From Abyssal Invasion to Bursting Stars with a Single Sword

Saito Takeji made his move with full confidence, and Lu Heng recognized it immediately.

It was his famous finishing move, "Tiger Claw".

This technique was known for its speed, not necessarily its high attack power, but it targeted areas such as the shoulders, neck, and head, where even a small amount of force, if landed, was lethal.

The moment Saito Takeji struck, he had already deemed his opponent as good as dead.

In a duel of this caliber, a single opening was enough to determine the winner.

The breach Lu Heng exposed was surprisingly large.

Saito even hesitated for a moment, wondering if Lu Heng had intentionally revealed such an obvious flaw.

Lu Heng had not intentionally exposed himself, the nature of the Zhenyue Style tended to reveal breaches at the front and sides.

Of course, with both fighters being at the Conception Level in their sword capabilities, it wasn't likely that a simple Zhenyue move would suffice.

Thus, Lu Heng had already prepared an alternative move.

In the instant Saito Takeji executed his prized "Tiger Claw" technique.

Lu Heng also shifted his stance, transitioning from Zhenyue Style to Returning Wind, his sword's radiance suddenly shifted direction, syncing with his footsteps, and he unleashed a moon-shaped slash in front of him.

Clang!

The sword's radiance was piercing and unmatched as it struck the Tachi, producing a crisp metallic sound.

The Fusang Name Blade "Hequan Zongzheng" in Saito's hand snapped immediately and fell to the ground.

That moment.

Everyone present was stunned.

In just one exchange, Saito Takeji's sword had broken.

Lu Heng had considered the attack power of the Aurora Blade and the ["Sharp Blade"] special effect to severely damage the Fusang Name Blade,

But the power of the Aurora Blade proved more terrifying than he anticipated.

It had cut Saito Takeji's Fusang Name Blade clean in half.

An A-Class dual-special-effect +9 Quenching Level divine weapon against a B-Class Tachi represented an overwhelming advantage.

The moment Hequan Zongzheng broke, Saito's mind went blank.

This was his first encounter with having a weapon shattered, and at the instant of collision, he felt his hand go numb from the shock, the force exerted by Lu Heng far surpassing his expectations.

The spectators were shocked by this abrupt turn.

Many first thought, "Someone must have tampered with Mr. Saito's Tachi!"

Even among sword experts, a blade breaking was rare.

After all, these were steel forged through countless tempering, beyond the capacity of ordinary strength to break.

However, with the emergence of Superpower Users and increasing strength among sword wielders,

Lu Heng's strength had reached 58 points, nearly six times that of an ordinary person.

Coupled with his swordsmanship, the force behind his strike was too great for any ordinary blade to withstand.

Although Hequan Zongzheng was not an ordinary blade but a B-Class weapon, it stood no chance against the A-Class Aurora Blade.

Lu Heng's single stroke broke Saito's Tachi, and he smirked, "Fighting you is much easier than fighting Hideyoshi Tsugawa."

At those words,

An uproar ensued at the venue.

This statement was overtly mocking.

Saito Takeji was Hideyoshi Tsugawa's teacher, and now someone claimed that the teacher was easier to handle than the disciple.

Hearing this, Saito's face alternated between white and red with rage and embarrassment, desiring to tear apart this detestable Da Xia man in front of him, but his sword was already broken.

But at this stage of the competition, he had no way out.

Having taken resources from several Fusang conglomerates, if he lost, he would have to perform seppuku upon returning.

Lu Heng, uninterested in wasting more time, lifted his sword again and declared, "It's over, Sword Saint sir."

With that, he made his final slash.

Deprived of a sword, Saito could only retreat, ultimately gritting his teeth to deploy his Class Ability, smashing a ball of Source Energy into the ground.

The Source Energy exploded, raising a cloud of fog.

It was indeed the Class Ability of [Ninja], allowing him to instantly conceal himself.

Subsequently, the ambient light dimmed as if enveloped by a tangible shadow.

