The mountain peak was about ten miles from the village, perhaps because it was on the edge of the mountain range, the forest wasn’t dense. Even without a path, Yusuf Zuck reached the peak in half an hour.
There was no platform or pavilion at the top of the mountain. Standing there, what could be seen was another peak. Here the mountains connected with each other, with nothing but vegetation covering them.
Yusuf Zuck walked a circle around the peak, then stood under a large pine tree. The pine was thick and lush with branches and leaves. However, despite the dense foliage, one would still be able to see if someone was hiding up there, because there was a moon out tonight, and by the moonlight, even a perched monkey would be visible.
After pondering for a moment, Yusuf Zuck ’whooshed’ and drew the Dragon Pattern Sword that Everest Zuck had named.
Once the Dragon Pattern Sword was drawn, it began to tremble; the blade was flexible, yet within its softness, there was a firmness.
Yusuf Zuck could clearly see that the sword was cyan, with crack-like patterns etched along the blade.
Yusuf Zuck had once seen a movie called "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," where the sword that Trenton Montoya held was similar to the one in his hand now; you could say they looked very much alike.
"Is the sword very sharp?" Yusuf Zuck gently brushed his finger against the blade and sure enough, he found the edge sharp as a sheet of paper.
"Wonder if it’s also hard." Yusuf Zuck took two steps forward, approached a pine tree with the thickness of a bowl’s mouth, and then ’whooshed’ as he chopped at the pine tree.
"Whew~" A crisp sound emerged, and then Yusuf Zuck discovered the sword passed through the pine tree as if there was nothing there, casually cutting the tree down in the middle!
"Holy crap, can it be this sharp?" Yusuf Zuck jumped back in shock. The sword was too fast; if it struck a person’s neck, wouldn’t the head be ’moving house’ instantly?
"Great sword, wonderful sword, haha, this one is mine!" Yusuf Zuck chuckled, delighted. This sword could certainly be counted among the ranks of Treasure Swords. With this blade along with his Invisibility Technique, who would dare to challenge him in the world?
"Right, Mind Control!" Just then, Yusuf Zuck’s eyes lit up, and his telekinesis quickly gathered, forcefully piercing towards the Dragon Pattern Sword!
"Buzz~" The sword vibrated and after Yusuf Zuck let go of it, the sword floated in the air in front of him.
Yet, Yusuf Zuck’s face looked strained because the heavier the object, the more difficult it was for him to control.
"Fly." He gritted his teeth and stared intensely at a tree further away. Then, the sword shot through the night, trailing a gleam of light.
"Thud," another small pine tree was chopped down. After it fell, the sword didn’t drop to the ground but instead spun in the air as if alive, and Yusuf Zuck’s telekinesis maneuvered it left and right, up and down, shuttling back and forth non-stop!
"Come back." Yusuf Zuck gestured, and the Dragon Pattern Sword swiftly returned to his hand, motionless. Yusuf Zuck wiped the sweat from his forehead. Although the sword wasn’t heavy, controlling it was not as effortless as with a dagger. He estimated that with his telekinesis, he could likely only manage a few minutes before he would be completely drained of strength!
"I must not control it unless it’s absolutely necessary," Yusuf Zuck shook his head. The art of controlling objects with his mind was his great secret. Besides Maurice Singleton knowing about it, even his relatives were unaware, and he had no intention of telling others; it was his ultimate life-saving technique.
Moreover, no matter what happened, he could never let his telekinesis completely deplete, or he would be unable to protect his life.
After returning the Treasure Sword to its scabbard and resting under the tree for a few minutes, he ’swooshed’ up into the large pine tree. He sat on a branch bifurcation, keeping a close watch on every move at the foot of the mountain.
"Hmm, here they come." As he had sat for a little while, suddenly he heard rustling sounds from the mountain base and saw the trees below stirring continuously.
"Invisible!" Yusuf Zuck immediately became invisible and continued to watch.
Less than a minute later, Everest Zuck, carrying a Nine-ringed Great Blade, appeared in his line of sight, racing through the mountain woods almost without touching the ground, moving at an incredible speed, faster than an athlete running a hundred meters. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novel✶fire.net
"Damn, a monster!" Yusuf Zuck clicked his tongue incessantly, this time truly witnessing the extraordinary skills of an internal martial artist.
"If it were a Grandmaster, the power would probably be even greater, right?" Yusuf Zuck took a deep breath, realizing this was only beginner-level, not yet a Grandmaster.
With a "whoosh," Everest Zuck reached the mountaintop and quickly glanced around, looking up at the trees and frowning beside the sapling that Yusuf Zuck had chopped down.
He didn’t see Yusuf Zuck or know where he was hiding, but Yusuf Zuck was certainly nearby, stealthily watching him.
Just then, another figure entered Yusuf Zuck’s view—a man with a dragon stride and a tiger’s step, tall and robust, moving much faster than Everest Zuck.
He nearly reached the mountaintop in a single leap and, with a powerful jump, landed on the large pine tree where Yusuf Zuck was crouched, just three or four meters away!
Yusuf Zuck almost fell out of the tree in fright, for this man... this man had leaped into the tree in one go, a height of two or three meters, and then stood on a fork in the branches.
"Tripp Greer, your skill has improved again!" Everest Zuck said coldly at this point.
"Is it just a simple improvement?" The tall and large Tripp Greer smiled faintly, then his body shook, and he suddenly swung his palm forward!
"Swipe!" He struck with a palm blade that condensed air into an edge, severing a tree branch directly in front of him—a branch that was at least as thick as Yusuf Zuck’s arm!
"What? You... you’ve entered the Grandmaster realm?" Everest Zuck yelled, starting to retreat, his face turning exceedingly ugly.
"Heh, just a recent breakthrough, I haven’t tested it on anyone yet. It’s fortunate you’ve come, so I guess I’ll test it on you," Tripp Greer said lightly, smiling with the demeanor of a man in his mid-fifties although he must have been in his sixties or seventies.
"Motherfucker, I’ll bring in the troops tomorrow and flatten your village!" Everest Zuck screamed, no longer willing to contend with Tripp Greer. A Grandmaster, even one who had just broken through, was certainly not someone he could defeat, even with Yusuf Zuck’s secret attacks. It meant certain death, so as soon as he finished speaking, he turned and ran!
"Ha-ha-ha, you think you can leave after coming here?" Tripp Greer laughed heartily. As his body slightly sank down, he used the springiness of the branches to propel himself towards Everest Zuck like a great roc spreading its wings, moving faster than an eagle!
Everest Zuck knew he couldn’t escape, so as he was running forward, he abruptly turned, drew his Nine-ringed Great Blade, and chopped at the incoming Tripp Greer.
With a "clang," the sound of metal clashing and a burst of sparks came from where they met.
Somehow, Tripp Greer had also drawn a weapon, a man as ruthless as him surely would carry weapons on him.
They were Twin Blade, gleaming coldly like Tang blades but not very long, just about the length of Tripp Greer’s arms.
When the Twin Blade clashed with the Nine-ringed Great Blade, Tripp Greer used the force to land safely, while Everest Zuck staggered back four or five steps, barely keeping from falling by bracing against a small tree.
Yusuf Zuck, hidden in the tree, now noticed that Everest Zuck’s hands were split at the base of the thumb and blood was oozing out.