Chapter 122: A Single Sword Is Enough

Chu Dongliu’s blade intent.

It was just like the man himself, just like his name.

Like a great river rushing forward, it possessed a majestic, overwhelming momentum—roaring waves surging to the heavens, thundering with a deep, resonant rumble.

In this City of Villains, there was another practitioner who had cultivated sword intent, one named He Chunshan. Jiang Min had seen her sword from afar days ago; her sword intent was delicate and lingering, like a gentle spring breeze, yet it concealed a deadly sharpness.

Then there were the sword techniques of True Lord Guanqi, known as "Hidden Edge."

When the sword emerged from the "Hidden Edge" case, even the gods and demons would tremble!

Thus, True Lord Guanqi had always lived a life of self-cultivation and leisure, appearing as a carefree soul so that no one would suspect he was a swordsman. But once he struck, it was certain to be earth-shattering, leaving rivers of blood in his wake.

His sword case held many blades.

How many, exactly? No one lived long enough to know.

And her?

What, then, should her sword intent be?

For two months, she had used only her sword, eschewing other spells or magical artifacts. Through countless draws and endless skirmishes, she had come to realize something profound: only by truly engaging an opponent did one understand that sword forms were vastly different from actual combat.

If one relied solely on formal sword techniques, unless one’s cultivation level completely crushed the opponent, it was often impossible to win with a single strike. Instead, it became mere showmanship, a waste of effort.

That was not the outcome she desired.

"Why draw a sword?"

"And why learn the way of the sword..."

The whistling of wind shrieked in her ears.

The ringing of a blade echoed down the long street.

Standing atop her Wind-Thunder Shuttle, Jiang Min streaked past the high pavilions. Her heart hammered with tension, yet suddenly, all ambient noise was purged.

The world seemed to fall silent.

On the path to immortality, the Taoist methods of cultivators were sufficient; why then endure such untold hardships to pursue the martial path as well?

Because she had to survive first. In this perilous life of cultivation, she needed the power to survive when danger arose and the capability to eliminate any opponent who threatened her life. That was why she had to learn the sword!

Drawing the sword was, by nature, to kill.

Therefore, her sword should not be squandered on useless flourishes.

Instead...

With all sharpness retracted, a single strike would break all techniques.

To kill.

One sword was enough.

*Hum!*

Jiang Min’s eyes brightened as if she had attained an epiphany. Within her sea of consciousness, a resonant clanging of a sword suddenly rang out. Though no blade was visible, the sound of swords filled her mind, echoing through the heavens of her consciousness. Her eyes brimmed with a sharp, piercing brilliance; if any Qi-refining cultivator were to meet her gaze then, their own consciousness would be instantly shattered.

The next moment.

The sharpness in her eyes vanished entirely.

She turned.

She struck.

*Whoosh!*

This cut was simple to the extreme. It was like the basic strike she had practiced millions of times on Jade Sword Peak, accompanied by the rising morning sun. The blade no longer shimmered with the violet lightning and crimson flames that had coated it before, and the sharpness was completely contained. Yet, as the strike was unleashed, a curved arc of sword energy imbued with the power of thunder and fire appeared, sweeping across the desolate street to meet the charging Chu Dongliu head-on.

This thunder-fire sword energy possessed no grand momentum, no intricate techniques. It had only:

Speed!

Precision!

Power!

As Chu Dongliu pursued at high speed, he collided with it head-on, caught completely off guard.

"She has grasped her sword intent!"

Chu Dongliu could clearly feel the will of the sword contained in that strike, and his heart jolted. He had heard that this woman was only at the sword-energy stage and had assumed she was an easy target. He never imagined that, in such a life-or-death moment, she would grasp her sword intent and turn the tide of battle.

From the moment she struck to the moment the sword energy met him, it was but a fleeting instant. Unable to dodge, Chu Dongliu had no choice but to use his blade to parry. Every ounce of his blade energy condensed onto his weapon, precisely blocking the sword arc.

*Clang!*

A shrill, jarring sound of collision erupted, sending sparks flying. As Chu Dongliu’s pupils contracted, his mid-grade magical blade, reinforced with his own blade energy, shattered into fragments in an instant. His wrist went numb, blood spilled from the webbing between his thumb and forefinger, and even his furious momentum was brought to a grinding halt.

