Chapter 153: Ba Fenghan: I Think I Can Do It Again

As the final notes faded, the crowd remained deeply entranced, lingering in a spellbound stupor long after the music had ceased.

Shi Qingxuan’s earlier jade flute performance had already been profoundly astonishing, but now, coupled with this magnificent musical score, it truly embodied the lingering echoes that resonate around the beams for three days. Shi Qingxuan closed her captivating eyes, savoring the melody of *Laughing in the Wind* for a long while. A thin layer of fragrant perspiration beaded along her temples, revealing just how much immense effort she had poured into the piece.

Yet, for a score like this, it was utterly worth it.

"Many thanks, Young Master, and many thanks to Elder Wang for the joint performance. Now that matters here are concluded, Qingxuan shall not linger any longer..." True to her character, once Shi Qingxuan returned the musical score to Zheng Jian, she did not hesitate or drag her feet for a moment, gliding away gracefully like a drifting fairy.

By this time, Wang通 was already weeping tears of old age, whether deeply moved by the melody or stirred by memories of his past romantic heartbreaks. In short, the old fellow was of such advanced age, yet he was crying like a child...

As for Ba Fenghan, he simply stared blankly in the direction the fair maiden had departed, still completely unable to extricate himself from his trance...

With a glance, Zheng Jian caught sight of Ba Fenghan’s affectionate, lingering gaze fixed unwaveringly on the path Shi Qingxuan had taken.

"Hey, you there, are you still going to fight or not? If you are, I can still accompany you for a few more moves. After all, from my perspective, your saber technique is nothing more than a dung beetle doing the moon-confinement—fumbling and scratching blindly."

Ba Fenghan’s handsome face turned pitch black once more. *You’re the dung beetle! Your entire family are dung beetles!*

Resentment value from Ba Fenghan +999.

"Pfft..." The white-clad Fu Junyu beside them laughed so hard she could barely keep her legs together. She discovered that this Zheng Jian was truly a fascinating person; a casual remark from him was enough to make someone so furious smoke would come out of their seven orifices. That sort of skill was truly one of a kind in this world.

Ba Fenghan had originally harbored a mild fondness for Fu Junyu standing nearby, but seeing her laugh again because of those words instantly caused his grievances toward Zheng Jian to skyrocket off the charts. "Come, come, come! You and I shall battle for another three hundred rounds!"

Resentment value from Ba Fenghan +999.

Fu Junyu’s smile made Ba Fenghan instantly feel like he was back in top form. The crucial point was that he had only used his saber earlier; he still had his combined saber and sword technique up his sleeve!

"Yo, yo, yo! You rheumatism-afflicted cold, you’re just a dung beetle crashing into a high wall—pretending to be a tough shell over what? The weather’s cleared and the rain has stopped, so you think you're good again, huh? Today, your Brother Jian is going to let you know why flowers are so red!" Zheng Jian remained far ahead in the race of taunting Ba Fenghan, seizing every opportunity to shear the wool off the man until not a single strand remained...

Resentment value from Ba Fenghan +999.

Everyone in the courtyard immediately burst into uproarious laughter once more. Ba Fenghan was a nomad from the northern steppes, and seeing Zheng Jian roast him brought boundless joy to Wang通, Ouyang Xiyi, and Wang Shichong alike.

At that moment, Ba Fenghan truly hated himself for not learning a few more vulgar curses. He was being thoroughly bullied and roasted by Zheng Jian to the point of utter defeat, yet he lacked any ability to talk back...

Ceasing all speech, Ba Fenghan directly gripped the saber and sword at his waist with both hands. His handsome face returned to a state as still as stagnant water, and with a fierce kick of his right foot against the ground, his entire body shot straight toward Zheng Jian like an arrow released from a tightened bow.

His assault was as natural as a surging tide, possessing a seamless, peerless grace that left onlookers breathless.

"Wielding both saber and sword together—now this is starting to get a bit interesting..." Zheng Jian smiled, drawing his sword in a sudden, brilliant flash.

In the span of a single heartbeat, the two clashed into intense combat. All around them, chaotic saber Qi and sword Qi shredded the air, intersecting and weaving a web of destruction.

Wielding both saber and sword simultaneously, Ba Fenghan was indeed vastly different from before. His saber Qi and sword Qi complemented one another, enveloping a radius of three zhang completely and forcing the observing crowd to step backward instinctively out of fear of stray injuries.

Meanwhile, Zheng Jian countered with a single sword flickering back and forth, paired with elusive and unpredictable footwork. Within that three-zhang domain, he engaged in a frantic, all-out offensive against Ba Fenghan, refusing to employ any defense whatsoever.

