Chapter 69: Synchrony With All Things

The sword had broken!

Everyone’s eyes went wide, their gazes fixed on the arena ahead.

There—

Lin Yuchu and Ye Li had chosen to clash head-on, their swords crashing together.

In an instant, brilliant, radiant rainbow light and violet lightning collided violently in midair.

Boom—

The blast of light struck the entire arena, and the ground shook as if the mountains themselves were trembling.

The blue barrier was forced into visibility by the attack. Violet lightning crawled all over it, making it look as though it might be shattered at any moment.

The sight made everyone’s hearts seize. They were terrified the barrier would not hold and would be broken through.

If that happened, everyone present would probably have to take one berserk strike and become the fish in the moat caught in the disaster at the city gate.

That was close!

Seeing that the barrier still stood firm, tenaciously holding strong like the City Lord himself, everyone let out a breath of relief.

But before they could relax for long, they heard it again…

Clang—

A crisp sound of weapons colliding, followed by the sound of something snapping.

“!!!!”

In an instant, everyone’s eyes widened. Their faces filled with disbelief as they cried out involuntarily, “Lin Yuchu… his sword broke.”

“Lin Yuchu’s sword broke!”

A wave of shocked cries rose from below the arena.

Everyone felt as though their hearts had pounded violently in that instant. Their hands turned cold, their entire bodies trembled, and it was as if they had been struck by lightning.

“The sword broke! Did Lin Yuchu lose?”

“Lin Yuchu lost!”

“Did Ye Li win?”

Below the arena, a burst of uncertain and astonished voices erupted. Had that Lin Yuchu really lost?

And on the arena.

Ye Li, who had broken Lin Yuchu’s sword and obtained victory, did not show the slightest joy of winning. Instead, his brows furrowed.

Something is wrong!

Ye Li thought.

He abruptly raised his head and stared at Lin Yuchu before him. The young man’s brows and eyes were cold, his elegant, handsome face held not the slightest expression, and his gaze looked at him icily. His thin lips were pressed together, and he said nothing.

From this person, from this face, Ye Li could not sense the slightest emotion.

Even though his sword had been broken, there was still no fluctuation in his state of mind, as if…

That’s it!

Ye Li’s heart suddenly trembled. As if realizing something, his grip on his sword abruptly tightened.

Wrong!

This person…

Was not Lin Yuchu!

“Oh? You noticed?”

A clear, pleasant young voice came from behind him. “You really are sharp.”

As that voice rang out.

The Lin Yuchu who had originally been standing in front of Ye Li vanished in an instant!

Ye Li watched helplessly as he… disappeared right before his eyes, like an illusory bubble, as if he had never existed from the very beginning.

He had only been an illusion.

And behind Ye Li, one more person had appeared.

The young man standing behind Ye Li, holding a longsword pointed at him, the sharp tip pressed against his waist and abdomen, was unmistakably Lin Yuchu, who should have been standing before him but had suddenly disappeared!

“But it’s already too late.”

Lin Yuchu’s voice carried a faint smile as he continued, “Now that things are like this, even you can’t do anything, right?”

“Swords and blades have no eyes, fellow Daoist. You really mustn’t move recklessly.”

Although his voice carried a smile, his expression was cold, without the slightest hint of one. He looked utterly ruthless.

“…”

After a long while.

“Heh—”

Though Lin Yuchu’s icy sword tip was pressed against his waist and abdomen, and the chilling killing intent seeped through his thin Daoist robe into the depths of his body and heart, silently threatening him and keeping him from daring to move rashly, Ye Li let out a cold laugh.

With his back to Lin Yuchu, he curled his lips. The smile at the corner of his mouth was cold and mocking, yet it carried a trace of wildness. “At a time like this, you’re not calling me big brother anymore?”

Hearing this.

Lin Yuchu said calmly, “You lost.”

The wager was that if Ye Li won against Lin Yuchu, Lin Yuchu would become his younger brother.

