Versatile Sword Cultivator

Chapter 26 – Foundation Establishment Realm opponent

Zhou Hao, despite several attempts to counterattack, found his efforts futile against Lin Jichen, who didn't even bother to dodge. The blade struck him without eliciting any reaction.

Having lost all will to fight, Zhou Hao no longer wished to engage with Lin Jichen. After blocking another of Lin Jichen's swords, he immediately executed a movement technique.

"Piercing Mist Charge!"

Zhou Hao's speed surged, darting forward several meters before swiftly fleeing.

"Running? You're definitely not getting away."

Lin Jichen also employed the Phantom Step movement technique.

A mere afterimage streaked by, and he quickly caught up to Zhou Hao.

Zhou Hao didn't even notice until Lin Jichen's sword pierced through the back of his neck, the intense pain causing him to tumble to the ground.

"Critical Hit! -300!"

With a base damage of 90, a critical hit dealing double damage, and an additional 70 points from the critical, plus the Crimson Cloud Sword's extra 50 points of damage every three strikes, Zhou Hao's vitality bar dropped to less than half.

The total damage was precisely 300 points.

"Senior, I was blind to your greatness. I concede, I concede, please show mercy and spare my life."

Zhou Hao, bloodied, lay in a pool of his own blood, begging Lin Jichen for mercy.

"I might spare you," Lin Jichen said, standing over Zhou Hao with his sword, giving him a glimmer of hope for survival.

"Thank you, Senior! Your kindness is immense!"

But Lin Jichen then asked, "I heard you have a brother. Tell me where he is, and I'll let you go."

Zhou Hao didn't know why Lin Jichen was looking for his brother, but in order to avoid death, he had no choice but to compromise.

"My brother is at..."

Before Zhou Hao could finish, Lin Jichen's eyelids twitched, sensing danger from behind. He immediately bent down and dodged.

A blade aura, many times thicker than Zhou Hao's Thunder Blade, passed through the spot where Lin Jichen had just been!

After Lin Jichen dodged, the blade aura collided with the trees in the forest, instantly severing a fan-shaped area of trees at their trunks.

Lin Jichen frowned and stared intently in the direction behind him.

A burly figure emerged from the woods, looking very much like Zhou Hao but with a much more formidable aura.

Seeing this person, Zhou Hao was overjoyed.

"Brother! Save me, I'm being hunted!"

Zhou Hao's demeanor changed completely at this moment, and he sneered at Lin Jichen.

"Kid, you're unlucky to run into my brother. For the sword marks you left on me, I'll make you pay a hundredfold and chop you into pieces!"

Lin Jichen ignored his taunts and carefully observed the man before him.

He recognized at a glance that the man's aura was that of someone in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Zhou Shen stepped forward, seemingly not taking Lin Jichen seriously at all, and instead began to scold Zhou Hao.

"I told you, with all the attention lately, you should have stayed put in the mountains and not come out. You never listen. If I hadn't noticed you were gone and specifically came looking for you, you'd be dead by now."

Zhou Hao admitted his mistake, "Brother, it's my fault. I'll listen to you this time and won't come out again. Please, avenge me first; I've been beaten so badly."

Only then did Zhou Shen turn his attention to Lin Jichen, and upon discovering that Lin Jichen was only at the Initial stage of Qi Refining, he was filled with mockery.

"You can't even beat a kid at the Initial stage of Qi Refining; don't call yourself my brother Zhou Shen when you go out."

Zhou Hao protested, "Brother, it's not my fault. This kid has treasures on him; I couldn't break through his defense. Plus, his strength is far beyond ordinary people; I'm no match for him."

Hearing that Lin Jichen had treasures, Zhou Shen's eyes lit up, and he commanded Lin Jichen:

"Hand over everything you have, and I might consider leaving you a whole corpse to make your departure less painful. Otherwise, you'll wish you were dead."

Lin Jichen did not comply. Seeing Zhou Hao getting up and taking out an elixir to heal, he simply thrust his sword forward!

Zhou Hao couldn't believe Lin Jichen would dare to attack him and, caught off guard, was struck in the neck by Lin Jichen's sword, blood spurting like a fountain.

"Critical! -300!"

Ah!

Zhou Hao let out a painful scream and fell back to the ground, the elixir he had taken out scattering everywhere.

Zhou Shen, seeing Lin Jichen's blatant disregard for him, roared, "You're courting death!"

With that, Zhou Shen's figure vanished from the spot like a ghost.

