World's No. 1 Swordsman-Chapter 350: Battle Against the Ancient Prince

As Spiritless slowly came out of its sheath, a pair of shriveled flesh wings steadily appeared on the old man's back.

Wang Sheng stepped forward, his murderous intent surging. In response, the old man raised his left hand. From his fingertip, a drop of purple-black blood shot straight toward Wang Sheng's chest like a beam of light.

Only then did the Blood Race's ancient prince reveal coldness within his eyes.

When Wang Sheng prepared to kill, the atmosphere followed suit. However, when the ancient prince's killing intent stirred, he revealed nothing. His vicious and insidious attack came out of nowhere, leaving no chance for defense.

Seemingly too late to react, Wang Sheng was hit on the chest.

Only half a minute ago, the old man still had a humble expression, asking why Wang Sheng had come.

At the time, Wang Sheng had even considered avoiding combat if possible. As the cultivation world of the Hua Republic grew ever stronger, the threat of corrupt foreign cultivators diminished. It wouldn't be a bad idea to spare them so they could become practice opponents for other cultivators.

In response, Wang Sheng had declared that he came only for the Jialington Group and their devilish swords. After a few more verbal exchanges, the old man, smiling as humbly as he had during their meeting in the Saros Empire, suddenly turned ruthless. A prince and two dukes also appeared and launched a surprise attack on the yacht.

Wang Sheng immediately grew cautious. Fortunately, Huai Jing swiftly unleashed a defensive Buddhist art, firmly blocking the three vampires. Still, though his companions were unharmed, the enemy had revealed his eagerness to die.

Now, Wang Sheng pressed his left hand over the wound on his chest.

The old man's lips curved into a faint sneer, seemingly celebrating their successful ambush and mocking Wang Sheng. It was as though he was telling him that he shouldn't have lowered his head back in Saros since the cultivators of the Hua Republic were nothing but fragile beings.

"You can speak the language of the Hua Republic?" Wang Sheng asked as he moved his hand aside.

Beneath the scorched tear in the Flowing Celestial Robe and the combat uniform within, he was uninjured.

He's unscathed? How is that possible?

Unaware that Pure Yang Enchanted Power countered corrupt entities, the ancient prince took half a step back.

Wang Sheng slowly leveled Spiritless. Calmly, he added, "Do you know how to write the word 'death'?"

The ancient prince forced a stiff smile. "I believe there's a misunderstanding here."

Whoosh!

Flying Haze sharply burst from the sea and slashed upward at the ancient prince's back. By the time the vampire heard the sound, the sword had already pierced him and shot skyward with droplets of blood. Half a mangled wing splashed into the sea. He roared furiously as he hurtled backward.

Wang Sheng took a deep breath, making his power surge like crashing waves. He lifted Spiritless before him, formed a sword finger with his left hand, and bent his knees slightly. Streams of enchanted power gathered behind him.

You're not going anywhere! Heavens' Piercer!

Bzz—bang!

Pure Yang Enchanted Power burst forth from Wang Sheng's back. Swirling currents exploded where he had been, forcing the seawater into a vast semicircular pit. He went from standing completely still to shattering the sound barrier in the blink of an eye!

As Wang Sheng ripped a straight channel across the sea, the retreating ancient prince's pupils contracted. He could already see himself being impaled through the throat.

Wang Sheng had become too fast to defend against. Traveling at such a speed would be a waste of power. In battle, however, it became one of his weapons.

Even while moving at a breakneck pace, he still followed the Seven-Star Footwork. His momentum was fierce, yet his sword remained steady.

His long hair and ribbon whipped in the wind as he thrust his longsword. The tip of Spiritless pierced the vampire.

However, the ancient prince was strong. Even though Wang Sheng's qi had locked him and his overwhelming might had crushed him, he still managed to protect his mind and respond in time.

Losing half a wing had not crippled him. His flesh wings glowed with blood light as new tissue grew. The tips then bent in unison, shifting him just enough to evade.

Sword radiance flashed. Spiritless pierced through his shoulder as immortal light burst forth. Pure Yang Energy erupted, blowing apart nearly half of the vampire.

Wang Sheng's sword whistled as the vampire clawed at him. Though his momentum was still driving him forward, he ignored the vampire's attack completely, letting his left shoulder take the blow. After all, he had the Flowing Celestial Robe, the Celestial Combat Garment under it, and a body that he had tempered using heavenly tribulation and filled with vast Pure Yang Energy.

Despite hitting Wang Sheng, the ancient prince felt as though he had struck an indestructible diamond. The backlash nearly dislocated his arm. On the other hand, he still managed to send Wang Sheng flying at an angle, causing the sword to narrowly miss his throat.

