Chapter 205: Saber Mad and Sword Laughing, The Life Desires

Chapter 205: The Madness of Blade and Sword, a Lifetime’s Delight

“Clang!”

The broadsword and heavy sword clashed head-on, signaling the end of the warm-up and the official beginning of the duel between Qianlong Eighteen and Second.

Everyone, including Wang Zhaoling, watched with unblinking eyes.

Calling it official wasn’t entirely accurate, as neither truly intended to “overwhelm with force”; they were mainly sparring in technique.

Sima Xiao, being a direct disciple of a renowned clan, had his cultivation under the world’s scrutiny, hard to conceal—his Xuan Pass eighth level was widely known.

But the world didn’t know that Zhao Changhe had just broken through the sixth level two days ago; in their perception, he had been at the fifth level when he killed Fashang of the Maitreya Sect not long ago.

An eighth-level fighting a fifth-level—if it were truly about overwhelming with force, it would be meaningless. What made martial discussions captivating was the chance to witness others’ techniques beyond raw power, deepening one’s understanding of martial arts and validating personal insights. Warriors grew through such repeated real combat.

So one said, “I hope you’ll teach me something,” and the other said, “I want to see how your sword achieves great skill through simplicity.”

Thus, Sima Xiao consciously restrained his power to the fifth level of Xuan Pass, and Zhao Changhe was happy not to reveal his newly broken sixth level, also fighting at the fifth.

Fifth against fifth—victory depended on one’s comprehension and application of their learning, combat wisdom, and instinct.

“Whoosh!” The heavy sword swung unremarkably toward Zhao Changhe’s shoulder, looking like a common woodcutter’s chop, its speed not fast.

The Dragon Sparrow howled out, leveraging its longer blade than the heavy sword, slashing straight at Sima Xiao’s wrist.

Its speed seemed equally slow.

As if suppressed to fifth-level strength, both lost their aura, not as impressive as others imagined.

Yet just as someone thought, “That’s nothing special,” they were stunned to find that the blade and sword hadn’t even reached the point of collision—Sima Xiao’s sword hadn’t even shown a change to defend—yet the sound of impact seemed to come early. Looking closely, the sword hilt had somehow lightly tapped the tip of the Dragon Sparrow, deflecting the strike.

“What happened?” The young master from the Northwest Dai family blurted out in surprise.

Wang Zhaoling watched the swift movements in the arena without blinking, casually explaining: “That sword of Sima’s couldn’t be blocked… Don’t fall into the trap of thinking ‘both at Xuan Pass fifth level.’ Even at the same level, there are differences in power, let alone different methods of applying power among schools.”

“The Divine Firmament Sect focuses on the physical body; their explosive techniques surpass all other sects. Sima’s slow sword was actually gathering power all along. If you thought it easy to block and casually parried, the force unleashed on contact would send your blade flying. So-called great skill through simplicity is, at its core, still overwhelming with force.”

“And Zhao Changhe’s response is the best option I can think of: using the difference in weapon length to attack instead of defend, forcing Sima to pull back, thus dissipating the momentum of that slow sword. Interestingly, few blade techniques have such a move targeting the wrist—this is clearly a sword technique…”

“What’s more intriguing is that Zhao’s strike contains the Tang family’s ‘Glistening Refraction Intent.’ It looks like it’s slow to reach Sima’s wrist, but it’s actually slightly faster. This is Zhao’s trap for Sima: if Sima underestimates it and thinks he can accelerate to attack without defending, his wrist will be hit first.”

“As it turns out, both saw through each other’s intentions and responded flawlessly.”

All fell silent.

Forget finding the best response instantly—just avoiding the mental trap of “same fifth level” was something few could clearly see through.

Some silently realized that, whether fifth or sixth level, if either of the two in the arena were replaced by themselves, they’d have fallen in that first exchange.

As they say, experts see the craft, but the craft isn’t explained in a few words. In just that one exchange, the time Wang Zhaoling took to explain was enough for the two in the arena to go through twenty or thirty more moves, making any commentary from a bystander pointless.

Fortunately, all present were among the Qianlong list; few couldn’t understand. Most could follow, even if they didn’t grasp it immediately, they’d figure it out later. They watched intently, not uttering a word.

The arena was no longer at the slow, probing pace of the first exchange. Movements were swift and agile—one like a drunken immortal gazing at the moon, elusive and strange; the other like treading water, drifting gracefully. Yet both wielded heavy weapons of dozens of jin. The extreme contrast between lightness and heaviness was jarring to watch, hard to understand how they managed it, yet for them, it was perfectly harmonious.

“Whoosh!” The Dragon Sparrow howled past. Sima Xiao stepped in a bizarrely wrong way, sidestepping at an angle that seemed impossible, then twisted and slashed at Zhao Changhe’s ribs.

The whistling wind from this sword felt like being in a mountain cave with a fierce gale outside—no longer pretending. It truly demonstrated how a fifth-level cultivation could deliver a strike that even a sixth-level couldn’t block—a transcendent sword.

The Divine Firmament Sect’s explosive ultimate technique, simply named “Divine Descent”!

In truth, Sima Xiao wasn’t one for clever tricks; he and Zhao Changhe were very similar. If this sword were used at full power, it would surely manifest external changes, as if a god descended.

At the same time, Zhao Changhe, whose slash had seemingly missed, deftly turned his horizontal cut into a downward chop, crashing heavily against Sima Xiao’s sweeping sword.

With a thunderous “bang,” the hall echoed with a long ring.

