Chapter 102

Nie Yun joked, but remained vigilant. Although Dongfang Bubai’s movements were as fast as a ghost, Nie Yun’s longsword was as swift as lightning. He raised his right hand, bringing with it a dazzling silver light.

Clang! A crisp metallic clang made everyone’s ears ring.

Dongfang Bubai let out a soft “Eh!” and praised, “Your swordsmanship is not bad!”

Since he mastered the Sunflower Manual, he has never been stopped by anyone.

Putting aside their astonishingly fast attack speed, their sudden, unpredictable attacks and unpredictable targets are enough to make few in the world able to escape them.

Nie Yun’s longsword was not as convenient as his embroidery needle, and it was also the one that struck first after he struck later, but it blocked him perfectly. Not only was the angle just right, but the force was also no less.

Dongfang Bubai knew his own limitations. Although the embroidery needle in his hand could be blown away by the wind and not sink in water, the force contained within it was enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, and was more powerful than a strongman swinging an iron hammer.

However, Nie Yun blocked his attack with just a long sword, which shows that his internal strength was also quite profound.

“The sun rises in the east, and I am invincible! Your skills are truly unparalleled!” Nie Yun praised without reservation, and this was his sincere opinion.

If he hadn’t remained constantly vigilant, he would already be a corpse by now. The martial arts pinnacle of “The Smiling, Proud Wanderer” truly lives up to its reputation.

Although Nie Yun was amazed, he wasn’t too worried.

When he copied the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual at the Lin family’s old residence, he had the system analyze the martial art carefully.

After that, all the women on the mountain except Ling Shuanghua practiced this sword technique, especially Yue Lingshan, who mastered it to perfection.

Nie Yun had sparred with several people before and was already very familiar with this martial art, which was characterized by its unpredictable movements and incredible speed.

Although Dongfang Bubai’s Sunflower Manual is slightly different from the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual, they are both derived from the same secret manual. Therefore, Nie Yun has absolute confidence in defeating this guy.

Upon hearing his praise, Dongfang Bubai chuckled and shook his head, saying, “What is kung fu? In this world, only Brother Lian is the one I love most!”

Nie Yun’s stomach churned again. He sighed and said, “Your devotion is truly rare in this world. If it were a few hundred years from now, you might actually get your wish and become a real woman!”

Dongfang Bubai’s eyes lit up, and she covered her mouth with a coquettish laugh, “You little rascal, although you’re not as good-looking as my Lian-di, you really know how to talk. I don’t even have the heart to kill you!”

Ren Woxing was increasingly shocked as he watched the two fight.

“This Dongfang Bubai has cultivated the Sunflower Manual, and his martial arts have reached such a level. If he were to use his full strength, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to withstand it either. It seems that we should postpone using someone else to kill him. Only by joining forces to fight the enemy can we have a chance of survival.”

He turned to look at Nie Yun and said, “You brat, I’ll let you live a few more days. Once I’ve taken down Dongfang Bubai, I’ll deal with you properly!”

As he was pondering, he suddenly heard Nie Yun shout, “Again!” With that, he moved swiftly and unleashed eight sword strikes in an instant, aiming straight for Dongfang Bubai’s vital points.

“Well done!” Dongfang Bubai flicked his right hand, deflecting all of Nie Yun’s thrusting swords. Not only did he not retreat a step, but he also took the opportunity to counterattack, sending a needle straight for Nie Yun’s left eye.

Nie Yun, quick-witted and agile, swung his longsword upwards, seemingly about to sever Dongfang Bubai’s right hand.

With a flick of his wrist, Dongfang Bubai deflected Nie Yun’s sword upwards.

Just as he was about to launch his attack, he heard a gust of evil wind coming from behind him.

It turned out that Ren Woxing and Xiang Wentian, each wielding a long sword and a soft whip, attacked from both sides at the same time.

Nie Yun wielded his sword with lightning speed, thrusting it straight at his chest.

Dongfang Bubai chuckled, his body spinning like a top, his embroidery needle deflecting all the attacks.

Seeing that even the three of them combined couldn’t defeat him, and judging from his appearance, he clearly wasn’t using his full strength, Ren Woxing felt a chill in his heart and shouted, “Attack together, or we’ll all die here today!”

Before he could finish speaking, he saw a red shadow flash before his eyes, as if something was poking towards his left eye.

Ren Woxing had no time to think it through. In the midst of his haste, his longsword trembled as he thrust it toward Dongfang Bubai’s left eye, a move that resulted in mutual destruction.

Dongfang Bubai naturally wouldn’t fight him to the death, so upon seeing this, he jumped away and avoided the sword strike.

