...
At this point, with the continuous, transparent flickering of screens appearing in his vision like shards of broken glass caught in a rainstorm, Ji Wuye, who stood atop the black-tiled roof of a second-story medicinal herb house, suddenly dropped to one knee.
His crimson pupils twitched rapidly, sweat beaded along his furrowed brow and slid down his ashen face in rivulets. His eyes, wide and intense, scanned every minute detail of the glazed black tiles beneath him, which were gradually blurring into an abstract mosaic.
Pain, akin to a thousand white-hot needles piercing his flesh, crawled across his brain with searing intensity and gnawed at every nerve ending of his being like a famished swarm of locusts.
Simultaneously, strange knowledge invaded his consciousness - foreign yet intimately familiar - as countless crystalline images of martial arts stances, strikes, and their kinetic manifestations began flooding his mind in rapid succession, as though being carved into the core of his memory by some unseen force.
His head pounded as if enveloped in roaring flames, the pulse of blood thundering in his ears, and his world tilted precariously, the horizon line seeming to bend and waver before his disoriented gaze. Then, without warning, his body tensed and moved with a mind of its own...
CLANK!
In an explosive instant, his perspective shifted violently. Though his vision swam in a diaphanous blur, the jarring clang of clashing metal reverberated through the air like a thunderclap. A ghostly transparent screen flickered into being before his eyes.
Amidst the hazy distortion cloaking his vision, where his innate reflexes had seized control of his body, Ji Wuye''s crimson eyes caught the rough, indistinct form of a figure - an assailant attempting to ambush him from the shadows.
The sneak attack failed, deflected by his passive skill, and another cold, impassive screen message manifested luminously before him.
BANG!
The thunderous backlash of the deflected ambush detonated like a tidal wave crashing against unyielding stone. The shadowy, blurred figure was flung backward with staggering force, propelled by some unseen paradoxical energy.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
And as swiftly as a night fog burned away by the rising sun, all traces of the disorienting pain and dizzying anguish that had gripped Ji Wuye only moments before utterly vanished, banished into oblivion as if they had never existed at all.
Once again, lucidity washed over Ji Wuye''s world as the hazy veil lifted. Golden rays of the morning sun bathed his flushed cheeks in a burnished glow, illuminating his wide, intensely focused eyes that still twitched with residual tension.
Beads of sweat glistened along his brow and soaked through the tattered white fabric of his martial robe, which clung to his firmly toned frame. His long, white fair hair, tousled by the gentle caress of the wind, seemed to shimmer like spun silk in the warm light.
''That...'' His inner voice trailed off as he inhaled a deep, steadying breath, willing his body and mind to find calm amidst the relentless onslaught they had just weathered.
The thunderous pounding of his heartbeat resonated in his ears like the cadence of a war drum. Slowly, methodically, he centered himself, dispersing the lingering chaos until it eddied into tranquility once more. Only then did he reopen his eyes.
The crimson depths that moments before had burned with feverish intensity now regained their usual penetrating yet collected gaze. His rigid posture relaxed fluidly as he exhaled, muscles loosening beneath sweat-slicked skin.
The first thing his heightened senses registered was the crumpled form of the failed assassin.
The unorthodox martial artist, violently repelled by his passive skills, lay lifeless - flung backward with brutal force until the jagged edge of a cut bamboo tree pierced his torso, leaving his body limp and motionless.
''...dangerous,'' Ji Wuye murmured inwardly, giving voice to the unfinished thought.
This was the first time¡ªyes, the very first¡ªthat he had successfully replicated and seamlessly chained together so many intricate martial techniques in a single moment.
As for this feeling¡ it had been an eternity since he last experienced a sensation like this...
A heart-pounding, adrenaline-fueled moment where the tension of life-and-death hung thick in the air, electric and undeniable. Even if it was merely the byproduct of his mind being overwhelmed by a deluge of new information, the feeling itself was unmistakable, searing his awareness with crystal clarity.
That frisson of intense peril brushing against oblivion''s edge, vivid and unforgettable, gripped him still - every elevated sense burned into his consciousness.
''I''m even trembling,'' Ji Wuye mused with a faint, wry snort of amusement as he noticed the persistent quivering in his limbs.
His hands, still gripping the hilt of his jian with white-knuckled intensity, trembled subtly - belying the outward calm he had forced upon his mind and bearing.
Reassessing the chaos unfolding around him, he surveyed the battlefield with a calculating gaze.
The first group of Righteous Sect Elders remained embroiled in a fierce melee, against the unorthodox enemy vice-leaders.
Meanwhile, the Patriarch of Kunlun traded earth-shattering blows with the fearsome Black Thunder Emperor, their pitched duel shaking the very air with the thunderous concussive force of their exchanges.
Elsewhere, the second group of Righteous Sect Elders had managed to regain tenuous control, pushing back the relentless onslaught of crazed unorthodox martial artists as the Kunlun disciples rallied to support them.
Wave after wave of wild, desperate Unorthodox Sect martial artists hurled themselves forward, relentlessly ascending. But, of course, with their tiny numbers in comparison, it was an impossible endeavor.
However...
''Reinforcements...'' Ji Wuye muttered darkly under his breath, his crimson eyes narrowing to slits as his gaze settled on a distant, ominous shadow creeping across the horizon over the vast grasslands beyond Kunlun''s Qiuxiu Village.
Visible through the swirling remnants of battle-smoke hung a looming pall - hundreds upon hundreds of armed figures steadily converging on their location, a sea of glinting blades and weighted chains bristling like a forest of upraised lances.
Then which mean... the Beggar Sect had been deceived by blatant lies.
If not for Ji Wuye''s memories from the previous timeline, he might have believed the naive claim that fewer than 160 martial artists had been sent to assault the Kunlun Sect, which boasted thousands of disciples.
But such concerns could wait. For now, Ji Wuye''s focus was drawn inexorably to the layered, translucent screens floating before his eyes.
Kunlun - Aura Ascension, Wudang - Tianyi Divine Sword, the Black Thunder Emperor¡¯s Martial Art, the Sky Demon Cult - Sky Demon Blade Art, and the Black Scorpion Society - Venomous Beast Technique¡ªall of these and more were now etched into his consciousness. An overwhelming deluge of martial techniques and knowledge had been replicated into his mind.
''But sadly, the Black Thunder Emperor''s martial art heavily relies on Thunder Qi,'' he thought with a tinge of regret, his brow furrowing slightly.
It was an element he had not yet had the opportunity to acquire. However, there would undoubtedly be methods for him to use the martial art regardless, but...
At that moment, his crimson gaze shifted downward to the chaotic battlefield below, where the Elders and experts clashed in fierce exchanges.
Sigh...
''Let''s just focus on this for now,'' Ji Wuye muttered inwardly, shaking his head.
The insistent temptation to test and replicate more of the freshly imprinted moves tugged at his consciousness, but he forcibly reminded himself of his original, paramount goal - to protect his Senior Sister Shen Bi and prevent her tragic demise during these tumultuous events.
Refocusing his thoughts like a well-honed blade, Ji Wuye turned his full attention to the final translucent screen that still flickered before his eyes.
Chapter 285
''Identify the flaws and weaknesses,'' Ji Wuye muttered inwardly, his thick eyebrows furrowing slightly as his eyes narrowed in concentration.
The sound of his steady, measured steps echoed faintly on the smooth black bamboo tiles of the roof.
His intense crimson pupils glowed under the brilliance of the morning sunlight, fixed intently on the transparent holographic screen hovering before him.
The statement displayed was ambiguous, particularly without the clarification provided by the word ''instantly'' in the following sentence. Ji Wuye''s stern expression softened briefly as the corners of his mouth curled upwards in a sly smirk.
''Which means... I don''t need to wait anymore,'' he continued inwardly, halting at the roof''s edge. He pushed a stray lock of his white hair away from his face as a light breeze ruffled the layered sleeves of his long white martial robe.
Ji Wuye shifted his piercing gaze downward, where a chaotic melee of unorthodox martial artists against Kunlun disciples raged fiercely below.
Bodies twisted and collided in a deadly dance, unorthodox martial artists desperately battling to ascend the stone staircase that wound its way towards the Kunlun.
Their numbers steadily dwindled as their reckless advance faltered, leaving many grimacing in pain or lying motionless
Under Ji Wuye''s focused observance, the third effect of his passive Quick Adaptation skill activated.
A shimmering miasma of colorful Qi swirled across the battlefield staircase, ranging from faint bluish wisps to pulsing veins of elemental energy in every vibrant hue.
It flowed through the air in gossamer trails, connecting to the bodies of the martial artists as they unleashed furious techniques in blinding arcs of power.
Among this dazzling kaleidoscopic spectacle, however, Ji Wuye''s discerning eyes detected something different¡ªanomalous flickers of faint, blurred distortion that stood out starkly to his heightened senses.
He leaned forward slightly, the tails of his tatered white martial robe waving behind him as he studied the peculiar phenomenon intently.
The first effect of Quick Adaptation was ¡®Analyze all the attack patterns,¡¯ which meant he had either seen enough or fought long enough for the skill to fully activate.
It was just like the time when he fought Wu Gao in the past.. Back then, he had already masterfully internalized the stances and techniques of most Kunlun martial arts styles.
Then the skill used that knowledge to create a ¡®possible attack pattern,¡¯ allowing him to accurately predict his opponent¡¯s next move.
It had worked similarly when Ji Wuye faced the Dark Wolves. But now, with this new third effect...
''Let''s test it out,'' he thought inwardly, a spark of determination flashing in his crimson eyes.
The blurry phenomenon he noticed amid the dazzling maelstrom of Qi could have merely been a trick of his imagination, or perhaps the distance and height made the subtle distortions harder to perceive clearly.
Suddenly...his keen senses were suddenly drawn to a cluster of furtive shadows slipping out from beyond the ornately carved paifang gate, where they had been lurking within the Central Courtyard.
The shadowy figures scurried rapidly down the stairs, keeping low and moving with disciplined precision like a pack of sleek hunting predators descending on their prey.
...
Meanwhile, amidst the raging battle on the ascending stone staircase leading to Kunlun''s grounds...
"Haaaaah!" A guttural scream of unbridled rage erupted, filling the air as potent Qi surged with blinding intensity, glowing azure through the extended meridian pathways of the martial artist''s arms.
A young Kunlun disciple transitioned seamlessly from a lowered horse stance, torso coiled like a spring as his arms extended upwards parallel to his body.
He flowed smoothly into the next movement, arms slashing down in a straight, vertical strike as he drew the razor-sharp jian blade in his right hand.
"Meridian March: Single Whip!" he bellowed amid the furious motion, aiming the devastating strike at the taunting opponent below him.
"Such orthodox techniques...as expected¡ªvisible, predictable, and foolish!" The sneering, mocking voice of his adversary rang out like a clarion amidst the chaotic battlefield, followed by a derisive bark of laughter that seemed to mock the disciple''s efforts.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The vibrant azure Qi coursing along the pathways of the Hand Taiyin Lung meridians lent tremendous amplifying force to the disciple''s downward sword swing.
The glowing blade flared brilliantly with the empowered energy, and the overwhelming power behind the devastating attack seemed capable of smashing through any defense. But¡ª
CLANK!
The harsh, discordant sound of tempered steel clashing against steel echoed out in harsh dissonance. The disciple''s attack was effortlessly blocked, halted by the solidly horizontal jian blade held in the adversary''s hand and similarly wreathed in shimmering veins of azure Qi.
At the point where the two currents of energy collided and discharged, vivid crimson sparks erupted in a dazzling starburst, flaring brightly for just an instant before winking out.
It was almost as if the two intertwined flows of Qi were woven together at the precise impact point before violently repelling each other.
"Is that all Kunlun has taught you?" the opponent mocked again, his voice cutting through the sounds of battle like a razor''s edge.
Despite the disdainful taunts, he clearly felt the sheer unstoppable force and blazing determination surging behind the disciple''s ferocious vertical slash.
The attacker was no mere nobody, but an Outer Disciple of the Kunlun.
He stood firm in his pristine white martial robes accented with aqua trims, the defiant set of his jaw unwavering as he wielded the glistening jian sword with precise skill.
He held the high ground, an advantageous position partway up the broad stone staircase, and had swung his vicious attack in a perfectly vertical arc - aiming to leverage gravity and cause maximum damage by crashing down onto his opponent fighting from the lower steps.
But... as merely an Outer Disciple facing a foe already in the 4th Martial Realm, the vast disparity in their power was unmistakably clear.
Despite his positioning advantage, his all-out strike was easily rebuffed and blocked.
"Don''t underestimate the principles of our art!" the Kunlun disciple snarled, his expression a stoic mask of grim determination.
While his jian remained locked against the opponent''s crossed blade, he suddenly dragged it down in one smooth, explosive motion. Showers of crimson sparks fountained outwards from the abrasive clash of swirling Qi grinding against tempered steel.
The sudden shift in force caused the stable deadlock to fracture like brittle glass. The unorthodox martial artist staggered, his hands and weapon momentarily thrown skyward as he fought to regain his balance on the steep steps.
The disciple''s hands gripped the hilt of his blade tightly, corded veins and tendons visibly straining against the backs of his forearms as he powered through the motion.
His intense eyes burned with an inner fire as bright as the Qi he channeled.
With smooth, fluid precision, the Outer Disciple transitioned into the next strike. He slashed his jian in a long, diagonal arc across his opponent''s body from left shoulder to right hip in one singlebinding motion.
"No¡ª!"
Without hesitation, he instantly reversed the attack - mirroring the precise angle from the opposite diagonal to complete the intricate sequence.
"Double Lash!" he shouted, his voice a clarion amidst the chaos.
The unorthodox martial artist on the lower steps could only gape in shock, eyes widening as he realized his error too late.
His own weapon had been deftly knocked askew, flung from his grip to clatter uselessly onto the stone as his hands were thrown helplessly into the air by the disciple''s blinding combination.
In the next frozen instant, the Kunlun disciple''s blade sang through the air - then struck true with an explosion of visceral impact.
"GAAAHHH!"
A thick crimson spray of arterial blood erupted into the air in a brilliant arc, the torn fabric of cloth audibly ripping as the disciple''s razor jian sliced deeply into the unorthodox martial artist''s torso.
The struck opponent reeled backwards, blood trailing from the horrific wound, before finally crumpling bonelessly to tumble down the remaining steps in a tangled, lifeless heap at the base of the staircase.
The Kunlun Outer Disciple exhaled deeply, relief washing over his sweat-beaded face as the tension drained from his body.
His heart thundered like the beats of a war drum in his chest, still reeling from the shocking realization that he had somehow managed to catch a vastly superior 4th Realm martial artist momentarily off guard.
He strained to steady his ragged breathing, one hand pressed against the stitch in his side as he gazed back down the long expanse of the ascending staircase.
His eyes tracked over the ongoing clashes, watching his Martial Siblings in their distinctive aqua-trimmed robes battling ferociously against the unorthodox fighters swarming up from below.
"Watch out!"
A sudden shout snapped him from his thoughts like a thunderclap. Before the outer disciple could react, a powerful hand seized him by the collar of his robe and yanked him backwards with jarring force.
His vision blurred briefly with the abrupt motion as a streak of white and dark blue whipped past in his periphery.
CLANK!
Under his disbelieving eyes, two unorthodox martial artists suddenly materialized from his blind spots on either side, their wicked blades arcing down in a pincer attack aimed to cleanly sever his head from his shoulders.
He would have been struck down without ever seeing his killers if not for the Official Disciple who had intervened at the last possible instant - hauling him backwards while interposing his own body to take the deadly double attack meant for him.
The senior Official Disciple held his gleaming jian horizontally to block both slashing blades, the shuddering impacts reverberating through his entire frame with bone-jarring force.
Errant strands of his topknot whipped wildly as he braced his rooted stance against the onslaught.
"This is a real battle, not a friendly spar!" the Official Disciple snarled, his teeth gritted tightly and cords of muscle straining against the weight of the combined assault.
His back was turned protectively towards the outer disciple, his defensive posture tense yet unwavering despite the overwhelming force bearing down upon him.
It was clear, however, that even his immense strength was rapidly faltering - the steep and narrow staircase offered no room to properly maneuver or even retreat further from the unrelenting attacks pressing in from both sides.
"Le-let me help you, Senior Brother!" the shaken Outer Disciple stammered, quickly scrambling to rise and assist in the desperate defense.
But before he could make a single move to aid his embattled superior, the entire battlefield that had been chaotic with the clash of steel and shouts just moments before fell eerily, utterly silent. A deathly hush seemed to descend over the area like a suffocating pall.
Frozen mid-motion, the Kunlun Outer Disciple could only stare in numb shock at the nightmarish scene unfolding before his disbelieving eyes.
The two unorthodox martial artists who had been ferociously pressing his Senior Brother with their overwhelming assault just moments before now hung suspended grotesquely in the air.
Their bodies dangled limply like marionettes with severed strings, gruesomely skewered straight through by the single slender jian blade protruding from their backs.
Thick ropes of arterial blood sluiced down the polished length of the sword in a steady patter, trickling from the gaping wounds to pool rapidly beneath their feet.
The two lifeless forms slumped bonelessly against one another in a macabre embrace, faces frozen in matching rictuses of shock and agony.
The one holding the dripping jian was a shockingly young man, almost inhumanly beautiful, with long silken white hair that seemed to shimmer like moonlight on fresh snow under the brilliant morning sunlight.
His intense crimson pupils glowed with an icy, remorseless light, giving his chiseled features an almost otherworldly, ethereal aura of power.
He wore the same style of white martial robe trimmed with aqua as him, yet he had effortlessly, contemptuously dispatched the two skilled adversaries who had overwhelmed even an Official Disciple with seeming ease.
"Move," the white-haired young man stated, his cold voice cutting through the heavy silence like a razor''s slice.
Even his Senior Brother who had saved him just moments before trembled visibly, his legs quaking beneath him as he immediately lowered his head in deference.
He silently shuffled aside, clearing a path for the terrifying young man to pass without a word of protest.
Only after the white-haired young man had brushed past him did the outer disciple finally remember to exhale, realizing he had been holding his breath in stunned paralysis.
His wide eyes slowly tracked down to survey the remaining battlefield stretched out below on the ascending stone stairs.
The forms of fallen, unorthodox martial artists now littered the ground like broken dolls, their bodies cold and lifeless amidst steadily spreading pools of crimson.
The surviving Kunlun disciples stood frozen like haunted statues, their wide eyes filled with shock, disbelief, and dawning horror etched across their pale faces as they lifted their gaze to follow the white-haired young man''s retreating figure.
"The White Demon..."
Chapter 286
¡
Numerous transparent holographic screens flickered and danced before the crimson pupils of the long white-haired young man, casting an ethereal glow upon his chiseled features.
This was, of course, none other than Ji Wuye, whose entire handsome face now radiated warmth beneath the gentle caress of the morning sun''s rays as he ascended the stone stairs.
His earlier brutality¡ªmercilessly slaughtering all the invaders¡ªleft an indelible mark of horror on the gathered onlookers. Eyes widened in fear, and hushed whispers spread among those assembled on the stone stairway.
They could not forget. Their murmurs echoed faintly, ¡°The White Demon¡¡±
For the moment, Ji Wuye ignored both the prying eyes and the cascading streams of data flickering across the translucent screens, his penetrating gaze fixed resolutely elsewhere as the morning breeze toyed with his long, snowy locks.
"Greetings, Venerable Elders," he spoke, his deep, resonant voice carrying across the courtyard like a thunderclap as he cupped his hands in a polite, deferential gesture upon reaching the paifang gate of Kunlun. Ji Wuye''s piercing scarlet eyes slowly swept over the gathering of numerous robed Elders from various esteemed factions, along with scores of Kunlun''s own disciples clad in white robes.
"Well, well, what an extraordinary talent," the Elder from the renowned Xiangxi Sect remarked, his voice laced with an approving tone towards Ji Wuye. Beside him stood several other Elders¡ªthis being the second group of Elders from righteous factions, guarding Kunlun¡¯s entrance.
"Indeed, with talent as profound as yours, no martial artist under the heavens can hope to rival you¡ªnot even my genius little Hei can match you," another Elder''s voice rang out, his eyes glittering with unabashed admiration. This venerable figure hailed from the Xiao Yao Sect, and he spoke of Wang Hei, his direct disciple and a spear-wielding martial artist who had previously crossed paths with Hao Hanying.
The subject of the Elder''s praise, the young Wang Hei himself, stood beside his master, his sharp eyes carefully studying Ji Wuye, whose expression remained distant yet calm.
"Greetings, fellow Martial Brother," Wang Hei spoke, his words clear and low like the calm before a storm as he cupped his hands in return, mirroring Ji Wuye''s respectful salute.
"I am Wang Hei, a disciple of the Xiao Yao Sect, and the direct disciple of Elder Gong himself," he introduced himself.
Then, after a momentary pause , Wang Hei added, "Please forgive me, fellow Martial Brother Ji, for being merely a spectator during the earlier events."
Despite the apology carried in his words, Wang Hei''s piercing gaze remained utterly steady and unwavering, devoid of even a flicker of guilt or self-reproach as he met Ji Wuye''s intense crimson eyes with an unbreakable lock.
But to Ji Wuye...
"This little one is called Wuye, from the Ji family. Greetings to the venerable Elder Gong Guo of the Xiao Yao Sect, and to all the august Elders representing these prestigious martial factions gathered here," Ji Wuye responded, his deep voice resonating with practiced poise as he raised his head and cupped his hands not toward Wang Hei, but rather toward the Elders.
"I extend my sincere gratitude for your help, aiding to defen the Kunlun during this pivotal time."
"What a remarkably polite and composed young man! Greetings, greetings indeed! Truly, it is no great burden we bear," one of the Elders chuckled heartily, his gruff features crinkling with an approving nod.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"Why on earth does Kunlun see fit to detain such a supremely talented and refined young man like yourself? Hmph! They must be blind!" another Elder''s voice rang out, his eyes gleaming with the unrestrained greed of someone who had spotted a prize ripe for the taking.
"Come, join our sect instead. We will ensure you receive only the finest privileges and resources befitting a genius of your caliber."
And...This brazen attempt at recruitment played out in full view of the Kunlun disciples themselves.
"You honor me greatly with your kind words, Venerable Elder. However, the trial has not yet reached its conclusion, so perhaps such considerations are best...postponed, for now," Ji Wuye replied respectfully.
"No, no, you speak wisely, young man! It''s wholly understandable that you might hesitate!" The shameless Elder quickly backpedaled, his words now carrying an oily unction clearly intended to soothe any ruffled feathers. "Even we, though merely outside observers to these events, can perceive how shamelessly you were mistreated upon this sect after hearing the accounts.
"For one as brilliantly talented as you, it''s only natural to have vented your...justifiable frustrations at such a grievous insult."
"Well said, well said," yet another Elder figure piped up, seemingly eager to ingratiate himself by piling on. "Properly managing one''s understandable frustrations in such circumstances is the wisest path. But still, the Kunlun can hardly fault you for any...momentary lapse, given the indignities you endured here."
The sickly-sweet aroma of blatant pandering and shameless favor-currying hung heavy in the air.
Their blatant platitudes and thinly-veiled attempts to justify Ji Wuye''s transgressions prompted the faintest of smiles to grace on his lips. Inwardly, however, a sardonic laugh echoed through his thoughts.
''Hah, how utterly absurd. Even actions that should be universally condemned as wrong can be twisted into righteous deeds,'' he thought inwardly.
Of course, Ji Wuye was pragmatic enough to recognize that such blatant pandering would cease in an instant if he had actually committed an unforgivable crime - slaying Wudang''s disciples or crippling Elder Xia to the point of ending his martial path forever.
