Chapter 399: Chapter 395: There is Always Someone Better

The youth coldly stared at Ling Chen, his sharp steel knife slightly tilted, ready to strike at any moment.

Ling Chen slightly frowned, "Not talking, or can’t talk? Mute?"

"Hand over the Tianling Blade," the youth squeezed the words through his teeth, each word icy cold, like the chill wind of the twelfth lunar month, chilling to the bone.

Tianling Blade?

Ling Chen was momentarily taken aback, quickly realizing that the youth had come for the Tianling Blade.

"Are you a disciple of the Dangyang Sect?"

"My name is Yi Shuiyan, Qin Wu is my junior sister."

Ling Chen’s lips curved slightly, finally clarifying the other’s identity. However, Ling Chen was puzzled why the Dangyang Sect was repeatedly trying to acquire the Tianling Blade—could the item really hold extraordinary significance for them?

After careful study, he concluded that the Tianling Blade was merely a finely-crafted weapon and nothing more. He couldn’t understand why the Dangyang Sect was so fixated on it, relentlessly trying to obtain it.

In the end, the Tianling Blade was just a weapon. If the Dangyang Sect had approached him politely and respectfully, he might have been happy to give it to them out of goodwill, as he believed having more friends was better than having more enemies. However, the Dangyang Sect did not treat him with courtesy and instead constantly opposed him.

Just now, Yi Shuiyan’s strike was clearly meant to kill. Had Ling Chen not reacted promptly, he would have already become a corpse.

Seeing Ling Chen deep in thought and not responding, Yi Shuiyan with the steel knife in hand, stepped closer, coldly saying, "I know you are one of the Eight Eccentrics and also a high-ranking expert on the Tiger List. But, without the other Eccentrics by your side, I want to see if you truly deserve your place on the Tiger List."

Seeing Yi Shuiyan approaching with the knife, Ling Chen immediately drew out Wolf Kiss and held it across his chest to guard against Yi Shuiyan’s attack.

However, looking at Yi Shuiyan’s three-foot-long steel knife and then at his own Wolf Kiss, which was less than ten centimeters long, Ling Chen suddenly felt things were not fair.

As the saying goes, an inch longer is an inch stronger. Yi Shuiyan’s weapon undoubtedly had a significant advantage.

As he pondered, Yi Shuiyan increased his speed, raised the steel knife high, jumped up without any fancy moves, and swung it hard down at him.

The wind from the blade attacked his face; Ling Chen quickly focused, retreating while lifting Wolf Kiss to meet the blade. When Wolf Kiss touched the blade, he immediately felt an overwhelming force, nearly causing the Wolf Kiss to fly out of his hand.

Fortunately, Ling Chen was prepared. As the blade pressed down, he twisted his wrist, allowing Wolf Kiss to slide closely past the blade, bending slightly at the waist to dissipate some of the force.

As soon as the blade came down, Ling Chen had already moved out of the steel knife’s strike range. Seeing the sharp tip of the knife slicing past his forehead, Ling Chen’s eyes narrowed, he drew a breath, and lunged forward to close the distance between them.

Based on his rich experience, Ling Chen knew that Yi Shuiyan had a significant advantage with his weapon, and only by fighting at close range could he turn his passive position into an active one and control the effectiveness of the steel knife.

A sudden assault halted Yi Shuiyan’s momentum, forcing him to retreat several steps with Wolf Kiss.

However, Ling Chen had underestimated the youth before him. As Qin Wu’s senior brother, Yi Shuiyan did not lack practical experience like Qin Wu. On the contrary, his agile footwork and anticipatory movements showed that Yi Shuiyan’s skills were proportional to his experience.

Just these two aspects alone made him a troublesome opponent.

Ling Chen wielded Wolf Kiss, his expression gradually tensing. His several tricky moves were easily neutralized by Yi Shuiyan, and even though he had taken the initiative, he hadn’t gained any advantage.

While deep in thought, a sudden flash of blade light appeared before his eyes. Yi Shuiyan flicked his wrist and the steel blade swung past him like a windmill. Ling Chen, without a word, immediately retracted his move and pulled back his extended arms.

"Tiger List rank five, that’s all the skill you have?"

Yi Shuiyan looked up at Ling Chen with a slanted gaze, his eyes filled with sarcasm and disdain.

"The discernment of Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion is really declining, even someone like you made the list. You had just used all your strength, while I only exerted sixty percent of my power. Hand over the Tianling Blade, and I shall spare your life."

After hearing Yi Shuiyan’s words, Ling Chen’s pupils tightened, his eyes revealing a hint of shock. He had thought that Yi Shuiyan’s strength was comparable to his own, but only now did he realize that the opponent had always been hiding his true power.

He probably didn’t even deem it necessary to use his full strength against him.

With that thought, Ling Chen suddenly felt underestimated and was quite unhappy. However, despite his annoyance, he had to admit that Yi Shuiyan was indeed very strong. He had always considered himself among the best of his generation, yet only after witnessing the impressive power of Yi Shuiyan did he realize he had been seeing the sky from the bottom of a well.

There’s always someone better.

At this moment, Ling Chen finally understood the words He Ziyun had told him today at Qingyun Martial Arts Hall.

"The Tianling Blade, hand it over!" Yi Shuiyan’s expression was icy, his tone revealing impatience.

Facing his sharp gaze, Ling Chen’s lips curved slightly, and his expression gradually returned to calm. Lightly he said, "Sorry, I’ve always preferred the carrot over the stick. If you want the Tianling Blade, you’ll have to take it with your skills."

"Courting death!" Yi Shuiyan shouted angrily. With a light tap of his toe, his body moved like a swift breeze, instantly nearing Ling Chen, swinging his blade furiously.

Sensing the fierce wind from the blade, Ling Chen’s eyes widened and his mind was greatly shaken.

Fast, so fast!

The speed at which Yi Shuiyan struck was almost beyond the eye’s ability to discern.

Within the cold blade light, Ling Chen only saw a blurry shadow of the blade coming directly at him, unstoppable, and a strong sense of crisis instantly filled his mind.

Unable to react in time, driven by instinct, Ling Chen hurriedly lifted his sword "Wolf Kiss", swinging it overhead.

Clang!

With a crisp sound, a powerful force, like a surging tide, fiercely assaulted him. Ling Chen’s legs immediately lost balance, and he kept retreating until his back hit a utility pole on the roadside, where he barely managed to steady himself.

At this moment, Ling Chen frowned tightly, his face somewhat pale, his right arm trembling slightly, his tiger’s mouth numb, and his whole arm felt weak and powerless.

Fast, accurate, ruthless!

The three essential elements of sword techniques were perfectly demonstrated by Yi Shuiyan.

Looking at the "Wolf Kiss" in his hand, Ling Chen’s expression changed slightly. There was now a nick on the surface of the sword, surrounded by cracks, it was completely destroyed. When Hu Fei first got the "Wolf Kiss" from the fat man, he kept boasting about it, saying that this weapon was crafted by a master, with top-notch materials and workmanship, yet it couldn’t withstand a single strike from Yi Shuiyan.

This clearly showed how strong the young man before him really was.