping was so terrified he couldn't utter a single word.
He had spoken rudely to Chen Yu earlier, but now Chen Yu had turned the tables and won.
After they finish fighting, I'm sure I'll be in big trouble.
Thinking of this, Ma Ping suddenly felt a pang of regret.
"not good!"
Within the deer-slaying area, Yu Lianzi instinctively wanted to retreat and create distance.
But when his footsteps touched the edge of the halo, it was as if he had hit an invisible wall.
He gripped the broken sword and tried to jump, but as soon as his feet left the ground, his right ankle felt as if it were being clamped by a transparent iron clamp.
Suddenly, the ground slipped beneath my feet, and I was pulled back to the ground by an irresistible force.
Yu Lianzi glanced down at her feet, then looked up, her pupils contracting sharply. She cried out, "I can't move! He sealed my movement! It's demonic energy! The suppression of demonic energy from his blade!"
Han Tieshan stepped out from behind the pillars, his face as white as paper.
He pointed at the blood-red circular area on the ground and roared, "Get out! Get out now! You'll really die if you don't come out!"
But after he shouted, he realized that Yu Lianzi couldn't get out at all.
That halo locked him inside like a cage.
Yu Lianzi is beyond saving. If I shout like this, I might offend Chen Yu.
Thinking of this, he quickly shut his mouth.
Chen Yu didn't wait for his reaction and immediately unleashed his second move.
"Contending for supremacy!"
In the blink of an eye, Chen Yu's figure disappeared from everyone's sight.
Where he had stood, only a faint blue afterimage of a blade remained; he was no longer there.
The next instant, he appeared five steps behind Yu Lianzi.
The whole person maintains a lunge forward posture.
He held the sword horizontally in front of him, a trail of fading blue light trailing from its tip.
The air was filled with the traces of his passing.
The cyan blade light trailed from the edge of the halo all the way behind Yu Lianzi, like a rift that split open space, lingering in the midday sun for a long time.
"Aaaaaah! There's a ghost!"
Yu Lianzi staggered forward a step.
He glanced down at his right side, where a gash ran across his waist.
A few moments later, blood seeped out from the tear in the fabric, quickly staining half of his shirt red.
"Well……"
Before he could utter a sound, a tremendous sense of weakness surged up from the depths of his bones.
This means the "Deer Capture" marker has been activated.
His strength, speed, reaction, and vitality—all his attributes—were simultaneously reduced by 10%.
The power that had been drawn away was now being channeled into Chen Yu's body through some unseen means.
Yu Lianzi's legs went weak, and she knelt on one knee, her broken sword clattering onto the blue bricks.
"The power of a single strike is truly astounding!"
Zhao Siping was utterly shocked.
"Commander Chen only struck once! And Yu Lianzi is already done for!"
Han Tieshan gripped the pillars tightly with both hands, his lips trembling violently. This time he didn't utter a sound, but silently said to himself.
"It's not over yet... that malevolent aura domain is still there! Yu Lianzi is in grave danger!"
He was right.
Chen Yu remained standing in the center of the arena, his sword hanging horizontally at his side, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground.
The crimson aura he released when he pointed his sword at the sky still enveloped an area with a radius of five meters.
The dark red light at the edge of the ring did not fade; instead, it became even brighter than before.
The blade's edge rippled across the blue brick floor, like a pool of boiling blood.
Yu Lianzi is now kneeling in the very center of this bloody light.
"kill!"
After Chen Yu's shout, the blood-red light within the Deer-Slaying Domain suddenly surged.
The dark red light converged from the edge of the circular ring on the ground towards the center, condensing into a tangible blade of energy that climbed up Yu Lianzi's spine and finally stopped at the back of his neck.
No one in the entire courtyard dared to utter a sound.
Just then, Chen Yu spoke up.
His voice was calm, neither too loud nor too soft, as if he were reciting a pre-written judgment.
"Kill the deer."
As soon as he finished speaking, his figure disappeared again.
It's not the kind of instantaneous dash that leaves a blue trail of light like in "Contending for the World".
This disappearance came without any warning or trace.
Only a faint ripple of blood remained where he had just stood.
At the same instant, a person appeared out of nowhere behind Yu Lianzi.
Chen Yu was already standing behind him, the Deer-Slaying Knife unsheathed at some point.
The blade tip pointed diagonally at the ground, and all the blood-red patterns on the blade lit up.
It spreads from the hilt to the tip.
The entire knife seemed to be ablaze, burning with a dark red flame.
The blood-red jade on the hilt opened its eyes in fury, shooting out two scarlet beams that pierced through the sword energy floating above Yu Lianzi's neck, staining his neck a ghastly dark red.
