Chapter 1: Fateful Battle
That day, the sky was gloomy, and the sea breeze, carrying a salty, fishy scent, roiled the waves, as if the very world itself was holding its breath for this showdown. Huge ships faced each other on the sea, the flags of the Si Gu Men fluttering on one side, the dark banners of the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance dancing wildly in the wind on the other. But everyone's attention was focused on the two figures at the bows.
Li Xiangyi, clad in a dazzling crimson, wielding the renowned sword "Shao Shi," stands tall and straight like a pine tree. Between his brows emanates the brightness and pride of youth, a brightness that seems capable of cleaving through all gloom. He is the leader of the righteous martial arts world, the world's greatest swordsman. In today's battle, he fights to maintain order in the martial arts world and to seek justice for the death of his senior brother, Shan Gudao.
A flute played, his black robe billowing in the wind. He held a narrow curved blade, a knife. His face was as cold as ice, his eyes as sharp as a hawk. Only when he looked at Li Xiangyi did a burning, almost pure fighting spirit ignite. He was a giant of the magic path, a martial arts fanatic known far and wide. His only desire in life was to defeat his opponent and reach the pinnacle of martial arts.
Without further ado, the two exchanged glances, each seeing in the other's eyes absolute confidence and determination to fight. The next moment, two figures shot up like arrows, skimming across the turbulent sea before landing gracefully on a small, prepared boat.
"please!"
"war!"
As the voice fell, the sword rose!
Li Xiangyi's "Young Master Sword" emanated a resonant dragon's roar, its blade gleaming like a streak of silk, instantly radiating a myriad of brilliance. His "Xiangyi Taijian" was graceful and elegant, yet imbued with the unstoppable force of thunder. With a single strike, it seemed to summon the very energy of heaven and earth, fueled by the sea breeze and surging with waves. His sword moves were exquisitely executed, sometimes like a gentle breeze rustling willows, leaving no trace; sometimes like a torrential downpour, impenetrable and impenetrable.
The flute's "Sad Wind White Poplar" radiated a powerful and resolute internal energy. The scimitar in his hand sliced through the air, emitting a shrill whistle. His blade technique was dynamic and unpretentious, each strike striving for ultimate speed and power, as if capable of splitting mountains and severing rivers. With each thrust of the blade, a fierce gale sliced through the surrounding waters, creating a brief vacuum.
Clang! Clang!
The first clash of swords and knives, the clanging of metal and metal, overwhelmed the roar of the waves! A visible gust of air exploded from their boat, creating a massive dent in the sea and causing the surrounding ships to shake violently.
The two separated as soon as they touched each other, and then fought again at an even faster speed.
Between the sea and sky, two figures, one red and one black, darted and crisscrossed like ghosts. Sword and blade flashes raged, illuminating the dark sky with flickering brilliance. Their speed was so great that ordinary masters could only see blurry afterimages and the continuous bursts of energy. The boat beneath their feet seemed to come alive, nimbly navigating the turbulent waves with their energy, never capsizing.
The battle was in full swing, the two had exchanged over two hundred moves, their internal energy surging, their momentum reaching its peak. Just as Li Xiangyi's sword strike, "Bright Moon Sinking into the West Sea," triggered a strange phenomenon in heaven and earth, the sword's light like a bright moon in the sky, was about to suppress Di Feisheng's most powerful and fierce sword strike, "Great Sorrow Splitting the Mountain"—
Something strange happened suddenly!
Li Xiangyi's body suddenly froze, his flawless, unstoppable sword intent stagnating for a fraction of a second. Without warning, a cold, corrosive pain erupted from deep within his heart and lungs, instantly spreading through every part of his body! The scenery before him blurred slightly, and the flow of his internal energy was momentarily interrupted.
It was the poison of the green tea! At this moment, when he was fully exerting his Yangzhou slow internal energy, it suddenly erupted!
When masters compete, the difference is only a hair's breadth.
Di Feisheng immediately sensed this fleeting flaw. Although he didn't understand why, his fighting instincts made him seize this opportunity! His blade's momentum increased, and he chopped down with all his might!
Boom——!!!
It should have been a powerful collision that was evenly matched, but it was unbalanced due to Li Xiangyi's sudden exhaustion of internal strength.
The Young Master's sword hummed incessantly from the unparalleled force of the blade. Li Xiangyi's knuckles burst, blood staining the hilt. The sword, powerful enough to sink the bright moon of the West Sea, suddenly lost seventy percent of its power!
The knife energy broke through the sword force, and although most of it was eliminated, some of it still hit Li Xiangyi's chest hard.
"puff--!"
A mouthful of blood suddenly spurted out of Li Xiangyi's mouth, splashing onto his red clothes, a dark, horrifying color. He flew backward like a kite with a broken string, landing heavily on the boat, which shook violently and almost fell apart.
Di Feisheng put away his sword and stood at the bow, his black robe fluttering in the sea breeze. He won.
