Fighting against the Marquis of Ying

Although Long Chen had been guarding against the Marquis of Ying, he still hadn't expected the Marquis of Ying's speed to be so terrifying; barely after he had moved, he was already right in front of him.

However, Long Chen was mentally prepared. If the Marquis of Ying weren't strong, how could he be ranked alongside his father as one of the three great experts of the Empire?

Seeing a sword thrust towards his throat, Long Chen's eyes remained calm. At this moment, he cast aside all fear and entered a strange state.

Ignoring the Marquis of Ying's sword, Long Chen unleashed his power, swinging the broadsword in his hand to slash at the Marquis of Ying's waist.

Although the broadsword was extremely heavy, for Long Chen, who possessed twelve Qi cyclones and a Physical Body that had become unbelievably strong, it was no problem at all.

As he swung the sword, a fierce wind howled. At this moment, Long Chen dared not hold back even a fraction, exerting all the strength in his body until it felt as though even space itself were about to be torn asunder.

The Marquis of Ying clearly hadn't expected Long Chen to be so fearless of death; this was clearly a tactic of mutual destruction.

Yet, this clumsy tactic instantly dismantled his offensive. The longsword in the Marquis of Ying's hand was only three feet four inches long, a standard longsword.

Long Chen's broadsword, however, was seven feet long. If this attack continued, there would only be one outcome: his longsword would pierce Long Chen's throat, and Long Chen's broadsword would strike the Marquis of Ying with devastating force.

Even with the Marquis of Ying's arrogance, he dared not take Long Chen's sword strike with his body, not even as an expert of the Yijin Realm. He had no choice but to abandon his attack, pausing his form and drifting backward, dodging Long Chen's sword by a hair's breadth.

Long Chen's seemingly mutual-destruction strike actually held great depth. He believed that if he had dodged the Marquis of Ying's preemptive strike, the Marquis of Ying's terrifying follow-up moves would have come in an endless stream, only accelerating his own defeat.

Seeing the Marquis of Ying retreat, Long Chen let out a great shout, like a spring thunderclap startling the heavens. The sweeping longsword suddenly stopped, changing from a slash to a thrust, aiming straight for the Marquis of Ying's chest.

The Marquis of Ying had just dodged Long Chen's sword when he suddenly saw Long Chen change his move, and his expression couldn't help but shift slightly.

He knew that this broadsword had astonishing weight; the Marquis of Ying had realized this long ago, which was why he dared not clash head-on with Long Chen.

Yet, Long Chen was able to change moves halfway through with a broadsword of such astonishing weight. This indicated that Long Chen's strength was shocking to the point of being unheard of.

"Hmph, merely brute force."

The Marquis of Ying snorted coldly. The longsword in his hand traced an arc, striking heavily against Long Chen's broadsword, producing a crisp ringing sound.

"Clang."

Sparks flew everywhere. To Long Chen's surprise, his full-force strike was deflected by the Marquis of Ying's sword, sliding past the Marquis of Ying's side.

Most critically, having used too much force, combined with the Marquis of Ying's redirection, Long Chen found himself unable to stop, lunging forward uncontrollably.

"Shhh."

Long Chen silently cried out that it was bad. The longsword in the Marquis of Ying's hand, like a venomous snake, struck with lightning speed, aiming straight for the vital point of Long Chen's heart.

Relying on the combat experience within his Soul, Long Chen instinctively retracted his chest.

"Shhh."

The Marquis of Ying's speed was too fast, directly piercing a bloody hole in his chest, from which fresh blood surged out wildly.

Fortunately, Long Chen had avoided the vital point of his heart. However, before Long Chen could even catch his breath, the Marquis of Ying's second sword was already at Long Chen's throat.

Long Chen's heart pounded wildly. Was this what a Yijin Realm expert was? It was impossible to match. In front of the Marquis of Ying, he was like a child fighting chaotically, without a shred of ability to fight back.

This sword strike was impossibly fast. It was already too late for Long Chen to dodge; he could only watch helplessly as the sword pierced his throat.

In Long Chen's eyes, besides the cold tip of the sword, there was also the Marquis of Ying's eyes filled with mockery and resentment. For the first time, Long Chen felt death was so close.

"Get lost!"

A roar came, and a golden light flew past. The air swirled because of that golden light, emitting the sound of air being torn apart.

"Boom."

Just as the Marquis of Ying's longsword was about to pierce Long Chen's throat, a large golden axe, like a giant god splitting a mountain, slashed down fiercely at the Marquis of Ying.

The one who attacked was none other than A Man. A Man's reactions were a bit slow; he had just seen the two talking when they suddenly started fighting. By the time he reacted, Long Chen was on the verge of death, so he became greatly anxious and launched a full-force axe strike immediately.

The Marquis of Ying had been on the verge of killing Long Chen when a sudden chill ran down his spine. He felt a fatal threat. Although somewhat unwilling, he had no choice but to give up on killing Long Chen, swinging his longsword to strike against A Man's giant axe.

After a loud explosion, A Man was actually knocked back several zhang, looking at the Marquis of Ying with a shocked expression.

The Marquis of Ying didn't fare much better; he was also knocked back more than a zhang. The sword strike he had just used employed subtle force, unloading the majority of A Man's power.

Yet, he was still knocked back, and his arm felt somewhat numb and sore. He couldn't help but be shocked in his heart; A Man was practically a Demonic Beast in human form.

Long Chen, having retrieved his life, stood beside A Man and whispered a few words to him, then said: "A Man, this guy is very strong. We have to risk our lives."

