"I'm Swordsman San of the Sword Tribe, and I'm here to… kill you!"
As Swordsman San uttered his threat, a surge of murderous intent spread out in a ten-kilometer radius.
Unable to tolerate the unbearable murderous intent, some of the cultivators in the teahouse had even fainted over.
Meanwhile, Chu Kuangren sat unfazed as he scanned the black-robed cultivator with his Eye of Revelation. By then, he had already gotten a clear picture of the man's capability.
"I've heard the Sword Tribe has a division that's known as the Shadow Swordsmen who are highly trained in the art of assassination. However, is it assassination if you just stomp in and scream? Are you stupid, or have you lost your mind?"
"Kill me? More like, you're here to be killed."
Chu Kuangren said faintly.
Without hesitating further, Swordsman San made his move.
A dark broadsword appeared in his hand. It was as big as half a door frame.
The broadsword swung, unleashing a boundless amount of sword qi that shattered the table before Chu Kuangren and Shang Qingxue.
Chu Kuangren transformed the surrounding sword qi into an invisible shield that soaked the damage from the incoming sword technique.
"It looks like you do have some decent skills after all." Swordsman San appeared excited as he swung his sword again.
This time, his sword qi was unstoppable. Infused with an overpowering earth qi, the spiritual energy surged out toward Chu Kuangren.
Chu Kuangren was still indifferent in face of such a threatening attack.
"It's hilarious how you thought you could kill me with that."
He drew half of his Self-Descendant Sword from his hilt and summoned a striking purple sword ray.
The devastating sword ray obliterated the incoming earth qi into pieces.
As such, Swordsman San attempted to use his broadsword to shield the incoming attack.
However, the purple sword ray suddenly unleashed a terrifying amount of energy and blasted him dozens of kilometers away. Swordsman San crashed into one of the mountains.
Boom!
Dust and debris filled the air.
His overwhelming aura soon dissipated.
The cultivators at the teahouse took the opportunity to flee for their lives. None of them dared linger any longer.
"Oh heavens, that's a Shadow Swordsman from the Sword Tribe!"
"Who's that b*stard anyway? Why did the Sword Tribe send a Shadow Swordsman after him?"
The cultivators of the teahouse ran as they questioned Chu Kuangren's identity.
The Shadow Swordsmen was a highly classified division of the Sword Tribe. Only a few cultivators knew how many members the division had or how powerful they were.
What everyone did know was that whoever became the Shadow Swordsmen's target were enemies of the Sword Tribe, and almost none of them had a happy ending.
The Sword Tribe was one of the most terrifying entities in the Emperor Road.
"Haha, your abilities are indeed remarkable. I can recognize your sword qi. It's the same as Master Daoist's Exquisite Nine Orifices Sword Heart."
Swordsman San's voice echoed from the mountains.
He was seen levitating upwards as he unleashed another blast of hefty aura, and his dark broadsword was now emitting surges of mythical Daoist Rhymes.
Everything within a ten thousand kilometer radius in the mountains shook.
Chu Kuangren could sense that a copious amount of earth qi was converging towards Swordsman San.
He was transforming earth qi into sword qi!
Such a Sword Dao that allowed one to convert earth qi into sword qi was pretty sophisticated.
Chu Kuangren squinted his eyes and said, "It seems like he's no weaker than the Sima Clan Leader."
Swordsman San's ability had piqued Chu Kuangren's interest in the Sword Tribe.
If this was a single swordsman's ability, it was difficult to imagine just how strong the entire tribe would be.
"Mountainous Overgrowth, attack!"
With a low grunt, Swordsman San unleashed his sword technique.
The lofty sword qi interlocked in the void and formed a display of enormous yellow sword shadow.
Within the sword shadow was an ever-changing scenery of mountain ranges. In a second, its boundless aura had sealed everything within ten kilometers of Chu Kuangren.
"Qingxue, step behind me."
Chu Kuangren said calmly.
Then, he swung his Self Descendant Sword and unleashed a fury of calamitous sword rays.
With a bang, the sword shadow shattered into pieces before Chu Kuangren's sword ray.
The alluring scenery faded away like bubbles.
Chu Kuangren had countered his mountainous technique with a single sword technique!
"That's powerful!"
Since the Swordsman San's sword shadow was destroyed, the remaining shock wave sent him flying several hundred meters backward.
Shocked, he began to feel overwhelmed by a sense of anxiety that he had never felt.
Swordsman San swung his sword around, summoning multiple sword shadows this time.
The surrounding earth qi gravitated towards him as if he had awakened.
Swordsman San flung his sword around and unleashed nine consecutive strikes, with each strike more powerful than the last.
When he was at the ninth strike, it seemed like Swordsman San had accumulated the momentum of all previous movements into one.
Once he released the final technique, the void shook in his astonishing force of power.
The sky felt as if it was going to collapse under its weight.
It was Swordsman San's strongest technique, a move that was birthed out of his thorough understanding of the Mountain Dao!
"Now, this is something."
Chu Kuangren gently lifted his hand and activated all three Daoist Physique Transformations of his Exquisite Nine Orifices Sword Heart.
All of his Supreme Foundation Levels were radiated in their glories.
With a single sword technique, Chu Kuangren unleashed an unfathomable sword ray that eclipsed the sun.
The mountainous sword qi was once again ripped apart by Chu Kuangren's purple sword ray.
However, Swordsman San was clear this time that he was no match for Chu Kuangren.
With that, he mobilized his spiritual energy, transformed into a ray of light, and dove into the distance.
Just when Chu Kuangren was about to give chase, he felt an overwhelming gravitational force grasping onto his legs.
"Oh, it's the earth qi that came from the sword qi…"
Chu Kuangren realized that the Swordsman San's sword qi, which he had shattered, did not truly dissipate. Instead, it had burrowed itself into the ground and was reformed into the earth qi that was now trapping Chu Kuangren.
Chu Kuangren had to admit that such a method was indeed impressive, or at least it would be when dealing with some Boundary Emperors.
"Such a trick would probably be useful for other opponents, but alas, you're against me today."
Chu Kuangren lifted his feet out and stomped mercilessly on the sprouting sword qi into nothingness.
Then, he mobilized his spiritual thoughts and locked onto Swordsman San's position.
As a member of the Shadow Swordsmen, Swordsman San's combat strength was highly sophisticated, and every single Swordsman cultivated a specialized technique of their own. When he vanished into the shadows, many cultivators were clueless as to where he had gone.
However, Swordsman San could not escape from Chu Kuangren's spiritual thought sense.
"How convenient for you to run after realizing that you can't defeat me."
Using his invisible mind power, Chu Kuangren formed lines of runes in the air that sealed Swordsman San's escape route.
With a leap forward, he too vanished without a trace.
When Chu Kuangren eventually reappeared, he was right in front of Swordsman San.
"Die!"
His cold, brutal tone was reminiscent of that of the Grim Reaper.
Lines of runes formed into a wide sword net that ensnared Swordsman San.
The runic swords fell all over Swordsman San like a pouring rain!
Swordsman San attempted to defend himself with all his might by summoning even a defensive Boundary Emperor Weapon on his chest.
Even then, the injury he sustained was far from minor.
After enduring the falling runic swords, a light blue rune appeared above his head before Swordsman San had the time to heave a sigh of relief.
The rune was seething with tiny electrical discharges.
It was the Emperor-grade Lightning Rune!