In the spark of a flint, the draconic fist, bearing boundless mighty power, reached the three-foot azure blade held in Feng Jiuxuan's hand.
The razor-sharp blade began to tremble minutely, and the instant the two made full contact, the force of that tremor nearly shook the nameless ancient sword free from Feng Jiuxuan's grip.
In his life, Feng Jiuxuan had encountered countless formidable enemies. Whether it was the Emperor of Sien or the Lord of Guyuan before him, he had accumulated corresponding countermeasures over the years for every affinity and trait they possessed.
The instant before the nameless ancient sword could be knocked from his hand, the sword blade—originally rigid and razor-sharp—softened as though stricken by bone-melting powder.
Seeing this, a flicker of contemplation crossed the White Emperor's draconic eyes.
Even up to this moment, though countless blocks in the prefectural city had already been leveled by the shockwaves, neither side had unleashed their full might; they were still feeling each other out.
The instant the change occurred, the White Emperor perceived that the longsword in Feng Jiuxuan's grip had not softened at all; what had softened was the solid impact of his fist's force.
He could not immediately decipher the principle behind such an anomaly, but he understood the other's intent.
The man wanted to deflect and neutralize the force.
And through this, the White Emperor also gleaned the limit of the Great Yan Sword Saint's physical strength in his normal state.
Because of that night in Di'an, the White Emperor held an absolute intelligence advantage over Feng Jiuxuan. Yet just as he had told his daughter that night:
"If merely observing a battle could determine victory or defeat, what need would there be for combat?"
Many things had to be experienced firsthand before an accurate judgment could be made.
Having obtained the information he desired, the White Emperor was not keen to prolong the entanglement. It was merely a pity that the Linlang, which had been playing dead, suddenly chose to enter the fray.
A sphere of light condensed from pure saint origin skimmed low over the city. Under its tremendous might, buildings along its path collapsed like rotten wood, plowing a trench tens of zhang wide across the ground.
Yet toward this strike, the Great Yan Sword Saint and the Lord of Guyuan showed completely opposite reactions.
The outer corners of Feng Jiuxuan's narrow eyes twitched involuntarily, while a bizarre smile emerged in the White Emperor's draconic eyes.
The Linlang's attack had caught everyone present off guard—whether the two Saints of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion or Feng Jiuxuan and the White Emperor at the center of the battlefield.
Techniques composed of pure saint origin were theoretically impossible to detect, making them absolute killer moves in a battle between Saints.
Yet before attacking, this Linlang had let out a howl.
This was no different from warning the White Emperor:
*Despicable human, this wolf is taking its revenge now!*
A foolish wolf.
It was too late for such thoughts now. The force of the White Emperor's punch was parried away by Feng Jiuxuan's sword, its boundless might redirected under Feng Jiuxuan's control to pour straight down upon Mu Xingyi on the ground.
"..." Mu Xingyi.
Rumble—!
With a thunderous crash, the insectoid body that had just been on the verge of reconstituting itself was instantly blown to pieces once more.
Up in the sky, having deflected the force, Feng Jiuxuan immediately swung his sword, driving countless sword auras to seal off any route of escape for the White Emperor.
But the Lord of Guyuan's reaction once again defied his expectations.
The White Emperor did not dodge.
In that seemingly frozen slice of time, the White Emperor slowly raised his dragon-scale-covered arm, even as the hurtling sphere of light arrived before him at speeds invisible to the naked eye.
In the next instant, he swung his arm.
A screeching tear through the air echoed across the heavens.
Under Feng Jiuxuan's grave gaze, that sphere condensed from saint origin dented inward like a wad of dough.
Then—
*Bang!*
The sphere did not collapse and detonate; instead, it was swatted away directly by the White Emperor's physical flesh!
Having its trajectory altered, the saint origin sphere crashed into the East City Wall in a flash. Under the gazes of countless people throughout the city—
BOOM!
The radiant light bursting outward suddenly illuminated the sky veiled by the insect tide. As the towering wall began to collapse, the White Emperor's indifferent gaze fell upon the white-robed man before him, whose brow was tightly furrowed. His voice was low:
"Feng Jiuxuan, as it happens, I know a little something about neutralizing force as well."
Watching the outcome of their probing exchange, Tianye slightly narrowed her playful, smiling eyes.
"The White Emperor's method of neutralizing force seems capable of countering all magical techniques. And when it comes to close-quarters combat, there is likely no one in this world who can match him..."
"Bullshit."
Before her words finished echoing, Xu Yuan—who couldn't clearly see the clashes but had deduced the process in reverse from the devastation—cursed under his breath.
"That thing isn't any method of neutralizing force at all."
"Oh?"
Tianye blinked and looked back at the man beside her, her eyes brimming with curiosity. "You know what that is?"
Xu Yuan glanced at her. Rather than explaining immediately, he proposed a trade:
"If you're willing to pass the intelligence to my maternal uncle, I'll tell you."
The clash between the White Emperor and Feng Jiuxuan had actually only lasted a dozen or so breaths. During this time, Xu Yuan could have exchanged information with Feng Jiuxuan via voice transmission.
However, voice transmission required locking onto the other person's qi dynamic first. Let alone locking onto it, Xu Yuan couldn't even clearly perceive their qi dynamic. Thus, he could only rely on Tianye to relay the message—yet this enchantress only cared about enjoying the show.
Yet upon hearing the terms of this deal, Tianye agreed without the slightest hesitation:
"Sure, I promise."
Xu Yuan felt slightly reassured. Though Tianye acted on whim with no regard for the bigger picture, she always followed through on what she had promised.
Combining this with information from *Cangyuan*, Xu Yuan spoke rapidly:
"Ordinary ranged techniques are divided into channeling, condensing, firing, and collapsing into detonation. Before the collapse and detonation stage, the technique remains in a stable state. And a technique's collapse and detonation are further divided into active detonation and contact detonation—"
"I understand all of that. Get straight to the point," Tianye cut in directly.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan did not waste words, stating bluntly:
"The White Emperor can forcibly maintain any technique he touches in a stable state and sever its connection to the caster."
Hearing this, Tianye ran the tip of her tongue across her crimson lips, staring unblinkingly at Xu Yuan with an intrigued, meaningful look.
"I roughly get the principle, but in that case, to deal with the White Emperor, isn't close combat still the only option?"
*Hum—*
Even as they spoke, ferocious winds surged once more.
Feng Jiuxuan and the White Emperor had already resumed their clash.
This time, however, the two were free from the Linlang's interference. The hunched elder had already swept from the East City Wall right up before it; his flame Dao domain that burned everything, coupled with the Linlang's roars, instantly annihilated everything within a hundred-zhang radius.
Watching both battlefields, Xu Yuan said quickly:
"There is an upper limit to the technique energy the White Emperor can stabilize. What's more, intangible techniques like soul arts and the Heaven Character True Words cannot be swatted away by him."
Tianye showed a flicker of realization at his words.
No wonder the White Emperor hadn't displayed this ability when they clashed that day.
Soon, however, she giggled softly:
"The problem is, Brother Changtian, your maternal uncle doesn't seem to know those kinds of techniques."
Xu Yuan fell silent for a moment, then chuckled softly.
"Tianye...
"My maternal uncle is Great Yan's Sword Saint, Feng Jiuxuan."
Chapter 666