Sa—
A crosswind suddenly swept across the street!
The old man only glanced at the movement in the bookstore out of the corner of his eye, but the young saber-wielder in front of him, who had seemed "panicked and at a loss" just now, seemed to have changed into a completely different person in an instant.
Yejingtang's Chi Dragon Ringed Saber, which was held vertically in front of his body, didn't choose any way to counter the move. Instead, he directly exerted force with his feet and pushed the saber forward with his body, performing an advancing slash as swift as a thunderclap!
This saber strike was a display of great ingenuity in its simplicity. There was no talk of feints or real moves. It didn't even leave any reserve force for defense. Relying solely on his astonishing explosive power, he aimed directly at the opponent's midsection.
The old man had rushed within seven steps and had no chance to dodge or maneuver.
If it were an ordinary martial artist, in that moment of distraction, they would have already been cut in half at the chest by this saber strike.
But the old man was no ordinary martial artist. In his prime, he had killed a grandmaster. Although his physical strength might have declined due to his advanced age, his experience remained.
The old man was stabbing directly at Yejingtang's heart, and Yejingtang was pushing the saber forward to slash. According to common sense, he should have struck the iron staff. Otherwise, Yejingtang would definitely be pierced through first.
But Yejingtang had no intention of splitting the iron staff at all. His speed had already reached its limit, and there was no room for him to change his move.
The old man saw that Yejingtang was trying to exchange his life for the old man's, betting on the old man's courage to force him to defend. A hint of scorn appeared in his eyes.
After all, this move was too easy to counter. Taking advantage of his initiative, the old man only needed to pierce Yejingtang's heart with the iron staff and, at the same time, shift sideways with the staff to protect the central line and block the saber, and he could break this life-threatening move.
This was exactly what the old man did, but...
Dong—
There was a dull thud!
The old man stabbed with all his might. The iron staff was like the tip of a spear and directly stabbed at Yejingtang's left chest.
To the old man's astonishment, he found that the iron staff was blocked by something and couldn't penetrate this young man's chest even an inch!
The lengths of their weapons were almost the same. Since the stab missed, the saber blade was already upon him, and there was no chance to break through the defense with a short burst of force.
The old man had to shift the iron staff horizontally and hold it in front of his body.
But the force contained in this saber strike was much greater than he had imagined!
Dang—
The loud sound of metal clashing rang out on the silent street!
Although his defense blocked the saber blade, it couldn't withstand the force contained in the saber.
Since the old man failed to stab into Yejingtang's chest, there was no support point at the other end of the iron staff. How could he block Yejingtang's full-strength strike with both hands using only one hand?
The iron staff was struck back against his body. His hat was immediately shattered, and the saber blade grazed his cheek, slicing off half of his right ear.
Peng—
In just one exchange, the old man, who had made an impressive entrance and exuded overwhelming pressure, was sent flying and crashed into the house across the street.
Yejingtang knew that the person opposite was most likely an old grandmaster. Having finally succeeded in playing the fool to catch the tiger, how could he give the opponent a chance to fight back?
At the moment the old man was sent flying, Yejingtang followed like a shadow. He spun around and slashed downwards with the saber, striking the old man who hadn't yet landed in mid-air.
This saber strike was the third move that Yejingtang had come up with casually while waiting for Dongfang Liren in the afternoon!
Sa—
The two saber strikes were closely linked without any gap. Their speed was so fast that it was a luxury just to see them clearly, let alone block them.
This was precisely the ferocity of the "Eight Steps Frenzied Saber Technique". Going all out and only attacking without defending, once one was struck by a saber and their lower body lost balance, it was basically a death sentence.
The "Eight Steps Frenzied Saber Technique" was extremely fierce. Its unrestrained explosion caused great damage to the user's own body. It was very easy to cause muscle tears and strains. There was even a saying, "One saber strike with the left hand, one saber strike with the right hand, and then go home to recuperate from injuries." Even the saber master Kuangyazi of the previous dynasty could only perform eight consecutive strikes at his limit, which was why it was called the "Eight Steps Frenzied Saber Technique".
There were very few people in the world who could perform eight consecutive strikes, and from ancient times to the present, there were basically no people who could withstand all eight strikes. Usually, the outcome was decided with just one strike.
The old man was sent flying, his hat shattered, revealing his wrinkled old face. His eyes were filled with horror. He recognized this as the "Eight Steps Frenzied Saber Technique" and knew that he was in a desperate situation. He could only hastily raise the iron staff in mid-air to block.
