Chapter 63: Astonishing the World and Shaking the Heavens!

"Clang!"

A flash of blade light soared, a single flash of brilliance!

The crystalline, radiant blade light was like a clear autumn ripple. With that single flash, both the wine cups and the stone table were sliced cleanly in two.

The Marquis of Xiaoyao stood tall. Even though he stood upon a stone stool, he did not appear inferior in the slightest.

Ren Yi smiled indifferently, "Aside from your Pleasure Manor, you also have the Heaven Sect. More than half of this pugilistic world belongs to your Heaven Sect. Yet, if you do not fear me, why did you gather so many people to kill me?"

The Marquis of Xiaoyao said in a deep voice, "If you die, the Deer-Cutter Blade remains mine, and this world remains mine!"

"Since you had the courage to come, you are already braver than all others under heaven!"

Was the Marquis of Xiaoyao afraid? Among the five hundred and sixty-seven men, half belonged to the Heaven Sect—belonged to him!

Even if he refused to admit it, he had no choice, yet he still came. If he had not come, the Heaven Sect would become a joke, and the Marquis of Xiaoyao would become a joke. For since a Marquis of Xiaoyao already existed in this world, there could never be room for another Demonic Sovereign.

If the Demonic Sovereign did not die, the men of the Heaven Sect would never truly submit to him. Being a dwarf by birth, how could he afford to lose these things as well?

Yet, for the time being, he still retained a shred of confidence. Aside from his formidable martial arts, he possessed the Deer-Cutter Blade. In this present world, no one understood the wondrous nature of the Deer-Cutter Blade better than he did, not even its creator, Xu Luzi.

The Marquis of Xiaoyao’s figure flickered, transforming into a dark shadow that melted into the night and vanished beneath the moonlight.

Ren Yi said calmly, "If anything happens to Jun'er, I will shatter every bone in your body."

Shen Bijun and the Young Mistress froze, and then a figure slowly descended from above.

"If Lady Shen loses a single strand of hair, I will take your life in return."

Xiao Shilang was also a clever man. In his search for the Deer-Cutter Blade, he had found the Young Mistress, and now he had found his way here once more. Catching sight of the newcomer, the Young Mistress offered a sheepish smile and tactfully retreated a few paces.

Ren Yi glanced at Shen Bijun, and amid her eyes full of worry, he said softly, "I shall return in a moment!"

With a single step, a wisp of residual cloud-like shadow dissipated. He had already appeared ten paces away, his toes gently brushing the lake's surface, sending out ripples before he vanished entirely.

The moment he disappeared, a sword leaped from its scabbard and flew out toward the waters of the lake.

Floating lights and drifting shadows...

The moonlight mirrored the water, casting a shimmering glow across the lake.

There was someone beneath the moon—a figure in white, flashing between the water and the moonlight, then descending gracefully like a dragonfly alighting upon a lotus leaf, without disturbing a single droplet of dew. He then stood quietly, gazing at the figure standing upon another lotus leaf.

"Who on earth are you?" The Marquis of Xiaoyao looked at him and asked, "Everyone has an origin. Where do you come from?"

A mysterious smile, unfathomable to anyone, suddenly bloomed on Ren Yi's face as he answered elusively, "A person like me should never have existed in this world. I have come to this mortal realm for only one thing."

"What thing?"

"To live freely and enjoy life at my pleasure!"

The blade was pale cyan, and its light was pale cyan as well. At this moment, it did not look dazzling, nor did it possess any blinding radiance. Yet, even as the blade merely cleared its scabbard without striking, a suffocating, indescribable killing intent pressed right against the brows.

And then, the pale cyan blade light soared upward like a blue rainbow...

As it ascended, the blade cleaved through the air, suddenly emitting a sound like a dragon's roar soaring into the nine heavens.

The moment the blade light rose, sword light arrived to meet it. The sword met the blade like astonishing beauty colliding with supreme elegance, transforming into two brilliant and glorious streams across the moonlit sky.

Blade and sword clashed, accompanied by a crisp, bell-like "clang," and the figures parted instantly!

The sword had already sustained a notch. Even though Ren Yi channeled his internal energy upward, this sword was no match for the edge of the Deer-Cutter Blade.

"A fine blade!"

The Marquis of Xiaoyao offered no reply. He transformed into an illusion, devoid of physical substance, and the single dark shadow split into two, two into four, instantly multiplying into sixteen figures... flickering swiftly, gathering and scattering, a maze of demonic silhouettes.

The sixteen figures crisscrossed and intersected, impossible to tell apart.

Yet Ren Yi casually swept his hand, and a massive surge of sword light instantly slashed across the lake. Wherever the blade edge passed, all the dark shadows instantly dissolved, immediately revealing the true body of the Marquis of Xiaoyao.

