Chapter 585: Battle of the Summits
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Dugu Chou did not say a single word. His expression was cold, his gaze calm; he was not impatient nor was he in a hurry. His sword light was evident of his composure, las.h.i.+ng out like a river and forming waves in the air. They were like the ocean tides, one higher than the other, charging rapidly towards Mr. Nian.
The enormous waves crashed and surged, causing Mr. Nian to dodge and dive as he reacted spontaneously; it was like he was a small boat that was in danger of being drowned by the waves of sword light at any moment.
Yun Yang could not help being delighted, thinking that Dugu Chou certainly deserved the reputation he was crowned with. The siege of three swords and the intense sword light had left Mr. Nian at a complete disadvantage, leaving him open to defeated at any time by the wave of swords.
However, Yun Yang also felt a tinge of doubt. He had managed to steal a peek at Mr. Nian before. On that day, Mr. Nian had appeared brilliantly and defeated and killed Lei Dongtian and his servant with just a few moves. It was a spectacular sight.
Now that he was at the losing end once the battle ensued, had Yun Yang overestimated Mr. Nian"s capabilities or was Dugu Chou simply too strong?
The answer was revealed right away.
"Dugu Chou, quickly use your Grieving Sword!" Mr. Nian hollered, "You don"t honestly believe that such patronizing tricks can do anything to me, do you?"
Dugu Chou chortled. "You want me to use the Grieving Sword? You? You don"t deserve to taste its blade!"
There was another loud boom. The intense and regular sword light in the sky scattered like an exploding meteor. Mr. Nian flew out like a broken kite but returned almost immediately. Then, the punch he launched seemed to push heaven and earth together, gathering a seemingly unstoppable momentum.
Yun Yang was dumbstruck. Was the earlier skirmish just a way to probe each other? Dugu Chou had yet to use his ultimate technique and Mr. Nian was having it easy, not yet tested by anything unduly difficult. Was the patronizing trick too advanced?
Hold on, would that not mean that Yun Yang was the child being patronized?
The battle progressed and turned fiercer.
Dugu Chou"s sword light surged, the rays of brilliance colliding against his opponent"s fist. Mr. Nian grunted, his robe fluttered, his entire form soared from the huge blow. Dugu Chou did not fare any better; with a grunt, he too fell thirty feet down and could not follow up on his strike.
Next, the both of them began to counterattack. Immediately, a silver ball of light was formed in the air, enveloping the both of them. Their speed was incredibly fast; no one could discern which was Dugu Chou and which was Mr. Nian by watching from below.
The longer Yun Yang watched, the more chilled he felt; his palms broke out in cold sweat.
Mr. Nian was terribly powerful. This was how a battle between summits was like. He could not even see much of the fight clearly.
Dugu Chou"s sword was almost an illusion. It was a void, an empty s.p.a.ce, but as Dugu Chou"s sword stabbed over, Mr. Nian"s own countermeasure appeared right at that very position and time that the sword light flared. The counter was immediate without missing a single beat like they had discussed it beforehand…
Both of them made no mistakes in pre-a.s.sessing the fight!
All techniques, methods, or skills were destined to be useless when forming a prediction for such a terrifying battle. When such a level was acquired, what was in contention was capability, cultivation base, potential, perseverance, and determination! One could not discount that a bit of luck would play a part as well.
Yun Yang had to grit his teeth and admit that this battle in front of him had exceeded his expectations and knowledge of the matter.
…
Ling Xiaozui"s expression gradually turned grim as he said faintly, "I thought I was the one who was fortunate to experience a big leap in my cultivation base and am currently unrivaled. I didn"t expect Mr. Nian"s cultivation base to have also improved tremendously. He has advanced at least three levels since the time we fought back then!"
Feng Xiange watched with a tilted head and commented, "Still, Dugu Chou was indeed ranked at the top of the heaven back then, he"s not at a disadvantage at all."
Ling Xiaozui shook his head.
"No, Dugu is slowly falling to the losing side. Mr. Nian"s techniques cover both attacks and defense, it"s all-rounded and flawless. His methods are clearly able to tackle Dugu"s intense sword attack… Unless Dugu uses his Grieving Sword and lets grief befall heaven and earth. There"s still a possibility to turn the tables around. However, if he doesn"t, not only will he never be able to defeat the other, he might be defeated himself."
"What about you, Brother Ling?" Yun Yang sucked in a cold breath.
Ling Xiaozui calculated silently and replied, "The three of our cultivation bases are about similar. Still, if the depth of cultivation base were to be judged solely, Mr. Nian is somehow slightly higher than us, by some method or other."
"While this slight difference is almost insignificant, it should not have happened." Ling Xiaozui frowned and said, "There"s simply no way his cultivation base could have improved this swiftly! Back then, his cultivation base was lower than mine. I cultivated in full concentration all these years and had enough room for improvement; in addition to my previous fortuity, my cultivation improved by leaps and bounds. Even if he were to cultivate in full immersion like I did and was a.s.sisted by treasured resources, he should, at most, be about my level. It"s impossible for him to have improved so much faster than me."
"The only explanation is that the Four Seasons Tower must have other ways to advance cultivation base!" Ling Xiaozui said, "I am almost certain that this Mr. Nian in the air is definitely not the Mr. Nian who fought with me! These are two different people!"
"If it were the Mr. Nian whom I battled with back in the day, he would have followed a strict order of doing things, and would not have been so impatient. He"d never be so impulsive and irritable! He would also target me first as well, and not Dugu Chou."
"If that is the case… who is Mr. Nian? Which is the real Mr. Nian?"
Ling Xiaozui inhaled deeply, his expression extremely grim.
The explosions in the air sounded more frequent than ever, like firecrackers that were being lit one after another.
"The decisive moment is about to happen!" Ling Xiaozui sighed softly.
An expert was an expert indeed. Before Ling Xiaozui"s words echoed, the battle of the century had come to an end.
Everyone could feel a sense of grief suddenly emerge in the air, spreading rapidly and swiftly. It was an intense sense of anguish, of lonesomeness, of abandonment that one felt as if there was only one"s self left in the entire vastness of this world. It was as if everyone had left… It gave rise to hopelessness, a sense that this life was not worth living anymore.
As the affliction rose, heaven, earth, and everything in between were engulfed in the grieving atmosphere. Even the moon and stars seemed to wail in anguish.
A ray of moving sword light flew like the arc of a rainbow, like a heartbroken fairy dancing in the air, having just lost its lover. Each distinct taste was gut-wrenching!
This was the unique sword dance mentioned earlier, The Grieving Sword!
Dugu Chou had finally unleashed his ultimate skill.