The white-robed girl smiled faintly. "I can state with near certainty that Jun Moxie is intentionally signaling Xiao Buyu. He means that I will keep fighting you for a long time! The more he does this, the more Xiao Buyu, cautious and measured as he is, will insist on a steady, defensive approach, refusing to risk a counterattack. He will continue with the basic strategy of attrition against Jun Moxie. However, by current appearances, Jun Moxie doesn't seem close to being worn down, yet he is simultaneously offering Xiao Buyu just enough hope to prevent him from taking a desperate, last-ditch gamble! Therefore, the battle is certainly destined to remain deadlocked for quite some time."
"But Big Sister, didn't you just say that Jun Moxie intended to provoke Xiao Buyu's rage?..." Serpent King Qianxun was even more perplexed. "Doesn't your assessment contradict itself? By warning Xiao Buyu, both subtly and overtly, doesn't that make him even more aware? How could he become enraged? With his composure solid, how could he possibly reveal an opening?"
"Only when Xiao Buyu has achieved complete tranquility, perhaps even possessing absolute certainty, will that be the moment Jun Moxie truly makes his move! Only at such a juncture can Xiao Buyu be provoked into a true, explosive fury, thereby creating a genuine variable in the outcome!"
The white-robed girl smiled slightly. "I suspect you may have missed something? During the fight, Jun Moxie glanced at the battle between the Seven Swords of Silver City and Ying Bokong at least three times?"
"Is he planning to ambush the Seven Swords? To incite Xiao Buyu's anger?" The Serpent King's eyes brightened. "If that is the case, it truly is a brilliant stratagem! If Jun Moxie could succeed in crippling even one of the Seven Swords, Xiao Buyu would undoubtedly lose his composure!"
"The only thing I cannot fathom is this: although Jun Moxie's movements were covert, what manner of man is Xiao Buyu? After all, he is a renowned master, at the pinnacle of the Fourth Grade of Divine Profundity. In combat, his senses must be absolutely everywhere—eyes seeing all, ears hearing everything. How could Jun Moxie's subtle movements possibly escape his notice? And how could he allow Jun Moxie to succeed? If Jun Moxie were successful, the formation of the Seven Swords would instantly collapse, and Ying Bokong would surely slaughter them all in a very short time, leaving Silver City with no chance of recovery! Therefore, Xiao Buyu must have countermeasures in place, but by this logic, Jun Moxie’s calculation seems to have gone awry..." For the first time, the white-robed girl, who seemed to see the entire board, revealed a hint of doubt.
Hearing this, the Serpent King also became uncertain.
Just then, the situation on the field shifted again!
Jun Moxie unleashed one of his martial arts moves again, a technique he had already used twice before. The technique remained exquisitely divine, and his movement sharply accelerated. In an instant, a circle of over a dozen afterimages of Jun Moxie formed before Xiao Buyu! It seemed as if a dozen Jun Moxies were attacking simultaneously with their swords! The chilling glint of their blades nearly merged into a single continuous sheet of light.
Xiao Buyu let out a cold laugh. A junior! Have you finally exhausted your tricks?! You actually dare to use the exact same move more than three times! You dare to repeat the same technique over and over in front of a Fourth Grade Divine Profundity expert! Even though the speed this time was faster, and the execution more practiced, it could not change the fact that the move had been repeated three times!
Now is the time for your retribution! I will show you the fate of those who foolishly challenge those above their rank!
Xiao Buyu laughed loudly and suddenly struck out diagonally with both palms. Instantly, an overwhelming shadow of palms surged forth like a mountain, slamming rapidly toward the sword-light afterimage of Jun Moxie to his left! This spot—this—was precisely where Jun Moxie's feet should land, the starting point of his sword thrust!
There can be no mistake!
Indeed, Xiao Buyu’s judgment was entirely correct. If Jun Moxie had truly completed the technique, he would certainly have landed and struck from that exact spot! At that moment, it would have been Jun Moxie’s absolute tragedy!
Unfortunately, Jun Moxie had not completed the technique!
He who calculates others will himself be calculated!
Just as Xiao Buyu struck suddenly to seize the initiative, Jun Moxie’s sword move was only halfway executed, perfectly adhering to the martial principle of "Striking the midstream before the river is crossed."
Normally, under such circumstances, almost no one could alter the original trajectory of the sword move—not even a Divine Profundity master, perhaps not even a Supreme expert. But Jun Moxie’s Kai Tian Zao Hua Gong (Creation of Heaven and Earth Art) possessed the singular ability to turn the impossible into reality!
The sword style reached its midpoint, appearing poised to make solid contact with Xiao Buyu’s incoming offensive… At that very instant, an extremely abrupt transformation occurred. Jun Moxie’s sword momentum did not pause for even a flicker before directly morphing into a celestial rainbow streak!
Missing Xiao Buyu by a razor-thin margin, the tip of the sword emitted a whistling cry, suddenly coalescing into a brilliant sphere of light that exploded outwards. Then, mid-flight, it transformed again into a silver dragon, a sheet of rolling, cylinder-like sword light that swept across fifteen zhang of space, lunging straight toward the Seven Swords of Silver City!
Body and Sword as One!
Jun Moxie had unleashed his most powerful technique at the precise moment when it seemed least likely!
This strike truly defied everyone's expectations!
And this moment was precisely when the Seven Swords of Silver City were under the greatest duress. Facing Ying Bokong, one of the Eight Supremes, with only their combined strength, they were already fighting precariously, barely holding on. Jun Moxie’s sudden, sword-wielding arrival pressed them mercilessly, putting them in a desperate, no-win situation!
