Martial Dao: I Can Enhance My Talents

Chapter 297: Chapter 294: Fighting Above One’s Level

"Still talking tough when you’re about to die!"

Chu Feng roared and, without another word, his body blurred into motion.

BOOM!

The bluestone slabs beneath his feet exploded as he transformed into a streak of blood-red lightning.

The Red Patterned Sword let out an ear-splitting shriek as its blood-red Sword Qi surged to over ten feet long.

Like a roaring, blood-colored giant python, it bared its fangs and lunged at Fang Han.

The air warped wherever the Sword Qi passed, unleashing a series of sonic booms. Its power was terrifying to behold.

This strike contained the immense Inner Qi of his Fourth Grade cultivation, along with the uniquely brutal and corrosive properties of the Blood Demon Skill.

In terms of raw destructive power, it already surpassed Fang Han’s!

’I can’t block this head-on!’

Fang Han’s pupils constricted as he faced the earth-shattering strike.

Against an ordinary Early Stage of Fourth Grade Martial Artist, he was confident that the amplification from his Swordsmanship would make his Power of Attack equal to his opponent’s.

But Chu Feng wasn’t an ordinary Early Stage of Fourth Grade Martial Artist. He was a Celestial Pride True Inheritance who had just entered the Fourth Grade.

Meeting it head-on would be foolish.

He instantly pushed his Wind and Cloud Escape to its limit. His figure became like the formless Flowing Wind, like a cloud drifting on a breeze.

In the nick of time, he drifted backward and to the side.

SHHNK—!

The blood-red Sword Qi grazed the corner of his sleeve, tearing the fabric, before viciously striking an artificial mountain behind where he had just stood.

RUMBLE!

With a tremendous crash, the craggy, several-man-tall rockery exploded like a block of ice thrown into a furnace.

Shattered stone sprayed in all directions like rain as dust filled the air.

It left a charred chasm several feet deep and over thirty feet long on the ground. Wisps of blood-red Qi Force clung to its edges, emitting a corrosive SIZZLE.

The power was astounding!

"Dodge? Let’s see how long you can keep that up!"

Seeing that Fang Han didn’t dare to meet his attack directly, the red glow in Chu Feng’s eyes intensified.

Pressing his advantage, he changed his Sword Techniques, unleashing a sky full of blood-red sword shadows that descended upon Fang Han like a torrential storm.

Each shadow was incredibly solid, containing the terrifying power to shatter monuments and split rocks, sealing off all of Fang Han’s escape routes.

SHHNK! SHHNK! SHHNK!—

Facing this overwhelming assault, Fang Han’s eyes remained calm as the essence of the Wind and Cloud Escape Body Technique flowed through his mind.

His figure moved like a phantom, weaving through the gaps in the sky-filling sword shadows. He would deftly evade each blade by a hair’s breadth just as it was about to strike him.

At the same time, his Flowing Wind Sword transformed into flashes of cyan lightning. He wasn’t blocking, but precisely tapping, deflecting, guiding, and leading the attacks.

He used the exquisite Sword Techniques of the Nine Swords of Sky Splitting to neutralize and redirect the terrifying Power on Chu Feng’s sword.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!... BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The sound of blades clashing rang out as densely as popping beans, interspersed with the explosions of missed Sword Qi slamming into the ground, walls, and ruined ramparts.

The two matched speed with speed, their figures rapidly flickering across the ruins of the Fang Mansion’s front courtyard—clashing, separating, and clashing again.

Chu Feng’s Swordsmanship was vicious and wild, his Inner Qi immense. Every strike was heavy and powerful, carrying an unstoppable force that constantly forced Fang Han to retreat and evade.

The blood-red Sword Qi crisscrossed the battlefield, easily tearing and pulverizing everything in its path—be it pillars, walls, or the ground—as if they were made of paper.

Fang Han’s Swordsmanship, however, was far more exquisite and sharp. Though he couldn’t match Chu Feng’s abundance of Inner Qi, his Mastery Realm in the Nine Swords of Sky Splitting had elevated his control and manipulation of Momentum to a higher level.