Using the Seven-Star Footwork, Wang Sheng dissolved the force. He then steadied himself upon the sea and gazed at the ancient prince, who was now a hundred meters away.

The vampire breathed heavily, but he had already regenerated the missing half of his body. As his eyes gleamed crimson, he began to grow larger. Moments later, he had become over four meters tall, and his skin had turned into a dark hide. He spread his powerful wings and hovered silently above the sea.

He now looked nothing like his human form.

"There is still room for reconciliation, Hua Republic Cultivator," the ancient prince reasoned in a harsh tone.

Wang Sheng chuckled softly. He glanced at the golden Buddha in the distance before running across the water. Though rapidly accelerating using bursts of power was useful, it quickly drained him. He didn't just have to think about the ancient prince before him. He also had to be ready for possible Blood Race reinforcements and have enough strength left to cut them all down.

With his question met with a charge, the vampire bared his fangs as blood-red lines spread across him. He beat his fleshy wings furiously and lunged straight at Wang Sheng.

Only one of them would come out of this battle alive!

After a few dozen steps, Wang Sheng fully unleashed the potential of his Seven-Star Footwork, causing another sonic boom. His straight-line speed surpassed even the ancient prince's!

The vampire roared, and a blood-red sphere formed between his claws. Wang Sheng's eyes reflected every movement. Sword radiance danced as he unleashed the Ziwei Heavenly Sword Art with Spiritless!

The Daoist arts hold endless transformations! This sword shall crash down from the heavens!

Two figures collided like solid spheres, the impact blasting them backward.

The blood sphere exploded. Though the resulting shockwaves made the sea waves rage, they never reached the combatants. Neither the towering four-meter monster nor the steady cultivator showed the slightest sign of the clash's aftermath disturbing them.

The vampire instantly regenerated his severed flesh, while the cultivator was already rushing in again with exquisite footwork, forcing the vampire to fly once more.

Two more sonic booms rang out. The combatants tore through the shockwaves and waves, clashing once more. However, they held back this time. Realizing that a full-force attack could not destroy the other, they turned to a contest of skill.

They exchanged dozens of blows in a blink. While Wang Sheng endured several claw strikes, he riddled the ancient prince with so many sword wounds that the ancient prince's formidable regeneration seemingly began failing to keep up.

Wang Sheng also took several of the opponent's energy spheres head-on. Though his hair became slightly disheveled, he remained unharmed thanks to his tempered body.

He spared no effort in searching for the ancient prince's fatal weakness—the hiding spot of the small bats—which only made things worse for the latter. The moment he found it, he could easily end his opponent with one sword strike.

Still, Wang Sheng did not grow careless or underestimate his enemy. On the contrary, his swordsmanship became ever more refined. He also remained alert at all times since his foe could still be hiding a final technique.

Even while being suppressed, the ancient prince still assumed a stance. He seemed ready to fight to the death, which Wang Sheng thought could only mean that he still had an ace up his sleeve.

Spiritless cut from even more deceptive angles. Having adapted to his opponents' movements, Wang Sheng began to predict his opponent's path in advance, making his advantage increasingly apparent.

To onlookers, however, the battle still looked balanced. It just seemed as though they were still trading blows.

On the yacht, the four stood side by side with complex expressions.

No one could probe the battle with their spiritual perception since the primal qi around the two had grown so violent that any attempt to extend perception toward them was instantly torn apart. Hence, all they could see were waves constantly surging and seawater bursting skyward. Their clashes repeatedly struck even the colossal Buddha phantasm, though the impacts weren't too strong.

From time to time, they would catch a fleeting clash. Witnessing the two collide at extreme speeds allowed them to feel the intensity of their fight.

The four had no time for words; they watched in absolute concentration.

However, Shi Qianzhang eventually broke the silence. "Where are the vampires who attacked us earlier?"

The four looked around. Huai Jing then pointed to the sky. "Uh oh."

Above them, the vampire princess clutched the throat of a male Duke. She thrust her other hand into his chest, wrapped the swarm of small bats in bloodlight, and held them in her palm.

The male Duke instantly turned to ash.

The vampire princess took a deep breath. Exploiting the chaos below, she plunged straight at the ancient prince.

In response, the ancient prince looked up and shot into the air to meet her. He opened his jaws wide as the princess prepared to thrust the blood sphere into his mouth.

Whoosh!

A dazzling sword radiance swept in from the side, cleaving right between the two vampires.

Wang Sheng stood leisurely on the sea, his left hand in a sword finger. With a light flick, Flying Haze, which he had long prepared, shattered the blood sphere. Its sword radiance ground the bats inside into pieces.

The scene felt hauntingly familiar.