In response to the Elders'' transparent overtures, Ji Wuye replied with a tone of utmost courtesy. "But unfortunately, Kunlun has raised and nurtured me since I was but a child. To turn my back on them now would only invite a burdensome karmic debt, revealing a disgraceful ingratitude for all the years they have devoted to my upbringing."
His words brooked no argument, respectful yet immutably firm, leaving the assembled Elders no rhetorical foothold to sway his decision. They looked upon him with pity and frustration, clicking their tongues in disappointment at being unable to wrest this supremely gifted young man away.
Afterward, Ji Wuye shifted his penetrating gaze toward Wang Hei once more. "There is no need to tender an apology, fellow Martial Brother Wang. What transpired was merely a divergence of perspectives on the matter," he stated evenly.
Of course, he clearly recalled that Wang Hei''s face had been conspicuously absent from the mob of Inner Disciples and guests who had so vehemently besieged him earlier.
At that precise moment, a translucent screen flashed into existence before Ji Wuye''s crimson eyes:
Unbeknownst, his active skill Slash Breaker had finally evolved. This revelation caused the corners of Ji Wuye''s mouth to curl upwards into the faintest of satisfied smiles.
"Then, if you would permit me, I must excuse myself to attend to a private matter," Ji Wuye stated, lowering his head deferentially as he cupped his hands respectfully toward the assembly Elders once more. The Elders nodded their reluctant approval, their ravenous gazes following his departure.
"A pity! What an incalculable pity this turn of events represents!" One of the Elders lamented loudly enough for his reedy voice to carry to Ji Wuye''s ears as he strode away.
"Even mountains of glittering gold would prove insufficient to purchase the cure for such short-sighted folly now! The Kunlun sect had a prodigy of such profound, generational talent flourishing right beneath their noses, yet they failed utterly to win his heart and allegiance!"
...
Meanwhile, upon arriving at the Lower Level, Ji Wuye approached the gathered crowd of Kunlun''s Official Disciples. Most of them didn¡¯t even dare to meet his gaze directly.
After witnessing firsthand his ruthless might and unmatched martial prowess, they cowered behind one another, their faces etched with naked terror. These were the very same arrogant martial artists who had mocked him mercilessly in the past as the "weakest" and "the famous flower boy" in their midst. But now, their hateful ridicule had transmuted into speechless, visceral fear.
Unlike the Official Disciples, however, one group stood out...
"Greetings and salutations, Senior Brother Ji!" They called out, their voices brimming with enthusiasm and respect. This was the same faction who, even before Ji Wuye had revealed the his strength, had voiced their sincere gratitude for the invaluable insights he had provided regarding the Trial at the Tower.
It was a motley group of Outer Disciples, their robes tattered and bearing the marks of recent fierce battle, yet their weary faces still managed to shine with smiles of wonderment despite their evident fatigue. "It has been far too long since we last crossed paths, Senior Brother! We never could have envisioned your fame and prestige eclipsing even the most fanciful of tales!"
Perhaps driven by a sense of security after every last unorthodox martial artist who had dared to storm Kunlun had met their end at Ji Wuye''s hands, the Outer Disciples now brimmed with renewed energy and even appeared relaxed.
However, true to the principle he had long adopted - ''treat kindness with kindness, and malice with its rightful recompense'' - Ji Wuye greeted them with a smile. "Well met, Junior Brothers," he replied.
The Outer Disciples erupted into a chorus of effusive gratitude and unrestrained awe, showering Ji Wuye with praise and expressing their utter shock at the sublime heights of his revealed martial prowess.
For his part, Ji Wuye merely nodded politely, allowing them to speak their admiration to their heart''s content until, at last, he judged the opportune moment had arrived to respectfully excuse himself from their company.
At that precise moment, Ji Wuye noticed the very same ominous shadows he had observed from the rooftop earlier now slinking in the direction of his courtyard.
"Then, Junior Brothers, if you would excuse me," Ji Wuye said calmly.
"Oh, of course! Yes, yes, please forgive our inconsiderate delay, Senior Brother Ji!" the Outer Disciples replied hastily, waving their hands in a flurry as they quickly stepped aside to grant him unimpeded passage.
However, just as Ji Wuye was about to take his leave, he paused momentarily and turned back to face them.
"One more reminder, Junior Brothers," he said. "The enemies have not been fully defeated. I saw a massive reinforcement heading in this direction as we speak."
Chapter 287
"What do we have here?" The loud voice of Ji Wuye rang out as he strolled leisurely beneath the dappled shade of bamboo trees in the soft morning light.
His sudden appearance startled the three ''mice'' sneaking around, who had crept out of the Central Courtyard only to find themselves within Ji Wuye''s secluded courtyard retreat.
The courtyard gate had been left ajar, revealing the three disciples clad in white martial robes with dark blue stripes, seemingly hurriedly preoccupied with something suspicious.
All three turned sharply at the sound of his voice, their gazes landing on the young, long-haired man with snow-white locks cascading down his back¡ªJi Wuye himself, his handsome features etched with faint amusement.
"What the hell? I thought we''d been caught red-handed!" sneered a skinny figure stepping out from the shadow, his eyes narrowing. His crooked rabbit-like front teeth jutted forward as his thin lips curled into a mocking sneer, harsh laughter spilling from his mouth in loud, braying bursts.
"Hehe, Brother Ji! Long time no see, huh?" Another figure emerged¡ªa portly young man with pudgy fingers gripping the hilt of a jian at his side. He flashed a quick, nervous grin, sweat beading on his brow as he shifted his weight from foot to foot.
"Hoh? So the legendary Flower Boy finally decided to come home, huh?" The last of the trio stepped forward purposefully, his broad shoulders rolling back.
He was tall and imposing despite his youth, his jet-black hair cascading past his ears in an inky wave. He stood with his back partially turned in a stance of deliberate defiance, his free hand resting cockily on the hilt of his sword as he regarded Ji Wuye with thinly veiled disdain.
The three figures needed no introduction¡ªthey were none other than the arrogant Qin Bai and his two obsequious underlings, all garbed in Official Disciple martial robes that seemed slightly askew and ruffled.
Ji Wuye''s sharp pupils, however, didn''t miss the telling details. His piercing gaze settled on the rolled parchment clutched tightly in the portly disciple''s pudgy hand, which he quickly tried to conceal behind his back in a furtive gesture.
The unmistakable stains of fresh blood spattered across their white martial robes and the reddish tinge clinging to the edges of their jians.
"Hmm," The crooked-toothed youth mused, a faint, sinister smirk tugging at his thin lips. He slowly licked his front teeth as his beady eyes danced with malice.
"What should I do? Should I let you off this time, Brother Ji?" He paused, savoring the mocking name as it rolled off his tongue. "Bear in mind¡ªeven your strong and reliable Senior Sisters can''t protect their prized little porcelain doll now."
When Ji Wuye heard their taunting words and noted the sneering expressions twisting their faces, rather than frowning, his smile only grew wider, stretching into a lazy, disarming grin.
''So, they''re busy planning some idiotic theft scheme...'' he thought, his eyes narrowing into calculating slits as that infuriatingly casual grin took over his handsome features.
They were so preoccupied that they remained unaware of the rumors¡ªor even of the fact that this so-called Flower Boy had already revealed his strength, enough to make even the Inner Disciples tremble.
"You all look just dashing in those crisp robes, Brothers!" Ji Wuye drawled, his tone thick with exaggerated admiration as he raked his gaze over their disheveled appearance.
"But..." He trailed off, one long finger pointing and gesturing toward the telling stains on their backs.
With a mischievous lilt, he asked, "What exactly are you three rascals hiding back there? And what nefarious plot are you cooking up in my private courtyard while everyone else is out risking their lives in battle?"
He paused, allowing the question to hang heavily in the air as he gave them no time to respond. Instead, Ji Wuye turned his back on them once more, tilting his head up to gaze meditatively at the brilliant azure sky peeking through the bamboo canopy.
"Hmm, let me take a wild guess..." he mused aloud, stroking his chin with exaggerated dramatic flair.
Then, as if struck with sudden realization, he spun back around, his mouth falling agape in a comically overacted expression of mock surprise. "Ah! You pilfered a precious martial art manual from the Thousand Pavilion, didn''t you?"Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
"You insolent bastard!" growled the portly disciple, his pudgy hands clenching tightly into fists as a faint bluish Qi began to flare around him in waves, enveloping both his big body and the blade of his jian in a flickering azure aura.
His face reddened with outrage as spittle flew from his lips. "It''s so damn annoying to watch him prance around and act like such a smug, arrogant peacock! Let''s just end him here and now, Brother Qian!"
"My hands are absolutely itching for it!" the skinny, crooked-toothed young man chimed in eagerly. His jian was already held in a proper striking stance, the edge glinting menacingly in the dappled light as his tongue moistened his protruding front teeth in anticipation.
But before either of the two underlings could make their move to attack, Qin Bai raised a single hand, halting them. His sharp gaze scrutinized Ji Wuye from head to toe, drinking in every detail of the his relaxed, seemingly disinterested stance.
Arms crossed over his broad chest, Qin Bai studied him briefly before shifting his focus to glance around behind Ji Wuye''s shoulder, his dark eyes narrowing slightly.
"Check the surroundings first," he commanded his subordinates in a low, even tone that brooked no argument. "Make sure there are no prying eyes or hidden ''Senior Sisters'' lurking about..."
The two subordinates hesitated for a brief moment, their brows furrowing in confusion at Qin Bai''s command.
But as memories of their previous ill-fated encounters with Ji Wuye came flooding back¡ªtimes when they had foolishly attempted to ambush and teach the him a lesson, only to end up being the ones humiliatingly taught instead¡ªdawning comprehension spread across their dull features.
Without another unnecessary word exchanged, their legs tensed, coiling like Springs as they prepared to sprint ahead and obey Qin Bai''s order to survey the surroundings for any potential witnesses or eavesdroppers.
SWOOSH!
A sudden gust of wind whipped through the courtyard, sending a flurry of bamboo leaves floating through the air in a dizzying kaleidoscope, cutting across Ji Wuye''s unmoving form in crossing, erratic patterns. Qin Bai''s two underlings dashed toward him at lightning speed, their smirking faces twisted with arrogant confidence born of their trained strengths.
"Look! Can''t you see?! Can''t you see, Flower Boy?!" one of them taunted, his voice a mocking singsong as the leaves parted behind them, almost as if nature itself was mocking the eerie stillness of Ji Wuye''s stance as they blurred past him on both sides - left and right.
They thought there was absolutely no way Ji Wuye could possibly react or counter their blistering speed.
After all, both of them were martial artists who had broken through to the 4th Realm! Their reserves of Qi had essentially doubled in capacity, and their Upper Dantians had been opened, granting them insights and martial prowess far beyond Ji Wuye''s abilities.
Or so they arrogantly assumed.
"There''s really no need for such childish theatrics, dear Brothers," Ji Wuye remarked mildly, his deep voice calm yet cutting through their bravado effortlessly.
Their blurry motion continued in what seemed like an unstoppable force as they passed Ji Wuye on either side. But then - their eyes widened in shock as their instincts suddenly screamed danger.
Reflexively panicking, they raised their jians hurriedly in a desperate attempt to parry an incoming strike they sensed coming from Ji Wuye''s direction.
But the "attack" they had tensed to block was nothing more than an illusion - a feint, a mere fleeting shadow of the threat they were braced for. Because in the next instant, the real attack came.
"Ah!" Twin choked cries of shock and agony escaped their lips as both men felt a sickening, slicing sensation burn across the vulnerable areas of their necks.
Before they could even fully process the white-hot agony, their entire worlds seemed to tilt and careen sickeningly. Their sight rolled and twisted grotesquely as they saw something so horrifying and unnatural that their brains simply could not comprehend it at first - their own decapitated bodies...
Their still-advancing forms remained frozen in that singular, suspended moment of motion - each holding their jians raised and ready to desperately block an attack that had never truly materialized. But now, their bodies were unnaturally, grotesquely headless...
SPLASH!
A forceful fountain of crimson erupted from the ragged stumps of their necks in a visceral geyser, spraying both the hard-packed ground and Ji Wuye himself indiscriminately.
The thick, warm blood soaked rapidly into his already tattered white martial robes, further staining the delicate silk as it dripped in rivulets from the razor-sharp edge of the jian gripped steadily in his hand.
SWOOSH!
Like a skilled butcher precisely carving up fresh fish, Ji Wuye''s movements in those fatal instants had been blindingly swift yet somehow almost effortless - calculated and clinical, leaving countless ghostly shadows lingering in the air, a kaleidoscopic blur of blade work more akin to a hypnotic dance than an act of brutal violence.
The faint gleam of his jian whistling through the air was the only visible clue to the lethal strikes he had unleashed.
And then...silence.
Ji Wuye rose fluidly to his full height once more, standing motionless and eerily composed, his handsome features an inscrutable mask betraying nothing of the grisly scene around him.
Two newly headless bodies crumpled lifelessly to the ground at his feet, their severed necks still spasming and spraying rhythmic bursts of blood that swiftly created an ever-widening, viscous pool of red spreading across the ground.
The thick, cloying liquid quickly soaked through Ji Wuye''s once-white shoes, but he remained utterly unmoved, his face carved from stone.
The very same graceful sword form that Song Jia, had once used.
¡®It¡¯s been far too long since I last used this elegant move,¡¯ Ji Wuye muttered to himself, marveling at the fluidity of the deceptively simple footwork and the effortless precision of the slashes.
The technique required only a minimal amount of Qi and stamina to produce convincing feints¡ªmuch less than it had in the past.
Now...
"It''s really quite unnecessary to bring extra people just to clean up a few pathetic rats," Ji Wuye remarked. He was still wearing that same insufferably confident smile, his eyes narrowed in faint amusement.
That flicker of amusement faded slightly, however, as he turned his piercing attention fully back to Qin Bai. Ji Wuye''s expression subtly shifted, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly as he realized something seemed...off.
Qin Bai was no longer standing near the courtyard gate.
Or rather...
Shadows loomed ominously above. When Ji Wuye tilted his head back, those bright crimson pupils of his locked instantly onto the sight of Qin Bai descending in a controlled free-fall, his jian held poised to strike with lethal, precise timing.
Qin Bai twisted in mid-air, channeling his Qi into the razor-sharp blade as it shimmered with a faint but deadly bluish aura.
With a forceful grunt of exertion, he slashed that spirit-infused jian down in a relentless, sweeping arc - the sharpened edge aiming directly for the top of Ji Wuye''s head in what should have been an unavoidable, decapitating strike.
But of course... Ji Wuye wasn''t so easily caught off-guard or vulnerable.
He dropped sharply into a low, coiled stance - his entire lithe body compressing like a tightly-wound spring as Qin Bai''s downward slash passed a mere hand''s breadth away from fatally connecting. But that perilously close call wasn''t close enough.
With an explosive burst of kinetic force, Ji Wuye launched himself skyward to meet his airborne opponent head-on, unleashing all the tightly coiled potential tension in his stance in a single, controlled blast.
His powerful vertical leap propelled him straight up into Qin Bai''s trajectory, the jian in his own hand now glowing brilliantly with a vibrant azure Qi.
Chapter 288
Just like tofu, soft and squishy, Ji Wuye''s head didn''t split or get stabbed by Qin Bai''s downward slash. Instead, Ji Wuye''s jian pierced straight through Qin Bai''s hovering body in midair with surgical precision, the blade slicing through flesh and bone like a hot knife through butter.
With a powerful upward cut fueled by sheer strength, Ji Wuye leapt, his muscles coiling as his jian cleaved through Qin Bai''s form without meeting any resistance. A faint bluish Qi, shimmering like heat waves, bubbled and emitted from the grievous wound as Ji Wuye soared higher into the air, his white robes billowing behind him.
SPLASH!
Like a torrent of crimson rain, a sickening spray of blood erupted from Qin Bai''s body. It splattered in all directions, spattering the ground in a widening scarlet pool as Qin Bai''s bisected corpse fell apart gruesomely, leaving a grotesque mess in Ji Wuye''s wake.
Suspended in midair, Ji Wuye turned with effortless grace, his gaze falling dispassionately upon the carnage below.
There, Qin Bai''s mangled remains¡ªhis body split cleanly in half along the deadly path of the blade, organs spilling forth in a tangle of viscera¡ªlay motionless in the ever-expanding puddle of blood. Ji Wuye''s white martial robe was now fully soaked, transformed into a deep, dripping crimson.
STEP.
Landing softly on the bloodied ground with the lightness of a falling feather, Ji Wuye''s long white hair¡ªnow streaked vividly with Qin Bai''s lifeblood¡ªfluttered gently in an unfelt breeze.
His crimson pupils, gazed unflinchingly at the grisly remains where Qin Bai''s bisected body lay. Even his eyes were split in two, perfectly cleaved along with the rest of his form. The jian Qin Bai had wielded shared the same cruel fate, shattered cleanly in half by the unstoppable force of Ji Wuye''s strike.
''Clean,'' Ji Wuye thought to himself with muted amazement, his gaze falling upon his own jian. It still glowed faintly with the bluish Qi of the newly evolved Slash Breaker skill.
While his overwhelming physical strength had played a major role, the Slash Breaker had elevated his already formidable abilities in cutting through both Qin Bai''s jian and body with such lethal, surgical precision.
The pale morning light illuminated the gruesome scene¡ªthree corpses sprawled lifelessly on the bloodsoaked ground, their bodies twisted in unnatural poses of death.
Two were headless, their severed necks gaping open like grotesque second mouths, while the third lay split gruesomely down the middle.
A deep crimson river of blood spilled freely from their wounds, forming thick, viscous puddles that slowly meandered outward, seeping into the surrounding grass and staining it a violent shade of red.
Bending down with catlike grace, Ji Wuye retrieved the items stolen from the Kunlun Thousand Pavilion, his white shoes leaving prints in the still-warm blood. He immediately unrolled an aged parchment with delicate motions, his crimson eyes scanning the contents intently.
''Kunlun Internal Art?'' he thought inwardly, a single raven brow arching as his forehead creased with a disappointed frown. The shadow of displeasure clouded his chiseled features upon realizing that the parchment contained nothing more than a simple internal art from Kunlun, enabling mere disciples to advance only to the third realm.
With an almost inaudible sigh of frustration, Ji Wuye rolled the worthless parchment back up and half-knelt amidst the grisly carnage, thoroughly rummaging through the cooling corpses.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
After an exhaustive search, the only other item he discovered of note was another parchment, this one heavily soaked in the rapidly congealing blood of Qin Bai. Rising fluidly to his feet, Ji Wuye held the stained scroll.
Unrolling the second parchment, he scanned the text, the faded ink stark against the sanguine background:
"The autumn wind rustles through ten thousand bamboo stalks,
Each stem bends differently to honor heaven''s unending way.
When the mountain spring flows anew from its pristine source,
The wise gardener knows which roots to prune with patience.
The dragon''s children scatter like evanescent morning mist,
Before the golden sun reaches its blazing peak in the azure sky.
Remember: Even the strongest bamboo must bow to the wind''s immutable direction.
This timeless wisdom passed down through our noble ancestors must be understood with the clarity of the heart, not just the mind."
Unlike the previous mundane parchment, the poetic contents of this one immediately caught Ji Wuye''s keen interest. His crimson pupils narrowed fractionally as he read the lyrical passage again, more carefully this time, savoring each line.
Holding his breath unconsciously, he analyzed the profound words, committing them to his formidable memory as if inscribing them into the very fabric of his being. He only released the pent-up exhalation after consciously reminding himself to breathe.
''The Emperor...'' Ji Wuye''s thoughts crystallized, his crimson gaze sharpening like a hawk''s as realization blossomed within his keen mind. Hidden beneath the poetic phrasing lay a secret code, its true meaning obscured in metaphor.
While the full significance may elude him without the insights of scholars versed in such riddles, he managed to tease out part of the encrypted message.
''A "wise gardener" represents the Emperor, and "roots to trim" symbolizes an impending attack,'' he theorized silently. But the remaining questions plagued him - which Emperor plotted such aggression against the Kunlun Sect? And why target Kunlun?
His primary suspect was the Emperor of Western Xia, who had previously issued veiled threats to Kunlun, warning them to reduce their forces lest they be seen as housing too many able disciples ripe for conscription.
SWOOSH!
But out of nowhere, Ji Wuye''s preternatural instincts flared like a bonfire in the night. Suddenly, time itself seemed to slow down again in that breathless moment. A pair of translucent screens flashed urgently before his widening crimson eyes:
This time, even his Quick Adaptation skill - something that had remained inert during the earlier skirmish with the trio - was now pulsing with activation.
Ji Wuye immediately sensed a significant change brewing: the newly unveiled fourth effect of the Quick Adaptation skill, which had remained dormant until this very moment, was stirring to wakefulness.
Through his slowed-down vision, the world around him crystallizing into vivid clarity under the sharp focus of his crimson pupils, Ji Wuye saw it - a blade, a sleek jian, hurtling through the air at an astonishing speed.
It surged forth as if launched by an invisible hand, its razor-sharp edge aimed with pinpoint precision at the side of his head for a lethal strike. This weapon had no apparent wielder, yet its deadly trajectory sliced the air with purpose, already closing in on its mark.
Then, his heightened senses perceived something else amidst the frozen tableau - something faint yet discernible. A flickering ghostly arrow, translucent and glowing faintly with a lambent bluish Qi, materialized and vanished intermittently before his slowed perception, as if guiding his actions.
The ephemeral arrow''s point was aimed directly at the side of the incoming jian, apparently urging him towards a particular countermeasure. It gently suggested, with the subtlest of nudges, to not evade the strike but rather to deflect the lethal arc of the blade.
At first, heeding the ghostly arrow''s ethereal guidance, Ji Wuye opted against a evasive sidestep. Instead, he raised his own jian vertically before him in the precise alignment suggested by the flickering prompt. Then, time resumed its inexorable forward march.
But this time, Ji Wuye also pushed off powerfully from his original stance, his wiry muscles coiling as he followed the arrow''s prescribed vector.
He deftly dodged and wove in a blurred sidestep just as the howling incoming jian shot forward, the razor edge hissing through the empty space where he''d been rooted moments before. It seemed for one breathless heartbeat that the invisible strike would simply bypass him entirely.
But then, impossibly, the ethereal attack bent and curved unnaturally mid-flight - mimicking to eerie perfection the Pulse of the Blade Art''s signature feint maneuver. The ownerless jian transitioned seamlessly, redirecting its lethal arc with a subtle tilt to realign and strike at Ji Wuye''s unguarded flank.
Yet the blow never landed.
CLANK!
Thanks to the guiding arrow''s directive, the realigned attack failed to complete its curved trajectory. His own jian was ideally positioned, and the deadly blade rebounded off the perfectly angled parry with a metallic clang, clattering uselessly to the ground at his feet.
Ji Wuye''s crimson pupils blazed ominously as his gaze traced the faint bluish Qi trail still dissipating from the fallen jian, following the ephemeral vapor back to its point of origin within his own courtyard.
"Even though I am quite old, I clearly remember never accepting any new disciples recently," a disembodied voice spoke - distant yet unnervingly intimate, the whispered words seeming to caress Ji Wuye''s very ear with the unmistakable warmth of human presence. "But tell me...how did you, a young man from Kunlun, manage to perfectly execute my martial art?"
CLANK!
Another attack came without warning - this time a vicious straightline thrust aimed squarely at Ji Wuye''s exposed neck. Without flinching, Ji Wuye smoothly blocked the lethal strike, his jian lashing out in a horizontal slash that created pivoting space while deflecting the incoming blow.
The controlled motion flowed seamlessly into a wide arcing cut as he turned his body.
Only to be met with empty air and shadows.
But then, out of the corner of his crimson gaze, Ji Wuye noticed a solitary figure materialize - a shadow of man standing atop the gate of his courtyard.
