Chapter 17: Immortal Sword Slays the Demonic Dragon

In terms of the intricacy of his moves, he was already on par with Yang Sheng; in terms of body control, he was even superior to Yang Sheng!

However, there was an insurmountable chasm between him and Yang Sheng: their cultivation of vital energy.

His attacks landed on Yang Sheng, but they couldn’t penetrate Yang Sheng’s manifested vital energy!

“Even if my Furnace Transformation could break through to the fourth level at this moment, it still wouldn’t be able to break through his vital energy defense. His body is like it’s covered in a thick layer of crocodile dragon hide!”

Su Yun retreated, dodging Yang Sheng’s attacks.

The Furnace Transformation Qi Cultivation Manual is divided into an upper and lower section. The upper section is for qi cultivation, cultivating vital energy, and circulating vital energy and blood. The vital energy is transported throughout the body with the blood, gradually strengthening the physique.

But the most important function of the upper section is to improve vital energy cultivation.

However, the lower section of Furnace Transformation, Crocodile Dragon Roar, is about putting knowledge into practice, applying vital energy cultivation to combat.

Besides its combat function, Crocodile Dragon Roar also has the effect of strengthening the physique, significantly improving the body.

The three achievements of Crocodile Dragon Roar—Thunder Sound, Manifestation, and Visualization—are all effects brought about by the strengthening of vital energy and blood in the physique.

The improvement to the physique in the lower section is many times faster and better than in the upper section.

When Crocodile Dragon Roar is cultivated to its third achievement, the body becomes almost as tough as crocodile dragon hide; even a knife cut would only result in a minor skin injury.

This was why Su Yun’s attacks couldn’t harm Yang Sheng.

In the small forest, Yang Sheng pressed on, unleashing a continuous barrage of various combat techniques.

Su Yun constantly retreated, parrying with his own combat techniques. Yang Sheng’s attacks became faster and faster, and Su Yun’s combat techniques also became more proficient. However, no matter how exquisite his moves were, he couldn’t harm Yang Sheng.

The strength transmitted from Yang Sheng’s fists and feet grew stronger and stronger, forcing Su Yun to continuously retreat to dissipate Yang Sheng’s power. His arms and legs became increasingly numb from the vibrations, and his skin was covered in bruises.

“Junior, your talent truly exceeds my expectations!”

Yang Sheng attacked frantically, his voice coming through the thunderous roars: “No wonder Mr. Shuijing stayed here to teach you! Someone who can make him willingly spend ten days is indeed extraordinarily talented, even more so than me!”

Su Yun took a direct hit from a combat technique, his vital energy churning, causing him to stagger backward. Yang Sheng immediately seized the opportunity, landing another combat technique on his chest.

Su Yun’s shirt on his chest was torn open with a ripping sound, revealing several deep scratches on his skin.

“Even Mr. Shuijing appreciates your talent. Logically speaking, as your senior, I should also cherish and nurture such talent.” Yang Sheng swept out with a kick, his vital energy transforming into a crocodile dragon’s tail whip.

Su Yun dodged with a sidestep, knowing that his follow-up half-move would definitely be the Crocodile Dragon Emerging from the Abyss combat technique. However, Su Yun’s arms were sore and weak. Although he knew Yang Sheng’s move, he couldn’t block it and was caught on the shoulder by Yang Sheng’s half-move, Crocodile Dragon Emerging from the Abyss.

Su Yun’s shoulder muscles twitched, but he was powerless to shake off Yang Sheng’s hand.

Yang Sheng exerted force with his five fingers, dislocating his right shoulder bone and twisting the major tendons in his shoulder, laughing, “But then I suddenly thought, wouldn’t letting you live just create another competitor?”

Su Yun grunted, forcibly breaking free from him, and retreated quickly, like a crocodile dragon retreating into the abyss.

Yang Sheng charged with a roar, like a giant crocodile riding a surging flood.

Su Yun knew his next attack would still be the Crocodile Dragon’s Tail Whip, but he had no strength to block this strike.

“There are already enough competitors in Shuofang City!” Yang Sheng’s vital energy violently vibrated in his chest, emitting a crocodile dragon’s thunderous roar.

As Su Yun expected, Yang Sheng still used the half-move Crocodile Dragon’s Tail Whip. Su Yun could only raise his dislocated right shoulder to take the hit, and he was swept flying by Yang Sheng.

Bang!

He crashed into a large tree, and intense pain shot through his right shoulder.

