Furthermore, the sharpness of the young man's long sword was equally breathtaking! In all his life, Xiao Buyu had never witnessed such a divine blade! It could cleave through nearly anything with the slightest touch! Be it stone, steel, or even... Xuan power!

The blasts of Xuan Skill energy at the Divine Xuan Fourth Grade level, struck out consecutively, were actually split apart by the sheer keenness of this long sword!

Xiao Buyu was forced into the most solid defensive posture, and even maintaining a purely defensive stance, he gradually felt his strength waning! Everything he had witnessed today was beyond imagination, every event a world-shaking marvel!

If these events had happened to anyone else, he would likely have found it immensely enjoyable just watching, gasping in astonishment, his face alight with excitement like someone who had... [content removed for pacing]!

But for this to be happening to him... it truly was an absolute tragedy!

At this moment, Xiao Buyu was close to weeping without tears!

This feeling was akin to a living man fighting a ghost; even if the living man possessed the might of a Hegemon, capable of shaking mountains and uprooting peaks, the opponent was formless and ethereal. No matter how great his strength, it was useless, unable to affect the foe at all—what good was immense power then?

Though he knew clearly that this ghost was just a phantom, this very phantom possessed the ability to end his life! Xiao Buyu felt a profound sorrow! He deeply regretted not leading his troops back immediately upon receiving Silver City's command—how much better would that have been? Why face such troubles?

Alas, regret was useless now! Old man regrets this deeply!

Xiao Buyu stubbornly maintained his tactic of meeting change with constancy, desperately hoping to last until Jun Moxie’s Xuan power was exhausted. In his estimation, even if Jun Moxie was a divinely gifted genius with sublime movement techniques, it was a fact that he couldn't land a hit.

But Jun Moxie was still young; how deep could his Xuan power truly be?

Although after their previous exchanges, Xiao Buyu judged that Jun Moxie's current strength had reached the Heavenly Level Initial Stage—a cultivation level at this age was undeniably astonishing!—even this level of Xuan Skill had to be relative. He himself was a Divine Xuan Fourth Grade expert, possessing nearly a century of refined power, just one step shy of the Supreme realm. Moreover, comparing offense and defense, the defender expends less vital energy than the attacker, especially against the stormy onslaught favored by that rascal from the Jun family, which consumed Xuan power at the highest rate!

The fundamental truth of the Martial Way dictates that rigidity cannot last long, and fullness cannot be maintained—this is precisely why! He believed that as long as he proceeded steadily without exposing any weaknesses, the ultimate chance of victory would be his. And if all else failed, he could simply outlast the opponent!

Under normal circumstances, Xiao Buyu's plan could be considered flawless. His calculations were exceedingly astute. Such a tactic was universally applicable, and he believed very few in the world could escape its constraints.

But 'very few' does not mean 'absolutely none'!

For instance, adopting this stalling tactic against Jun Moxie this time was a gross and fundamental error!

Because... Young Master Jun was an absolute anomaly, a freak who fundamentally did not fear any expenditure of energy!

To be frank, although the Young Master held the overall advantage, he still harbored reservations. Xiao Buyu was a Divine Xuan Fourth Grade expert; perhaps not quite at the level of Ying Bokong, but in terms of pure Xuan Skill, the gap was certainly not vast. If such an expert unleashed his full power, even while at a disadvantage, and fought desperately, then no matter how sharp or powerful his own moves were, the immense disparity in Xuan power meant they would likely achieve at least a mutually destructive situation! He might even gravely injure the Young Master, while certainly suffering severe injuries himself, but it wouldn't be fatal!

After all, facing such an old Divine Xuan hand, how could Jun Moxie choose to fight him to the death? Young Master Jun was like the rising sun; he hadn't lived nearly long enough to throw his life away fighting an ancient monster nearing a century old—that would be far too costly! ...

Unfortunately, Xiao Buyu was also extremely attached to his life, even more so than the Young Master imagined, and moreover, he desperately wished to maintain the dignity of the Divine Xuan realm! Consequently, when dealing with a formidable opponent like Jun Moxie, he maintained an overly dignified stance, preferring to stay on the defensive and suffer the disadvantage, remaining so passive that he hadn't even drawn his sword yet!

After all, for a renowned Divine Xuan Fourth Grade master, celebrated for over sixty years, to draw a sword against a boy of sixteen or seventeen... it simply wasn't acceptable under the circumstances...

But Xiao Buyu never expected that the choice he made, which he considered foolproof, intending to wear down his opponent, was the very thing that would wear him down instead!

As the fight dragged on, Jun Moxie's spirit soared, his attacks growing fiercer, yet he felt a degree of admiration in his heart! His offense was so urgent and relentless, and every move he employed was not of this world; he believed any move he unleashed should cause immense shock.

But the Second Master Xiao Buyu before him truly lived up to his fame as a luminary of the Divine Xuan realm, the closest expert to the Supreme level. Even under his own violent assault, though slightly disheveled and indeed flustered by the relentless pressure, he still managed to hold on for this long through profound skill and formidable combat wisdom!

Xiao Buyu's Xuan Skill was utterly incomparable to that damned Baili Xiongfeng! One was heaven, the other was earth! Though both were nominally Divine Xuan, Baili Xiongfeng was at best Divine Xuan First Grade. But Xiao Buyu was Divine Xuan Fourth Grade!

