Chapter 372: Invisible Blade
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
He was calm, almost as if he was one with his surroundings.
Many a times, one could read another's character from his expression. A person who was arrogant would look at others with disdain.
However, nothing could be read from Nangong Hao's expression.
From the moment he stepped out of the Icy Monkey Settlement, he was calm, almost to the point of being humble. However, when seen in the face of a 50,000 strong army...
All of the candidates felt that this was a show of force. He was like a war god, infallible.
Of course, Nangong Hao had been defeated before. The only time he had been defeated was at the hands of Chi Guyan. However, could that be called a failure?
Definitely not!
Chi Guyan was the top of two of the Dragon Rolls. She was the Pride of Heaven and the one mentioned in the prophecy.
As such...
Even if Nangong Hao was defeated, he did not fail.
"After four years out of the public's eye, how powerful is Nangong Hao now?"
"Is he as powerful as he was four years ago?"
"How much more ridiculous did his abilities get? He was already able to suppress all his peers four years ago... how much more powerful could he get?"
Questions began to fly through the minds of the candidates as well as the 50,000 strong army.
How powerful is Nangong Hao now?
Chen Feiyu was also very interested to find out the answer to that question. The only difference was, he was going to try it out for himself.
Fang Zhengzhi himself was curious as well. However, he did not need to fight this battle, Chen Feiyu had offered to do it for him.
King of the hill style!
This was the classic tactic to wear down the outnumbered. Fang Zhengzhi was rarely able to use this tactic, but he had to admit he liked this feeling.
"Nangong Hao, prepare to receive!" Chen Feiyu had no intention of delaying any longer. He had waited too long for this moment.
He drew his sword and it began to pour.
Chen Feiyu put everything he had behind this blade. He used the Torrential Pear Blossom Sword Technique, the secret technique of the Sun Constabulary!
This technique was characterized by its speed and lethality!
In the moment he raised his sword, his body became one with the rain. He appeared in front of Nangong Hao in and instant.
The speed at which he moved was unbelievable.
Barely a second had passed from the moment he raised his sword.
However, its power was not compromised despite its speed. He thrust his sword and the storm intensified. A snow white flower bloomed in the rain, its petals dancing in the air.
"Good technique!"
"How is he that powerful?! Chen Feiyu's Torrential Pear Blossom Sword Technique is so powerful now?"
All of the candidates gasped in awe when they saw this. Before this, they were too absorbed with ensuring their own survival and defeating others.
Right now, they were able to just sit back and watch the action.
This made them realize how overpowered Chen Feiyu's sword technique was. When they saw it, they all got the feeling that it was unstoppable.
Chen Feiyu felt his pride grow when he heard the cheers around him. However, this was not enough for him. He wanted to hear more praises.
Chen Feiyu can match Nangong Hao for 100 rounds?!
Chen Feiyu managed to fight Nangong Hao to a draw?!
Chen Feiyu is in the Supernatural State!
"Come on, say it all! I want to hear it all!" Chen Feiyu lusted for these compliments. He chopped downwards.
The petals immediately formed a sharp, glowing point as they rocketed towards Nangong Hao's head. They would bloom at the very last moment.
"Woosh!" The blade fell, but the petals did not bloom.
The rain was torrential, but the strike seemed calm. It felt as if the rain had stopped. In fact, it felt like time had stopped for a brief moment.
However, this feeling did not last long.
Everyone saw the strangest sight unfold before them.
It had all happened too fast. It was so fast that everyone thought the two people had swapped places in that moment.
Chen Feiyu's strike was not blocked.
However, as his blade travelled through the air, Nangong Hao was already behind him. More importantly, it seemed as though Nangong Hao had been there all along.
"How fast!"
"Even faster than Chen Feiyu!"
All of the candidates looked at Nangong Hao and could not hold back their awe.
Fang Zhengzhi had promised Nangong Mu that he would defeat Nangong Hao. This was a promise that he intended to keep.
He believed that he could defeat Nangong Hao. However, that did not mean that he thought that Nangong Hao was weak.
Fang Zhengzhi was confident but he was not arrogant.
As such, he was keenly aware of the fact that Nangong Hao was very powerful. However, only now did he understand why Nangong Mu, as powerful as he was, would give up in the face of Nangong Hao.
Nangong Hao and Chi Guyan...
Were quite similar.
The first time Fang Zhengzhi saw Chi Guyan's speed was on Cang Ling Mountain. At that time, he thought that he would be able to leave Chi Guyan far behind.
However...
Chi Guyan had no problem following him despite being unfamiliar with the area.
That was the first time Fang Zhengzhi had witnessed such a queer way of moving. She moved without actually moving her body.
Fang Zhengzhi had wondered if Chi Guyan was stepping on something. After all, such movement was illogical.
However, after seeing how Nangong Hao dodge Chen Feiyu's strike, he knew that Chi Guyan did not have anything under her feet.
How was this possible?
Fang Zhengzhi did not understand. However, he was certain that Nangong Hao's speed was no less than Chi Guyan's.
In other words...
