The Nine Cauldrons

Spear and Sword

After hearing Teng Qingshan’s’s words, the Tower Lord’s frigid expression changed slightly. His gaze turned as sharp as a sword, piercing towards Teng Qingshan; it was as if he wanted to slice Teng Qingshan into a million pieces.

Not a single person in the entire Bright Moon Island would have the audacity to say, “I will beat you up until you leave,” to the Lord of the Sword Tower.

“Arrogant young fella!” The Tower Lord said as he placed his forefinger and middle finger together— instantly producing an icy, white beam of swordlight from the tips of his fingers.

Without drawing his sword, the Tower Lord dived down in a flash, directly using his two swordlike fingers to thrust towards Teng Qingshan’s glabella. The swordlike fingers were extremely fierce and rapid, and it showed a cold air emanating from the tips of his fingers.

“Haha…” Teng Qingshan suddenly let out a laugh.

“Boom!” A low and deep sound was suddenly heard from the strike as well.

At the same time, the Lord of the Sword Tower — whose white cloak fluttered along with the wind—was directly sent flying off from the tungsten wood vessel. While in midair, he turned and swiftly descended upon the beach. However, the fixated gaze he had towards the bow of the tungsten wood vessel were like the eyes of a predator staring at its prey.

He knew that he had his met his foe this time!

The Tower Lord of the Sword Tower revealed a blazing gaze. A powerful expert was usually lonely as it was extremely difficult to find a worthy match!

“Good sword art!” A clear and hearty laughter echoed out, as it was followed by an azure-cloaked figure leaping from the tungsten wood vessel into the sky. Soon after, the azure-cloaked figure with a long silver spear in his hand descended upon the beach with his eyes completely fixed on the Tower Lord. The two super experts had sensed each other’s astonishing strength from just a simple exchange of moves.

“This person actually didn’t die!”

“He was able to withstand a move from the Tower Lord without losing his life?” The few hundred soldiers watched this scene in disbelief. The fact that the Lord of the Sword Tower was peerless was deeply engraved within their hearts. The amount of people on Bright Moon Island capable of receiving a move from the Tower Lord, without losing their lives, could be counted on one hand.

“Rumble~”

A noise reverberated as a large amount of soldiers on the west side of the beach frantically rushed over on their own two legs. Densely packed soldiers emerged from a road amidst the plants and trees on the west side of the beach. At first glance, it seemed as if there would be an endless flow of soldiers appearing.

“There are quite a number of people,,” Teng Qingshan said.

The Lord of the Sword Tower carefully observed Teng Qingshan, not rushing to make a move.

“The army has arrived!” The few hundred soldiers on the beach exclaimed as their eyes glimmered.

“Brother Liu!” A clear and bright shout resounded as the two high-ranking officers leading the army immediately cupped their hands towards the wounded high-ranking officer with a broken Dantian. “All of the three thousand soldiers from the barracks have arrived!”

The total population of soldiers from Northern Yan Town’s House of Generals that were stationed in the barracks by the seaside, numbered at three thousand people. Besides the few hundred soldiers that the officer surnamed Liu had brought along in the beginning, the other two thousand or so soldiers had also arrived. Due to the short distance, they were able to come quickly. Even the House of Generals and the Sword Tower’s army were only halfway there.

“Tower Lord!” The two high-ranking officers finally realized that the white-cloaked person was actually the Lord of the Sword Tower.

“Officer greets Tower Lord,” The two high-ranking officers immediately yelled with respect.

“We pay our respect to the Tower Lord!”

The numerous soldiers who had just arrived also quickly shouted in unison with respect; their shouts resonated through the sky.

“Mm. Retreat to the sides, be careful not to get wounded,” the Tower Lord said indifferently. As the two high-ranking soldiers heard the command, they walked to the side of the other high-ranking officer with the broken Dantian, who was surnamed Liu. Among them, a tall high-ranking officer asked in a low voice, “Brother Liu, who is that azure-gowned youth? It seemed as if he’s able to fight with the Tower Lord on equal grounds.”

“So what if he’s powerful? We have three thousand soldiers, we can use our numbers to kill him!” The high-ranking officer Liu gnashed his teeth as he spoke.

The two high-ranking officer’s complexion changed abruptly.

