After being reborn, all I want to do is run away.

Chapter 82 Battle of Strength

“Junior Brother Jiang has lost his fighting spirit.” Although Lu Qingshan was referring to Jiang Mingqi, his eyes never left Shen Xu. His eyes gleamed with excitement, the kind of fighting desire that is only ignited when encountering someone of equal strength.

"If I were toyed with like that, I probably would have given up long ago. But Junior Brother Jiang's personality won't allow him to admit defeat voluntarily, and Shen Xu is still unwilling to draw his sword. It's a difficult situation!" Wang Ya couldn't help but sigh.

"I never expected Shen Xu to actually have the qualifications to look down on Senior Brother Jiang in terms of swordsmanship. I guess among us, apart from Senior Brother Lu, there's no one else he would even deign to look at!" Chen Wei said self-deprecatingly.

Seeing that Jiang Mingqi still dared not draw his sword against him, Shen Xu couldn't help but feel a little bored, so he said, "I'm short on time. If you don't want to admit defeat, you can just start the next round!"

“No need! I lost the sword duel,” Jiang Mingqi said in a deep voice.

"I admit you outclassed me in swordsmanship, but swordsmanship is only one part of strength. Cultivation and sword techniques are the decisive factors in determining combat power!"

As Jiang Mingqi spoke, wisps of extremely sharp aura, like nimble snakes, slowly and continuously emanated from Jiang Mingqi's body, gradually spreading to all directions of the dueling arena.

The disciples who sensed the sharp aura emanating from Jiang Mingqi all changed their expressions drastically. Every wisp of sharp aura emanating from Jiang Mingqi felt like a sharp needle piercing their skin, causing them waves of pain.

The pain caused the disciples around the dueling platform to retreat quickly away from the platform, fearing they might be caught in the crossfire.

Despite the sharp aura emanating from Jiang Mingqi, Shen Xu did not intervene. He wanted to use Jiang Mingqi to test his own true strength.

As Jiang Mingqi's aura continued to emanate, the entire dueling platform was gradually enveloped by powerful auras filled with sharpness and intensity, like a towering wave formed from concentrated sharpness surging towards the crowd.

Faced with this overwhelming and sharp force, everyone had no choice but to retreat a distance again, which was barely enough to withstand the negative effects of this force.

"Senior Brother Jiang has also comprehended the meaning of metal to a very high degree, which is why he can display such an incomparably sharp edge. But what does Shen Xu mean by just letting Senior Brother Jiang build up his strength like this?"

"He probably wants to fight Senior Brother Jiang at his strongest!" Shen Guangru guessed.

"I admit his swordsmanship is very high, but this isn't a swordsmanship contest! Has he always been this arrogant?" Chen Wei couldn't help but be shocked.

“You said he was arrogant before the sword fight, and it turns out he really has the ability. I think we can’t judge Shen Xu by common sense; he must have his reasons for doing this,” Wang Ya said.

Shen Xu could sense Jiang Mingqi's understanding of the meaning of metal contained in the sharp aura around him. It was an incomparably dazzling sharpness, a sharpness that could cut through everything, and a sharpness that could instantly annihilate any powerful enemy in front of him.

Jiang Mingqi's eyes, gleaming with golden light, swept over Shen Xu, like two golden swords slashing into his mind with fierce killing intent. However, this mental interference posed no threat to his powerful soul.

"Shen Xu, aren't you going to draw your sword?" Jiang Mingqi questioned in a completely emotionless voice.

Shen Xu did not speak. Suddenly, thick fog rose on the sword-fighting platform, and his figure disappeared from the spot.

“Your mist is not your foolproof hiding place!” Jiang Mingqi said coldly.

Jiang Mingqi immediately gathered and concentrated the sharp aura that had been scattered throughout the dueling platform. In the blink of an eye, this aura condensed into a huge and dazzling greatsword, its blade gleaming with a cold light, as if it could tear through the void.

He slashed horizontally with his sword, the massive blade striking the white mist that Shen Xu had laid out beforehand like a surging torrent.

In an instant, the thick white mist that had been permeating the dueling platform was cut in half by this powerful force, turning into wisps that drifted away.

"I've found you!" Jiang Mingqi sneered.

A chilling, piercing light suddenly burst forth from the tip of Jiang Mingqi's sword, and countless tiny yet extremely sharp points, as if summoned, frantically converged towards the tip. In a short moment, the tip of his sword was dyed a dazzling color, as if cast in gold.

Then, with another powerful swing from Jiang Mingqi, an unparalleled golden sword beam, like a shooting star streaking across the sky, shot towards a certain direction in the white mist at incredible speed. The sword beam was so fast that it tore through the air, emitting a series of piercing shrieks.