That was a massive gulf!

Furthermore, although Jun Moxie had countless opportunities to pierce Xiao Buyu with his sword, landing a hit would inevitably provoke a desperate counterattack from Xiao Buyu, one potent enough to be fatal!

According to his world-creating Divine Skill, a fatal strike against ordinary people might not end his own young life, but the opponent's Divine Xuan energy still remained something his current body could not sustain! Calculating this, it always seemed like a net loss.

Therefore, Jun Moxie could only continue to engage in evasive maneuvering!

Protected by the Heaven-Opening Art and backed by the Hongjun Pagoda, Jun Moxie's spiritual energy was seemingly endless, inexhaustible, and inexhaustible could not be an overstatement! Seeing Xiao Buyu constantly retracting his defense and clinging purely to rigid guarding, the Young Master was exactly where he wanted him. He felt invigorated, fighting more bravely, attacking more fiercely. His sword forms were like fireworks blooming under the night sky, dancing toward the moon, echoing the sound of cold mountains outside Gusu City as sword light illuminated the heavens at midnight...

The longer the fight went, the more cautious Xiao Buyu became, fearing a momentary lapse that might reveal an opening.

Jun Moxie, in turn, grew even more spirited and unrestrained; he even struck a few poses that felt quite satisfying, appearing dashing and heroic. Like a noble jade tree in the wind...

On the other side, Jun Wuyi had already concluded his fight, retrieved his treasured sword, and stood with his hands behind his back. At this moment, Xiao Han was curled on the ground like a pile of mud, his condition—dead or alive—unknown. Meanwhile, Ying Bokong was engaged in a spectacular battle single-handedly against the Seven Swords of Silver City.

However, the eyes of the Snake King and the White-Robed Maiden were fixed solely on the great battle between Jun Moxie and Xiao Buyu. It wasn't necessarily because of the intensity, but rather because Jun Moxie's sword techniques were simply too miraculous. Every move and every form captivated the two women, leaving them spellbound. A technique that seemed utterly plain and simple upon first glance revealed profound depth and infinite mystery upon closer scrutiny—it could be real or illusory, advancing or retreating, attacking or defending. Especially the coordination between the sword forms and the footwork was truly astonishing!

If they had not witnessed it personally, they would never have believed that such exquisite techniques existed in the world!

Given their superb strength, they could naturally discern the true power of Jun Moxie’s sword forms. That Jun Moxie, merely at the Heavenly Xuan Initial Stage, could use these forms to fight a solid Divine Xuan Fourth Grade expert to a draw, or even appear to press the attack most of the time—while there were some external factors involved, this was largely the truth. One could only imagine the level of destructive power these techniques would manifest if wielded by experts at the Snake King and the White-Robed Maiden's level!

"Pfft!" The Snake King chuckled. After Jun Moxie executed a strike, just as the move was about to conclude, he casually shifted his stance, spread his legs, and presented his backside in a suggestive jiggle towards Xiao Buyu. Though it certainly wouldn't connect, the action was incredibly vulgar and rife with openings, causing her to laugh: "Fighting is fighting; why make such a posture? A mere Heavenly Xuan challenging a Divine Xuan Fourth Grade—isn't he courting death?"

"You are mistaken!" The White-Robed Maiden observed the fight calmly and slowly said: "Xiao Buyu is indeed a Divine Xuan Fourth Grade expert, his century of Xuan power immensely deep. And although that Jun boy possesses divine methods to rapidly replenish his expended Xuan power, the combat strength he outputs is still only that of the Heavenly Xuan level. If this drawn-out attrition continues, even for another day and night, a victor will not emerge, and he will barely chip away at Xiao Buyu's combat power."

"Therefore, amidst his furious offense, Jun Moxie must successfully provoke Xiao Buyu's rage to gain an advantage. Analyzing the current situation, although Jun Moxie currently holds the upper hand, continuing such sustained, dense, and powerful attacks means that no matter how many exquisite forms he knows, there will eventually be a moment when he runs out. That moment will reveal a fatal flaw. Xiao Buyu can tolerate it once or twice, but once he truly seizes the chance, given his Divine Xuan strength, it will surely be a killing blow, one strike to guarantee victory!"

"But, surely such a bizarre action from Jun Moxie wouldn't incite Xiao Buyu's wrath, right? Xiao Buyu is an old veteran, with nearly a century of cultivation and countless years of experience; he wouldn't easily become enraged, would he?" The Snake King looked puzzled.

"Naturally, with Xiao Buyu's experience, he won't be provoked into exposing a weakness by such tactics. But did you notice? Every time Jun Moxie uses a refined new move, he performs a strange, insulting gesture precisely when Xiao Buyu is momentarily scrambling. And at that moment, Xiao Buyu will invariably have a split second of disarray. Jun Moxie's own movement technique is supreme, so even if a flaw appears then, Xiao Buyu cannot grasp that optimal attacking moment."

"Yet Xiao Buyu cannot bear to let that opportunity pass. Thus, this intangible act disrupts Xiao Buyu's thought process regarding Jun Moxie's new move; and when Jun Moxie employs this move again, Xiao Buyu still cannot decipher it and is forced into another moment of scrambling. That is where Jun Moxie’s opportunity lies. It is also his superb method for self-preservation! It must be said, this concept is truly brilliant!"

Yesterday was the 18th... drank heavily!!!