"Ugh!"
With fatigue accumulated while blocking the Baigui Squad's attacks, Chijian finally couldn't hold on and dropped his sword from his hand.
Urgh—
Perhaps from the shock, he coughed up dark blood.
Blackish dead blood and fragments of internal organs stained his robes beneath his neck.
At that moment, the Baigui Squad charged again.
Clang! Clang!
He blocked their attacks, but Chijian staggered greatly.
For him, who had already suffered internal injuries, the successive attacks imbued with the Baigui Squad's True Qi were all too fatal.
'I can't put strength into my hands.'
It wasn't just his hands.
His entire body was heavy.
He quickly scanned his surroundings.
The situation was hurtling toward the worst.
The martial brothers and sisters still standing were all swaying, unable to support their bodies.
Chijian's face darkened as he watched their state, looking like they would collapse at a mere touch.
'So this is the end after all.'
Feeling that death was approaching as time passed, Chijian and the Meihua Swordsmen resigned themselves and squeezed their eyes shut.
But then.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Something pitch-black bounced off the ground a few times before flopping down right in front of them.
The Meihua Swordsmen, who opened their eyes at the sudden situation, jumped in horror upon realizing its identity.
"……!"
"W-What is this!"
It was a brutally crushed corpse.
Where the head should have been, there was nothing, and the upper body was completely mangled as if crushed by a massive boulder.
Thud— Thud—
At that moment, footsteps were heard.
In the bizarre situation, the steady footsteps ringing out in the quiet silence were enough to snatch the very souls of the Baigui Squad.
As if possessed, they turned their heads.
There was a young man walking slowly with the blazing flames behind him.
The young man, wearing robes of a rare black-red color, was quite tall.
Furthermore, his broad shoulders and the muscles visible here and there showed that he was someone who had undergone considerable training.
But as he drew closer, the Baigui Squad was seized not by the young man's physique, but by his gaze.
A frigid, icy, pitch-black gleam in his eyes that seemed to swallow even the blazing flames behind him.
The moment they faced that gaze, the fear and dread hidden deep within the abyss began to rear their heads.
Eventually, one of the Baigui Squad members stepped forward to shake off his emotions.
"So there were still survivors—"
Crunch!
Brain matter and blood scattered in all directions, pouring down like rain.
The Baigui Squad, who inadvertently had their comrade's blood and brain matter splashed over their heads, were filled with bewilderment.
They couldn't understand what had happened.
A skull suddenly exploded, killing him.
It was an abrupt death.
However, the Baigui Squad felt that the one who caused this disaster was the young man in front of them.
That was because the young man, whose right hand was empty until just a moment ago, was now holding a sword sheath.
"More survived than I thought."
As soon as those words ended.
Crunch!
Another skull shattered.
This time, the Baigui Squad could see it.
The pitch-black sword sheath swung wide, and then smashed a Baigui Squad member's head.
The Baigui Squad members, witnessing the gruesomely cruel handiwork, froze, drained of color.
"Martial Uncle..."
"You... came."
At that moment, voices were heard from below.
Tianhui looked down with cold eyes at the Meihua Swordsmen who had already collapsed exhausted on the ground.
They were completely drained.
At least Chijian and Xuelan had the energy to move, as they weren't lying down.
"Looks like you're still lacking?"
At Tianhui's apathetic voice as he narrowed his eyes, the faces of Chijian and Xuelan, who had been relieved, turned pale, and they spoke urgently.
"That is..."
"N-No..."
"Enough."
Turning his head, Tianhui rested the sword sheath on his shoulder and glared at the Baigui Squad as he spoke.
"I'll take care of them first, so see you later."
* * *
"What an impressive display of skill."
Shouzhan Dujian let out an involuntary exclamation.
Even against the Xueye Qi of the Xueye Dujing, Xuandao was not being pushed back.
No, he was actually overwhelming him.
"Shut up."
However, Xuandao's response was chilling.
Inside him right now was filled with a heat hotter than flames.
It was only natural, as his opponent was one of the Sifangzhu of the Baigui Castle, his mortal enemy.
Shouzhan Dujian's gaze sank coldly.
'I had thought that even estimating highly, he would only be my equal...'
It was a realm entirely different from the circulating rumors and the information Baigui Castle had obtained.
At least an equal, or perhaps...
"The information on the Huashan Sect was wrong."
His whispering voice was stiff.
He had implicitly looked down on the Huashan Sect, despite calling himself Huashan's Number One Sword.
Gritting his teeth, Shouzhan Dujian gripped his sword roughly and twisted his waist greatly.
The posture was bizarre.
His left sleeve was fluttering in the wind, and his right hand reached behind his back.
As if hiding a sword.
