520 The Intellectual Sword Slashes

Zhexiu gazed at the fog of snow covering the bridge and the rays of lightwithin it, then said, "It truly is the case." No one refuted him. If it was said that the cultivation Chen Changsheng haddisplayed on the path of the sword had shocked the crowd into extreme sorrow,the level of cultivation Xu Yourong displayed had shocked the crowd intospeechlessness. Just as Tang Thirty-Six had said to Chen Changsheng in the PlumGarden Inn, she had always been someone that made other people speechless. From the moment the battle started, Xu Yourong had held a firm grasp over thesituation on the Bridge of Helplessness. The storm stirred up by ChenChangsheng's sword seemed powerful, but it had still been shattered in the end.If Chen Changsheng could be said to be unimaginably powerful, then just whatlevel was the ever-calm Xu Yourong at? Sword intent assailed the stone bridge, sword energy pressured the formation,the foggy snow and misty rain flew everywhere, and light confronted the flowingwater. The masses on the two banks of the Luo River could only see the beautifulsight of rain and snow as well as the indistinct battle occurring within thatseemed like something from myths. They didn't understand the significance ofwhat was going on and incessantly cheered and shouted. On the other hand, thepeople on the great ship continued to grow quieter, especially those importantfigures standing on the bow of the ship. Because they could see everything. The stone bridge was between heaven and earth, the rays of light traveledbetween heaven and earth, and all the sword styles that existed between heavenand earth seemed to appear on the stone bridge. At their current levels of cultivation, Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong couldnot be considered top experts. On the great ship alone, there were no less thanten people that could easily defeat them. However, the powers of comprehensionand cultivation in the path of the sword they had displayed in this battlecould be described as close to perfect. This also indicated that they bothpossessed a nigh-unimaginable potential. As long as nothing too out of theordinary occurred, every one of these people at the bow of the ship wouldeventually be surpassed, one by one. As expected, the youngest Holy Maiden ofthe south in history and the future Pope were extraordinary. At some point, Xue He had walked to the foremost position on the bow of theship. As he watched the battle on the bridge, his emotions grew increasinglycomplex. The hand caressing his severed arm had long since ceased. In thechilly air, his hand seemed to wield a nonexistent blade, as if anxious to joinin this battle. Suddenly, his expression changed. In the snow and rain, inthose incredibly complex sword slashes, he had seized upon a scent veryfamiliar to him. It was not the scent of a sword, but that of a blade. Just whywas that? Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong were clearly both using swords, so why hadblade intent appeared on the bridge? It was an awe-inspiring and dangerousblade intent! Xue He suddenly remembered that Chen Changsheng was using WangPo's path of the blade and felt he understood the reason. He no longercontemplated this problem and continued to immerse himself in the battle beforehim, attempting to obtain even more insights. Standing on the bridge, Chen Changsheng did not sense any blade intent. Thefirst reason was that this match was far too tense and it was difficult to getdistracted. The second was that he was one of the participants in the battle.Finally, the most important reason of all was that the blade intent sensed byXue He actually did not originate from his or Xu Yourong's sword, butrather…whenever his and Xu Yourong's sword intent blended together, an extrascent would also be created. If he had been able to sense this detail, perhaps he would have understoodsome things. Regretfully, he was not able to sense it. His sight and mind were completelyplaced on the countless rays of light in the snow in front of him. Hisspiritual sense worked at high speeds to constantly calculate, his IntellectualSword constantly slashed to hold off the frightening Sword of Great Light andpush it back beyond the line. He didn't know how many sword techniques he had used yet, only that he had notyet used every sword style there was between heaven and earth. Persisting wasvery painful. In Xunyang City, he had only been able to use the Blazing Swordseveral times. Today, he had already used it several dozen times. The trueessence provided from igniting the plain of snow had long since been consumed.At the moment, he was completely reliant on the lake outside his EtherealPalace. But he was not concerned. The facts were proof that his seven days ofpreparation had been of use. That Xu Yourong was able to learn the Sword ofGreat Light was beyond his expectations, but those divine and solemn swordtechniques that seemed both like a great ocean and also like dewdrops had neverbeen able to break through the line across the center of the Bridge ofHelplessness. In addition, he also believed that Xu Yourong would also not beable to last for too long. When Xu Yourong's true essence was no longer capable of sustaining the Swordof Great Light, it would be his chance to counterattack. However, for some inexplicable reason, there was this faint feeling in thedepths of his heart that didn't want things to end. Because at the moment, he was very happy. Even though the Intellectual Sword continued to press his spiritual sense, theBlazing Sword continued to consume his true essence, and the Stupid Swordcontinued to torture his mind, he was still very happy. Just like if one was playing chess and suddenly encountered an opponent ofsimilar strength and outstanding level. It was also like drinking wine and then suddenly encountering a companion whohad a similar tolerance for alcohol and that you could drink and compose poemswith. Or perhaps it was like discussing the Dao and meeting a deskmate with kindwords and an appearance that was not at all disgusting. As he gazed at the bright figure of the young woman in the snow, ChenChangsheng felt these sorts of feelings. He even felt like he had returned to the Garden of Zhou, back to the snowytemple in the plains, chatting with that young woman. Soaking in the pleasure. Merry and lively. Happy. And calm. He even felt that, in the snow, Xu Yourong should be thinking the same. Yes, Xu Yourong was also thinking this, but her thoughts were much clearerthan this. Xu Yourong did not think about a chess opponent or drinking partner. She wentstraight to that night in the snowy temple. For this battle on the Bridge of Helplessness, he and she had prepared for anentire seven days. More than three hundred sheets of paper filled with calculations and writingand seventeen