His Sword Techniques were unpredictable and as fast as lightning, often allowing him to counterattack from unbelievable angles.

Combined with his superb Wind and Cloud Escape, he pushed the principles of "Soft Overcomes Hard Technique" and "Skill Overcomes Force" to their absolute limit.

He didn’t clash head-on with Chu Feng’s Inner Qi. Instead, he relied on his superior Swordsmanship and Body Technique to continuously neutralize and evade Chu Feng’s ferocious attacks while looking for openings to counter.

SWOOSH—!

A condensed beam of blood-red Sword Qi pierced through Fang Han’s net of sword light.

Although Fang Han twisted his body in time to avoid a vital spot, the sharp Sword Qi still grazed his left arm.

RIP!

His sleeve was instantly torn open.

Fang Han felt a searing pain in his left arm. A long gash had appeared, and crimson blood began to flow from the wound.

At almost the exact same moment, Fang Han’s counterattack arrived!

Like a viper striking from its den, the Flowing Wind Sword took advantage of the instant when Chu Feng’s old power was spent and his new power had yet to rise, stabbing like lightning toward his ribs.

Chu Feng’s face fell in horror. It was too late to bring his sword back to block, so he could only force his body into a desperate twist to evade.

PFFT!

Although the sword tip didn’t pierce deeply, the incomparably sharp Sword Qi still tore through Chu Feng’s robes and stabbed into his right side.

Although he was protected by Soft Armor, preventing a piercing wound, the Sword Qi that penetrated his body still made Chu Feng grunt in pain.

A sharp, drilling pain shot from his ribs where a mangled, bloody wound had appeared. His Qi and blood roiled in his veins.

In the midst of their fierce exchange, both combatants were now wounded.

And their injuries continued to mount.

Despite the defense of their Soft Armor, neither had suffered a fatal blow.

However, the impacts of Power that penetrated their armor were steadily worsening their conditions.

RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE—

The surrounding buildings suffered devastating blows from their completely unrestrained battle.

Pavilions and towers collapsed one after another, rockeries and gardens were pulverized, and the ground was a chaotic mess of crisscrossing chasms.

The entire front courtyard of the Fang Mansion had been practically razed to the ground!

Fang Lingyuan had long since retreated with the surviving members of the Fang Family to a safe distance. Gazing at the battle, which looked like a clash between gods and demons, their faces were all ashen, their hearts frozen with terror.

When had they ever witnessed such a terrifying fight?

This was completely beyond the scope of their imagination.

"Fang Han..."

Fang Lingyuan clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms. His eyes were filled with an indescribable mixture of worry and shock.

He was proud of the astonishing strength Fang Han was displaying, but also tormented with anxiety over the danger he was in.

On the battlefield, the intense fight raged on.

The longer Chu Feng fought, the more alarmed and agitated he became.

He had assumed that after breaking through to the Fourth Grade, his overwhelming advantage in Inner Qi would be enough to quickly defeat or even kill Fang Han.

He never expected Fang Han’s Swordsmanship and Body Technique to be so exquisitely refined!

His Body Technique was strange and unpredictable, always able to find a sliver of hope in the face of danger.

His Swordsmanship was sharp and precise, always able to find a weak point in the fiercest part of his assault and launch a counterattack.

No matter how ferocious his attacks were, Fang Han could always neutralize them and continuously cause him trouble.

’Why do I feel like... his Swordsmanship and Body Technique are getting stronger?’

An absurd and unsettling thought rose in Chu Feng’s mind.

He had a faint feeling that Fang Han’s evasions were becoming more effortless, the transitions between his Sword Techniques smoother, and his counterattacks more cunning and vicious.

It was as if Fang Han was rapidly learning, adapting, and even... evolving in the middle of their battle!

This was the effect of Fang Han’s one hundred and twenty-eight-fold Swordsmanship Talent Amplification and one hundred and twenty-eight-fold Stepping Talent Amplification!

For Fang Han, this intense life-or-death battle was the perfect whetstone.

