Chapter 1046: Good Fast Sword

The white-robed and yellow-robed figures exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes. They had never expected the other party to act so decisively.

"Do you realize the consequences of what you've done?" the white-robed man's voice was bone-chillingly cold.

"The consequence is that you can now talk calmly with me," Zu An said with a shrug and a smile.

Both the white-robed and yellow-robed figures were left speechless.

Rage from Jian Taiding: 244244244...Rage from Zhuang Hetong: 133133133...

Could such an arrogant person truly exist in this world?

Zu An was instantly delighted. He had originally been troubled by how to ascertain the identities of these masked, black-robed figures, but now they were all exposed. He hadn't expected the white-robed figure to be Jian Taiding. As for Zhuang Hetong, he was likely someone from the Zhenyuan Merchant Guild.

"You're asking for death!" Jian Taiding finally couldn't hold back. With a flash, he flew from mid-air to stand before Zu An. A long sword appeared in his hand. Having just witnessed Zu An's deceptive nature, he clearly didn't dare to face him unarmed.

Zu An tossed Yu Xuantao, who was like a pile of mud, at Qiu Honglei's feet. "Keep an eye on him for me."

Then he summoned Tai'a and thrust it towards his opponent.

The two instantly exchanged over a dozen blows. Zu An noticed that no matter how he changed his sword's moves, his opponent seemed to anticipate them, dodging and then swiftly counterattacking. Had his movement technique not been exquisite, he would have likely been hit already.

Was this the ability of a Grandmaster's Divine Soul? Zu An knew that Grandmasters, in addition to being able to soar through the sky, also cultivated their Divine Souls. During combat, they essentially possessed the ability to foresee the future, making it extremely difficult to strike them.

At this moment, Jian Taiding's shock was no less than Zu An's. He could clearly sense that his opponent's cultivation had not reached the Grandmaster level. In the past, he had almost always achieved overwhelming victories against cultivators below the Grandmaster realm. Sometimes, he didn't even need to make a move; his sheer pressure alone was enough to silence his opponents. Yet, facing this person, he held nothing back. He even unleashed several killing moves, all of which were evaded by his opponent's incredibly profound movement technique.

Where did this monster come from?

Sensing the finesse of Zu An's movement technique, Jian Taiding reasoned that since Zu An's cultivation was inferior to his own, he opted for a head-on confrontation strategy. To his surprise, just as he managed to engage in close combat and mobilized the power of heaven and earth to surge forward like a tidal wave, intending to severely injure Zu An with a single blow, those ferocious forces seemed to be sucked away by a black hole, vanishing without a trace. Meanwhile, Zu An's counterattack suddenly became much more powerful than before. That ferocious power was clearly what Jian Taiding had just summoned.

"Can this guy absorb my energy and use my own power against me?" Jian Taiding's vital energy churned from that blow, and it took him a considerable effort to regulate his breathing.

"Hmph, let's see how much you can absorb!" He no longer dared to engage in close-quarters combat and flew back into the air. He slowly raised his hands. The sword in his hand floated before him, humming. Waves of terrifying pressure emanated outwards.

Zhuang Hetong, standing by, cursed inwardly. This was going to destroy their merchant guild. He hastily channeled his vital energy, protecting the buildings behind him and the people of the guild.

The air became intensely cold. The heavy snow, which had previously stopped, now seemed to reappear in the air, accompanied by howling winds. In the blink of an eye, the cold winds and snowflakes combined, forming two massive blizzards that assailed Zu An from left and right. Wherever they passed, roof tiles were ripped off and sent flying. Trees so large that several people would be needed to embrace them were shredded into splinters. Even the bluestone ground of the merchant guild was scraped away.

Zhuang Hetong, on the side, simultaneously controlled golden bricks to block the scattered aftermath of the blizzard, preventing further damage to the guild. At the same time, he felt a flicker of doubt: this move was indeed incredibly powerful, typically used on battlefields against large armies. Wherever such a blizzard passed, a thousand-strong elite army formation would be utterly annihilated. But now, the target was only one person. Moreover, that rogue's movement technique was exceedingly sophisticated, and he dodged quickly. This move might not even hit him.

However, his pupils quickly contracted. He saw that while the blizzards appeared to be heading towards Zu An, they actually curved and attacked Qiu Honglei instead. He immediately understood Jian Taiding's plan. Since the target was skilled at dodging, he would attack what the target had to protect, making it impossible for him to evade. This move was truly too despicable. Not only was it bullying the weak, but it also used the other party as a hostage. But Zhuang Hetong also knew that this move was incredibly effective, an almost unsolvable open scheme. But what if Qiu Honglei genuinely suffered harm? Wasn't he afraid of Yun Jianyue's retaliation?