A wager he had set himself. If he lost, he had to acknowledge it.

Ye Li thought for a moment, then said, “What you said makes sense.”

Hearing this, Lin Yuchu abruptly let out a breath of relief. He thought that although Ye Li was mad, at least he kept his word.

He did not want to be chased around by a sword master of a divine sword who had gone mad, being called younger brother. That would shorten his life!

It absolutely would.

However, before Lin Yuchu could feel relieved for long.

Ye Li suddenly said, “Little brother, I didn’t get the chance to make you acknowledge your big brother this time. Next time… next time, big brother definitely won’t let you off!”

As he spoke, Ye Li grew excited again. The smile on his lips became even more crazed, and the expression on his face was so thrilled it was nearly deranged, carrying a twisted obsession. “Next time. Next time, I definitely won’t let you escape from big brother’s palm again. Accept your fate, little brother.”

“…” Lin Yuchu.

Provoked by these words, he felt a mouthful of old blood surge up into his throat. His hand almost shook, nearly sending the sword in his hand a few inches farther forward to end this future trouble forever and slaughter this lunatic outright!

Were all divine sword masters this sort of thing?

No, I’m not, by Taichu Sword Master Gu Chun.

That’s an immortal sword, damn it! Don’t try to pass yourself off as one of us divine swords. — A cry from the divine sword Liguang.

—

On the arena, Lin Yuchu and Ye Li were still confronting each other.

Even with a sword pressed to his waist and abdomen, Ye Li’s wild nature remained unchanged.

And below the arena.

At first, everyone had seen Lin Yuchu suddenly disappear, then suddenly reappear. Their worldview had shattered, and they had been so frightened that they fell speechless and dazed. After a brief, deathly silence, they abruptly came back to themselves, then erupted into a wave of unbelievable exclamations and countless questions.

“What’s going on!”

“How did Lin Yuchu suddenly disappear, then suddenly appear again? How did he do that?”

“Didn’t his sword break? Then what’s with the sword in his hand?”

“Did I see something wrong? Can someone explain what’s going on?”

“…”

“…”

“What else could it be? His Majesty the Rain Emperor bullied another weakling again, obviously.”

Inside the Immortal Alliance.

A moment ago, the various Immortal Lords of the Immortal Alliance had likewise been staring unblinkingly, holding their breath as they watched Lin Yuchu and Ye Li’s great battle through the Thousand-Li Mirror. Now, as they watched the battle situation reverse in an instant.

After letting out a breath of relief and lowering their hearts back down from their throats, they also began their daily routine of calmly slandering—praising—His Majesty the Rain Emperor.

“As expected, the Liguang Sword Master, who has not yet successfully harmonized with the divine sword, is no match for the young Rain Emperor, whose monstrous talent makes him unmatched.” One Immortal Lord of the Immortal Alliance spoke in a hindsight tone of “just as expected, I knew it all along.” “The Rain Emperor’s move of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west was used wonderfully!”

“It was more than wonderful. It was unexpected and struck when the opponent was unprepared. I’m afraid no one could have imagined he would be capable of going this far.” When this Immortal Lord said this, his tone was rather bitter. Back then, hadn’t they repeatedly lost to this very move of the Rain Emperor’s, been crushed by him, and been beaten until they were utterly routed?

“The Rain Emperor’s speed is extremely fast, so fast that not only is it impossible to catch his trajectory, he can even turn an afterimage into an avatar and mislead his opponent.”

“He thought the one he defeated was the Rain Emperor’s true body, when it was only an illusion.” This Immortal Lord stared at the Rain Emperor in the Thousand-Li Mirror, who was still only a young man, and a doubtful expression appeared on his face. He asked, “But can the current Rain Emperor already achieve this level?”

If it were the Rain Emperor from a hundred years later, this Immortal Lord would have no doubt that he could accomplish it. The Rain Emperor’s speed surpassed the speed of wind, and even the speed of light. Perhaps one day, he might even surpass time.