Chapter 289
The man appeared to be in his late thirties. His gaze, sharp and penetrating as a falcon''s, was devoid of youthful impulsiveness. Those eyes, calm and still as a frozen lake''s surface.
His rugged, angular face was a tapestry woven from countless battles survived. Silvery scars, relics of past conflicts, etched intricate patterns across his sun-weathered skin. Raven locks, streaked defiantly with steely gray, were bound loosely at his nape.
His flowing black martial robe rippled like liquid shadow with each measured step, its open folds deliberately revealing glimpses of a muscular torso marked by the same indelible chapters as his visage.
A blood-red sash, cinched tightly around his narrow waist, stood out like a fresh wound against the severe darkness of his attire. An empty jian sheath swayed at his hip, its hollow resonance whispering of the deadly blade''s absence.
His hawkish eyes swept over Ji Wuye before settling on the grotesque courtyard scene - three lifeless forms strewn amidst the swirling dust.
Two bodies lay severed at the neck, detached heads rolling aside like discarded fruits, while the third had been neatly bisected from crown to pelvis in a display of terrifying precision.
"Your methods," he began, his resonant voice carrying the soft menace of tempered steel clearing its sheath, "are unorthodox." Liquid grace flowed through each motion as he descended from the rooftop gate, alighting with the silent lethality of a hunting cat.
Not a whisper of sound betrayed his featherlight steps upon the stone path. "Disorderly...reckless." The weighty cadence of his words sliced through the air like stones disrupting still waters as he advanced with deliberate strides toward Ji Wuye.
One hand extended in a slow, controlled arc, and a jian seemed to materialize from the ether, its mirrored steel surface catching the dying rays like a lightning strike.
''Inventory, huh'' Ji Wuye mused, his crimson eyes flickering briefly to the scattered remnants of parchment - once crucial documents rendered to worthless confetti by the preceding violence.
''A pity.'' His piercing gaze rose again to meet his opponent''s unflinching stare. A razor-edged smile, devoid of warmth, curved Ji Wuye''s lips as he responded: "Greetings to the WindBlade Emperor."
Conspicuously absent were the customary gestures of respect - the deferential bow, the cupped hands raised. Instead, that smile merely deepened, failing to soften the crimson intensity of his eyes.
In the fleeting stillness between one heartbeat and the next, both men blurred into lethal motion.
CLANG!
The percussive ring of their inaugural clash reverberated like a temple bell through the thickening dusk, echoes bouncing from courtyard walls as martial artists collided.
A violent vortex erupted from the point of impact, the clashing forces unleashing a miniature sandstorm that spiraled outward in all directions.
Dust devils danced madly across the courtyard as shafts of morning sunlight pierced through the chaos, catching on the metallic gleam of their whirling jians.
The jians met with a deafening clang that seemed to split the very air, a cascading shower of golden sparks raining down where the blades kissed - molten stars birthed from the furious collision.
Ji Wuye''s crimson eyes, burning with an intensity to match freshly spilled blood under the sun''s harsh glare, locked with the obsidian depths of the WindBlade Emperor''s gaze.
Those black pools seemed to contain the mysteries of a moonless night sky, betraying nothing yet hungrily observing everything.
The two martial artists stood frozen in a deadly tableau, every muscle coiled like a taut spring beneath their flowing garments as tremors traveled up their straining arms from the trembling junction of blade against blade.
In that crystallized moment of combat intersection, a translucent screen flickered into existence across Ji Wuye''s field of vision.
"Ah, so you rely on those ''skills'' from the Tower, do you?" The WindBlade Emperor''s words carried a hint of disdainful amusement that drifted through the tension-saturated atmosphere like autumn leaves skittering across scorched earth.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Without warning, his poised stance shifted with the fluidity of quicksilver. Taking a near-silent step back, his entire frame flowed with the liquid grace of a meandering stream as his narrow waist twisted with mechanical precision - an articulated movement so controlled it seemed choreographed.
The very air around them compressed with an audible hiss, rippling outward in invisible waves of pressure that caused the scattered parchment scraps to Flutter across the courtyard like startled birds.
The WindBlade Emperor''s extended arm and jian became a blur, the sinewy muscles beneath his robe rippling with corded definition as the blade cut a horizontal arc aimed squarely at Ji Wuye''s exposed flank. Steel sang through the wind with a lethal whisper.
Yet Ji Wuye''s supernatural crimson perception caught the faintest phantom of deception in the feinted slash - it was never intended to connect.
With one seamless transition as fluid as silk spilling over polished stone, the WindBlade Emperor dropped into a predator''s hunched crouch. His thighs bunched with explosive potential as tendons stood out like drawn bowstrings.
The same hand that had just carved empty air now reversed its arc with blinding quickness, the mirrored jian transforming into a silver crescent moon as it arced upward, aiming the devastating diagonal slash at Ji Wuye''s unprotected jaw.
Translucent screens flickered across Ji Wuye''s vision in rapid ripples. Then reality itself seemed to fold inward - the WindBlade Emperor''s lightning-swift movements reversed as if spooling back a length of silk.
Time bent until both martial artists found themselves remanded to their initial deadly impasse, jians locked and ringing out from the furious impact.
The moment reset, and the WindBlade Emperor struck anew. His frame, tightly coiled like a steel spring, suddenly unleashed its stored potential energy.
Leaning forward with precise calculation, he committed his mass as an irresistible force akin to a mountain''s gravitational supremacy.
The explosive burst of power sent Ji Wuye skidding backward, his white shoes scoring twin furrows through the tightly-packed earth as he yielded that crucial hair''s breadth of separation between them.
In that infinitesimal window, the WindBlade Emperor''s blade became a quicksilver flash descending in a vertical arc aimed at Ji Wuye''s legs - a falcon stooping toward its prey. But this feinted strike merely preluded his true intent.
Within the same fluttering heartbeat, his wrists performed an elaborate choreography as fingers shifted along the jian''s hilt with serpentine grace. The sword''s trajectory altered in mid-plummet, sweeping upward in a devastating silver arc directed at Ji Wuye''s exposed left chest as the steel sang its lethal aria through the wind.
Once more, the ethereal screen materialized like a ghostly heads-up display before Ji Wuye''s bloody irises as the WindBlade Emperor''s initial feint dissolved into spectral afterimages - ink droplets dispersing through clear water.
The flow of time reversed again, pulling the martial artists back to that pivotal blade-lock where pressures collided and tempered steel kissed steel.
''It''s really the first move of Pulse Blade art, Gentle Breeze,'' Ji Wuye''s thought inwardly, dissecting each phantom motion as the ghostly afterimage danced before his eyes.
However, it turned out to be futile as, in the next moment, another transparent screen appeared before his eyes.
BANG!
The thunderous concussion shook the very courtyard walls. The WindBlade Emperor''s body, caught by an irresistible tide of overwhelming force, launched backward as if struck by a giant''s hammer-blow.
He crashed through the gate with the unstoppable inertia of a hawk, obliterating not just the wooden structure but the adjacent stone wall as well in a devastating explosion of matter.
Debris sprayed outward in a lethal radius as shattered fragments of timber and masonry alike accompanied a billowing cloud of smoke-like dust.
Ji Wuye stood unmoved amidst the chaos, a statue of implacable calm though the ground benath him told a different story.
The once finely paved stonework beneath his white shoes had cratered inward like the impact site of a fallen meteor - a spider''s web of radiating cracks emanating outward from where his feet were partially submerged in pulverized rock fragments. Pebbles and grit continued to trickle down the sloped depression.
The devastating backlash of Deflecting Blows had reshaped the environment, but Ji Wuye''s enhanced physique absorbed the force like an ancient mountain weathering a summer storm. Not a single tremor betrayed any strain in his poised stance.
"An impressive trick," the WindBlade Emperor''s voice carried through the settling maelstrom as he emerged from the obliterated structure, rising like a phoenix reborn from ashes. His hands brushed away clinging debris with casual elegance as practiced sweeps dispersed the lingering dust clouds.
Keen eyes, sharp as winter''s first frost, studied Ji Wuye''s jian with scrutinizing intensity - reading the blade itself like a scholar might interpret an ancient text.
"I''m honored," Ji Wuye responded, his smile bearing the same lethal grace as the sword in his hands. In one explosive beat, he wrenched his feet free from their stone imprisonment, launching skyward as coiled power detonated through his frame.
The remaining intact stone paving path simply surrendered to the force, shattering into a glittering diamond spray of fractured rock that caught the morning sunlight in refracting shards.
Ethereal tendrils of translucent qi manifested around Ji Wuye''s feet, swirling in wisps of energy that transcended mortal constraints. He glided through the ground with preternatural grace, each step finding ephemeral purchase on invisible currents of pure power.
The jian transformed as well, coming alive as azure Qi sheathed the blade in a radiant aura of liquid sapphire intensity that rendered the steel into a ribbon of pure elemental Qi.
On the other hand...
Through Ji Wuye''s crimson gaze, the WindBlade Emperor''s singular form fragmented into a kaleidoscope of overlapping afterimages, each as physically present as the next.
His body wove an intricate dance of subtle feints and shifts, slipping right then left with mesmerizing fluidity as every measured step generated gusts of wind that carried the charged scent of ozone and primal power - forceful enough to set Ji Wuye''s white locks undulating like blizzard.
Yet those supernatural crimson eyes, burning with an intensity to match molten pools, never faltered or lost track of their target.
Every illusory image, every feinted motion, each minute shift in the WindBlade Emperor''s stance was tracked with unbroken focus and clarity - like a master painter following the path of every individual brushstroke across his canvas.
Once again, ethereal screens cascaded across Ji Wuye''s field of vision like a flurry of windblown autumn leaves.
A sublime dance of feints and phantom shifts that Ji Wuye''s Quick Adaptation skill had yet to fully unravel. But rather than frustration, the inability to immediately grasp this mystery kindled a thrilling sense of exhilaration that pulsed through his veins.
His chest began to rise and fall with heightened rapidity, each breath fueled not by weariness but by anticipation bordering on feral eagerness. The smile curving his lips widened as white teeth glinted like fangs catching the morning light.
But then, a solitary luminescent arrow suddenly materialized within his vision, pulsing with gentle urgency as it directed Ji Wuye''s attention downward.
The ethereal marker rolled through his projected glide path like a ghostly guiding force, clearly suggesting he execute a forward aerial roll beneath his current trajectory to safely continue his advance.
''A useful precaution, but...'' Ji Wuye''s inner voice carried a hint of willful defiance as he deliberately ignored the guidance arrow. But then, his crimson irises contracted into predatory slits as a new translucent screen flashed across his vision.
Chapter 290
It was a vertical attack¡ªa manifested wind slash that cleaved through the morning air like nature''s own razor-edged blade.
The technique materialized as a faint white light, crystallizing into the form of a glowing sword slash with undulating edges that seemed to bend and distort the very atmosphere around it.
Towering over Ji Wuye''s height and encompassing his entire form, the attack drew ever closer with an otherworldly whistle, its ethereal radiance dancing across his chiseled features and casting an almost supernatural shimmer in his narrowed crimson pupils, which had constricted like a predator''s beneath the interplay of soft morning light and pulsating magical energy.
Without a moment''s hesitation¡ªJi Wuye''s lithe movements flowed with the fluidity of water cascading over polished stone.
His white hair, long and luminescent as moonlight spilling across a still pond, streamed behind him in a glorious fan before suddenly arresting mid-air as his white shoes found silent purchase on the stone-paved path.
The abrupt stop kicked up a veil of dust that swirled lazily around his ankles like earthbound clouds. His hands, wrapped around the jian''s intricately hilt with a grip both precise and unwavering, moved.
The back of his hand turned earthward, sinewy muscles coiling with controlled power as he executed a diagonal upward slash to deftly intercept the approaching wave of sword energy.
BANG!
A thunderous metallic clash split the air asunder, its deep resonance vibrating through the very ground beneath their feet and rattling the nearby leaves with its force.
Despite the attack being comprised of pure elemental energy rather than physical steel, the collision with Ji Wuye''s jian produced an ear-splitting sound that rang out like the ancient clarion bells of war. The deafening impact scattered twinkling particles of light like a starburst of celestial shards across their battlefield.
The raw, unrestrained force of the earth-shaking clash sent powerful shockwaves rippling up Ji Wuye''s outstretched arms, as it pushed him backward. His feet carved twin furrows through the stonework as he deftly planted his weight low and shifted his stance to regain his equilibrium.
================
[!] Your passive skill, Deflecting Blows (D), has been triggered!
================
A shimmering transparent screen, like the wavering heat haze of a desert mirage, pulsed briefly before his narrowed eyes in the aftermath of the shattering impact.
BOOM!
In that same heartbeat, the WindBlade Emperor''s powerfully built form became an unstoppable projectile, launched backward with staggering force by the very torrent of energy he had so recklessly unleashed.
His body hurtled through the air in a graceless arc before impacting the courtyard with devastating, bone-jarring force¡ªunleashing a thunderous detonation that sent shards of shattered masonry and plumes of pulverized rubble exploding skyward.
Thick, billowing clouds of suffocating dust bloomed outward like malevolent grey flowers, momentarily obscuring the catastrophic sight of one of the surrounding buildings collapsing inward in an ear-splitting chaos of splintering timber and crashing stone.
''Instead of attacking me directly with physical force, he attempted to catch me off-guard by manipulating his Qi and converting it into a long-range projectile attack,'' Ji Wuye swiftly analyzed in the fleeting stillness. ''An impressive display of wisdom, as expected from someone bearing the title of the Five Emperors.''
His ruby-red eyes, fathomless and steady as a frozen mountain lake despite the devastation raining down around him, tracked the slightest hint of movement through the slowly settling clouds of dust and debris.
Then...
A series of flickering translucent screens manifested in the air before him.
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[>> QUICK ADAPTATION (C) <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill has slightly increased!
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[>> QUICK ADAPTATION (C) <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill has slightly increased!
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''But unfortunately for him, my Deflecting Blows is equally effective against magic-based attacks as it is against physical blades,'' Ji Wuye''s inner thoughts carried a razor''s edge as his crimson pupils contracted into predatory slits.
From deep within the dense cloud of swirling dust and smoke¡ªstill thick with pulverized stone fragments and scattered debris¡ªcame an ominous sound unlike any other, a harbinger of the devastation still to come.
A shuttering, colossal wave of compacted wind exploded outward with the unholy shriek of a banshee''s howl, the displaced air carrying with it the unrelenting promise of annihilation as it surged forth.
In the next breathless heartbeat, three diagonal lances of solidified sword energy erupted forth¡ªeach slash smaller and more compact than the first cataclysmic attack, yet now honed with infinitely greater lethality and precision.
Like streaking meteorsearing across the night sky, they carved through the superheated air and left shimmering, coruscating trails of disturbed elemental qi screaming in their wake.
Though more tightly focused than their devastating precursor, each slash hummed with a higher, more harmonic pitch that spoke of obscenely concentrated destructive power barely constrained.
But...
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[!] Your passive skill, Quick Adaptation (C), has been triggered!
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The world around Ji Wuye seemed to slow to a dreamlike crawl. Faint, ghostly overlays of ethereal guidance manifested across his field of vision¡ªa series of precisely angled arrows and trajectories that tracked and identified each incoming attack vector.
The swiftly converging slashes shimmered with a pale emerald aura, each one marked with glowing numerals and accompanied by detailed tactical prompts that materialized like streams of illuminated calligraphy drifting across the shifting air currents swirling around his poised form.
Attack "1" called for an full-body evasive bend, the angled arrow and accompanying prompt suggesting a precise angle and degree of flexion required to allow the first slash to pass overhead with mere cuns to spare.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
The second glowing advisory, marked with the numeral "2," clearly indicated a fluid forward combat roll from the low bent position Ji Wuye would find himself in¡ªa slashing, sinuous movement designed to carry his lithe form under the searing arc of the second attack in one seamless, flowing evasion.
The final ghostly guidance overlay bloomed to life, labeled "3," its urgent instructions culminating in a perfectly timed vertical jump and bodytwist combination meant to clear the final, inexorably descending energy slash with split-second timing.
''The effect stated to identify and exploit weaknesses in the enemy attack patterns,'' Ji Wuye''s mind raced, a slight furrow forming between his brows. ''But so far, all I perceive are relatively straightforward instructions outlining various contortions and acrobatics to simply dodge the incoming slashes...''
Rather than submitting to the suggested ground-hugging roll, Ji Wuye began channeling his Qi, directing the invigorating flow to pool around the balls of his feet like roiling quicksilver.
SWOOSH!
Defying all accepted combat logic, he boldly initiated an aggressive advance directly towards the rapidly converging slashes rather than attempting to evade their lethal arcs.
Yet his measured footwork and body positioning maintained an almost taunting awareness of the arrow trajectories suggested by the screen overlays, as if daring the incoming attacks to alter their vectors and trajectories in response to his brash forward movements.
At the crucial moment, he executed a controlled pivot and bodyshift that seemed to bend and fragment the laws of spatial geometry¡ªthe movement so devastatingly precise that the screaming vortex of the nearest slash merely brushed against and parted the flowing strands of his luminous white hair as his tensed form passed beneath its edge in a blur of inhuman speed.
Only a few pale strands drifted lazily away in its wake, scattered like ethereal moonbeams torn from the night sky and dancing across the scorched air currents.
¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-
Cloudsoaring Step, Whirlwind Pivot!
¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-
The movement of the Cloudsoaring Step ¡ª Whirlwind Pivot, that allowed practitioner to transform the very elemental essence of wind itself into a steadfast ally¡ªenabled any skilled practitioner to harness their hard-won momentum and channeled Qi to execute an instant, physics-defying directional pivot, as though their tensed form were being caught up in the swirling vortex of nature''s own whirlwind.
Ji Wuye executed this breathtaking display of martial prowess with the casual, his lithe, muscled form seemed to momentarily take on the fluid, boneless consistency of quicksilver as he pivoted and flowed around the second incoming slash.
His long white hair trailed behind in his wake like a ghostly contrail, the pale strands tracing mesmerizing arabesque patterns across the charged air currents before settling back into place as if guided by unseen hands, seamlessly following the dangerous arcs and eddies of his defensive technique.
Each component motion transitioned flawlessly into the next in a seemingly never-ending cycle of Balance and Flow, his footwork alone a blinding blur of precision that suggested these ostensibly lethal attacks from the WindBlade Emperor were little more than the first warm spring raindrops to be danced around¡ªat least, until the final incoming slash abruptly revealed its true, vicious nature.
SHRILL!
The very air itself seemed to scream in protest as Ji Wuye pivoted and his upswept foot displaced the atmosphere, the sound cutting through the battlefield with a piercing dissonance akin to shards of shattered glass scattering across a stone floor.
The solidified wind sword slash¡ª should have harmlessly carried onward its initial trajectory and passed through the empty space now vacated by Ji Wuye''s evasive movement¡ªinstead defied all convention and rational logic as it thrashed and contorted like a living serpent of pure energy.
The blade of condensed elemental force distorted and twisted violently upon itself in a blur of motion too swift for the naked eye to track, abandoning its preordained path to wickedly snap back at a seemingly impossible angle in a vicious diagonal arc aimed directly at Ji Wuye''s abdomen.
CLANG!
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[!] Your passive skill, Deflecting Blows (D), has been triggered!
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With the casual, almost arrogant precision, Ji Wuye smoothly raised his jian into a vertical guarding position, the folded steel singing out like a clear bell as it met and deflected the redirected blade of energy in a blinding shower of golden-white sparks and roiling clouds of disturbed elemental Qi.
The next moment, the side effect of the Deflecting Blow sent him sliding backward in an unstoppable rush, his white shoes carving parallel twin furrows through the hard-packed earth beneath until the full brunt of his movement was finally arrested by the reassuringly solid and embrace of a solitary bamboo tree.
Standing there, Ji Wuye turned slightly, his front now facing to the side as the thick cloud of dust around them slowly began to dissipate.
Through the slowly clearing veil of lingering dust and powder cast aloft by their clashing forces, the WindBlade Emperor''s imposing form emerged like a manifestation of some primordial force of nature breaking through the obscuring morning mists.
His body was already flowing into the next deadly stance and technique even as his feet found their way across the debris-strewn battlefield, his powerful physique and towering presence exuding the supreme confidence and lethal focus of an apex predator that had just sighted its prey through the dissipating miasma.
The WindBlade Emperor''s piercing eyes, as keen and pitiless as the talons of a hunting raptor, remained fixed upon Ji Wuye with an intensity that brooked no distraction.
One arm was raised high in a practiced guard as the other drew back in flawless concert¡ªthe rigid tendons standing out in harsh relief as the digits of his clenched hand curled into an ancient gesture suggesting that of a master archer drawing an invisible bow of pure focused power unto the point of firing.
And in continuation of this precise metaphor, the razor-sharp edge of his wickedly curved jian extended outward into an unerring trajectory that passed directly alongside the center of Ji Wuye''s torso in a steady, unwavering line.
Yet despite the WindBlade Emperor''s imposing form and undeniable aura of strength, a thin crimson rivulet escaping the corner of his mouth stood as grim testament to the sheer devastating recoil and internal trauma he himself had sustained when Ji Wuye''s flawless deflection had reversed the impossible energies of his earlier attack.
In addition, the sight of it only fanned the raging tempest of his qi into a visible corona of swirling elemental forces that blazed around his form like a miniature cyclone given visceral and terrifying shape.
His once neatly-bound mane of midnight hair had been thoroughly ruined in the chaotic fury of their exchange, the thick obsidian strands now unfurling and whipping wildly through the charged air currents like a dark flame against the lightening indigo sky of dawn.
¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-
Pulse of Blade ¨C Third Move, Piercing Tempest Thrust!
¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-
Though the open distance spanning the space between them would have taken even the most fleet-footed of ordinary men multiple heartbeats to traverse, the WindBlade Emperor obliterated that reassuring gap of separation in what amounted to a single indrawn breath.
His built form seemed to dissolve into a blurring streak of unstoppable force and motion, more akin to an unleashed tempest of nature itself than anything resembling a human body as it blazed across the hard-packed earth.
A veritable hurricane''s-breath corridor of howling wind erupted in the wake of his Qi-enhanced passage, the invisible pressures bending the towering stalks of bamboo into surrendering arcs and sending a tornado of scattered leaves and detritus swirling skyward.
The very air itself seemed to resist being parted before the WindBlade Emperor''s devastating advance, the atmosphere visibly compressing and distorting as his focused Qi preceded his form like some intangible shockwave of pure inertia.
The sheer blinding swiftness of this Piercing Tempest Thrust technique was such that Ji Wuye''s entire world and perception of objective reality itself seemed to shift and fragment in those scant few instants.
But then...
Time itself took on a gelatinous slow-motion quality, with every infinitesimal moment stretching into what felt like eons as reality warped and distorted sickeningly around Ji Wuye''s poised form like a viscous liquid thick as chilled honey being slowly poured from a crystalline jar.
In this altered state of slipstream temporal perception, a cascading shower of razor-thin ethereal screens and overlays spontaneously materialized all around him.
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[!] Your passive skill, Feline Reflexes (D), has been triggered!
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[>> QUICK ADAPTATION (C) <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill has slightly increased!
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[>> QUICK ADAPTATION (C) <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill has slightly increased!
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¡
In this bizarre slipstream dimension where a subjective few seconds stretched into what felt like the span of countless subjective hours, Ji Wuye''s narrowed crimson pupils remained laser-locked onto the lethal vector of the WindBlade Emperor''s blade as it arced in for the final killing thrust.
The Emperor''s sword took on the illusory quality of an impossibly slender silvered needle, its honed edge aimed squarely at Ji Wuye''s unguarded chest with cold precision as it drifted ever inward¡ªnow a mere handspan from piercing flesh and bone.