Having narrowly escaped death, Ren Woxing’s attacks became even more ruthless and swift, wielding his sword with the speed and agility of a storm. Xiang Wentian also fought with all his might, his long whip flashing like a venomous snake emerging from its hole.

Nie Yun had already planned ahead. He only used about 80% of his superb swordsmanship, but he pushed his speed to the limit.

He swung his longsword, aiming for all the vital points on Dongfang Bubai’s body.

But Dongfang Bubai’s figure was like a ghost, appearing and disappearing swiftly, like a wisp of smoke.

Nie Yun’s sword tip was always a few inches away from his body.

However, Dongfang Bubai was forced to dodge his attacks, and his attack rhythm was disrupted several times.

Ren Woxing and Xiang Wentian had never seen Nie Yun fight at full strength, so they naturally didn’t know that this shameless guy was actually holding back. Seeing that Dongfang Bubai was being restrained, the two of them became even more aggressive in their attacks.

If the three greatest masters of the era joined forces, anyone else would have been dead countless times over.

However, Dongfang Bubai’s martial arts skills were indeed ridiculously high. He held an embroidery needle between two fingers and moved back and forth between the three of them with lightning speed, showing no signs of defeat.

The fight intensified, and soon they broke through the window, moving the battlefield into the garden.

When Ren Yingying saw the three fighting, she knew that going up would only cause trouble, so she quickly walked a few steps away, but her eyes were still fixed on them.

Shangguan Yun also drew his single sword and stepped forward to assist in the battle, making it four against one.

However, his martial arts skills were only about the same level as Qu Yang’s, so getting involved in this kind of battle was simply courting death.

Before long, Shangguan Yun shouted, his single sword fell to the ground, and he somersaulted away, pressing his hands to his right eye, which had been blinded by Dongfang Bubai.

After fighting for a while, Xiang Wentian suddenly cried out, as he had been hit by a needle.

A moment later, Ren Woxing also cried out, feeling needles pricking his chest and throat.

Fortunately, Nie Yun’s longsword struck just in time, and Dongfang Bubai was distracted and dodged, causing one needle to miss its mark. Although the other needle was accurate, it only penetrated a few centimeters and failed to injure the enemy.

Seeing this, Nie Yun had a sudden thought and deliberately created an opening. Dongfang Bubai, being the kind of person he was, immediately thrust a needle at Nie Yun’s chest. Nie Yun dodged, and the needle tip grazed his left arm, drawing a string of blood beads.

“Holy crap!”

Nie Yun never expected that a thin needle could be so powerful, slicing off a large chunk of flesh and skin from his arm.

Fortunately, it was just a superficial injury and did not damage the bones or meridians, but the pain made him shout out involuntarily.

Seeing that several people had been injured one after another, Ren Yingying was extremely anxious. She glanced at Yang Lianting and saw that he had sat up and was watching the fight intently by the window, his face full of concern. A thought struck her, and she slowly moved towards him.

Seeing her actions, Nie Yun quickly shouted, “Yingying, don’t move!”

As he spoke, he narrowly dodged another thrust from Dongfang Bubai.

He knew how much Dongfang Bubai treasured Yang Lianting. In the original story, although Ren Yingying dodged the silver needle, it still left a bloodstain on her face.

Now that he’s in that situation, he’s not sure if he’ll have the same luck.

“He’s already injured enough; it’s time to get rid of this bastard to prevent any further complications!”

Nie Yun gritted his teeth, forced Dongfang Bubai back slightly with a few sword strikes, and laughed loudly: “Dongfang Bubai, you are deeply in love with Yang Lianting, but you don’t know that he is philandering and having affairs with many women behind your back…”

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Bubai’s previously smug expression changed, and he shrieked angrily, “You… what nonsense are you spouting?”

Nie Yun remained on high alert, but continued to provoke him: “You stay secluded in the inner chambers all day, how would you know what’s going on outside! Your good brother Lian isn’t as brain-dead as you, does he not like fragrant girls, but instead prefer you, this androgynous dead transvestite? Hahaha… I think you’re just deceiving yourself!”

These words were undeniably venomous, directly throwing Dongfang Bubai into disarray.

Although he loved Yang Lianting wholeheartedly, he wasn’t stupid; how could he not know his own awkwardness?

Even though he wore makeup and dressed in bright colors, he was not a real woman after all; to put it bluntly, he was a eunuch.

Yang Lianting was a normal man. Any normal man would choose between a eunuch and a beautiful woman. Anyone who isn’t an idiot knows the answer.

Dongfang Bubai did not want to admit this, so all along, he carefully tried to please Yang Lianting, obeyed his every word, served him attentively, and deceived himself by hiding in this small boudoir, not seeing anyone except Yang Lianting.