At the same time, a ferocious gale swept across the dueling platform. This gale, carrying boundless sharpness, was like a savage beast opening its blood-red maw, mercilessly devouring everything around it. The lingering white mist was shredded to pieces by the combined onslaught of this gale and its sharpness, turning into fragments of varying sizes that flew everywhere.

The golden sword light pierced through the thick fog in an instant and shone directly into Shen Xu's pupils.

The golden light flashed by in an instant, like lightning streaking across the night sky, piercing through Shen Xu's body and continuing its rapid backward motion, eventually embedding itself deep into the stone wall behind the dueling platform, penetrating an unknown distance.

Upon seeing this scene, everyone was immediately startled, and a chill quickly spread down their spines.

Just moments later, everyone keenly sensed something amiss. Shen Xu, who had been mercilessly pierced by the golden sword light, had not shed a single drop of blood! Even more astonishingly, the figure that should have been injured and fallen to the ground vanished into thin air like a phantom, turning into a hazy mist.

Just as people were dumbfounded, another perfectly intact Shen Xu suddenly appeared like a ghost next to the vanished Shen Xu.

At the same time, thick fog, like a surging tide, swept in again with overwhelming force, completely enveloping the entire fencing arena.

"An illusion! And such a realistic one at that. Shen Xu's understanding of the Water Element is probably deeper than I imagined," Lu Qingshan exclaimed.

"Mist Shadow! That's the legendary Mist Shadow that only the Ancestral Master could use!" The Grand Elder in the main hall suddenly stood up and said excitedly to the Water Mirror.

"Elder, please don't be agitated." Everyone was immediately worried and quickly helped the Elder back to his seat.

"Since you've shown me your golden intent, I shouldn't be stingy. This new five-fold wave is the first time I've used it on anyone else, so I'll test its power on you!" Shen Xu's voice rang out from all directions through the thick fog.

"A mere five waves? Shen Xu, you're underestimating me!" Although Jiang Mingqi's tone was full of sarcasm, his body still honestly went into a defensive stance.

"Fivefold Wave Slash!"

In the sea of ​​fog, Jiang Mingqi could only hear the loud splashing sound produced by the waves crashing against each other, which continuously entered his ears from every corner of the white fog.

These sounds intertwined, forming a breathtaking symphony that made it difficult to discern from which direction Shen Xu's attack would suddenly descend.

As the sound of the waves crashing grew louder and more rapid, Jiang Mingqi's heart became increasingly tense.

He was confident he could use his sharp edge to cut through Shen Xu's five layers of obstacles, but only if he chose the right direction. However, it was precisely at such crucial moments that his mind was able to regain its composure—a talent he was born with.

He slowly closed his eyes, shutting out all the noise and distractions of the outside world, and focused intently on sensing the subtle changes in the fog in every direction around him.

Time ticked by, and finally, at a certain moment, Jiang Mingqi suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes. In an instant, an incomparably sharp light shot out from his eyes, as dazzling and brilliant as lightning piercing the night sky.

"Open up for me!" Jiang Mingqi roared, his voice booming like thunder, his entire body radiating an unparalleled aura, his aura sharp to the extreme.

He gripped the hilt tightly with both hands, and with a sudden swing, the longsword slashed straight down. At the same time, golden light surged wildly onto the sword like a tidal wave, instantly enveloping the entire blade, dazzling and blinding.

As Jiang Mingqi swung his sword, an incredibly powerful gust of wind howled forth, sweeping everything away like a raging storm. A pale golden, crescent-shaped sword aura sliced ​​through the surging white waves ahead at astonishing speed.

The white waves, which had been roaring and surging forward with overwhelming force, were easily cleaved in two like fragile paper when they encountered the pale golden crescent moon. The two severed waves immediately lost their momentum and began to diverge to the sides.

Immediately afterwards, these diverted giant waves quickly transformed into layers of white mist, rising up and soon disappearing without a trace. However, the remaining golden sword light continued its momentum, accompanied by a sharp and piercing shriek, like an arrow released from a bow, arriving in front of Shen Xu in the blink of an eye.

Shen Xu remained calm and composed. With a flash, he unleashed the Dragon Body technique, his movements light and agile, like a ghost. Just as the golden sword light was about to strike him, he easily dodged the attack, which was already weakened.

"Hahaha... Shen Xu, your new five waves are nothing special!" Jiang Mingqi laughed and mocked, this was the first time he had gained the upper hand since the duel with Shen Xu.

"It seems the effect wasn't very good!" Shen Xu frowned slightly as he looked at the result of his attack.

What he gained from the Cloud and Mist Bamboo Realm was an understanding of the gentleness of water, but if he wanted to greatly increase the power of the Overlapping Waves Sword Technique, he would probably need to gain a new understanding of the strength of water.

Shen Xu's ethereal voice echoed once more from within the white mist: "It was just a small experiment, but I am very grateful to you for helping me test the power of this technique."