Not only him, but Wang Tiancheng and Xu Niannian, who had already rushed to the courtyard gate, also looked bewildered.
Xu Niannian swallowed hard and murmured, "Old Wang, did I see it wrong? Junior Brother Zhao just repelled this Meridian Opening Realm expert?"
Wang Tiancheng smiled wryly, "Yes!"
Xu Niannian didn’t know what to say.
He knew Zhao Ya had exceptional talent, but he didn’t expect it to be this extraordinary.
Just after breaking through to the Fifth Realm, he could repel a Meridian Opening Realm expert. This is beyond genius; it’s simply monstrous.
Equally shocked were Lang Songbai and Xiong Kun, who were watching from the rear.
"How is this possible, even if he broke through to the Fifth Realm, he shouldn’t be a match for a Meridian Opening Realm opponent!" Lang Songbai could hardly believe his eyes.
Xiong Kun’s face turned pale, already contemplating how to retreat safely.
After all, in a situation like this, the further away you are, the better.
Meanwhile, after the initial shock, Jin Cunyue quickly regained his composure.
"Are you Zhao Ya?"
Zhao Ya ignored him and turned to look at Zui’Er and Shang Luoluo.
"Are you two alright?"
"Rest assured, Ya, we’re fine, but our saber got damaged by him," Zui’Er said happily.
Shang Luoluo also finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the formidable enemy was still present, as long as Zhao Ya was there, Shang Luoluo felt an inexplicable sense of security.
Zhao Ya nodded, "Alright, I’ll make him compensate you with a new saber later."
"Mmm!"
Jin Cunyue was nearly driven mad by this unspoken disdain.
Apart from those unmentionable beings Beyond the World, no one had ever dared to ignore him like this.
Especially within Great Yan, where he had always looked down upon everyone, this made Jin Cunyue exceptionally angry and embarrassed.
But Jin Cunyue didn’t say a word; instead, while Zhao Ya turned to talk to Shang Luoluo and Zui’Er, he harnessed the Dantian True Power, channeling it into his palms along two already opened meridians.
In an instant, the wounds on his two hands healed rapidly, returning to their original state.
Moreover, under the empowerment of the Bright Moon Force, half of Jin Cunyue’s arm emitted a faint white glow, as if it were carved from jade.
Having done all this, Jin Cunyue didn’t say anything, lightly jumped up, and attacked Zhao Ya with extreme speed.
"Careful!" Wang Tiancheng couldn’t help but shout a warning.
But Jin Cunyue’s speed was so fast that almost as soon as Wang Tiancheng spoke, he had already closed in on Zhao Ya, then raised his palms and struck down heavily.
The light, pale as moonlight, stood out strikingly in the dark night sky.
Moreover, if you observed closely, you’d notice that a sharp edge about half a foot long had appeared in front of Jin Cunyue’s palms.
This edge seemed weak but was extremely sharp.
It was the result of True Power leakage at a profound level of the Bright Moon Force, claimed to be invincible.
Looking at Zhao Ya, who was almost within his Bright Moon Force’s reach, Jin Cunyue let out a cold smile.
Earlier, he intended to capture Zhao Ya alive and force the whereabouts of Mo Qi out of him.
But now, he had changed his plan and decided to kill him outright first.
Because this guy was terrifying, having injured him with Fifth Realm strength. If given time, what would happen then?
But at this moment, Jin Cunyue felt a blur before his eyes, and Zhao Ya disappeared from in front of him.
At the same moment, Jin Cunyue felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, knowing something was wrong, but it was too late to dodge, so he quickly blocked with his arms behind him.
Clang.
After a strange sound, Jin Cunyue flew out diagonally, landing on the eaves, with the glow on his arm flickering slightly, eyes full of killing intent.
Opposite him, Zhao Ya stood with the Meteorite Iron Saber, his expression one of a half-smile.
"Is this the Meridian Opening? I don’t think much of it, or is it... are you just too weak?"
Jin Cunyue’s face immediately turned liver-colored.
"Courting death!"
Jin Cunyue lightly tapped the ground with his toes, causing the corridor beneath him to collapse instantly, and he flew toward Zhao Ya like an arrow leaving the bowstring.
In the air, he rapidly unleashed over a dozen palm strikes, with the palm winds carrying a faint radiance, sealing off all of Zhao Ya’s escape routes front, back, left, and right.
This was one of Jin Cunyue’s ace moves, a killing technique.
But due to its enormous consumption of Dantian True Power, it’s rarely used.
Jin Cunyue didn’t expect that today, in Great Yan, he’d use this move against a Fifth Realm martial artist who just broke through.
But previous experience had taught Jin Cunyue never to judge the boy in front of him by conventional standards.
Such a monstrous genius must be eliminated early, or undoubtedly become a future threat.
Bang, bang, bang!
The palm winds howled, stirring the air until it was turbulent, like a rushing current, trapping Zhao Ya within.
Facing this lethal strike, Zhao Ya remained calm, and his Meteorite Iron Saber suddenly slashed out, splitting into dozens of saber lights in midair, striking precisely at the weak points of the palm winds.
In an instant, the cage of palm wind was shattered, and Zhao Ya broke free, heading directly towards Jin Cunyue, who was looking on in astonishment.