Yet despite its dreamlike appearance, that razor-kissed steel carried the full mass and unstoppable momentum of the Emperor himself channeled into a single meticulously focused point of catastrophically penetrating force.
''A thrust, but a unique one,'' Ji Wuye''s inner voice rang with the calm clarity of a still mountain lake undisturbed by even the faintest breeze with a smile.
Yet despite the intense metaphysical reflection underscoring his actions, his gaze remained admirably steady and his mind firmly centered in the present reverie of combat. He watched with an outward aura of perfect tranquility as his own body and spirit flowed into a reflexive series of defensive movements.
Wreathed in a hazy azure luminescence of Qi, Ji Wuye''s jian hummed with the active harmonic frequencies of the unleashed Slash Breaker technique as the ornately forged steel moved with the liquid grace of a master swordsman from its defensive starting position held before his side.
The blade seemed to rise of its own inscrutable volition, effortlessly carving through the charged air currents in a precise diagonal arc calibrated to perfection¡ªits razor-edge destined to intersect the WindBlade Emperor''s sword-thrust at the one singular angle capable of bisecting and shattering its seemingly unstoppable forward momentum.
The point of intersection between the two contrasting sword released a shockwave of conflicting energies that sang out like the pure, clarion peal of a ringing temple bell.
For the briefest subjective moment, the fabric of reality itself seemed to distort and wrinkle in accordance with the incredible mass and inertia being redirected in direct opposition to the Earth''s timeless rotational pull.
As the WindBlade Emperor''s forward thrust exploded outward in a shower of redirected force akin to shattering waves crashing against an implacable monolith, Ji Wuye''s sinuous form flowed into the next linked sequence of his chosen countering techniques with the cold inevitability of the cosmos'' untold cycles.
In a heartbeat''s fleeting span, his leading knee lifted in a smooth ascending arc while the whole of his torso and shoulders curved backward into a physique-defying display of flexibility and sinuous control as his spine took on a distinctly serpentine profile.
Every nuanced aspect of this bizarre boneless contortion created the barest fractional increase of distance from the shattered remnants of the Emperor''s deflected attack as Ji Wuye simultaneously threaded the path his own body would need to occupy in the following span of microseconds.
Without the briefest pause of disrupted potential, his chambered foot lashed outward like the propulsive coil of a striking cobra, cutting through the roiling eddies of superheated air in a whip-fast snapping kick aimed with cold precision directly for the WindBlade Emperor''s exposed jaw and facial extremities.
Then, in an instant, time returned to normal, bringing all the chaos crashing back into reality.
CRASH!
Shards of shattered steel hovered briefly in the air, catching the light as Ji Wuye¡¯s sharp crimson gaze lingered on the stunned expression of the WindBlade Emperor.
Flung backward by the immense force of the kick, the WindBlade Emperor collided with the ground and tumbled uncontrollably, ultimately crashing into the courtyard''s main building.
Sadly, the impact shattered the structure, utterly destroying the building on his courtyard where Ji Wuye typically slept.
Chapter 291
''Close range, long range, and finally, strength...'' The WindBlade Emperor''s words trailed off as he dusted himself off, wincing slightly from the aches coursing through his battered body.
Grains of dirt and debris fell away as he waved a calloused hand, dispersing the lingering cloud of dust kicked up by his own devastating attack.
His frame rose slowly, every muscle protesting from the exertion as he regained his footing. Sharp eyes, burning with an indomitable spirit, locked onto Ji Wuye, whose calm crimson gaze met his steadily, unfaltering.
''This young man...'' The WindBlade Emperor''s inward musing was accompanied by a low rumble resonating from his interal body¡ªthe howling incarnation of the very Wind Qi that coiled through his meridians like a tempest, filling his Dantians with raw, elemental power.
His fingers tightened around the hilt of his jian, now little more than a shattered remnant after their clash. ''...has everything.'' His steely gaze flicked down, jaw clenching almost imperceptibly at the sight of his broken blade.
"Remarkable," he remarked aloud, the simple word carrying weight despite his tone being devoid of arrogance or conceit. The WindBlade Emperor''s eyes narrowed faintly as he studied the young man before him¡ªJi Wuye''s sharp features sculpted into a visage of striking handsomeness, framed by locks of windswept white hair.
Yet there was no mistaking the power lying beneath that elegant exterior. Despite the open praise, Ji Wuye capped the Emperor''s words with a courteous, flowing gesture, cupping his hands together.
"It''s my honor to receive such praise from one of the Five Emperors," Ji Wuye replied evenly, his voice calm and measured, betraying neither excessive humility nor overconfidence.
His piercing gaze never wavered as he observed the WindBlade Emperor, assessing his state with scrutinizing eyes. ''He hasn''t gone all out yet,'' the thought rang clearly in Ji Wuye''s mind.
The recollection of their most recent clash replayed vividly¡ªthe explosive release of energies colliding, the thunderous concussions of force meeting force that seemed to fracture the very air around them.
Ji Wuye knew this was merely a warm-up for the WindBlade Emperor. Zone, Sword Zone, and lastly elemental control ¡ª rumored to be attainable only upon reaching the 9th realm, as the Black Thunder Emperor¡¯s jaw-dropping display had already proven during his arrival, when he fought against the Elders and the Patriarch.
''And he only displayed his martial moves so far...'' Ji Wuye thought.
"But young man, you still haven''t answered my question," The WindBlade Emperor spoke.
As the WindBlade Emperor spoke, the debris surrounding him began to stir, scraps of earth and shattered stone lifting slowly into the air as if drawn upward by some invisible, rising force.
The broken hilt still clutched in his grasp suddenly became enveloped in a miniature cyclone¡ªa concentrated vortex of howling wind that whipped his robes and whirled the dust into a frenzy around him.
"How is it that you are so proficient with my martial art?" he asked, his sharp tone now underpinned by an intensity that seemed to grow in tandem with the escalating windstorm.
But before Ji Wuye could respond, both he and the Emperor instinctively shifted aside as a hunched, elderly figure suddenly materialized between them, appearing without warning across the vast distance that separated the two combatants moments before.
Draped in flowing white martial robes adorned with dark yellow stripes, the diminutive yet commanding presence of the old man stood in stark contrast to the swirling maelstrom. With an almost casual flick of his gnarled hand, the cyclone dissipated in an instant, the howling winds falling still as the dense cloud of kicked-up dust and debris scattered.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
"With the Black Thunder Emperor at the front and the WindBlade Emperor at the back, have the two of you officially decided to turn Kunlun into your enemy?" The elderly figure''s stern voice cut through the stillness like a razor.
This was none other than the Grand Elder, who now surveyed the ruined courtyard with an evident frown¡ªtaking in the shattered stone, massive craters, and obliterated landscape resulting from their apocalyptic clash.
Ji Wuye reacted instantly, cupping his hands in a respectful gesture towards the newly arrived Elder. "Greetings, Grand Elder." The WindBlade Emperor immediately followed suit, mirroring the deferential move despite his lofty status as he replied, his tone resolute yet tinged with solemnity.
"Greetings, Senior. No, I''m not like that rash and reckless old man. I am merely here to see my disciple." His piercing gaze remained steady as he refuted the accusation, the words seeming sincere. Yet words alone could not undo the catastrophic results of their unrestrained battle, no matter how genuinely intended.
"You claim you are ''seeing,'' yet this is how you decide to arrive? Then tell me¡ªwhat difference is there between you and the Black Thunder Emperor?" The Grand Elder''s retort sliced through the air, his sharp, narrowed eyes scrutinizing the WindBlade Emperor''s form with a critical gaze.
His piercing stare took in the disheveled state of the WindBlade Emperor¡ªloose strands of raven hair whipping across his face, the traces of blood at the corner of his mouth, the tattered remains of his robes hanging loosely from his powerful frame.
"It''s merely a misunderstanding," the WindBlade Emperor replied, his tone courteous and demeanor unchanged despite the condemning accusations. "I was simply curious about how this young disciple could be so proficient in executing my martial art." As he spoke, he gestured an open palm towards Ji Wuye, acknowledging the peculiarity that had piqued his interest.
Ji Wuye remained an impassive observer, silently taking in the heated exchange between the two Seniors. He had no intention of meddling in their affairs unbidden. However, now that the WindBlade Emperor had referred to him directly...
"That''s none of your business," the Grand Elder cut him off curtly, his sharp tone leaving no room for discussion. Just then, the sudden sound of soft footfalls echoed, seemingly out of place amidst the tense confrontation.
A young woman emerged from behind Ji Wuye, her delicate figure casting no shadow as she stepped into the warm rays of the daylight sun filtering through the dust-choked air. Her gaze swept across the decimated scene before her, unflinching.
Without a moment''s hesitation, she suddenly broke into a run, brushing past both Ji Wuye and the Grand Elder in a flutter of flowing silk.
"Master!" Her voice rang out, light and cheerful, belying the destruction surrounding them. Delicate features betrayed no more than twenty years of age¡ªa radiant vision of youthful beauty.
Silky tresses the warm shade of maple leaves in autumn danced in gentle waves just past her shoulders, swaying with each stride. Luminous eyes, deep and rich like polished acorns, sparkled with unrestrained joy as she closed the distance.
Flinging her slender arms around the WindBlade Emperor in an eager embrace, the young woman''s heart-shaped face glowed with an innocent, beaming smile that seemed to emanate light itself into the rubble-strewn ruin.
Of course, there could be no mistaking her identity¡ªshe was none other than Song Jia, disciple of the WindBlade Emperor himself.
"This girl..." The WindBlade Emperor''s stern expression softened almost imperceptibly as the corners of his mouth curved into a rare, gentle smile.
His calloused hand rose to tenderly stroke Song Jia''s silken tresses, the paternal gesture seeming at odds with his imposing aura moments before. "How did you notice I was here?" he asked, his gruff tone now softened with unmistakable affection.
Pulling back slightly from the embrace, Song Jia responded with an exaggerated pout, her delicate brows furrowing in a display of mock offense as she snorted lightly. "
You show up here without even a message to let me know?" The rebuke flowed easily from her lips, yet the spark of playful mirth danced in her deep ochre eyes, swiftly melting the feigned displeasure from her radiant features.
Her expression shifted once more, nose wrinkling ever so slightly as the faint metallic scent of blood reached her¡ªa crimson trails left by their still-unexplained clash.
On the other hand...
Ji Wuye observed with slightly widening and narrwoing eyes, the intimate exchange from the sidelines with subtle curiosity, witnessing a side of Song Jia he had never seen before.
The Song Jia he knew, determined young woman he knew so well was now displaying an entirely different persona¡ªan almost girlish demeanor, playful and affectionate in a way that reminded him of how his own Senior Sisters. ''So even she can display a face like that,'' he mused inwardly, a slight quirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Then, as if suddenly recalling their present company, Song Jia froze mid-conversation, her widening eyes flicking away from her Master''s fond gaze. Following her line of sight, Song Jia''s eyes landed squarely on the figure of the Grand Elder, causing her to visibly start.
"Ah! Greetings, Grand Elder!" she exclaimed, rapidly cupping her hands together in a gesture of respect. It was only then that her roving eyes finally found Ji Wuye lingering behind, their gazes locking momentarily.
"Greetings, Sister Song," Ji Wuye replied evenly, allowing the faintest of nods in acknowledgment.
For Song Jia, the juxtaposition of Ji Wuye''s casual presence alongside her Master and the Grand Elder, coupled with the chaotic scene surrounding them, stirred a growing sense of unease.
While she maintained her respectful bow, cupping her hands obediently, her eyes began darting back and forth, rapidly taking in every shattered detail of the decimated training grounds.
The cavernous pits gouged into the earth. The countless stones, shattered into jagged shards as if by the force of terrible impacts. The dark, viscous smears that could only be spilled blood. The unnaturally contorted forms of lifeless bodies scattered amidst the rubble...
Her delicate features froze, the playful warmth draining away as Song Jia''s widening eyes took in the full, grisly scene. Slowly, almost reluctantly, she turned back to face her Master, her expression a mixture of stunned disbelief and growing concern.
"M-Master...did you kill those disciples?"
Chapter 292
Studying the tense face of his disciple, the WindBlade Emperor let out a weary sigh, the corners of his mouth turned downward as he slowly shook his head, his brow furrowed deeply. He refrained from replying.
This left Song Jia feeling utterly bewildered, her eyes darting between her Master and the others, biting her lower lip nervously.
However, observing her Master''s grave reaction, his usually warm eyes now clouded with concern, along with the rigid stances of the others¡ªthe Grand Elder''s hunched form taut with unspoken gravity and Ji Wuye''s nonchalant¡ªit dawned on Song Jia that her initial assumption was likely incorrect, bringing her a fleeting sense of relief amidst the oppressive tension.
''Then who?'' The burning question surfaced in her mind as her gaze finally settled on Ji Wuye, his striking crimson eyes seeming to bore into her soul with their intense, unwavering stare.
¡°Thank you for your help, Grand Elder,¡± Ji Wuye suddenly spoke, cupping his hands in respect toward the Grand Elder. His words broke Song Jia¡¯s train of thought.
"Save your courtesies, young man," the Grand Elder''s reedy voice cut through the stifling silence like a whip, his deeply lined face contorting in a scowl as he regarded Ji Wuye sharply.
"We both know you would have survived regardless. I merely intervened to prevent you from turning this sacred ground into a complete wasteland." His gnarled, vein-riddled fingers gestured at the devastation surrounding them¡ªcraters scarring the earth, bamboo trees reduced to splintered stumps.
Ji Wuye''s full lips curved into a faint, almost mocking smile as he casually brushed a few stray strands of white hair from his eyes. "Then I shall not impose upon your time any further," he replied smoothly, turning on his heel to leave.
"Not so fast," the Grand Elder barked, his words startling like a thunderclap and halting Ji Wuye mid-stride. With trembling arms, he pointed an accusatory finger toward the mutilated bodies of Kunlun disciples strewn across the decimated ground like broken, bloodied dolls.
"These demand an explanation. The Kunlun Sect will not let the deaths of its own go unanswered."
Ji Wuye paused, glancing over his shoulder almost lazily, those piercing crimson eyes glinting dangerously as they met the withering gaze of the hunched elder.
"With all due respect, Grand Elder," he said calmly, "you saw everything unfold with those sharp eyes of yours. What explanation could I possibly add to what you''ve already witnessed?"
An uneasy hush blanketed the shattered clearing as the Grand Elder fell silent, his rheumy eyes lingering on Ji Wuye''s unreadable expression for a brief, weighted moment before shifting toward the WindBlade Emperor, whose jaw had tightened, a muscle twitching near his temple as he appeared ready to speak.
"Grand Elder, forgive my persistence, but..." The WindBlade Emperor''s commanding tone rang out, addressing the Grand Elder formally but soon directing his piercing gaze toward Ji Wuye, his brow furrowing as those narrowed eyes locked onto the crimson orbs blazing with unknown secrets.
"You still have not answered my question, young man," he said.
With his arms crossed over his broad chest and his long raven locks whipping about in the swirling winds, the WindBlade Emperor fixed Ji Wuye with an intense, unwavering stare¡ªas if prepared to engage in battle once more, even with the Grand Elder of Kunlun watching tensely nearby.
But Ji Wuye, instead of halting his casual departure, continued his unhurried strides forward, "The mountain you see is still the mountain, Emperor."
Without breaking his pace, he extended one arm gracefully, gesturing above toward the majestic, distant vista of the Kunlun peaks piercing the heavens, their snow-capped summits glimmering like jewels in the fading light. "At first, you see mountains as mountains. Then, you see mountains as not mountains. And finally..."
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Ji Wuye allowed his words to linger, letting the profound statement hang heavily in the crackling silence before repeating, "The mountain you see is still the mountain." With that, he resumed his leisurely steps as he made his way back toward the Lower Level.
However, this time it was the WindBlade Emperor''s own disciple, Song Jia, who boldly stepped into Ji Wuye''s path, planting herself directly in front of him with a determined stance, her delicate features a mask of conflicted emotions.
She hesitated, nervously pacing in small, agitated circles as she wrung her hands, shifting her weight back and forth as if struggling to find the right words. Her gaze flickered uncertainly to meet Ji Wuye''s luminous crimson eyes as she finally blurted, "B-Brother Ji...c-can you teach me again?"
This plea carried an unspoken weight, for this time Song Jia had nothing tangible to offer him, beside another favor ¡ªand it was precisely because of this that her request seemed to stick in her throat, the words almost choking her.
Yet she remained oblivious to the thunderous shift in her Master''s mood, his disapproving scowl darkening like a stormcloud as he regarded his foolish disciple with a deepening frown.
"Your Master stands right there," Ji Wuye responded evenly, his crimson gaze flickering briefly to meet the WindBlade Emperor''s burning glare. "It would be more... appropriate to seek his guidance."
...
Back at the Lower Level of the Kunlun, unorthodox reinforcements had just arrived . The Kunlun disciples and Elders from various righteous factions, who had barely begun to catch their breath and tend to their wounded after the previous clash, were forced into battle stances once more as an ascending chaos erupted in the distance¡ªthe thunderous sounds of combat and clashing energies ripping through the air as some new conflict lead inexorably toward Kunlun''s very entrance.
High above the chaotic fray, Ji Wuye standing motionless amidst the swaying fronds of a towering bamboo, his powerful lithe form balanced with effortless poise upon one of the uppermost boughs as he silently surveyed the pandemonium unfolding below.
From this lofty vantage point, he could make out the beleaguered disciples struggling valiantly to defend Kunlun''s entrance, their defensive lines straining against the relentless onslaught.
The battle had erupted into full-blown bedlam, the fierce clashes and thunderous concussions of martial moves reverberating through the air, engulfing the vast Lower Level.
Then, Ji Wuye''s blazing crimson pupils narrowed to piercing slits, his penetrating gaze locking onto one particular skirmish amid the chaos.
There, intermingling with the whirling maelstrom of martial artists, he spotted a woman whose appearance stood in stark contrast to the Kunlun disciples¡ªshe was clearly an outsider to their ranks.
Yet what drew Ji Wuye''s rapt attention was not merely her presence, but her striking visage: lustrous white tresses the mirror of his own cascaded down her back, and her unique pupils burned with an ethereal blend of sapphire and amber hues.
That woman was none other than Ye Yujin, accompanied by her bodyguard Lin Fang and a trusted cadre of other martial artists. ''So that''s where the Ye Clan has been residing,'' he muttered inwardly, recalling how his courtyard had appeared deserted.
The Ye Clan, and regarding his trial... to the uninitiated, it would undoubtedly seem a cruel dereliction for the Ye family to remain aloof, failing to lift a finger in his defense. But Ji Wuye''s lips curved in a faint, knowing smile.
''It was a logical decision, after all. Their influence and power are lacking, far inferior to that of the other guests in attendance.'' Of course, it wasn''t as though he had required their advocacy ¡ªhe hadn''t expected nor desired it. Thus, there was no disappointment where there had been no hope to begin with.
Then, dragging his crimson gaze away from the Ye Clan, Ji Wuye observed how events were unfolding exactly as they had in the previous timeline¡ªor rather, as he recalled them. Back then, he had simply hidden away in the Outer Disciple dormitory, powerless to intervene.
¡®As long as there are no anomalies¡¡¯ Ji Wuye¡¯s thoughts trailed off. If nothing unexpected occurred, this event would pass, and he would succeed in preventing the death of his Senior Sister, Shen Bi.
It was then that Ji Wuye''s razor-sharp crimson eyes, caught sight of something highly unusual amidst the chaos.
A cluster of disciples descended from the Inner Courtyard, moving with calculated stealth and purpose as they deliberately skirted the raging main battle, heading toward the Kunlun Thousand Pavilion.
It mirrored what Ji Wuye had once witnessed¡ªQin Bai and his traitorous henchmen executing a similar ploy. However, there was one subtle but significant difference: their attire.
These rogue individuals wore the distinctive white martial robes, accented with dark crimson stripes¡ªthe uniform of Inner Disciples.
''They¡¯ve finally made their move, as expected...'' Ji Wuye muttered to himself. ''The spies from the Evil Sect,'' he continued inwardly.
This was yet another reason why, back then, he had hidden his true strength. It wasn¡¯t just the Elders; there were also groups of spies from the Evil Sects. ''I lacked power back then, but now...'' he reflected.
Now, he possessed power¡ªoverwhelming power. Yet, he made no overt move to deal with the treacherous disciples directly. Or rather, ''I already have a plan for them, and there¡¯s also the Grand Elder.''
With the Grand Elder himself silently keeping vigilant watch over that sector, any rash action against the spies would be nigh impossible.
Even if the Grand Elder were to fail, the plan Ji Wuye had prepared would still unfold as intended.
But then...
RIIIIING!
The ominous tolling of an unseen temple bell reverberated through the air, echoing with an otherworldly resonance.
In that instant, Ji Wuye''s luminous crimson pupils flared with an eerie incandescence as he sensed a colossal, tumultuous surge of densely condensed qi and energy roiling through the heavens like a gathering tsunami.
Almost immediately, the entire mountain began to tremble violently beneath his feet. The thrashing trees whipped wildly in the growing chaos, while the once-brilliant azure sky was rapidly swallowed by massive, billowing storm clouds.
The sun itself vanished behind the gathering darkness, casting the land into an oppressive, shadowed gloom.
The apocalyptic epicenter of this cataclysmic energy emanated from the direction where the auras of the Black Thunder Emperor and the Patriarch of Kunlun collided, crashing against each other like relentless waves. Their long-anticipated battle had clearly reached a world-shaking crescendo.
The shockwaves radiating outward from their titanic duel acted as a volatile signal for the unorthodox martial artists, prompting scores of them to seize the opportunity and rush headlong toward the Central Courtyard.
At the same time, the violent disturbance proved to be the perfect diversion. The traitorous spies hastily retreated from the Kunlun Thousand Pavilion, their objective already fulfilled as they slipped away under cover of the chaos.
Chapter 293
The thunderous shockwaves of the raging battle extended even to Elder Qiao''s towering high peak, where Ji Wuye''s Senior Sisters stood motionless, their eyes transfixed on the chaotic carnage unfolding below.
Despite the overwhelming din of clashing blades and deafening explosions, Shen Bi, Lian Rougang, and Qiu Xia remained rooted to the peak, their fists clenched so tightly their knuckles turned white.
At the same time, Elder Qiao sat utterly serene at an ornately carved round stone table, her slender fingers elegantly plucking the strings of her zither.
The tranquil, melancholic melody drifted through the air, providing a stark contrast to the hellish scene below. Her delicate features and flawless porcelain skin glowed with the vitality of a woman in her late twenties, giving no hint of the profound wisdom she possessed.
With willowy arms and an unflinching amethyst gaze, she remained the very embodiment of tranquility itself - even as the raging storm of battle raged mercilessly below.
Almost all of Kunlun''s Elders now either valiantly blocked the enemy''s vicious advance or found themselves embroiled in desperate combat against the Masters of the unorthodox faction. Yet Elder Qiao''s preternatural calm remained unshaken.
"This is truly...chaotic," murmured Qiu Xia at last, her normally impassive eyes reflecting the faraway turmoil like twin mirrors.
Her long, lustrous dark hair, meticulously tied back in an elegant updo, fluttered faintly in the warm mountain breeze. Even as her piercing gaze remained riveted on the battlefield far below - where Kunlun''s brave disciples fought with every fiber of their being - her usually melodious voice betrayed a somber, quiet solemnity.
Standing at her side, the diminutive Shen Bi appeared outwardly fragile, her petite hands trembling faintly as Qiu Xia reached over to envelop them in a comforting grasp.
Her luminous doe-eyes, once so full of youthful spirit, now held an emptiness bordering on dazed shock at the horrors she witnessed. Yet somehow, she too managed to compose herself - jaw clenched as she forced herself to look upon the bloody havoc continuing to escalate below.
