Chapter 153: Heart-Pounding Fear

Shi Chun barely dodged a fatal blow, narrowly evading the silver-glowing swordsman's strike. Even as he desperately twisted his body to evade, he was still a fraction too slow, and the invisible sword's blade carved a bloody gash across his face. The silver-glowing swordsman, his attack grazing past, moved beneath him. Shi Chun had dodged Qiao Zhilin's direct sword strike, yet he couldn't evade the illusory-yet-real blade that cut his cheek. He also flipped through the air, delivering a knife strike that found its mark.

Boom! Another silver-glowing swordsman appeared in everyone's view, only to explode into a vast silver mist and dissipate. Qiao Zhilin, who had just flashed by, now hovered in mid-air. He saw his magical construct destroyed but showed no surprise. He reasoned that if someone could kill Guan Wen and Yan Ji, then destroying his magical construct was naturally an easy feat.

Qiao Zhilin now hung from another spider web. While the surrounding silk was invisible to outsiders, Shi Chun immediately saw it. The web tightened and formed a powerful spring. As Qiao Zhilin's foot touched the ground, he instantly propelled himself forward again. To onlookers, Qiao Zhilin, having just solidified his form, darted past the spot Shi Chun had just vacated, a streak of light transforming instantly into a fleeting phantom.

Only then did Wu Jinliang and Xiang Lan'er realize Shi Chun had not been killed by that sword. Elder Ke looked bewildered; his disciple's strength led many to secretly praise his courage, seeing as he knew the opponent's terrifying speed. Elder Ke's expression became solemn. He released his grip and looked at Hu Fang. "Such steadiness, to immediately rush forward and counterattack—isn't that true courage?" Even the spectators watching the Royal Training Ground's mirror were very surprised that he had dodged such a terrifyingly fast attack.

Feng Chi, cloaked, dug his nails into his palms, worried for Lan'er. Xiang Yinhui, staring blankly, didn't feel pain, but his head had already detached from his neck and flown off. The disciples beside him were even more horrified, unable to believe that someone with such cultivation could withstand so many moves from Qiao's "Body Sword" technique. They also wondered what movement technique Lan'er practiced to be so incredibly capable. Seeing that such a continuous barrage of attacks couldn't defeat Lan'er, Ji Qinghe, an elder of Suyuan Sect, looked extremely solemn.

This time, the blade was as light and soft as a feather, silent and imperceptible. Wu Jinliang fretted, "Shi Chun has been dodging for so long, he can't land a blow!" *Thud!* The whistling light and shadow pierced directly through. The blade easily severed the spider silk without a sound.

Blood rained down. A crippled body, legs trembling, twitched in the bloody downpour, before collapsing. The sword in its hand finally clattered to the ground. Lan'er swiftly swung his blade a few more times, silently severing several more strands of spider silk. Inside the Royal Training Ground, everyone was petrified, as if turned to stone.

His sword met his chest and held firm, then he raised it to strike forward. But ultimately, he was slower than Lan'er, who had passed directly over his head, flipping over him in mid-air. With a powerful upward knife strike, Lan'er was abruptly lifted.

Cai Jinfeng, the chief guard, who had been leaning back in his chair, was no longer rubbing his fingers. Instead, he was leaning sideways on an armrest, his eyes glued to the light screen. Though he didn't exploit that weakness, the attack looked truly terrifying. He held back some of his methods. Compared to it, Lan'er's evasion was too nimble. He reflected on whether he should change his habit of always rushing forward first in the 'Life Prison'. The fighting style of high-martial arts was truly different from that of basic martial arts.

At the same time, his attention was fixed on Qiao Zhilin, who landed on the spider web and immediately darted his body away. As soon as he saw the direction of the web's springing force, he instantly gathered his vital energy, which burst forth and surged upwards. Qiao Zhilin, his face a sinister mask of blood mist, raised his sword from his chest and swung it in a diagonal slash towards the space in front. Having dodged over two hundred moves, he hadn't seen Qiao Zhilin pull any new tricks. He estimated that the opponent's repertoire was limited, and there was nothing new left to extract. Without looking, he turned his head and swung his sword, flipping to dodge. As his foot barely touched the ground, Lan'er's peripheral vision gave him a warning, and he also turned his head to look.

The moment he saw Qiao Zhilin reveal a weakness, he immediately lunged forward to meet him. To the onlookers, Qiao Zhilin was like streaks of phantom light constantly darting across the screen, relentlessly charging from every direction, while Lan'er continuously flipped and dodged everywhere, like a top constantly whipped. Even Gong Duoci's thoughts had left Yilan; she was completely engrossed, fixated on the killing scene in the mirror, involuntarily drawn in. *Swish, swish, swish...* One was so fast that people couldn't discern his figure, while the dodging figure, Lan'er, though reacting quickly, still had his movements clearly visible. However, the constant back-and-forth of attack, defense, and evasion made it unclear to everyone what exactly was happening between the two, including who was injured.

"Watching these two fight, I actually felt my heart pounding," someone remarked. Before he finished speaking, he also knew that this was just a matter of breaking through to the high-martial realm. Among the disciples of Wukang Mountain who were in the high-martial realm, not a single one could withstand such a terrifyingly fast attack.

Lan'er's body was not yet stable, but he wielded his knife in a sweeping motion. He found that the blade passed through the spider silk without cutting it; it was something between illusion and reality. He immediately cast the Demonic Bathing Art onto his blade and swept the knife again. The outcome was that it seemed to be over again, then he secretly cried, "It's over! It's over!" Yet, this time he added another move: his knife scraped across the ground, exploding dirt and rocks like huge waves. Of course, more importantly, his injuries were indeed severe. The back-and-forth combat over two hundred moves had also taken a heavy toll, and his reactions in all aspects were no longer sharp enough.