But right now, the Rain Emperor was only a young man. Had he already reached this level?

If so, then he could not help but suspect whether this current Rain Emperor also retained his memories from before. If that was the case, then it was truly too terrifying!

At this thought, even the Immortal Lord could not help shuddering.

“You did not watch carefully enough!”

Immortal Venerable Yuquan shook his head and said, “He did not surpass the speed of the naked eye and light. Instead, he used the lightning.”

“He gave sword intent to the lightning and created another him.”

“He borrowed the might of heaven and earth, using lightning to briefly shape an external avatar.”

Hearing this, the assembled Immortal Lords said, “…”

“Synchrony With All Things!”

The Immortal Lords spoke these four words in disbelief. “The Rain Emperor actually knows this move!”

“Why have we never seen him use it before?”

Immediately after, the Immortal Lords spoke in puzzled tones.

Immortal Venerable Yuquan said calmly, “That is probably because you were too weak and unable to force the Rain Emperor into a desperate situation.”

“…” The assembled Immortal Lords.

That pierced the heart.

What sort of skill was Synchrony With All Things?

To put it simply, take a chameleon for example.

A chameleon can alter itself along with the surrounding environment, disguising itself and blending into it in order to hide.

Synchrony With All Things means becoming one with all things in heaven and earth.

He can be the wind. He can be the rain. He can be trees. He can be animals.

Likewise, wind, rain, trees, animals… can also be him.

Lin Yuchu borrowed the heavenly might of thunder and lightning, granting the fragile spiritual sword in his hand extraordinary power so that he could clash head-on with Ye Li’s divine sword Liguang.

Through the sword in his hand, he then bestowed sword intent upon the lightning.

And in that instant, Lin Yuchu transformed into sword intent. Or rather, man and sword became one. He was the sword, and the sword was him.

Because the lightning synchronized with the sword was Lin Yuchu.

That was why the Lin Yuchu whose sword had broken had appeared before everyone’s eyes.

The current Lin Yuchu could not truly achieve synchrony with all things in heaven and earth. He could only take a roundabout, circuitous path to do it.

Only after Immortal Venerable Yuquan’s explanation did the assembled Immortal Lords understand what thoughts had flashed rapidly through Lin Yuchu’s mind during that short yet intense battle just now, and how desperately he had worked to put them into action—and even succeeded.

“How terrifying!”

The Immortal Lords of the Immortal Alliance could not help exclaiming in amazement in their hearts. “This method sounds extraordinarily complicated, strange, and something ordinary people would never even think of, yet the Rain Emperor was actually able to think of it, and even went and did it.”

“So the one we fought against back then was such a terrifying person! No wonder we lost so miserably.”

“Our defeat was not undeserved!”

If they placed Ye Li in their own position, then truly…

They could not help wanting to shed a handful of sympathetic tears for their past selves.

To be enemies with such a terrifying person, who could respond to situations like a god, and whose mind hid who knew how much adaptability and strategy.

That was truly the most miserable thing in the world!

Fortunately, this time, they had chosen a peaceful coup.

And at this moment—

On the arena.

Everyone present still looked utterly baffled. They did not understand how Lin Yuchu had won, or when he had appeared behind Ye Li.

However, some clever and perceptive people saw a few clues.

After speaking their guesses to one another and piecing them together, they also came up with a reasonable explanation that more or less made sense.

But…

It was still extremely bewildering!

To be able to achieve something to this degree, was this young man really human?

Leaving no scheme uncalculated, planning things to this extent—could this still be human?

In short, Lin Yuchu was not human at all!

“But there is one thing I find very puzzling.”

Someone below the arena voiced his confusion. “How did Lin Yuchu do it?”

“How did he draw in the heavenly might of thunder and lightning for his own use, and avoid being struck dead?”

“Before this, I never even knew that heavenly thunder and lightning could actually be controlled and used by a person!” That person’s tone was filled with shock and confusion.

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