Knowing that Zheng Jian possessed internal energy entirely disproportionate to his youthful age, Ba Fenghan continually avoided engaging in direct collisions of inner force. His footwork was equally bizarre, dodging and shifting left and right like a ghost, desperately seeking an opportunity for a decisive victory.

Any discerning eye could see that although Zheng Jian wielded only a single blade, he held virtually complete and absolute dominance!

Yet, no one dared to underestimate Ba Fenghan in the slightest because of this. It was not that Ba Fenghan was too weak, but rather that Zheng Jian was simply too terrifyingly strong!

Ouyang Xiyi’s tiger-like eyes remained glued to the battlefield. "This Zheng Jian... one can discern no master’s lineage from his swordsmanship whatsoever. His sword moves are entirely distinct from any contemporary sect in this world. They seem as unrestrained as wild horses running through the skies, yet they inherently contain the ultimate principles of the sword path! Most crucial of all is that his breath is boundless and enduring; the profound depth of his internal energy is something even this old man finds utterly unbelievable! What kind of legendary hermit could possibly cultivate such a horrifying successor..."

"Even you, Elder Ouyang, cannot discern this person's background?" A strange light flickered in Wang Shichong’s gaze. Ouyang Xiyi, known as the "Hermit of Mount Huang," had risen to fame over forty years ago, and now, well past the age of seventy, he had witnessed countless peerless experts. Yet even Ouyang Xiyi could not fathom the origin of Zheng Jian’s martial arts...

"Yet, within his aura, there is a somewhat familiar sensation to me—though it seems similar and yet different, making it difficult to conclude definitively." Ouyang Xiyi murmured in deep thought, a puzzled expression crossing his face.

"You share that feeling as well?" Wang通 was likewise closely tracking the battlefield. Hearing Ouyang Xiyi’s doubt, he immediately chimed in, "This old man has that exact same sensation, only for a moment I cannot recall what this illusory familiarity truly represents."

Right at that very instant, within the center of the engagement, Zheng Jian suddenly thrust out his sword from an exceedingly bizarre angle. The moment that single strike pierced the air, the entire courtyard plunged into a sudden, gloomy chill!

"This sword strike?!" Wang通 and the others sprang to their feet in unison.

As for Ba Fenghan, who stood directly in the path of this blade, a sudden sense of being locked onto by death surged within his heart—much like the critical moments of life-and-death struggle against wolf packs in the northern wilderness during his youth.

With a fierce, prolonged howl, Ba Fenghan slashed outward with his saber and sword intertwined—the final form of the *Seven Styles of Edge's Coldness*, "Desert Storm"!

Ferocious saber Qi and sword Qi fused together, generating an interlocking tempest of blade energy that spun at extreme speeds, rushing headlong to meet Zheng Jian’s indescribably terrifying sword strike.

This thrust was, in essence, the Fourteenth Sword of Xie Xieshan's *Thirteen Swords of Mortal Doom*. While Zheng Jian had not mastered the fifteenth sword—which resembled a veritable kingdom of death—the Fourteenth Sword alone blossomed with a heart-stopping, horrifying sword aura in Zheng Jian’s hands!

The instant this sword Qi collided with Ba Fenghan’s blended blade aura, a visible wave of pressure exploded outward into the surrounding air!

Ba Fenghan’s combined saber and sword Qi attempted to block Zheng Jian’s thrust, only to be ground away inch by inch.

The webbing between Ba Fenghan’s thumbs and forefingers ruptured, blood staining both hands crimson. Veins bulged violently across his forearms as muscles knotted, and he exerted every ounce of his remaining strength to halt the advance!

However, it was useless!

The Tear-Stained Sword, shrouded in terrifying sword Qi, utterly shattered Ba Fenghan’s defensive barrier of genuine Qi!

Fu Junyu cried out in alarm, slamming her eyes shut, unable to bear the sight any longer.

Ba Fenghan’s eyes split wide with terror, yet he could only watch helplessly as the Tear-Stained Sword breached all defenses and arrived right before his eyes.

This was his very first battle upon setting foot in the Central Plains. He had arrived harboring boundless faith, believing he could achieve instant fame through a single legendary clash.

*Am I going to die here?* Desperation and gloom washed over Ba Fenghan’s heart.

***

The third chapter is delivered! Respected readers, the author is practically draining his very lifeblood and soul away here, purely surviving on subscriptions and vote tickets to keep breathing~~~ Every last drop of milk has been squeezed dry!!!

Subscriptions, monthly votes, recommendation votes—please, hold nothing back and smash them all toward the author~~~

(End of this chapter)