Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 105 - 25: Yielded

Chapter 105: Chapter 25: Yielded

Chen Chou, the senior, truly had an unwavering resolve. Although his forehead and shoulders had been stabbed with Peach Wood Swords, he forcibly put on an appearance of effortless comfort—a commendable quality that even Duan Mingyuan admitted to being inferior to.

The duel was, after all, just part of the lesson, meant to determine superiority rather than life or death.

However, since Chen Chou the elder insisted on pressing on, Duan Mingyuan had no choice but to indulge the other’s wishes.

In their recent exchange, he had already gotten a sense of the elder’s capabilities. The display was indeed impressive; when the elder charged towards him directly, all the Life Energy of this space within the painting surged over, making it seem as if the entire world was intent on swallowing him whole.

If it were an ordinary person, not to mention dueling with Chen Chou within the Barrier, merely coming into contact with these dark mists would corrode a large patch of flesh, draining the life force and turning them into a stark Bai Gu in less than a single round.

This was the strength obtained from the sacrificial Blood Sacrifice Ritual, where the predecessors sacrificed themselves, pooling together everyone’s Life Energy.

They believed that this Barrier, constructed of decay and death, could put an end to the Universe Company.

But...

Their disadvantages were the same as Jiuyue’s and Liu Ru’s.

If these dark mists were ineffective, there would be no other means for combat left, resulting in a one-sided crushing defeat.

And within the vast, boundless cosmos, there would surely be races immune to decay. Perhaps the company had already discovered a planet engulfed in epidemic disease, struck a deal with its inhabitants using the approach they had employed on the planet ravaged by cold tides, and used that as a blueprint to forge a suit of armor.

Watching Chen Chou drawing nearer and nearer, Duan Mingyuan steadied his spirit.

The dark mist grew thicker. Perhaps it was this mastery of Sword Control that reminded the opponent of some unpleasant memories, escalating what should have been a light sparring to its current intensity.

Yet, he didn’t mind.

Since this was a teaching moment, Duan Mingyuan hoped Chen Chou would endure even longer, allowing the students to fully experience the entirety of a Barrier duel.

"Then, I shall have to bring out my true skills," he said.

As Duan Mingyuan spoke, he did not forget to instruct the advanced class students spectating, "Lethal power, activation efficiency, coverage area, sustainability, precision, and potential for growth—these are the current criteria for evaluating the completeness of a Barrier. But in a real Barrier duel, blindly pursuing the coverage area of a Barrier is futile."

The vastness of Chen Chou’s Life Energy could shroud the entire world within the painting with the aura of death, but to Duan Mingyuan, it signified a great waste of Life Energy.

Apparently, the bygone era’s research on Tricky Arts halted there.

"Watch closely—how to break out of this passive situation when the opponent launches a Barrier first, seizing the initiative."

As he spoke, the Peach Wood Swords circulating around Duan Mingyuan flew towards Chen Chou simultaneously, the winds they raised momentarily dispersing the deathly mists before him.

However, these synchronously launched Flying Swords did not target Chen Chou himself; after passing by him, they changed direction, shooting straight up into the sky, piercing through the fragmented Barrier barriers and vanishing above the clouds.

Before this lesson began, Duan Mingyuan had borrowed an ancient tome from Ning Ruyue, which documented many Tricky Arts banned from study by the academy, including the Sword Control Technique inherited from the Prime Monarch’s bloodline.

If one were to master this Tricky Art to its fullest extent, they could control over a thousand Flying Swords simultaneously; an onslaught of a thousand swords could tear apart the heavens. As such, the Sword Control Technique was revered as one of those Tricky Arts with the power to destroy worlds.

But that was still far from enough.

The Prime Monarch’s failure proved that the Tricky Art he passed down was not yet capable of truly reaching "the heavens."

"Mingyuan, what exactly are you planning?" Chen Chou sensed something amiss, paused his actions, and looked up into the heavens.