It was the opening stance of the Xueye Sword contained within the Xueye Dujing, a martial art created long ago by an unknown one-armed swordsman.
Crack—
Muscles twisted, and an unusual sound rang out. However, Shouzhan Dujian's expression was utterly peaceful.
At that moment, his entire body spun.
Swish!
The air was torn apart.
The sword in his hand was sharply swung like a whip. Against that, Xuandao calmly imbued his sword with internal energy.
A pure white and transparent aura began to wrap around the sword like a fine thread, then soon enveloped the blade solidly like a cocoon.
It was Sword Qi, said to be only usable by those who had stepped into the Wuji Realm at the very least.
Clang!
Sword and sword collided.
However, the result was unexpectedly anticlimactic.
"Keugh!"
Shouzhan Dujian, shocked by the collision, staggered and stepped back.
'...How can this be!'
Shouzhan Dujian's eyes widened.
He had attempted a preemptive strike, but the one who received the shock was himself.
Xuandao was also surprised.
Of course, the reason for his surprise was different.
'Is it only this much?'
Shouzhan Dujian was a master who ranked within at least the top three fingers of Baigui Castle. Yet his attack just now was too weak.
Shouzhan Dujian's eyes changed drastically as he read Xuandao's momentarily revealed expression.
He had desired and pursued strength.
To the point of severing his own left arm to properly learn the Xueye Dujing he had coincidentally found in his youth.
After learning the Xueye Dujian and becoming a master, he roamed the martial world, belonging to neither the orthodox nor the demonic sects.
But one day, he was defeated.
From that day on, his goal changed.
To defeat the Baeksashin who had defeated him.
That was the reason he, who was neither demonic nor orthodox, threw himself into the demonic Baigui Castle.
Yet, someone he didn't even consider a rival was looking down on him.
His eyes rolled back.
It wasn't just his eyes.
A sinister, viscous aura began to flow from his entire body.
Feeling the suddenly changed momentum and atmosphere, Xuandao also slowly spread his inner qi.
It was then.
Whoosh—
Shouzhan Dujian, who was over three zhang away, disappeared in a flash and appeared right in front.
Claang!
The two swords clashed.
The massive explosive sound was enough to make those nearby cover their ears and slump down.
The two, with their swords pressed against each other, glared at one another. Afterward, they simultaneously poured out their internal energy.
Rumble—
As if terrified by their immense internal energy, the air began to tremble violently.
However, their expressions were different.
While Shouzhan Dujian had no composure, as if driven into a corner, Xuandao was calm.
At that moment, blood vessels shot up in Shouzhan Dujian's eyes, and his face turned red and blue.
"Gasp!"
Then, he clenched his teeth and somehow forced down the dark blood rising from within, glaring widely with both eyes.
His face was a complete mess.
His two pupils were bloodshot, looking like they would burst into tears of blood at any moment, and a stream of blood flowed from his mouth.
Whoosh—
At that moment, Xuandao snapped his wrist.
Perhaps because he had swept away the sword while in the midst of an internal energy struggle.
Swish!
Shouzhan Dujian's sword, fully loaded with power, slashed without even a gap to control it.
"……!"
Shouzhan Dujian hastily tried to retract his sword, but he had already lost his balance and staggered.
Xuandao was not one to miss an opening.
Riding the disrupted flow of internal energy, he immediately unleashed Meixiang Zuidie.
Whirr—
At the plum blossom fragrance tickling his nose and the sharp killing intent, Shouzhan Dujian urgently stomped his left foot hard and spun in mid-air.
Swirl—
The empty sleeve fluttered, wrapping around him.
Xuandao was about to swing his sword at him floating in the air, but flinched and retreated.
Swish!
A sword thrust pierced the spot where he had been.
Shouzhan Dujian, who hadn't lost his focus even while spinning, had thrust his sword in.
Xuandao's eyes narrowed as he watched.
'To unleash such a sword even with deep internal injuries, what a tenacious man!'
Shouzhan Dujian's mental fortitude in enduring pain that would make an ordinary martial artist collapse, while still swinging his sword, was astounding.
At that moment, Xuandao explosively expelled his internal energy.
"Keugh!"
Shouzhan Dujian, who took the storm of internal energy Xuandao emitted head-on, coughed up blood.
The shock applied this time was tremendous.
From his red-tinted eyes, bloody tears finally streamed, and a bowlful of blood flowed down from his mouth.
His face, already drenched in blood.
Nevertheless, he did not stop swinging his sword at Xuandao.
"Keugh! I, I cannot lose!"
The Xueye Sword swung with a desperate shout as he spat blood in all directions contained an even more overwhelming destructive power than before.
The forearm and sword, bent like a whip, moved to tear Xuandao apart.
