The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 650 - 446. The Empress Smiles and Topples a Nation (6,000 Characters Seeking Monthly Tickets)_3
Chapter 650: 446. The Empress Smiles and Topples a Nation (6,000 Characters Seeking Monthly Tickets)_3
"Dodged?!"
Xiao Ran’s pupils shook violently, an immense sense of incredulity rising in her heart; clearly, just half a month ago, this man’s body skill was far inferior to hers.
No time to think deeply, Xiao Ran’s sword missed its target, her slender waist twisting in mid-air, body like a grindstone, forcibly turning back and using the stance of "Retreating Horse Lance," sweeping her longsword wrapped with remaining strength backward.
Zhao Douan’s left hand, held behind his back, heavily slapped the ground, leveraging himself upright, with a peach wood branch swiftly stabbing out from his hand.
A sound of "ding" hitting the weak spot on the slender sword.
Eunuch Hai’s eyes brightened, with his eyesight, he could naturally discern that this single sounding "ding" encompassed a total of twelve clashes.
In the blink of an eye, Zhao Douan executed twelve stabs, each canceling and attacking simultaneously, diminishing Xiao Ran’s sword’s power by ninety percent, yet due to its speed, the sounds fused into one.
As a price, despite being wrapped in rosy clouds, the ordinary peach wood branch still couldn’t bear the burden, shattering into countless pieces.
Yet, Zhao Douan remained calm, as he retreated like a big bird, he reached out and cut off a new branch from a peach tree beside him.
The Peach Garden lacked everything but peach wood, serving as his inexhaustible arsenal.
"Is this the martial arts level he’s capable of?"
Chai Keqiao, though prepared in heart, was still startled.
Qi Ye also noticeably froze, with his exceedingly keen hearing, he even more clearly captured the intricacy of those twelve sword strikes in that instant.
Great Yu "Divine General" Xue Shence similarly stood stunned, deeply gazing at Zhao Douan in the scene, murmuring:
"Could it be the long-lost Peach Blossom Divine Sword... rumor has it, created by the Grand Ancestor Emperor in his early years, yet never included in the Martial God legacy..."
No, the key isn’t the sword technique, but the fundamentals of martial arts.
What Zhao Douan showcased just now, reliable and astonishing reactions, speed, body skill, and resolution of Xiao Ran’s sword, were certainly not possessions of ordinary Divine Chapter realms, nor even Worldly realms.
Additionally, as a strong figure in the army, Xue Shence could discern that Zhao Douan’s martial arts style did not resemble Jianghu people but more like...
Skills acquired in life-and-death combat.
He saw accurately, Zhao Douan’s original martial arts foundation was indeed mediocre, but in the past half a year, countless nights, he attempted to break into the dilapidated temple in the painting repeatedly, battling with the former world’s number one female sorcerer... accurately speaking, getting killed...
Song Jinxi and other tributor’s sparring partners were nothing more than ordinary strong figures in the painting, while Zhao Douan’s sparring partner was a hidden boss...
Thus, seemingly wandering all day, conducting investigations and arrests, without cultivation, in reality, growing extremely rapidly.
This is also what makes the "Martial God" legacy special, like Xu Zhenguan in the past, he read and cultivated in the palace year after year, yet could hone martial arts countless times in the Martial God Scroll, hence the flair of breaking a thousand troops with one sword during the Xuanmen Coup.
And at this moment, the one truly most astonished is still Xiao Ran who clashed with Zhao Douan.
After several brief bouts, she suddenly realized she had been tricked!
Half a month ago, their confrontation outside the Cold Palace, the Zhao person was not exerting fully, but madly concealing his true strength!
This led to her completely misjudging his capability! Moreover, amidst several clashes, she also confirmed, Zhao Douan indeed entered the "top-grade," though not as deeply settled as herself, ultimately they are now on the same level, cultivation similarly comparable.
And what surprised her even more was Zhao Douan’s control over the Qi Mechanism, completely different from half a month ago when he wasted it whilst breaking armor.
Now, even if not as proficient as Qi Ye, in terms of constraining and conserving Inner Strength, he is no less than herself...
"Concealing strength! Concealing strength! This scoundrel is truly insidious and deceitful! On the day of the armor-breaking, he deliberately misled us... intentionally made us underestimate by letting us believe he relied on accumulating Inner Strength for armor-breaking..."
Xiao Ran cursed vehemently in her heart.
Though, if she knew it wasn’t deception on Zhao Douan’s part half a month ago, but an improved swordsmanship through half a month’s hard cultivation of "Peach Blossom Sword Technique"... she’d probably be more overwhelmed.
"Cling clang clang..."
At this point, the two had again engaged over a hundred rounds, Xiao Ran changed her defensive stance from the previous day, now attacking extremely ferociously, repeatedly launching fierce assaults.
Yet each was elegantly deflected by Zhao Douan’s sophisticated martial arts, his peach wood branch shattered once, every time promptly replaced with another, entangled over a hundred rounds with Xiao Ran, not losing the slightest ground.
Xiao Ran fought harder, while her alarm grew thicker and her irritation deeper.
Because she realized Zhao Douan was only using martial arts to entangle with her so far, yet the "Martial God" path allows for dual cultivation of "Magic"!
The synergy of the two isn’t simply one plus one.
Therefore, to leave no chance for Zhao Douan to channel Magic, she had no choice but to attack fiercely, forcing Zhao Douan into a defensive scramble, leaving him no time for distraction.
However, as Zhao Douan acclimated to her aggressive rhythm, the pressure on Xiao Ran surged, her gaze turned resolute, abruptly switching sword moves.
Her figure rolled once in midair, her soft sword as thin as a cicada’s wing propped on the ground, bending like a bow, then suddenly stretching straight.
"Boom——"
A layer-by-layer thrusting white force shot from the sword body, advancing towards Zhao Douan in a straight line along the ground.
Where it passed, the ground exploded into clusters of dust.
Zhao Douan spread his arms wide, retreating like a bird returning to the forest, the tips of his boots lightly touching the ground, chased closely by the Sword Qi erupting just ahead of his toes.
He continued retreating into the peach blossom forest until he leisurely stepped down, extinguishing the last of the weakened Sword Qi.
"Miss Xiao, also taste this official’s Peach Blossom Divine Sword!"
Zhao Douan laughed heartily, spreading his arms, ten fingers wide open, suddenly grasping!
This chapter is updat𝙚d by f(r)eew𝒆bn(o)vel.com
