I Contracted All Ancient Divine Artifacts

Chapter 497: Chapter 396: Han Zhan vs. Imperial Sword

During the battle between the Empire and Great Xia, Antonio made his move twice in total.

The first time was within the Vermilion Bird Array, against the entire Intelligent Mechanism Legion.

This is the second time.

Even with a wounded Sword Heart and a heavily injured body, killing a Tier Eight Spirit Contract Master was still a piece of cake.

The gray-white Sword Qi was flicked from Antonio’s fingers; he wielded it as a sword and slashed towards Han Zhan!

Just an ordinary Sword Qi, but the pressure it placed on Han Zhan was immense.

Because it was very special.

Throughout his cultivation, Han Zhan had seen numerous skilled sword users, but only three had truly left a deep impression on him.

The Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, his wife Gongyang Jin, and Antonio.

The Yellow Emperor’s sword was the Saint’s Sword.

Its techniques were grand and majestic. Faced with such a sword, any thought of resistance vanished, making one feel as insignificant as dust in the world.

Gongyang Jin’s sword was the Genius Sword.

The genius referred to the sword user themselves, so even when Gongyang Jin used the least spiritual power, she could summon a vast amount of Sword Qi to overwhelm her opponent like a sea.

Antonio’s sword, however, was the Ordinary Sword.

His sword was simple and unadorned, lacking any dazzling brilliance or unmatched sharpness, feeling like just the most ordinary Sword Qi.

Yet, Han Zhan’s intuition told him how terrifying power lay beneath this seemingly ordinary Sword Qi!

The incoming sword wind was fierce and strong; Han Zhan squinted his eyes slightly involuntarily.

Without hesitation, he donned the Demon Crossing Cloak, and at the moment the red cloak fluttered, his right hand conjured the Xuanyuan Sword.

Han Zhan gripped the hilt.

Instantaneously, boundless Sword Qi, as immeasurable as a dragon, shot skyward from beneath him.

The next second, the Xuanyuan Sword emitted a deep and resonant hum, reverberating through the very air around.

He forcefully blocked Antonio’s gray-white Sword Qi right in front of him!

Antonio felt the golden Sword Qi rushing towards him and retreated swiftly, narrowly avoiding this wave of Sword Qi.

Something’s off.

After just one exchange, Antonio noticed something was not right.

Even a Tier Eight Peak cultivation shouldn’t be able to block this sword of his. Could the opponent truly be a once-in-a-millennium super genius?

Seeing the surprise flashing across Antonio’s face, Han Zhan knew the reason.

One of the Xuanyuan Sword’s Divine Talents, Innate Overpowering!

Regardless of who, or at what realm, anyone who engages with Han Zhan wielding the Xuanyuan Sword, would be passively weakened by twenty percent.

Thus, it wasn’t that Han Zhan got stronger, but that Antonio became weaker.

After fending off Antonio’s gray-white Sword Qi, Han Zhan felt reassured.

A Tier Nine Imperial Sword, injured severely and further weakened by twenty percent, remained formidable, but Han Zhan was now confident in a direct confrontation.

Both raised their heads simultaneously, their gazes intertwining with intense battle intent.

The next instant, they collided once more, swords in hand.

They traversed rapidly, appearing and disappearing in different positions, the continuous conflict filling the air with countless pieces of shattered, chaotic Sword Qi.

”You’re actually growing while fighting!”

As the Imperial Sword, Antonio had diligently researched and immersed himself in the Sword Dao for a long time.

In his exchanges with Han Zhan, he could clearly sense how the opponent had gone from barely holding his ground to gradually adapting to the pace, and even occasionally gaining the upper hand.

Han Zhan was advancing at a rate unimaginable to ordinary people!

And himself, it seemed, had become a touchstone on Han Zhan’s Sword Dao path.

”No wonder Great Xia dared to let you engage with me in a duel, your comprehension of the Sword Dao advances at an unprecedented speed,”

Antonio exclaimed sincerely.

”If you were one of our Empire’s people, this title of the Imperial Sword, I would willingly hand over immediately.”

Upon hearing this, Han Zhan stopped in his tracks.

The Xuanyuan Sword in his hand exuded an increasingly dense Sword Qi aura, the light gold rays enveloping him, tiny glows shining on his armor and cloak.

”Are you trying to recruit me?”

”I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed; I can only be a Great Xia person, and I will always only be a Great Xia person.”

Antonio shook his head gently, ”You’ve misunderstood.”

”I was merely lamenting.”

”It’s a pity that such an unparalleled genius of ancient times would fall by my hand.”

As he spoke, he loosened his hold on the gray-white Sword Qi, allowing it to fall straight down into the soil, disappearing without a trace.

Suddenly, beneath his feet, a gray-white aura expanded in all directions.

Antonio was not only the Imperial Sword but also a Tier Nine Imperial Knight!

The gray-white Sword Qi served as both weapon and aura!

In the moment the aura expanded, he did not rush to attack but calmly uttered a word: ”Slash.”

Boom!

As if thunder roared, and with the utterance of the word, a terrifying Sword Qi pierced through the spot where Han Zhan was standing, instantly severing him at the waist!

Despite Han Zhan entering a state of alert the moment Antonio spoke, he still failed to withstand this lightning-fast strike,

for it was an instantaneous Sword Slash.

A gathering of faint white aura swiftly coiled around Han Zhan’s severed body, seamlessly rejoining him, his grip on the Xuanyuan Sword tightening a bit further.

Antonio spoke again, his voice carrying authority, ”In the range of my Sword Slash Domain, anywhere within my sight is a target of instantaneous Sword Slash.”

His Sword Slashes were as inescapable as an all-encompassing net from heaven, impossible to defend or evade.

More remarkably, the power of these Sword Slashes compared to when he wielded the gray-white Sword Qi before had increased more than tenfold!

”Slash!”

This time, sword light suddenly gleamed from behind Han Zhan, once again severing him into two.

”It’s no use.”

”Even if you have the ability to restore, how long can your spiritual power sustain you?”

Antonio’s words echoed across the battlefield, carrying a tone of merciless judgment.

Han Zhan slightly lifted his right hand, holding the Xuanyuan Sword across his chest.

His left hand stained with blood, wiped across the sword’s blade.

In an instant, the entirety of the Xuanyuan Sword seemed to be imbued with life, its blade adorned with patterns of sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, and flora, all illuminating brilliantly, as vivid as the universe.

”You are correct, the power to endlessly cast the Resurrection Skill cannot be sustained indefinitely by my spiritual power.”

”But, how many times can your spiritual power support such powerful Sword Slashes?”

Han Zhan’s words made Antonio’s eyes narrow slightly,

his previously calm tone carrying a hint of indifference.

”Enough to kill you,” Antonio replied coldly.

He raised both hands, the surrounding air instantly growing heavier, with sharp slashes appearing around Han Zhan, like a pack of wolves circling, ready to strike.

The Xuanyuan Sword shone brightly, responding to its master’s will, ”Then let’s see!”