Onlookers were astonished to find that Zhao Changhe’s strike matched Sima Xiao’s power completely, not inferior in the least!

Because the bloody murderous aura on this blade, including Zhao Changhe’s reddened eyes, was utterly the essence of “All Gods and Buddhas Scatter.”

He had integrated the essence of that move into ordinary techniques, no longer confined to its original form—murderous intent, bloodlust, true qi, and physical strength unrestrainedly fused and erupted, delivering a strike no less than the Divine Firmament Sect’s ultimate.

If your divine might descends…

Then let all gods and Buddhas scatter!

“Boom!” The residual force of the clash spread wildly, causing nearby cups and bowls to tremble and shake, as if an earthquake were happening.

Both were getting a bit carried away…

The two, locked in the clash of blade and sword, met each other’s eyes and suddenly burst into laughter: “Exhilarating!”

“So strong…”

“This is Xuan Pass fifth level?”

“I’d believe seventh or even higher…”

“If I were in there, I’d be done for… The earlier part was okay, but this exchange—I really couldn’t take it. I mean, even at full power, I couldn’t.”

“Sima Xiao having such martial understanding is normal—he’s not really at Xuan Pass fifth level, he’s been famous for years. But Zhao Changhe is truly at fifth level, yet his martial comprehension matches Sima Xiao’s, and his techniques are broad with almost no weaknesses…”

“Is this really a contest between Qianlong Second and Eighteenth, not between Second and Third?”

Wang Zhaoling: “…”

The Qianlong Third was right here…

Then, the two in combat each stepped back three paces. Zhao Changhe shook the Dragon Sparrow and declared loudly, “Brother Sima, I imagine you have many ultimate techniques you can’t use, so it’s not satisfying enough. Let me strike first—please test it!”

Sima Xiao watched the Dragon Sparrow in Zhao Changhe’s hand with great interest. Zhao Changhe twisted his wrist, and the Dragon Sparrow, in a bizarre arc, thrust and slashed simultaneously.

This was a sword technique adapted, Sima Xiao judged instantly.

What it was adapted from didn’t matter. Zhao Changhe’s solemn warning meant this was a special move, and one he was willing to show publicly—meaning its uniqueness wasn’t in tricky form but in the application of force, something others couldn’t figure out how to counter just by watching.

Sure enough, when Sima Xiao seriously received the strike, he found the Dragon Sparrow seemed to touch lightly and withdraw, not giving a chance for solid contact before it slashed again, incredibly fast.

Sima Xiao blocked again, and the third strike came.

Then strike after strike, faster and heavier, like being in an endless river, waves surging one after another, never ceasing. Each wave seemed to absorb some power from the previous one and surge forward, so each strike was stronger than the last. By the fourth or fifth strike, the power had already surpassed the earlier “All Gods and Buddhas Scatter”… no, that move itself was layered within.

Sima Xiao began to feel strained—both in speed and power, he was struggling to keep up.

What kind of bizarre technique was this, breaking through his own limits of power and speed?

So surging and unstoppable, gradually becoming irresistible!

Sima Xiao suddenly recalled a line from the Book of Chaos: “The long river flows, unstoppable…”

This scene—wasn’t it the perfect embodiment?

Yet Sima Xiao still felt exhilarated, the more he blocked, the more joyful, and he laughed heartily: “Exhilarating! Good! Good! Haha, what a fine sword technique!”

With a continuous clattering like pearls falling on a jade plate, Wang Zhaoling stood up abruptly, his expression grave.

Lu Bingcheng beside him asked, “Zhao Changhe’s endless blade momentum is suffocating even to watch. What kind of ultimate technique is this? How does he do it…”

Wang Zhaoling couldn’t answer.

He didn’t know how either…

Because this wasn’t a martial art of this world—it was the Sword Emperor’s ultimate technique, chosen by Zhao Changhe from a thousand skills because it perfectly suited his intent. How could anyone of this world recognize it?

“Brother Zhao! Watch out!”

A roar from Sima Xiao came from the midst of battle. Onlookers saw a dazzling radiance explode at the point where blade and sword clashed, and for a moment, they lost their sight.

The ultimate art of the Divine Radiance Sect: Divine Might, Heavenly Radiance!

As the light faded, Zhao Changhe stumbled back several steps, a clear streak of blood on his right shoulder, but the wound seemed not severe.

Si Tu Xiao stood quietly in place, unhurt and without pain.

Was the victor decided?

Wang Zhaoling was about to speak when he heard Si Tu Xiao sigh: "I lost."

Wang Zhaoling said, "I saw clearly, Brother Si Tu was not injured."

"But I just used the power of the Seventh Gate of the Mystic Barrier. I simply cannot imagine how to counter that move at the same level! Lost is lost!" Si Tu Xiao laughed heartily: "Excellent saber technique, excellent swordplay, utterly exhilarating! For this battle alone, my journey was not in vain!"

Zhao Changhe, clutching his wound, also laughed: "I said at the door, the moment I saw you crash your head into the gate, my journey was already not in vain."

Si Tu Xiao turned and grabbed a jug of wine from the table: "May we drink?"

Zhao Changhe unfastened the gourd from his waist and gestured: "Please!"

They both raised the wine jug and gourd simultaneously, tilting their heads back to drink heartily, as if no one else was present.

It was as if this was not a martial contest, but a meeting of lifelong soulmates.

Xia Chi Chi's eyes flickered, gazing for a long time at that extremely incongruous, worn-out wine gourd.

She suddenly remembered why Zhao Changhe had such an old wine gourd.