Chapter 1774 The Limit?
Not bad?
Everyone was shocked when they heard Mu Qingke's words, especially the cultivators of the Heavenly Mandate Academy. Was this how he praised Ye Futian, by saying that he was "not bad"?
Was he not bad because he had been able to block Mu Qingke's sword?
The way he said it had sounded like a teacher talking to a student.
Apparently, even when facing an opponent like Ye Futian, Mu Qingke did not think that his enemy was a match for him. But this was not out of the ordinary. He was the strongest cultivator from the Holy Land of Taichu, a force from the Divine Prefecture in the Outer Realms. He was the absolute soul of their force. If he were defeated here, that would mean that they had truly lost.
Thus, he had not truly unleashed his power.
But even so, he was still ferociously strong.
He gripped his sword and raised it with both hands. Suddenly, the endless sword will in the sword pattern in the sky flowed into his sword like infinite golden flames. Terrible golden light shone from the sword, piercing up into the sword pattern above it.
Mu Qingke's body seemed to be armored in sword will. He released his grip, and suddenly his sword clanked loudly. Terrible images appeared all around him.
He turned his sword, pointing it at Ye Futian.
Mu Qingke formed seals with his hands, then pointed downwards.
Woosh!
Flowing, golden firelight pierced the sky, leaving brilliant sword marks in the air that colored the entire area gold.
The divine Tai'e Sword was even more powerful than the previous one.
Terrible sword will flowed around Ye Futian as well. When he saw what his opponent was doing, he made the same motions himself. He pointed into the sky, and a sword shot through the air, carrying with it terrible, destructive power. It seemed like everything was destroyed wherever it passed.
This was the Dust Swordsmanship that he had learned.
The two swords slammed together in the air, whipping up a destructive storm. Golden beams of light and rhythmic sword will destroyed each other. A sharp and piercing roar rang out from where the two swords struck each other. The divine swords screamed, seemingly unable to destroy each other.
"How about this one?" said Ye Futian, looking up at the brilliant figure in the air. His white hair flew in the wind.
His first sword had been "not bad." How about this sword?
Mu Qingke smiled. Incomparable terrifying sword will spilled out of the sword pattern in the sky. Then, more swords materialized, nine of them in sequence. They floated around him, swirling around his body. The sound of shrieking swords became even more terrible.
"Let's do another one," said Mu Qingke. As he said this, the nine swords pierced through the air, shooting towards Ye Futian. The air itself seemed to be split apart, leaving behind nine sword marks.
The swords were too fast. They were truly pushed to the limit.
Mu Qingke was different from Ye Futian. He was the heir of the Taichu Sparring Ground and was called the master of his generation. He was a pure swordsman. Under the light of the Tai'e Sword, no one of the same generation could compete with him.
Ye Futian's golden Divine Elephant Divine Wheel surged to life, along with his second-tier divine wheel. As they did so, an overwhelming force bloomed, making all go quiet. Images of countless Divine Elephants appeared all around, but they could not block the oncoming sword attack.
Once the swords reached their target, they would pierce through his body.
Ye Futian lashed out with the Divine Elephant Void-splitting Fist, and suddenly an endless amount of Divine Elephant fist will appeared with a terrible roar. The air itself seemed like it would shatter as the fist will rushed towards the nine oncoming swords.
The unmatchable divine swords pierced through the Divine Elephant Void-splitting Fist without shattering. They continued onwards, but they had been greatly weakened.
Crack! As they pierced through the giant Divine Elephants, sword marks appeared upon them, but they were not enough to cut the elephants open.
Ye Futian strode boldly through the air as sword after sword shattered on his defenses. The two swords in the air above him broke as well.
Three swords. Mu Qingke had brought forth three swords, each one more powerful than the last.
The first one had been comparable to the Fleeting Divine Sword, and the second had been comparable to his Dust Swordsmanship. The third had cut right through his Divine Elephant fist will but had been stopped by his Divine Elephant body.
Of all the people at the same level as him that Mu Qingke had faced, Ye Futian was, without a doubt, the strongest; he was able to compete with him.
He was the sword master of the Holy Land of Taichu and a great future figure of the Divine Prefecture. His power and talent were beyond all doubt.
Standing up in the sky, he watched Ye Futian block his three swords. He thought to himself that he was truly worthy of being called the most powerful cultivator of his generation in the Void Realm. He was indeed very talented.
But he had already cultivated seven levels of the Tai'e Sword. Three swords were just the beginning.
His next swords would be even stronger.
Boom! Terrible sword will descended. As he stood there bathing in the might of the swords, Mu Qingke had already transformed. His aura was getting stronger and stronger. The baptism of swordsmanship seemed to have clad him in an armor of swords. He was now so powerful that he seemed to be at an even higher level than before.
Boom!
A terrifying storm fell upon them, and the falling sword will grew even fiercer. Everyone looked up into the sky. This had become a world of swordsmanship, and Mu Qingke seemed like its master: a king of swords.
"What level of swordsmanship is this?" asked the princess from within the crowd of people from Song Imperial City. She could feel how incredibly powerful the sword will was, but she was not clear on what actual level it was at.
