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Chapter 375: The Nonchalant Xi Men Chuixue and the Counterfeit Ye Gucheng
Chapter 375: The Nonchalant Xi Men Chuixue and the Counterfeit Ye Gucheng
"The Lord of White Cloud has arrived!" Yin Xan emerged from under the flying eaves and announced loudly.
The next moment, a figure in white appeared in the moonlight, his form graceful and ethereal as if riding the wind. His light, agile movements were exceptionally masterful, seemingly on par with Sikong Zhaixing, Lu Xiaofeng, and the others.
Ye Gucheng made his entrance!
Clad in white, Ye Gucheng's figure soared and then descended gracefully, like an immortal descending from the heavens. He landed lightly on the leftmost edge of the ridge of the Hall of Supreme Harmony's roof.
Just as Ye Gucheng landed, a figure suddenly appeared at the opposite end of the roof ridge on the far right.
In contrast to Ye Gucheng's dramatic entrance, this figure's arrival was abrupt and chilly, devoid of flashy special effects. The crowd only caught a fleeting glimpse of something flashing before their eyes, and then a person appeared out of thin air.
Xi Men Chuixue had arrived!
At this moment, the ridge was surrounded by onlookers: Lu Xiaofeng and his companions, the thirteen mysterious figures, the four great commanders led by Wei Ziyun, and seven or eight highly skilled guards. Everyone's gaze was fixed on the two men.
The moon hung high in the sky, its smooth, polished surface casting its light over the earth and enveloping the gathered crowd.
Under the clear moonlight, everyone could see clearly: two similar black-sheathed longswords and two similar figures in white, even their pale complexions bore a striking resemblance.
Xi Men Chuixue's pale face had a hint of rosiness, while Ye Gucheng's pale countenance carried a hint of iron-blue.
However, both men remained expressionless, and the sword intent emanating from their bodies began to boil.
This was sword aura!
Lu Xiaofeng, however, furrowed his brows, while Su Shaoying couldn't help but admire.
The imposter Ye Gucheng before them was indeed a top-notch swordsman capable of injuring Gongsun Daniang. Even if he fell short of the real Ye Gucheng, he was only a notch below.
And now that he was impersonating Ye Gucheng, his demeanor, agility, and sword intent were so incredibly lifelike that it was as if the real Ye Gucheng had arrived in person!
None of those present were familiar with Ye Gucheng, and even Master Mu only had a casual acquaintance with him. Perhaps only Lu Xiaofeng, with his quick wit, had noticed something amiss, but even he wasn't sure and attributed it to changes in Ye Gucheng due to poison.
Where had Pingnan Wang and Ye Gucheng found such a top-notch expert?!
A swordsman of this caliber wouldn't appear out of thin air for no reason. According to Su Shaoying's estimation, even if this person were on Nameless Island, he would likely rank third, only below Wu Ming and Gong Jiu.
Thus, Su Shaoying could only think of one answer after much contemplation.
"To be able to invite such an expert means that the Hainan Sword Sect has truly placed their bet on Pingnan Wang."
Su Shaoying shook his head in admiration. "But a slight difference in skill is the difference between life and death. Hence, you can only be Ye Gucheng's stand-in. Only the real Ye Gucheng can break through the seven stars with a single sword and pierce through the Flying Fish Sword Formation of the Yu brothers from Yunmen Mountain."
Just then, the Ye Gucheng on the left spoke up, "It's a pleasure to meet you today."
Xi Men Chuixue replied indifferently, "I've heard of the name 'Flying Immortal' for a long time."
"In today's battle, you and I will surely give it our all," said Ye Gucheng.
"Yes," Xi Men Chuixue affirmed.
"Good," Ye Gucheng nodded, his chest heaving slightly as if he was catching his breath, before he suppressed it.
But Xi Men Chuixue acted as if he hadn't noticed and raised his longsword.
What followed was a rare spectacle in the world of Gu Long—one of the main reasons Su Shaoying had been waiting until now. Although this Ye Gucheng was an imposter, the real Ye Gucheng would have done the same upon his arrival.
Xi Men Chuixue introduced his sword, "This sword is a treasure of the world. Its blade is three feet and seven inches long, and it weighs seven catties and thirteen taels."
"A fine sword!" exclaimed Ye Gucheng.
"Indeed, a fine sword!" Xi Men Chuixue agreed.
"This sword is an elite among overseas cold swords. It can slice through hair, its blade is three feet and three inches long, and it weighs six catties and four taels," Ye Gucheng described.