Lu Heng sensed endless murderous intent from all around – it was the...

Instant Shadow Kill Array!

The Essence Skill of the Second Rank "Shadow Slayer."

Second-Rank [Shadow Slayer] is the direct advanced class of First-Rank [Ninja], with strong synergistic effects, enhancing the power of the Instant Shadow Kill Array.

Moreover, Saito had already hidden himself at this point, invisible except for the pervasive sense of lethal intent.

Su Muyu raised an eyebrow, ready to inform Lu Heng of Saito's location.

But just as she was about to speak,

A group from the Fusang spectators rushed forward, pointing at Su Muyu and shouting, "No hints allowed! Giving hints would mean fighting two against one."

Lu Heng declared loudly, "Do I need any hints for such a trivial matter?"

With that, Lu Heng executed the ["Rift Slash"].

The sword radiance spiraled, cutting across every spot on the Sword Platform, with its five-meter-long radiance, there was no escaping this slash.

Lu Heng even raised his hand, ready to deploy ["Thunderous Heavenly Prison"], should Saito choose to evade above, he would finish him with the Thunder Cage.

The Sword Platform's fences shattered inch by inch under the sword radiance.

As the sword light passed a pillar, blood burst forth, and Saito's body, cut in two, fell off the platform.

His torso was gone, only the chest upward and the legs remained.

Seeing this scene, everyone present showed shocked expressions.

At that moment, the entire Sword Dojo fell deadly silent.

While everyone was still in shock, Saito's body suddenly swelled and burst into a cloud of energy, vanishing.

Then, a dark shadow formed right above Lu Heng's head, consolidating into a Blade of Shadow slashing downward.

Lu Heng didn't even need to look up; knowing that if Saito was still alive, he'd be right above.

Thus, at the moment the shadow appeared, he activated ["Thunderous Heavenly Prison"].

Boom!

A thunderous explosion echoed as thick bolts of lightning formed a cage, trapping the shadow in mid-air.

"Ah!"

Saito, imprisoned within the Thunder Cage, groaned under the lightning strikes, then tried to concentrate his Source Material Energy to forcibly break through the cage.

Lu Heng did not give him another chance, and with a swing of his sword upwards.

The sword light fell, cutting Saito in half, and under the bombardment of lightning, he crashed down onto the platform, blood scattering everywhere.

A crushing defeat!

It was a complete domination.

Originally, these Fusang people and fake Fusang people had come to watch the duel of Saito Takeji, the Sword Saint.

But the duel ended as soon as it began.

Saito Takeji did not even have the chance to counterattack; his Tachi was cut in the first move, he was forced to use two Essence Techniques in the second, and he was split into two in the third.

Such overwhelming and suffocating power deeply plunged this group of Fusang people into madness.

"It's impossible! How could our Fusang Sword Saint lose!"

"It must be the Da Xia people playing dirty, swapping our Sword Saint's Tachi."

"No mistake! Da Xia people couldn't possibly defeat our Sword Saint."

"I don't believe it, this can't be real."

The venue was chosen by the Fusang people, and the time was set by them.

Lu Heng arrived, cut down Saito Takeji, sheathed his Aurora Blade, and turned to leave the platform.

Some crazed Fusang samurai drew their weapons, roaring as they charged forward to start a fight.

"Despicable Da Xia people! They must have tampered with Mr. Saito's blade!"

Bang!

Lin Zeyu suddenly fired a gun into the air, silencing the group of Fusang people.

Jian Qing also stood up; she was there as a military representative and would intervene if the situation got out of control.

However, the Fusang people seemed hesitant to truly start a fight, yelling and screaming, but not daring to come too close.

Jian Qing, controlling the wind, landed on the platform and picked up the broken half of Hequan Zongzheng's blade, flicking it with her finger. "This truly was a fine blade, such a pity."

She tossed the hilted half off the platform, saying, "Take this back for inspection, see if this blade is indeed your esteemed Fusang Name Blade."

She kept the other half as evidence to prevent any unfounded rumors from arising.

