Chapter 136: Extreme of the Sword, Limit of the Hammer
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The sword was just like a bright star, sprinkling dots of light.
Strands of Sword Qi were tightly packed as they flew in the air, instantly shrouded Junior Leopard within.
What a strong sword technique!
Junior Leopard moved his twin hammers. The silver light met the Sword Qi, releasing a ‘chi-chi’ sound. Every time a sound was produced, Junior Leopard would feel his hands trembling before a wave of huge power followed up. After that was the fierce Sword Qi.
Even if Junior Leopard thought that his defense had already been very tight and that the opponent’s Sword Qi was blocked by him, Sword Qi that was blocked could still deal damage to him after scattering.
Junior Leopard had seen sword users before. He had even seen the White Blademaster Lu Shaoyou’s skills. Lu Shaoyou’s sword was full of chilling light, its Sword Qi would pierce through the heavens and had an intent that could erase everything. Li Xiu, on the other hand, could only be described with one word,
Pure!
It was extremely pure. Apart from the sword, there was nothing else.
This was the purest sword technique and also the purest sword intent.
The long sword that Li Xiu unsheathed didn’t have Lu Shaoyou’s Sword Qi that could pierce the skies. Neither did it have the Silver Moon Sword Technique’s gentleness and mysteriousness. It only had a pure sword form, tearing apart everything and destroying everything.
Junior Leopard paled in comparison.
His hammering skills were also extremely excellent. Wild Hammering Skill and Flipping Sky Hammer Method, both of them were world class hammer skills hard to seek. He had also comprehended hammer skills. He was extremely clear on the way of the hammer, hence, he was very confident in his talent in the hammer skills.
However now, when faced with this sword, no matter how he wielded his hammers, no matter how excellent his hammer skills were, he was unable to destroy Li Xiu’s sword lights, Sword Qi, sword intent.
In the beginning, the two of them were still on par with each other. However following the tide of time, Li Xiu seemed to have entered into a mysterious state. The sword and person merged as one. The long sword on him was as if he was a goat with its horns. There were no mistakes to fault him for. In a moment, Junior Leopard was slashed by Li Xiu’s Sword Qi twice. The sharp Sword Qi contained a sword intent that could destroy everything. It nearly made him collapse.
It was fortunate that Li Xiu was still young. His sword intent was still immature and incomplete. If not, Junior Leopard believed that he would be dead with regret and hatred on the spot.
“Damn, where did this monster come from? I only have this level of cultivation due to my Plug-in. Could it be this kid also has a Plug-in similar to me? No that is not right…”
Junior Leopard’s gaze shifted. He was thinking of a strategy while observing Li Xiu at the same time. The more he looked, the more depressed he got. Ever since the long sword came out of Li Xiu’s sheath, his facial expression hadn’t changed. Even the expression in his eyes didn’t change. It was quiet, gentle, the heart was calm and didn’t have a shred of feeling. It was as if an immortal came down to look at the mortals. This sent shivers through Junior Leopard.
“Clang, clang!”
Two light sounds. Junior Leopard lost his senses for one moment and his twin hammers were completely knocked back. His chest was left wide open. Li Xiu’s sword was like the rainbow, going straight towards Junior Leopard’s chest. The sword intent reached before the Sword Qi.
The sharp sword intent shredded apart Junior Leopard’s Internal Qi and was heading straight for Junior Leopard’s heart.
Junior Leopard felt that he was a dried up sponge and Li Xiu’s sword intent was just like water, soaking into every corner of his body and spreading. It was only waiting to spread into his heart and it could completely destroy him, even kill him.
“Not good!” Junior Leopard’s heart trembled. The pair of hands that were knocked away drafted an arc. A red light burst forth as a wave of burning power burst forth from within Junior Leopard’s body.
“Hong!”
With two loud sounds, a black fireball carrying a temperature that could melt iron and metal spread out in the surroundings.
“Aye?” Li Xiu’s passive expression finally moved. He felt that his own sword was pushed back by a fierce force and then collapsed.
This had never happened before!
Looking again at the powerful Qi from that fella, he withdrew his sword with his sword light being drawn back.
Junior Leopard managed to heave a sigh of relief. However, it was only a sigh.
Li Xiu’s sword light disappeared, but it didn’t mean that he had retreated. In fact, in Junior Leopard’s eyes, the Li Xiu now was even more dangerous. He previously was like a long-lost mysterious weapon that was unsheathed. Its sharpness was incomparable. Now, it was just like a reed that was continuously compressed and kept. What was kept was not just the sword light, but his Internal Qi and sword intent. Even all of the force within his body was kept. It was waiting until it was compressed to the maximum before it violently exploded. Junior Leopard was very sure that at that time, his explosive force would be several times stronger than what he was previously displaying.
A pure sword intent that was focused on destroying. When it was condensed to the maximum and exploded…
When Junior Leopard thought of this his heart shivered. However, now there was no choice. He had ridden the tiger and it was hard to get down. After Li Xiu kept his sword force, Junior Leopard held the advantage on the battlefield. However, he dared not to have any signs of relaxing. That was because he understood that the strong reed that was repressed need not wait until it was completely suppressed before it would explode. As long as he relaxed, Li Xiu would erupt forth.