Above the clouds, something seemed to be falling towards them.

Despite an inkling in their hearts, a collective gasp was drawn when everyone finally saw the massive shadows descending from above.

Not even the scriptures had ever recorded such a magnificent scene.

Six sword shadows completely tore through the Barrier veil obscured high in the sky, their targets not Chen Chou, but the open ground around them.

Under the pressure of the sword shadows, the world within the painting teetered on the brink of collapse, the ground beneath their feet cracked from the after-effects, fissures spreading towards Duan Mingyuan and Chen Chou, with all the dark mists along the way being sucked into them.

It was only then that Chen Chou saw that at the hilt of each sword shadow, thinning chains were connected. All these chains linked together, forming a circular array.

"When trapped within an enemy’s barrier, the best strategy is to concentrate one’s life energy and define a boundary of one’s own,"

with this in mind, Duan Mingyuan pondered throughout the night.

Taking the Sword Control Technique as a benchmark, how would he construct a barrier in this manner?

To truly reach the "sky," one must advance further on the foundation laid by the Prime Monarch.

Before dawn arrived, Duan Mingyuan finally thought of an answer to the question.

As Duan Mingyuan’s right hand made its final gesture, the last sword shadow also came into everyone’s view.

In the moment the sword shadow appeared, the sky above was split in two. Faced with that unstoppable sword shadow, Chen Chou moved his lips but was unable to utter a word.

His memories were filled with many of the Prime Monarch. Though he detested that coward who had surrendered and pledged allegiance to the Extraterrestrials, he had to admit that the Prime Monarch’s skill was indeed worthy of being unparalleled under the heavens.

However, the sword intent formed by the sword shadow now far exceeded the grand scene of a thousand swords unleashed. Everything in this world, before this sword, seemed as if it would be split in two just like the sky at this moment—an instant cleave that not even time or space could delay by the slightest fraction.

"I concede,"

Duan Mingyuan’s voice sounded in his ear.

When he came back to his senses once more, the mountain breeze was brushing past them.

The sword shadows, dark fog, and the barrier formed by those chains marking the ground had all vanished without a trace, as if everything they had witnessed was but an illusion.

No...

It was no illusion!

Chen Chou was shocked to see the scroll dissipating with the wind.

That sword had not only shredded his barrier but also destroyed the whole world within the painting, and in their bewilderment, they had returned to the back mountain.

"This is the ultimate form of the Sword Control Technique that I can conceive of at the moment,"

Duan Mingyuan, who had somehow reached the students’ side, held the Peach Wood Sword in his hand again, "The so-called Sword Intent is a reflection of the swordsman’s frame of mind, so the key to wielding this sword lies in your resolve to cut through everything in the world."

Time, space, barriers, and even life energy itself.

Only then might it be possible to slice through the armor of Long Branch and the flagship of the Universe Company.

Facing Duan Mingyuan’s explanation, the students simply craned their necks, petrified and dumbfounded in place.

Just a moment ago, they felt as if the entire sky had collapsed and was rolling towards them.

And Teacher Mingyuan...

It seemed he truly intended to teach them.

A shared thought emerged in the depths of the students’ hearts—could they truly be worthy of learning it?

"Mingyuan, you brat!"

A roar came from not far off, as Old Master Chen Chou once again revealed his genuine emotions, fully demonstrating the idea that one could lose in a match, but one must never yield in spirit, "Where in the world did you learn these skills?"

In his eyes, Duan Mingyuan’s image was superimposed over that of the Prime Monarch of yore.

A younger, stronger Prime Monarch.

Hearing this, Ning Ruyue also awakened from her daze, staring intently at Duan Mingyuan.

This Sword Control Technique was an ability passed down from her father, a strength that only those of the Prime Monarch’s royal bloodline could possibly harness.

Duan Mingyuan merely returned a calm gaze and after a moment’s reflection, replied truthfully, "From bed."

Yes, this was the result of his musings in bed from the night before.