Chapter 440: Nearly Invincible at the Fourth Rank?

“Beggar Sect Outer Elder Wang Gu is said to have pushed his saber art to Peak Perfection. Within the Fourth Rank, he is reputed to be nearly invincible.”

Yang Feiyue had at least heard some things about the people and affairs of Jianghu. Once he recognized the man’s identity, his expression turned exceptionally grave.

With his sharp eyes, Zhao Heiniu spotted a few familiar figures standing among the crowd.

“Young Master Lu.”

“Why is he here?”

Lu Ping’an had arrived with his sister, Lu Ningshuang. The two of them were standing right at the front of the crowd, his hand already resting on the hilt of his sword.

Back when Lu Ping’an had still been in the Third Rank, his sword art had already reached Peak Perfection. After advancing to the Fourth Rank, he had likewise become a nearly invincible figure among those of the same rank.

At that moment, Lu Ping’an stood silently gazing at the Beggar Sect Inner Elder Zhuang Xuyan, faint coldness and sharpness flickering in his eyes.

Chen Ergou, however, was looking somewhere else.

On the roof of a nearby tavern sat Constable Captain Leng and Constable Captain He.

Around them stood more than twenty constables, every one of them carrying a bow with an arrow already nocked, making it abundantly clear that they were there to back Hall Master Wangchuan of the Caobang.

“Hmph!”

“Today the Beggar Sect has issued a formal challenge, so I will not interfere... but if anyone tries to force a killing, or if a fifth-rank martial artist steps in, then my Six Gates is not made of paper either.”

Constable Captain Yu and Constable Captain He were on good terms with Wangchuan. Simply by standing there and showing their stance, they were already exerting invisible pressure on the Beggar Sect, enough that even a fifth-rank martial artist would not dare act recklessly.

Of course...

Wangchuan had noticed all of them.

The perceptive ability granted by 《Xuanwu Art》 was no joke.

He knew that the Lu Family’s Young Master had definitely rushed over with his guards the moment he received word, intending to lend him support.

Although Constable Captain He and Constable Captain Yu were not as strong as the experts the Beggar Sect had brought, the mere fact that they had come and openly shown their position from afar already moved him deeply.

Wangchuan bared his teeth in a grin and stared at the challenger standing across from him, Wang Gu. With a casual flick of the Autumn Water Sword in his hand, the oppressive pressure of that combined offensive-and-defensive aura was effortlessly shed aside, and even split open along a fine, narrow seam.

Oh?

A grave look entered Wang Gu’s eyes.

Wangchuan was using the opening stance of the Caobang’s classic fourth-rank sword art, 《Water-Moon Sword Art》.

Yet beneath that easy, carefree bearing, the Autumn Water Sword emitted a faint ringing hum. Within the rippling water-light, a vast blade-sharp force bloomed, refracting pale rainbow hues beneath the sun.

The more carefully Wang Gu observed, the more he could feel the pressure slowly pushing out from this young opponent.

A great reputation was not gained without substance.

The third-place finisher from last year’s grand tournament did indeed have real ability.

Wang Gu searched for flaws in Wangchuan’s defense.

But Wangchuan had no intention of giving him much time. In a ringing voice, he declared,

“Caobang, Wangchuan. I ask the Beggar Sect Elder to instruct me.”

“Good!”

The moment Wang Gu heard those words, he stopped hesitating. He sprang upward and closed the distance at once.

This was always how he fought.

His twin sabers combined offense and defense. He always preferred to strike second, to use speed against slowness, and to crush his opponent in short order.

Though Wangchuan’s momentum and presence were impressive, Wang Gu was, after all, a nearly invincible figure within the Fourth Rank, an experienced veteran who had even slain a fifth-rank martial artist before. Naturally, he was not about to be intimidated by Wangchuan.

The distance between them shrank rapidly.

Wangchuan held the sword in his right hand, while his left—

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Four iron caltrops traced out four arcs, sealing off Wang Gu’s front, back, left, and right, preventing him from closing in!

The iron caltrops carried internal force within them. Their lethality could not be underestimated.

Wang Gu had already seen their danger before. He turned sideways, and his twin sabers flashed like lightning as he blocked to either side.

Clang! Clang!

With two crisp sounds, the iron caltrops were knocked flying.

The other two missed their mark.

Wangchuan suddenly burst into motion, casting out a broad sheet of dazzling rippling water-light that engulfed the space before Wang Gu.

Wang Gu instantly lost sight of his target.

Dropping into a horse stance, he raised both sabers into a posture of full defense.

Then the sword edge thrust out.

Wang Gu’s twin sabers flashed like lightning. Clang, clang, clang, they struck out a blur of saber-light and sword-shadows, accompanied by the ringing cry of steel.

