Chapter 384: Chapter 383 Iron Finger Sect_1
Xu Ruoyan moved quickly through the palace corridor. Just when she thought she could shake off her pursuer, a figure suddenly appeared at the crossroads ahead, blocking her path.
Her steps halted abruptly, and Xu Ruoyan came to a stop.
She had seen a portrait of the man before her. He was no ordinary person, but Li Wushuang from the Iron Finger Sect, ranked thirty-sixth on the Young Master List, an unparalleled young expert.
"Take off that inner armor, and you can leave," Li Wushuang said coldly, his eyes fixed on Xu Ruoyan.
"What inner armor? I have no idea what Your Excellency is talking about." Xu Ruoyan didn’t admit anything, but her hand had already silently grasped her sword hilt.
"Heh, are you taking it off yourself, or do you need my help? This is the Human Emperor’s Underground Palace, Miss Xu. You had better do as I say to avoid unnecessary humiliation."
Li Wushuang shook his head. Even though he couldn’t see the inner armor on Xu Ruoyan, he could guess that she was surely wearing it. She’s the daughter of the Heavenly Void Palace Master. He couldn’t possibly kill her, but to obtain the treasure, he wouldn’t let such details stop him. Although he was wary of Xu Ruoyan’s background, he wasn’t truly afraid.
Hearing this, Xu Ruoyan’s expression changed slightly. If her opponent were someone like Fu Tian Jue, she would have nothing to fear and could leave easily. However, this Li Wushuang was not in Fu Tian Jue’s league; his rank was more than twenty places higher than Fu Tian Jue’s, and his power had reached the Grandmaster Fourth Realm. His strength was exceptional, his finger techniques as unpredictable as a Ghost God.
"Sorry, but I won’t relinquish this inner armor." Xu Ruoyan’s face grew stern. An extraordinary piece of inner armor offered a tremendous boost to defense; she absolutely couldn’t give it up.
"Heh, you like this inner armor? Fine. How about this: dissolve your engagement with that boy Ling Chen, follow me, and I’ll give you whatever you want," Li Wushuang said with a sudden change in attitude and a smile.
He thought for a moment. If she were to fall into his embrace, it would be far more rewarding than obtaining an extraordinary piece of inner armor. After all, Xu Ruoyan’s father was the Heavenly Void Palace Master. Becoming his son-in-law would mean limitless future prospects. Such value couldn’t be compared to a mere extraordinary piece of inner armor.
"Heh, give up Ling Chen and choose you? That would be like trading a precious jade for a common stone. Compared to him, in what way are you superior?" Xu Ruoyan scoffed. Indeed, Ling Chen’s cultivation wasn’t as high as Li Wushuang’s, but so what? Ling Chen was only seventeen, while Li Wushuang was already thirty. They weren’t even in the same league of genius. In terms of talent, Ling Chen was vastly superior.
Upon hearing this, Li Wushuang laughed as if he had heard a great joke. "This is the first time I’ve been underestimated, especially by a beautiful woman. But for that remark alone, if I ever meet that kid, I’ll beat him half to death."
Li Wushuang had never taken Ling Chen seriously, nor any of the so-called ’geniuses’ from the Martial World assembly. ’Monstrous talent’? Pure nonsense. Only idle people who echoed others would bother to speak of such things.
"But before that, hand that inner armor over to me!"
WHOOSH!
With a flash of golden light, Li Wushuang shot towards Xu Ruoyan, thrusting a finger at her.
SWOOSH!
Her reaction was swift. Xu Ruoyan used her Light Skill, narrowly evading the finger strike as she flew away.
"Think you can escape?" Mid-movement, Li Wushuang twisted his body, unleashing his finger technique. A bronze glow spread from his fingertips, and a strange attractive force pulled at Xu Ruoyan, drawing her closer.
"Misty Rain Over Rivers and Mountains!" Xu Ruoyan’s expression remained unchanged. With a wave of her right hand, the Cloud and Water Sword in her grasp swung rapidly. The sword qi spun at high speed, transforming into a sword wall before her.
CREAK!
The sword wall twisted violently and then quickly shattered, but Xu Ruoyan used this opportunity to reach the crossroads.
"Oh? You actually blocked my finger." Li Wushuang was somewhat surprised. Heavenly Attraction Finger was his killing move, tried and true. Even experts on the Young Master List of his caliber found it difficult to handle. He hadn’t expected Xu Ruoyan to be able to use her sword qi to isolate his finger’s energy. It was only because her comprehension of the Realm of Swordsmanship wasn’t profound that the attractive force generated by his finger strike had broken through her defense.
"Interesting!"
SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH...
His expression turned slightly serious. Li Wushuang shot out dozens of meteor-like streams of finger energy, and dazzling starlight filled the entire corridor.
The meteor-like streams of finger energy were extremely fast. Xu Ruoyan’s sword qi was shattered by them the moment it condensed, forcing her into a purely defensive posture.
BANG!
The sword qi wall shattered again. Xu Ruoyan used the force to fly backward. Several streams of finger energy tore through her dress, revealing her inner armor.
"The inner armor is indeed on you, Miss Xu. If you don’t want to be embarrassed, I advise you to stop resisting." Seeing the corner of the exposed inner armor, a mocking smile touched Li Wushuang’s lips.
Ignoring Li Wushuang, Xu Ruoyan, with a tap of her toes, drifted back once more, intending to leave the corridor.
"You can’t escape! Iron Finger Cage!"
Li Wushuang stretched out his left index finger and made a few gestures in the Void. The space around Xu Ruoyan suddenly fluctuated. Intersecting beams of finger energy formed a prison, trapping her inside.
The spatial ripple barrier formed so quickly that Xu Ruoyan, caught off guard, slammed her back against it. Her pretty face turned pale, and a trace of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Under Li Wushuang’s ferocious assault, Xu Ruoyan was not only stopped but also injured.
"I just didn’t want to waste my energy on you. Don’t push me too far, Your Excellency." Wiping the blood from her lips, Xu Ruoyan clenched her teeth.
"So what if I push you too far? Naive woman, this is a world where the strong rule. I’m strong, so I’ll bully you. Who can stop me?" Li Wushuang’s expression was disdainful. He thrust his finger out again. This time, he aimed through the air directly at the space between Xu Ruoyan’s eyebrows. The distance of several tens of meters seemed to vanish in an instant, and the stream of finger energy appeared before Xu Ruoyan in a flash.
"You asked for this!"
A moon-white glow flashed in Xu Ruoyan’s pupils as a copious amount of moon-white light surged from her body. This moonlight, like crystal threads, was extremely condensed. A moon-white mirror materialized before her. The finger energy struck the mirror, like a finger tapping the surface of water, causing ripples before being completely neutralized.
"What?" Li Wushuang’s expression froze. How could his finger strike, containing ninety percent of his power, be neutralized so effortlessly?
"Moon Essence Slash!"
Xu Ruoyan exuded an aura of moonlight, like a Fairy Maiden from the Moon Palace. She suddenly struck out with her sword. Three beams of Sword Light, all forming crescents, slashed straight ahead, carving three deep scars into the ground.
BANG!
The Sword Light struck Li Wushuang with the speed of a thunderclap, shattering his True Qi shield. The Sword Light then carried Li Wushuang’s body, slamming him violently against the palace wall.