A camel whose back is ready to break under the weight of a single straw is suddenly about to be crushed by hundreds or thousands of pounds—how could it possibly fare well?
Realizing he had been tricked, Xiao Buyu roared coldly. He could no longer afford to ponder how the Young Master Jun managed to alter the sword style mid-course—a feat that defied all martial principles. Saving the Seven Swords was the immediate priority. He roared toward the sky, following closely at full speed, simultaneously channeling his profound energy to the utmost, pushing all his skills into his palms! He moved like a rocket, arriving with fury at a speed that seemed several times his normal maximum!
Xiao Buyu was truly enraged at this moment; to be so thoroughly duped by that boy under these circumstances! Thus, this strike utilized the full extent of his power, his entire inner energy converging into one blow!
Even if Jun Moxie's move succeeded in harming the Silver City Seven Swords, Jun Moxie would certainly perish under the blow Xiao Buyu was about to deliver in retaliation! Xiao Buyu was highly confident of this outcome. Therefore, though angry, he was not overly anxious.
After all, within Silver City, the Seven Swords ultimately belonged to the City Lord’s faction—they were of the Han surname. Though they all belonged to Wind and Snow Silver City, they were not of the Xiao lineage!
Thus, even if Jun Moxie managed to attack them successfully, perhaps even killing one or two, Xiao Buyu would not feel profound grief or loss. His only goal was to kill this arrogant boy!
Hence, while angry, Xiao Buyu was not in a state of uncontrolled rage.
That cylinder-like sheet of sword light showed no sign of stopping, arriving like lightning behind the Seven Swords of Silver City! Close behind it flew Xiao Buyu’s rapidly advancing form, less than five zhang from Jun Moxie’s back! For a Divine Profundity master, this was practically within arm's reach!
Even the edges of Xiao Buyu’s robes whistled sharply from his extreme speed; his entire form had blurred into a hazy gray shadow, clearly having pushed his velocity to its absolute peak!
The situation the Young Master had worked so painstakingly to create now seemed far from advantageous!
Ying Bokong frowned. He was greatly displeased by Jun Moxie’s sudden sword approach. I currently hold the absolute upper hand. By attacking so abruptly, are you coming to support me or merely cause trouble?
If you had only kept Xiao Buyu occupied a moment longer, I could have decisively beaten the Seven Swords. While your sudden attack might accelerate my victory, it simultaneously plunges you into mortal danger. It seems like an absolute net loss!
As for the Seven Swords of Silver City, who were already operating at a lower cultivation level, they had to withstand Ying Bokong’s immense pressure, and now they faced the sudden, ferocious assault from Jun Moxie's attack. Caught between hammer and anvil, their situation instantly deteriorated to the worst possible degree! They felt a prickling dread on their backs, a sensation as if their very skin was already being sliced open!
Xiao Buyu’s face twisted into a cruel grin! His long-prepared palms slammed forward with a thunderous roar!—
But a collective gasp echoed across the entire field!
Because Jun Moxie’s figure had suddenly vanished!
Abruptly gone!
Disappeared as if he could fly through heaven or burrow through the earth!
It was as if he had never been there at all; the cylinder of sword light vanished without a trace in an instant, silently gone, without the slightest warning. That previous, roaring display of sword light seemed like nothing more than a dream…
Xiao Buyu’s speed had reached his personal limit. Unlike Jun Moxie, he had no time to alter his technique. His massive palms, carrying the force of toppling mountains and surging seas, found their target suddenly gone. He was effectively attacking the Seven Swords of Silver City! In his desperate haste, he could only adjust his angle slightly, whistling over the heads of the Seven Swords and slamming fiercely toward Ying Bokong!
The pressure behind the Seven Swords of Silver City instantly vanished. Seeing that Xiao Buyu had unexpectedly become their powerful reinforcement, they rejoiced immensely and counter-attacked Ying Bokong with all their might!
And Ying Bokong, forced to change defense in a rush, suddenly facing a strong enemy while the pressure from the opposing side nearly doubled in an instant, was so enraged his nose nearly turned crooked!
So, this brat wasn't here to help! He was deliberately redirecting disaster! Did he think fighting seven people by myself was too easy? But there was no alternative. Facing eight enemies attacking with full force simultaneously, even someone as powerful as Ying Bokong had no choice but to fight for his life!
The Prairie Eagle God roared out a single command: "Ghost Eagle!" He unleashed his full power, and instantly, fierce claw shadows filled the space from heaven to earth, resembling ten thousand vengeful spirits pouring out of the gates of hell. Innumerable illusory ghost claws struck back against the eight-person joint assault of the Wind and Snow Silver City group!
In mid-air, the sword qi of the Seven Swords howled, Xiao Buyu’s palm winds thundered; the sharp energy expelled by Ying Bokong’s Ghost Eagle Claws tore the fabric of the night sky. Nine figures collided like a meteor striking the earth!
The very instant the nine collided, an arrogant burst of laughter rang out—wahahaha—the unmistakable sound of the Young Master Jun Moxie! For some unknown reason, he had just vanished from that spot only to reappear before the slumped figure of Xiao Han!
This astonishing speed was utterly inscrutable. It was as if two Jun Moxies existed simultaneously in two completely different locations at the exact same moment. But the fact that these two Jun Moxies were the same person was a reality that defied all attempts at comprehension!
Xiao Buyu, moments away from a deadly clash, was startled by the Young Master's arrogant laughter. He managed to glance back amidst the chaos: he saw Jun Moxie’s face twisted in cruel malevolence as his gleaming sword rapidly descended toward the completely immobilized Xiao Han!