Chapter 25: Thousand Wind Sword Technique, First Form: Gale Slash

What does it feel like to stand directly in the path of an out-of-control vehicle traveling over a hundred miles per hour?

In this moment, Mo Wen felt it profoundly.

Friends who have often been hit by cars know that, when caught off guard, an ordinary person’s body will freeze in place due to sheer terror when facing an object moving at such speeds. Many onlookers would ask why the person about to be hit didn't run. Perhaps that is a question only those who have experienced it firsthand can truly understand.

Mo Wen’s gaze remained calm and serene.

The Beetle’s explosive speed was immense, yet it still did not exceed the limits of his current reflexes.

"Boom!"

Starting from the impact point of the heavy door-panel shield, the ground cracked and buckled in a terrifying display. Dust billowed wildly, and gravel sprayed in every direction.

"Hummm—!"

The Puppet Heart within the Beetle’s chest let out a roar like an engine.

A pebble grazed past Mo Wen’s cheek, the force of the wind whipping his hair into a frenzy. By now, he had already reached the side of the Beetle.

The first strike missed, but the Beetle’s movements did not cease. In its hands, the heavy door-panel shield moved like a light, thin blade, repeatedly smashing toward Mo Wen.

Yet, a strange scene unfolded. No matter how the Beetle swung its heavy shield, it could never land a blow on the young man. It was as if he possessed the power of premonition.

In the distance, from within an alleyway, Hank—who held a crossbow and stood ready to provide support—watched this scene with utter disbelief. The pressure of the wind generated by the swinging shield was enough to make an ordinary person unable to even keep their eyes open, yet Mo Wen strolled through it as if taking a leisure walk.

He was like a dancer pirouetting upon the edge of a blade; the slightest error would plunge him into an irreversible abyss.

"Hoo… hoo…"

The gale brushed against his face, but Mo Wen’s eyes were as bright as stars.

The upgraded Thousand Winds Swordsmanship was even more powerful than he had imagined. The flowing wind constructed an absolutely precise map within his mind. Speed, distance, force—every parameter was rendered clearly within that map. Thus, before the Beetle’s heavy shield could crash down, he had already calculated the enemy's trajectory and point of impact. Under such circumstances, so long as the disparity in their speeds did not reach an absurd level, dodging was merely a simple task.

"So, this is the true meaning of 'Thousand Winds'."

"To be this formidable even at the mastery stage, it truly lives up to its name as the Ultimate Technique of the Sword!"

Mo Wen’s thoughts raced. In the tradition of Thousand Winds Swordsmanship, this special state is defined as the "Heart-Wind Domain"—using the "heart" to perceive the flow of the wind, creating a range of absolute control. The higher the level of swordsmanship, the larger this range and the higher its precision.

At his current "Mastery Level 2" swordsmanship, the range of Mo Wen’s Heart-Wind Domain was only a two-meter radius.

However, the Heart-Wind Domain had a flaw—or rather, a cost. The highly concentrated mental focus and the perception of the wind, which together formed the domain, were essentially a massive burden on the mind. Therefore, maintaining this state required a continuous consumption of vast amounts of energy. By Mo Wen’s own estimation, he could hold this state for at most one minute; afterward, his exhausted psyche would likely cause him to collapse into a faint on the spot.

Therefore, he had to defeat the Beetle within this limited time!

After nearly half a minute of dodging, Mo Wen had roughly grasped the Beetle’s "attack pattern." Perhaps its intelligence was damaged, or perhaps some other factor was at play, but while the Beetle possessed strength far exceeding his own and speed slightly faster, its attack patterns were monotonous and straightforward. It would have been easy to get hit if caught off guard, but once familiarized, it was essentially impossible for such attacks to hit Mo Wen while he was in his "Heart-Wind Domain."

"Thud!"

The Beetle slammed down another heavy strike. This time, however, Mo Wen did not simply dodge.

Avoiding the shield at an almost极限 distance, he looked at the Beetle standing mere inches away, the corners of his mouth curling upward. He then brought his raised foot down with a heavy stomp.

Directly beneath his boot was the Beetle’s right hand, which held the heavy door-panel shield. The toughness of its material and joint construction meant that a stomp capable of shattering the joints of a flesh-and-blood body only caused the Beetle’s wrist to buckle and its frame to sway and tilt forward.

Mo Wen let out a "tsk" of frustration. Although the result was not ideal, it was enough for him.

The forward tilt brought the Beetle’s left chest into the striking range of Mo Wen’s longsword.

Now!

Mo Wen’s gaze sharpened. The longsword, which had been gathering power, thrust out like an arrow. With precise calculation, the blade passed through a crack in the Beetle’s black-shelled chest plate and struck the hardwood frame beneath.

"Crack!"

The hardwood split, but there was no joy in Mo Wen’s eyes. A single strike that could easily tear through the hardwood chest of a standard soldier puppet and destroy its internal Puppet Heart had only managed to open a shallow wound on the Beetle.

Judging by the depth, it had only breached half of the hardwood chest armor. Even setting aside the outer shell, the Beetle’s performance far surpassed that of a standard soldier puppet.

With its vital points under lethal threat, the red light in the Beetle’s eyes suddenly flared, and thick, white steam surged from its body. The high-pressure, high-temperature steam exceeded a hundred degrees. Mo Wen, in his flesh-and-blood body, dared not take it head-on and was forced to roll away, putting several meters of distance between them.

Soon, the white steam dissipated. The Beetle that emerged again had eyes with a much dimmer red glow. Clearly, this burst of steam had consumed a significant amount of its energy.

The Beetle charged forward with heavy strides. It flung the door-panel shield, which began to spin at high speed through the low air, emitting a chilling, "whimpering" sound.

"Hoo."

Over ten meters away, Mo Wen exhaled lightly. His eyes reflected the rapidly approaching shield, his focus intensifying. Under this high level of concentration, his breathing rhythm underwent a strange change—becoming fiercer and more condensed than during his usual sword practice.

He raised his longsword, the tip slanted toward the ground, and a subtle distortion of the air appeared around the blade.

"Whoosh—!"

Just before the spinning shield reached him, Mo Wen’s body suddenly vanished.

He seemed to transform into a violent hurricane, using a speed faster and more brutal than the spinning shield itself. He surged forward, crouching low to sweep past the shield, and arrived directly before the Beetle in an instant.

In this high-speed world, the movement of all things seemed to slow down. Mo Wen could clearly see the Beetle’s eyes twitching and its right hand attempting to lift as if in a slow-motion film.

But… it was too slow.

The sword light fell like the wind onto the Beetle’s chest.

Extreme technique granted extreme speed. And extreme speed brought about terrifying destructive power!

This was:

"Thousand Winds Sword Technique, First Form: Storm Cutter!"

"Crack!"

That was the sound of a Puppet Heart shattering.