"What blade technique is this?"
Jin Cunyue had never seen a blade master so easily dismiss his own palm wind techniques as Zhao Ya just did.
"A killing blade technique!"
Zhao Ya retorted coldly, advancing step by step through the air, each slash aiming directly at Jin Cunyue’s vitals, forcing him to retreat repeatedly.
Yet he had no way to counterattack, because Zhao Ya’s blade was too fast and could ignore his Protective True Power, leaving him to roar helplessly in frustration.
"Ah, ah, ah, I don’t believe it, where did you learn this blade technique?" Jin Cunyue was so enraged he began to mutter nonsense.
Zhao Ya ignored him, the blade in his hand never pausing, continuously slashing.
In an instant, the tides of attack and defense were turned.
Watching Zhao Ya driving Jin Cunyue to run chaotically around the courtyard, everyone was shockingly numb.
"This blade technique... Old Wang, which blade technique secret manual from your Golden Saber Institute’s library did he train in?" Xu Niannian asked.
Wang Tiancheng was staring intently at Zhao Ya in the sky, gently shaking his head, "None of them, this should be a creation of his own, combining his previous Gale Saber Technique because you can see traces of it."
Hearing Wang Tiancheng’s words, Xu Niannian was left speechless.
"Truly comparisons are odious, I don’t even have a single move of my own, yet he has already created a systematic blade technique." Xu Niannian said enviously.
At the same time, Xiong Kun, watching from afar, suddenly said, "Brother Lang, forgive me for not being able to stay longer, this is something I cannot meddle in, farewell."
After saying that, Xiong Kun turned and left.
Lang Songbai did not stop him either.
In reality, he was completely dumbfounded at this moment.
Watching Zhao Ya, as lithe as a dragon in the air, Lang Songbai felt his pride shattering bit by bit.
Before, he thought of Zhao Ya as just a fairly skilled blade user, not much different from himself.
That was why he dared to take on this task.
First, he thought he could handle it, and second, if he couldn’t, he had Jin Cunyue as a tremendous backup.
But he never expected that even Jin Cunyue, whom he believed could dominate the scene, wasn’t a match for Zhao Ya, being chased around like a headless chicken.
This almost fantastical scenario made Lang Songbai doubt reality.
Simultaneously, on an adjacent street, Mo Qi, looking up at the sky where Zhao Ya was fiercely battling with Jin Cunyue, was full of emotion.
"Master, Young Hero Zhao is amazing!" Rao Mingyue exclaimed from behind.
"Indeed, he is very powerful."
Others might not know Jin Cunyue, but Mo Qi was all too familiar with him.
Because the mastermind that annihilated his sect was Bright Moon Valley, and Jin Cunyue’s Bright Moon True Strength was evident.
Yet despite this, Mo Qi couldn’t help but marvel at Zhao Ya’s "luck."
Bright Moon Valley was a renowned sect even Beyond the World, and Bright Moon Force was peerless in martial arts.
Yet now it was being dominated by Zhao Ya, who had just broken through to the Fifth Realm.
No one would believe this if it weren’t true.
But facts spoke for themselves.
Mo Qi also didn’t quite understand what changes had occurred in Zhao Ya because a seclusion that should’ve lasted at least three days ended in just over a day.
Moreover, Zhao Ya emerged with a formidable aura when he came out of seclusion.
If Mo Qi hadn’t reacted quickly and moved aside, he would have been injured.
Mo Qi didn’t believe that this was merely due to the use of two Realm-Breaking Guides; Zhao Ya’s shown capability far exceeded ordinary expectations.
Mo Qi even felt that a slightly weaker Meridian Opening was no match for him.
This notion was confirmed by Jin Cunyue’s predicament.
So what radical change occurred with Zhao Ya to bestow him with Strongest Five Realms-level strength?
This question lingered in Mo Qi’s mind.
At that moment, on the battleground, another twist occurred.
After exchanging dozens of moves mingling Bright Moon Force with Zhao Ya, Jin Cunyue’s Dantian True Power was exhausted, yet Zhao Ya’s blade technique showed no sign of weakening, becoming increasingly fierce and rapid.
This terrifying endurance extinguished Jin Cunyue’s last shred of hope; he no longer dared to linger in battle. After forcing Zhao Ya back slightly with a swift Bright Moon Force strike, he seized the chance to flee rapidly towards the city outskirts.
"Trying to escape?"
Zhao Ya certainly wasn’t going to let Jin Cunyue off, as it had been difficult to force him into decline; missing this opportunity now, it’d be hard to get such a chance again once he was wary.
So Zhao Ya merely sneered, then said to Wang Tiancheng and Xu Niannian, "Brothers, keep watch, I’ll be back soon."
Afterwards, Zhao Ya gave chase in the direction Jin Cunyue fled.
Wang Tiancheng and Xu Niannian exchanged a glance, then turned their heads in unison towards the distant Lang Songbai.
Lang Songbai turned pale and quickly retreated from Xiaojing Alley with his people.
A joke indeed.
Even though Wang Tiancheng and Xu Niannian were injured, they were more than enough to deal with him.
At this moment, he could only hope that Jin Cunyue could successfully counterattack; otherwise, it’d be difficult to preserve his own life.