A flash of sword light later, Master Xu appeared behind Xinghun, slowly sheathing his Sharktoothed Sword into the ground.
Only then did a painful groan ring out, followed by an arm flying high into the air. By the time blood dripping from the Sharktoothed Sword hit the ground, the severed arm had already slammed heavily into the dirt.
Moon God looked in disbelief at Xinghun, whose right arm had been severed in a single blow, and then turned his gaze to Master Xu. Moon God had originally intended to watch Xinghun make a fool of himself, and thus had no intention of stepping in to cover for him.
Yet Master Xu's speed still far exceeded his expectations. Even with his defenses raised, he would have been utterly powerless to stop Master Xu's strike.
"In the Yin-Yang School, Qi-Gathering Blade is indeed formidable, and even ordinary sword masters cannot withstand a full-powered Qi-Gathering Blade. But it seems you have forgotten one crucial thing: no sword master is foolish enough to stand still and wait for you to gather your Qi!" Master Xu's voice echoed through the air.
The Yin-Yang School pursued the ultimate boundary between heaven and man, and while it was true that their martial arts techniques possessed immense power, draining one's life force and spiritual energy came with various fatal flaws—such as the excessive time required to gather Qi.
Yet among experts of a certain realm, victory or defeat was decided in the blink of an eye.
Not to mention against someone like Master Xu, a world-renowned master of a legendary sword.
"The Mohist School's Ten Steps to Execution!" Xinghun clutched his severed right arm, recognizing the technique Master Xu had used.
"Not bad, you actually recognize our Mohist martial arts. Knowing what it is, how dare you still attempt Qi-Gathering Blade right in front of me?" Master Xu sneered.
Xinghun had grievances he couldn't voice. As a world-famous weaponsmith and swordsman, he had assumed Master Xu would disdain resorting to a sneak attack to interrupt his Qi-Gathering Blade, or that Moon God would step in to buy him some time.
After all, he had been well aware from the very beginning that both of them would be brutally slaughtered by Master Xu in a one-on-one fight. Their only glimmer of victory lay in seizing a moment of carelessness from Master Xu and catching him off guard with a heavy blow.
He never expected Master Xu to lack any so-called arrogance of a master swordsman; he struck the moment the opportunity arose, without a shred of hesitation.
Nor did he expect Moon God to stand by without even the slightest attempt at defense, watching helplessly as Master Xu slashed off his right arm and shattered his Qi-Gathering Blade in a single stroke.
Catching the resentful look Xinghun shot at Moon God, the corners of Master Xu's lips curved into a smile. He grasped the crux of the matter, though he had no intention of explaining.
Moon God caught Xinghun's hateful glare as well, but could only offer a bitter shake of his head. He certainly had plotted to sabotage Xinghun, but even if he had wanted to intervene, he simply couldn't have stopped it.
The Mohist School's Ten Steps to Execution was hailed as the fastest sword in the world, as well as the most decisive and lethal.
Xinghun had vastly overestimated himself—especially since this sword was being wielded by the master swordsman Master Xu himself!
"Master Xu, might you grant my Lord a favor and let them go?" Just as Master Xu was about to move in for another strike, a brocade-clad swordsman stepped out from the woods and spoke in a resounding voice.
Master Xu, Xinghun, and Moon God all turned toward the newcomer, instantly recognizing his identity.
"Lord Chunshen, Huang Xie?" Master Xu frowned.
Huang Xie's reputation in the Chu State and across the entire realm was immense. With over three thousand retainers in his household, he also served as the Left Prime Minister of the Chu State, holding immense power that even the Mohist School would not easily cross.
Knowing that the Mohist School valued its pride, the newcomer kept his posture very humble, terrified that Master Xu might decide to kill him along with the others.
While a living Moon God, Xinghun, or even himself might hold some value, if they all ended up dead, Huang Xie would not make an enemy of the Mohist School over three corpses.
