Chapter 119: Let's Have a Live Broadcast

“Wow! I’ve never seen the proprietor in an actual fight!” Leaf, always one to relish a bit of chaos, quickly bustled over.

At this late hour, most of those remaining in the cyber cafe hailed from the outer city, such as Cloud and his fellow disciples of the Cloud Ocean Sect, alongside itinerant cultivators like White Wave and Yan.

The likes of Violet and Serene had not dared show their faces lately, and it seemed the local warriors of the city had grown scarce as well, leaving only Stone and a handful of others.

“Is that… a Grand Martial Master?” Stone asked, his eyes tracking the burly instructor as he stepped forward. “Without a rocket launcher, does the proprietor really stand a chance?”

“Go, Boss, go!” Leaf cried out at once, raising a small, clenched fist, though given her modest cultivation, she could hardly tell who possessed the upper hand anyway.

Only after her cheers faded did she notice that many of the bystanders were regarding her with rather peculiar expressions.

“Uh…? Senior Brother, why is everyone staring at me?” Leaf asked, utterly perplexed.

“The proprietor’s cultivation is visibly inferior to his opponent’s,” Cloud said. “Could you not tell, Little Sister?”

Right at that moment, Fang Qi drew a finely crafted, black-sheathed longsword and held it firmly in his grasp.

“A sword?” Not only did Li Yang, the burly instructor facing him, freeze, but the surrounding crowd also stared in sheer bewilderment.

“I bought it while strolling through the markets a while back. I didn’t think it would finally come in handy.” Fang Qi lightly swung the longsword in his hand, looked at the hulking man before him, and spoke: “Will you make the first move?”

Just then, a sudden burst of raucous laughter erupted from the opposing side!

“That sword actually looks quite nice.” Leaf looked at the exquisite longsword in Fang Qi’s hand, its scabbard resembling black jade carved with patterns of pine and bamboo, and then glanced at Li Yang before adding, “The boss has decent taste, so what are they laughing at?”

Cloud’s face darkened as he muttered in a low voice, “Of course it looks nice! That is a ceremonial sword! The kind you hang on a wall!”

“A ce…” Leaf froze in disbelief. “A ceremonial sword?!”

Upon hearing those words, Song Qingfeng, Lin Shao, and the others clutched their foreheads. “We’re truly finished this time!”

“You don’t even know how to choose a proper weapon, do you, boy!” Li Yang looked coldly at Fang Qi, revealing a pair of fists encased in gauntlets carved with scales and talons. “You should rejoice that someone respectable stands behind you, otherwise you would already be a corpse!”

“No need to waste words on him! Finish him!” Zhou Kaibei commanded in a deep tone. “Let us complete our task and head back early.”

“Understood!” Li Yang lowered his center of gravity and spread his arms wide, resembling a starving tiger preparing to pounce. His eyes locked onto Fang Qi with a deadly intensity, like a terrifying beast scrutinizing its chosen prey!

“The instructors of the Lingyun Academy truly are formidable adversaries, every single one of them…” Stone sighed softly, a trace of anxiety coloring his voice. “Just this aura of his fists alone would be enough to strip an ordinary man of all will to fight!”

Song Qingfeng and his companions could scarcely bear to watch any longer.

Yet precisely at that moment, the crowd suddenly witnessed a dazzling flash of sword light ignite directly in front of Fang Qi!

No one saw him draw the weapon, yet the blade seemed possessed of its own spirit, slowly gliding out of its scabbard of its own accord!

Beneath the moonlight, the radiance reflecting off the blade flowed like a clear, rippling spring!

“A martial technique!” Everyone could sense that across Li Yang’s entire body, martial qi was beginning to circulate according to a specific pattern, swiftly gathering within his palms!

He gauged the distance of over two Zhang separating them: “Ample room! Tiger—”

A sharp shout suddenly cut off halfway through, for from the corner of his eye, he abruptly caught sight of a silver arc like a bolt of lightning, cleaving toward him with a piercing whistle that rent the air!

He felt a momentary flash of confusion—how could the opponent’s sword-beam stretch so long?! But he had no leisure to ponder further, hurriedly diverting his martial technique to strike against that incoming flash of light!

Boom!

The collision of two immense forces intertwined into a deafening roar that shook the ears!

Li Yang’s strength was evidently far greater, and the escaping shockwave shattered the roadside directly behind the blade almost instantly!

The surging energy from the clash was deflected in all directions, and the storefronts along the street bore the brunt of it!

