Infinite Professions from a Pearl Collector

Xiao Zhanbai’s figure staggered into view, her face filled with disbelief.

’The Sword Techniques I prided myself on... broken by a single, casual strike of his saber?’

Before she could react, Chen Ye had already closed in.

The Jingzhe Saber in his hand transformed into streaks of lightning, each strike aimed at her vital points.

Xiao Zhanbai immediately felt immense pressure.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The clash of saber and sword rang out endlessly, sending sparks flying.

With every collision, Xiao Zhanbai felt her arm go numb and her blood roil.

Her opponent’s True Essence was immensely powerful. It also carried an extremely strong penetrating force that continuously eroded her Protective Sword Qi.

’How can this be?’

’Didn’t he just break through to the Sea Condensation Realm? Why is his power so terrifying?’

Xiao Zhanbai was shaken to her core, but for the reputation of the Celestial Sword Manor and for her own pride, she gritted her teeth and persisted, vowing to cut Chen Ye down with her sword.

Chen Ye had no intention of sparing her either; he wasn’t the type to show mercy just because she was a beautiful woman.

Although he’d had a chance encounter with her sister, Xiao Hongye, Chen Ye certainly wasn’t going to hold back, not when she had relentlessly cornered him, repeatedly sought him out for trouble, and even tried to kill him.

After all, mercy to an enemy is cruelty to oneself. As someone who had lived two lives, this was a lesson he understood deeply.

"Break!"

Chen Ye let out a low shout as his saber’s momentum changed again. The Jingzhe Saber slashed out from a bizarre angle, a cold glint flashing from its blade.

Needle’s Point!

This Saber Technique fused his newly-formed True Essence with his deeper understanding of the Saber Dao; its power was more than ten times greater than before.

Xiao Zhanbai’s pupils contracted as she felt a mortal danger envelop her.

She wanted to dodge but found that her Qi Mechanism was completely locked on, making escape impossible!

In her desperation, Xiao Zhanbai was forced to use her trump card.

"Ah!" She bit down hard on the tip of her tongue, spitting a mouthful of Essence Blood onto her longsword.

VMMMM!

The blade of the longsword was instantly stained crimson, and a savage aura began to emanate from it.

Blood Sacrifice Sword Escape—mutual destruction!

This was a Forbidden Technique from the Celestial Sword Manor. It burned one’s own Essence Blood in exchange for a short-term burst of power. Xiao Zhanbai intended to defeat Chen Ye even at the cost of being severely injured.

The crimson Sword Light surged to meet Chen Ye’s blade.

"Death throes."

The Jingzhe Saber in Chen Ye’s hand didn’t pause in the slightest. That point of cold light, condensed to the extreme, pierced directly into the heart of the Sword Light.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, just a single, soft *ding*.

Immediately after, the crimson Sword Light shattered inch by inch, dissipating into nothing.

Xiao Zhanbai watched, wide-eyed, as her trump card was so easily broken. A fear she had never known before spread from the deepest depths of her heart.

It was the fear of death.

This sliver of fear made her want to die of shame.

She had always believed her Sword Heart was pure, that she had long since seen through life and death and would never again feel fear.

But as it turned out, when truly faced with the terror of life and death, she was nowhere near as strong as she had imagined.

At that moment, a crack appeared in her Sword Heart.

In a battle between experts, the slightest margin can mean the difference between life and death.

With her Heart Spirit in turmoil, her movements inevitably faltered for an instant.

Chen Ye keenly seized this opening and, without hesitation, slashed his saber straight at Xiao Zhanbai’s vital points.

PFFT!

Blood sprayed.

At the critical moment, Xiao Zhanbai avoided a fatal blow, but the saber’s edge still slashed across her left shoulder, leaving a wound so deep the bone was visible. Blood instantly stained her white robes red.

Excruciating pain washed over her. Xiao Zhanbai knew her defeat was sealed and her very life was in peril. In a panic, she pulled a Jade Scroll from her robes and crushed it!

In an instant, a white light shot into the sky, then scattered like a firework.

Chen Ye’s pupils contracted sharply as alarm bells screamed in his mind.

’Even though I don’t know what that thing is, it doesn’t take a genius to know it’s bad news.’

’Once that signal goes out, experts from Celestial Sword Manor will probably be here soon!’

’Shit!’

Cursing inwardly, Chen Ye’s Jingzhe Saber didn’t hesitate for a second, slashing viciously at Xiao Zhanbai’s neck.

’I have to finish her off before they get here, then bolt!’

However, just as the edge of Chen Ye’s saber was about to touch Xiao Zhanbai’s fair neck...

Suddenly, the unexpected happened!

An invisible barrier suddenly materialized around Xiao Zhanbai, enveloping her completely.

CLANG!

To his shock, Chen Ye’s surefire strike was stopped dead by the barrier!

A tremendous force of recoil shot up his arm, making it go numb and forcing him back a step.

’A Protective Spiritual Artifact?’ Chen Ye’s expression instantly turned grim.

He stared at Xiao Zhanbai, now protected by a faint white barrier, his expression so dark it was terrifying.

’As expected of a major sect. Even wounded this badly, she still has a life-saving trinket.’

Within the barrier of light, Xiao Zhanbai stared at the saber blade just inches from her face, an expression of profound relief after cheating death washing over her.

She was panting heavily. Every breath pulled at the gruesome wound on her shoulder, sending a wave of excruciating pain through her.

And yet, she smiled.

"Heh... heheh..."

"You can’t kill me now..."

Her voice was hoarse and weak, yet filled with triumph.

"This is the Protective Jade Pendant given to the elite disciples of our Celestial Sword Manor. It can withstand the attacks of a Sea Condensation Realm Cultivator for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. And that will be more than enough."

"The distress signal has been sent. The experts from Celestial Sword Manor will be here soon."