A look of gravity filled Chu Dongliu’s eyes.

What a powerful strike.

Generally speaking, blade and sword intent were closely linked to one's spiritual consciousness. When combined with sword energy and internal cultivation, the three complemented each other, matching the power of a Foundation Establishment perfection-stage cultivator using a high-level spell or a top-tier magical artifact.

But Jiang Min’s move?

It had already far exceeded the power of a high-tier magical artifact!

And this was merely the moment she had first grasped her sword intent; once her state of intent became fully integrated, it would be even stronger.

Chu Dongliu did not know that Jiang Min was a five-element root cultivator who practiced powerful spiritual-consciousness techniques and had been tempered by a heavenly tribulation. Whether in the depth of her spiritual power or the refinement of her consciousness, she far surpassed others at her level. Though she was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, she was stronger than those at the middle stage.

Once she grasped her sword intent, her disadvantages vanished.

"So you wanted to teach me, is that it?"

Jiang Min sneered, her confidence surging. She maneuvered the Wind-Thunder Shuttle in an arc, turned back to close in on Chu Dongliu, and raised her hand to unleash a second strike!

*Whoosh!*

The first strike had been raw and unpracticed due to her recent epiphany, but this second strike was far more fluid and composed. As the blade cut through the air, it fused thunder-fire energy, sword-energy sharpness, and the will of the sword into an arc that illuminated the dim street. With a speed that surpassed wind and lightning, it struck toward Chu Dongliu like a flash of light.

Thinking that a standard weapon would be enough to kill her, Chu Dongliu’s bushy brows hardened as his blade was destroyed. As Jiang Min turned, he spat out his life-bound artifact. Amidst a black, flowing light, a dark, narrow-bladed longsword appeared, its surface rippling with shimmering, watery light.

His life-bound artifact: the Clear Ripple Blade.

"Hah!"

Chu Dongliu gripped the hilt with both hands. As Jiang Min unleashed her second strike, he raised his blade, pouring all his strength into it, and swung it down with a thunderous roar.

*Crash!*

Ten thousand sharp blade-lights erupted in black radiance, brimming with murderous intent and converging into a roaring, surging river. As the blade energies clashed, they met Jiang Min’s sword arcs with an even more overwhelming momentum.

Clear Ripple Sword Technique: The Clear River Flows East!

The two collided instantly.

*Clang!*

The sword arc Jiang Min had unleashed struck the charging river of blades, yet it cut through the torrent with an indomitable will. Riding the wind and breaking the waves, it surged upstream, cutting through the river and flying toward Chu Dongliu with its speed undiminished.

"How is it possi—"

"Urgh!"

The strike was too fast. Chu Dongliu’s pupils dilated in shock, his spirit shattered; before he could even raise his blade to defend or activate defensive measures, the sword arc had sliced through the river of blades and struck him. From head to toe, it left a trail of crimson blood before continuing on to disappear into the end of the long street.

His gaze froze, nothing left but sheer shock.

They were both at the same level of blade and sword intent, and his cultivation was far superior to hers. Why, then, could Jiang Min’s sword technique break his blade art so easily? Why...

Chu Dongliu’s breath ceased, and he plummeted from the sky.

As he fell, his body split apart, blood splattering the ground.

Jiang Min scanned her surroundings vigilantly. After confirming there was no other threat, she rode the Wind-Thunder Shuttle to the corpse of Chu Dongliu, swiped his storage bag into her palm, and took a brief look.

A handful of spirit stones, some refining materials...

Most importantly, the three thousand or so Villain Tokens inside.

With a flick of her finger, flames dropped onto Chu Dongliu, incinerating the legendary figure of the City of Villains. No matter how famous he had been in life, once dead, he was nothing more than a handful of dust.

The firelight reflected in the depths of her eyes, where a trace of sharp sword intent flickered.

"To draw the sword, one strike is enough..."

A single strike, intended to break all laws.

Her sword was simple. It only needed to be fast to the extreme, powerful to the extreme, moving forward with an unstoppable force. At other times, the sharpness was fully retracted, the sword hidden within the body, nurtured within the heart, waiting for the day it would be fully unsheathed, leaving the enemy not a single moment to breathe.

Sword intent.

It was complete.