"The first three swords were probably level five or less. This one now might be up to the sixth level," said the elder. He knew of the Tai'e Sword, but every realm had their own version of it.
He had heard that Mu Qingke had cultivated up to the seventh level of the Tai'e Sword. In his opinion, the power that Mu Qingke was displaying now must be at least the sixth level.
With this kind of power, the elder had no doubt the Mu Qingke was indeed unparalleled in the Void Realm. No one on the same level as him could withstand him. Now, the main thing to do was watch and see if Ye Futian could.
Mu Qingke had indeed raised the Tai'e sword will up to the sixth level. Under this much power, countless swords were piercing through the sword pattern in the sky and floating there. Each one of the swords was just as mighty and terrifying as the previous swords.
The sky seemed like it would break due to all the swords. Everyone below was looking up. They could feel how powerful the sword will was, and it made them tremble.
If the sword fell upon him, would Ye Futian be able to bear it?
Ye Futian naturally felt how terrifying Mu Qingke's aura of swordsmanship was right now. If an attack of this level struck him directly, he would probably be put in a difficult situation.
"I will try the next sword," said Mu Qingke. His sword will was still coalescing.
Ye Futian looked at him. The guqin strings of the Great Path were still vibrating. A song of swordsmanship resonated throughout the world. Swords materialized all around him, producing a powerful resonance as they followed the rhythm of the song.
At the same time, an image of a celestial god appeared in the air above his head. This was the ultimate technique of the Golden Divine Nation, the Sigh of the Divine God. Suddenly, his power became far more fearsome.
He reached up into the sky, and suddenly, the strings of the Great Path formed into many swords. They merged into one in time with the rhythm of the song, becoming a single sword that fell into Ye Futian's hand.
"I have withstood three of your swords, its time for you to take one of mine," said Ye Futian. He gripped his sword and rushed forward. Swords clattered all around them without end as everything was destroyed and turned to dust.
Everywhere he passed, the Great Path seemed to flow backward. The falling sword will was destroyed.
Mu Qingke watched this happen, then slashed out downwards. The endless swords that were forming destroyed the very air itself as they rushed towards Ye Futian, trying to bury him.
The whole area seemed like it would be shattered by the sword will, but Ye Futian charged right into the storm of swordsmanship with his sword in hand. He thrust it forward.
Brilliant, flowing light bloomed as the sword swept through the air, destroying Mu Qingke's swordsmanship and shattering his swords into dust. At that moment, Ye Futian was able to cut through them like a knife through bamboo. He continued forward.
When he saw this, Mu Qingke gripped his sword tighter. He transformed into a beam of light and disappeared from where he had been. Then he shot downward, slashing out with his sword.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Swords slammed into Ye Futian's body, but they were destroyed and could not halt his forward momentum. He pierced through everything until he appeared in front of Mu Qingke.
When he arrived, the endless sword will in the sword pattern up in the sky covered Mu Qingke's body. At that moment, Mu Qingke seemed to meld with it, like he was possessed by a divine sword. He was a master of swords. He himself was a sword.
He pointed downward towards Ye Futian's oncoming sword. His fingertip collided with the sword, causing a shocking scene. Ye Futian's sword began to crack, inch by inch, as the terrifying sword will pierced through it.
Bang! Ye Futian was sent flying backward as destructive sword will raged through his body, trying to shatter him.
"So powerful!" Everyone's hearts were trembling. Ye Futian's sword itself was frightening enough. But even that sword had been stopped by a single figure.
"The seventh level," said the elder of Song Imperial City. This must have been the seventh level of the Tai'e Sword.
At that moment, Mu Qingke seemed like a sword god. Every part of his body was made of swords, and each sword seemed to be the sharpest in the world.
Woosh!
Mu Qingke disappeared, and Ye Futian suddenly felt a grave threat. He turned into a bolt of lightning and disappeared as well.
There was a sharp cracking sound as a beam of sword will swept through the space where he had just been. It had fallen from the sky, leaving a straight sword mark. It left a terrifyingly deep hole in the ground underneath that was filled with Sword Qi.
Although he had missed, Mu QIngke disappeared again. He was moving as quickly as possible.
Ye Futian retreated continuously. The two of them seemed like a pair of bolts of lightning. Many of the people watching could not follow them with their eyes. They were both skilled in the power of the Great Path of Space.
Bang!
Finally, the sound of a collision rang out. There was the sound of ten thousand elephants trumpeting, and then the sound of violent destruction as the Divine Elephant Void-splitting Fist was pierced. Ye Futian was sent flying backward yet again.
Mu Qingke appeared, filled with sword will. It looked like all the world behind him had turned into a world of swordsmanship. This terrifying vision made everyone tremble uncontrollably.
"Is there any point in continuing to retreat?" Mu Qingke asked Ye Futian. "You have already made me bring out the seventh level of the Tai'e Sword. You have proved how strong you are."
Ye Futian looked at his opponent and said, "I wanted to see if you were at your limit. It seems like that was your strongest sword, no?"
Mu Qingke frowned, then looked at Ye Futian and asked, "What of it?"
"You are quite good," answered Ye Futian. "But we are still far from my limit!"