The pavement in front of the shop shattered first. At that precise moment, Young Master Chen was just about to step out of the establishment, and upon witnessing this spectacle through the transparent glass doors, he and his lackeys were so terrified they fell squarely onto their backsides!

But in the next heartbeat, nothing further occurred; he discovered that the shop door, which looked as fragile as glaze, remained entirely unscathed!

“Phew! That was close. Is this truly just glaze?!” He could not help but look at the shop door in utter astonishment.

The qi gathered upon Fang Qi’s sword was visibly much weaker, yet it bore down entirely upon Li Yang, instantly ripping several tears into his garments! He was wounded on the spot!

“What manner of martial technique is this? To possess such power from over two Zhang away?!” Li Yang looked ahead in shock, only to realize that the sword currently striking his clawed gauntlets had no hand gripping its hilt!

As for Fang Qi himself, he remained standing over two Zhang away!

He was not alone in his shock; everyone present stared blankly at the scene, their minds racing as an unbelievable thought arose within their hearts: “Could this be…?!”

Fang Qi raised his fingers in a sword-gesture, and the longsword rose slowly under his command. It was clearly an ordinary blade, yet beneath his control, it behaved like a living creature; as it struck, the silvery blade danced through the air like a silver serpent!

The nimble swordsmanship seemed capable of striking from any unpredictable angle imaginable!

Li Yang’s opponent seemed to be nothing more than a single sword! Yet within mere moments, he had already fallen into a complete disadvantage!

“The Sword Control Technique?!” No one could quite believe their eyes—had they actually witnessed the legendary Sword Control Technique in reality?!

They had only ever tasted its immense power within the game, but never for a moment did they think they would live to see such a sight in the real world!

“He… he mastered it?!” Song Qingfeng could hardly believe his eyes, yet he clearly saw the silver light darting back and forth, leaving several bloody welts across Li Yang’s torso in an instant; had the man not dodged in time, those strikes would have severely incapacitated him!

Meanwhile, Fang Qi remained where he stood, having not moved a single inch!

“Is it truly the Sword Control Technique?!” Leaf’s mouth fell open so wide it could have swallowed an egg!

She was not the only one; even cultivators of considerable strength like White Wave and Cloud stared with mouths agape at the unbelievable scene unfolding before them!

“The Sword Control Technique…!” The very technique they yearned for day and night, practicing tirelessly, was displaying its overwhelming might in reality for the first time!

Watching Fang Qi merely move his fingers to force a warrior of higher cultivation into a corner with no room to fight back was a sight that thoroughly stunned them!

“A single immortal sword pierces the azure vault, ascending to the highest heavens and descending to the netherworld.” The might of the Sword Control Technique was indeed as formidable as rumored!

“When did the boss become so powerful?!” Jiang Xiaoyue stared with wide eyes, her small face filled with astonishment.

“Holy shit! The boss is incredible!” Lin Shao could not help but let out a curse, shouting in sheer excitement.

“The boss is the coolest!” Seeing the tide of battle turn so abruptly, Xu Luo quickly joined in the shouting, his heart weeping with joy and profound relief. “Damn it, we’re saved!”

“A single immortal sword pierces the azure vault, ascending to the highest heavens and descending to the netherworld!” Song Qingfeng also began to shout in excitement.

“Riding the sword upon the wind, slaying demons across heaven and earth!” Leaf chimed in as well.

Many among the crowd joined the chanting with immense fervor!

The Sword Control Technique was simply too magnificent!

Fang Qi shrugged his shoulders, looking entirely at ease, as though he were hosting a live stream—only this time, it was a live broadcast in the flesh: “The essence of the Sword Control Technique lies in speed. In the world of martial arts, speed reigns supreme. I hardly need to exert much strength, but do you see him daring to use a martial technique now? He cannot deploy one.”

After being thrashed by Li Xiaoyao for so long, he could finally catch his breath.

“The boss is magnificent!”

“The most badass boss in history!”

“This display of the Sword Control Technique is absolutely brilliant!”

“…”

Had there been a large streaming screen present, the bullet comments would likely have flooded it entirely by now.

“Hmph! So you are a cultivator, then?!” Zhou Kaibei’s face twitched as he stood in the dark corner. Watching Li Yang, who had been backed into a corner and was on the verge of defeat, his expression grew increasingly cold.

“A cultivator is nothing to fear once you close the distance. The task Instructor Qin entrusted to us absolutely cannot fail… very well.” A faint, inconspicuous gleam of a saber ignited at his waist, and at the same time, a chilling aura spread out. He grinned. “I never did say this duel would be a one-on-one affair…”