Chapter 895: Two Great Masters

Daozhen’s presence was overwhelming, his sword intent fierce and imposing!
Huayu, on the other hand, concealed her strength within her sheath, showing not a hint of aggression…
On the surface, it seemed Daozhen had the upper hand, suppressing Huayu with his formidable presence. But only Daozhen knew that his own sword intent had been ignored by her.
The martial arts of their Yi Jian Men excelled in agility—its sword intent could change endlessly, adapting to the dynamics of battle, allowing them to easily take control of the situation or even turn it around. It was truly the supreme sword technique.
Yet, facing an opponent like Huayu, Daozhen also felt helpless.
No matter what martial art one practiced, once one’s mental focus became unshakable and immune to external influences, sword intent of equal strength could no longer affect or shake their resolve. Huayu was clearly such a person!
Faced with Daozhen’s icy and fierce sword intent, she remained as steady as an immovable rock, steadfast in her own beliefs. Daozhen, who saw the unity of man and sword, showed not a single flaw.
“Take this!”
A few seconds passed. Daozhen’s brows tightened as he moved like lightning, reducing the distance between them from over thirty meters to half in an instant!
Whoosh!!!
A clear sound of a sword cutting through the air.
The fight had begun…
Hundreds of top experts from the First-Class Hall who had come to watch were suddenly blinded by the sword light at the same time; it was so sharp and dazzling that some even felt dizzy, as if they had lost their vision for a moment.
Even people like Meng Yun and Xie Lang, though watching from afar, felt the intense chill of being in the midst of battle.
Though it lasted only half a second, Meng Yun and Xie Lang deeply understood the terrifying power of Daozhen’s sword strike.
The sword hadn’t even reached them yet, but its intent already harmed them!
True sword intent could wound people…
If this strike had landed on an ordinary expert, including Meng Yun herself, she likely wouldn’t have survived. Only the tough and resilient Huang Sha in the First-Class Hall could possibly block such a strike with his body.
In the blink of an eye, when their vision returned, Daozhen and Huayu were already locked in combat.
A bone-chilling wind scoured the granite floor of the training hall like thousands of knives, emitting a constant whistling sound.
Huayu was completely surrounded by a sea of icy sword light.
The latter seemed unprepared for Daozhen’s sword intent to reach a level where it could harm someone from a distance. Frowning and closing her eyes tightly, she moved swiftly, constantly changing positions to avoid the relentless sword energy.
At such a moment, taking a wrong step meant the difference between heaven and hell!
Clang! Clang!

No matter how fast her footwork was, it was impossible to completely avoid Dao Zhen’s sword techniques. The clash of weapons was continuous, with sparks flying from the dark scabbard, leaving the experts from Yipin Hall in awe.

Right! The scabbard…

Hua Yu moved skillfully, dodging Dao Zhen’s attacks, only raising her hands at the right moment—one hand gripping the hilt and the other holding the blade.

With a light swipe, the sword tip that appeared out of nowhere seemed to have coordinated in advance, striking the scabbard precisely.

What shocked Xie Lang and Meng Yun even more was that when the sword and blade collided, an invisible force seemed to burst from the scabbard, causing Dao Zhen to tremble slightly and preventing him from launching a second round of attacks.

“Hidden energy!”

Meng Yun and Xie Lang exchanged a shocked glance, realizing the mystery behind it.

Hidden energy. The leader of the White Robe Sect, “Jian Piao,” had told them that hidden energy was a sophisticated method of controlling one’s internal strength. Used properly in battle, it could turn the tide of combat or even increase the chances of victory.

A precise release of internal energy could allow one to strike at the enemy swiftly…

When a master who didn’t understand hidden energy fought against one who did, as long as their strength difference wasn’t too great, the one who knew how to use hidden energy would always emerge victorious.

Hua Yu’s parries were all highly precise… and required little consumption of internal energy.

She moved carelessly, swiped her sword, then changed position. The rhythm seemed to be under Dao Zhen’s control, yet Hua Yu handled it with ease, his several rounds of attacks failing to cause her any real damage.

She seemed highly skilled in this kind of combat, using her ability to sense the wind and direction to continuously drain Dao Zhen’s internal energy despite his fierce attacks.

“Hah!!”

With continuous shouts, Dao Zhen, despite being drained, showed no signs of exhaustion or weakening. Instead, his sword intent grew even more intense and fierce.

Tch! Tch!!

On the solid granite ground, the previously inconspicuous traces of sword energy gradually deepened. Deep grooves about two inches wide were densely carved across the training hall’s floor.

Hua Yu’s parries also became more frequent.

Yet still, she never drew her sword from its sheath, maintaining her calm movements as she deflected the increasingly powerful sword energy.

“You’re really something, Hua Yu…” “I wonder how long you can hold on!!”

Dao Zhen seemed to be enraged by Huayu’s sword techniques. Just when everyone thought he was giving it his all, the rhythm of his movements suddenly slowed, and to everyone’s surprise, he made a horizontal movement. Immediately afterward, intricate streams of sword energy mysteriously enveloped Huayu, who had happened to step into that area, like a pre-set trap. The fierce sword energy sealed off all possible escape routes.

“What an excellent Sword Mastery!”

This move not only made Huayu widen his eyes in astonishment but also left onlookers like Meng Yun and Xie Lang in utter disbelief.

Sword Mastery relies not only on superior sword techniques but also on the concept of “yi” — anticipating the opponent’s moves!

Dao Zhen exerted his strength at the critical moment, finally putting Huayu at a clear disadvantage for the first time.

However!

Just when everyone thought Huayu had no choice but to draw his sword and fight, he took a move that surprised everyone.

“Get lost!”

Facing the sword energy descending from all directions, he calmly stepped back, his body turning into a series of afterimages as he retreated at lightning speed. Each afterimage was shattered by the sharp sword energy, but Dao Zhen suddenly spun halfway through his pursuit, adjusted his sword strike at an even faster pace, and swung it backward.

Clang!!

Huayu reappeared ten meters away from Dao Zhen, holding his long sword horizontally as he stood unharmed, a mysterious smile on his face:

“ Truly worthy of being a descendant of the Sword Mastery master. I almost fell for your trick.”

“You’re not bad either. I carefully devised over thirty traps, yet you easily avoided them all.” Dao Zhen’s arrogance faded, replaced by seriousness. “You still didn’t force me to draw my sword.”

Hearing this, Huayu showed no trace of pride; instead, a cold smirk appeared on his lips. “Using only 70% of your strength to force me to draw my sword? You underestimate the power of my sword style too much.”

At these words, the disciples of the First Rank Hall gasped in shock.

No one had ever left such deep battle marks on the granite of the Training Hall before…

Especially considering the intricate traps set earlier, they had thought the two masters were fighting for their lives. Yet Huayu claimed Dao Zhen hadn’t even used 70% of his strength.

The group was speechless:

“What level has the martial world abroad actually reached?”