Chapter 532 Battle of the Imperial City
As soon as the sparring began, Ruan Xiaotian was like a raging prehistoric beast, completely losing the demeanor of a senior master.
His eyes flashed with murderous intent, and his aura exploded outwards, as if a tornado had risen from the ground, tearing apart all the delicate petals in the Imperial Garden and turning them into a sky full of pink snow.
Kid, die!
He roared inwardly, bringing his right index and middle fingers together. Star-like points of light flickered at their tips, and a terrifying power, powerful enough to distort space itself, instantly coalesced. This was none other than the Southern Region's ultimate technique, "Shattering Star Finger," which he had honed throughout his life!
This finger technique is said to be able to pierce through the stars, and its domineering power is enough to level a small mountain.
"First move, Starfall!"
Ruan Xiaotian let out a low shout, his figure approaching like a ghost, his two fingers joined together, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound that tore through the air, aimed straight at Shen Mo's heart.
This finger strike was as fast as thunder and as ruthless as a venomous snake. Before the finger even arrived, the sharp wind from it had already cut several fine marks on Shen Mo's clothes.
However, just as the fatal fingertip was about to touch the skin, Shen Mo's figure mysteriously "faded" for a moment.
He didn't retreat or block; he simply lowered his shoulder slightly and twisted his waist at an incredible angle, his whole body sliding past Ruan Xiaotian's arm like a willow leaf drifting in the wind.
That finger, powerful enough to shatter stars, only pierced through a patch of void!
Ruan Xiaotian's pupils shrank, his heart filled with shock, but his hands moved without slowing down.
"Second move, Starry Sky!" He changed his move extremely quickly, turning two fingers into palms, the palm shadows flying, instantly transforming into palm prints like a sky full of stars, completely sealing off all of Shen Mo's escape routes in all directions.
Each palm strike contained the power to shatter stone and split rocks, and the air was compressed to the point of groaning under the strain.
But Shen Mo's figure moved freely through the impenetrable palm shadows, like a fish swimming in water.
Every dodge he made was perfectly timed, always managing to find the only escape route from that seemingly seamless web of attacks at the critical moment.
His movements had no fixed trajectory; sometimes he was like the wind, sometimes like smoke, and sometimes like a silent lightning bolt, making all of Ruan Xiaotian's attacks futile performances.
Ten moves, twenty moves... Ruan Xiaotian became increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
His prized "Shattering Star Finger" couldn't even touch the hem of his opponent's clothes! It felt like a giant wielding a giant axe but only hitting the air, possessing immense strength but nowhere to vent it.
Damn it! Is the "Sword God" of the Central Plains just a coward who can only dodge and run away?!
Overwhelmed by shame and rage, Ruan Xiaotian finally lost his temper. He launched a frenzied attack while simultaneously taunting, "Hahaha! So you're a Central Plains Sword God! You're nothing but a coward who can only run away with his tail between his legs! Where's your sword? Where's your prestige? Are you afraid of me and dare not make a move?"
His voice was sharp and piercing, filled with malicious mockery, attempting to provoke this frighteningly calm young man with the most vicious language. He was certain that a genius like Shen Mo, who had become famous at such a young age, must be arrogant and unable to tolerate the slightest insult.
Once he is provoked and loses his composure, it will be the perfect opportunity for me to strike and kill him!
Faced with this blatant provocation, Shen Mo finally stopped dodging. His face remained expressionless, but a faint, almost pitying look flashed across his deep eyes.
"Since Senior Ruan has said so..." Shen Mo's voice was frighteningly calm, as if he were stating a trivial matter unrelated to himself, "Then this junior... will take action."
Before he could finish speaking, Shen Mo made his move.
His movements were not fast; in fact, they were quite slow.
He simply raised his right hand slowly and, towards Ruan Xiaotian's direction, gently and casually swung out the first palm strike.
This palm strike was simple and unadorned, without any fancy moves or even a trace of true energy fluctuation.
But this seemingly casual palm strike made the hairs on Ruan Xiaotian's body stand on end!
He felt as if he were being locked onto by an ancient behemoth, and no matter which direction he dodged, he could not escape the grasp of this palm strike.
not good!
Ruan Xiaotian felt a sudden alarm bell ringing in his mind, and hastily raised his arms to cross and block.
"Snapped!"
A crisp sound of bone cracking, barely audible, yet clearly reached Ruan Xiaotian's ears.
He felt an indescribable force coming through his arm, as if his entire arm bone had been pierced by countless steel needles at the same time, or as if he had been hit hard by a 10,000-ton hammer.
The excruciating pain made his vision go black, and he almost screamed out in agony.
Before he could react, Shen Mo's second, third, and fourth moves came one after another.
That wasn't four moves, but a perfectly natural and fluid combination.
Shen Mo's hands slapped, tapped, or brushed, the movements incredibly fast yet carrying a strange sense of rhythm.
When the fourth move was made, everything returned to calm.
Shen Mo withdrew his hand, placing it behind his back as if nothing had happened. He uttered three words calmly: "Thank you for the concession."
Ruan Xiaotian staggered back two steps before barely managing to regain his balance.
He was panting heavily, his face was ashen, and cold sweat was pouring down his face.
He instinctively tried to raise his arms in a defensive stance, but found that his arms... were completely unresponsive!
They hung limply at their sides, like two pieces of rotten mud that had lost all their bones.
Even more bizarrely, as his body swayed due to the inertia of his backward movement, his two arms began to swing uncontrollably back and forth, like two heavy pendulums. Each swing aggravated the horrific injury within his body, where "flesh and bone were still connected," bringing a piercing and excruciating pain.
He could clearly feel that the bones in his arm had been shattered into dust by an extremely subtle and gentle force!
Its outer skin was intact, but its inside was a complete ruin.
This kind of pain is far more torturous than being torn apart, because it is invisible and intangible, yet it constantly reminds him that his hands, which he relied on for fame, and his proud "Shattering Star Finger" technique, are completely ruined!
Ruan Xiaotian stood there, stunned, his eyes filled with unbelievable fear and despair.
Looking at the calm and composed young man before him, he truly felt for the first time what an insurmountable chasm existed between them.
The Imperial Garden was deathly silent.
The previously noisy wind and birdsong now seemed to have been completely silenced, as if an invisible giant hand had gripped their throats.
The exotic flowers and rare plants in the garden seemed to sense the suffocating atmosphere and all drooped their delicate heads.
All eyes were fixed on the white-haired figure in the center of the arena—the Imperial Advisor Ruan Xiaotian.
He didn't fall; he could even barely stand. But his two limp arms, hanging limply at his sides, swayed uncontrollably back and forth in the breeze like snakes stripped of their spines, each swing carrying a chilling, eerie rhythm.
That wasn't the composure of a victor, but the wreckage of a complete collapse.
This silent scene was more shocking than any bloody defeat, clearly proclaiming one fact: Ruan Xiaotian had lost. And lost so utterly; he was so... utterly vulnerable in front of Shen Mo.