Yang Lianting also appeared to be a loyal protector of his master. Although he sometimes acted arrogantly and domineeringly, Dongfang Bubai saw this as nothing more than playful banter between lovers.

However, Dongfang Bubai was capable of overthrowing and imprisoning Ren Woxing; how could he be content to be subservient to others?

His indulgence and flattery were merely a way of compensating for his guilt towards Yang Lianting because he was not a woman.

Deep down, he was always worried that Yang Lianting would leave him and live happily ever after with a real woman.

But at this moment, Nie Yun revealed his greatest fear, which made him both angry and scared.

Dongfang Bubai trembled violently and shouted angrily, “Brother Lian has always been devoted to me, how could he betray me! You’re talking nonsense, I’ll kill you!” With that, he flew towards Nie Yun.

Nie Yun was prepared, and as soon as he saw him move, he thrust out his sword. With a clang, the silver needle and the sword tip collided, sparks flying.

Dongfang Bubai looked surprised and exclaimed, “How is this possible?” He had attacked with even greater speed than before, fueled by hatred. He had thought Nie Yun was surely dead, but unexpectedly, he had managed to block the attack.

“Why not?” Nie Yun no longer held back, unleashing the full power of the Dugu Nine Swords, his longsword hurtling towards Dongfang Bubai like a storm.

His internal energy was profound and pure, and he had also mastered the Golden Goose Skill and Floating Cloud Ten Thousand Miles Lightness Skill to perfection. In addition, the Nine Yang Divine Skill had an amplifying effect on movement. Now, when he attacked at full speed, his speed was not much slower than Dongfang Bubai’s.

Moreover, he wielded a three-foot-long sword, giving him a significant advantage in length.

As the saying goes, “An inch longer, an inch stronger; an inch shorter, an inch more dangerous.”

Although the embroidery needle in Dongfang Bubai’s hand was strange and tricky, once he lost his speed advantage, he was unable to get close to Nie Yun through Nie Yun’s impenetrable sword curtain.

The two fought with lightning speed, chasing each other, and for a time it was difficult to determine a winner.

A red figure and a black cloud were seen darting and turning in the garden, occasionally colliding with each other, producing a clinking sound and bursting into sparks.

The garden’s flowers, plants, and bamboo were ravaged, their branches and leaves withered, as if a raging storm had swept through.

Ren Woxing and Xiang Wentian had stopped fighting when Nie Yun provoked them, and now, seeing this spectacular duel, they were even more astonished.

Xiang Wentian, still grateful to Nie Yun for saving his life, picked up his whip to rush forward and help in the battle, but was stopped by Ren Woxing.

“Master?” Xiang Wentian looked at Ren Woxing in confusion, only to see a cruel glint in his eyes as he whispered, “When the snipe and the clam fight…”

He didn’t say what he was going to say, but Xiang Wentian was already aware of the deeper meaning behind it. He gasped, feeling as if the person he was supposed to serve had become completely unfamiliar.

At this moment, Ren Yingying also came up behind the two. Hearing her father’s words, she was shocked and quickly cried out, “Father, how could you…”

Before she could finish speaking, Ren Woxing sealed her acupoints, leaving her unable to speak or move. She could only stare at her father with wide, angry, and shocked eyes.

Ren Woxing’s heart was as hard as stone, and his expression remained unchanged in the face of his daughter’s gaze.

He turned his gaze to the two combatants and said in a voice only the three of them could hear, “This man is the head of the Huashan Sect, and he’s also arrogant and unruly. He will inevitably become my enemy in the future. Great men are not bound by trifles. Yingying, don’t blame your father. I will find you a husband a thousand times better than him in the future!”

Ren Yingying’s eyes widened in horror as she listened, tears instantly blurring her vision. At that moment, for the first time in her life, she felt hatred towards her father.

“Brother Yun, it’s my fault that you’ve been hurt. If anything happens to you, Yingying will never live on!” The heartbroken girl secretly made a vow to be with him through thick and thin.

Xiang Wentian witnessed all of this. After a moment of silence, he turned to Ren Woxing and said, “Master, Brother Nie saved my life. Please forgive me for not being able to accept your command!”

After saying that, he brandished his long whip and charged forward.

“Xiang Wentian!?” Ren Woxing was both shocked and furious. He never expected that his loyal subordinate would dare to disobey orders. He looked at Xiang Wentian’s back, a cold glint in his eyes.

Just as Xiang Wentian was about to join the battle, he heard Nie Yun shout, “Sun Bin and Pang Juan!”

“To relieve the siege of Wei by attacking Zhao? Yang Lianting!” Xiang Wentian was taken aback upon hearing this, but being quick-witted, he instantly understood Nie Yun’s meaning and immediately turned around and pounced on Yang Lianting, who was leaning against the window.

