Chapter 185 - 182: Gale Sword Skill: Entry Realm
Under the moonlight, at the village entrance.
Through relentless slaughter and constant battle, by immersing himself completely in the enlightenment found amidst the chaos, Ye Xing’s Gale Sword Skill grew more and more proficient. Gradually, a sliver of understanding began to spread through his mind.
’The Gale Sword Skill isn’t just about variability; it must also be swift and fierce... Wind itself is formless. It can be a gentle breeze, or a raging gale...’
A divine light gleamed in Ye Xing’s eyes. As the understanding in his heart grew clearer, the power of his Sword Techniques surged, becoming incomparably swift.
Cyan light flashed amid a flurry of sword shadows.
CLANG! PING! PANG!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The clash of saber and sword rang out. From being at a disadvantage initially, he gradually turned the tables until he finally gained the upper hand.
Before he knew it, Ye Xing had already exchanged over two hundred blows with the Triangular Mountain Great Village Chief, his courage growing with every clash. The Great Village Chief’s forehead was beaded with cold sweat, his True Qi severely depleted.
’Damn it, this kid in green’s Sword Skill is getting stronger and stronger. Strange. We’ve been fighting for so long, and I’ve already used up more than half my True Qi. How does he still look so full of it?’ The Triangular Mountain Great Village Chief was utterly bewildered. ’It’s impossible that he hasn’t consumed any True Qi. He must be putting on a brave face.’
So the Triangular Mountain Great Village Chief thought to himself. What he didn’t know was that Ye Xing’s True Qi hadn’t really been depleted much at all. To be precise, he was consuming a great deal of True Qi, but it would all be restored just moments later. This was because the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Treasure Thunder Heart Spring Wood inside Ye Xing’s body was constantly supplying him with Energy. As a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Treasure, the Thunder Heart Spring Wood possessed an astonishingly strong Recovery Power; any consumed True Qi was replenished almost instantly.
Under normal circumstances, no matter how abundant a Martial Artist’s True Qi was, it would eventually run out. This consumption can be divided into two states: non-combat and combat. In a non-combat state, a Martial Artist’s True Qi is barely consumed. But once they enter combat, True Qi consumption skyrockets. This is because executing External Skills like Sword Skills and Saber Skills requires Inner Power True Qi. Body Skills also need True Qi for Energy, and Lightweight Step Techniques and the like all consume it. Therefore, once a battle begins, the consumption of True Qi is massive. Some powerful Innate Realm experts with abundant True Essence might be able to fight for three days and three nights, or even seven. But for an ordinary Postnatal Realm Martial Artist, half an hour to an hour of fighting would likely deplete most of their True Qi. In an all-out battle, it would be consumed even faster.
Thus, Ye Xing’s calm and composed appearance—not even breathing hard or looking tired—naturally baffled the Triangular Mountain Great Village Chief, convincing him that Ye Xing was just faking it. In his view, Ye Xing was only at the Martial Arts Fourth Realm of Cultivation; his True Qi reserves couldn’t possibly be as deep as his own at the Martial Arts Fifth Realm. He was certain he could rely on his superior Fifth Realm Cultivation to simply wear down a Fourth Realm opponent like Ye Xing. This tactic might have worked against an ordinary Martial Arts Fourth Realm Martial Artist. Unfortunately for him, he was facing Ye Xing, and his wishful thinking was doomed to fail.
Another ten or so exchanges passed.
Ye Xing fully grasped that sliver of enlightenment, and his Sword Skill finally broke through to another level.
The power of the Gale Sword Skill suddenly soared. As he brandished the Cyan Blade Treasure Sword, it stirred up a howling gale, and the air crackled with the sound of wind and thunder!
SWOOSH! SQUELCH!
In a flash of cyan light, Ye Xing’s sword pierced straight through the Triangular Mountain Great Village Chief’s right arm, sending a spray of crimson blood flying.
The tip of the Cyan Blade Treasure Sword dripped with blood. Drop by drop, the fresh blood slid down the blade to the point before falling onto the grass below.
"Oh no, the Great Chief is wounded!" the surrounding bandits cried out in alarm.
The Triangular Mountain Great Village Chief clutched his injured right arm with his left hand and hastily retreated five or six steps. He stared at Ye Xing with a terrified expression that quickly twisted into a savage grin. "Kid, you’re something else, I’ll give you that. But I’m done playing with you. My boys, get him! Kill him!"
It was obvious that the Triangular Mountain Great Village Chief knew he was no match for Ye Xing and intended to overwhelm him with numbers.
At the Great Village Chief’s command, the surrounding circles of bandits immediately drew their bows, nocking arrows and aiming the sharp points straight at Ye Xing.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
In an instant, shrill whistles filled the air as the sound of parting air echoed and volley after volley of arrows shot toward Ye Xing.
Ye Xing’s expression changed slightly. He executed a clumsy roll on the ground to dodge the deadly barrage of arrows, then brandished his Cyan Blade Treasure Sword, his Gale Sword Skill forming an impenetrable defense.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
One after another, the arrows were all knocked away by Ye Xing.
The Gale Sword Skill was an Earth Tier Top Grade Cultivation Skill, profound and unfathomable. Even at the Entry Level, its power was immense, comparable to a Profound Tier Top Grade Cultivation Skill at the Perfect Realm.
The Gale Sword Skill was as fast as a violent gale. Paired with his Body Technique and Lightweight Skill, the dense rain of arrows around him was, for the moment, unable to harm Ye Xing.
However, Ye Xing had no desire to waste time, and he certainly didn’t want to be a living target.
’Heh, did you really think I don’t have my own men? You want to use human-wave tactics to surround me? I’ve already reached the Entry Realm with my Gale Sword Skill! I’m done playing with you lot!’ Ye Xing’s eyes flashed. He immediately gathered his True Qi and shouted toward Lantian Village in a deep voice, "Men of the Great River Gang, hear my command! Come out at once and kill these bandits!"
He channeled Qi to his Dantian, and rolling soundwaves spread out in all directions, carrying into Lantian Village.
Following Ye Xing’s order, the once silent and dark Lantian Village instantly erupted with light as torches were suddenly lit one after another.
Immediately after, warhorses neighed as troops of men carrying Weapons and Blades roared out of the village.
CLIP! CLOP! CLIP-CLOP!
CLIP-CLOP! "KILL!"
The thundering of hooves and earth-shattering roars filled the air. Four to five hundred members of the Great River Gang, seething with killing intent, charged forward brandishing Great Sabers and other Weapons, surging like a torrent of steel.
In moments, the two forces collided and a fierce battle began.
SQUELCH! SQUELCH! SQUELCH!
"ARGH!" CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
SQUELCH! CLANG!
In the clash of close-quarters combat, thirty to fifty men were killed in an instant. Hot blood splattered everywhere, heads were sent flying, and severed limbs littered the ground.
Most of the dead were from the Triangular Mountain bandits. On average, for every three or four bandits killed, only one member of the Great River Gang would be killed or injured. So, while the battle was bloody and brutal, the members of the Great River Gang had the complete upper hand, and the bandits were steadily forced back.
After all, the Great River Gang was already the number one gang in Green River Town. After eliminating the Sea Shark Gang and taking over their territory, the Great River Gang’s power had skyrocketed once again, making it the foremost power among the dozen or so towns surrounding Sunset City. The four hundred-plus men that Ma Feng had brought this time, on Ye Xing’s orders, were all elite experts from the gang. How could these mere bandits possibly be a match for the Great River Gang?