Chapter 1767: The Domain of the Sword
"Kid, here comes this saint!"
The Great Desolation Sword Saint flicked his sword, and a dragon-shaped phantom coiled around the blade. He carried the bloodline of the Great Desolation Domain Dragon, so every strand of his sword qi was infused with an unseen but oppressive dragon might.
Ling Feng narrowed his eyes and drew a slow breath.
This battle was destined to be a difficult one.
***
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In the blink of an eye, the two exchanged more than a dozen blows. To the onlookers, neither appeared to have gained the upper hand.
Although the Great Desolation Sword Saint was still holding back, disbelief showed plainly in his eyes. Ling Feng's mastery of the sword was almost beyond comprehension. If they had been born in the same era, he had to admit that he would not have been Ling Feng's match.
Ling Feng lowered his sword and stepped back, breathing slightly harder than before.
A faint ache spread through his mind.
This battle was not merely a contest of swordsmanship. He was also pushing the Eye of the Emperor to its limits. Without its ability to see through the Sword Saint's techniques, he would likely have been defeated long ago.
The Great Desolation Sword Saint could not hide the admiration in his eyes. "Perhaps your swordsmanship is still inferior to mine, but your judgment is absolutely astonishing."
He had devoted thousands of years to the sword, yet even he could not predict every move an opponent would make with perfect accuracy. It was even more difficult when facing someone whose mastery of the sword surpassed his own.
Ling Feng smiled faintly. "My eyes possess the ability to see through an opponent's techniques to a certain extent. Strictly speaking, my swordsmanship is still far inferior to yours."
The Great Desolation Sword Saint looked genuinely surprised. "Your eyes possess such an ability?"
Then he burst into hearty laughter. "Excellent! You really were born for the sword. Since it's your natural gift, then use it well. Because from this point onward, I'll be using my true swordsmanship."
Rather than shrinking back, Ling Feng's battle spirit blazed even brighter. He tightened his grip on the Eradicator of Realms and shouted, "Come!"
Every exchange with an expert of the Great Desolation Sword Saint's caliber broadened Ling Feng's understanding of the sword. Even the techniques the Sword Saint had displayed while holding back had already placed him under tremendous pressure.
There had been moments when he could barely keep up. Yet those techniques had not even represented the Sword Saint's true level.
In the next instant, Ling Feng felt as though the entire world around him had become sealed.
Even his sword no longer seemed completely under his control.
"Wh... what kind of power is this?" Ling Feng was stunned.
Could swordsmanship alone truly reach such an unbelievable level?
The Great Desolation Sword Saint smiled as he explained. "When your swordsmanship reaches a sufficiently high level, can you freely attack any point within a certain radius?"
Ling Feng nodded. "Yes. With my current level of swordsmanship alone, I can strike any point within a three-meter radius at will."
The Great Desolation Sword Saint smiled approvingly. "To establish a three-meter Forbidden Zone at your age is already extraordinary. As for me, within a radius of one thousand zhang, no point can escape the lock of my sword qi. And within a single instant, this Sword Saint can launch more than ten thousand attacks. This is what is known as the Domain of the Sword."
Ling Feng's eyelids twitched violently. "The... Domain of the Sword?"
The Great Desolation Sword Saint was already using something on the level of a sword domain. How was this not bullying the younger generation?
The Great Desolation Sword Saint chuckled. "The Domain of the Sword is different from the sword domain you're imagining. If this Sword Saint really released the sword domain in its entirety, unleashing both the Sword Will and Sword Force without restraint, do you think you'd still be standing here? This is nothing more than pure swordsmanship."
Ling Feng stared at him in disbelief. "Swordsmanship alone can reach such a level?"
"Young man, receive one hundred strikes from me. If you can deflect even one, you will have passed my trial."
The Great Desolation Sword Saint raised his sword and gave a low shout. "Take this!"
His sword light surged forward and engulfed everything before Ling Feng. Before the sword qi had even reached him, Ling Feng already felt powerless to resist.
The attack had surpassed the limits of what the Eye of the Emperor could perceive. The Eye of the Emperor could predict where an opponent's next strike would land, but within the Domain of the Sword, the Great Desolation Sword Saint could unleash ten thousand strikes in a single instant.
Even if Ling Feng predicted every one of those ten thousand swords, how could he possibly evade them all?
Since evasion was impossible, only one choice remained. He had to meet them head-on.
As the saying went, overwhelming strength crushed every clever technique. Since skill alone could no longer stop the Sword Saint's attacks, Ling Feng met them with absolute force. At the same time, he continued analyzing every strike, absorbing its principles and gradually making them his own.
In the Great Desolation Sword Saint's eyes, Ling Feng was like a sponge, eagerly absorbing everything he revealed. "What a remarkable kid."
A satisfied smile appeared on the Great Desolation Sword Saint's face.
During the first fifty strikes, Ling Feng could do little more than endure the assault. From the fifty-first strike onward, however, he gradually began to deflect one or two attacks. By the seventieth strike, he was no longer fighting entirely on the defensive and had begun launching counterattacks of his own.
What astonished the Great Desolation Sword Saint most was how rapidly Ling Feng's Forbidden Zone was expanding. Its radius had grown from three meters to five, then seven, and finally ten. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before Ling Feng crossed the threshold into the Domain of the Sword.