Chapter 103: Returning the Sword Without Form, Intent to Slay the Soul of the Heart-Repelling Spear

On a special time, in a special place, people might not care about their own lives, for there are things more important than life at such moments. But what are they? Perhaps only oneself can answer that.

Just as the “Dancing Moon” sword was about to pierce the heart of the genius from behind, Liu Yi suddenly stood up and stretched out his hand, saying, “No…” His voice was filled with sorrow and despair.

Everyone was stunned by this mysterious man’s actions. Yesterday, he had drawn his sword to save someone; today, something seemed wrong. What did that single word “No” mean? For a moment, it became an enigma.

But then, something strange happened—the “Dancing Moon” sword, glowing with pink light, stopped flying and quickly returned to July’s hands. The genius also caught the purple bell, which fell to the ground, yet his expression was one of joy and a smile.

No one knew what had happened. Yesterday, that mysterious man had drawn his sword to save someone; today, after just saying one word, the fighting stopped. Why?

Outside observers could only guess. Only the three people present understood…

July sheathed the “Dancing Moon” sword and looked at Liu Yi. Her eyes were filled with disappointment. She didn’t understand why she had stopped. She wanted to kill that shadow of Jili, but hearing a “No” forced her to halt.

July lifted her cloak and walked down from the arena, gradually disappearing into the crowd. Perhaps her heart was in pain.

Looking up at the arena, the genius put away the bell and also walked down. Thus, one match ended. But who was the winner? Although everyone knew in their hearts, they couldn’t put it into words.

The old judge on the stage glanced at one side and then the other, shook his head, and said, “Both contestants have withdrawn from this match.”

At that moment, Liu Yi sat down. He didn’t know why he had stopped July. Perhaps it was because of that shadow etched deep in his heart.

The old man checked the form below and stood up, shouting loudly, “The second qualifying match is between the lord of Eternal City and the Divine Gate elder Bo Cangqiong. Please come to the arena.”

Liu Yi and Bo Cangqiong entered from opposite sides. As they stepped forward, Liu Yi observed Bo Cangqiong across from him. It had been ten years—his appearance hadn’t changed at all. He wore silver armor, with two “phoenix feathers” still stuck in his crown. His weapon wasn’t a knife or a sword, but a silver spear with a diamond-shaped tip, surrounded by dozens of sharp spikes about an inch long. At its core, it emitted a white glow—this was Bo Cangqiong’s famous weapon, the Heart-Repelling Spear.

Both stopped in their tracks, about twenty zhang apart. Bo Cangqiong looked at Liu Yi, held the spear horizontally, and said, “I admire your swift swordsmanship, but you’re too cruel. It’s just a martial contest, yet you injured my disciple—Wind God—and took his arm. So, in this battle, I will surely do my utmost to restore justice for the people of the Divine Gate.”

A red glow flashed in Liu Yi’s eyes. He had no desire to waste words with the person before him. Although he had met Bo Cangqiong ten years ago and knew that Shui Er was his disciple, what he hated most now was the endless cycle of one person helping another, with someone always stepping in for the other. Liu Yi said slowly, word by word, “Perhaps your ‘Centrifugal Gun’ is terrifying, but I want you to understand clearly—you’ve encountered someone you shouldn’t have. Otherwise, you could have easily moved on to the next round.”

Although Bo Cangqiong was highly skilled and had experienced a century of life’s vicissitudes, he had never seen someone so arrogant and cold. Filled with anger, he laughed bitterly and said, “Haha, good boy, quite arrogant. Today, I’ll see what gives you such arrogance.” Unable to suppress his fury, he took action.

He raised his ‘Centrifugal Gun’ with both hands. The long silver gun emitted a dazzling white light in the air and spun rapidly. The tip of the gun, glowing intensely, even created afterimages. Bo Cangqiong shouted, “Split!” The rapidly spinning ‘Centrifugal Gun’ quickly split into ten ‘Centrifugal Guns’ centered around its shaft. It was hard to tell which ones were real or fake—all ten were spinning swiftly, emitting brilliant light…

The Wolf King watched Bo Cangqiong’s moves from the stage and used telepathy to tell Liu Yi, “Demon Lord, that’s Bo Cangqiong’s famous move, ‘Centrifugal Gun Thunder.’ Using the special material at the gun tip and rapid rotation, it generates lightning. As long as he releases one of the ‘Centrifugal Guns,’ all the other ‘Centrifugal Gun Thunders’ will be fired as well. He will surely change the position of his guns soon to block all paths that might allow you to get close to him. I think this is his attempt to counter your strategy against the Wind God last time.”

