Ordinary martial artists all knew simple methods to conceal their aura, which was already sufficient for them. There was no need to learn such complex techniques.

Back to the main topic, just when everyone thought Xiaoyao couldn't dodge, they suddenly heard a "clang" sound, that very long, drawn-out sound of a weapon being unsheathed.

Then everyone felt a cold flash before their eyes...

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

...

Weapons scattered across the floor, all of them broken in half. Whose weapons were these, why were they only half, and where were the other halves?

The answer was right before everyone's eyes. These broken weapon halves belonged to those soldiers, who were now holding the other halves in their hands. In other words, their weapons had been cut in two in an instant.

...

Who had cut them in half was also very obvious, the answer was right before everyone's eyes. People just found it hard to believe.

"This... how is this possible?"

Everyone looked at the sword-wielding youth in the center. Only now did everyone understand that this youth hadn't been bragging or putting on an act earlier, he had been stating a fact.

This youth could actually cut through so many weapons in an instant. Whether due to superior weaponry or not, such swordsmanship could be called masterful. This was enough to support what the youth had said before, he was a martial artist, and not a weak one.

"Kid, looks like I underestimated you. Your swordsmanship is good, and your sword is good too." Captain Li looked at Xiaoyao, speaking somewhat seriously.

"Thank you for the praise. I won't be modest, I deserve such praise." Xiaoyao said with a smile, holding his sword single-handed at a forty-five-degree downward angle, striking a cool pose.

"Wow, young master is so impressive! We didn't expect young master to really be an expert!" Mudan and others began cheering from upstairs. They had retreated, but only to the upper floor. As long as the battle circle didn't expand, upstairs was indeed very safe and they could see everything below clearly.

"Young master, fight on! This servant is rooting for you!"

"Young master, after you finish fighting, this servant will immediately offer herself to you. Tonight you can do whatever you want with me..."

"Go play somewhere else! If young master wants to do anything, it'll be with me. What's your share!"

"..."

The cheering from the courtesans upstairs made the men below somewhat uncomfortable. This was too explicit! These prostitutes were really... prostitute-like!

However, Xiaoyao wasn't bothered by this. He naturally accepted the courtesans' cheers and even waved at them, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Kid, don't be arrogant. You just relied on your weapon's sharpness. My Sky-Piercing Halberd is a military treasure, forged from the hardest materials. Let's see if your sword dares touch it." Captain Li had someone bring out his Sky-Piercing Halberd, then swung it a few times with imposing force, making people feel they didn't dare approach casually.

In Captain Li's feeling, though Xiaoyao's swordsmanship was good, its power wasn't sufficient. It mainly relied on the sword's sharpness. If this sword's sharpness couldn't take effect, then Xiaoyao's swordsmanship would be greatly reduced.

Heavy weapons had always restrained sharp weapons relatively well. He believed his Sky-Piercing Halberd would suppress Xiaoyao's sword and defeat him.

"All of you step back, I'll handle this personally!"

Captain Li shouted, dragging his Sky-Piercing Halberd and gouging up floorboards as he charged toward Xiaoyao like a whirlwind, bringing those floor fragments with him. Faintly, one could seem to see a dragon rushing toward Xiaoyao along with Captain Li's advance.

"Ah..."

This tremendously powerful attack made the courtesans upstairs turn pale with fear, all worrying for Xiaoyao and hoping he could dodge this attack.

At this moment, they only hoped he could dodge. Though Captain Li's attack was from just one person, it looked much stronger than the combined assault of those soldiers earlier.

Xiaoyao watched this mini-storm charging toward him. He didn't dodge but instead thrust out his sword. This thrust looked quite plain with no flourishes, just like a casually executed strike.

However, this casually executed thrust caused something unbelievable to happen. This one sword strike actually stopped that storm, causing Captain Li's technique to suddenly halt, and the scene immediately became quiet.

Everyone saw that Xiaoyao's sword, its tip, was precisely blocking the spear point of that Sky-Piercing Halberd. Two extremely small points had collided together with perfect accuracy.

"You..."

This is impossible. How could his sword strike be so coincidental, hitting exactly the weak point of my technique? This must be coincidence, definitely coincidence.

"Again!"

Captain Li withdrew his Sky-Piercing Halberd, immediately following with a sweeping strike. Heavy weapon techniques were better when simpler, bringing out the advantages of heavy weapons to their limit.

"Break!"

Breaking such techniques was naturally simple for Xiaoyao. Of course, this was only possible when one could break them. If someone else used this move, the effect might be different.