''Is this truly what Junior wished for us to bear witness?'' On the other hand, Lian Rougang wondered inwardly, unconsciously raking a hand through her own raven tresses, now disheveled.
A storm of tumultuous emotions flashed across her exquisite yet care-worn features as she stared down at the escalating mayhem beneath the peak.
The weight of Elder Qiao''s stern command not to descend felt like an unbearable burden, only compounding the inner conflict swirling within her breast.
"This is his request - and my way of honoring it," came Elder Qiao''s a clear, melodic voice that carried a soothing resonance at last, breaking the heavy silence that had enveloped them.
Her cryptic words were accompanied by a delicate puff of fragrant sandalwood smoke, curling sinuously through the air like a ghostly serpent as it was exhaled from between Elder Qiao''s full, tinted a soft rose lips.
She took a long, slow draw from the long-stemmed ivory pipe cradled elegantly in her hands.
By now, the exquisitely carved zither lay idle upon the round stone table before her, its haunting melodies stilled as Elder Qiao silently observed Ji Wuye''s Senior Sisters - each woman seemingly lost in somber introspection after hearing their beloved Junior''s parting, unsettling words echo from beyond the veil.
"Master..." Lian Rougang''s tremulous voice finally broke the heavy silence, hesitant yet weighted with a torrent of roiling emotions she could not fully conceal.
Turning away, she lowered her head, her distant gaze glazed over as if reliving countless cherished memories of days long past. "Forgive my rudeness in asking, but how long have you and my Junior been...planning this?"
Her wavering tone cracked ever so slightly on the final words, every fiber of her being battling the mixed feelings of heartache, confusion and quiet acceptance warring within her breast.
"Hmmmm..." Elder Qiao paused thoughtfully, bringing the ornately carved ivory stem of her pipe once more to her full tinted a soft rose lips.
After a soft, measured puff, she exhaled a billowing plume of pale fragrant smoke, watching it spiral lazily upwards before dissipating amongst the curling vapors of battle below.
"Not that long," she said at last, the faintest of enigmatic smiles playing about the corners of her lips. "But he''s the one who brought me into it, truth be told." Her quiet, tinkling laughter carried an undercurrent of mystery, as if she alone was privy to some profoundly inscrutable cosmic joke.
The delicately formed plume of smoke she had just expelled seemed to swiftly dissipate and vanish into the chaos below at the mere sound of her gentle mirth, like an ethereal spirit scattering on the winds.
"Junior Brother?" Shen Bi''s soft, plaintive voice suddenly cut through the heavy moment like a dagger, instantly commanding everyone''s rapt attention as all eyes snapped towards the diminutive young woman.
A roiling aura of palpable unease and dread radiated from her slight frame, and Lian Rougang instinctively whipped back around to face the distant Lower Level battlefield once more.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
But as their gazes rapidly focused downwards upon the raging carnage, Shen Bi''s exquisite porcelain features contorted into a rictus of pure, unadulterated horror unlike anything they had ever witnessed. A tremor seemed to pass through her very soul at whatever fresh atrocity she now beheld.
At the same moment, Qiu Xia''s own expression grew taut as a bow string, the elegant composure she had steadfastly maintained finally cracking as her dark eyes reflected a solemn gravity. She drew in a deep, shuddering breath.
Lian Rougang, on the other hand, raised a trembling hand to cover her mouth in a gesture of abject horror - her wide, disbelieving eyes remaining utterly transfixed upon the unfolding chaos beneath them.
Not one of the Senior Sisters could tear their anguished gazes away from the atrocities playing out in dreadful clarity before them.
The scene unfolding on the ravaged battlefield was one of utter, unfathomable devastation. Cutting a swath through the Heart of Carnage itself strode their beloved Junior Brother Ji Wuye - moving with the cold, remorseless grace of the demon.
Piles of savagely mutilated corpses marked his grisly wake, some torn asunder and rent into pieces with such terrifying ease that they were rendered utterly unrecognizable as anything remotely human.
He left no quarter for mercy or restraint, his jian tracing a grim, bloody pattern of indiscriminate slaughter amidst the ranks of the unorthodox martial artists.
Even from their lofty vantage atop the peak, as martial artist at the Fourth Realm allowed them to perceive every soul-shattering atrocity unfolding below with pristine, inescapable clarity.
And there, standing amidst the evergrowing charnel mounds of eviscerated dead and dying, was the unmistakable shock of long snowy hair belonging to their most cherished Junior Brother.
Yet it was the sight of his eyes - those once warm, lively orbs now glimmering with a cold, fathomless indifference, as though all last vestiges of his humanity had been ruthlessly scoured away - that prompted their very hearts to freeze in their chests.
"Is...is that really my Junior?" Shen Bi''s tremulous voice shattered the discordant silence, stuttering in disbelief as she violently struggled to process the incomprehensible vision laid bare before them all.
The initial shock of witnessing the full-fledged battle had long since given way to a deeper, more profoundly unsettling realization taking root.
Her rising panic and anxiety were rapidly subsumed by a swell of visceral horror and outright denial as she watched helplessly while Ji Wuye enacted his remorseless, indiscriminate butchery with the same gentle hands that had once reassuringly squeezed her own.
The caring, tender-hearted Junior Brother she had so cherished from the instant they first met now seemed like a distant, hopelessly fractured memory in the face of his utter ruthlessness.
"Th-The way he moves...it''s...it''s like he''s someone else entirely..." Shen Bi''s lips barely shaped the words, her fragile voice scarcely audible over the distant cacophony of slaughter.
As her spiraling thoughts descended into haunted delirium, the visage of her once beloved Junior warped and merged sickeningly with the nightmarish flashes of sadistic bandits who had brutally ravaged her village all those years ago.
Despite her increasingly frantic attempts to deny it, Ji Wuye''s form - now drenched head to toe in a fathomless crimson tide - gradually transfigured before her very eyes into an eerie, all-too-familiar facsimile of those very same marauding butchers.
Beside the distraught Shen Bi, Qiu Xia''s outward reaction proved more restrained, yet no less viscerally conflicted.
Her exquisitely arched brows knit together in a series of finely nuanced micro-expressions - raising fractionally, lowering, furrowing in consternation - while her delicately manicured hands alternated between clenching into trembling white-knuckled fists and falling limp at her sides.
Her full, rose-petal lips, at one moment pursed into a moue of naked frustration and the next tugged into a taut line of tense bewilderment, wordlessly reflected the inner struggle raging beneath her customarily composed fa?ade.
She drew in a deep, steadying breath, her obsidian eyes refocusing downwards as the encroaching strands of confusion at last coalesced into a moment of piercing, unshakable realization.
Without a word, Qiu Xia reached over to grasp Shen Bi''s trembling hands in her own, gripping them firmly as if to share an anchor against the encroaching tides of madness. Only then did she finally find her voice.
"Perhaps...we never truly understood the depths of his capabilities after all," she murmured, the words seeming to hold a profoundly weighty implication beyond their surface meaning.
"Junior..." The strangled utterance from Lian Rougang''s lips cut through the heavy silence like a razor''s caress, the rare tremble in her usually stern tone betraying the deep fractures spreading through her vaunted composure.
It marked the first time she had ever allowed herself to speak so openly and unguardedly before her Junior Sisters. Yet her despairing words seemed to go utterly unnoticed by them in that moment, their attention utterly transfixed elsewhere.
"This...precision in taking lives..." Lian Rougang''s pained whisper trailed off into silence once more as her gaze remained utterly locked onto the remorseless figure of Ji Wuye carving his bloody swathe through the valley below.
The cold, fathomless emptiness burning in his eyes in that instant was nothing like the expressions of someone who had taken lives before out of sheer self-preservation or reluctant necessity. This went far beyond the clumsy, anguished actions of a disciple forced to strike a fatal blow in the heat of conflict, as they had all experienced during the trials at the Fifth Floor of the Tower.
This was something else entirely - a level of sheer, calculated brutality and butchery that spoke of an underlying breadth of experience vastly.
Throughout it all, Elder Qiao simply observed the visceral reactions of them in eloquent silence, her serene countenance betraying only the faintest glimmers of exasperation at their naivete. Sighing softly to herself, she allowed her thoughts to wander.
''They''re still so terribly green...Did they truly think the path of the martial artist was solely about protecting and defending without ever being called upon to take lives? Foolish children.''
Based on their stricken expressions alone, the sheer depths of their fear, shock and denial at bearing witness to Ji Wuye''s unflinching methods were almost palpable, like a miasma clinging to the very air around them.
Yet at the same time, Elder Qiao viewed such emotional fragility not with disdain, but rather as an inevitable - frankly, utterly typical - stage that all righteous martial artists were forced to confront at one point or another along their journey.
With a subtle shake of her head, Elder Qiao allowed her inner musings to wander.
''After all, just how long has it truly been since any of them last witnessed the realities of outright slaughter on a scale like this?''
Raising the exquisitely carved ivory stem of her long opium pipe once more to her full, tinted a soft rose lips, she inhaled deeply - allowing the faintly sweet, heady fragrance of the finest Pu''er tobacco to suffuse her senses like an intoxicating vapor.
Another billowing plume of pale smoke swirled hypnotically into the mountain air before dissipating just as rapidly as it had formed, scattering on the faint winds like a ghost.
How many years had it been since the last tragic blood-drenched campaigns of the Great War that had once claimed the lives of countless martial artists across Jianghu?
Elder Qiao sighed softly to herself, her thoughts adrift amidst those long-faded yet indelible memories of an era that now seemed akin to a hazy dream half-recalled upon waking. ''The Jianghu has remained too peaceful for far too long...but now all that is poised to change, it seems.''
Her introspective inner monologue trailed off as her piercing gaze refocused upon the young ladies standing vigil before her.
To the her surprise, their demeanor had undergone a palpable shift in the interim - the lingering trepidation and naked fear that had gripped their expressions only moments prior had now vanished entirely. Replacing it instead was a look of unmistakable, blazing determination burning in their eyes.
Raising an elegant silvered brow at their unlooked-for transformation, Elder Qiao felt a faint ripple of intrigue. Pushing herself up from her seated position in one fluid, graceful yet unhurried motion, she drifted closer towards the precipice overlooking the valley below.
Her piercing stare fell unflinchingly upon the raging chaos once more. As the sounds of distant, savage battle were borne to her ears on the warm mountain winds, the faintest of bemused smirks seemed to tug at the corners of Elder Qiao''s full, painted lips - an expression of equal parts knowing amusement and quiet approval.
''That¡¯s the Windblade Emperor¡¯s disciple, isn¡¯t it?'' Her keen gaze locked onto Ji Wuye''s blood-drenched silhouette at the center of the strife.
Beside him, however, another figure had joined the fray¡ªSong Jia. She moved with equal lethality, finishing off any enemies still clinging to life in Ji Wuye¡¯s wake. For a moment, Elder Qiao focused on Song Jia, her movements swift yet fluid, her strikes calculated yet merciless.
What intrigued her even further was the synchronicity of their movements. Ji Wuye and Song Jia fought as if they were extensions of one another, their techniques so perfectly matched it was almost as if they shared the same martial art.
Chapter 294
Meanwhile, under the thunderous roar of the raging waterfall, its mist cascading in an ethereal veil, the secluded path leading down from the Kunlun highlands stood eerily unguarded.
Not a single figure clashed or patrolled the secluded route this time, leaving only three furtive shadows to glide silently through the verdant bamboo forest in the crisp morning air.
They moved with the fluidity of phantoms, bodies synced in purposeful motions to avoid drawing any unwaiting eyes.
The dappled sunlight filtering through the bamboo canopy briefly revealed their white martial robes trimmed with dark crimson stripes before the shadows swallowed their forms once more. The thunderous crash of the waterfall masked the hurried cadence of their light footsteps.
"It''s exactly as Junior Brother Ji described, Sister Su," a sudden voice called out, shattering the quiet like a pebble piercing a still pond. The three trespassers froze, spines stiffening in alarm at having been detected.
"Why are you surprised? Ever since he showed his actual strength, I''ve stopped feeling shock altogether," another voice resounded, feminine yet razor-sharp, reverberating through the bamboo grove with a self-assured calm.
Instantly, the three concealed figures emerged from the embrace of the shadows, realizing their covers had been blown. Their eyes widened as they took in the scene before them.
"Well, isn''t this a surprise? A reunion with our Former Fellow Martial Brothers," came a cold, clipped voice dripping with derision.
The speaker was none other than Wei Xun, perching with effortless grace atop the slender tip of an arched bamboo tree. Beside her stood Su Xinyi, her piercing eyes fixed with hawkish intensity on the trio of traitors, two of them garbed in the Inner Disciple martial robes, their once-familiar faces now seeming like strangers''.
A third figure, Yu Lei - the last disciple of the Elder Qiao - flanked Wei Xun and Su Xinyi''s side. His long, disheveled raven hair fluttered untamed in the gentle breeze, a solitary strand falling rakishly over his face, partially obscuring his distinctive appearance.
The pale white pupil of his uncovered eye, crossed by an old faded scar, signaled his blindness. Yet he stood balanced and resolute atop the bamboo, his sightless gaze seeming to pierce straight through the traitors with an eerie clarity that belied his lack of vision.
"Brothers, I didn''t expect it to be you after all," Yu Lei spoke, his tone devoid of inflection though his sightless gaze betrayed a profound sadness and disappointment simmering beneath his indifferent facade.
Despite the turmoil evident in one of his milky eyes, his face remained an inscrutable mask, tight lips set in a lazy, almost bored expression - as if dealing with these traitors was more trouble than it was worth.
"Elder Qiao''s disciples...what a delightful surprise," one of these rats replied with a mocking lilt, his voice like poisoned honey.
His long raven hair was tied into a sleek ponytail, framing a finely sculpted face that might have appeared gentle - scholarly, even - were it not for the sinister smirk curling across his lips with undisguised malice. His narrow eyes glinted with an unsettling sharpness.
"Did Elder Qiao know about this treachery? Or how long have you been, spying on us?" another one of the traitors chimed in, unable to contain the venom lacing his words.
This one was shorter than the rest, embodying the image of a reclusive scholar with his bookish glasses and meticulous appearance. Typically found in Kunlun''s Thousand Pavilion, he was the type of disciple who believed more in theory than in practice.
"Do you really think just the three of you are enough to stop us?" the third man sneered derisively. Unlike his traitorous counterparts, he wasn''t garbed in the Inner Disciple''s white and crimson robes. Instead, he wore a unique yet unfamiliar black silk tunic accented by sharp scarlet stripes.
"Oh? And do you think we''re foolish enough to face you alone?" Su Xinyi responded coolly, her steely demeanor unshaken as her piercing eyes glinted with contempt.
She glanced almost imperceptibly to the side, and in the very next moment, countless disciples - scores of Inner Disciples clad in crisp white martial uniforms - emerged seamlessly from the surrounding bamboo forest like wisps of smoke coalescing into corporeal form.
They moved with eerie, practiced silence, encircling the three stunned traitors completely, ensuring there was no path for escape.
...
Meanwhile, at the Lower Levels of Kunlun''s ground, chaos reigned as unorthodox martial artists poured relentlessly into the region.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Battles raged across the area, the sounds of clashing blades and splintering wood echoing through the air as the invaders ascended from the Kunlun Qiuxiu village below.
They swarmed through the ornate paifang gates in crashing waves, advancing deeper into the grounds of the sect''s domain with each passing moment despite the stalwart resistance.
Corpses of both Kunlun''s fallen disciples and the unorthodox invaders littered the bloodstained ground. Amidst the visceral carnage, Ji Wuye stood like an unshakable pillar, his intense focus unwavering despite the chaos swirling around him - until something unusual finally managed to capture his full, undivided attention.
"NOW!" a loud, grating cry erupted, sharp and deafening as it carried the undeniable force of a battle command. It came from the parched lips of a unorthodox martial artist, yet it felt like anything but a simple order.
At that very moment, as though acting with seamless coordination, the unorthodox martial artists abruptly disengaged from their clashes with the Kunlun disciples in eerie unison.
Before anyone could react, they withdrew from the fray and revealed strange, ominous purple orbs clutched tightly in their calloused hands.
POP!
In the span of a mere eye blink, the sinister purple spheres slammed in rapid succession onto the hard-packed earth, immediately rupturing as they released noxious clouds of thick, billowing purple smoke.
The toxic haze rapidly engulfed the entire Lower Level of Kunlun, shrouding the once-chaotic battlefield in a dense, choking miasma.
"Ugh! P-Poison! Poison!" a young Kunlun Outer Disciple''s panicked shouts rang out, his adolescent voice strained as the toxic fumes seared his lungs.
His stark white martial robe with aqua trim stood out in jarring contrast against his rapidly paling, sickly skin as the insidious venom began its assault, each shallow, wheezing breath more labored than the last.
"Hmph! Mere tricks and deceit!" one of the Elders from the righteous factions scoffed derisively, raising his jian high in disdain. With a decisive, controlled slash, he unleashed an arcing wave of pure Qi meant to disperse the menacing purple fog smothering the battlefield.
Other Elders swiftly followed his lead, slicing through the gaseous miasma with precise, calculated bursts of their Qi in a concerted effort to drive the unnatural, poisonous cloud from the Mountain''s hallowed territory.
However...
SWOOSH!
Instead of dissipating under the Elders'' barrage of Qi strikes, the unnatural purple cloud seemed to drink in the remnants of Qi like a virulent parasite.
It surged and thickened with alarming speed, the noxious haze enveloping the area in an ever-expanding, insatiable tide.
The more the Qi lashed out in an attempt to banish it, the more the poisonous miasma grew, swelling greedily as if being directly fed by the very forces meant to dispel it. Witnessing this unnatural aberration, the Elders'' initially derisive expressions morphed into grim frowns of trepidation.
Unlike the majority of the Kunlun disciples present - most of whom were merely Outer or Official Disciples of Kunlun below the 6th realm - these Elders were capable of holding their breath for hours on end if necessary, they should have been more than equipped to endure this strange poisonous offense.
Yet, the unusual parasitic response of the tenacious miasma to their Qi caused even these Elders to regard it with burgeoning wariness.
"It thickens the more it touches our Qi," one Elder observed. His sharp obsidian eyes, tracked the roiling currents of the malignant smoke intently as they grew exponentially denser with every errant trace of Qi inadvertently released into the air.
"It''s almost...sentient in how it thrives when exposed to our Qi. As if it doesn''t merely exist, but actively leeches spiritual force to propagate itself."
He cautiously tested his unsettling theory, emitting a faint gossamer shroud of his own Qi around his body as a protective spiritual barrier.
To his dismay, the ethereal mist hungrily latched onto the faint bluish Qi like a tendril, rapidly growing thicker and more suffocating in response as it seemingly fed.
"Everyone, cease using your Qi at once!" the Elder barked out the urgent order, his powerful voice cutting through the chaos to reach the struggling Kunlun disciples in the area. He moved, already rushing to assist those most affected by the encroaching venom.
CLANK!
No sooner had he raised his voice in warning than an eerily silent ambush attempted to strike from the obscuring shadows.
A swift blade, aiming to slip past his defenses from behind, was intercepted almost effortlessly. The Elder''s weapon moved in a practiced arc, its wicked edge halted with precise and contemptuous ease.
One of the unorthodox martial artists who had somehow managed to inhale the same toxic essence emerged with a manic grin twisting his features. Yet curiously, the miasma didn''t appear to affect him at all.
"Eheh! Can''t...breathe, can you?" the unorthodox martial artist taunted smugly through his manic grin, seeming to revel in the Kunlun disciples'' labored wheezing and paling skin. "How does it fee¡ª"
His gloating taunt was abruptly cut short as the Elder slashed his jian in a blur of controlled motion, the razor-sharp edge splitting the air with a hiss before laying open a deep, punishing wound across the attacker''s torso. Even without the use of Qi, a martial artist at the 8th realm was easily ten times the force of an ordinary human.
"It parasitically leeches Qi as fuel to propagate itself further," another Elder''s measured voice rang out.
Then, the space around him seemed to tremble under the sudden weight of his focused Qi, the very air thickening as verdant tendrils of condensed Qi swirled inward toward his body like a localised vortex.
With a steady grip reinforcing his jian, he activated his Sword Zone. For a fleeting instant, the jian shimmered with a radiant inner light, the atmosphere around him visibly distorting under the immense pressure of his spiritual might.
Yet the very next moment, all of it - the flickering radiance along the sword''s edge, the coalescing cyclone of Qi, the warping visual distortion of his Sword Zone''s effects - was utterly consumed and subsumed by the ravenous purple miasma.
The sinister fog greedily devoured and leeched every last mote of Qi into itself, thickening further as it gorged like an insatiable beast on the proffered bounty.
"The moment we unleash our Qi into this poisonous haze, we feed it directly," the Elder stated grimly, his voice low yet composed even in the face of this troubling discovery.
"The stronger the martial technique employed, the more Qi it parasitically consumes to fuel its spread. And yet...it persistently clings to the air, steadfastly refusing to naturally disperse no matter what we attempt."
While analyzing the situation, the Elders simultaneously moved tirelessly, gathering the scattered Kunlun disciples.
Several pale, sickly disciples were carefully carried or supported out of the affected zone by their more resilient peers, harsh coughs wracking their slight frames as they frantically gulped down precious clean air.
Meanwhile, another Elder stepped forward into the center of the chaotic battlefield, observing this thick of poison.
"Ordinarily, martial arts would help solve problem like this," he began, casting his stony gaze across the roiling currents of poisonous smoke. "Yet here, our greatest strengths become a double-edged sword."
He hesitated momentarily, "What if the solution is not to try overpowering this poison through brute force, but instead to align our flows with its nature? To move in harmony with its currents rather than fruitlessly resisting them head-on?"
And then - without the slightest warning - the entire battlefield shifted in an instant.
The oppressive, thick purple mist that had blanketed everything in a toxic shroud began swirling violently, the roiling currents drawn irresistibly toward a singular, unnatural focal point. All eyes turned in alarm toward the epicenter of this disturbance, weapons raised in readiness.
The dense fog, like a towering tsunami being inexorably dragged into the maw of a vast vortex, rapidly condensed into a spiraling, cyclonic column of noxious energy. Yet at its core stood the slender, unwavering figure of a young woman, her stance resolute as she smoothly transitioned through a series of deceptively simple yet immensely powerful sword forms.
Her blade seemed to carve upwards through the air itself, trailing behind it a powerful kinetic flow that inexplicably commanded and bent the toxic mist to her will in defiance of its malignant nature.
"Pulse of the Blade: Second Move, Rising Gale!"
Chapter 295
The suffocating miasma, thick had completely enshrouded the once hallowed of Kunlun, transmuting the sacred grounds into a waking nightmare.
The acrid vapor seared the lungs with each ragged inhalation, stinging eyes and throats until uncontrollable fits of coughing punctured the unnatural stillness. Scattered haphazardly across the bloodstained earth lay the broken, motionless forms of Kunlun''s disciples, their bodies gruesomely contorted in the final throes of agony.
Some clutched at mortal wounds gushing vital essences, victims of the brutal onslaught of unorthodox martial artists. Others looked to have been hastily dragged beyond harm''s reach by the whipping robes of the swift-moving Elders.
Yet amidst this vision of hell on earth, Ji Wuye stood immutable. His twin crimson irises, burning like royal rubies amidst the veiled murk, seemed to possess an unearthly gift for penetrating the poisonous miasma. The world before him crystallized as a transparent pane shimmered into existence:
================
[!] Your passive skill, Quick Adaptation (C), has been triggered!
================
What had once been a magnificent mane of lustrous white tresses, flowing like captured moonbeams, now hung in clotted ropes, saturated and stained in streaks of deep crimson.