The two separated the instant they touched.

Wangchuan was calm and composed.

Wang Gu, meanwhile, was forced back a step.

The Beggar Sect martial artists watching the duel all knitted their brows.

In that last exchange, Wang Gu had actually come out slightly worse.

Zhuang Xuyan frowned deeply and muttered to himself,

“Who would have thought that a young man of twenty would have already cultivated 《Xuanwu Art》 to Perfect Mastery, one full realm higher than Wang Gu...”

A fifth-rank martial artist naturally saw the truth at a glance. Wang Gu had lost out in the explosive release of internal force.

A fourth-rank sword art already held an inherent advantage over a third-rank saber art. Paired with Wangchuan’s superior inner cultivation and internal force, Wang Gu had suffered a stifling loss in the very first clash.

The moment they crossed past one another, Wangchuan once again flung out four iron caltrops.

Wang Gu was forced to block, striking four times in succession!

Every collision demanded that he go all out.

“That little bastard is actually trying to drain Wang Gu’s internal energy.”

Zhuang Xuyan felt a chill in his heart.

At that moment, he finally realized that this challenge might have been far too rash.

Wangchuan was much stronger than they had imagined.

Wang Gu’s saber art truly was fierce in both offense and defense, but against 《Water-Moon Sword Art》, his attacks found little purchase, and when he retreated, he had to face constant attrition from Wangchuan’s 《Flying Dragon Hand Technique》.

A purely defensive posture was a losing one.

Sure enough!

The moment Wangchuan widened the distance, four iron caltrops came flying out again, forcing Wang Gu to attack first.

And Wang Gu, unwilling to let the Beggar Sect lose face under the gaze of so many witnesses, soon began to change mentally. From cautious and conservative, he grew aggressive and started pressing forward on the attack.

But beneath the splashing ripples of water-light, this fourth-rank sword art suppressed his third-rank saber art completely.

Clang, clang, clang!

After a burst of frustrated aggression, Wangchuan calmly and easily continued draining Wang Gu’s internal energy.

Constable Captain Yu and Constable Captain He exchanged amused looks.

At the very front of the crowd, Lu Ping’an watched closely, a sharp light in his eyes.

The two guards behind him were deeply shaken.

After just a few months apart, Wangchuan was already capable of suppressing Wang Gu, a man reputed to be nearly invincible within the Fourth Rank.

What a monstrous talent!

Wangchuan himself was indeed very relaxed.

《Water-Moon Sword Art》 at Perfect Mastery already possessed formidable defensive power, and in a one-on-one fight, its ability to control the flow of battle was extremely strong.

The enhanced five senses and offensive power granted by 《Xuanwu Art》 only deepened that advantage.

At close range, it was total suppression.

At a distance, it became pure attrition.

After clashing back and forth more than ten times, Wang Gu was in utter misery.

Half of his internal energy had already been spent.

And he still could not see any hope of victory.

Wangchuan had also used nearly half of his internal energy, but his reserves were still greater than Wang Gu’s. After all, he had taken three Three-Flavors Pure Yang Pills.

The longer Wang Gu fought, the more anxious he grew.

Whether the Beggar Sect could break open the situation in Sanhe Commandery this time and force its way back into the commandery depended entirely on his performance.

If he lost this challenge today, the Beggar Sect’s entire chain of plans afterward would be impossible to unfold!

And on top of that—

there would be no second chance to challenge again this year.

The pressure on Wang Gu was enormous.

At last!

In order to break the deadlock, he suddenly chose to take a reckless gamble and stake everything on one desperate attempt.

With a single hand, he hurled one saber out in a spinning wheel, sweeping around the rippling water-light to strike directly at Wangchuan hiding behind it.

The move looked very much like the flying-fan technique Lu Ping’an had used before.

Wangchuan’s five senses were extremely sharp. With a turn of the sword, he knocked the short saber aside, then immediately saw Wang Gu, having calculated the timing to the very instant, smash through the sword-light and throw himself forward with his remaining saber, blade-light crashing toward him.

Ah!!!

The spectators instantly cried out in alarm.

Wangchuan remained perfectly unhurried. His left hand swept toward his waist—

The flexible sword shot out like a living serpent.

Twin swords met twin sabers.

The flexible blade struck first, tearing a line of blood from Wang Gu’s wrist.

Crack!

The short saber fell to the ground together with the severed hand.

In the same motion, Wangchuan spun and drove a kick into Wang Gu’s chest. Amid the dense crack of breaking bones, Wang Gu screamed and crashed to the ground, unable to rise for a long while.

Wangchuan sheathed his sword and cupped his fists.

“Thank you for the match.”