According to Officer Liu’s words, he simply did not care about the lives of the soldiers. This caused the other two high-ranking officer to become displeased, while at the same time, they were also slightly confused.

……On the beach.

Teng Qingshan and the Tower Lord of the Sword Tower were facing each other from a long distance. The sea wind blew ferociously, and the water on the Nine Rhythms Treacherous Current violently surged. The surrounding three thousand soldiers were astonished as they watched the spectacle excitedly; being able to witness the Tower Lord in action was an opportunity they rarely encountered, even for the soldiers of the House of Generals.

The Tower Lord grasped the sword hilt that he carried on his back. His hands seemed tender and pale, like that of a lady’s, but they were extremely powerful.

“Clang!”

The Divine Sword was unsheathed, and the entire body of the Divine Sword was cyan-colored with an indistinct wisp of blood on it.

“I don’t need to know the name of a weak expert, however, you have the strength to battle me, thus, you are a powerful expert! Foreigner, state your name!” The Tower Lord gazed at Teng Qingshan from a distance; his clear voice had overshadowed the sound of the surging sea.

“Haha…”

The stubbly-bearded Teng Qingshan’s laughter was even louder, and the surrounding three thousand soldiers were able to feel the rumbling sound within their ears. “What is your name then?”

“The Tower Lord of the Sword Tower, Huangfu Yujiang!” The Tower Lord glanced at Teng Qingshan, “What is your name?”

“A weak expert does not have the qualifications to know my name!” Teng Qingshan laughed.

The gaze of the Lord of the Sword Tower, Huangfu Yujian, turned cold as it emitted a glint of murderous intent. He pointed the cyan-colored Divine Sword in his hand diagonally towards the beach. “This Divine Sword in my hand is called ‘Dark Blood’! It is fond of devouring blood… Once the sword is unsheathed, it’ll definitely devour blood!” As soon as Huangfu Yujiang spoke, he immediately turned into a hazy white afterimage.

Ha!

In the blink of an eye, the afterimage had travelled the distance of over ten Zhang, and a misty cyan-colored light traveled directly at Teng Qingshan!

As Teng Qingshan stood on the beach, he suddenly grabbed the spear shaft with his left hand, while his right hand slid towards the end of the shaft. With just a simple shake of his right hand, he thrusted the spear forwards slightly.

“Hu!”

The Reincarnation Spear spun into a beautiful circular arc with a faint trace of a deep yellow colored halo circulating.

“Peng!” A low and deep sound erupted from the strike.

"Peng! Peng!" Immediately after the first collision, a sequence of loud sounds could be heard. Each time the Lord of the Sword Tower ‘Huangfu Yujiang’ thrusted his sword, it gave rise to a surge of water from the sides along with a swift, and fierce, cold sword aura being released. Any soldiers who accidentally came into contact with the aura were frozen into human statues.

“Snap!” The frozen soldiers cracked, and even their blood was completely frozen!

“Quickly retreat even further!”

The high-ranking officers quickly commanded, and the army frantically retreated towards the distance in fear of being affected by the battle.

“Ding!” The strength of Teng Qingshan’s power was so tremendous that even the Reincarnation Spear’s body became curved before rebounding back into shape.

The Lord of the Sword Tower ‘Huangfu Yujiang’ was blasted into the air, gracefully flying seven to eight zhang backwards. Simultaneously, Teng Qingshan was blown backwards three steps, with each of his steps sinking into the sand while his clothes were beginning to become covered in a layer of frost.

Huangfu Yujiang appeared to be elegant and confident.

However, Teng Qingshan’s face held a trace of a smile, whereas Huangfu Yujiang was the opposite, his expression was solemn and respectful.

“Good sword art!” Teng Qingshan laughed with a clear voice.

“Good spear art!” Huangfu Yujiang said with a gloomy voice.

The three thousand soldiers that observed from the distance were viewing this scene in astonishment… What is this? Is it possible that the mysterious expert and our Lord of the Sword Tower have little to no difference in strength? The former hundred or so soldiers who tried to make things difficult for Teng Qingshan became increasingly scared.

They bit off more than they could chew! Provoking a super expert capable of resisting the Lord of the Sword Tower was simply looking for death!

“Huangfu Yujiang.” Teng Qingshan gazed from a distance, “I recognize your strength, you have the qualifications to know my name. Listen carefully——”

Huangfu Yujiang looked at Teng Qingshan with raised eyebrows.