His martial robe, pristine white silks delicately accented with aquamarine piping, were reduced to tattered, soiled wreckings, the once regal fabrics now macabrely patterned in an abstract calligraphy of blood.
The jian gripped in his steady hand - had been utterly transfigured by the press of combat into something primal and runic. Each edge that had entered an enemy''s flesh was now mapped in a profusion of nicks and scores.
Despite the virulent toxins permeating his system with every labored inhalation, Ji Wuye evinced a demeanor that seemed to hold grinning mortality itself in mocking contempt. Though his gaze was bloodshot and ringed in crimson threads from the poison''s insult, his eyes remained laser-focused and preternaturally sharp.
Though his lips were drained of all color, taking on an ominous cadaverous hue, they were set in an unyielding line of indomitable resolve. The supernatural ruby radiance in his pupils seemed to smolder ever brighter with each passing heartbeat as his expression remained as immutable as an ancient monument.
Meanwhile...
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[>> DEFLECTING BLOWS (D) <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill has slightly increased!
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[>> DEFLECTING BLOWS (D) <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill has slightly increased!
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========================
[>> FELINE REFLEXES (D) <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill has slightly increased!
========================
¡
The diaphanous notifications cascaded like ethereal rain across Ji Wuye''s field of vision, each luminous update vying momentarily for his rapt attention before being sublimated by the spellbinding panorama unfurling before his disbelieving eyes.
But in this breathtaking moment, such routine updates paled into virtual insignificance compared to the riveting spectacle commanding the whole area.
Ji Wuye''s blazing ruby gaze remained transfixed upon a solitary figure whose mere presence seemed to part the insidious toxic vapors encircling her.
Her every movement was transcendent poetry etched into fluid motion as her sword traced an immaculate argent arc, her diaphanous robes billowing in the updraft like cumulonimbus stormclouds.
The noxious purple mist, so recently an implacable, suffocating pall of encroaching mortality, now began to bend impossibly to this singular martial artist''s imperious will.
The veiled toxins swirled and eddied around her in languid, hypnotic cycles as if drawn by the irresistible gravitational force of her aura alone. She became the mystic eye of a poisonous maelstrom, the virulent vapors spiraling ever inward toward her presence in tightening, horizontal helices.
With an almost dismissive gesture, as if bidding a minor distraction be gone from her sight, she dispatched the vast, condensed cyclone of toxins plunging earthward in a thunderous, cascading amethystine waterfall.
The forest expanse stretching beyond Kunlun¡¯s sacred grounds abruptly disappeared beneath the billowing purple deluge as the crisp, untainted mountain ambiance was finally restored.
''Perfect, Sister Song,'' Ji Wuye''s thoughts flickered in ghost-like acknowledgment of the timely mastery. At the same time, his ravaged respiration eased, vibrant color flooded back into his previously bloodless lips, and Qi surged steadily through his taxed meridians once more.
The scattered ranks of unorthodox martial artists stood frozen, their expressions twisting in impotent astonishment as their coveted poisonous advantage dissipated like the dewy phantoms of morning subordinated to the harsh light of day.
But Ji Wuye was never one to indulge in mere spectatorship when the gravity of a pivotal moment beckoned.
With a fluidity and economy of motion that bordered on casual indifference, he released his death-grip upon his notched, battle-scarred jian, allowing the weight of the blade to clatter carelessly onto scarred battlefield .Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
His unhurried movements as he calmly surveyed the littered wreckage of strewn, discarded weapons carried an almost ceremonial beauty.
¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª
Active Skill: Slash Breaker!
¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª
The instant his calloused fingers closed around the hilt of new jian a transformative transfiguration occurred.
A soft, phantasmal azure light began to emanate from the length of the blade in fitful waves, crawling steadily along the burnished steel like the leading edge of frost claiming an autumnal brook.
SWOOSH!
Then, in the space of a single, endless heartbeat, Ji Wuye''s body blurred into pure, undulating kinesis - no longer simply fast, but utterly transcendent, as though he had stepped partway into an interphasic realm of existence.
The very air seemed to shiver and dampen in concentric rings rippling outward from his form as the he dissolved into a vector of pure, unbridled momentum.
A sudden, cyclonic gale tore across the battlefield, the knife-edge winds violent enough to make the unorthodox martial artists'' robes snap and billow like torn war banners.
Their expressions remained twisted in bewildered incomprehension, minds struggling to process the dual traumas of their dissipated poisonous advantage and Ji Wuye''s lightning-transcendent transition into motion.
SLASH!
The sound detonated through the crystalline mountain air like fate''s own sibilant whisper of mortality. A severed head launched skyward in a grotesque, tumbling pirouette, dispersing a vermillion crest of arterial spray that seemed to stitch the very winds with deep crimson embroidery.
Ji Wuye materialized with liquid grace beside the abruptly remaining corpse, his newly acquired jian held in a horizontal extension of perfect, zen-like stillness. Viscid runnels of blood sheeted down the killing edge in the jian''s edge.
Reality came crashing back down upon the remaining unorthodox martial artists like the chill deluge of an ice bucket challenge. One voice, rough with desperation, cracked the stillness as its owner reflexively tried to rally his frozen comrades back into action:
"Get it together! The Kunlun disciples are still recovering from the poison - attack now while they''re vulnerable!"
The barked command acted as a spark finding purchase in a long-dormant tinder, igniting an immediate response.
As one unified motion, the remaining unorthodox martial artists surged forward in a thunderous wave toward the scattered, weakened disciples of the Kunlun, weapons raised high in vicious arcs as they pressed their advantage through sheer ferocious speed and brutality of violence.
But -
SLASH!
This time, three heads arced through the dissipating mists in a perfectly synchronized danse macabre, their shocked faces frozen in rictus masks of eternal surprise as they viewed their own abruptly discarded corpses collapse boneless beneath them.
Ji Wuye''s formerly magnificent white hair, now heavily streaked through with fresh crimson tributaries, seemed to dance and billow in the cyclone winds like spilled arterial silk caressed by the rushing zephyrs.
The jian in his grasp remained extended in the final pristine position terminated by his obliterating slash, rivulets of fresh vital essences sheeting down its length to confluences with the steadily expanding pool gathering at his feet.
"KILL HIM FIRST!" The hoarse bellow erupted from somewhere deep within the dwindling knot of unorthodox martial artists.
SWOOSH!
The battlefield atmosphere thickened with roiling, murderous intent as, the first one, a unorthodox claw-wielding martial artists transformed himself into a living cyclone of annihilating force.
His form blurred into a dervish of kinetic savagery, spinning with such ferocious rotational velocity that the very molecules of air surrounding him distorted and whipped into microscopic maelstroms.
The metallic talonsfused extensions of his fingernails caught the dim light in flashing arcs, their razor edges glinting like the serrated teeth of some mythic, eldritch beast as he bellowed the invocation of his technique:
"Phantom Claw - Second Move: Spiraling Talon Drill!"
Brilliant lancing pillars of azure Qi erupted in a coruscating corona around his whirling form, enshrouding the lethal vortex in a cocoon of scintillating energy that elevated his gyrating assault into the realm of unstoppable force.
HOWL!
The very air itself howled and parted in destructive concentric rings before his hurtling momentum, his rapidly revolving silhouette leaving ephemeral traceries of sapphire luminescence burning like the plasma trail of a celestial comet starved for atmosphere.
WOOSH!
Simultaneously, the very incarnation of death itself seemed to materialize in a plume of absolute darkness behind Ji Wuye''s unwavering form.
Twin serrated daggers, gripped in a reverse hand position, caught the dim illumination in furtive winks of fractured light, their variously angled edges gleaming with a ravenous, serpentine appetite for the slick warmth of severed jugulars. The unorthodox dagger-wielder martial artist''s whispered invocation carried the chill of the sepulcher into the crystalline mountain ambiance:
"Night Phantom Steps - Killing Intent in the Wind!"
Ghostly blue Qi traceries, like phosphorescent footprints of some restless revenant, inscribed his circuitous path.
But where others might have perceived the inescapable specter of mortality descending upon them from two opposing vectors of consummate lethality, Ji Wuye saw only the perfect cosmic alignments taking form - a grand stage orchestratedfor the trigger his skills.
========================
[!] Your passive skill, Feline Reflexes (D), has been triggered!
========================
The translucent screen flashed across his perceptual periphery like the phantasmic lightning of a summer squall, but Ji Wuye''s body was already a whirling dervish of liquid grace in motion before the words even materialized.
His blazing ruby irises, bejeweled blades as sharp as a master gemcutter''s tools, locked with laser-intense focus upon the circuitous path of the dagger-wielding martial artists .
================
[!] Your passive skill, Deflecting Blows (D), has been triggered!
================
While this dagger-weildering martial artists believed their lethal vectors had culminated in an unassailable pincer calculated to entrap even the most evasive of targetsm but...
CRASH!
The battlefield atmosphere seemed to resonate with the crystalline song of lethal transcendence as Ji Wuye''s Qi-infused jian arced upwards in one devastatingly elegant cyclone of azure luminescence.
The trailing comet''s tail of sapphire radiance left ephemeral replications of its path burning like lingering spectral afterimages scorched upon the mountain winds.
The meteoric blade met the unorthodox dagger-wielder martial artist''s cross-trailing daggers with the sound of shattering crystal orchestrated on an elemental scale, the razor-edged knives explosively disintegrating into a diffuse, multitudinous cloud of metallic shrapnel - each jagged fragment refracting the dim illumination like a fleeting, deadly star blazing its final moments before oblivion.
On the other hand, the dagger-wielder martial artist''s expression contorted into a visceral rictus of shock and disbelieving anguish as the sheer, unquantifiable force of Ji Wuye''s resonant collision launched his form sideways in an unstoppable soaring ballistic arc.
BOOOOM!
The thunderous crash of the unorthodox dagger-wielder martial artist''s body being flung backward echoed like the ominous peal of a wrathful war drum, heralding the opening salvo of a cataclysmic conflict.
Yet in that same eternal instant, Ji Wuye''s fingers had already released their ensphering grip upon his jian''s hilt, permitting the ensorcelled blade to fall in a rigorously controlled ambient descent.
However, before the sublime inexorabilities of gravity could fully claim sovereignty over the falling weapon''s arcane materials, Ji Wuye''s hand had already reacquired and resecured its grasp in one supremely fluid, unbroken motion of kinetic economy.
It was at this pivotal juncture of continuity that yet another diaphanous notification shimmered:
========================
[!] Your passive skill, Feline Reflexes (D), has been triggered!
========================
He pivoted with the infinitesimal impetus and economical redirection of a celestial body altering its immemorial orbit around some unseen gravitational nexus, facing the cyclonic vector of the incoming gyrokinetic threat with baleful coalescent focus.
The whirling, taloned vortex that was the claw-wielding martial artist had become a blurred, indistinct trail of annihilating centrifugal force by the time its lethal radius entered the defensive sphere of Ji Wuye''s presence.
Those merciless, glinting talonsfused extensions of steel alloy snagged and sundered a ribbon of fabric from Ji Wuye''s blood-drenched white martial silks.
But then -
CLANK!
================
[!] Your passive skill, Deflecting Blows (D), has been triggered!
================
The calculated, flawlessly executed gambit of momentarily releasing and then reacquiring his jian - a trick to reset triggering the Deflecting Blows.
The catastrophic collision of Ji Wuye''s seamless defensive mastery against the cyclopean rotational momentum of the spiraling talons produced an ear-shattering concussive detonation that seemed to encapsulate and concentrate the abyssal might of celestially-ordained entropy itself within the confines of an infinitesimal singularity.
CRASH!
Fractal replications of the resonant shockwave propagated outwards through the crystalline atmosphere in rippling, concentric rings of ultrasonic force as the taloned unorthodox martial artist''s burnished steel extensions instantaneously and catastrophically deconstructed into a kaleidoscopic, centrifugal malestrom of hyper-accelerated shrapnel birthed into violent, frangible being.
Each infinitesimal shard, temporarily elevated into its own immaculate materialization of the lethal art, refracted the dim battlefield illumination in lucent, pinwheel-like arcs of refracted incandescence before winking out of existence in the span of a final, futile kineticism.
On the other hand, the side effect of Deflecting Blows caused the unorthodox taloned martial artist''s form was instantly rebounded across an impossibly vast distance, bodily hurled backwards as if struck by the unstoppable open palm of an enraged celestial itself.
Yet even as these two seemingly apocalyptic threats were successively neutralized....
"We got him! HAHAHAHAHA!"
Those two unorthodox martial artists, they were merely the visible part of the trap, the flashy distraction meant to hold his attention.
His crimson eyes detected the truth too late as shadows seemed to solidify around him, transforming into a ring of unorthodox martial artists who had used the chaos of battle to maneuver into position. They had encircled him completely.
Chapter 296
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[!] Your passive skill, Quick Adaptation (C), has been triggered!
================
As the transparent screen flickered before Ji Wuye''s intense crimson gaze, the world around him seemed to crystallize into vivid clarity, each movement slowing to a crawl like raindrops suspended in mid-plummet.
Every minuscule droplet of morning dew glistened and refracted, creating a kaleidoscope of miniature prisms that danced across the warm-glow-rimed battlefield.
The majestic peaks of Kunlun Mountain loomed to the west, ancient monoliths of craggy jade ripping through the billowing clouds like celestial daggers.
Long, stark shadows rippled across the Lower Level''s ground, waltzing in time with the warm rays of morning sunlight that poured through the mountain''s silhouetted gaps.
Surrounding Ji Wuye, the unorthodox martial artists moved with the lethal coordination of a hornet swarm. colored martial robes snapped like agitated vipers as they advanced, the sharp crack of scraping feet on stone punctuating each relentless step forward.
In that pivotal moment, the transparent screen materialized before Ji Wuye''s eyes in a shimmering wave, like frost blooming across glass.
Countless ghostly arrows of blue luminescence, shimmering with the intensity of banked spirit-fire, wove an intricate lattice through the air.
Each pulsed with ethereal radiance, unerringly highlighting the fissures and frailties in his opponents'' stances.
TAP!
The ghost of a serene smile played across Ji Wuye''s lips, entirely at odds with the maelstrom surrounding him. His movements flowed like liquid over polished jade, each precise footfall and flourish utterly purposeful as he surrendered himself to the ghostly play of his Quick Adaptation skill.
Even the very air itself seemed to part before him, his tattered martial robes hanging like carved jade despite the fluidity of his motions.
Two fingers wreathed in a haunting azure aura of humming qi lanced out with surgical precision, unerringly striking the Baihui acupuncture point at the crown of the unorthodox martial artist''s head.
The next moment, the impact was deceptively gentle, yet utterly devastating.
The enemy''s protective qi flickered and guttered like a candle''s flame in a fierce wind before sputtering out entirely. Dark veins rippled in angry serpentine patterns beneath graying skin as eyes rolled back, revealing the sickly whites in stark contrast to his rapidly paling face.
However, even as his opponent began a slow crumple towards the loamy earth, Ji Wuye transitioned with cold calculation into his next flawless motion, angling his own keen jian to intersect the incoming blade.
================
[!] Your passive skill, Deflecting Blows (D), has been triggered!
================
CLANK!
The sound rang out. The opponent''s jian exploded into a brilliant constellation of razor-edged shards that momentarily caught the morning sunlight.
The next moment, the force of the deflection launched the unorthodox martial artist backward in a slow-motion arc, his body seeming to hang suspended like a fallen autumn leaf caught in a weightless drift.
Yet, the time itself appeared to warp and bend around him, still slowed.
===========================
[>> PRESSURE FORM PERFECTION STYLE (C) <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill has slightly increased!
===========================
But Ji Wuye''s lethal dance was far from over. In this ephemeral moment where time itself seemed to flow with the viscous languor of honey, he raised his jian.
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The wickedly curved blade sang its keening death-knell as it arced through the air, wreathed in tendrils of azure Qi that writhed and coiled like living frost.
SLASH!
The strike was sublime poetry carved into merciless violence - swift, clinically precise, and rendered with a terrible, devastating beauty.
Ji Wuye''s jian separated flesh from bone with masterful economy, the razor edge parting his opponent''s form as effortlessly as silk sundered by a dagger''s caress.
Within this dilated world of fractured seconds, every infinitesimal detail blazed with visceral clarity: the unhurried divergence of fabric, the arrested rictus of shock frozen upon the falling unorthodox martial artist''s face, the first luminous blossoms of crimson beginning to unfurl along the immaculate trajectory of the blade''s passage.
TAP!
His footwork was ethereal, each step lighter than autumn''s careening leaves skittering across ancient stone. The susurrant whisper of Ji Wuye''s movement was the only sound pervading the battlefield''s sudden stillness as he flowed with boneless grace towards his next ill-fated target.
Once more the ghostly lattice of translucent arrows materialized, their cool azure luminance limning an angular cyclone of guided death through the air.
Like a master calligrapher transcribing a kaleidoscopic meditation in virulent shades of carmine with each sinuous stroke, Ji Wuye moved through the frozen formation. His blade inscribed lethal poems through the aether, each strike a precise stanza, each flourish economical yet profoundly purposeful.
Following along were, the flickering screens arrayed before his crimson gaze.
Then, finally, as abruptly as the strange suspension had begun, the fragile stasis shattered and time''s languorous flow rushed back into its frantic cadence.
The unfolding tableau blazed into gory, full-motion life - a macabre masterwork rendered in shades of viscera and shattered hopes.
The unorthodox martial artists scattered across the battlefield hung frozen in various permutations of leaps and feints, weapons half-raised or mid-swing, like a chaotic array of puppets severed from their crucial strings.
Across the vast and expanse of Kunlun''s Lower Level, the surviving disciples looked on in horrified fascination. Pallid faces, already leached of vitality by the insidious poison''s ravages, drained of what little color still clung to their waxen masks.
Labored respirations birthed small clouds in the chill mountain air as they struggled to fully comprehend the impossible brutality unfolding before their disbelieving eyes.
Some moved to open their mouths in wordless shouts of futile warning, but their cries of anguish withered on extended tongues, perishing as mewls of pained incomprehension.
They thought it was the end for Ji Wuye, surrounded on all sides by countless foes, but...
SPROUT!
The concussive report was a hideous, obscene symphony - the grotesque cacophony of a hundred vermillion detonations deafening in its virulence.
Over one hundred forms separated along Ji Wuye''s meticulously inscribed trajectories in a single terrible instant.
Blood erupted in sensuous arcs of glistening arterial calligraphy, each ephemeral blossom catching the morning sunlight in fractal patterns of visceral, ruby iridescence before splattering in kaleidoscopic shades of violentrendition across the ancient loamy canvas below.
Ji Wuye stood unmoving at the epicenter of the grisly bonfire, a dark and implacable pillar amid the carmine cyclone. The fine mists of sanguine offering that impacted across his robes rustled like fallen sedges caressed by the softest zephyr.
The cloying perfume of spilled vitae commingled with the crisp mountain bouquets to pervade the air with a horrifyingly intoxicating musk that clung too heavily in the aftermath.
The Kunlun disciples stood paralyzed, their faces drained of color and rendered corpselike beneath the cold mountain sunlight.
"Heaven..." The solitary word wheezed from one student''s trembling lips, little more than a dying apprehension exhaled into the frost-tinged air to dissipate amongst the drifting pine-scents.
Shaking hands rose to cover agape mouths not merely to stifle gasps, but as futile barriers warding off the sourly metallic perfume carried upon each shallow inhalations.
The Elders of the righteous factions present, found themselves utterly rooted to the spot, as motionless as the ancient monoliths framing the amphitheater''s mural backdrop.
Some cradled poisoned disciples, others stood slack-jawed.
"That''s...the suspending attack," one Elder''s reedy baritone finally shattered the gravid silence shrouding the carnage.
His eyes - narrow buckskin slits that had born witness across the turning of generations to the evolution of the martial arts.
"There''s no one of the younger generation across all of Jianghu who stands a match against him..." The sigh that followed seemed to expel decades of succumbing weariness,.
"A rare talent like that, wasted...a shame for the Kunlun Sect that failed to earn his loyalty." The damning words scattered into the wind like carelessly shed leaves.
Another Elder, his beard aquiver and the delicate jade ornament in his topknot softly clinking with each infinitesimal tremble, sadly shook his head.
"Sigh...that young man...he''s gone too far down this path. His methods are far too ruthless, his mindset twisted towards darkness."
Knowing Ji Wuye could even injure a Kunlun Elder who was at the 8th Realm, it was no surprise that these unorthodox martial artists¡ªmost of whom were likely in the 4th or 5th Realm¡ªstood no chance against him.
The vast expanse of Kunlun''s Lower Level, so often pulsing with the rhythmic cadences of training colliding flesh and discussion, had descended into a silence so profound it seemed to swallow even the softest mountain zephyrs.
The macabre stretch of saturated earth radiated outward in deepening shades of glistening carmine like the opening stanza of a sacrificial calligraphic masterwork.
Every survivor''s attention remained utterly transfixed, their breathing shallow and synced in tremulous conjoined spasms.
All eyes inexorably locked upon the crimson-drenched form holding immovable court amidst the epicenter of devastation.
Ji Wuye remained unmoving, a solitary pillar amidst the surrounding bonfire of ruination.
Thick rivulets of clinging scarlet coursed in steady streams from his saturated robes to angularly branch outward into fanning pools at his feet, as if his mere presence were birthing springs of sacrificial libation from the hallowed loam itself.
Yet...
His attention seemed utterly consumed upon the lattice of flickering azure screen arrayed before his luminous crimson regard,
===========================
[>> PRESSURE FORM PERFECTION STYLE (C) <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill has slightly increased!
===========================
========================
[>> DEFLECTING BLOWS (D) <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill has slightly increased!
========================
===========================
[>> SLASH BREAKER (D) <<]
The proficiency of your active skill has slightly increased!
===========================
================
[>> QUICK ADAPTATION (C) <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill has slightly increased!
================
...
The cascade of translucent notifications materialized before Ji Wuye''s crimson regard like a shimmering cataract of aetheric light.
Ji Wuye began dexterously rearranging the hovering windows - into neatly regimented arcs bracketing the corners of his sight.
As his telepathic focus turned inward to metabolize the granular streams of notifications populating the displays, the slightest indentation marred the smooth plane of his brow. ''A pity Feline Reflex didn''t easily triggered,''
However, as his eyes swept past the usual notifications, a pair of new messages appeared that were distinctly different from the rest.
===========================
[>> INFORMATION <<]
Congratulations! The skill Deflecting Blows (D) has evolved into -> Deflecting Blows (C)!
===========================
===========================
[!] Congratulations! Your Pressure Form Perfection Style skill has achieved a minor breakthrough!
===========================
Chapter 297
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[>>[DEFLECTING BLOWS (C)]<<]
Type: Passive skill
Effect: Negates damage from any physical, magical, or spiritual attack once per instance (1/1).
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[!] Your Pressure Form Perfection Style skill has upgraded from C -> B!
========================
========================
[>>[Pressure Form Perfection Style (B)]<<]
Type: Passive skill - Mixed Martial Arts
Stage: Pressure Point Eruption (4th Stage)
Description: A technique that integrates knowledge of meridian placement, Qi flow, and pressure points.
========================
As these ethereal translucent screens materialized before Ji Wuye''s piercing gaze, at the same time, information flooded his consciousness in waves, carrying the knowledge the Pressure Point Eruption stage.
The familiar, searing sensation returned¡ªa relentless onslaught, like white-hot needles stabbing mercilessly into the depths of his neural pathways.
Yet, his expression remained stoic. What once was unbearable had dulled into a throbbing ache, reverberating through his temples. It was no more than a fleeting disorientation now, as his consciousness stretched, malleable and resilient, to accommodate the influx of new knowledge.