Many subtle points of the Nine Swords of Sky Splitting and the Wind and Cloud Escape that he hadn’t fully grasped before were now becoming crystal clear in the heat of a real life-and-death struggle.

His perception of the "wind" grew sharper, and his comprehension of the "Sky Splitting" Realm deepened.

Fang Han’s sword began to grow faster, more accurate, and deadlier!

Fang Han’s Body Technique began to grow more ethereal, more agile, and more elusive!

As one side waned and the other waxed, the tide of battle began to quietly turn.

At first, Chu Feng had been on the offensive while Fang Han, dodging and parrying, was slightly on the back foot.

Gradually, Fang Han’s dodges became more relaxed, his parries more ingenious, and his counterattacks more frequent and powerful.

CLANG!

After another direct clash, Fang Han’s figure swayed slightly before he steadied himself.

Chu Feng, however, was forced back half a step, his arm numb from the incredibly condensed and persistent force that traveled up his blade.

"How is this possible?!"

Chu Feng’s eyes were filled with disbelief.

’My Inner Qi is clearly far superior to his, so why am I starting to lose ground in a direct confrontation?’

Seizing the advantage, a sharp light burst from Fang Han’s eyes. The Flowing Wind Sword let out a clear, piercing hum, and his Sword Momentum suddenly changed.

He was no longer using Skill Overcomes Force; instead, he pushed the Mastery Realm of his Nine Swords of Sky Splitting to its absolute peak.

Over forty percent of his Wind Momentum condensed, forming an ultimate blade of light that seemed capable of piercing the void itself. He took the initiative and launched a thunderous assault on Chu Feng!

SHHNK! SHHNK! SHHNK!—!

The sword light was like a waterfall, a net, a bolt of lightning, instantly enveloping all of Chu Feng’s vital points.

Each strike was too fast for the naked eye to follow and so sharp it made one’s heart palpitate.

Chu Feng was both shocked and enraged. He swung his sword frantically, protecting himself with a blood-red Sword Curtain.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG... PFFT!

However, Fang Han’s sword was too fast, too cunning!

A condensed beam of Sword Qi, as if alive, found an opening and pierced through his Sword Curtain defense, viciously striking his right shoulder.

BANG!

Chu Feng’s shoulder shuddered violently. The light on his Soft Armor flickered chaotically, and he staggered backward as if struck by a heavy blow, a trickle of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.

He was clearly injured, and not lightly.

"ARGH!"

Chu Feng let out a beastly roar. Shame, fury, and a thread of indescribable fear intertwined, driving him to the brink of madness.

His eyes turned as red as blood. The Blood Demon Skill inside him began to circulate at an unprecedented, frantic speed, and blood-red flames erupted from his body, soaring into the sky.

His aura became extremely unstable, filled with an air of destruction and chaos.

SWOOSH—!

The blood-red light on the Red Patterned Sword instantly condensed to its absolute limit, forming a solid-looking, blood-red pillar of light about a foot in diameter.

Carrying a tragic aura of utter annihilation, it blasted ferociously toward Fang Han!

Space itself seemed to warp slightly where it passed, emitting an unearthly sound like the wailing of ghosts and gods.

This attack had far surpassed the limits of an ordinary Early Stage of Fourth Grade Martial Artist!

’He’s getting desperate!’

Facing this all-or-nothing strike, Fang Han’s expression grew extremely grave, but there was no panic in his eyes.

The "Tide Surge" Divine Treasure inside him silently activated, and his Inner Qi instantly erupted!

The Flowing Wind Sword let out a sharp cry like tearing silk. He poured his entire comprehension of the Nine Swords of Sky Splitting, his understanding of "wind" and "Sky Splitting," into this single strike.

At the tip of his sword, the air made a faint but piercing tearing sound as a transparent ripple spread outward.

Sky Splitting!

He roared silently in his heart as the Flowing Wind Sword transformed into a cyan streak of light, a manifestation of his concentrated Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

Moving after his opponent but arriving first, it precisely struck the very core of the blood-red pillar of light!