"Since Lord Chunshen has stepped forward, I shall naturally grant this favor!" Master Xu glanced at Xinghun and Moon God, turned, sheathed his sword, and vanished into the woods.
"Phew—" All three breathed sighs of relief.
Dealing with a legendary sword master of this caliber was far too dangerous!
"Father, Lesser Master of Fate is also accompanied by that Senior Brother from Yushan Academy!" Shifuzi caught up to his father, explained the situation, and then asked why his father hadn't stayed with his mother and the other Mohist disciples.
"Xinghun is crippled now. But having such a person remain in the Yin-Yang School will actually work to our advantage!" Master Xu explained calmly.
Given Moon God's inaction today, coupled with Xinghun losing an arm to his blade, the Yin-Yang School was bound to become quite lively from here on out.
That was precisely why he had spared Moon God and Xinghun.
Huang Xie's favor might carry a lot of weight, but unless Huang Xie came in person, the Mohist School was under no obligation to grant such a courtesy to a mere retainer!
"Shudong? That unlucky fellow who cultivates the Confucian School's Noble Qi?" Master Xu's thoughts turned to Yanyan, who had been captured by the Black and White Sisters, a playful glint in his eyes.
Relations between the Mohist School and the Confucian School had never been particularly warm, especially after the Taoist School withdrew from the contention of the prominent philosophies, leaving only the Mohist School and the Confucian School as the dominant schools of thought.
Consequently, both sides were intimately familiar with each other's talented younger generations.
Yet Yanyan occupied a rather awkward position within both the Confucian School and the Yan Family.
While he was considered part of the Yan Family's main lineage, everyone knew he was merely a talented youth adopted by them.
If he truly belonged to the core bloodline, the family would never have allowed him to leave on his own, nor would they have failed to send martial arts experts to protect him.
The fundamental reason Yanyan left Yushan Academy was simply that no one among the younger generation of the current Yan Family could suppress him.
Perhaps Yanyan himself was well aware of this, which was why he chose to leave.
After all, if Yanyan remained at Yushan Academy and stayed within the Yan Family, would the family ultimately belong to the Yan Family's blood relatives, or to Yanyan?
Before long, Master Xu and Shifuzi caught up with his wife and the rest of the Mohist disciples.
"What happened?" Master Xu asked, frowning as he noticed injuries on his wife and the Mohist disciples.
"It was Dongjun and Nan!" Madam Xu explained.
They had indeed caught up with the three Lesser Masters of Fate, only to be intercepted by Dongjun and Lord Chu Nangong of the Yin-Yang School.
"It seems the Yin-Yang School places a great deal of importance on this new Lesser Master of Fate!" Master Xu remarked with mild surprise.
For the sake of a single Lesser Master of Fate, two great protectors of the Yin-Yang School, along with Dongjun and Lord Chu Nangong, had all turned out to escort her!
"Huang Xie intervened, so we'll let them off for now!" After a moment's thought, Master Xu decided not to pursue the matter further.
"Lord Chunshen, Huang Xie?" Madam Xu nodded. Lord Chu Nangong shared a rather unique relationship with Huang Xie, so it made sense that he would step in to protect the group of Yin-Yang School experts.
As for Yanyan, he had been dragged along by the Black and White Sisters, fleeing for a long time before finally being overtaken by Lesser Master of Fate.
"Alright, put me down and run for your lives!" Yanyan broke free from the two sisters' grip and dropped to the ground.
"You know martial arts?" The Black and White Sisters knitted their brows.
Although they hadn't deliberately exerted full force on Yanyan, the strength in their grips was not something an ordinary person could simply shake off.
"Do you people hold some kind of fundamental misunderstanding about the Confucian School's Six Arts of the Gentleman?" Yanyan rolled his eyes.
"I may not practice Confucian internal energy cultivation, but that doesn't mean I don't have some external hardening techniques to protect myself!"
With that, Yanyan rolled up his sleeves, revealing arms even thicker than an ordinary person's thighs.