At this moment, Zu An had no time to consider such things. Seeing that the blizzards' target was Qiu Honglei, he showed no emotional fluctuations. Opposing sides would naturally use every means necessary to win. Even as an enemy, he secretly praised the extreme cleverness of this move.

At this point, Qiu Honglei also reacted. She hurriedly raised the Changxin Palace Lantern to save herself. However, the disparity in cultivation between her and Jian Taiding was too great; it was visibly clear she couldn't defend against it.

Zu An's figure flickered, and he was already standing in front of her. Then, holding his sword with both hands, using it as a fulcrum, a phoenix-shaped flame rose, charging towards the menacing blizzards.

The blizzards and the fiery phoenix crashed together with a roar. The surrounding guards were instantly sent sprawling, and even Zhuang Hetong found it hard to bear, retreating repeatedly to avoid the brunt of the impact. Buildings within a dozen yards radius immediately collapsed under the violent shockwave. Had it not been for Zhuang Hetong's strenuous protection, nearly half of the entire Zhenyuan Merchant Guild might have been destroyed by this single blow.

At the center of the storm, Zu An was struggling even more. He was not a Grandmaster, after all. And Jian Taiding was certainly not a novice who had just stepped into the Grandmaster realm. How could his powerful killing move be so easily withstood? Soon, the fiery phoenix grew smaller and smaller, eventually shrinking to only three feet around his body. The fierce sword qi contained within the blizzard had visibly left countless injuries on his body. Yet, he never retreated a single step, steadfastly blocking in front of Qiu Honglei.

"Ah Zu!" Tears welled up in Qiu Honglei's eyes. She wanted to go and help, but instantly realized it would be difficult for her to intervene in such a battle. So, she tapped her foot, dragged Yu Xuantao, and leaped to the other side. If she dodged, Ah Zu wouldn't have to take that killing blow head-on.

Zu An also breathed a sigh of relief, just about to withdraw. Just then, a cold glint suddenly appeared within the blizzard. Jian Taiding, holding his long sword, shot out from within. His vision had been obscured by the blizzard, and by the time he saw his opponent clearly, it was too late to dodge. With a muffled sound, the opponent's long sword pierced directly through the flames and into Zu An's chest.

"Ah Zu!" Qiu Honglei's eyes widened in horror at the sight. Unfortunately, she had just moved further away and had no time to rescue him.

Jian Taiding snorted coldly. "Brat, don't be so arrogant!" Mid-sentence, he suddenly froze. He noticed that there was no trace of panic on his opponent's face. Zu An merely looked at him calmly, a slight upward curve to his lips, as if a scheme had succeeded. At that moment, his Divine Soul frantically sent warnings. A vision of Zu An's sword piercing him flashed in his mind.

He hurriedly retreated, but his long sword was gripped tightly by Zu An's hand and couldn't be pulled free. "How can this person sustain such a severe injury and appear completely unaffected?" Jian Taiding was greatly alarmed. At that moment, he couldn't care less and was about to abandon his sword and retreat, when suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his mind. He felt as if a strange, large bird had surged into his consciousness.

"Ah!" Jian Taiding cried out in agony. While he wasn't driven to a mental breakdown by his opponent, for a split second, his entire mind went blank. Knowing he was in trouble, he hastily shifted his body sideways.

How could Zu An let such a perfect opportunity slip by? His sword flashed instantly. A white magical seal on Jian Taiding's body flickered, evidently triggering some life-saving magical artifact. Alas, how could it withstand Zu An's fully charged blow! With a crisp crack, the magical artifact on his body shattered. Immediately after, a large mist of blood burst open on Jian Taiding's chest. The intense pain finally brought him back to his senses. He hastily employed all his lifelong knowledge and retreated dozens of yards in an instant. Faster than his first time in bed!

A massive gash stretched diagonally from his shoulder to his waist. Had it not been for the life-saving artifact, he would have likely been cleaved in half already.

Zu An showed no signs of stopping. His figure flashed, and he pursued again. Press the attack while he's injured! He knew that he was not a Grandmaster, after all. While he didn't fear a head-on clash in the slightest, his opponent's Divine Soul was fully formed, allowing him to foresee danger in advance, and he could remain airborne for extended periods. It would be extremely difficult to injure him. Therefore, he had deliberately exposed a vulnerability just now, opting for a mutual-injury strategy. His body, tempered multiple times by the Primal Chaos Scripture, was already incredibly tough. Coupled with his powerful recovery ability, the same injuries had little effect on him. However, for Jian Taiding, it was a huge problem!