Can You Conquer The World With Martial Arts?

But Mao Zixin wasn't buying it. "Had you discovered your empathy sooner, perhaps the whole world would not have disdained you so. That woman alone was supposed to be my target, but I'll gladly compromise my mission if it means I can rid the world of the likes of you."

"So your owner did straddle you with a task. I ask again - why would you throw your lot in with Wu Rong?"

"It has nothing to do with Wu Rong in particular. For you, martial arts have always been just a means to an end, a tool you use to fulfill your petulant whims." Mao Zixin stared at his own reflection within his black blade. "But for me, sword mastery is its own goal. I care for nothing else. It's really quite simple. A return to the stability that the Great Tang once offered would leave me in the ideal position to pursue the sword in perpetuity, forever unburdened by all worldly matters and the petty ambitions of the martial world's amateurs. So I'll help them bring back those days."

"So fundamentally, our goals are not all that different."

"You've always had a knack for finding the exact words to infuriate me. We have nothing in common."

"Master once called you the zhuangyuan of the sword." Tao Geming looked Mao Zixin up from head to toe. "To think that you'd take his praise so closely to heart that you'd start dressing up like that. And wearing that getup, parading that obnoxious sword, you try to claim that there's some kinda purity to your intentions? Who are you kidding? You don't have a clue what that kind of passion looks like. It foregoes all sophistication. It's unsightly to the core. And it will never be accepted by the world. Even among those you'd consider your peers or friends, it can never beget anything but fear and envy."

Tao Geming glanced off to the side. "And there's no better example than that."

Bai Guo's glare towards him was fierce, defiant.

Mao Zixin scoffed. "I assure you that that's unique to you and your lousy partner. All it takes to avoid such a fate is a little decency. As is quite evident from my own example."

"What are you on about? Your example? It's not something you'd ever need to worry about. Because everybody can tell that you're just a fucking phony."

For a moment, fury flashed across the Sword Sage's features. "You've had enough last words to fill a book. Now let me show you what our master would not."

But just as Mao Zixin took a step forward, the mountain shook, a great whirlwind rose. Just by drawing a breath, just by circulating the vast energy running through Tao Geming's meridians, the earth stirred. Mao Zixin immediately ceased his advance, raising his sword in defensive posture.

"Let me show you something too." Tao Geming said, his voice carried far across Mount Hua's many peaks. He lowered his core as though he was about to erupt into a sprint. "That idiot girl insisted on imitating you to the very end. But like you said, to me, a fight is just something to win."

When Tao Geming began his charge, the ground he stood on was blown to chunks. A sound like a thunderclap erupted across the mountain, but it came long after he emerged next to the Sword Sage.

The Azure-Scaled Dragon swung his black blade in retaliation. It struck the four fingers of Tao Geming's outstretched fist, and the sharp edge effortlessly sliced through the skin... only to stop before even reaching bone.

"I can't cut through?!" Mao Zixin exclaimed. To persist in his stance, even if he could withstand the external force, he would still be pulverized from the inside out by Tao Geming's immense qi. He took his feet off the ground. In a sense, he was rolling with the blow. But the scale of their conflict was such that the strike hefted him off high and sent him flying a vast distance, coughing up blood.

Tao Geming pursued, though he kept his feet firmly on the rocky ground, waiting for his martial brother's descent. When Mao Zixin's toes touched the mountain, he was upon him with a palm strike.

The Sword Sage dealt with this strike in the same manner in which he had been treating the Golden Witch's slashes. Tao Geming's hand slid across the naked black edge, the forces behind it harmlessly dispersed behind Mao Zixin in an explosive display that smashed apart the earth.

The Invincible Blood Sea, his body still getting carried off by the momentum of his own strike, raised up his leg behind his back. Such a crude donkey kick from such awkward posture should have never had a chance to inflict real harm; but the Sword Sage knew that he could not treat a single action of his as trivial.

Mao Zixin parried it, and the strike sent him sliding across the ground. A thin cut remained on Tao Geming's calf. A bit of blood trickled from his palm as well.

The Azure-Scaled Dragon took a moment to wipe the blood running down his chin. When Tao Geming moved again, he flinched, instantly on the defensive. But to his surprise, that senior martial brother of his began to scoop up rocks from the ground and flinging them at him.

The stones came with such speed and at such volume that the sword had turned into a black tornado as it struggled to bat them all out of the air. While the Sword Sage remained rooted to the ground, a cloud of dust, raised by their previous clashes, began to descend upon him, carried over by unfavorable winds.

Even as vision became reduced to almost nil, Mao Zixin could hear the stones whistling through the air, and could still strike them down completely unabated. When the onslaught had suddenly ceased, he had no clue where his opponent was, and couldn't afford to upset his stance for even a moment.

"You lost!" Tao Geming called out, suddenly darting in. In his bleeding hand was a long branch two or three fingers thick.

Mao Zixin did what came naturally, and slashed the stick. To his surprise, the sword cleaved right through. But the detached half of the branch suddenly exploded from the inside out into countless splinters. The Sword Sage's eyes widened. He instantly understood his martial brother's ploy. Every single one of the fragments, supercharged with his internal energy, remained solid as steel, and they had been flung into his face by Tao Geming's crude swing.

But the Azure-Scaled Dragon would not resign to his fate. He let fly his black sword.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

One by one, the deadly fragments had been flung off their path, sent crashing into one another. Mao Zixin watched as Tao Geming began to reach out with two of his fingers, allowing his own hand to get cut on the shrapnel in order to reach a lethal pressure point on his opponent's chest.