It was because of this reason that Junior Leopard wielded the twin hammers. He did not display the Wild Hammering Skill nor the Flipping Sky Hammer, but the Thirteen Punches of Desolation.
Hammer as fist!
Hammer, in essence, was an enlarged fist. Junior Leopard all along wanted to incorporate the essence of the hammer skills into the fist skills. However ever since his fist intent was formed, he realized that there weren’t many differences in substance between punching skills and hammering skills. Either one could be melted into the other. Fist skills were hammer skills. Fist Intent was hammer intent. Twin hammers were twin fists. Twin fists were twin hammers.
The fist intent was burning fiercely. When the Thirteen Punches of Desolation were displayed, a wave of desolate feeling spread forth. The two balls of silver lights in his hands merged into one. It became bigger and bigger. Very quickly, it shrouded Liu Xiu and his sword within.
“You have sword intent, and I have fist intent!”
“My fist intent is more mature, mysterious and bigger than your will of the sword. Hence I am not afraid of your will of the sword.”
“My cultivation is not inferior to yours and the hammers in my hands are heavier than yours!”
“Hence I gain the advantage!”
The more Junior Leopard fought, the calmer his heart became. His steps grew more stable!
The hammers were stable and thus they were heavy!
Without knowing, the essence of the strokes of the Wild Hammering Skill and Flipping Sky Hammer Method flashed across his mind like flowing water. It melted into the Thirteen Punches of Desolation. The mental cultivation method of Extraordinary Strength Fist also started to circulate.
The mental cultivation method of the Extraordinary Strength Fist was mysterious. All along Junior Leopard wanted to use this mental cultivation method on the hammering skills and make his own hammering skills more forceful. After repeating several times of usage, he had an accidental discovery. When this Extraordinary Strength Fist was used on both fists, it could increase the strength and power of the fists. When it was used on hammers, it could strangely increase the weight of the hammers.
Junior Leopard’s twin hammers were around 50 kg. However, after circulating the Extraordinary Strength Fist mental cultivation method, Junior Leopard would feel his hands sinking. It was extremely tiring to wield the hammers. After trying it out on the scales, when he used the Extraordinary Strength Fist mental cultivation method, even if the hammers were detached from his hands, within one hour, its weight would increase by 100%. That was when he didn’t exert his full strength. There was once a time where he pushed his limit of the Extraordinary Strength Fist mental cultivation method. Upon testing, that hammer was heavier by 300%.
The most important point was that this Extraordinary Strength Fist mental cultivation method’s effect was multiplication. With a 5 kg hammer on your hands, no matter how you circulate the Internal Qi, within one hour it would be 20 kg. However, if it was a 50 kg hammer, then the weight upon multiplication would be 200 kg. Theorising this way, the heavier the hammer, the bigger the effect of multiplication.
Junior Leopard once fantasized carrying a pair of 500 kg hammers and dancing. That was so captivating!
A pity, with his capabilities now, to carry 500 kg, he could only barely wield it. If he used the mental cultivation method of the Extraordinary Strength Fist, he would definitely pull his back. To wield and wave the hammers now like they were lanterns, he still would have to wait a period of time.
Originally his cultivation reached Level Three and also reached the Skin-Toughening Realm Full Closure stage. The twin hammers in his hands became somewhat lighter. However, upon the push of the Extraordinary Strength Fist, the hammers became somewhat heavier. He became high upon wielding it like dancing.
Junior Leopard became high, but Li Xiu was suffering. Just like him previously, Junior Leopard had completely entered into his state. The hammers in his hands were very heavy!
Almost everytime he clashed, he could feel the remnant strength pouring forth like a tidal wave. This was similar to the state of Junior Leopard back then. At that time, Junior Leopard wasn’t used to his Sword Qi. Almost everytime the weapons clashed Junior Leopard would be hurt by the Sword Qi, it was extremely uncomfortable.
Now he also felt the same feeling. The difference was that Junior Leopard felt the Sword Qi, and what he felt was an incomparably large force.
Power, incomparable power. An unruly strength.
This was the purest form of strength, not having any other attribute.
Even the fist intent Junior Leopard liked best gradually displayed the power that was brought from his twin silver melon hammers. It was making it hard for Li Xiu to bear. His hands and tendons were numb.
Even though now he was compressing and defending, like a spring that was continuously repressed, if the pressure was too big, the spring would also collapse before exploding.
Now what Junior Leopard hoped for was for the spring to collapse before exploding, or to make him unable to endure it and explode prematurely and thus decrease the damage of the opponent.
However, Junior Leopard was also clear that it wasn’t that simple to make this fella collapse. The biggest possibility was to force him to an extreme and not waiting for the reserve strength to be accumulated before exploding.
The truth wasn’t so much different from what he expected.
When Junior Leopard struck continuously for 30-40 hammers, Li Xiu finally couldn’t endure it anymore. Or to put in another way, he didn’t want to endure it anymore. The Qi Power that was condensing shook. The figure that was retreating also stopped. His eyes squinting until they were like fine needles.
A streak of cold light flashed across and the empty space trembled.
“What I want is this!” Junior Leopard’s eyes violently stared, his face revealing a ferocious smile. The twin hammers in his hands formed a huge ball of silver light, carrying a mighty power that contained the sound of wind and thunder. It flew towards and knocked the sword light.
“Hong!”