Chapter 12 — A Duel of Legs Decides the Victor

The two pairs of legs collided—her white legs beneath a pink skirt against his thick, sturdy legs in beast-hide shorts. Though Senior Sister Qing's legs were slender and long, their power was terrifying beyond measure, her kicks falling like the slash of a blade or the cleave of an axe. Shen Mu's legs were thicker and more muscular, yet they moved with an airy, weightless grace, as though they carried scarcely any strength at all. Bang, bang, bang—a barrage of impact sounds rang out. In a single instant, Senior Sister Qing's legs took countless kicks. Shen Mu's legwork was simply too fast, too fast for her to react! The terrifying power in her legs was utterly useless. Struck by Shen Mu's dazzling barrage of kicks, her strength vanished in an instant, as though devoured by his legs. "Oh no..." Senior Sister Qing's legs went weak and numb. His legs struck in relentless succession, like a rainstorm beating down on banana leaves, landing on her waist, her chest, her throat—and then one large foot after another slapped hard against her face, crack, crack, crack. Shen Mu's body spun in midair, twisting as he lashed out with a backward kick. This kick was different from his earlier legwork—before, his kicks had carried little force, pursuing only speed. But this one struck with a power that inspired sheer terror. Senior Sister Qing's face was flattened by the blow. Her elegant, straight nose was almost pressed flat against her face like a scrap of flesh. Her jaw was shattered, and her mouth seemed filled with foreign objects. The girl flew back toward the ruins like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, head first, feet trailing behind. Shen Mu had confirmed one thing: the Lame Old Man's Heaven-Stealing Divine Legs were indeed number one! He wouldn't dare claim it was number one under heaven, but within the village, it was unquestionably the finest. That Senior Sister Qing's legwork had looked fierce and domineering, yet she hadn't touched him even once before he dealt her a devastating blow! Shen Mu couldn't muster the slightest bit of vital energy—he relied purely on the strength of his own body. Senior Sister Qing, by contrast, could channel her vital energy into her legs, enhancing her strength and attacks, boosting the speed of her legwork. And yet, even so, Senior Sister Qing had been crippled in a single exchange! He had barely kicked Senior Sister Qing away when every hair on his body stood on end. An overwhelming sense of mortal danger surged through him. Without daring to turn around, he urgently leaped forward. Behind him, Senior Brother Qu had silently crept up and launched a lethal strike. His blow should have been a sure kill—he simply hadn't expected Shen Mu to be so alert! The two raced across the backs of the beasts, leaping from the back of one strange beast to another. Senior Brother Qu's footsteps were incredibly swift as he furiously attacked Shen Mu's heart from behind, while Shen Mu sprinted forward with all his might, his hands flying to block Senior Brother Qu's assaults. Thunderclap Eight Verses, Thousand-Armed Vajra! Senior Brother Qu was struck with dread. Shen Mu, with his back turned, could still block every one of his attacks, as though he had grown countless arms. Such a technique—he had never even heard of it! Though Shen Mu's Thousand-Armed Vajra couldn't match Old Man Ma's, whose every gesture carried rolling thunder and crashing lightning, it was still swift as wind and fast as lightning. Despite facing away from Senior Brother Qu, despite racing across the backs of beasts, he stood firm and unyielding, displaying raw ferocity and dominance, giving Senior Brother Qu not the slightest advantage. Zheng— Suddenly a sword rang out. Shen Mu's scalp tingled, and blood immediately appeared on his arm—he had been wounded by a sharp blade. Shen Mu tumbled off the beast's back and sprinted beneath the belly of a massive beast. Senior Brother Qu followed, his hands empty, yet a silver sword flew around him, darting up and down. Shen Mu's pupils contracted. This Senior Brother Qu's sword control far surpassed Senior Sister Qing's. When Senior Sister Qing controlled her sword, the blade could fly dozens of zhang to kill enemies at that distance. But Senior Brother Qu's sword never strayed more than three chi from his body. This was deeply unnerving—and exceptionally dangerous. To wield a sword in close combat, where the slightest misstep could wound oneself, demanded extraordinary sword control. It also revealed the terrifying power of his swordsmanship—and his absolute confidence in it! Without an exquisitely refined control over vital energy, one would never dare wield a sword in such a manner! "Grandpa Tu and the others never taught me how to channel vital energy, and Grandpa Village Head never spoke of how to use the vital energy of the Overlord Body. In this situation, I'm afraid I'll come out the worse for it." His foot suddenly struck a branch—likely broken by the stampeding beasts. Without a moment's thought, Shen Mu flicked his toe, and the branch fell into his hand. It was a willow branch six or seven chi long, as thick as a thumb. The youth gripped the branch, his footsteps moving swiftly, his gaze fixed dead on the tip of Senior Brother Qu's sword, paying no heed to his hands. He tried to channel his vital energy into the willow branch. But once the energy entered the branch, he lost all sense of it at the point of one chi and three cun. One chi and three cun—far too short. To contend against a flying sword at such a distance was far too perilous. Senior Brother Qu charged forward, his sword flying around him—thrusting, slicing, sweeping, flicking, chopping, shaking, cutting—as though an invisible swordsman gripped the blade, attacking Shen Mu from every treacherous angle. Chi, chi, chi, chi—a few soft sounds, and the willow branch in Shen Mu's hand was reduced to just one chi and three cun. The sword chopped down again, colliding with the branch with a light ding, as though it had struck steel. Seeing that his vital energy, infused into the willow branch, could actually block the opponent's sword, Shen Mu was completely reassured. His eyes held only the sword tip. The one-chi-three-cun willow branch in his hand became a pig-butchering knife, and the blade technique the Butcher had taught him was unleashed upon that very branch! Night Raid on the City, Wind and Rain! Shen Mu's mind was utterly focused as he unleashed the blade technique the Butcher had taught him through the little willow branch, holding nothing back. Fast! Fast! Fast! The Butcher called his blade technique the Butcher's Blade Art. It had only one essential secret: speed! So fast it was a fleeting glimmer, so fast the hand rose and the pig's head fell! Shen Mu threw himself wholly into the swinging of his blade, slashing with wild abandon. Ding, ding, dang, dang—the sounds of impact rang out without cease. The two moved at incredible speed beneath the stampeding herd, fighting their way from beneath the belly of one giant beast to another. The massive legs and feet of the beasts came down like pillars driven furiously from the heavens—one misstep and they would be crushed to powder! Their footsteps seemed chaotic, yet in truth they followed a wondrous rhythm, always managing to evade just as a giant beast was about to crush them. Senior Brother Qu was both shocked and furious—he was being beaten! He, of all people, was being thrashed by this "little demon" with a mere stick! The willow branch in Shen Mu's hand was very short, barely a chi long—wasn't that just a little stick? And his sword was five chi seven cun long. He had refined his vital energy into silk and used that silk to control his sword. His sword control technique had been passed down by the Five Elders of the Lan River—powerful beings who had shattered the Heaven-Man Barrier and opened the Heaven-Man Divine Treasury. How exquisite was the sword control technique they had imparted? The techniqu