"A fine sword!" Xi Men Chuixue acknowledged.
"It used to be a fine sword!" Ye Gucheng retorted.
They weren't being pretentious; they were simply introducing their prized weapons, or even their battle companions, to an equal opponent or a kindred spirit.
However, the two had not yet crossed swords. Wei Ziyun, the leader of the four great commanders and a renowned master of the sword in his own right, felt it was his duty to ensure a fair duel, especially since he had offered the location for their battle.
Thus, Wei Ziyun requested to inspect their swords.
Ye Gucheng immediately agreed, and Xi Men Chuixue finally nodded, though he was only willing to hand his sword to Lu Xiaofeng, whom Ye Gucheng also trusted.
And so, Lu Xiaofeng held in his hands two of the most extraordinary swords in the world.
Wei Ziyun asked Lu Xiaofeng to show the swords to their respective owners, but Lu Xiaofeng disagreed. Instead, he drew his own sword, and with a surge of sword qi, the dazzling light seemed to drain the color from the full moon above.
Lu Xiaofeng first stated that he had no intention of returning the swords to their owners, then digressed about divine artifacts favoring those with virtue, and finally, without a hint of attachment, he threw the swords back to their owners.
Sikong Zhaixing couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"
Lu Xiaofeng calmly replied, "I merely wanted to make them understand that if there's ever a next time, they should never involve me. I have more than enough troubles of my own and have no desire to meddle in such tedious matters."
"Tedious matters?"
"When two people have no grudge or enmity, yet they yearn to pierce each other's throats with their swords, if this isn't tedious, then what is?"
Lu Xiaofeng's true intention was to urge the two to show mercy, but it was like winking at a blind man—obviously futile.
Ye Gucheng and Xi Men Chuixue, as unparalleled swordsmen, had chosen the pinnacle of the Forbidden City as their battleground. This duel was destined to be unprecedented, shocking the martial arts world for the next three hundred years. The loser would perish, while the winner would ascend to the status of a legend.
How could they possibly hold back?
Therefore, when Ye Gucheng and Xi Men Chuixue retrieved their swords, the atmosphere instantly turned grave.
Xi Men Chuixue remained quiet and cold, but Ye Gucheng's aura became increasingly unstable.
In the midst of the silence, he couldn't help but cough lightly, and a faint hint of crimson showed through on his white robe over his chest.
It must be said that this person's acting skills were truly remarkable. If Su Shaoying hadn't read the original novel beforehand, he would never have guessed that this Ye Gucheng was an imposter!
Moreover, he was skilled enough that even Xi Men Chuixue hadn't noticed anything amiss.
And so, Xi Men Chuixue took the initiative to pause the duel. "I will wait until your wound stops bleeding. My sword is a weapon of murder, but it will not take the life of one who seeks death."
Xi Men Chuixue scanned the crowd with a cold gaze.
Perhaps this battle held too much at stake. Perhaps it involved too many people. Perhaps many eagerly anticipated it, and perhaps many harbored hidden agendas...
But none of that concerned Xi Men Chuixue, and his sword was an extension of himself in that regard.
If I want to fight, I will draw my sword without needing others to urge me.
If I don't want to fight, I will sheathe my sword regardless of others' expectations.
It must be said that of the three worlds Su Shaoying had experienced, despite Xi Men Chuixue's cold and indifferent demeanor, he was the one who lived the most carefree life!
The next moment, Xi Men Chuixue leaped down from the flying eaves.
Ye Gucheng seemed like he wanted to pursue, but as soon as he took a step, he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.
Everyone shook their heads at the sight, never expecting that this battle, which had stirred the entire world, would end up so anticlimactically.
However, just at that moment, Tang Tianzong suddenly appeared from the side and waved his hand, releasing a cloud of poisonous sand that enveloped the area behind Ye Gucheng.
As everyone cried out in surprise, Ye Gucheng flipped backward, showing no signs of being heavily wounded. Instead, he was full of vigor, dodging and floating to avoid the infamous soul-pursuing sand of the Tang Clan.
"What?"
Tang Tianzong gave chase, shooting out needles, beads, and caltrops from the leopard-skin pouch at his waist, but Ye Gucheng nimbly dodged more than half of them. However, he couldn't avoid the rest, and so he had no choice but to draw his sword.
"Ding ding ding—"
But with that single sword strike, his true skills were revealed.
"This person is not Ye Gucheng!" Xi Men Chuixue declared.
(End of Chapter)
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