Mu Jinyu left the church, walked out of the small town, and looked toward the positions where his three subordinates stood; his pupils involuntarily contracted sharply.
He saw that his three Energy Transformation–strong subordinates were now lying on the ground limply, sitting back to back with each other, with their condition unknown, dead or alive...
Next to them stood a middle-aged man dressed like a ronin, holding two tachis. Bathed in the clear reflection of the moonlight, they were shimmering with a cold sharpness.
"The Tiance True Dragon has finally come out, has he?"
Seeing Mu Jinyu, the Dongying swordsman began to speak slowly, his voice hoarse, speaking in Chinese. Although it seemed he didn't often speak it, he appeared somewhat awkward and stilted.
"Who are you?"
Mu Jinyu gazed at the ronin swordsman's twin blades and spoke softly.
"Nangu Taichi!"
The ronin swordsman said with a tone laced with some pride.
But as soon as he had finished speaking, he realized that the new Dragon King was but a young kid who hadn't seen much of the world and naturally wouldn't know who he was.
Had it been the Old Dragon King or the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper General, they would have surely known him.
Nangu Taichi then added, "The current Dongying Sword Saint!"
"The Dongying Sword Saint?" Mu Jinyu muttered, his expression growing more serious.
To be called Sword Saint, even in an island country like Dongying, was not to be taken lightly.
Nevertheless, this man didn't seem to harbor much hostility, as the three subordinates of Star Lords of Xingxiu by his feet weren't in any mortal peril but had merely been knocked unconscious by him.
Had that not been the case, Mu Jinyu wouldn't have calmly communicated with him; instead, he would have already exchanged blows with him!
"What business do you have?" Mu Jinyu glanced at the two tachis in Nangu Taichi's hands, and though he had an idea, still he asked.
"A challenge, Dragon King!" Nangu Taichi declared gravely.
He looked into Mu Jinyu's eyes and saw a flame burning there, full of longing and anticipation.
"Hah..." Mu Jinyu watched Nangu Taichi's expression, chuckled lightly, and folding his arms behind his back, he said indifferently, "When the Dragon King strikes, it's life or permanent injury, do you..."
"Still want to challenge?!"
Nangu Taichi, hearing Mu Jinyu's words, didn't think he was joking. He had observed the battle at the church from afar and knew Mu Jinyu's power was formidable. His youth couldn't be grounds for underestimation!
Clutching the hilts of his dual tachis tightly, Nangu Taichi said firmly, "A Dongying Samurai knows not to retreat even in the face of death!"
Seeing Nangu Taichi's stubborn stance, Mu Jinyu nodded slightly, extended his right hand toward him with a light gesture, and softly said, "Very well, since you seek defeat so wholeheartedly, I shall grant you that outcome. Make your move!"
Nangu Taichi, looking at Mu Jinyu's pale hands, asked, "Do you need a weapon?"
"There's no need," Mu Jinyu replied blandly. "My hands may be empty, but the world is in my palm."
"Fine courage!"
Seeing Mu Jinyu's boldness, intending to fight his blades with bare hands, Nangu Taichi couldn't help but feel a surge of irritation and then bellowed sternly.
Having said that.
Nangu Taichi, holding the two tachis, took a step and vanished in a flash, moving like a hunting leopard as he rapidly closed the distance to within three meters around Mu Jinyu.
With a swing of his twin blades, the sword light ferociously intertwined, slicing through the air, aiming for Mu Jinyu's neck and heart!
"Ha!"
Mu Jinyu, seeing the attack, didn't counter with his hands but repeatedly retreated to dodge Nangu Taichi's deadly sharp assault.
"Is the so-called Dragon King only good at bragging with empty words?!"
Nangu Taichi saw Mu Jinyu not daring to engage him and instead continuously evading. He couldn't help but show a sneer in his eyes, mocking as he pressed the attack with crossed blades.
Mu Jinyu wasn't angered by Nangu Taichi's taunts; he remained calmly in control.
Soon, under the relentless assault of Nangu Taichi, he came to a stop under a cherry blossom tree.
"Thinking of engaging in guerrilla warfare?!"
With a sneer, Nangu Taichi's blade transformed into action, its bright gleam under the moonlight like a spilling Milky Way, instantaneously severing two cherry blossom trees.
"Bang!"
As the cherry blossom trees fell, the swiftly scattering petals added a touch of bleak beauty to the fierce combat.
"Shh!"
Unmoved by the scene of the cascading cherry blossoms, Nangu Taichi's face held a deadly seriousness. With a swing of his blade, he aimed a strike at Mu Jinyu that pulverized the cherry blossom petals within a three-foot radius into dust!
"Ha!"
Mu Jinyu dodged swiftly and then came to stand under a particularly sturdy cherry blossom tree. With a forceful shout like the Roar of the Furious Dragon, he stunned Nangu Taichi, causing his ears to ring painfully and his movements to momentarily pause.
Then, bending slightly at the waist, Mu Jinyu embraced the trunk of the cherry blossom tree and, with a fierce yell, uprooted it.
It was as if he were Lu Tixia, effortlessly uprooting a willow.
In an instant, dust billowed, and smoke filled the air, obscuring the view of the cherry blossom grove.
"Whoosh!"
Next, Mu Jinyu swung the cherry blossom tree and, catching Nangu Taichi off guard, unleashed a terrifying wave of Qi, smashing it straight into Nangu Taichi's chest!
"Spit!"
Unable to regain his senses in time, Nangu Taichi took the full force of Mu Jinyu's strike, sending him flying backward like a kite falling from the sky!
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
The pain in his chest was unimaginable, not merely the pain of being hit by a tree, but also infused with Inner Strength, resonating like a distant punch, coursing through his entire body. Thus, Nangu Taichi couldn't hold onto his two Tachi, which fell straight to the ground.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Wielding the cherry blossom tree like a preferred weapon, Mu Jinyu continued to pursue the flying Nangu Taichi, his heavy footsteps pounding on the ground.
He left behind a trail of deep footprints.
Mu Jinyu took large strides toward Nangu Taichi, like a tiger descending the mountain, swinging the cherry blossom tree upwards before Nangu Taichi could touch the ground!
"Bang!"
Immediately, Nangu Taichi's body soared skyward like a shuttlecock.
Once he landed, Mu Jinyu swung the cherry blossom tree down on him again!
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
In this manner, Nangu Taichi, who bore the esteemed name of the Dongying Sword Saint, had become a plaything in Mu Jinyu's hands, being mercilessly beaten twenty times before finally crashing heavily to the ground!
"Boom!"
The ground trembled, the waves of Qi surged, and sand and dust swirled fiercely.
A complete mess!
Lying on the ground, Nangu Taichi struggled to stand and engage in another fight with Mu Jinyu, but after trembling a few times, he felt as if all his bones had been shattered by Mu Jinyu's relentless pounding and could no longer hold himself up, collapsing heavily to the earth.
"Bang!"
Mu Jinyu dropped the cherry blossom tree, brushed off his hands a few times to remove the dust, and spoke softly, "When you began the fight, you ridiculed me with two sentences, amounting to twenty words, so I also struck you twenty times."
"Do you concede?!"