The Sword Sage, his nerves like steel, ignored the approaching strike, continuing his sword work until his surroundings had been rendered safe.

Then, at the very last moment, Mao Zixin drove his sword into Tao Geming's armpit.

Tao Geming's fingers touched him. The shrapnel flew past, slicing the blue silk on Mao Zixin's shoulders and knocking off his scholar's hat.

Even as the dust cloud dispersed, both martial artists remained upright.

Mao Zixin's sword had struck a pressure point, dispersing the energy Tao Geming had been channeling into his fingers. Sweat poured down the younger warrior's brow.

The two fighters separated.

Tao Geming smirked. "Not as easy as you hoped, is it?" He shook his arm, having already unsealed the pressure point.

The remark infuriated Mao Zixin. "You arrogant bastard. I cut you several times while you hadn't so much as laid a scratch on me despite all your elaborate tricks! I'm plainly the better warrior, admit it!"

"You're bragging about these paper cuts? You're an egg trying to smash a rock."

"I don't care if I have to grant you death by a thousand cuts. Your demise is still inevitable! It ends today, Tao Geming!"

And so their battle resumed. The black sword smashed against Tao Geming's sturdy flesh again and again, and Mao Zixin had no choice but to beat a steady retreat, pressed by his senior martial brother's viciousness. And yet Tao Geming could not lay a single finger upon his foe, so agile was he and his sword.

The only time Mao Zixin could force Tao Geming on the defensive was when he aimed for his eyes; even a superficial cuts would be debilitating if applied to such a frail organ. But even with Mao Zixin's divine sword skills, those small targets proved impossible to strike. Even attempting such had put him in jeopardy, as it rendered his swordplay far too predictable.

But the Azure-Scaled Dragon changed his approach. He began to focus his attacks on a singular spot right below Tao Geming's elbow joint. Because Tao Geming used his arms to defend himself, it made for an easy mark. Mao Zixin had made it appear as though he still yearned to slash him in the eyes, yet in truth was chopping his limb like a patient lumberjack working down a sturdy oak.

Bit by bit, the cut deepened. Sweat ran freely down Mao Zixin's brow. Their battle had dragged for hours, and he was approaching the limit of his endurance.

Even once Tao Geming realized his opponent's ploy, he had little recourse that would not entail lessening the pressure. He gritted his teeth and endured the pain in his mauled arm, intent on breaking his opponent before his strategy could bear fruit.

Finally, a sickening sound shook the mountains. Blood spewed like a fountain.

Tao Geming's arm flew through the air.

The two warriors panted for breath.

"It's over." The Sword Sage declared, raising up his sword.

The blood suddenly ceased draining from Tao Geming's stump.

"What's over?" Tao Geming smirked. Nothing but the beads of sweat on his face even hinted at pain.

Mao Zixin flinched back. He flinched again when Tao Geming began a mad dash towards him.

He brought his fist down on Mao Zixin's head. Bare flesh struck black metal, sinking only an inch deep.

The Sword Sage backed away. He noted that the cut was deeper than any other. Though Tao Geming wouldn't show it, his so-called invincibility was waning.

But Mao Zixin couldn't capitalize on this discovery just yet. Exhaustion was beginning to weigh down on his sword arm. He could not afford a single reckless move.

Tao Geming lunged at him again. And again, and again...

Each time Mao Zixin warded him off, he left his foe with a new wound.

Each time, the delay between Tao Geming's attacks grew longer.

But even though the cuts began to sink into vital points and organs, there still seemed no end to it. Nothing could put Tao Geming down.

Though he remained upright, his head was hung low, and he was deathly still. Mao Zixin was unable to determine if his foe even still drew breath.

The Sword Sage finally mustered up some courage and stepped forward. The black sword flew off to claim Tao Geming's head.

His enemy's unmoving figure suddenly erupted with motion. With a roar, Tao Geming swatted aside the blade, and his open palm nearly took Mao Zixin's head off.

So deep was the swordsman's shock that he grew numb to his own fatigue. He nearly tripped over his feet trying to get away. To his surprise, Tao Geming did not pursue. Once again his maimed figure hung its head and resumed playing possum.

Mao Zixin paused, but then dared to try again. But the events would merely repeat themselves.

It became obvious that Tao Geming would not stir to action unless his opponent approached... or tried to leave.

"This is ridiculous..." Mao Zixin thought. "His injuries are not going to get better - I just need to bide my time until I've regained enough strength to finish him off in one strike."

But as their stalemate grew protracted, the Sword Sage's nerves got the better of him.

"So you intend to dedicate even your last breath to frustrating me!" Mao Zixin shouted at his unmoving foe. "Tao Geming! You know it's over! Step forward and accept your demise!"

But Tao Geming did not rise to his provocation.

"He is just stalling!" Mao Zixin realized. "Stalling for her! But this is meaningless! Even if she somehow lives past her injuries, she couldn't possibly escape Wu Rong's formation. Could she...?"

But there was little else that he could do. Mao Zixin refused to play into Tao Geming's hand, refused to take an extraneous risk. Impatience gnawed at his heart, and yet he held steady.

The sun slowly inched towards the horizon.

In his endless caution, Mao Zixin failed to realize...

...That though his foe still stood, he would never move again.

...