star charts were in this foggy snow and misty rain, within theseslashes of sword intent. Right now, they were playing chess, having a talk, doing battle. If they could continue in this way, it would naturally be great, but it wassimply an impossibility. The fallen snow had all crumbled, the fallen rain had all transformed, thesurface of the stone bridge had been crushed into a spiderweb of cracks, andthe Luo River below the bridge was covered with countless scales. Both Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong had walked to the end of their respectivepaths. The young woman's figure was still in the snow, extremely close to the centerof the bridge, but her footsteps were now much heavier. Chen Changsheng's swordplay had also changed, gradually becoming moresluggish. It was no longer as swift as it was at the beginning, and even beganto feel a little unpredictable. The snow all fell, the fog suddenly dispersed, and the Bridge of Helplessnesssuddenly became clear and bright. On the bridge, two figures met. Like a chess game in its final stages, only the last two moves were left.Inevitably, victory and defeat would be decided. Like a drinking party come to an end, small yellow flowers falling upon thescattered courses, incredibly somber and desolate. In a blizzard, people would retreat to a temple, where only the ashes beforethe statues of gods still retained any warmth. The white gauze fluttered. Xu Yourong's eyes were filled with sacred light,like the stars on the star compass. Chen Changsheng seemed to lightly raise the sword, the point of the swordpiercing through the snow that had begun to fall once more. The snow seemedjust like the three hundred pieces of paper back at the Orthodox Academy in hisroom were dancing in the air. Xu Yourong seemed to float up, like a god descending upon the world. With hersword imbued with light, she stabbed at Chen Changsheng. Intellectual Sword, slash. Temple sword, sever. At this very moment, something happened that no one expected. Chen Changsheng had originally been holding the hilt of his sword with bothhands. Now, he released the grip of his left hand and extended it towards thattemple sword which was flying through the snowy sky. What did he want to do? Even if his body had been washed in dragon blood andwas stronger than a body obtained from perfect Purification, it was still abody of flesh and blood. How could it resist the edge of the temple sword, letalone the temple sword that carried Xu Yourong's Heavenly Phoenix true essenceand a boundless light? Even a powerful expert like Mao Qiuyu would not dare usea single hand to receive this strike! Chen Changsheng's action was very casual, very natural, just like a handreaching out to take a book from a bookshelf. Of course, he wasn't relying on his left hand to block the temple sword. He just wanted to create a connection to the temple sword. Besides the light on the temple sword and the snowy air, the place his fingersextended towards also contained a faintly discernible connection. The temple sword had originally been a sword he had brought out of the Gardenof Zhou! He was extremely familiar with the temple sword's sword intent; how could thetemple sword not recognize his Qi? In the Garden of Zhou, the Sword Pool had reappeared and ten thousand oldswords had followed him into the battle, the temple sword included. All ofthese swords were his companions, his fellow soldiers. In battle, how could afellow soldier turn on another? In the moment of life and death, how couldone's companions not hear one's cries for assistance? An unimaginable ripple of Qi appeared on the Bridge of Helplessness! In the air, the temple sword began to fiercely shudder and then flew towardsChen Changsheng. Flew, not stabbed, because it had no hostility, much less killing intent! The Sword of Great Light was abruptly dispelled! Then something even more shocking occurred—Xu Yourong actually seemed to havealready calculated this outcome! Her right hand maintained its grip on the temple sword, using the energy tofly forward. Her white dress danced in the air, her figure blurred as shewithdrew those myriad rays of light, and she arrived directly in front of ChenChangsheng. If Chen Changsheng had not, in the final moment, used his spiritualsense to stir the temple sword, then no matter how fast Xu Yourong's movementtechniques were, she could not possibly have been so fast and broken throughhis Stainless Sword! Chen Changsheng had calculated for seven days. She had also calculated for seven days. There was a squelch. Perhaps it was because his control over the temple sword had come a little toolate, or perhaps it was because Xu Yourong was still the Holy Maiden and eventhough she had only been reunited with the temple sword for seven days, hercontrol over it was stronger than Chen Changsheng had imagined. Or perhaps itwas because something happened that both sides had not expected. The temple sword stabbed into Chen Changsheng's left arm, sending out a spurtof blood. Then, the temple sword fell into his hands. The wind and snow began to stir once more, whistling along as if even theworld was rather amazed. For some reason, Chen Changsheng's actions became a little slow. The StainlessSword in his right hand that had originally traced such fine and exquisiteslashes began to deviate. With an unhurried breeze, Xu Yourong extended her slim forefinger. With aseemingly slow, but actually incomparably fast speed, it thrust towards thespace between Chen Changsheng's eyebrows. If this were a normal finger, it would have been simply impossible for it tothreaten Chen Changsheng's life. Although his body bathed in dragon blood couldnot resist the famous swords on the Tier of Legendary Weapons, that didn't meanits defense could be broken by a single slim forefinger. And yet, for somereason, his mind suddenly felt that he was in incredible danger, that even hislife was on the verge of being lost. Xu Yourong's fingertip held a speck of light, like that of a firefly, butstored within was a limitless energy. No one could be faster than her finger. At least in those battles of hers, no one other than Nanke was fast enough tocatch up to the speed of this finger. The body lacks the wings of the bright-colored Phoenix, but our hearts arespiritually linked like the rhino and its horn. (TN: This is a line from an untitled poem by the Tang Dynasty poet LiShangyin. The poem is romantic in nature, this line meaning that though thelovers cannot meet, as they do not have wings, their hearts are linked. Inancient China, there was a mythical three-horned rhino. One of these horns wascalled the "Heavenly Path Horn" which, if cut open, would reveal a white linethat ran from the head to the tail of the rhino. The second part of this lineis a reference to this myth.) This was the Rhino Horn Finger! ……