Break what?

Naturally, break this Sky-Piercing Halberd. Xiaoyao directly slashed over with his sword...

Hmph, do you think my Sky-Piercing Halberd is made of wood? This is forged from hundred-times-refined steel. No matter how sharp your sword is, it can't cut through my Sky-Piercing Halberd unless it's some divine weapon, but this doesn't look like one.

Captain Li continued his sweep with disdain, feeling he could see Xiaoyao's sword being destroyed by his Sky-Piercing Halberd. Even if it didn't break, the blade would be chipped.

But the result was somewhat unexpected, his Sky-Piercing Halberd actually broke, its spear point severed, leaving only the rear shaft...

Impossible! How could this sword be so strong? Could it be a divine weapon?

No, it's not!

Captain Li saw Xiaoyao's sword. Though it had cut through his Sky-Piercing Halberd, the sword was also ruined, the blade was chipped with a large notch, and the sword body was somewhat bent.

"You... you actually don't treasure your own sword..." Captain Li couldn't understand. Xiaoyao's approach was unprecedented. Most people treasured their weapons and wouldn't clash like this knowing their weapon might be destroyed.

"What's to treasure about this? I can just forge another one casually." Xiaoyao said indifferently. His swords were all forged by himself. If destroyed, he could forge another, even a better one.

Also, given the current damage level of this sword, he could completely repair it. What was there to treasure?

Finally, Xiaoyao had several more swords on him...

"I'll take this Sky-Piercing Halberd as compensation for destroying my sword." Xiaoyao picked up the broken halberd, saying with a smile.

"My Sky-Piercing Halberd was destroyed, how will you compensate for that?" Captain Li was angry, not expecting Xiaoyao to be so shameless.

"You were the one attacking me, that was your fault to begin with. I haven't even mentioned that you made such a mess of my floor here, that also requires compensation! Let me calculate..." Xiaoyao prepared to start calculating these losses, but Captain Li couldn't help attacking at this moment.

Though the head was gone, the shaft remained and could be used as a staff!

But just as he approached Xiaoyao, he suddenly stopped because he felt coldness at his throat, the coldness of a weapon.

"Don't test my patience, I will kill people!" Xiaoyao said coolly. His broken sword was now positioned right at Captain Li's throat. No one saw how he moved, it was as if the sword had always been there.

"You dare kill me? I'm a city guard officer!" Captain Li said sternly.

"Do you know the crime of illegally entering private residences? As the owner, I can kill anyone who does so. Killing a captain like you, I think that's no big problem." Xiaoyao looked at Captain Li, his sword seeming to move upward slightly.

"Ah, ah, don't act rashly! We'll retreat. This matter has nothing to do with us anyway." Captain Li immediately backed down, being quite practical, which left Xiaoyao and others feeling somewhat stunned.

Xiaoyao had thought such a military officer should be bull-headed, but unexpectedly he was quite slippery, fleeing when he saw the situation wasn't favorable.

Are you kidding? Someone who didn't treat a precious sword as anything special, no matter how you looked at it, he wasn't ordinary. Plus his swordsmanship was excellent. Though you could tell it was Supreme Sword Arts, anyone who could cultivate it to this degree was definitely not ordinary. Why seek such trouble for mere friendship?

Anyway, currently only a few weapons were lost. Later he could say they broke during training, and superiors would issue new ones. His Sky-Piercing Halberd was somewhat regrettable, but this wasn't a big problem, there would be opportunities later.

"Master Wang, you now owe me sixty thousand taels," Xiaoyao looked at the remaining person, the stunned Master Wang.

"What? Didn't you say fifty-something thousand before?" Master Wang was dazed, asking foolishly.

"The door just now, this floor, plus my sword, naturally you have to compensate for these." Xiaoyao pointed at the destroyed items.

Those weren't destroyed by me... And your sword, didn't you already take Captain Li's Sky-Piercing Halberd? How are you charging me again?

Forget it, I won't argue with you. Now I'm alone, better go find reinforcements first.

After coming to his senses, Master Wang immediately turned and ran. He hadn't given up on Yihong Courtyard and would continue calling people. Who should he call this time? This kid seemed to have decent martial arts, ordinary people probably couldn't handle him. He needed to find an expert.

Xiaoyao didn't stop Master Wang's escape. He thought Master Wang should quiet down tonight. If not, he'd have to leave soon too. Keeping Master Wang around would only affect everyone's good mood.

(End of Chapter)