Liu Yi replied telepathically, “So he was prepared all along. Good, then I’ll sever his gun soul and turn this ‘Centrifugal Gun’ into an ordinary object.”

Watching the rapidly spinning ‘Centrifugal Gun Thunders’ across from him, Liu Yi also took action. He turned sideways, aiming at Bo Cangqiong at a 45-degree angle. His left hand tightly gripped the sword hilt, while his right hand, clad in a black glove, formed a palm shape as it slowly approached the long black hilt. At that moment, a hurricane arose around Liu Yi. The stronger his right hand got closer to the hilt, the more intense the hurricane became, as if his right hand hid endless killing intent, capable of delivering the fastest strike from any angle at any time.

Liu Yi’s body gradually emitted a green glow. At the same time, dark clouds rolled in from the sky, quickly extinguishing all sunlight. As the hurricane spun, vortex-like dark clouds formed above the sky. At this point, Liu Yi’s black leather coat flapped chaotically, his silver hair was blown wild by the hurricane, and his blood-red eyes stared intently at every move Bo Cangqiong made.

Liu Yi knew that Bo Cangqiong was famous for his ‘Centrifugal Gun,’ so he must be strong. To defeat him in one strike, Liu Yi pushed the ‘Lanerfina Qing’ meditation technique to its limit and prepared to use the four most powerful moves of his ‘Sorrowful Dream’ sword.

Everyone was stunned by the earth-shattering duel between the two men. No one dared to breathe loudly; even their hearts seemed to slow down, afraid that the sound might disturb those in the arena.

At this moment, Bo Cangqiong moved again and shouted, “Combine!” The ten “Centrifugal Guns” suddenly transformed into a cylindrical shape and began spinning rapidly. Bo Cangqiong didn’t stop there; he thrust his hands forward forcefully. With a loud roar, the sound didn’t come from the sky but from the center of those rapidly spinning ten “Centrifugal Guns.” As soon as the sound was heard, ten white lightning bolts merged into one enormous lightning bolt that shot straight at Liu Yi. But that wasn’t all—following that massive lightning bolt, all ten “Centrifugal Guns” flew toward him, swirling rapidly in various directions…

What lay before Liu Yi was a complete net of traps. Even if he could dodge that huge lightning bolt, those ten “Centrifugal Guns” would attack from all sides. It seemed those guns were still under Bo Cangqiong’s control. If that was the case, there was no hope of escaping unscathed.

Of course, everyone was analyzing the situation. It seemed the Eternal City Lord of the Demon Realm was about to be defeated by Bo Cangqiong. Even if he could dodge that massive lightning bolt or even destroy one or two “Centrifugal Guns,” there were still so many left—there was no way he wouldn’t end up covered in wounds!

Liu Yi’s eyes turned even redder as he stared intently at those “Centrifugal Guns” and the huge lightning bolts they emitted. His right hand moved up and down on the black sword hilt. During that moment of reflection, during that flash of lightning, Liu Yi took action. Shouting loudly, he said, “‘Style Four of Sorrow’: ‘Return of the Sword to Its Sheath’…”

Everything happened in an instant. The moment the opponent unleashed his magic weapon, Liu Yi instantly drew his black long sword and swung it with blurring speed, creating a series of sword movements. Then, with a clanging sound, the sword returned to its sheath as usual…

It was incredibly fast. Those with higher cultivation levels could see Liu Yi drawing eleven swords in that instant and returning them to the sheath at the same time, while those with lower cultivation levels could only see him perform a graceful sword movement before sheathing the sword.

It seemed Liu Yi simply stood up straight when Bo Cangqiong unleashed his magic weapon and did nothing else. Yet, the huge lightning bolt and the ten “Centrifugal Guns” didn’t stop and continued to close in rapidly…