158: Thank you so much, it saves me from being ashamed!

As they continued forward and drew closer, Han Zhen said, “So it’s him. My Lord, this man is Lu Fengxian, the Silver Halberd Marquis. He ranks 5th on the weapons ranking. He has been absent from the Jianghu for a long time; I didn’t expect even he would emerge this time.”

The group did not pause, continuing their steady advance.

Lu Fengxian drained the last of his wine and slowly stood up.

He blocked the center of the path, his tall figure exuding an Aura as solid as a mountain.

“Stop, this path is blocked!”

A Fei and You Longsheng’s gazes instantly locked onto Lu Fengxian, like the most vigilant of cheetahs.

A Fei tightened his grip on his sword hilt, while You Longsheng licked his lips, a flicker of excitement for new prey in his eyes.

“Lu Fengxian?” Lu Jiuyuan asked.

“It is I!” Lu Fengxian declared proudly, “I heard your sword is very fast, fast enough to kill that good-for-nothing Whip God Ximen Rou and break the Shaolin Luohan Formation?”

“So?”

“So, I’ve come to test it.”

Lu Fengxian raised his right hand, his fingers displaying an unusual metallic sheen, as if they weren’t made of flesh and blood.

“Let’s see how fast your sword is, and if it lives up to its reputation. If you can entertain me, perhaps I might spare your life. If you’re too useless, you’ll only find death.”

“Silver Halberd Marquis Lu Fengxian, where is your halberd?” You Longsheng asked.

“Halberd? Hahahaha, I stopped using weapons long ago, because my hands are the strongest weapons in the world.” Lu Fengxian laughed, “Lu Jiuyuan, draw your sword!”

“Let me test you first!” You Longsheng chuckled.

Lu Fengxian’s expression darkened. “Eunuch, shut your mouth! You have no place speaking here! What are you, that you presume to fight me?”

“Arrogant!” You Longsheng’s eyes gleamed with killing intent. With a flick of his crimson sleeve, a green light flashed, and the Duoqing Sword was unsheathed.

His figure flickered like a blood-red shadow, lunging straight at Lu Fengxian, his Sword Qi vicious, still aiming for the vital area below the opponent’s waist!

“Filthy thing!” Lu Fengxian roared, not dodging or evading. His right index and middle fingers shot out like lightning, clamping with incredible precision onto the spine of the Duoqing Sword!

He truly intended to block a sharp sword with his flesh-and-blood fingers!

“Clang!”

A crisp metallic clang rang out!

You Longsheng felt an immense, incredibly concentrated force transmit through the sword. His Duoqing Sword was indeed firmly clamped between those two fingers, unable to advance an inch!

The sword’s green light vibrated violently, humming.

You Longsheng’s expression subtly changed. He channeled his Internal Energy to pull back, but the sword remained as if welded to the opponent’s fingers, unmoving!

“Lingxi Finger?” Lu Jiuyuan’s eyes lit up. No, it wasn’t entirely the Lingxi Finger, but rather its precursor.

“Hmph! Petty trick!” Lu Fengxian scoffed, applying force with his two fingers and twisting sharply!

“Crack!”

A bone-jarring snap!

The tip of the Duoqing Sword, forged from refined steel, was actually broken off by his two fingers!

You Longsheng grunted, using the momentum to retreat. Looking at the shortened precious sword in his hand, a look of shock, for the first time, appeared in his dead eyes.

His Duoqing Sword was a famous sword, yet it was so easily damaged by his opponent?

“I told you, you’re no good.”

Lu Fengxian casually discarded the broken sword tip from his fingers, his gaze returning to Lu Jiuyuan. “Lu Jiuyuan, what’s the point of having such a useless person? Let me see your sword. And let me try if I can break it too.”

“You want to test my sword?” Lu Jiuyuan’s voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone’s ears. “My sword is meant to kill. You showed mercy to You Longsheng. If I draw my sword, I will not show you mercy.”

Lu Fengxian grinned, his arrogance growing even stronger. “Why would I need your mercy? I didn’t kill him not because you have Face, but because he isn’t worthy of being killed by me. There aren’t many people in this world worthy of being killed by me, and he isn’t one of them!”

“I see.” Lu Jiuyuan nodded.

“I once had a friend who was very similar to you. With his two fingers, there was nothing in the world he couldn’t grasp. He once even clamped my sword, but that was when I had no intention to kill.”

“Because I couldn’t kill him, I didn’t dare use my full strength. Your martial art is very similar to his, so it’s a good opportunity to test it.”

“Enough talk, let me see your sword!” Lu Fengxian roared, his patience seemingly exhausted. Without waiting for Lu Jiuyuan to draw his sword, he moved!

Everyone felt a blur before their eyes as Lu Fengxian, like a blue phantom, lunged forward. His right index and middle fingers were pressed together, aiming straight for Lu Jiuyuan’s throat!

Those fingers, cutting through the air, produced a sharp whistle, their power at least three times stronger than when he dealt with You Longsheng!

He seemed arrogant and overconfident, but in reality, he went all out from the start, intending to kill Lu Jiuyuan with his fingers!

Lu Jiuyuan moved.

There was no earth-shattering commotion, and no one even saw how he drew his sword.

Everyone merely felt an extremely subtle, extremely brief ripple pass through the air, like a gentle breeze across a lake, almost imperceptible unless one was fully focused.

A faint, almost formless Sword Qi flashed and vanished.

It was too fast for vision to catch, so fast it seemed like only a flicker of sunlight in their eyes.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

Lu Fengxian’s forward momentum abruptly halted, stopping three feet in front of Lu Jiuyuan.

His right index and middle fingers remained in their extended posture, clamped with incredible precision onto the blade of Lu Jiuyuan’s unique four-edged sword.

The action was identical to when he had clamped You Longsheng’s Duoqing Sword: steady, confident, domineering!

A faint smile had even appeared on Lu Fengxian’s Face, a smile of absolute confidence in his own strength, of anticipation for yet another famous sword broken by his bare hands.

However, his smile instantly froze.

The sensation was wrong.

What he felt at his fingertips was not the solid grip of metal firmly clamped, but a sense of powerlessness!

He slowly lowered his head, looking at his fingers.

His fingers had indeed clamped the sword, yet not entirely.

But beyond those two fingers, Lu Jiuyuan’s sword tip, at some unknown moment, had silently and lightly touched the front of his Adam’s apple.

A thin line of blood slowly seeped from where the sword tip met his skin.

“What sharp Sword Qi.”

“Indeed, it’s very sharp Sword Qi.” Lu Jiuyuan nodded, slowly withdrawing his sword.

“My friend, while clamping the sword, also cut off the flow of Internal Energy, so he wouldn’t be harmed by Sword Qi. You, however, are clearly a bit rusty.”

“What was his name?” Lu Fengxian asked slowly.

“Rest in peace. What use is asking so much?” Lu Jiuyuan pulled out a silk handkerchief from his embrace.

He handed it to Lu Fengxian.

“What is this for?”

“To cover your Face!”

“Good!” Lu Fengxian slowly placed the silk handkerchief over his Face. “Thank you! So I won’t have to show my Face to people!”

With that, he fell backward.