Chapter 676: The Deal

The Mad Sword Dao technique is somewhat similar to the innate techniques of people like Shi Tou, which involve entering a frenzied state that doubles their strength. Among the nine Sword Dao techniques, Mad Sword Dao, Killing Sword Dao, and Netherworld Sword Dao are the most difficult to find. Ye Feng has already gathered six different Sword Dao techniques; the three still missing are Mad Sword Dao, Netherworld Sword Dao, and the more common Fast Sword Dao. Two of these three missing techniques can be found in Xi Men Shu, which further strengthens Ye Feng’s determination to defeat him and obtain those techniques.

In just a few breaths, Xi Men Shu’s strength increased by nearly ten times, becoming extremely fierce. From holding the sword with one hand, he now used both hands. His chest heaved violently as he gasped for air, slowly raising his head. His crimson eyes scanned around, seemingly searching for his prey. After a moment, they locked onto Ye Feng, who was standing not far away. The crimson pupils reflected Ye Feng’s figure, as if trying to devour him with that blood-red gaze.

After identifying his target, he let out a roar—completely different from Xi Men Shu’s usual calm and indifferent youthful voice. It was a deep, hoarse sound, almost like an animal’s howl. Ye Feng was well aware of Xi Men Shu’s normal strength, having observed him in previous matches. His strength was roughly on par with that of a peak Pseudo-Empty level fighter. Even if Xi Men Shu was holding back, his strength wouldn’t differ much. But under these circumstances, Ye Feng realized Xi Men Shu’s strength might now be at the early True-Empty level. Without him, Xi Men Shu could easily win the competition.

Instead of attacking first, Ye Feng waited patiently for Xi Men Shu to act, wanting to see just how powerful he would become after using Mad Sword Dao. After letting out a warning roar, Xi Men Shu leaped up, wielding his sword with both hands and swinging it down forcefully. This time, Ye Feng didn’t dodge but met the attack with a finger, unleashing his Destruction technique. A purple spiral energy, as thick as an arm, collided with the crimson sword, causing a violent explosion. With a loud boom, the protective barriers outside the arena trembled. Though they weren’t broken, the spectators present were greatly shocked.

Failing to land a hit, Xi Men Shu retreated slightly before charging again.

Wave after wave of attacks were like persistent pests; every time they were repelled, new attacks launched immediately. After several waves, Ye Feng had a rough idea of this guy’s current strength and saw no need to probe further, so he began to attack actively. In an instant, ten lightning-based destructive techniques shot out from his fingers. Moreover, those finger forces concealed water-based sealing techniques as well. Under normal circumstances, Xi Men Shu might have been able to block these ten finger forces, but as someone who only knew how to attack under the Wild Sword Dao, he managed to block only four of them. Six penetrated his body. Although they didn’t hit vital points, it was still six attacks carrying both destructive and sealing powers. As soon as these two powers entered Xi Men Shu’s body, he began to scream frantically—clearly, the destructive powers caused him intense pain, while the water-based sealing powers made him feel a deep chill in his soul. In just a short time, Xi Men Shu suffered such severe damage that more than a third of his strength was lost. But Ye Feng didn’t stop. Another ten finger forces were sent out, this time carrying not only destructive but also soul-related techniques. Realizing the severity of Ye Feng’s attacks, even though Xi Men Shu was delirious, he knew he had to block them. This time, he managed to block seven of them, with only three hitting him. Each strike shook Xi Men Shu’s mind greatly, allowing the sealing techniques to take advantage of the weakness and slowly invade his mind. By then, Xi Men Shu had completely lost his fighting ability. He sat down, trying his best to resist the cold invading his mind. He knew that once the cold from the sealing techniques entered his mind, it would take just a few breaths for his soul to be completely destroyed. And finally, Xi Men Shu emerged from his Wild Sword state. Ye Feng slowly walked over to Xi Men Shu, with the Space Annihilation technique swirling in his palm. With just one palm strike, Xi Men Shu’s soul would be completely shattered, and those two sword techniques would become his own. “Young Ye Feng, wait!” At that moment, a voice reached Ye Feng’s ears.

Ye Feng frowned slightly. Though he didn’t know who it was, he knew that only a powerful being from the Virtual Realm could penetrate the restrictions outside the arena and transmit messages directly. He looked up at the guest seats in the arena, where the middle-aged man representing the organizers gave him a wink. If it had been anyone else, Ye Feng could have ignored it, but he couldn’t afford to offend the leader of the organizers, so he lowered his head and began thinking of a strategy, as he really didn’t want to give up the two sword techniques that were within his reach.

“I know what you’re thinking. You want to kill Xi Men Shu just to obtain those sword techniques,” the voice continued to transmit.

Ye Feng felt delighted. The voice added, “If you spare Xi Men Shu and wait until you leave the arena, you can choose any three of the sword techniques from me. This is a sure win for you—after all, Xi Men Shu has only learned two of those techniques. As for Xi Men Shu, I’ll make him admit defeat later. That kid has great potential in swordsmanship, and I don’t want him to be ruined by you. I happen to need an heir too—please do me this favor!”

Hearing this, Ye Feng withdrew his hand, stepped back a few steps, glanced at the middle-aged man in the guest seats, and patiently waited for Xi Men Shu to recover.

After a while, Xi Men Shu’s weak voice came through, “I surrender!”

At that moment, his injuries hadn’t fully healed; he had only temporarily suppressed the pain to speak those words.

The referee quickly announced the decision—Ye Feng had advanced to the next round and became one of the top seven contestants.

Xi Men Shu got up weakly from the arena and, upon seeing the middle-aged man, knelt down abruptly. Many were puzzled by this, but soon some guessed there must have been foul play in the previous match. With both the middle-aged man and Ye Feng disappearing from the scene at the same time, everyone became even more convinced that Ye Feng hadn’t killed Xi Men Shu because of some trickery.

“I don’t have all nine sword techniques here. But I do possess three relatively rare ones: the Sword of Slaughter, the Sword of the Netherworld, and the Wild Sword Technique,” said the middle-aged man sent by the organizers from the upper realm, stroking his long beard with a calm expression. “You should know that among all the sword techniques, the Sword of the Netherworld is one of the hardest to find.”

“I want the Sword of the Netherworld and the Wild Sword Technique. I don’t need the Sword of Slaughter. Do you have the Fast Sword Technique?” Ye Feng asked, as he now only needed these three techniques.

“I really don’t have Rapid Sword Dao; it’s a rather common type of sword dao skill, so I didn’t bother collecting it,” the middle-aged man said helplessly, shaking his head.
“Then how about Abyssal Sword Dao and Wild Sword Dao?” Ye Feng waved his hand.
“I promised to give you three sword dao skills. Now you’ve only chosen two. What more do you want?” the middle-aged man asked. “I certainly don’t want to be someone who breaks his word.”
“Do you have any other martial arts skills?” Ye Feng asked.