Taixu Sword Qi

He didn't know how much time had passed, but when Gu Chu opened his eyes again, the moon was already on the edge of the horizon.

He stared at the moon in a daze for a moment, then stood up with a smile of anticipation.

The clothes on his upper body were reduced to a few tattered strips, a masterpiece created by Fu Hua. His lean, powerful physique was exposed. He stretched his body and then ripped off the remaining scraps of cloth.

"Rested enough? Come on, round six..." he said to Fu Hua, who was sitting cross-legged not far from him. His gaze fell upon the swords behind her.

"Do you have any swords left worth using? You used the third and fourth swords in the same round, and you never even used the sixth sword I knew about. Now all seven swords have been used, yet you've only won five rounds."

"What, still have the strength to struggle?"

Fu Hua let out a long breath. She stood up wearily, drew the Xuanyuan Sword she had already used once, and regulated her ragged breathing, focusing on his potential attack.

"Using that sword again?" Gu Chu spread his hands, approaching Fu Hua with a completely unguarded posture. "If I get beaten by the same trick twice, shouldn't I just admit defeat?"

He chuckled at his own words. In Fu Hua's eyes, Gu Chu's entire body was riddled with openings. She could seize victory from any angle.

But that only applied to a normal person. Once you understood your opponent was someone whose physical abilities far surpassed even the Kaslanas, those openings became deadly traps.

Gu Chu stopped a few steps away from Fu Hua. "Alright, it seems you really are going to use that sword..."

He looked at Fu Hua, then slowly raised his hands.

Fu Hua's pupils constricted.

The stance he took... was Taixu Sword Qi?

Not the watered-down Taixu Swordplay taught in dojos, but the true Taixu Sword Qi that Fu Hua had taught her Seven Disciples! It was pure, unadulterated Taixu Sword Qi, free of any of the disciples' personal flair!

"Come on. As the one who taught Taixu Sword Qi, why don't you see how well I've copied it?" Gu Chu held out two fingers and smiled at Fu Hua.

The next moment, they moved almost simultaneously.

Sword-Initiating Form - Sea-Splitter!

Sword-Initiating Form - Crescent Moon!

Blade and fingers met in an instant. A peerlessly sharp, slender slash and a powerful, focused strike erupted between them with astonishing force.

Behind Fu Hua, a deep, straight gash that stretched as far as the eye could see was carved into the flat ground.

And by Gu Chu's feet, a deep, crescent-shaped wound had appeared.

After the initial clash, they both immediately unleashed their next forms.

Sword-Transforming Form - Black Falcon!

Gu Chu was a step faster. His hand, acting as a sword, shot forward in a fierce lunge. The sound of it cutting through the air was like a bird of prey diving for the kill.

The [Aura] surrounding him activated at that moment. Fu Hua felt as if a real black falcon was lunging at her, its attack aimed straight for her vitals with immense power.

And to face such a move—

Sword-Guarding Form - Resilient Bamboo!

Her longsword blocked her vitals, taking the full force of Gu Chu's Black Falcon. Her body bent backward in a deep arc under the impact.

Just like a resilient bamboo stalk bending in a storm, yet stubbornly refusing to break.

But before the bamboo could spring back, Gu Chu's second attack was already upon her.

Sword-Unleashing Form - Fleeting Dust!

Fast, a single point of attack at the peak of speed! This strike arrived even faster than the Black Falcon that preceded it! Fu Hua gritted her teeth, and the rebounding momentum of Resilient Bamboo transformed into a different kind of force.

Sword-Guarding Form - Pure Lotus!

With a light flick of her sword, Gu Chu's Fleeting Dust was deflected as if caught by a gentle breeze. And like a lotus emerging pure from the mud, not a single attack had touched her.

She quickly disengaged, retreating to create distance.

"Not done yet!" Gu Chu laughed, immediately catching up to the retreating Fu Hua.

Sword-Unleashing Form - Raging Thunder!

His frenzied sword strikes were as ubiquitous as rolling thunder, forming a veritable wall of attacks that enveloped Fu Hua.

Fu Hua spun, her sword tracing the shape of a flower in the air.

A literal flower!

Sword-Guarding Form - Ink Chrysanthemum!

A dense flurry of sword flashes of her own. Each blooming petal of the flower perfectly deflected a thunderous strike, shielding Fu Hua within.

Sword-Unleashing Form - Thunderbolt!

A sudden change in form. The raging thunder strikes instantly converged into a single, powerful attack combining both speed and force. The fragile outer petals of the Ink Chrysanthemum shattered instantly.

Fu Hua continued to swing her Xuanyuan Sword, still using Ink Chrysanthemum. But this time, the opened petals closed, the blooming flower returning to a bud. Under her firm, continuous strike, the thunderbolt was ground down into nothing.

Gu Chu froze for a second, then broke into an even more excited smile.

It was still Ink Chrysanthemum, but used in a completely different way! Opening up against a flurry of attacks, closing to defend against a powerful strike...

How many other sword forms could be used in two different ways like this?

Fu Hua seized his moment of distraction and launched her own counterattack.

Sword-Transforming Form - Rain Swift!

Like a bolt of black lightning, the attack's trajectory flashed and was gone. By the time Gu Chu reacted, it was already upon him. He instinctively swung out with an attack of his own.

But his attack missed. The Rain Swift made a nimble turn in mid-air and came at him again from a wickedly sharp angle.

"Heh..." A crazed smile spread across Gu Chu's lips. He suddenly spun around, dodging the Rain Swift by a hair's breadth.

Sword-Guarding Form - Shadow Orchid!

Followed by—

Sword-Unleashing Form - Wind-Quake!

Though it was just one strike, the feeling of being trapped was deeply etched in Fu Hua's mind. A strike that could capture and shatter the very wind was not one she could block or evade. Her only option was to counterattack!

But the drawback of her missed strike was that it was difficult to return her body to a prepared stance. And the only sword form she could use without preparation happened to be countered by Wind-Quake...

So, Fu Hua's choice was—

Sword-Transforming Form - Cloud Hawk!

This was a wide, sweeping strike, like a hawk diving from the clouds toward its prey. With a sharp, graceful flash of light, the Xuanyuan Sword slammed into Gu Chu's sword-fingers.

The two attacks collided. Both figures were thrown back several meters before they managed to stop.

Fu Hua's expression was calm, but she couldn't help but glance at her own hand, which was trembling slightly.

Cloud Hawk was a desperate blow forced out when she was already at her limit. How could it possibly match the confident power of Wind-Quake?