Chapter 140

As time passed, the halo formed by the collision of the two energies grew larger and larger, and the leaking energy flattened everything around them into a wasteland!

Cracks multiplied rapidly across the ground, sending up clouds of dust and creating an intensely chaotic scene!

Right at the epicenter of the vortex, Jiang Xiaotian's face was twisted in agonizing pain. He gritted his teeth, his body and face covered in lacerations cut by the sword qi, blood continuously oozing out!

After all, this power did not belong to him. Although he managed to barely contend against it by borrowing Ling'er's vast spiritual energy and natural advantage, he soon began to show signs of exhaustion. Even the dragon saliva could not keep up with the rate of consumption.

In a battle of this level, even the slightest mistake was fatal, and Ishin's divine internal energy, immensely pure and profound, was gradually gaining the upper hand.

A piercing sound accompanied the gale-force winds, making it impossible for Jiang Xiaotian to even keep one eye open. Their surroundings had become a complete wasteland, devoid of any living creatures.

The yellow electric light constantly eroded Jiang Xiaotian's protective spiritual energy. The latter not only had to fend off the power of the divine energy but also continuously help restore Jiang Xiaotian's body, making the depletion exceptionally rapid!

The divine sword in his hand hummed intensely, as if bearing a weight of thousands of pounds, yet it showed no signs of breaking from start to finish. After all, this was a sword of the dragon race, not so easily shattered.

With their strengths in this single clash being quite evenly matched, it came down to a battle of endurance. If things continued this way, Jiang Xiaotian would ultimately be the one to fall.

Even as peers in the realm of divine energy, Ishin was unquestionably far more formidable than Ying. While Ying excelled at assassination, he pushed the tyrannical swordsmanship of the East to its absolute limit!

The fact that Jiang Xiaotian had managed to hold on until now was already a miracle among miracles.

He could not let this continue; he had to find another way. Jiang Xiaotian's brain raced, but in the face of absolute strength, all scheming was futile.

"My sword, isn't it powerful!" Jiang Xiaotian suddenly shouted, though the words were accompanied by dark red blood, showing that his condition was far from good.

Ishin, who had been harboring suspicions about whether Jiang Xiaotian was holding back his strength or if there was something fishy about the weapon in his hand, had held back from acting rashly. Yet now, Jiang Xiaotian had openly admitted it!

Ishin stared at him, glancing briefly at the divine sword, but his momentum did not wane in the slightest.

Seeing this reaction, Jiang Xiaotian felt a glimmer of certainty, realizing that Ishin could not verify his true strength.

He had said it intentionally. Although it was the truth, telling the truth sometimes proved exceptionally effective.

He could not drag this out any longer, so he purposely relaxed his stance slightly: "Did you really not expect that I could push you to this extent using just a sword? Hahaha!"

Ishin frowned, catching the underlying implication in his words, but made no reply. Even sensing that Jiang Xiaotian's power was weakening, he did not rush to counterattack, preferring to continue the steady drain. If he had known earlier, he wouldn't have opened with his killing move—that had been his biggest mistake!

There were too many uncertainties about Jiang Xiaotian, and Ishin needed to play it safe. Killing him was the ultimate priority!

Yet at this moment, Jiang Xiaotian threw back his head and laughed wildly: "Do you know why so many people recognize me even though I am only at the internal energy stage? Because I once killed a divine energy master, and today, I am going to kill a second one!"

He had no choice but to gamble again!

As he spoke, Jiang Xiaotian suddenly withdrew all his spiritual energy, halted all attacks, and retreated backward. Just as Ishin charged forward amid a flurry of sparks and lightning, Jiang Xiaotian reached out once more: "I never said I only had one divine artifact of this kind, did I? This second one is meant specifically to kill you!!"

Aura surged throughout Jiang Xiaotian's body once again, intertwined with Ling'er's power, as successive roars of dragons resounded!

"Sword, come!" he summoned once more!

Ishin stopped dead in his tracks. At that moment, he felt fear!

This fellow was merely at the internal energy stage, yet he had used a single sword in his hand to stubbornly withstand his Thunder Flash! Even peers within the same realm could not accomplish such a feat!

No wonder he had all along harbored a lingering dread—a dread of this terrifying power. It turned out Jiang Xiaotian still had a trump card!

If a single sword could make him this formidable, what about two?

Ishin's unease reached its peak. Unlike Jiang Xiaotian, who dared to gamble everything, even wagering his life, he had climbed painstakingly to the realm of a Black Samurai. If he were to capsize in this gutter, the losses would far outweigh the gains!

Because a Jiang Xiaotian wielding two divine swords might genuinely be capable of killing him!

Ishin's expression shifted uncertainly, but after hesitating for only a single second, he transformed into a streak of lightning and fled backward!