''Pressure Point Eruption,'' Ji Wuye mouthed silently.
By now, the sun traced its inexorable arc across the boundless azure, its golden dawn rays gradually intensifying into the harsh, unforgiving glare of midday. Shifting shadow patterns danced across the blood-spattered paved stones ground as hours bled seamlessly into one another.
Half-kneeling atop the gore-slicked paved stones ground of Lower Kunlun, Ji Wuye surveyed the macabre tableau of his handiwork with clinical detachment. The scattered remnants of the unorthodox martial artists lay strewn about like broken, discarded dolls¡ªsome cleaved clean through with surgical precision, others torn.
His gaze settled upon one particular figure amidst the carnage¡ªa body that, by some cruel twist of fate, retained enough wholeness to serve his grim purpose. Unlike his utterly obliterated companions, this unorthodox martial artist had lost only his left side. His chest still rose and fell in shallow, irregular movements.
The dying man''s eyes, glazed with the rapidly encroaching veil of death, tracked Ji Wuye''s methodical approach. His remaining intact hand twitched feebly against the blood-slicked stones ground, fingers curling inward as they left crimson streaks in their wake.
"S-spare..." A guttural, pain-filled groan, barely human in its anguished timbre, escaped the man''s throat as Ji Wuye''s shadow fell across his face.
Ji Wuye''s crimson eyes remained as still and impassive as frozen lakes, devoid of even the faintest ripple of emotion.
His long, elegant fingers, the knuckles caked with flaking vestiges of dried blood, extended outwards.
A soft, ethereal blue radiance of Qi emanated from their tips.
Yet unlike the brutality of his previous strikes, this gesture carried an almost gentle quality.
The pressure point he had selected, nestled within the sacred hollow of the Lower Dantian just beneath the navel, was considered the body''s foundational energy center.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
As his Qi-infused fingers made featherlight contact with the dying man''s rapidly cooling flesh, the abdomen began to distort grotesquely, the skin stretching taut and shiny as it swelled obscenely, akin to a waterskin being overfilled at an alarming rate.
Bulging veins pulsed in thick, ropey relief just beneath the surface, their throbbing cadence intensifying with each passing second.
Ji Wuye rose in one fluid, graceful motion, as he stepped back to observe.
BLAST!
The deafening sound that rent the mountain air asunder carried the thunderous force, sending a visceral spray of warm viscera fanning outwards in a grotesque arc.
Droplets of crimson caught the harsh glare of the midday sun, glinting like airborne rubies before splattering wetly across the unforgiving stone paved ground.
Yet Ji Wuye remained utterly motionless, his expression an inscrutable mask of calm as the warm spray speckled his features, not even flinching as the thick.
His gaze remained transfixed upon the gaping cavity that now remained where the man''s abdomen had once been.
''So simple, like the name implies¡ªblowing up the pressure point,'' he thought inwardly.
However, it was only now that he became acutely aware of the gazes surrounding him. Eyes full of fear. The sharp tinge of anxiety hung thick in the air. All around him, the Kunlun disciples watched, their trembling forms witnessing him stand calm and unfazed amidst the carnage.
Their terrified expressions, paired with the glances of the righteous faction Elders observing from afar¡
Upon noticing this, his response was, ''Smooth as a sail,'' He nodded almost imperceptibly.
To the horrified onlookers, this grotesque display surely appeared as little more than the mindless butchery of a madman¡ªa wanton descent into depravity and bloodlust.
Yet behind Ji Wuye''s placid exterior lurked a meticulously crafted web of calculated gambits, each life callously snuffed out representing another strategic step towards averting the future calamity he had borne witness to in that other, desolate timeline.
Every corpse that now cooled at his feet was yet another variable eliminated from the cosmic equation that had once led to his Senior Sister''s untimely demise.
And so, this action became yet another way for him to guarantee or increase his value while ensuring that he appeared to have ¡®sided¡¯ with Kunlun.
The abrupt sound of approaching footsteps shattered the heavy pall of silence like a blade through taut silk. "You reek of blood and filth, Brother."
From his side, Ji Wuye had already sensed her approach¡ªSong Jia.
Song Jia''s features betrayed the faintest hint of delicate distaste as she drew closer still, one sleeve-covered hand rising instinctively to shield her visage from the cloying, metallic miasma that hung thick and stifling from Ji Wuye.
Her opposite hand extended towards Ji Wuye, proffering forth an immaculately pristine cloth the hue of freshly driven snow.
Despite the macabre horror show unfolding around them¡ªdismembered bodies and rapidly cooling corpses scattered like fallen autumn leaves¡ªSong Jia seemed unfazed.
For a woman to wade unflinchingly through such unfathomable carnage was already a remarkable feat unto itself.
Yet Song Jia wore the trappings of her exceptional nature with an unconscious, unaffected ease, neither drawing undue attention to nor shying away from the weight of her singular accomplishments.
Treating the extraordinary undertaking of not merely surviving, but emerging utterly triumphant against such formidable foes as though it were the most natural inclination in existence.
For a martial artist still below the Third Realm to have achieved such feat...
Ji Wuye''s crimson eyes narrowed suddenly. Delicate threads of pure Qi, rendered barely perceptible even to his enhanced vision, wafted outwards from the region of Song Jia''s chest in vaporous tendrils akin to the spectral plumes rising from a natural hot spring.
The telltale signs of her Middle Dantian''s awakening were unmistakable.
"Congratulations, Sister Song," Ji Wuye offered, the faintest curve playing across the corners of his bloodstained lips as he cupped his hands.
The pristine white cloth transferred between them like a votive offering of peace, and he began the methodical process of divesting his features of their crimson mask with unhurried, meticulous strokes.
"Really?!" Song Jia''s eyes seemed to ignite from within, their smoldering embers flaring to life with the delighted radiance of a festival''s ceremonial lanterns.
Her bearing straightened unconsciously, her shoulders pulling back as a profound sense of pride caused her slight frame to rise taller.
The smug satisfaction that danced across her porcelain features in that fleeting moment carried an endearing glimpse of unguarded humanity amid the day''s brutality.
Yet her expression shifted visibly as she watched Ji Wuye continue his cleansing, her gaze tracking his every movement¡ªthe careful, almost reverential manner in which he tended to the area surrounding his distinctive crimson eyes; the meticulous attention paid to ensuring not a single lingering trace of blood marred the fullness of his lips.
A crease formed between her brows, deep enough to have cast shadowed hollows in the harsh midday light slanting across the mountainside.
''This feels... odd,'' Song Jia found herself ruminating, an unsettled sense of disquiet taking root as her mind grappled with the jarring disconnect between the wanton savagery of the scene laid out around them and Ji Wuye''s cleansing.
She vividly recalled Ji Wuye¡¯s indifference during the slaughter¡ªthe way he killed scores of enemies without so much as blinking.
His expression never shifted; there was no thrill, joy, or excitement like what she had felt during the fight. And now, hearing words of "congratulation" from him, she felt an unexpected twinge of doubt.
''I feel like I''m being mocked,'' the insidious thought slithered through the recesses of Song Jia''s mind like a serpent coiled in the shadows.
The swell of pride she had felt in the wake of her recent transcendence began to cool in the encroaching penumbra of creeping doubt, the simple word "congratulations" echoing discordantly with each repetitive reverberation.
No matter how she thought about it, Song Jia knew her strength was a far cry from Ji Wuye¡¯s. It wasn''t even a comparison¡ªthe gap between them was vast. Yet, for some reason, that realization made her blood boil.
Song Jia''s fingers curled inwards instinctively, her trimmed nails biting crescents into the calloused flesh of her palms as tremors of emotion began to roil just beneath the surface of her composed exterior.
Her heart thundered an increasingly arrhythmic cadence against the unyielding cage of her ribs.
''I want to fight him,'' the incandescent thought blazed through the forefront of Song Jia''s consciousness.
Yet before the burning challenge could pass her lips in a torrent of words, another voice¡ªsharp and mocking with an undercurrent of naked cruelty¡ªsliced through the tension-laden air like a hurled volley of razored daggers:
"Huh? The Passing Wind? Hah! So here you are, hiding like a cornered rat!"
The scornful words carried across the blood-spattered expanse of the Lower Level. It was clear the speaker was addressing Song Jia.
Chapter 298
"No wonder you were absent from the conference," came an arrogant voice, the words dripping with disdain.
A young man spoke, one of several newly arrived figures stepping gracefully through the carved paifang gate onto the grounds of Kunlun. The speaker was a striking individual with piercing, storm-gray eyes that seemed to flicker with traces of lightning, as if they held a tempestuous life within them.
A faint, condescending smirk rested on his face, exuding an effortless arrogance as his gaze landed squarely on Song Jia.
His raven-black hair, streaked with silver at the tips like flashes of lightning cutting through the night sky, was loosely tied back, allowing stray strands to sway gently in the mountain breeze. With a slight tilt of his head, he regarded her with a challenging look, one brow arched ever so slightly.
The young man wore a robe of deep indigo, adorned with intricate embroidery of golden and silver lightning patterns that shimmered faintly with his every fluid movement. The fine fabric rippled around him like water as he strode forward.
The rest of the group, though all equally youthful, mirrored his attire and bearing. They too donned identical indigo robes and carried halberds ¡ª weapons long and imposing, held masterfully in one hand with practiced ease ¡ª forming a formation that resembled a disciplined squadron of soldiers.
"Yin Gang..." Song Jia murmured softly, her voice low as she narrowed her eyes at the young man, lips pressed into a taut line as her expression grew colder. Her hands clenched at her sides, knuckles whitening with restraint.
However, the tension in the air swiftly thickened as a swarm of Elders from the righteous factions materialized, surrounding the group''s every flank in a show of force.
"What folly. Rather than retreating, you choose to surrender yourselves," one of the Elders remarked mockingly, his words sharp as a blade. A formidable presence, he held a great sword aloft, its gleaming edge suspended dangerously close to the necks of the young intruders as the ancient metal caught the sunlight.
In an instant, the tide shifted.
RANG!
The newcomers were overwhelmed by the collective pressure of the Zone of the righteous faction''s Elders.
They found themselves pinned mercilessly to the stone-paved ground, their movements utterly suppressed by an unseen force.
From the look of it, the one who unleashed was an Elder, her silvery hair bound tightly in a severe knot as she unleashed her Zone.
Though martial arts varied greatly among practitioners, all shared one defining characteristic ¡ª the manifestation of their unique Zones. This was no exception; with a sharp flick of her wrist, a tempest of wind erupted into being from the Elder''s outstretched palm, its gale-force intensity engulfing the area where these newcomer had stood mere moments earlier.
Yet it was no ordinary wind; the very air wrapped around them like invisible chains, pressing their bodies down with an unrelenting, crushing force.
The one who cast this powerful technique was none other an Elder from the renowned Kongtong Sect. Her silver hair whipped wildly in the swirling winds as her narrowed, storm-gray eyes focused sharply on the group of intruders.
She held an ornately carved steel fan aloft, its razor-edged blades glinting dangerously as a silvery glow of Qi radiated menacingly with every minute adjustment of her stance.
"We... we are disciples of the Black Thunder Emperor!" roared one of the pinned youngsters, his voice trembling with defiance even as he struggled futilely against the smothering pressure. Lightning Qi crackled and danced around his iron-tipped halberd, surging with desperate energy as he fought to summon his strength.
However, to the righteous Elders, this resistance was nothing more than a pitiful, futile display.
With a dismissive wave of her hand, the Kongtong sect Elder snuffed out the crackling Qi around the youth''s weapon, its power nullified in an instant like a candle''s flame extinguished by the wind.
The reply to their bold declaration came not from the Elders, but from another group of Kunlun disciples that had just arrived on the scene. Dressed in pristine white martial robes with dark red stripes, their presence was no less commanding than the Elders from the righteous factions.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"So what?" one of them snorted, his tone filled with disdain as he regarded the pinned intruders with contempt. "Your Master dared to attack Kunlun. Did you truly think we would let his disciples wander freely here as if you are not our enemies?"
The speaker, Quan Wei, held a glistening silvery jian in a white-knuckled grip, the razor-sharp blade glinting ominously as the needle-like tip hovered mere cuns from the exposed throat of one of the intruders.
Quan Wei, an Inner Disciple under the tutelage of Elder Mu himself, was known for his uncompromising stance and resolute convictions.
Yet there was a glimmer of something else in his narrowed gaze - a lingering bitterness that betrayed the memories of regret that still weighed heavily upon him, recollections of when he failed to intervene and save the Jade Blossom Traders from their brutal massacre at the hands of his Master''s daughter, the Young Lady Mu.
"Greetings, distinguished Elders. Thank you for your continuous support and for swiftly intervening to protect our Kunlun," another Inner Disciple said respectfully as he approached, cupping his hands in a formal gesture of deference toward the two Elders who remained standing as silent yet imposing overseers.
"Please, allow us to take charge and handle the matter from here."
...
Amid the ongoing exchange between the Elders and the Inner Disciples now taking charge, standing amidst the torn and mangled remains of the unorthodox martial artists'' corpses, the aftermath of the vicious skirmish, Song Jia remained eerily silent and still as a statue.
Her expression was utterly cold and unreadable.
Meanwhile, Ji Wuye was busy meticulous cleaning himself, using the pristine white cloth Song Jia had given him earlier to carefully dab at the crimson droplets splattered across his body and face.
His attention, however, kept flicking toward something else - the last translucent screen that hovered quietly before him.
========================
[>>[DEFLECTING BLOWS (C)]<<]
Type: Passive skill
Effect: Negates damage from any physical, magical, or spiritual attack once per instance (1/1).
========================
As Ji Wuye studied the upgrade details impassively, his brow furrowed ever so slightly in contemplation. ''There''s no change to the skill''s core function... except for the missing effect of retaining the impact,'' he thought inwardly.
This latest upgrade could neither be deemed wholly positive nor an outright drawback. After all, the previous side effect of his body momentarily absorbing the force of blocked attacks hadn''t particularly troubled him before, especially now with his current strength.
========================
STATUS SCREEN
========================
Name: Ji Wuye
Level: 26
========================
ATTRIBUTES
========================
Strength: 180
Agility: 174
Qi: 254
========================
SKILLS
========================
- Quick Adaptation (C)
- Deflecting Blows (C)
- Feline Reflexes (D)
- Slash Breaker (D)
- Qi Training (???)
========================
MARTIAL ARTS
========================
- Pressure Form Perfection Style (4th) (B)
- Healing Art Primer (3rd) (D)
- Cloudsoaring Steps (2nd) (E)
- Pulse of Blade Sword Art (2nd) (??)
- The Unbreakable Vajra Form (2nd) (C)
- Heavenly Dragon Fusion Gongfa (3rd) (C)
========================
COPIED MARTIAL ARTS MOVES
========================
- Thunder Dragon Dance (1st) (B)
- Twin Phoenix Dance (Final) (C)
- Hundred Steps (Final) (C)
- Kunlun Aura Ascension (1st) (2nd) (B)
- Black Thunder Doctrine (1st) (2nd) (3rd) (??)
- Sky Demon Blade (3rd) (B)
- Venomous Beast (1st) (B)
- Taiyi Divine Sword (2nd) (??)
========================
''The image has changed... well, no surprise there,'' Ji Wuye thought inwardly, his intense crimson gaze fixed on the shimmering new formatting of the translucent screen hovering before him. It wasn''t unexpected - not after copying and assimilating numerous martial arts moves over the course of recent days.
Scanning through his updated stats with a critical eye, he noted the significant progress he had made. Not only had he managed to resonate with and attune himself to the of three elements, but almost all of his skills, techniques, and martial arts knowledge had either been refined and improved or upgraded.
''The sixth floor of the trials shouldn''t pose much of a challenge for me now with these advancements,'' Ji Wuye thought inwardly as the corners of his mouth ticked upward in a faint, self-assured smile.
However, the nagging memory of the tower''s trials inexplicably escalating to far greater heights of difficulty in the previous timeline caused his expression to slowly contort into a contemplative frown once more. ''But does the difficulty truly scale in accordance with one''s level of strength and realm?''
After all, his growth over the past few days had been nothing short of extraordinary ¡ª a leap in level from 16 to 26, and an advancement through entire martial realms, rising from the 3rd Martial Realm to the 5th, the realm of Sword Aura.
''Let''s not dwell on uncertainties for now,'' he sighed, dismissing the troubling thought with a slight shake of his head as he refocused on the present moment.
With measured, efficient strokes, he wiped away each unsightly stain marring his features using the pristine white cloth Song Jia had given him earlier until not a single speck remained.
"The disciples of the Black Thunder Emperor?" he asked, glancing questioningly at Song Jia, who stood nearby, her body rigid and her fists clenched tightly at her sides.
Her unwavering gaze was locked onto the captured disciples with an intensity that bordered on obsession, cold and piercing, yet she made no move to reply to his query.
''That''s odd...'' Ji Wuye muttered internally, his mind beginning to churn as he processed the implications. ''Why would the Black Thunder Emperor recklessly send his own disciples into such obvious peril, unable to ensure their protection from this opposition?''
The reason he immediately recognized their identity was simple: the halberds these newcomers carried and the identical martial robes they wore made it easy to guess who they were.
Having finished his task and receiving no answer from Song Jia, Ji Wuye casually draped the now blood-stained white cloth over her tense shoulder as he strode past her unhurriedly, his expression unreadable.
It was at that precise moment that the tense conversations between the Inner Disciples and Elders ceased in unison. Yet Ji Wuye remained utterly indifferent to the palpable shift in atmosphere, continuing to walk forward at an unhurried pace as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
"Greetings, esteemed Elders," Ji Wuye said casually yet respectfully, cupping his hands in a formal gesture as he approached the two Elders. His tone remained calm and composed.
One of the two Elders ¡ª the same woman from the Kongtong Sect who had earlier used her razor-edged steel fan to subdue the intruders, and who had also once attacked and surrounded him in the past ¡ª now fixed the full weight of her piercing gaze on Ji Wuye. The ornate fan remained tightly clenched in her hand, subtly yet deliberately angled toward him.
"You are quite a remarkable young man, polite and well-mannered," the Kongtong Elder remarked, her tone equal parts sharp curiosity and veiled wariness.
Her storm-gray eyes narrowed slightly as she studied him with intense scrutiny, scrutinizing every aspect of his handsome, youthful face and composed demeanor. "So why, I must ask, did you so brazenly choke one of your own Elders back then during the earlier altercation?"
Her question hung in the air, pointed yet laced with apparent genuine inquisitiveness as her gaze remained locked on him, unwavering.
Yet, Ji Wuye didn''t so much as blink at her probing inquiry. His expression remained indifferent, his focus already shifting away from her words as if they were of no real importance to address. Instead, his piercing crimson gaze fell upon the pinned disciples of the Black Thunder Emperor nearby.
"You," he said, his deep voice steady and sharp as tempered steel as his eyes locked onto one of the youths in particular. "Are you not Yin Gang? The Lightning Hawk?"
Chapter 299
The familiar defiant glare, the same piercing eyes crackling with lightning as if alive and challenging the world, instantly drew Ji Wuye''s attention.
His crimson gaze shifted, zeroing in on the pinned man''s fingers with laser focus. ''The pinkie finger... it''s still there,'' he thought.
For the second time¡ªafter witnessing how all of his Senior Sisters had been left brutalized and broken¡ªa surge of boiling rage, explosive and uncontainable, swept through Ji Wuye''s very core. His blood coursed with searing heat as his entire body burned with an all-consuming anger, muscles tensing like tautly drawn bowstrings.
Gripping the familiar jian until his knuckles turned white, Ji Wuye began stalking toward the pinned man, Yin Gang, who was still struggling against his restraints with feral desperation.
Yin Gang''s eyes remained as arrogant and unyielding as ever, glaring defiantly at the surrounding crowd as he shouted the name of his Master in a guttural roar. "My Master will tear this place apart and crush you all like insects!"
"Don''t." The stern command cut through the tension like a blade, the voice emanating from the Kongtong Sect Elder. Her razor-edged steel fan was suddenly thrust before Ji Wuye, barring his path with an authoritative clang.
Meeting his blazing eyes with her stormy gray gaze, she silently warned him.
"It would be complicated," she added, her tone deceptively calm even as the air crackled with palpable tension. Her silvery hair fluttered in an unseen breeze, entwining with Ji Wuye''s long white tresses, stained with the dried blood. "The Black Thunder Emperor is master at the 9th realm. Even your patriarch cannot defeat him."
''I know,'' Ji Wuye inwardly acknowledged.
However, instead of voicing his agreement, he cupped his hand around the hilt of his jian, lowering its tip. ''However...''
"This grudge, if not avenged, is like a fishbone stuck in the throat," Ji Wuye said as he ignored the Elder''s warning, pressing forward.
But then, the group of Inner Disciples tasked with subduing Yin Gang swiftly intervened. With practiced efficiency, they bound the man in sturdy chains that seemed to thrum with restraining energies, sealing his qi and rendering him powerless. Ji Wuye paused momentarily, eyebrows raising in surprise.
''So they know to the location of acupressure point,'' he thought, observing their precise movements as one disciple placed firm pressure on the center of Yin Gang''s chest¡ªthe CV-17, Danzhong accupoint. That very same point to treat his Senior Sister Lian''s injuries in the past.
He watched closely, scrutinizing their every action, eventually realizing something peculiar: only one disciple among the group was performing the actual acupressure technique to seal Yin Gang''s qi, while the others simply hovered nearby, observing intently as if studying a rare technique.
Not to mention the glistening beads of sweat forming on the brow of the Inner Disciple striving to properly contain and channel the pressure, occasional flickers of qi still managing to leak through the imperfect seal.
Even a surge of volatile Lightning Qi escaped in resistance from the unorthodox martial artist¡ªthese young men were clearly far from ordinary.
¡®Well, my expectations were too high,¡¯ Ji Wuye thought, shaking his head.
Suddenly, as he took a step forward, a couple of Inner Disciples positioning themselves to block his path.
"I''m sorry, Junior Brother," one of them finally spoke, his tone holding no trace of arrogance or condescension despite their elevated status as Inner Disciples. "We understand the weight of your feelings, but please, allow us to handle this according to sect protocols. There has already been enough bloodshed on this day."Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
They cupped their hands in a formal gesture of deference, yet still, they held their jian at the ready.
"The Elders have given us explicit instructions," another added softly, maintaining a respectful bow even as steel flashed in his eyes. "These prisoners must be thoroughly questioned before any...final measures are taken. We cannot allow personal vendettas to disrupt the proper investigation."
Even though, on the surface, they appeared polite and considerate, it would have been a different case if he hadn¡¯t displayed his power earlier.
In addition, to Ji Wuye, their placating gestures and empty platitudes elicited no reaction whatsoever. Regarding them with cold, indifferent crimson eyes that seemed to bore into their very souls, he saw nothing but failures¡ªhollow echoes of the principles they claimed to uphold.
Ever since that day... ever since he had witnessed firsthand how his beloved Senior Sisters had been so cruelly violated and broken, while others simply stood by and watched¡ªall because they followed ¡®the principles¡¯¡ªhe no longer placed any faith in such superficial displays.
''Hypocrites, the lot of them,'' Ji Wuye thought inwardly. He did not pause in his inexorable steps forward, radiating an aura of chilling indifference to their pleas.
The Inner Disciples were caught completely off guard, momentarily stunned into stillness by his implacable demeanor and unflinching determination. One of them, moved forward to physically bar Ji Wuye''s path, but hesitated before retreating when another disciple at his side hissed an urgent reminder.
"Brother Quan, stop! Have you forgotten what happened to the Elder Xia?" The words cut through the tension like a knife, prompting the would-be intervener to pause.