"Slaughter the deer and behead it!"
Chen Yu swung his sword.
The blade grazed the back of Yu Lianzi's neck.
A moment later, Chen Yu sheathed his sword.
Yu Lianzi's kneeling body suddenly swayed.
Then his head silently slid off his neck, rolled half a circle on his shoulder, and fell onto the blue brick ground.
"Pop!"
His head bounced on the ground, rolled twice, and came to rest next to the tip of his sword, which was stuck in a crack in the brick.
Only then did blood gush out of his neck cavity.
"laugh!"
A column of bright red blood shot into the sky, exploding into a cloud of blood mist under the midday sun.
Blood mist fell, sprinkling on his body, on the blue brick floor, on his broken sword, and on his head.
The cutting effect of "cutting hair in a flash" is only fully revealed at this point.
The cut edges on Yu Lianzi's neck showed an unnatural, pale white color.
The courtyard was deathly silent.
"Wow!"
Ma Ping suddenly let out a scream that sounded inhuman.
He was thrown backward and crashed into Fang Dachuan, and the two of them fell to the ground together.
"A ghost! This is a ghostly sword technique, not human swordsmanship!"
Ma Ping struggled to get up, slapping his hand on the ground until it bled.
He looked down at his hands covered in blood, then at Yu Lianzi's head, which had rolled three zhang away.
Those peach blossom eyes were still open, their expression frozen in the bewilderment of the last moment before their execution.
"Waaaaaah!"
Upon seeing this, Ma Ping fainted from fright and slumped onto Fang Dachuan beside him.
"Old Ma! Cheer up, Old Ma! There's nothing to be afraid of! Look at me! I'm not scared at all... not at all..."
Fang Dachuan instinctively reached out to help him, but suddenly realized that his legs were also weak and he was sliding to the ground.
Han Tieshan's mouth was wide open, and his jaw was trembling violently.
It was as if all the bones in his body had been removed.
He recalled what he had just said, "We can rest assured about Vice Commander Pei."
Now those words have become a slap in the face.
He raised his finger and pointed at Chen Yu, his finger trembling so badly that he couldn't utter a single complete word.
No one in the audience understood how Yu Lianzi died.
Only Chen Yu knew that Yu Lianzi died from the special effect of the Deer-Slaying Knife.
[Deer-Slaying Domain]: Point your blade to the sky and release a blood-red blade aura to form a domain with a radius of five meters. All enemies within the domain are unable to use movement skills.
The area lasts for ten seconds. If there are enemies with less than 5% health within the area when it ends, "Deer Slayer" will be automatically triggered. The user will teleport behind the target and behead them, ignoring their defense and dealing 500% damage!
After Yu Lianzi died, all the color drained from the faces of the sword guards in the courtyard.
They couldn't understand how Chen Yu killed Yu Lianzi, but they could still clearly see the tragic state of Yu Lianzi's death.
Even the most ruthless methods still have their limits.
But now they understand that Chen Yu is not killing people; he is carrying out an execution.
He gave Yu Lianzi no chance to beg for mercy, leaving no room for any possible variables.
He first crippled Yu Lianzi, then suppressed her with the sword's aura, and finally beheaded her with a single strike.
The entire process was meticulously calculated.
Every step was under his control; none was superfluous, none was impulsive.
Therefore, Chen Yu was not engaging in a martial arts contest at all; he was carrying out an execution.
Thinking of this, all the sword guards present felt a chill run down their spines.
They clearly recognized that this new commander was far superior to the previous Cai Zhongtie, and was also much more ruthless in his actions.
No matter what, you must not offend him.
Chen Yu stood in the center of the bloodstains on the ground.
Jade Lotus's blood splattered onto his boots, forming a few dark red spots on the black leather.
He glanced down and rubbed the soles of his boots on the blue brick floor.
He lifted his left foot and wiped it twice more on Yu Lianzi's robe, removing the last bit of bloodstains.
Then he looked up and surveyed the entire room.
"Who else?"
No one dared to speak.
The fate of Yu Lianzi is now clear.
All are not fools.
"Didn't a lot of people have complaints about me just now? Anyone who has complaints can stand up and say so!"
Chen Yu said casually.
"Let's make friends with knives; all disagreements can be settled with knives!"
"To fight with knives is tantamount to suicide. Yu Lianzi is dead, who else would dare to object?"
"I do have objections, but do you think I dare to stand up for myself?"
Han Tieshan shut his mouth and just thought silently.
He knew very well that if he said those words aloud...
He himself might be the next one kneeling in the middle of the courtyard, waiting to die.