A wave of joy surged in Jiang Xiaotian's heart, and he immediately pressed the attack while holding the momentum!

He didn't possess two divine swords at all; he had simply been bluffing. Now that the gamble had paid off, he could not afford to miss this opportunity!

Jiang Xiaotian instantly raised his sword, holding nothing back this time. He poured even his own spiritual energy out completely, converging it upon the blade's edge!

The moment he completely locked onto Ishin's aura, he swung the sword downward, carrying the wrath of a dragon that could destroy everything, driving straight toward the genuine divine energy expert!

However, none of this escaped Ishin's notice. He reacted instantly, realizing he had been tricked by Jiang Xiaotian!

He had actually allowed himself to be frightened into running away by a mere kid at the internal energy stage!

"Courting death!" Furious to the extreme, Ishin spun around instantly, his boots scraping deep trenches into the ground before he sheathed his sword, lightning flashing instantly into view!

"What do you take a Black Samurai for!" Ishin roared like a berserk bull, snapping every tree in his path as he met Jiang Xiaotian's incoming sword qi head-on!

"Chaotic Blades!" At Ishin's loud cry, his blade flashed out of its scabbard once more, accompanied by countless dancing blade lights before him. In that single instant, he seemed to strike a hundred times, actually hacking Jiang Xiaotian's sword qi directly into fragments!

Like a demon god, he had lost his previous composure. Although he easily slashed apart Jiang Xiaotian's strike, the residual shockwave still pierced his shoulder. Even though Jiang Xiaotian had poured his all into the attack, it had only inflicted some superficial, harmless wounds upon the divine energy expert!

Yet Ishin had been thoroughly enraged and seemed impervious to pain. Before Jiang Xiaotian could even register his shock, he found Ishin stepping through the air amidst a gale, every step accompanied by a blade wind that relentlessly tore at Jiang Xiaotian's body!

Having already exhausted his strength, he could no longer even protect himself, nor did he have time to dodge. He took two blows directly to his front and crashed heavily into the muddy ground!

By now, Ishin had changed his mind. He no longer intended to kill Jiang Xiaotian outright; he wanted to teach him the true meaning of divine energy! The true meaning of a Black Samurai!

"You dared to trick me? You dared to humiliate me?" Ishin's voice was as cold as a frozen cellar. He swung his blade so fast it left afterimages, slashing down again and again. Some blows landed on Jiang Xiaotian's body, while others merely carved up the earth. He attacked indiscriminately, purely to make Jiang Xiaotian understand what divine energy truly meant!

Only now did Jiang Xiaotian realize that his previous victory over Ying was not solely due to the opponent's lack of preparedness, but also sheer good luck. Truly facing a divine energy expert now resulted in a completely one-sided rout, leaving him utterly incapable of fighting back!

He could only pray that the ancestor of the Ouyang family would arrive soon, while scurrying with his head in his hands to maneuver through the forest.

Yet no matter how he ran, it was all in vain, because any cover would be instantly hacked into fragments by Ishin, rocks included!

He was entirely capable of slaying this internal energy practitioner with a single sword stroke, but he chose not to. He wanted to slowly torture Jiang Xiaotian, force him to surrender his martial arts techniques with his own hands, and then sever his hands and feet!

At this thought, the normally taciturn Ishin laughed with manic excitement, toying with Jiang Xiaotian like a cat playing with a mouse. Ishin wanted to completely shatter Jiang Xiaotian's psyche, forcing him to experience overwhelming terror in his final moments and die in bitter regret!

Jiang Xiaotian's face was pale. He had truly reached his limit; struck by multiple swords, blood was leaking from everywhere, and his legs trembled. He scanned his surroundings frantically, but where was anyone coming to save him?

Traveling from Dragon City here required a plane; even a divine energy master would need a certain amount of time, and right now his chances looked grim.

He didn't even know how to detonate his own energy...

Jiang Xiaotian glanced down at the bracelet and sighed softly. It seemed Ling'er would have to step in.

She had told him that if he ever encountered a life-or-death crisis, he should crush the bracelet, and she would rush over immediately.

Ah... Sister Ling'er was truly far-sighted. If not for the divine sword, he probably would have lost his life already, but the divine sword could now only manifest his own level of power and was completely powerless to resist further.

"Why aren't you swinging your sword anymore? Was it a one-time thing after all? Get up! Fight!"

As he spoke, Ishin grabbed Jiang Xiaotian's hand and drove his sword straight through the latter's palm!

Jiang Xiaotian let out a sharp cry of agony, covered in cold sweat, yet he genuinely had not a single option left!

Just as despair consumed him, a familiar and slightly flamboyant voice drifted over from the side.

"Oh! Jiang Xiaotian, so this is where you are!"