Ren Yi descended gracefully onto a lotus leaf, smiling as he marveled at his opponent's martial arts.

The blade light plunged downward abruptly.

The plummeting blade light was as fast as lightning!

A smile spread across the corners of Ren Yi's lips. The blade had already fallen, its edge less than an inch from the center of his brow, only to be blocked by the iron sword, causing the lotus leaf to sink instantly. With a slight tremor of the blade edge, the Marquis of Xiaoyao was forced back.

At that very moment, another flash of blade light erupted, sending blade qi slashing down from the edge. The lake water was cleaved open in a single straight line, shooting directly forward.

Ren Yi’s figure folded and instantly retreated, while the lotus leaf that had just risen was split neatly in two by the water.

The Marquis of Xiaoyao’s martial arts shifted miraculously, at times resembling saber techniques, at times sword techniques, and occasionally even spear techniques.

The two circled mid-air, blade and sword clashing. Seeing that Ren Yi's swordsmanship was flawless—anticipating every move and seemingly foreseeing all his subsequent strategies—the Marquis of Xiaoyao could only rely on the superiority of his weapon to shatter the enemy's blade. Blade and sword filled the sky in battle, their lights weaving into bizarre colors.

One peerless divine saber, one ordinary iron sword, yet they fought in mid-air like jade dragons soaring and intertwining.

From the sky down to the surface of the water, the saber and its master had merged into one, granting each other a magical, indescribable brilliance unique above and below heaven.

The pale cyan radiance slashed, carved, and swept into Ren Yi!

Blade light fluttered everywhere, resembling thousands of Milky Way ribbons. Ren Yi met it with his sword, every thrust carrying an unexhausted sword intent, every strike as light as poetry and as ethereal as a dream, causing every fierce saber stroke to return empty-handed.

The Marquis of Xiaoyao let out a thunderous roar, channeling his entire body's cultivation into the blade edge. Endless blade qi erupted from the divine saber, scattering the clouds, driven away by the surging blade qi, murderous aura, and overwhelming dread.

Like a roaming specter, like a haunting phantom. With the divine saber in hand, this single stroke descending from above felt like an earthquake to the heavens and enough to make ghosts weep!

The silvery moonlight illuminated the Deer-Cutter Blade, its glare reflecting brightly in Ren Yi's eyes.

With matchless blade qi, a piercing murderous aura, and a ferocious, terrifying dread... Ren Yi smiled and thrust a single sword stroke. Their figures intersected in an instant; blade and sword collided, showering sparks...

Finally, with a resounding "clang!"

Ren Yi was forced back. This was the first time he had been forced back, and his sword had actually snapped. The broken blade tumbled into the lake and sank beneath the surface.

The Marquis of Xiaoyao laughed heartily, his long whistle ringing out: "You have lost after all to me, Young Master Tian! You are destined to die beneath the blade of me, Young Master Tian!"

He stamped both feet upon the water's surface, his body riding the wind, shooting through the air like an arrow.

The blade light rose once more!

Ren Yi raised his hand. In his grasp was the broken sword, thrusting straight toward the Marquis of Xiaoyao.

He merely swung it casually, without any deliberate intention to gather energy. Yet every movement—raising his hand, flicking his wrist, thrusting forward—was like a master calligrapher writing wildly in a state of intoxication, or a legendary painter creating a masterpiece in the haze of wine.

The sword intent was born spontaneously. This sword did not belong to the Thousand Styles of Changing Clouds and Rain, nor was it the final 'One'; this sword had never before been unveiled in this world.

No one could describe this sword.

No matter how ornate the prose, how enchanting the poetry, or how skilled the brushwork, there was simply no way to describe this sword. For it was not merely lightning-fast, infinitely changing, and transcendent; nor was it merely as beautiful as a dream—it was the combination of all these things...

infused with three parts astonishment, three parts elegance, three parts supremacy, and one part absolute arrogance.

This single sword strike startled mortals and terrified heaven and earth!

In that exact instant, the moment the broken sword flew forward... the Marquis of Xiaoyao's supreme confidence suddenly began to melt, dissolve, and vanish, like spring snow exposed to the blazing sun.

He suddenly felt a magical, indescribable terror, the likes of which had never existed anywhere in heaven or earth.

Then, the sword pierced into the blade light, dispelled the blade qi, bypassed the blade's edge, and pierced straight through his throat.

The broken sword was not pulled out; it remained lodged in the neck of the Marquis of Xiaoyao as he plummeted together with it into the lake... Meanwhile, Ren Yi caught the Deer-Cutter Blade, lightly brushed his toes against the water, and drifted gracefully away!