Yang Lianting’s legs were broken, and he was powerless to dodge. Xiang Wentian grabbed his left shoulder and squeezed hard; with a crack, the bone shattered.

Caught off guard, Yang Lianting cried out, but immediately shut his mouth and remained silent.

Xiang Wentian then pinched his right shoulder, angrily saying, “Are you going to scream or not? I’ll crush every single bone in your body!”

Yang Lianting knew that he wanted him to call out so as to distract Dongfang Bubai, so he endured the pain and refused to make a sound.

But Yang Lianting’s first cry had already reached Dongfang Bubai’s ears. He had already felt something was wrong when he heard Nie Yun shouting earlier, and now, hearing his lover’s scream, he became even more anxious.

He launched a flurry of attacks to block Nie Yun, and in a moment of clarity, he turned his head and saw Xiang Wentian torturing Yang Lianting. He angrily shouted, “You’re asking for death!”

Without hesitation, it transformed into a red cloud and rushed towards the window.

Nie Yun also ‘coincidentally’ revealed a flaw, allowing him to leave without any hindrance.

Although Ren Woxing was furious that his plan to kill someone by borrowing a knife had failed, he also knew that this was the perfect opportunity to kill Dongfang Bubai. He quickly lunged at Dongfang Bubai from behind, his sword pointing directly at Dongfang Bubai’s back.

Nie Yun followed suit, thrusting his sword swiftly towards Dongfang Bubai’s back.

Xiang Wentian was already prepared and hurriedly turned his head and shrank back. However, Dongfang Bubai was too fast. Although he tried his best to dodge, he was eventually pierced in the left shoulder by a needle.

Xiang Wentian felt as if half of his body had been struck by a sledgehammer. He screamed and flew backward, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

At that moment, Ren Woxing and Nie Yun’s swords had already pierced Dongfang Bubai’s back.

Dongfang Bubai trembled and fell to the side of the window, but his hands clung tightly to the windowsill, and his eyes were fixed on Yang Lianting without blinking.

Ren Woxing was overjoyed. He drew his sword, pointed it at the back of Dongfang Bubai’s neck, and shouted, “Dongfang Bubai, today I’ve finally taught you a lesson!” He had just pounced with all his might and was still a little out of breath.

When Ren Yingying heard her father’s voice, she knew that the outcome was already decided.

However, since her pressure points were still locked, she could only stand there and try to look in that direction.

However, the two sides are quite far apart, and there are flowers, plants, and artificial hills in between, so it is impossible to see clearly.

Xiang Wentian was sent flying far away by Dongfang Bubai’s heavy blow. Now that his injuries were aggravated, he was too weak to get up and could only lie there panting.

“It’s finally over!” The same thought popped into their minds at the same time.

Nie Yun looked at Ren Woxing’s smug expression and a hint of malice flashed in his eyes. Then he immediately stepped forward with concern to help him up and asked, “Father-in-law, how are your injuries?”

Ren Woxing waved his hand dismissively and said, “It’s just a minor injury, nothing to worry about!”

He turned to look at Nie Yun, and sighed inwardly, “What a pity!”

Upon hearing this, Nie Yun’s face immediately relaxed, and he turned to Ren Yingying and called out, “Yingying, don’t worry, your father is fine.” Then he called out to Xiang Wentian, “Brother Xiang, are you alright?”

Xiang Wentian coughed a few times and said with a wry smile, “I won’t die!”

Ren Yingying breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Nie Yun’s words.

“Brother Yun, Yingying is so sorry! If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt! But Father…” Thinking of the scene of Nie Yun being stabbed by Dongfang Bubai and her father’s cold and ruthless words, Ren Yingying felt even more guilty. Xiang Wentian’s serious injury made her realize how much Nie Yun cared for her.

“Since you have entrusted your heart to me, I will never betray you!” Ren Yingying looked in Nie Yun’s direction, her heart filled with sweetness and determination.

Blood gushed from two wounds on Dongfang Bubai’s back; he was severely injured. Ignoring his own condition, he kept calling out, “Brother Lian, Brother Lian, these villains have tortured you so cruelly!”

Yang Lianting angrily said, “You used to boast that your martial arts were unparalleled, so why couldn’t you kill these few traitors?”

Dongfang Bubai said, “I have…I…”

Yang Lianting angrily retorted, “What did you say?”

Dongfang Bubai said, “I have done my best, but their martial arts are all very strong.” Suddenly, he swayed and rolled to the ground.

Fearing that he might take the opportunity to leap up, Ren Woxing slashed his left leg with his sword.

Dongfang Bubai said with a bitter smile, “Leader Ren, in the end you have won, and I have lost.”