Su Yun slid to the ground, gritting his teeth, not making a sound, but tears welled up in his eyes from the pain.

Since he went blind, he had endured too much hardship.

Tripping, hitting his head, falling into pits, being mocked and insulted by “people”—over the years, he had learned to endure pain.

He knew that crying out wouldn’t make him feel better, and tears were useless; they would only invite mockery and teasing.

But this injury was too painful.

“One less competitor means one more chance for me to climb higher!”

Yang Sheng charged again, various combat techniques erupting from his fists and feet. In Su Yun’s perception, his vital energy and aura were like a crocodile dragon with four or five heads and multiple tails—powerful, twisted, and eerie!

Su Yun struggled to his feet, facing the increasingly enormous monstrous creature, but he no longer had the strength to contend with Yang Sheng.

“Don’t kill Big Brother Xiaoyun!”

Su Yun heard Qingqiu Yue’s voice, then saw a small crocodile dragon sent flying by the crocodile dragon monster.

“Big Brother Xiaoyun, run!”

Su Yun heard Li Xiaofan’s voice, then saw a small crocodile dragon charge forward, only to be trampled underfoot by the crocodile dragon monster, spitting blood uncontrollably.

“Xiaoyun, live to avenge us and Huqiu Village!” Huahua’s voice came.

He then saw another small crocodile dragon pounce on the crocodile dragon monster’s legs, and then a fourth crocodile dragon clamber onto the crocodile dragon monster’s back.

He knew those were Huahua and Hu Buping, and that they were desperately buying him time to escape.

Su Yun felt a tearing pain in his heart and a burning sensation in his lungs. His eyes suddenly felt sore and swollen, tears streamed down, but he still couldn’t see anything.

He could only “see” the giant crocodile dragon monster through its vital energy and aura, beating the two small crocodile dragons until they spat blood and were twisted out of shape.

He gasped for breath, “seeing” the giant crocodile dragon monster leap up, growing more heads and more tails, lunging at him!

Yang Sheng’s Crocodile Dragon Roar was almost perfect, powerful to the point of despair!

Su Yun forcibly lifted his almost useless right arm and swung it vigorously. His vital energy and blood surged into his dislocated right arm, forcibly resetting the bone and restoring the misaligned tendons!

Unprecedented agony made him shriek.

The shriek seemed to allow him to break through his fear of death, bringing forth the scene of the divine crocodile undergoing tribulation and the immortal sword slaying the divine crocodile in his mind.

That was his nightmare.

With his painful shriek, the immortal sword from his nightmare struck again.

“Ah—”

Su Yun swung his right arm; his right arm seemed to overlap with that immortal sword, meeting the multi-headed, multi-tailed, hideous, and ferocious crocodile dragon monster!

His right arm did not employ any combat techniques of the Crocodile Dragon Roar; it was merely a simple slash.

This slash was unremarkable, yet it passed through Yang Sheng’s Crocodile Dragon Roar combat techniques.

Yang Sheng’s moves changed continuously, but he couldn’t stop this one sword.

“Is this swordsmanship?”

Yang Sheng looked puzzled: “Did Mr. Shuijing teach it to him?”

Su Yun’s palm-blade struck his throat. Yang Sheng heard a cracking sound and his expression changed slightly.

With his right arm as a sword, Su Yun swept through with overwhelming force, crushing Yang Sheng’s protective vital energy, severing his laryngeal cartilage, and cutting his vocal cords.

Yang Sheng then heard a whistling sound, which was the sound of his carotid arteries rupturing on either side of his larynx, the vital energy impacting his eardrums.

He then heard another crack, which was the sound of Su Yun’s palm-blade cutting through his throat and striking his fourth cervical vertebra.

His fourth cervical vertebra, under the force of this sword, had its cartilage connecting to the third and fifth cervical vertebrae forcibly shattered!

As the force of Su Yun’s sword landed, his fourth cervical vertebra protruded two inches and four fen from the back of his neck.

Bang!

His body crashed into a nearby tree. The tree was struck by his fourth cervical vertebra, and the bark behind the tree suddenly burst open, as if cut by a sharp blade.

The large tree shook violently, making a rustling sound, and countless leaves fluttered down.

He raised his hand to cover his throat, but his vision was completely dark.

“Mr. Shuijing is biased; he taught him this sword technique that breaks the Crocodile Dragon Roar…” This thought in his mind gradually faded as blood flow ceased.

Yang Sheng’s eyes widened, and his corpse slid limply down the tree, settling on the ground.