Chapter 1199: Sword Cloud Qing Takes Action

"Hahaha, how dare you immature good-for-nothings form your own faction within the Sword Sect? Don't you know your own limits? You are simply incapable of wielding any influence.

The various lords and nobles, with their discerning eyes, have long since realized that the Fourth Prince and Jian Yunqing, who backs him, harbor wolfish ambitions. They are attempting to seize the supreme throne of the Central Domain Dynasty by relying on the support of you martial arts factions.

Why would they care about fraternal ties? To be frank with you, their sole objective today is to keep everyone within the Sword Pavilion trapped here! If they don't achieve that goal, not a single one of you will leave Seven Absolutes Mountain alive.

If you don't believe me, you can go outside and see for yourselves. Currently, the entire perimeter of the Sword Sect and every single exit of Seven Absolutes Mountain are teeming with Sword Sect disciples!"

Upon hearing Xu Yang's words, the various swordsmen were initially skeptical. However, a few quick-footed individuals, eager to verify, went out to take a look. Indeed, the news they brought back corroborated Xu Yang's statement.

"Heavens, it's just as this fellow said! The outside is surrounded by Sword Sect disciples!" one exclaimed. "Tell me, Jian Yunqing, could it be that what this remarkably talented young man said is true? If we don't choose to help you today, will you slaughter everyone here?"

Jian Yunqing watched as the Fifth Prince firmly seized control of the situation. He finally decided not to suppress anything further. In his view, everything was already set, merely a part of his overall plan.

However, the situation was a bit more complex and difficult than he had anticipated, but it was still far from breaking free of his control. As the sole leader of Seven Absolutes Mountain, he still held several crucial trump cards.

"Very well," he declared. "Since you refuse to distinguish right from wrong, then my Sword Sect must naturally defend its honor. I absolutely will not permit you to act so recklessly on my territory.

As for you, young man, though I do not know your origins and I am indeed amazed by the power you have displayed, since you have acted so brazenly within my Sword Sect and appeared as a pawn of the Fifth Prince, then I absolutely cannot allow you to leave here alive. Today, there must be a battle between us."

Upon hearing Jian Yunqing's words, Xu Yang couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Are you not known as the Sword Saint of Yingzhou Continent?" he challenged. "Since you have issued a challenge to me, then I might as well witness the true extent of the Sword Saint of Yingzhou Continent's power!

To be fair to you," Xu Yang continued, "I will not leave the confines of this blood pool at any point. You may use any means, any weapon you wish. Of course, if you feel you are no match for me and are afraid, you can also bring your disciples into the fray. As long as you can find a way to break through the Wuji True Qi surrounding me, you win.

As punishment for the loser," Xu Yang continued, "I will seal myself on Seven Absolutes Mountain for a thousand years, serving your Sword Sect during that time. Naturally, if I am the ultimate victor, I will personally defend the common interests of the various lords and nobles and seek justice for the Seventh Prince.

By then," he concluded, "your Sword Sect's reputation will have completely collapsed across Yingzhou Continent. As for your title of Sword Saint, it will become nothing but a joke."

After Xu Yang finished speaking, Jian Yunqing finally stopped hesitating. In truth, deep down, he had long been itching to attack Xu Yang, but had lacked a suitable opportunity or pretext.

Now that both sides had laid all their cards on the table, and the general trend made it inevitable, this battle could not be avoided. Jian Yunqing no longer held back. He stepped into the air and directly ascended to the highest platform where Xu Yang had just stood, gazing coldly down at Xu Yang in the middle of the blood pool from an elevated vantage point.

"Young man, since you insist on courting death," Jian Yunqing declared, "I will show you the true power of the Sword Sect of the World!" As his voice fell silent, he began to condense his true sword dao.

A very peculiar brilliance shimmered. One after another, sword marks coalesced in the void, rapidly gathering. With each new coalescence of Jian Yunqing's essence, the condensed sword momentum grew stronger, resembling a continuous accumulation.

This sword dao was named Butterfly Cloud. It was Jian Yunqing's most renowned signature technique, inherited as the current Sword Sect Master and Sword Saint. In essence, it was comparable to Xu Yang's Void Law.

However, Xu Yang's Void Law accumulated the *sum* of the entire sword aura's power through superposition and was released from the perspective of the void, allowing it to disregard all constraints of surrounding objective spatial laws.

Meanwhile, Jian Yunqing's Butterfly Cloud sword dao merely superimposed the sword momentum he himself condensed. If one were to compare the two, Jian Yunqing's Butterfly Cloud sword dao was like a tiny speck of dust, whereas Xu Yang's Void Law was like the bright moon and stars in the highest heavens. How could humble dust or ants ever compare to that?

Of course, Xu Yang would not use his Void Law in front of Jian Yunqing today. Simply using the Wuji Sword Dao he had just comprehended to 'play' with this fellow would be enough to give him a hard time.

"Old man, is that all you've got?" Xu Yang scoffed. "Even without you unleashing any materialized sword energy from that sword dao of yours, I can already gauge its approximate strength. Simply put, you are weaker than I imagined. Since that's the case, I've decided not to attack you first. Just unleash your attacks on me."

To face the world's strongest Sword Saint in such a manner, there was no doubt Xu Yang was being overly provocative. However, such provocative behavior, in the eyes of everyone else, was the greatest insult to Sword Saint Jian Yunqing.

No matter what, Jian Yunqing still held the esteemed reputation of Sword Saint at that very moment. To contend with a Sword Saint in sword dao without even drawing your own sword—wasn't that just a blatant mockery?

However, it wasn't long before Xu Yang proved how meaningful his approach was through his own strength and actions. The moment an immensely powerful sword dao force condensed before Jian Yunqing, a purple light violently struck down, and massive streams of Butterfly Cloud sword energy erupted wildly.

With each release, the superimposed sword attacks grew stronger than the last. Undoubtedly, if this Butterfly Cloud sword dao were unleashed against others, it would indeed possess considerable deterrent power. At least in the realm of sword dao within Yingzhou Continent, this Butterfly Cloud could easily rank among the top three.

The embarrassing truth was that no matter how many layers of superimposed sword energy this fellow unleashed, not a single bit of it could touch Xu Yang's Wuji True Qi. He remained seated cross-legged in the void above the blood pool, as stable as Mount Tai, appearing completely oblivious to all the incoming sword energy.

Yet even as he maintained such an arrogant and disrespectful posture, his protective aura showed no sign of shattering, not even a single crack.