Then, a sound of tearing air followed.

Swoosh!

Zhou Shen had somehow appeared in front of Lin Jichen, his black, oddly-shaped broadsword slashing down on Lin Jichen's shoulder.

Lin Jichen couldn't dodge in time and took a solid hit.

This time, the defense was breached, his clothes torn open, and a deep gash left on his shoulder, blood flowing out.

"-220!"

Lin Jichen also learned his opponent's information from this.

【Scatter Cultivator: Zhou Shen】

【Profession: Blade Cultivator】

【Realm: Initial stage of Foundation Establishment】

【Vitality: 5300/5300】

【Strength: 70】

【Mental Power: 40】

【Defense: 55】

【Speed: 50】

【Critical: 6】

【Equipment: Spirit Grade·Snow-Cutting Blade, Spirit Grade·Hundred-Refined Ring, Spirit Grade·Rhinoceros Belt】

【Blade Technique: Broad Moon Blade Technique (Minor Achievement)】

【Martial Arts Technique: Soul-Cleaving Slash (Minor Achievement)】

【Spirit Skill: Hundred Fierce Flame Slash (Beginner)】

【Movement Technique: Shadow Splitting Step (Minor Achievement)】

This one was going to be much harder to deal with than Zhou Hao.

Before Lin Jichen could counterattack, Zhou Shen's offensive came again.

Lin Jichen had no choice but to engage in battle, and in an instant, two figures intertwined in the woods.

The sound of swords and blades clashing rang out.

Relying on his ample combat experience, Lin Jichen managed to block all of Zhou Hao's blades.

Although Zhou Shen was faster, Lin Jichen's extensive combat experience allowed him to anticipate the opponent's moves and parry in advance.

Seeing his offensive thwarted by Lin Jichen, Zhou Shen felt frustrated and humiliated.

He, a cultivator of the Foundation Establishment Realm, had yet to take down a mere Initial stage Qi Refining youngster.

Zhou Shen, feeling insulted, lost all patience. The Snow-Cutting Blade in his hand flashed with light, its speed incredibly fast.

"Soul-Cleaving Slash!"

Lin Jichen failed to dodge and was struck in the chest.

"-300!"

The blade hit a weak spot, significantly reducing Lin Jichen's vitality bar.

Lin Jichen regretted using the Spirit Shield skill recklessly; otherwise, he could have blocked the slash with it.

The cooldown for Spirit Shield was fifteen minutes, still a long way off.

However, the cooldown for Phantom Step was only 10 seconds, and it had already reset. He immediately used Phantom Step to distance himself from Zhou Shen.

Zhou Shen would not let Lin Jichen escape and immediately employed his own movement technique.

Shadow Splitting Step!

Suddenly, three Zhou Shens appeared, surrounding Lin Jichen from three sides.

Two of the Zhou Shens were mere illusions.

Moreover, their speed was much faster than Lin Jichen's.

Lin Jichen, seeing the three simultaneous clones, remained unflustered. After a brief discernment, the Crimson Cloud Sword thrust forcefully at the middle Zhou Shen!

Zhou Shen didn't expect Lin Jichen to be so decisive and accurate in finding his true body.

Caught off guard, his chest was struck squarely by the Crimson Cloud Sword.

"Critical! -55!"

"Armor Break effect triggered, lasting 5 seconds!"

Lin Jichen was delighted; armor break was a great thing, halving the opponent's defense.

There was no better time to strike.

Lin Jichen leaned forward, sword pressing down, body spinning backward, sword light flickering, and Zhou Shen's chest was struck by the sword again!

"-110!"

After being injured twice in a row, Zhou Shen was furious and felt deeply humiliated.

He maneuvered his blade to deflect Lin Jichen's Crimson Cloud Sword, while the spiritual power within him surged, wielding the blade several times faster than before!

The scene was filled with countless blade shadows, forming a high-speed slashing array, with sounds of blades tearing through the air echoing in the woods.

Broad Moon Blade Technique!

Although Lin Jichen was fully defending with his sword, the attribute suppression was too much, and he kept getting struck.

Lin Jichen was also frustrated; he was only at the Initial stage of Qi Refining and had run into a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.

If only he had reached the Middle stage of Qi Refining, he wouldn't be so passive.

He had planned to find out Zhou Shen's whereabouts and then, when he was at a higher realm, go and eliminate Zhou Shen for good.

But he hadn't expected to encounter Zhou Shen so soon.

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