“Raging Tides Triple Slash—this is the real Raging Tides Triple Slash! Listen to the sound of sword-qi like flowing water—Tiger Hua's sword-dao has reached the realm of unity between man and heaven!” A nearby sword-dao master couldn't help but shout excitedly.
Those knowledgeable in swordsmanship around them nodded in agreement, clearly convinced by his words. At this moment, the sound of rushing water grew even louder, reaching a truly earth-shaking intensity.
In a flash, Tiger Hua let out a thunderous roar: “Raging Tides Triple Slash—River-Severing!”
As his shout fell, an unprecedentedly powerful sword-qi instantly condensed into a dragon-headed broadsword, which crashed down toward Ryan Ling. In an instant, all the sword-qi above Ryan's head shattered, as if a mountain had been split in half. The scattered sword-qi even overturned half a distant hill.
Beside them, Lady Four Huo was stunned. This River-Severing move was at least a hundred times stronger than his earlier canal-splitting slash. In an instant, a huge fissure split open, and the entire Divine Medicine Valley trembled violently.
“Is he even human?” In the distance, members of the Azure Dragon Society couldn't help but inch forward—a battle on this scale was a rare sight even for them.
Clearly, no matter how strong Ryan Ling was, he couldn't withstand this strike. Sword-qi erupted in chaos around him, the golden glow of his body trembling even more violently, and the runes on his skin swam up and down like tadpoles.
But Ryan Ling still stood motionless. If nothing else, his composure alone was truly admirable!
“Kid, I’m going to hack you apart right now!” Seeing all of Ryan Ling’s defensive sword-qi blasted away, Tiger Hua was especially excited, as if this tough stone was finally about to be smashed.
But just then, Ryan Ling suddenly smiled at the corner of his mouth, then slowly closed his eyes. It was as if, though standing in the ‘River of Desire,’ not a single drop could touch him.
In that instant, Tiger Hua’s blade just couldn’t cut down any further. It wasn’t that he couldn’t swing it—it was like Ryan Ling’s body had suddenly shifted between solid and insubstantial, real and unreal!
What truly shocked him, though, was the way his own blade suddenly trembled inside him, as if an even more domineering saber was about to burst out!
“How—how is this even possible?” In that instant, cold sweat broke out down Tiger Hua’s back. He was a total blade and spear maniac; of course he recognized what move this was.
This was clearly Guihai One-Blade’s signature technique—the first form of the Hell Mad Blade Eighteen Styles: ‘Severing Desire.’ Back in the day, Tiger Hua was obsessed with blades and spears, hunting down masters all over the world. He’d traveled from China to North America, crossed the entire Pacific, and on some random island, he ran into Guihai One-Blade.
At the time, he had no clue the guy was the legendary Guihai One-Blade—he just felt like he was standing between heaven and earth, as if the whole world obeyed his command. And right there, between sky and sea, Guihai One-Blade unleashed the Hell Mad Blade, just three moves—Severing Desire, Severing Soul, Severing Spirit—and it was like the whole ocean flipped upside down. The power of that saber haunted him ever since.
After witnessing that, he went to Niagara Falls on the US-Canada border to meditate on that world-shaking saber for three whole months. That’s how he created his own Raging Tides Triple Slash—all three moves basically came from the Infernal Madblade Style.
So seeing Ryan Ling suddenly showing signs of ‘Severing Desire,’ how could Tiger Hua not be stunned? Back then, he’d wanted to learn it too, but the Infernal Madblade Style was just way too deep and mysterious. Guihai One-Blade seemed willing to teach him, but after showing just three moves, he sighed and drifted away, like he’d already seen through Tiger Hua’s talent—not someone fit to truly master the Hell Mad Blade.
Still, even if he was shocked, after all these years, Tiger Hua’s blade and sword skills had reached the absolute peak. Even facing ‘Severing Desire,’ he quickly steadied himself, clenched his fists, and gripped his attack even tighter.
No way some eighteen-year-old punk could really grasp Guihai One-Blade’s saber essence. Hell, even he couldn’t do it back then!
But at this moment, Tiger Hua was dead wrong!