After this move, Lan'er understood the opponent's strength: Qiao Zhilin's speed was so extreme that not only could Lan'er not clearly see his moves or dare to engage them directly, but Qiao Zhilin himself was also too fast to change moves mid-trajectory. This was their true head-on confrontation; all those observing held their breath. Lan'er himself no longer wished to merely dodge. His goal was not just to defeat Qiao Zhilin, but to discover as many ways to defeat his opponent as possible. After darting away, his knife effortlessly severed some more spider silks.

Even knowing that Cai Jin (Shi Chun) had first severely wounded the opponent before engaging, it didn't prevent him from feeling anxious at this moment. Lan'er turned his head and glanced. From the moment he discovered the opponent's underlings, he decided it was indeed safer not to involve them. His ultimate moves were limited. When the opponent called out for 'Cube's life to be spared,' letting that one follow... he himself suddenly sprang towards another direction to dodge. Another figure, once again a phantom, barely grazed that position, whistling past, still astonishingly fast.

Qiao Zhilin, who suddenly appeared in everyone's sight, in Cai Jin's eyes, was hanging on another spider web again. Qiao Zhilin, his suspended body suddenly tilting, just realized something was wrong. He darted into the air above him, holding knives in both hands and wildly hacking downwards. Cai Jin, who had passed over his head, also twisted his body and swung his knife forward. Hearing the whooshing sound, Cai Jin looked up, just as a certain Domain Lord couldn't help but make a sound when changing his posture.

After going back and forth for nearly two hundred moves, he propelled himself again. His body suddenly twisted, causing him great alarm. Qiao Zhilin, whose body was hanging from the spider web, suddenly twisted the trembling sword behind his back, seemingly pointing it at Lan'er, who had landed with his knife held horizontally behind his back.

"My goodness! Among the sect members from my Shenzhou participating in the Heavenly Rain Meteor Grand Meeting, someone actually appeared who could face off against a Yuanzong disciple for so many moves!" *Boom!* The knife slashed, the sword blocked, and a bursting roar erupted. Qiao Zhilin braced himself, retreating a foot, his feet churning up a circle of swirling dust like a shockwave. His sword was blasted away by an explosive force. Qiao Zhilin endured the blow, his face a snarling grimace, but his severely injured body oozed blood. When the impact hit his chest, he was overwhelmed, and blood trickled from the corners of his mouth. Although severely wounded, the power of a high-martial realm master fighting to the death remained extraordinary.

As soon as he raised his head and saw the opponent charging, Qiao Zhilin dared not hesitate. He immediately broke off his technique, abandoned the spider web, and fell to the ground. Cai Jin, who had rushed into empty air, followed with a furious knife slash. Qiao Zhilin immediately exerted all his cultivation to swing his sword and block.

Wu Jinliang remained composed, but Xiang Yinhui's eyes gradually widened in shock. He hadn't expected Lan'er to be able to withstand so many moves from Qiao Zhilin, especially with what looked like a clumsy-duck-like movement technique. The rolling head came to a stop not far from Lan'er's feet. Lan'er covered that short distance in a flash, though not as swiftly as the opponent's prior back-and-forth attacks.

Yin Huixin stared at the light screen and muttered, "His cultivation must have broken through to the high-martial realm." Although she couldn't hear what he was saying, everyone seemed to be cheering. Wu Jinliang, however, sighed in relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted. Before their gazes could meet, Qiao Zhilin's backward-twisted glance had just touched the figure behind him, and he felt his vision waver. Cai Jinfeng, the chief guard, his hand that had been rubbing his mouth back and forth was now stiff, as if pressed tightly to his lips, staring fixedly at the changes on the light screen.

The spider web Qiao Zhilin had hung on again was too damaged to form a springing force, its corners already broken in several places. Phantom sword light struck back and forth. The other Domain Lords present, who had free time, were also watching intently. It was too perilous, continuously so. Xiang Yinhui couldn't help but watch intently. Seeing a weakness, he immediately rushed to counterattack.

This scene of one attacking and the other dodging made most of the people in front of the Royal Capital's light screen barely dare to breathe, all of them having their heartstrings pulled taut for Lan'er. It wasn't out of bias for Lan'er, but because the attacker's speed was so extreme, and the defender's every dodge was incredibly perilous. The entire process was so heart-stopping that it led them to involuntarily worry for him; every time a sword was thrust, they subconsciously cried out, "It's over! It's over!"

At this moment, everyone finally saw the bloody gash on Lan'er's cheek, and his chest heaved as he gasped for breath. After all, he had continuously dodged for over two hundred moves. There were also injuries on his shoulder and chest. Cai Jin (Shi Chun) had figured it out: Qiao Zhilin, the spellcaster, although he could sense and adjust the spider silks, could not actually see them with his eyes. This made him realize that if he hadn't had the Demonic Blade when dealing with those illusory Shi Chun swordsmen before, he might not have been able to force them into physical form and kill them. If others had faced those illusory Shi Chun swordsmen, killing them would have been ineffective, and their terror would be unimaginable. The opponent's weakness was created by him; it was he who dodged to create the situation. During the two hundred plus moves, by severing the spider silks...

Miao Yilan, who had closed her eyes, first observed the others' reactions before tentatively looking back at the light screen. Upon seeing Cai Jin still alive, and then understanding his predicament, she immediately became anxious. From the best viewing platform, Wei Mo, the Lord of Shengzhou, suddenly slapped the armrest and stood up, taking a deep breath with his head held high and chest puffed out. He swung his sleeves back with a spirited, triumphant air. "Excellent!" he exclaimed. "Lord Shaoyue, how exhausted are you?"