But there was no joy on his face. Instead, it was filled with astonishment, confusion, and a kind of blasphemous anger.
He clearly felt that at the final moment, Li Xiangyi's internal energy inexplicably collapsed. This wasn't a thrilling peak duel won by his own strength! The dark, black blood, like the most glaring warning, suddenly struck Di Feisheng's eyes.
He wasn't someone who didn't understand medicine; the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance also had experts in poison, such as Yao Mo. Almost the moment he saw the blood, a strange purple-black hue unlike the usual bright red, gushing out, a chilling thought bit his heart like a venomous snake—
He was poisoned!
It wasn't a lack of internal strength, nor was it a poor condition. It was poisoning! During this peak duel with him where he had given his all, he was actually poisoned!
"Li Xiangyi! Why are you..." Di Feisheng's angry shout stopped abruptly, and the anger was like being doused by ice water. In an instant, only a bone-chilling chill and...panic remained.
Why didn't he say it earlier?
Why did he force himself to fight?
Who could have poisoned him?!
Countless questions filled my mind like an explosion, but none of them could compare to the shock brought by the scene before me.
He saw Li Xiangyi stand up, his eyes so complex they made his heart skip a beat. There was the familiar pride in them, but also something he had never seen on Li Xiangyi's face before... a brokenness and despair. Then, without hesitation, the red-robed figure fell backward, plunging resolutely into the surging waves.
"No--!"
A nearly roaring cry burst from Di Feisheng's throat, completely uncontrollable. It was no longer a question after the victory was decided, but a cry of something more primitive and panicked.
Before anyone, including himself, could react, his body had already taken action before his mind.
boom!
The boat beneath his feet was blasted into pieces by his sudden burst of internal energy! Like a boulder thrown into the sea, he plunged headfirst into the icy, turbulent sea, following the vanishing red figure without the slightest hesitation!
The sea water instantly submerged everything.
The chaotic roar of the water filled his ears, and before his eyes lay the dim, blurry waves. The salt stung his eyes, but he paid no attention. Beifeng Baiyang's internal energy circulated frantically, dispelling the chill and forcing aside the surrounding water, allowing him to dive downward like an arrow.
His eyes scanned the surroundings frantically, searching for the red that might have been diluted by the sea water, searching for the figure that might be sinking.
Fear.
An emotion that Di Feisheng thought he had long since gotten rid of now enveloped him like the sea water, gripping his heart coldly.
He was afraid he wouldn't be able to find him.
He was afraid that what he would find was a cold corpse.
He was afraid that the only opponent in the world who could match him would not be defeated by him in a fair way, but would be annihilated in the nameless poison and the ruthless sea in such a frustrating and absurd way!
"Li Xiangyi! Get out!" He roared inwardly, pushing his internal energy to its limit, sending the surrounding fish scattering in panic. His search was haphazard, almost mad with a sense of despair. Every time he saw a vague shadow rush over, only to find it was only reef or seaweed, his panic deepened.
A deeper, darker thought quietly grew in his almost suffocating search—
If he died like this...
If this vast East China Sea really swallowed up Li Xiangyi...
Then what is the meaning of the martial arts that Di Feisheng has practiced so hard and the victory or defeat that he has been obsessed with?
There is no Li Xiangyi in this world anymore.
This realization brought with it an unprecedented sense of emptiness, as if the light of his entire world had been extinguished. Living, continuing to be the best in the world, became boring and worthless.
Why not... just die here together.
The thought came so suddenly, so naturally, that it even brought a strange calm. Rather than facing a completely boring world without Li Xiangyi, it would be better to sink into oblivion, buried alongside his only rival, his only confidant (even though he would never admit it), his only obsession, in the very sea where they had fought their final battle.
The will to live, at that moment, was so weak that it was almost extinguished.
He slowed down his descent, no longer even trying to resist the current. The cold darkness seemed to beckon him.
At this moment, a powerful undercurrent carrying something suddenly crashed into him. He subconsciously reached out to grab it—
The tentacles were made of cold, wet... red fabric!
His heart beat violently, almost jumping out of his chest! He grabbed the edge of the clothes tightly and pulled it upwards with all his strength!
However, what was pulled over was only a large piece of red clothes torn by the reef...other than that, there was nothing else.
Great hope instantly fell into deeper despair.
“…”
Di Feisheng floated in the icy water, clutching the tattered red cloth as if holding the last ash left by his opponent. All his strength, all his madness, seemed to be completely drained away at that moment.
In the end, he was found by the subordinates of the Golden Yuan League who desperately tried to find him and was forcibly dragged out of the sea.
When he breathed the salty, humid air again and saw the gray sky, his face was devoid of any sense of relief at having survived the ordeal, only a dead, empty expression. In his hand, he still tightly grasped the wet, glaring red fragment.
He "won" the Battle of the East China Sea.
But he knew that he had lost everything at the same time.
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