Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

Jiang Ran’s saber slashed upward, aiming straight for Dugu Yu.

Yin Yue’s expression changed drastically:

"No!!"

Dugu Yu’s appearance had saved her from a life-or-death crisis, but Jiang Ran’s saber techniques were simply too terrifying.

His techniques were dreadfully powerful—impossible to block, impossible to defend against.

This was especially true of his current slash. It appeared unremarkable, yet it was the most breathtaking move he had made.

Years ago, a slash just like this from Duan Dongliu had cost both her and Dugu Yu an arm.

Now, for Dugu Yu to face this move alone was far too dangerous.

The slightest mistake would mean instant death.

Anxiety and rage filled her heart. As she cried out, her body spun, and the frosty chill of the Cold Moon Skill enveloped Jiang Ran.

In an instant, Cold Moon Nails materialized and flew at Jiang Ran from every direction.

It was a classic diversion—attacking the enemy to save an ally.

If Jiang Ran stubbornly pressed his attack, his slash might severely wound Dugu Yu.

But he himself would inevitably be struck by the ’Cold Moon Nails’.

At the same time, Dugu Yu thrust his palm downward, unleashing the ’Fiery Sun Divine Palm’ from the Fiery Sun Divine Skill!

A massive palm print, condensed from pure yang Inner Strength, made Jiang Ran feel a scorching heat before it even reached him.

The Fiery Sun Divine Palm from above, the Cold Moon Nails from all around.

A ripple passed through Jiang Ran’s eyes. He employed the Celestial Nine Steps, his saber’s edge moving as one with his body.

His movements were fluid and effortless, attacks unleashed and withdrawn at will, completely unhindered.

As the momentum of his saber erupted, the surrounding Cold Moon Nails were instantly swept clean.

Just as the Fiery Sun Divine Palm was about to strike his face, Jiang Ran shot out his left hand. His five fingers, like a claw shimmering with an obscure light, met the attack with a loud BANG.

The clash between the Inner Strength of the True Creation Heart Sutra and the Fiery Sun Divine Skill instantly unleashed a boundless gale that swept in all directions.

Dugu Yu’s expression changed drastically:

"This is impossible..."

He had thought that once their palms met, his own Inner Strength—the result of at least sixty years of arduous cultivation—combined with his Fiery Sun Divine Skill that could incinerate a man alive, would be more than enough. As long as Jiang Ran didn’t use his saber, he should have crumbled on contact.

He never expected, however, that when his palm strike landed, Jiang Ran wouldn’t so much as shift his stance.

Not only had Jiang Ran taken the blow with ease, he had squeezed his hand, and a sharp CRACK echoed.

Dugu Yu screamed in agony. An immense force crushed his hand, shattering every bone in his palm within Jiang Ran’s grip.

Before anger could even register, he felt a brutishly overwhelming force drag him down from mid-air.

THUD! His body slammed into the ground, injuring his internal organs, and he couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

When he looked up at Jiang Ran again, he saw the man raise his saber and bring it down, aiming to sever his only remaining arm.

His eyes flew wide in abject terror.

’Back then, in a single exchange, Yin Yue and I each lost an arm.’

’Twenty years have passed, and I still haven’t gotten my revenge. Am I really going to lose my other arm to his disciple?’

’Was I born with two arms just so this master and his disciple could take turns hacking them off for fun?’

But the impact had thrown his qi and blood into turmoil. His Inner Strength was in disarray, leaving a critical gap in its flow. Even if he wanted to channel his power, he had none to channel. Panic surged in his heart.

Fortunately, at that moment, a chill once again filled the air.

A thin blade appeared without a sound, devoid of wind or killing intent, as it slashed toward Jiang Ran’s neck.

But it could not escape Jiang Ran’s senses.

His ears twitched. He whipped his head around just in time to see the blade right in front of him.

He saw Yin Yue, drenched in blood. She had actually used her own blood as a foundation and the Cold Moon Skill as a framework to form a crimson saber.

With its chilling edge enhanced by the full force of her Inner Strength, the blade’s sharpness was almost unimaginable.

With no time to spare, Jiang Ran ducked, narrowly avoiding the decapitating strike. When he looked up again, surprise was written on his face:

"You’re still not dead?"

A moment ago, Yang Monarch Dugu Yu had descended from the sky and struck with the Fiery Sun Divine Palm.

Yin Yue, desperate to save him, had condensed Cold Moon Nails that attacked from all sides.

Jiang Ran had first used ’Ghostly Terror,’ a move from the Nine Shocking God Sabers, to shatter Yin Yue’s Cold Moon Nails.

However, this move had always been executed with qi focused into a single, silent line of attack.

Once unleashed, its edge always traveled in a straight line.

But just now, in that moment of crisis, Jiang Ran had made his saber trace a circle, defending himself on all sides.

The attack was formidable, however, and in her haste to save her partner, Yin Yue hadn’t had time to defend herself and was inevitably wounded by the arc of his blade.

He had thought she might have died instantly, so he never expected her to be able to get up and keep fighting while covered in her own blood.

Jiang Ran had to admire the old woman’s tenacity.

But Yin Yue didn’t say a word. She simply reached out and pulled Dugu Yu to her side.

She looked up at Dugu Yu, her eyes filled with sorrow:

"We were wrong... my love, we were wrong."

"Wrong?"

Dugu Yu was taken aback:

"How were we wrong?"

"The martial world is a treacherous and unpredictable place. We have each other—why did we have to spend our lives fighting and competing with everyone?"

Yin Yue let out a soft breath:

"Twenty years ago, we refused to believe that Duan Dongliu was as skilled as they said. Relying on our two great divine skills, we went to intercept him.

"The result... we each lost an arm.

"We’ve hated him for twenty years since.

"But I was just thinking... what if, for these past twenty years, we hadn’t clung to that hatred? What if we had just focused on protecting each other? I imagine we wouldn’t have had to endure such torment.

"Better yet... if we had never gone to find Duan Dongliu twenty years ago... how wonderful would that have been."