Xuandao also swung his sword widely horizontally to counter it.
A sword form neither fast nor slow.
Yet the momentum contained within was intense and unyielding beyond imagination.
It was the Taiyi Mili Jian, said to have the greatest power among the Huashan Sect's sword techniques.
Swish!
The sharp blade hidden within the storm of immense internal energy aimed for Shouzhan Dujian.
Eventually, the two swords slashed each other, and
Slash!
Blood scattered, and silence flowed.
Shouzhan Dujian, covered in blood all over, opened his mouth with difficulty.
"In the end..."
His voice, still deeply marked by the aftermath of his internal injuries, was completely distorted.
Then, his hand slipped loose.
Clatter, clatter, clatter...
The sword bounced a few times, then fell silent.
Having dropped the sword that shared most of his life, he turned his head toward Xuandao.
In his bloodshot eyes covered in blood, there was envy.
To overcome the massive wall he saw every time he closed his eyes for a long time, he had done all sorts of things, but it had been impossible.
Yet the man before him had reached the Tianwu Realm, so how could he not be envious?
"...I couldn't... surpass it."
His voice spread out quietly in all directions like a drop of water hitting a lake.
Thud!
Shouzhan Dujian, having lost his vitality, collapsed.
Xuandao looked at his fallen form.
In the sword scar carved into the corpse, the remaining aura of the Taiyi Mili Gong was wavering like those blazing flames.
"At this level..."
Whispering, Xuandao looked at the palm holding his sword, then clenched his two fists tightly.
He had reached the Tianwu Realm, but until now, he hadn't been able to have confidence in his own realm.
But only now did certainty arise.
Perhaps, that his current skill was among the top in the martial world.
'Even if the Baeksashin is the opponent...'
Flames blazed in his two pupils.
His goals were the annihilation of Baigui Castle and spreading the Huashan Sect's prestige far and wide.
That had drawn one step closer.
As Xuandao was envisioning the future.
"Dongfangzhu?!"
A surprised voice was heard nearby.
When the startled Xuandao turned his head, Xiao Baigui and Ha Wujin, who was struggling against him, came into view.
"...How can this be."
Xiao Baigui looked at the coldly dead Shouzhan Dujian with an unbelievable face, then turned his head in disbelief.
"……!"
His pupils shook in all directions as if an earthquake had occurred.
Because he was busy dealing with Ha Wujin, he hadn't noticed, but he could no longer sense the presence of the Baigui Squad.
"Damn it!"
Just as Xiao Baigui's face, having grasped the situation, distorted viciously like a fiend.
"Now only you're left."
A chilly voice was heard from beside him.
Whoosh—
He hastily unleashed the Guiyin Zhang.
However, there was no scream that should have been heard, nor any feeling of something hitting the palm that had unleashed the Yinfeng Zhao.
Panicked, he very carefully turned his neck.
In front of him was a pitch-black wall.
Then, a voice came from above.
"Where are you going?"
The moment Tianhui whispered as he looked down at Xiao Baigui, whose tall stature reached his nose.
Tap!
Xiao Baigui launched his body without delay.
'As if I would die here! I am the one to inherit Baigui Castle!'
He poured out all his remaining internal energy, ignoring footwork or whatever else, and fled.
His figure, shot like an arrow, was so fast that it created the illusion of stretching far out to where he fled.
"If he gets away... ugh!"
Ha Wujin, who was about to kick off the ground, staggered and let out a groan. It was the aftereffect of the internal injuries sustained while dealing with Xiao Baigui.
At that moment.
"Jeez, what a pain."
Tianhui lightly stomped his foot.
Whoosh—
His figure disappeared in an instant.
"Keok!"
The fleeing Xiao Baigui jerked.
Perhaps because his collar got caught on something while he was fleeing desperately, his clothes tightened around his neck.
"Keuk, keuk."
A shadow loomed in front of him as he coughed from the pain in his neck.
Tianhui, who had snatched his collar in an instant, looked down at him and opened his mouth.
"Did you think you could do something like this and still escape with your life?"
"K-Keuk. S-Spare..."
Coughing, Xiao Baigui threw away his pride and begged miserably, prostrating himself.
"What? Spare you?"
At those words, Xiao Baigui snapped his upper body up and nodded continuously.
At that moment, Tianhui's mouth tore open into a grin.
"Why would I?"
Just as Xiao Baigui's face turned pale white facing the cold smile.
Crunch!
Tianhui stomped on his head.
Brain matter and blood splattered in all directions.
Tianhui lightly shook off the brain matter and blood splattered on his robes, then looked down at the corpse with a cold expression before turning around.
"I suppose I must now uproot it entirely."