…

After coming down, Su Muyu jumped into Lu Heng's arms, hugging his neck, bouncing with joy.

She had been very worried initially, but seeing the duel won, the stone hanging in her heart finally fell.

"Right, your aunt and uncle said to call them immediately after the duel," Su Muyu quickly reminded.

Lu Heng had not let his parents come, worried they could not handle watching the duel.

Now that the duel was over, Lu Heng hurriedly took out his phone to call his mother.

The phone hadn't even finished ringing when it was picked up.

"Lu Heng, is that you?"

"Mom, it's me. The duel is over. I'm fine, not hurt at all."

"That's good, that's good."

The voice from the phone breathed heavily, bearing a sense of clouds dispersing and bright light shining through.

"That's it for now, I'll be coming home soon." Lu Heng reported his safety and then hung up.

"Good, good..."

…

Lu Heng approached the stunned Sword Dojo manager, picking up the two signed indemnity forms from the table beside him.

The look in the Sword Dojo manager's eyes when he gazed at Lu Heng was incredibly complex, filled with disbelief.

Lu Heng, uninterested in giving him a second glance, took the two indemnity forms and walked away.

The Sword Dojo manager collapsed into his chair.

At the beginning, he never thought Saito Takeji would need to sign such a life-and-death contract.

After all, one was a revered Fusang Sword Saint and the other a nobody without fame.

The gap between them was enormous, to make Saito Takeji sign such a contract seemed like an excess.

However, when the actual fight occurred, Saito Takeji turned out to be the mud, unable to withstand three moves in Lu Heng's hands, falling in two pieces to the ground.

Now, a large group of disciples from the new Shimane School of Fusang were wailing around Saito Takeji's bisected corpse.

Suddenly one of the Shimane School disciples, driven mad, roared as he turned and swung his blade toward Lu Heng's back.

Jian Qing, just descending from the platform, drew the pistol from her leg, placing it against the Fusang man's head and pulling the trigger.

Bang!

A headshot.

After firing, Jian Qing holstered her gun, handing it to Lu Heng, "Give me the indemnity forms, I'll submit them."

Lu Heng then handed over the two indemnity forms.

Jian Qing took the papers, shook them slightly, and said, "Someone will handle the rest."

A Fusang Sword Saint coming into Da Xia territory and then dying.

If handled poorly, this could become an international incident.

Thus, the duel indemnity form was crucial.

As for the Shimane School disciple who just died, it was Jian Qing who fired the shot, a junior military officer.

A Fusang person committing an armed assault here justified the shooting completely.

Jian Qing, after firing, didn't even bother to glance at the person.

…

The duel platform was located in the Sword Dojo's first-floor hall.

Thus, the crowd gathered at the entrance could also see what was happening on the platform.

After Saito Takeji died, the spectating crowd also exploded.

Those gathered here were all drawn by the fame of Saito Takeji, the Fusang Sword Saint. But now that he had died without lasting three moves against Lu Heng.

This caused many people's beliefs to collapse.

"How is this possible!"

"Saito Sword Saint actually lost."

"There must be some trick!"

"He must have been poisoned!"

Among these onlookers, many had reasonable world views, just knowing about the event and coming to watch while cheering on their countrymen.

"Poisoned my ass! This trash couldn't even block three moves, and yet dares claim to be a Sword Saint. The duel venue was chosen by you Fusang bastards, the time set by you, and you start playing dirty once you lose!"

"The venue and time were set by Saito Takeji. He even rented the whole Sword Dojo, allowing only Fusang people in, yet you claim there was foul play. Have some shame!"

After winning, speaking becomes bolder.

Initially, those wishing to speak up for their countryman were surrounded and silenced by a bunch of foolish crowds.

Now, with the situation reversed, they pointed fingers and retorted fiercely.

…

(Third update delivered, asking for full subscriptions. Not far from the recommended list, so pulling the average subscription. Been up almost a month, averaging ten thousand words a day, working hard, give some more subscriptions, folks.)