He was still slower than Nangong Hao!
Speed was paramount in the world of martial arts. He was already slower than Nangong Hao. How was he going to defeat someone faster than him?
Fang Zhengzhi did not spend anymore time thinking about it. Nangong Hao had already drawn his blade.
All of the candidates and deputies pursed their lips. Their gazes were fixed on Nangong Hao.
When Nangong Hao drew his blade, Fang Zhengzhi had a strange feeling. This feeling was from the heart.
For some inexplicable reason, when Nangong Hao drew his blade, Fang Zhengzhi felt that Chen Feiyu was outmatched.
This was despite the fact that Chen Feiyu was in the Supernatural State!
Fang Zhengzhi had watched how masters in his previous world bullied those less skilled. They would not draw their blades unless absolutely necessary.
However, Nangong Hao drew his blade!
It was an incredibly shiny blade.
The hilt was snow white and the blade itself was crystal clear. It was even clearer than its sheath. If one did not look closely, it would be impossible to notice.
"This is Nangong Hao's sword?" Fang Zhengzhi had seen many swords in this world, including Nangong Mu's and Xing Qingsui's.
Furthermore...
The Traceless Sword was his.
However, he had never seen a sword like Nangong Hao's! It was almost invisible. Could this be the Invisible Sword?
It looked just like a block of ice!
The moment Nangong Hao drew his sword, he thrust it at Chen Feiyu.
There was nothing special about his strike!
In the eyes of the candidates and the deputies, this strike was rather ordinary. Of course, if this was someone else, it would be quite extraordinary.
It was too quick!
Unfathomably quick!
Was Nangong Hao's strike merely quick?
This was the question in the minds of all the candidates. Nangong Hao represented the pinnacle of his age.
At the very least, his strike should be quite gaudy!
It should have the bloom of Chen Feiyu's strike. At the very least, there should be sounds of wind or thunder. Anything would be better than this silence.
However, the fact was that Nangong Hao's strike was silent.
Completely silent.
It was as smooth and stable as his movement. It did not even look like he was moving, but he appeared behind Chen Feiyu.
Chen Feiyu was not a rookie.
When he saw Nangong Hao disappear, he did not panic. He had predicted that this would happen.
Was it weird that Nangong Hao dodged his attack?
Of course not! Since he wasn't surprised, why would he panic?
He expected Nangong Hao to disappear from view.
Normally, when one's opponent disappeared from view, he was mostly likely at the back. Chen Feiyu should thrust to his back next.
However, he heard nothing from behind him.
As such...
His battle experience told him that if his opponent was not behind, then they could only be above or below.
Of course, these were all guesses. Since he had no way of being sure, he was not going to try his luck.
He decided to react in the best way possible.
He would defend himself from all sides!
A wall of blue water surrounded him like a huge bubble.
This was the torrential rain from the Torrential Pear Blossom
It was a way for him to defend himself before going on the offence.
The water would form a bubble that would defend against the incoming attack before going on the offensive. After the opponent's strike impacted the bubble, it would become millions of water droplets which would attack the opponent.
It was the perfect technique for this situation.
Chen Feiyu was proud of his adaptability. He did not think of defeating Nangong Hao in a single round. All he wanted to do was wear Nangong Hao down.
Being calm and composed was important if he was going to last multiple rounds against Nangong Hao.
However, his confidence did not last very long.
When his technique began to take shape, he felt a weird feeling around him. His shield had been broken.
The bubble had been pierced.
This was something that should never have happened.
If his bubble had really been pierced, he should have felt something. His torrential rain should also have been activated. But, it wasn't.
Without the torrential rain, what was this technique of his?
Bubble?
Chen Feiyu was rather curious. He subconsciously turned around as he looked at what was behind him.
He saw a sword.
A sword that was right at his throat.
This caused the initially calm and composed Chen Feiyu to lose his composure.
What the hell?
Why was there a blade at his throat? Where did it come from?
Chen Feiyu saw the hilt, then looked at the hands holding the blade. Finally, he looked up at Nangong Hao. Nangong Hao's expression was still calm.
"Nangong... Hao?!" Chen Feiyu had expected to lose, but he did not expect to lose so quickly.
He also did not expect himself to lose in such a weird way.
What happened?
Why didn't the torrential rain activate. Was it really time to change its name to bubble?
Chen Feiyu could not understand it. He could not accept this defeat. Even up till now, he did not know how he lost.
"You can control everything in this world, but so can I. You... have lost." Nangong Hao's lips moved as he sheathed his sword.
"Lost?!" Chen Feiyu looked at Nangong Hao, then at the sheathed blade. For the first time ever, he was lost.
He can control everything in this world just like me?
Chen Feiyu was confused. He kept thinking about what Nangong Hao had just said.
All of the other candidates were equally confused. Not only were they thinking about what Nangong Hao said, they were thinking about how Nangong Hao had pierced Chen Feiyu's defences.
That was not an ordinary strike.
On the contrary...
It was a peerless one!
However, that was a strike that Chen Feiyu did not see until it was too late.