Chapter 10: The Spear Demon
In the Life-and-Death Arena, all kinds of people gathered. Eccentric fighters like Jian Wushuang, who wore a mask and refused to show their true faces, were not unheard of, so no one found it strange.
"Enough talk. Let's begin." Jian Wushuang's voice was cold. As his words fell, his spiritual power surged forth.
"Spirit Road fourth layer?" The Spear Demon was stunned for a moment, then anger flashed across his face. "You dare mock me?"
The Spear Demon had defeated two Spirit Road fifth-layer fighters in a row before this, and considered his strength formidable. Now, seeing that his opponent was merely a Spirit Road fourth-layer, he flew into a rage, and that fury erupted without delay.
"Die!"
His long spear shot out like a dragon, instantly piercing through the air with a piercing sonic boom. In the next moment, the cold spear tip appeared right before Jian Wushuang—the dozens of meters between the Spear Demon and Jian Wushuang vanished in an instant.
"So fast." Jian Wushuang was secretly alarmed, but his hands did not slow in the slightest.
Hua~~ His long sword left its sheath, instantly becoming a fierce sword shadow, so fast that no one could catch its trace, slashing straight forward. The spiritual power in his body erupted at this moment, pushing his strength to the absolute limit.
Clang!
With a crisp ring, the two weapons collided. Jian Wushuang's wrist swept along with the momentum, his sword abruptly tilting like a flickering ghost, gliding along the spear shaft and slicing directly toward the Spear Demon's hands.
"This sword technique!" The Spear Demon was greatly shocked, and the trace of contempt in his heart instantly vanished.
From this single, simple counter-strike, the Spear Demon could see just how astonishing Jian Wushuang's swordsmanship was.
"Get lost!" The Spear Demon roared, and his two arms gripping the long spear violently swung downward. The terrifying force instantly shook away Jian Wushuang's slicing blade. He turned, about to strike again—
"Your spear technique and your footwork are both far too clumsy. Be my target practice." Jian Wushuang's cold voice rang out, and along with it came sword shadows drifting like the wind.
Fast, too fast.
So fast that it didn't seem like swordsmanship a Spirit Road fourth-layer fighter could possibly perform. Not only was it fast, but one strike followed another in an unbroken chain, leaving the Spear Demon no room to counter at all.
"What powerful swordsmanship!"
"How terrifying!"
"That sword technique..."
The entire arena fell into an uproar, and waves of astonished cries rang out one after another.
Everyone knew this was a challenge across realms—a Spirit Road fourth-layer fighter facing a fifth-layer. Logically, there should have been no suspense in this fight, since the gap between the fourth and fifth layers was considerable. Yet from the very first exchange, the two had stunned everyone.
The Spear Demon of the Spirit Road fifth layer was being completely suppressed by that masked Spirit Road fourth-layer fighter.
"Interesting." A middle-aged man in loose purple robes, seated casually in one of the spectator stands, watched the scene on the stage with a slight curl of his lips. "That masked little fellow shouldn't be very old, but his swordsmanship is truly remarkable."
"If I'm not mistaken, the sword art he's using should be the Falling Leaf Sword Art of the Sword Pavilion—a rather ordinary first-rate sword art. The technique itself is quite mediocre, yet he has already mastered it to the point of perfection. Moreover, each of his strikes is clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation, which shows his understanding of the sword is extremely high, and his fundamentals are incomparably solid. To possess such swordsmanship at his age—his talent in the way of the sword is extraordinary."
"Compared to his swordsmanship, that Spear Demon's spear technique is far, far inferior. If not for the fact that his spiritual power is a notch stronger than this masked little fellow's, he would have lost long ago."
This middle-aged man in the loose purple robes was the supervisor of the Life-and-Death Arena. His status was lofty, and his discernment naturally keen—he saw at a glance the power of Jian Wushuang's swordsmanship and deduced his extraordinary talent in the way of the sword.
And in truth, Jian Wushuang's attainments in swordsmanship were indeed remarkable.
It was precisely because he had such confidence in his own swordsmanship that he dared to challenge across realms.
On the stage, the battle was completely one-sided.
"How is this possible? How can his sword be this fast? I'm a Spirit Road fifth-layer, yet I can't keep up with his speed at all?" The Spear Demon was shaken to his core, but anger quickly welled up in its wake.
"AAAHHH!!!"
The Spear Demon roared, his eyes burning with raging fury, and in the next moment he erupted completely.
Boom!
The piercing sonic boom rang out again. Completely disregarding Jian Wushuang's sword slicing toward his arm, and embracing a madness of trading wound for wound, the Spear Demon directly unleashed his strongest killing technique.
"Look, the Spear Demon's using his ultimate move!"
"It's the Thirteen Cloud-Piercing Spears!"
Someone below the stage cried out in alarm.
The Thirteen Cloud-Piercing Spears consisted of thirteen spear strikes executed in succession, each one fiercer, more violent, and more powerful than the last. It was the signature technique that had made the Spear Demon famous.
The terrifying momentum made even Jian Wushuang's expression change. He hurriedly withdrew his sword to block the incoming barrage of incomparably violent spear shadows.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Taking twelve strikes in one breath, Jian Wushuang's arms were shaken numb. At this moment, the Spear Demon had accumulated all his strength to its utmost, unleashing the thirteenth spear—the most powerful, the most terrifying strike of all.
"Die!" The Spear Demon's face was twisted and manic.
"Go to hell!" A flash of killing intent crossed Jian Wushuang's eyes as well.
Shu!
A cold sword shadow flashed, there and gone.
Impossibly fast, fast beyond the power of words to describe.
Only a smear of crimson drifted through the air.
The Spear Demon's face still held its ferocious grin, but his eyes were wide open, their depths full of unwillingness, as his body collapsed powerlessly onto the stage. Looking closely, one could see a clear sword mark at his throat.
The Spear Demon—a Spirit Road fifth-layer fighter who had won two consecutive matches in the Life-and-Death Arena—was dead!
Jian Wushuang stood beside the Spear Demon's corpse, breathing heavily.
"That was close. As expected of fighters who battle and bleed in this Life-and-Death Arena—every one of them is utterly mad at their core. When suppressed by my swordsmanship, he directly chose to trade his life for mine. This kind of madness... I can't match it. Luckily, I still had a trump card. Otherwise, the one who died just now would absolutely have been me." Jian Wushuang sighed with emotion.
Below the stage, there was total shock.
The countless spectators all held their breath, staring at the scene on the stage in disbelief.
No one had imagined that the incredibly strong Spear Demon, who had won two consecutive life-and-death battles, would die—killed at the hands of a Spirit Road fourth-layer fighter.
This cross-realm challenge... the underdog had actually succeeded?
And in the stands of the arena, the middle-aged man in the loose purple robes, who had previously merely seemed somewhat intrigued, now wore an expression of utter gravity.
"That sword strike just now... was that... the Nameless Sword Art?"
PS: Thanks to Brother Star's Love for the 20,000 book coin donation, thanks to Brother xinyulfe for the 10,000 book coin donation, and thanks to all the brothers who have supported and donated to this book. The growth of a new book depends on everyone's support—many thanks!