Xiao Qiuyu, nicknamed “Lightning Flash,” is a renowned swordsman in the martial arts world, much like a top-tier celebrity in the entertainment industry.

Although not the most outstanding, every appearance of theirs attracts a lot of attention.

However, Shangguan Haitang is currently a top figure in the martial arts world and one of the newly emerging Four Young Masters. His female fans have increased dramatically recently, and many single women in the martial arts world have been flirting with him and taking the initiative to show their affection.

In terms of appearance alone, Shangguan Haitang is indeed in no way inferior to Hua Wuque, the Flower Prince, and Ximen Chuixue, the Sword God. So now it is as if three young talents have gathered together, causing countless female warriors to be conflicted and not knowing who to support.

The world of Emperor Ming is also known as the world of traffic. Many so-called heroes and young heroes are just products of packaging. They are all good at pretending, not only because of their personal interests, but also because they greatly help their sects in terms of status and influence in the martial arts world.

For example, Shaolin Temple, which had just ended its mountain closure, couldn’t wait to promote “Wonderful Monk” Wuhua, while Wudang had “Jade Painting Mengchang” Song Qingshu. Without the guidance and support of sects and the influence of the martial arts world, how could these two up-and-coming martial arts talents, who rarely left the mountain and had no impressive “achievements,” have such great fame and even be ranked among the Four Young Masters of the Martial Arts World?

It’s important to know that the other two of the Four Young Masters of the Martial Arts World, whether it’s Chu Liuxiang or Yuan Suiyun, both have solid and outstanding achievements. It’s not that they wanted to be the Four Young Masters, but rather that the title was only truly deserved because of them, much like the packaging tactics used for the Four Heavenly Kings and Four Top Stars in the entertainment industry.

So after Zhang Weihao and Shangguan Haitang achieved impressive results, those mediocre players with little to no track record were naturally deemed unworthy of their reputations and were quickly pushed out of the running.

The four most recognized young masters are Zhang Lingyu (the Jade Prince), Yuan Suiyun (the Bat Prince), Chu Liuxiang (the Fragrant Prince), and Shangguan Haitang (the Shadow Prince).

As for Hua Wuque, the Flower Prince, he doesn’t have any impressive achievements to show for himself yet. In addition, his two junior sisters were defeated by Zhang Lingyu in a single move, so he is clearly underestimated by people in the martial arts world.

As the head of the number one manor in the world and the intelligence chief of the Dragon Guard Manor, Shangguan Haitang naturally had information on Xiao Qiuyu and his signature move, “Lightning Strike.”

Shangguan Haitang knew very well that any swordsman who could leave his name in the martial arts world and use this move as his signature move must have undergone countless trials and tribulations, and had almost evolved to perfection, making it an extremely lethal move.

In other words, this move most likely possesses the true essence of martial arts, which is commonly referred to as sword intent.

In the martial arts world, many people’s reputations are mainly based on their martial arts skills, appearance, and prestige. For example, “Eight-Armed Vajra” refers to a burly man skilled in hidden weapons, who should have excellent hand-eye coordination and external strength. “Jiang Biehe, the Unparalleled Benevolent and Righteous” describes Jiang Biehe’s chivalry and prestige, which has little to do with his strength. Moreover, these seemingly chivalrous and righteous heroes are often quite despicable behind the scenes, typical hypocrites.

Those directly named after weapons, such as Sun Tianji with the Heavenly Secret Staff, Shangguan Jin Hong with the Dragon and Phoenix Rings, and Li Xunhuan with the Little Li Flying Dagger, are all beings who are considered gods or saints in the field of their respective weapons. Even if they are not the best in the world, they are definitely in the top three. That is why there is such a thing as a weapon ranking list.

And masters like Xiao Qiuyu, who are named after their moves, must all have an absolute killing move that can shock the martial arts world, such as Ye Gucheng with “Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens” and Lu Xiaofeng with “Lingxi Finger”.

These are all unique skills, and they are super trump cards that no one in the martial arts world can break, which can determine the winner with a single move.

Therefore, Xiao Qiuyu’s sword is not easy to parry, especially his Lightning Strike.

Xiao Qiuyu is a true swordsman. Such swordsmen are mostly fearless and do not consider your identity or background too much. Once their swords are drawn, they will not have many concerns or hesitations. Since he has stepped forward now and intends to draw his sword, he will not consider Shangguan Haitang’s identity or background. He will definitely go all out and attack with the intention of killing him.

Shangguan Haitang was well aware of these rules of the martial arts world. Now, burdened by her reputation, she couldn’t admit defeat even if she wanted to, otherwise she would lose face for both the number one manor in the world and the Dragon Guardian Manor. She had no choice but to bite the bullet and fight.

There are benefits, of course. The stronger her reputation, the more attractive the number one manor in the world will be to all kinds of number one manors, and the more prestige and influence the Dragon Guard Manor will have in the imperial court and the martial arts world.

Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue, with their discerning eyes, naturally saw through the deception at a glance. Ximen Chuixue said with great dissatisfaction, “This Shangguan Haitang is not sincere with the sword, she has too many schemes, she is not a true swordsman.”

“She wasn’t a swordsman to begin with, but now that she has Cheng Ying, it’s hard to say.” Ye Gucheng’s opinion was exactly the opposite of Ximen Chuixue’s. Although Shangguan Haitang wasn’t a pure swordsman and didn’t understand swords, with the blessing of a divine weapon, it was hard to say whether Xiao Qiuyu could definitely win.

Xiao Qiuyu usually uses his Lightning Strike directly. This move is similar to a sword draw slash. It is used at the beginning of a move and has great power, capable of killing on first sight.

However, Xiao Qiuyu was more interested in seeing Cheng Ying’s abilities than in seeking a life-or-death duel with Shangguan Haitang, so his attack was not particularly fast; it was just a simple straight thrust.

However, even the simplest straight thrust becomes extremely threatening and demonstrates great skill in the hands of a renowned swordsman like Xiao Qiuyu.

This sword strike was still incredibly fast for ordinary people in the martial arts world.

Linghu Chong also came along this time, but he was much more restrained and composed than before.

In terms of strength, there has been a complete transformation, but these changes are not yet known to outsiders.

However, to Linghu Chong’s great surprise, Xiao Qiuyu’s sword was so fast. It was simple, but very fast. He was not sure if he could effectively block and counterattack from the opposite side of Xiao Qiuyu and break the opponent’s sword technique.

“What? What is that?”

“It really is an invisible sword, without form or shadow. This is too much! How can we even make a move with a sword like this?” Even Lu Xiaofeng was getting restless. This Cheng Ying sword was truly more terrifying and bizarre than the rumors suggested.

Xiao Qiuyu’s sword strike was not difficult for a master like Lu Xiaofeng to parry; it was merely a greeting, but it was enough to filter out 99% of the mediocre fighters in the martial arts world.

It wasn’t surprising that Shangguan Haitang could catch it, but the fact that she caught it so easily and strangely, while also injuring Xiao Qiuyu, was quite shocking to many, including Lu Xiaofeng.