"Risk our lives?"

The Marquis of Ying shook his somewhat numb arm and sneered: "With what will you risk your lives? Just relying on those shallow means of yours and that bit of brute strength? I must say, you are quite strong, but in front of a Yijin Realm expert, you don't have a shred of a chance."

Long Chen brandished the longsword in his hand, pointing it obliquely at the Marquis of Ying, and said: "Whether we have a chance or not, we'll only know after trying."

The Marquis of Ying didn't seem to be in a rush to kill them, tapping his longsword on the ground like a cane, and said indifferently: "Although I cannot see your cultivation level, there isn't a shred of blood energy on your bodies. This indicates that you are merely at the Qi Gathering stage."

"As a gift for me to present to your father, I will be extra gracious and tell you just how big the gap is between you and me."

"The Qi Gathering Realm uses Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to irrigate the body, storing Heaven and Earth energy for one's own use; it cultivates Qi."

"The Blood Condensation Realm uses Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to purify the blood, making the body's energy even more powerful; it cultivates strength."

"One Qi, one strength, the two complement each other and can erupt with powerful force, but this force is merely additive."

"But once you reach the Yijin Realm, strength nourishes the tendons, Qi nourishes the spirit, and strength and Qi reach a perfect synergy. The 'strength' that Mortals often speak of is actually the same principle."

"However, the power of Qi and strength combined in the Yijin Realm is no longer additive, but multiplicative. If the strength of the Blood Condensation Realm is ten plus ten, then the Yijin Realm is ten times ten."

Long Chen's heart shook violently upon hearing this. He knew the Marquis of Ying definitely wouldn't be kind enough to explain these things to him.

He was telling him this to show how great the difference in strength was between them, to make him abandon his struggle, and to make him fall into complete despair.

Although he knew the Marquis of Ying was doing this on purpose, his heart still couldn't help but be shocked. If it were truly as he said, he really wouldn't have any chance at all.

Moreover, setting aside strength, just the Marquis of Ying's eerie movement techniques and lightning-fast speed made him tremble with fear.

This was a dead end. No wonder the Fourth Prince dared to scheme against him like this. He killed Xia Changfeng, and then he would be killed by the Marquis of Ying, and everything would return to calm. What a deep scheme.

A Man clearly hadn't thought as much as Long Chen; he just stared wide-eyed at the Marquis of Ying and asked: "Brother Long, what is he saying? What addition and multiplication? What Qi Gathering and Blood Condensation? What are those things?"

"Don't worry about what he's saying; remember what I told you just now," Long Chen whispered, while remaining fully on guard against the Marquis of Ying.

The Marquis of Ying looked at Long Chen indifferently: "What? You still want to struggle at this moment? Could it be that you doubt what this Marquis has said?"

"Hum."

Long Chen shook the broadsword in his hand, producing a whistling sound, and pointed at the Marquis of Ying, sneering: "You have a Shadow-Recording Jade on your chest. You want to record the scene of me before I die, and then show it to my father, just to strike a blow at him, right?"

Because he had been too nervous before, only now did Long Chen notice that the Marquis of Ying was wearing an oddly shaped jade plaque on his chest.

That jade plaque had many curved patterns on it. Although Long Chen had never been in contact with the art of Inscription, he had heard of Shadow-Recording Jades.

Activating the runes on a Shadow-Recording Jade could record images for a period of time. Clearly, Long Chen had guessed the Marquis of Ying's thoughts.

"Hehe, I didn't expect you to actually recognize it. That's truly boring." The Marquis of Ying gently stroked the Shadow-Recording Jade on his chest and said: "Correct. When giving a gift, one should give the whole set. I intended to first present him with your head, and then show him the scene of your dying struggles. Only then can I resolve the hatred suppressed in my heart for many years."

Long Chen laughed heartily and said: "Underhanded tricks, you despicable villain, you half-man half-woman, dead sissy. You are only fit to play with these underhanded methods that cannot be brought to the table. My father could cut off your finger, today I will cut off your head."

Suddenly, Long Chen stomped his foot, and the earth shook along with it. He shot toward the Marquis of Ying like a gust of wind, slashing down with his sword.

"Hmph, ignorant child, today I will let you see the terror of strength and Qi combined."

The Marquis of Ying snorted coldly. Without any wind, his body stirred. Suddenly, blue veins slowly bulged on his exposed skin, like little snakes swimming beneath the skin.

That was a unique manifestation of the Yijin Realm. When the Marquis of Ying's body was covered in bulging blue veins, his entire Aura exploded, and terrifying energy spread in all directions like flames, causing even space to distort.

Seeing this, Long Chen gritted his teeth. Regardless of how strong the Marquis of Ying was, he had to fight head-on, otherwise, it would be very difficult for him to die with dignity.

He feared death. If he died, what would happen to his mother? What about Chu Yao? What about his promise to Meng Qi?

He could not die. Only by fighting with his life on the line would he have a sliver of a chance to live. He had to strive for it, concentrating all the strength in his body onto the broadsword.

When Long Chen forgot the fear in his heart and bravely faced death, the Fengfu Star beneath his feet began to slowly rotate, without any prompting from Long Chen.

It was just that when it rotated halfway, as if due to a lack of some kind of power, it slowly returned to stillness.

"Kill!"

Long Chen let out a great shout, Sword Qi startling the heavens, power coursing through both arms, his whole person emitting an indomitable Aura as he slashed down with his sword.