Chapter 414 - 225: The Allied Prodigies’ First Display of Might

Chapter 414: Chapter 225: The Allied Prodigies’ First Display of Might

A single strike sent Mr. Qian’s weapon flying. On paper, it was a battle between a Second Transformation Realm and a Qi Blood Third Transformation Realm cultivator. But in terms of pure swordsmanship, the difference was like that between a Grandmaster and a schoolchild!

Mr. Qian was shaken to his core.

His swordsmanship had been meticulously honed—it was brutally efficient, with no wasted movements and virtually no openings. ’And yet, before I could even react, how did my Long Sword just fly out of my hand?’

’Is this man’s strength really a full realm below mine?’

But the quiet lasted only a moment. Mr. Qian’s higher realm, after all, was no small matter, and he instantly shot back to his feet.

However, Xie Yuan’s sword was already slashing toward his neck, forcing him to twist his head aside to dodge. Just as he was about to counter with a punch, the monk and the Daoist behind him joined the fray.

Two Long Swords thrust out in unison. Though it was their first time working together, the innate synergy between geniuses was clear. Their alternating attacks made it impossible for Mr. Qian to block directly, forcing him to keep dodging. As for Huie Jue, while he only had his bare fists, they were augmented by the Indestructible Golden Bell Shield—one of the world’s most powerful Horizontal Training arts. His fists were as hard as any Profound Weapon hammer, making Mr. Qian extremely cautious.

Although Mr. Qian’s Qi and Blood realm surpassed the trio’s, he was not a Martial Artist who specialized in Horizontal Training. He was already struggling against their three-pronged assault, and losing his weapon was a crippling blow to his combat effectiveness.

By the time he realized how badly things had gone, he wanted to use his superior cultivation to force a breakthrough. But he was already pinned in place by the trio’s increasingly seamless teamwork, unable to utilize any of his techniques. A few exchanges later, Xie Yuan’s Long Sword was pressed against his neck, while Zhang Junyi’s wooden sword and Huie Jue’s fist were poised nearby, covering his other vital points.

Mr. Qian’s expression was ghastly. He couldn’t believe it. He, a genius from a major family, a senior Martial Artist a full realm above them, had been captured alive by three juniors in just a few short exchanges!

Though the fight had been a swift and dramatic flurry of moves, it was over in mere moments.

Even for three geniuses, they were still only in the Second Transformation Realm. His defeat had been far too swift... and he’d been captured alive, no less.

In battle, it is far easier to win or even kill an opponent. Capturing them alive increases the difficulty immensely.

Neither Huie Jue nor Zhang Junyi had expected it to be so easy. They had prepared for a vicious fight, but in the end, Huie Jue hadn’t even needed to activate his Arhat Body, nor had Zhang Junyi used his ultimate trump card. They had taken down their enemy with surprising ease.

They exchanged a silent glance, then looked over at Xie Yuan. His expression was calm as he turned to them.

"Can you restrain him?"

Huie Jue nodded. He extended a finger and pressed it against Mr. Qian’s Dantian, then gripped the vital points on his lower back.

"With the Great Vajra Finger and the Dragon Claw Skill, restraining him is no problem."

Mr. Qian instantly felt his strength drain away like a receding tide. A flicker of panic appeared in his eyes as he said in a low, threatening voice:

"I advise you to let me go while you still can—Gah."

He didn’t get to finish. Zhang Junyi smacked him on the back of the head, and his eyes rolled back as he passed out cold.

Huie Jue frowned.

"Daoist, what are you doing?"

"Forget all this skill and that technique. A good, hard smack is much simpler. He’s a Third Transformation Realm cultivator, after all."

Zhang Junyi scoffed.

The corner of Huie Jue’s mouth twitched.

"You brute from the Xuanzhen Sect. Without my techniques, do you think your slap could have broken through his protective Qi and Blood?"

Xie Yuan cut off their bickering. "We need to leave," he said in a low voice.

Though they had acted quickly, if they lingered any longer, they risked being discovered by the Yao family.

The three of them shot into motion, becoming like shadows as they sped toward the city outskirts.

’I hope the commotion didn’t attract the attention of the Yao family’s experts... or at least, that they’ll be slow to react,’ Xie Yuan thought to himself.

He had acted with incredible speed. While the three of them were all geniuses of their generation, no one who reached the Third Transformation Realm was a pushover. An expert of that level from a major family was even more formidable—especially one like Mr. Qian, who didn’t look particularly old. He must have once been the rising star of his clan.

Defeating a Third Transformation Realm expert like that would have been difficult enough, but capturing one alive? Even with the three of them working together, it should have been a tough fight, possibly resulting in injuries. Yet, it had all gone unexpectedly smoothly.

The primary reason for their success was that Xie Yuan had disarmed Mr. Qian. It was like pulling a tiger’s fangs, crippling his fighting ability. With the tables turned so drastically, capturing him was naturally effortless.

’If he hadn’t insisted on using his sword and run headlong into the activation of my Sword Heart, it probably wouldn’t have been this easy... Unless they’re a Grandmaster Swordsman, anyone facing me with a sword risks having their techniques instantly seen through, dropping their combat effectiveness by thirty percent right off the bat.’

Tracing the events back even further, the entire situation had been an opportunity Xie Yuan created with his Celestial Concealment Skill. He had lured Mr. Qian into attempting to escape through what looked like an opening, only for it to become a life-or-death trap.

When using the Celestial Concealment Skill, Xie Yuan moved like a ghost; it was impossible for anyone below the Grandmaster realm to track him. That, paired with a devastatingly powerful finishing blow, was where Xie Yuan’s true strength lay.

Not even Huie Jue could withstand that combination. The Celestial Concealment Skill followed by "Sweeping a Thousand Armies" was a combo on par with the legacy arts of a Grandmaster, and he hadn’t even needed to use it on Mr. Qian.

Huie Jue and Zhang Junyi both knew who had contributed the most to the victory. They watched Xie Yuan’s retreating figure in silence.

Huie Jue’s eyes danced with intrigued amusement, while Zhang Junyi looked eager for a fight, his own battle spirit stirring.

He glanced from Xie Yuan to the captive Mr. Qian, who was being carried by Huie Jue, and said with a touch of disdain:

"All that cultivation, and all he knew how to do was run. Even street brawlers know you don’t spread your attacks around. It’s better to break one finger than to just injure all ten. If he’d picked one of us and fought to the death from the start, we might not have been able to capture him alive."

Huie Jue said,

"The Qian family’s creed has always been ’survival first.’ Why else do you think their footwork is considered the best among all the major families? Their old patriarch is the same. He’s probably a Martial Artist from several generations back who’s just coasting on his seniority by outliving everyone."