The distant three thousand soldiers strained their ears to hear, they too, wanted to know the name of the super powerful expert who was able to fight the Lord of the Sword Tower on equal grounds. In the future, they could go out and brag to other people, or to their own son, while having the materials to brag.

“My name is Teng Qingshan!” Teng Qingshan said with a clear and bright voice.

“Teng Qingshan!”

“His name is Teng Qingshan?”

“This Teng Qingshan is indeed formidable.”

The three thousand soldiers immediately let out a burst of excited comments, they had firmly engraved the name ‘Teng Qingshan’ in their hearts.

“Teng Qingshan?” Huangfu Yujiang furrowed his brows and engraved the name deep inside his heart. After successfully mastering the《Nine Sword Forms》of the《Bright Moon Sword Codex》, this was the first time Huangfu Yujiang fought futilely.

Not even one move of the most powerful Nine Sword Forms managed to wound his opponent.

In front of Teng Qingshan’s spear, Huangfu Yujiang felt as though he was up against a tall mountain— an immovable tall mountain.

“This Huangfu Yujiang’s sword art is indeed formidable.” Teng Qingshan recalled the scene from before. He looked down at his clothes which were covered in a layer of frost, “Each strike from his sword is increasingly fierce, if my ‘Transmutation Unity Qi‘ wasn’t powerful enough, my body would have several bloody holes. This Huangfu Yujiang… he is worthy of being called the number one expert of Bright Moon Island, even the number one Godly General of the God of the Heaven Mountain “Borileimu” would be evenly matched with him!”

Teng Qingshan immediately gave a bright laugh, “Huangfu Yujiang, I’ve received your sword art, how about you take a look at my spear arts!”

The laughter resonated.

At this moment, Teng Qingshan suddenly shot out. An azure silhouette flashed and the Reincarnation Spear seemed as though it was a dragon surfacing from the waters, arriving before Huangfu Yujiang. Teng Qingshan's right arm bulged, filling out the sleeves. A yellow light spread throughout his right arm as he abruptly exerted force onto his left arm which was currently holding the spear shaft.

“Buzz~”

The tip of the spear instantly spun! As though it bore through space!

Silver lightning flashed!

“Rumble~~” Huangfu Yujiang looked composed, the deep cyan colored Dark Blood Divine Sword in his hands swiftly moved, and surprisingly, obstructed Teng Qingshan’s spear head.

“Tink!”

Teng Qingshan’s hands felt slightly numb as he retreated a step back due to the impact. Huangfu Yujiang also hastily retreated two steps. The powerful energy burst forth pressed the sand around Teng Qingshan and Huangfu Yujiang down to a depth of around one Chi.

“Hm? This Huangfu Yujiang is quite formidable, he’s capable of withstanding my Toxic Dragon Drill. Hm, I’ll decrease the power and increase the speed!” Teng Qingshan’s complexion sunk as his Reincarnation Spear shot off again like a dragon, spinning once more. After the battle against the Divine Bird Blue Luan, Teng Qingshan had been constantly contemplating over this problem.

Although its force was not strong, after the power was reduced to thirty to forty percent, the speed increased by a large amount.

Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!

The spinning speartip was repeatedly thrusted toward Huangfu Yujiang.

“Hu~” Huangfu Yujiang was extremely composed, his Dark Blood Divine Sword also swiftly moved to block. This Huangfu Yujiang clearly had a lot of confidence in his own defense.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A sequence of striking sounds was heard. Every move of the ‘Toxic Dragon Drill’ from Teng Qingshan had been repelled by Huangfu Yujiang and the strangest thing was that….some of the water from the sea actually floated in the air, and was then engulfed by the shadow of Huangfu Yujiang’s sword. The shadow of the sword moved swiftly while the water formed a weird circle!

No matter how Teng Qingshan attacked, he was not able to break through the defense of this sword art. This sword art was as terrifying as Teng Qingshan’s Transmutation Unity Qi.

“This..this sword art…..”

Teng Qingshan watched and suddenly, he was struck by a thought, an immense joy filled his heart as he thought to himself, “This Sword Art contains the Dao of the Water Element! I should fight with him a little longer so my《Water Element Fist》would have a chance of attaining a breakthrough this way!”