“Your sword isn’t fast!”

“Yes, my sword is not fast, and my swordsmanship is not particularly tricky.”

“But I was still injured by you in an instant.” Xiao Qiuyu, whose left arm was bleeding profusely, did not feel any pain. Instead, he was shocked. He never expected that he would be injured by such a third-rate swordsman.

“That’s what it means to be invisible and intangible. You can’t see my sword, you don’t know its speed or position, but I can see your sword. As long as your speed is not slower than yours and your strength is not weaker than yours, you can’t block my sword.”

“It’s a fine sword.”

“This is certainly a fine sword,” Shangguan Haitang replied confidently.

In terms of swordsmanship alone, and her understanding and mastery of sword techniques, she is definitely no match for Xiao Qiuyu. But in a mere contest of martial arts and swordsmanship, she is now the one who will have the last laugh.

In such a duel, the invisible sword has this advantage.

You can’t even see me make a move; before you can react, you’ve already been struck by my sword.

This is not just about the size and length of the sword itself. If you include the sword energy and the sword light, even a slight graze can cause you to bleed profusely. This is the terrifying power of a divine weapon, and this is a unique and unparalleled divine weapon.

“A flash of lightning!”

The instant Xiao Qiuyu unleashed his Lightning Strike, the moment the word “Swan” left his lips, he moved.

He thrust his sword directly at Shangguan Haitang with incredible speed. Even a master of lightness skills like Shangguan Haitang could only see a blur. Compared to his sword, his movements were like a tortoise jogging. The first impression of this sword strike was “fast”—unparalleled speed, so fast that the eyes couldn’t even catch it.

If you were an ordinary martial artist, relying solely on your eyes, you would have already been pierced by the sword by the time you saw it.

However, Shanggong Haitang was no longer an ordinary person in the martial arts world. She had begun to fully cultivate the Five Ultimate Divine Skills and was making rapid progress. She had mastered the unique ability to capture the aura of innate martial artists, which was one of the biggest differences between innate and acquired martial arts.

Innate martial artists can already detect their opponent’s moves by observing airflow and the flow of true qi, so Shangguan Haitang noticed Xiao Qiuyu’s sword strike.

But she knew that even if she noticed it, she absolutely could not dodge the sword. If she dodged and retreated, she would truly fall into the trap and be trapped in a desperate situation. The only way to break the trap was to face it head-on and break it with force.

Unfortunately, while the idea was good, most swordsmen couldn’t keep up with the hand speed, which is why Zhang Weihao always emphasized the basics.

The Dugu Nine Swords can theoretically break all martial arts, but in actual practice, if someone is much faster than you, you won’t even have time to react or see clearly before they strike you. What will you use to break it then?

Therefore, knowing that her swordsmanship was still mediocre, Shangguan Haitang directly used the protective divine skill of the Five Great Divine Skills – the Three Lights Miracle Skill.

The three lights are the aurora, the death light, and the life light.

The Three Lights Miracle originated from the Nüwa Kingdom in the Western Liang Mountains.

When practicing this technique, one can unleash profound inner energy and breathe it onto a peculiar piece of metal or stone. This energy will then emit three different colors: white, red, and yellow. The light can burn stone and transform blood, and its uses are endless.

This move is somewhat similar to Eunuch Cao’s innate protective energy. Many innate divine skills also have similar techniques. However, because it involves the formation of protective energy composed of three different colors—white, red, and yellow—when the energy is activated, it appears to be very mysterious and magical.

Because Shangguan Haitang was a beginner in the Innate Realm and had taken a shortcut, her cultivation of the Five Absolute Divine Skill was still at a very basic level. Therefore, her protective aura was not very condensed and its range was not very large, only covering about three feet around her body.

Therefore, Xiao Qiuyu’s Lightning Strike still successfully pierced through Shangguan Haitang’s protective qi. However, after piercing through the outermost yellow qi and the middle red qi, it got stuck in the innermost white qi. It was almost impossible to pierce through the white qi that was covering the body. Before Xiao Qiuyu could react, he was instantly blasted away by Shangguan Haitang’s innate qi.

Xiao Qiuyu, who was thrown several meters away by the suddenly detonated vortex of qi, quickly regained his balance and assumed a fighting stance. However, the blood that suddenly flowed from the corner of his mouth proved that he had suffered considerable internal injuries.

“Impressive cultivation! Your innate qi is quite strong, and you even have a move that involves self-destructing your qi. Very ingenious. Is this your original martial art?”

“Of course not. I am a disciple of Young Master Wuhen. This is a technique I comprehended from Chengying, called the Three Lights Miraculous Skill.” Shangguan Haitang was still dressed in flowing white robes, his hair perfectly styled, looking exceptionally handsome and dashing.

However, only he himself knew the hardships he had endured. Shangguan Haitang knew better than anyone how much he had been drained, and immediately imitated Zhang Weihao’s boastful tone, saying, “Since I have already witnessed your Lightning Strike, then Brother Xiao, please also witness my swordplay.”

This move of mine originates from the Xuanji Sword Technique. This sword technique, when combined with the Chengying Sword, possesses unpredictable and mysterious power. I have named this move “Hundred Transformations of Yin and Yang, Myriad Streams Flowing to the Sea.” I humbly request Brother Xiao’s appraisal.

After speaking, Shangguan Haitang immediately used the “Treading Snow Without a Trace” technique, appearing around Xiao Qiuyu with extremely agile and skillful movements. She would appear on his left one moment and on his right the next, and the entire area was filled with Shangguan Haitang’s figure.

Some martial arts practitioners with less discerning eyesight couldn’t even clearly see Shangguan Haitang’s movements. Only some true masters could vaguely perceive her moves.

Ximen Chuixue said with a rare seriousness, “You’re right. When the weapon in your hand is terrifying enough, you can kill people even if you don’t know anything about swords.”

“What does he mean by that?” Sikong Zhaixing, the “King of Thieves” standing next to Lu Xiaofeng, asked curiously.

“What else could it mean? When someone’s movements and techniques are fast enough, you can only barely see their presence and sense their attack, but their sword is invisible and intangible. How are you supposed to catch it?”

Ye Gucheng, standing to the side, timely added: “If the sword itself is also extremely sharp, even capable of unleashing sword energy, ordinary weapons would shatter upon contact. Even a slight touch or glancing blow would allow the sword energy to penetrate your body. How would you possibly defend yourself against such a sword?”

Although Sikong Zhaixing’s martial arts skills were average, his eyesight was excellent. He instantly realized what was happening and said, “That’s it, we’re doomed! How can we fight like this? This sword is really something.”