Dang—
The saber strike, as powerful as splitting Mount Hua, came down!
The old man, who hadn't yet crashed into the house, was directly slashed to the ground from mid-air.
Hong long—
The blue bricks on the street were instantly shattered, and pieces of rubble flew everywhere, creating a circular dent.
The remaining shockwave of the air even blew up the pages of the books in the bookstore and Dongfang Liren's scattered hair.
"Pu—"
The old man crashed to the ground. The rebound of the qi energy made him immediately spit out a mouthful of old blood, and his face turned a sickly red.
In this desperate situation, the old man's movements were still quick. He forcefully kicked the ground with his feet and slid backward while raising the iron staff to stab forward.
Yejingtang stood firmly and could advance or retreat freely. The old man was already severely injured and lying on the ground. It was simply impossible for him to break the "Eight Steps Frenzied Saber Technique".
When the old man fell to the ground and tried his best to fight back, it was just that, facing certain death, he wanted to exchange his death for an injury to the opponent. He wanted to bite the opponent even if he died.
But what the old man didn't expect was that the young saber-wielder was incredibly steady!
He didn't even make a deal of exchanging an injury for death. As soon as the old man raised his hand, the young saber-wielder decisively leaped backward and landed in front of the bookstore, then sheathed the saber with his backhand.
Ca~~Ka.
The sound stopped abruptly!
"..."
The action of sheathing the saber was clean and neat, exuding an indescribable air of elegance. In the old man's eyes, it felt as if he had already been struck down by Yejingtang's saber without realizing it, and it was just a matter of his head rolling on the ground.
Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he found that he had only lost half of his ear and wasn't dead yet...
The old man was a bit stunned, but he still grasped the straw of survival. He immediately leaped onto the roof across the street, assumed a defensive posture, and stared at Yejingtang as if facing a formidable enemy:
"The Eight Steps Frenzied Saber Technique?!"
Yejingtang didn't respond. He just placed his hand on the handle of the saber, his eyes cold, and scanned the street to the left and right.
In the bookstore, Dongfang Liren had poked her head out when Yejingtang drew his saber. Her eyes were like those of a little fan girl seeing a handsome swordsman.
When Yejingtang made two saber strikes and landed back gracefully, Dongfang Liren thought the assassin had been killed. She was almost mesmerized by Yejingtang's peerless elegance.
But when she looked across the street—the assassin looked as if he had just survived a disaster and seemed to be on the verge of being scared to tears by Yejingtang...
?!
The assassin wasn't dead. What's the point of posing so handsomely?
Dongfang Liren looked at him with a strange expression:
"You..."
Yejingtang held the handle of the saber in his hand. His cold eyes scanned the surrounding houses, and his voice was cold and cautious:
"Such a lowly character in the martial world wouldn't dare to assassinate alone. This person is a decoy. There must be other masters around."
A lowly character? Dongfang Liren's eyes were filled with surprise and doubt. She thought to herself: According to the information, Blood Bodhi is a genuine grandmaster, just a bit old...
But in this situation, she didn't dare to interfere with Yejingtang. She quickly hid behind the counter to avoid being a burden.
And across the street...
Due to a misjudgment, the old man had been severely injured after being struck by two consecutive saber strikes, as if he had just walked through the gates of hell.
Upon hearing the words, he immediately understood why this unfathomable young saber-wielder had stopped—he thought the old man was too weak to be the main force and was afraid that there might be other assassins lying in ambush, so he didn't dare to move too far away from Prince Jing.
"..."
The old man had been roaming the martial world for decades. This was the first time he had been treated as a sacrificial pawn by an opponent. It was simply a great humiliation!
But the opponent was indeed unfathomable. He couldn't even withstand the "Eight Steps Frenzied Saber Technique", and he certainly couldn't go and test whether the opponent knew the "Dragon-Slaying Order". In his opinion, it was highly likely that the opponent knew it.
Seeing that Yejingtang had also "misjudged", the old man didn't hesitate and shouted:
"Attack!"
Then he leaped backward, pretending that his accomplice was approaching and that he would cooperate from a distance. He flew further and further away.
Yejingtang still maintained a cautious expression and scanned the street to the left and right. Only when the assassin's trace completely disappeared did he secretly heave a sigh of relief:
"Is this what a grandmaster is like? He's not even as good as Sanniang. What a piece of trash..."