The one who had nearly moved to obstruct Ji Wuye was none other than Quan Wei, an Inner Disciple himself. Watching Ji Wuye''s back with conflicted eyes, Quan Wei''s hands clenched tightly at his sides, nails digging bloody crescents into his palms as a whirlwind of emotions stormed within.
Those cold, impassive crimson eyes dredged up haunting memories of another¡ªMu Lan Rou, whose gaze had carried that same hollow indifference.
''Is this truly happening again? What has become of the righteous principles we once fervently believed in?'' The weight of frustration sank like a leaden weight in his chest. Quan Wei bit his lip, suppressing the roiling tsunami of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him.
His gaze turned abruptly to the side, falling upon the grisly sight of Song Jia standing amidst the split corpses of the unorthodox martial artists scattered around them like broken dolls.
...
Meanwhile, Ji Wuye reached the cluster of Inner Disciples still frantically attempting to accurately pinpoint and seal the pressure points of the unorthodox young martial artists held before them.
"Call this a Qi seal?" one captive sneered defiantly, sneering at their inept efforts. "Why, my grandmother could perform a better lock with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her bent back!"
"Pathetic!" Another captive joined the mocking chorus, his lips twisting in a sneer of disdain. "No wonder you self-righteous people need your Masters holding your hands for every little thing. Can''t even manage basic pressure point techniques without a dusty manual to guide your fumbling efforts!"
The unorthodox martial artists continued to hurl insults and scorn at the Inner Disciples despite their predicament, sneering at the perceived ineptitude of their captors.
Amidst the derisive jeers, Yin Gang, immobilized and pinned by restraints thrumming with sealing energies, raised his gaze defiantly. His eyes locked onto the strikingly handsome young man before him¡ªJi Wuye¡ªwhose crimson eyes burned like ominous fires barely contained as they bored into him.
"Are you a friend of the Passing Wind?" Yin Gang smirked mockingly, tilting his head as far as his restraints would allow in a display of brazen defiance.
"Have you come here as her faithful hound¡ªor perhaps her licking dog¡ªto deliver a message from your master?" His taunting words rang out, shockingly unshaken despite having his Qi completely sealed and his body rendered immobile. "Judging by your appearance, perhaps you failed to seduce her? Hehe!"
Ji Wuye did not so much as twitch in response to the barbed words. Instead, he turned his smoldering crimson gaze toward the cluster of Inner Disciples who had been occupied with their tasks, speaking in an eerily calm tone. "Senior Brothers, allow me to handle this one''s interrogation."
The Inner Disciples, momentarily distracted from their efforts, turned to regard him, recognition flashing across their faces as they recalled the full extent of his earlier display of overwhelming power.
"Th-that¡¯s the White Demon, right?" one of them whispered.
"Yeah, but... is it allowed for him to do this?" another murmured, glancing at the two Inner Disciples who were supposed to be guarding the White Demon. Yet, those Inner Disciples simply looked back at them in silence.
A heavy silence hung in the air before they hesitantly gave a nod of reluctant approval.
"S-sure, Junior Brother. You may take charge of questioning this one," one of them replied, his words clipped with thinly veiled apprehension as he gripped the hilt of his jian tightly, prepared for any possibility of the so-called White Demon losing control. "You can even oversee the interrogations of them all, if you wish."
"Thank you." Ji Wuye''s lips curved into the faintest ghost of an insincere smile that barely passed for sincerity before it slipped away like a fleeting mirage. "Of course, this endeavor shan''t require an excessive expenditure of our time."
Without waiting for another word, Ji Wuye approached the pinned form of Yin Gang. His fingers began to glow with a faint bluish aura of Qi as he extended two of them toward the carotid artery exposed on Yin Gang''s neck, left vulnerably bare by the restraints pinning him down.
Without the slightest hesitation, Ji Wuye gently lifted Yin Gang''s upper body and began to delicately massage the vital artery with precise, feather-light ministrations.
"W-what are you doing?" Yin Gang''s previous bravado faltered as a stutter of confusion escaped his lips. Despite feeling no overtly painful sensations, his heartbeat suddenly began thundering erratically, each frenzied thump reverberating loudly in his ears.
A creeping sense of visceral unease swelled within his core, instincts screaming with impending dread.
He thrashed against his bindings with renewed desperation, but the restraints held fast, refusing to yield even an cun. His voice took on a sharper, more anxious edge as an ominous premonition took insidious root. "What trickery is this? Release me at once, you sniveling pup!"
Chapter 300
It didn''t take long for Yin Gang, who had been thrashing and grunting in a futile struggle, to suddenly freeze, his body going unnaturally still. His eyes widened with a dawning terror as he sensed the shift in the air.
"What did you do?!" one of Yin Gang''s friends, currently chained and pinned to the ground, screamed in fear, straining against his bonds. His voice cracked with panic as he witnessed the horrific scene unfolding before him.
It wasn''t just the sight of Yin Gang falling eerily silent after his vital artery was gently massaged¡ªit was also the grotesque transformation of his head. Yin Gang''s skull appeared to swell unnaturally, the skin stretching taut as if it were being inflated like a steamed bun, the veins bulging obscenely against the surface.
''The head, the brain, and the mouth¡ªthis is for speaking ill of and abusing my Senior Sister,'' Ji Wuye thought inwardly, his expression cold and unreadable as he watched the gruesome spectacle unfold.
Almost immediately, a deafening explosion erupted from Yin Gang''s neck with a sickening wet burst, spraying viscous crimson in every direction as the scene was soaked in a warm, metallic rain of blood.
BLAST!
A gurgling, inhuman sound escaped from Yin Gang''s gaping mouth, his lifeless eyes dull and empty, resembling a fish staring blankly. His body spasmed uncontrollably, limbs twitching and jerking in a grotesque mockery of life.
Pieces of flesh and shattered organs were splattered across the ground, painting the area in a gruesome abstract of red and pink, as Yin Gang''s dismembered body lay at Ji Wuye''s feet, the twisted aftermath leaving an air of finality so thick it was nearly suffocating.
BLAST!
Yet another explosion rang out, this time from Yin Gang''s hands¡ªor rather, what remained of them. Both his palms had blasted into countless fragments with a sickening crunch, scattering fleshy bits and shards of bone into the air in a macabre rain of gore.
The fragments stained Ji Wuye''s impassive face with streaks of blood, but he remained unmoved, his cold, indifferent gaze fixed on Yin Gang''s twitching, struggling form as the life drained from his ruined body.
''This is for your hands¡ªfor torturing and ultimately killing my Senior Sister,'' Ji Wuye thought inwardly as he watched the retribution unfold. Death was too kind, too light a punishment for someone like Yin Gang who had committed such unforgivable atrocities.
The sun''s merciless heat reflected off the scattered flesh and gore of Yin Gang''s ruined body, casting macabre shadows that danced across the blood-soaked ground.
In the previous timeline, ever since the brutal death of his Senior Sister Shen Bi, Ji Wuye had been consumed with an all-consuming need to track down the culprit.
He had been powerless then, only capable of reaching the 3rd martial realm after years of tireless effort. That inability to bring justice had haunted him like a waking nightmare, as he failed to save not only his beloved Senior Sister Shen Bi but also his other Senior Sisters, Lian and Qiu, from their brutal fates.
At the same time, several transparent screens flashed before Ji Wuye''s crimson pupils, the ethereal displays flickering with updates amidst the gruesome scene unfolding under the bright, blazing daylight.
===========================
[>> PRESSURE FORM PERFECTION STYLE (B) <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill has slightly increased!
===========================
===========================
[>> PRESSURE FORM PERFECTION STYLE (B) <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill has slightly increased!
===========================
===========================
[>> PRESSURE FORM PERFECTION STYLE (B) <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill has slightly increased!
===========================
Yin Gang made no cries, no coherent reaction¡ªjust the lifeless, half-dead expression of fish-like, drooping eyes and a mouth muttering disjointed, meaningless words in a wet gurgle. His muscles, however, continued to twitch spasmodically, betraying the immense, unimaginable pain Ji Wuye had inflicted upon him with surgical precision.
All of this was the result of Ji Wuye precisely targeting Yin Gang''s Renying pressure point (ST-9). Known as the "Lifeline Gate," this vital point, when struck, disrupted the flow of Qi between the head and the rest of the body.
By severing this connection, it shut down the upper body''s Qi flow, leaving Yin Gang unable to focus, think clearly, or respond physically in any coordinated manner.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
But Ji Wuye didn''t just strike the point¡ªhe caused it to explode from within, unleashing a catastrophic wave of internal damage. As a result, Yin Gang suffered a near-total loss of oxygen-rich blood to the brain, starving it of vital nutrients with each stuttering beat of his ruined heart. Were Yin Gang an ordinary man, he would have succumbed to death after five breaths.
Ji Wuye''s next targets were Yin Gang''s LI-4 pressure points, located between the thumb and index finger of each hand, the areas that controlled the flow of Qi to the appendages.
These points, coupled with Ji Wuye''s anguished memories of the horrific rumors and gruesome information he had painstakingly uncovered, triggered a visceral flashback - the searing image of his Senior Sister Shen Bi''s body, stripped bare and degraded in unimaginable ways, assaulted his mind''s eye.
It was clear, undeniable what depraved atrocities Yin Gang and his ilk had committed against her innocent form.
"Enough, child," came a stern voice that cut through the tense moment like a blade, jarring Ji Wuye from his vengeful reverie.
The commanding voice belonged to a woman - none other than the Elder from the Kongtong sect. She did not step forward, but simply stood rooted to the spot, holding the same ornately carved, razor-edged steel fan as before. Her piercing storm-gray eyes fixed upon Ji Wuye, carrying a weight of ancient sorrow and pity as she regarded him, seeming to see into the very depths of his pain.
"I do not know what grave grudge you harbor against this man, but..." the Elder began, her voice steady yet firm as she gestured with a slight tilt of her head for Ji Wuye to survey his surroundings.
The gathered Inner Disciples stood frozen, their youthful faces drained of color and etched with visceral horror at the gruesome spectacle. Though their hands trembled as they gripped the hilts of their jians, their wide, unblinking gazes stayed unshakably fixed upon the blood-drenched scene before them.
Meanwhile, the remnants of the Black Thunder Emperor''s disciples lay crumpled and cowering on the ground, wailing and trembling uncontrollably as if gripped by a waking nightmare. Streams of tears carved glistening tracks down their ashen faces as they raised their voices in desperate, pitiful pleas.
"Please forgive me! Spare us, I beg you!"
"I''m sorry! I''m so terribly sorry! Please, have mercy and forgive me!"
Amidst their harrowing cries echoing across the once-serene valley, Yin Gang''s mutilated body lay in full, horrific view. His hands were obliterated down to ragged stumps, his throat a savagely torn ruin that still oozed crimson life, yet his half-closed, vacant eyes still seemed to hold a faint, ghostly glimmer of awareness.
His chest continued its shallow, spasmodic rise and fall in a grotesque pantomime of life.
But what lay exposed before their traumatized gazes was no dignified end. It was nothing short of desecration, a humiliation more horrific than any of them could fathom.
Even if the greatest physicians across the Jianghu were summoned, or if he himself, there was no mortal way to bring Yin Gang back from the precipice he now teetered upon.
His condition was utterly beyond hope, beyond salvation - unless, of course, as in the ancient folk tales whispered around dying embers, an immortal being descended from the heavens to the mundane mortal world and bestowed upon him a legendary Rebirth Pill or some other divine miracle worked into existence by their transcendent powers.
At that fraught moment, Ji Wuye''s ears picked up the telltale sounds of rapidly approaching footsteps.
He turned, and realized that his Senior Sisters, along with Elder Qiao and her Inner Disciples had arrived at last upon the bloodstained Lower Level, and as their widening eyes fell upon the nightmarish scene laid bare before them, their expressions contorted into masks of abject shock and horror.
"By the heavens..." someone breathed in a tremulous whisper.
"You fool! What have you done?!" Elder Qiao''s voice cracked with a rawness of pure, unbridled emotion that sliced through the tension like a blade.
For the first time Ji Wuye witnessed her unshakable composure crumble before his very eyes like so many brittle autumn leaves scattered by a gale-force wind. Her thick, alluring pink lips - so often wrapped serenely around the long ivory stem of her ever-present pipe - quivered with barely contained fury and disbelief. "Have you lost your mind completely?!"
Her piercing eyes, glared sharply at him as she rushed forward with preternatural speed.
"It''s -" Ji Wuye began, his words caught in his throat by the sheer force of the Elder''s blazing presence bearing down upon him.
"Silence!" She hissed, those eyes flashing with a dangerous light that brokered no argument. "I indulged your plotting, but we never agreed to provoke the Black Thunder Emperor to such insanity!" Elder Qiao''s voice was sharp and piercing, cutting through the tension like shards of jagged ice as she closed the distance between them with ground-devouring strides. "Do you understand the catastrophic consequences of what you''ve set into motion here?!"
For someone who had ascended to the 8th realm, crossing the remaining distance of mere steps separating them seemed instantaneous to the wide, unblinking eyes of the onlookers.
Within the space of mere heartbeats, Elder Qiao was standing before Ji Wuye, gripping the tattered, bloodstained folds of the now-ruined white martial robe he wore in whitened knuckles - the vivid crimson splatters only further underscoring the chaos he had wrought.
"Tell me why," she demanded in a voice that had dropped to a chilling, dangerous whisper that somehow cut deeper than any shout. "Tell me this cataclysmic mayhem wasn''t just a product of reckless abandon and whimsy. Speak true."
"I know the risks. It''s...acceptable," Ji Wuye replied, his tone steady and cold as his faint, uncaring smile remained unmoved upon his bloodied features. His chest rose and fell with a calmness.
In this timeline, he had finally managed to deliver a sliver of the vengeance he had craved for so long - killing one of the vile culprits responsible for his beloved Senior Sister''s horrific demise.
"Acceptable?" Elder Qiao''s derisive laugh was brittle and laced with bitterness.
However, as Ji Wuye''s gaze slid past the furious Elder, it landed squarely upon a trembling, ghostly pale figure that stabbed at his heart - his Senior Sister Shen Bi herself.
She was there, whole and alive before him, but her delicate features were awash with streaks of tears, her eyes wide pools of abject horror fixed unblinkingly upon the gruesome aftermath he had wrought.
"Junior Brother..." she whispered, the words barely carrying to his ears over the deafening rush of blood pounding through his veins. "What...what have you allowed yourself to become?"
''Ah...'' The realization struck Ji Wuye with abrupt, gut-wrenching clarity. His outward appearance in that moment was utterly monstrous.
But before he could give voice to his whirling mix of emotions, another figure stepped forward with deliberate, measured strides - Senior Sister Qiu Xia. She had been advancing towards him, her exquisite features an inscrutable mask, when suddenly:
SLAP!
The sharp crack of flesh striking flesh echoed hollowly in Ji Wuye''s ringing ears, the stinging imprint of her open palm searing his cheek.
The physical pain was fleeting, but Ji Wuye felt as though the world itself had frozen in that crystalline moment of shocked stillness. This was the first time in his life that his Senior Sister, had ever struck him in such a manner.
When at last he raised his gaze to meet hers, Ji Wuye saw her anger burning through tear-streaked eyes, mingling with a profound, soul-deep sorrow that stole his breath. Crimson tears - that terrible, telltale sign of her utter fury , and for the first time he saw the cavernous depths of pain lurking behind that visage.
Turning his head slightly, his roving eyes shifted further into the horrified crowd''s midst - to where Senior Sister Lian stood wreathed in an aura of such palpable anguish that it seemed to seep from her slender form with every labored breath.
Her lips were dry, trembling, her sorrow so viscerally tangible that Ji Wuye felt it like a physical weight bearing down upon his shoulders. She looked withered not just in flesh but in spirit itself, the very essence of grief given form in her haggard, haunted expression.
He had almost forgotten. His Senior Sister Lian was kind¡ªso kind that she could never tolerate or accept such inhumanity. His Senior Sister Qiu Xia was deeply righteous, the type of person who firmly believed that no one, not even those with good intentions, should take the law into their own hands.
And his Senior Sister Shen Bi... she was still haunted by the trauma of the past, the bandits who had ravaged her village and stolen her peace.
And now, as if it were the worst possible moment, they had seen him. They had witnessed him. They had watched his actions¡ªactions that fit every condition they despised.
He had almost forgotten...because, in the previous timeline, he had been alone.
RUMBLE!
The moment was interrupted by the low roar of thunder that shook the air. Ji Wuye¡¯s head snapped to attention as the sound rumbled once more, drawing his attention skyward.
Dark clouds were gathering unnaturally fast, their ominous presence smothering the once-bright sunlight. It was as though the heavens themselves were mourning or responding to the chaos below.
Chapter 301
''This is too much, huh?'' Ji Wuye¡¯s chest tightened as he watched the tempest of emotions fracture Senior Sister Qiu¡¯s steel-like composure.
Her eyes¡ªusually sharp enough to cut through bone¡ªnow swam with unshed tears, their irises glinting like fractured sunlit quartz under the ash-choked sky.
She stood rigid before him, her fists clenched so hard the knuckles blanched to the color of winter bone, while the jagged edge of her glare locked onto his.
Her lips, trembling against an onslaught of words she refused to voice, pressed inward until the delicate bow of her mouth disappeared, leaving only a bloodless, quivering line.
Without a breath of hesitation, Ji Wuye closed the distance between them. His hands, still streaked with dried blood, gripped her shoulders, then slid to her back, pulling her against him in a motion as instinctive as drawing a blade.
Her jasmine perfume¡ªsubtle and sweet¡ªclashed with the metallic tang of the blood.
¡°Let me go, Junior.¡± Her voice sliced through the air, colder than the mountain winds that whipped through the sect¡¯s peaks. Her palms flattened against his chest, nails clawing into the tattered remains of his robe.
He felt her trembling¡ªnot the flutter of uncertainty, but the seismic shudder of rage contending with grief. Her nails bit deeper, anchoring into his flesh like talons, as if clinging to anger might armor her against the flood beneath.
Ji Wuye''s arms banding tighter around her slender frame. Even through the layers of her white martial robe, he could trace the tension knotting her muscles, coiled as tightly as a bowstring.
Her body radiated heat¡ªnot the steady warmth of life, but the fevered blaze. The frantic drumbeat of her heart hammered against his ribs, a staccato counterpoint to the distant, guttural roars of the lingering battlefield.
¡°LET ME GO!¡± Her cry fractured the air, raw and ragged. Sapphire-blue qi erupted from her in a burst of light, lashing like wildfire around them. It crackled against his skin, sharp and electric¡ªa storm of spiritual energy born of desperation.
¡°I¡¯m sorry, Senior Sister.¡± His whisper brushed the shell of her ear, soft as the sigh of wind through bamboo. For a heartbeat, her struggles stilled. Her breath hitched¡ªa wet, fractured sound¡ªas if the words had struck a hidden nerve.
Then, like a dam crumbling, her hands twisted weakly against his chest. The force of her push faltered, her nails retreating from his wounds to curl instead into loose, trembling fists.
Her Qi flickered uncertainly, its azure glow dimming to the faint pulse of moonlight on water.
¡°Let me go...¡± Her voice frayed to a whisper now, fragile as an autumn leaf caught in a storm.
The heat of her body seeped into him, but her rigid posture softened¡ªa thaw so slight he might have imagined it. Her cheek grazed his shoulder, her breath misting damp and uneven against his neck. ¡°Your mind is insane. This... you are not my Junior.¡±
The accusation hung between them, bitter and brittle. Yet as her chest rose and fell with labored breaths, her shoulders slackened imperceptibly.
Yet as the two of them remained locked in this embrace, chaos raged around them.
The Elders from various righteous factions, who had been fighting earlier against the unorthodox sect Masters, began to return to the scene.
Their eyes fell on Ji Wuye, who continued to embrace Qiu Xia in defiance of the turmoil surrounding him, his arms wrapped protectively around her as if shielding her from the chaos. Qiu Xia''s delicate frame trembled slightly, her face buried against Ji Wuye''s chest as she clung to him, drawing strength from his unwavering presence.
From every side, the Elders surrounded them, their robes billowing in the charged air, including those from Kunlun itself.
Among them was Elder Qiao¡ªQiao Xiulan¡ªstanding protective and resolute, her brow furrowed in determination as her gaze locked onto the overbearing figure now roaring from the paifang gate.
That figure loomed menacingly over the lifeless body of Yin Gang, the source of destruction in the background, his shadow cast long and ominous across the scorched earth.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"WHICH ONE OF YOU DID THIS?!" The voice bellowed, deep and thunderous, belonging to none other than the Black Thunder Emperor himself.
His eyes, bloodshot and seething with fury, bore into the gathered crowd as he stood over the mutilated corpse of Yin Gang. He had just shattered the chains binding the rest of his disciples, freeing them from where they had been pinned to the ground, and they now slowly rose, their expressions a mix of fear and awe.
Kneeling over Yin Gang''s broken body, the Black Thunder Emperor clenched his fists, the veins in his arms bulging with palpable rage.
His broad shoulders strained against the fabric of his robes, the muscles rippling beneath like coiled serpents, as his raven-black hair fell in wavy locks around his fierce, weathered face.
His gaze blazed with unrestrained malice, and his thick, neatly-groomed beard¡ªblack as a moonless night¡ªseemed to spark faintly with crackling Lightning Qi, casting an eerie violet glow across his chiseled features.
He rose to his full height, his powerful physique imposing and unyielding, his every movement radiating a sense of barely contained fury.
Picking up Yin Gang''s broken, bloodied corpse with ease, he cradled it in one arm, his expression twisting into a mask of anguished rage as he looked upon the mangled remains. In his other hand, he gripped a halberd¡ªan enormous weapon that hummed with tendrils of Thunder Qi, streaked with radiant violet lightning that danced across its length.
"Cooperating with those unorthodox ones, attacking my Kunlun, and now demanding justice for the death of one of your disciples?"
The calm but commanding voice belonged to the Kunlun Patriarch, who took a single step forward to address the Black Thunder Emperor, his robes swirling around him like eddies in a still pond. "Do you think I am just a statue to stand idly and watch you act as you please?"
For the first time, the Patriarch''s face was revealed. Unlike the Black Thunder Emperor''s harsh, weathered visage, his countenance was smooth and refined¡ªnot old enough to be called a frail elder, but seemingly in the prime of his forties.
His clean-shaven jawline was sharp, exuding power even in silence, and his eyes¡ªpeculiarly white pupils resembling the glow of the moon¡ªshone with an intimidating wisdom, unwavering in the face of the Black Thunder Emperor''s fury.
The Patriarch held his jian steadily, his grip relaxed but firm, a stark contrast to the Emperor''s white-knuckled grasp on his halberd.
Its edge glimmered faintly, and a soft, ethereal white Qi flowed around it like mist, radiating a sense of serenity that belied its deadly potential. The air around him felt colder, more restrained, yet no less dangerous than the crackling energy emanating from the Black Thunder Emperor.
"Let''s move!" Elder Qiao''s urgent voice cut through the tense moment as the Patriarch held the Black Thunder Emperor''s attention, her brow furrowed with determination. She, along with the other Elders, moved quickly to where Ji Wuye still had hugged Qiu Xia, heedless of the growing discomfort of the onlookers.
Qiu Xia''s delicate cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of crimson from embarrassment as the many Seniors surrounding them cast their gazes on the scene, her slender fingers clutching at the fabric of Ji Wuye''s robes as if seeking shelter from their scrutiny.
"Let''s go, young man!" another Elder from one of the righteous factions barked impatiently, his voice gruff as he tried to pull Ji Wuye away, reaching out him. But Ji Wuye didn''t budge, his arms holding Qiu Xia firmly in place despite the Elders'' combined urgings and attempts to separate them.
"MOVE NOW! BEFORE THEY SPOT US!" one of the Elders shouted, her voice laced with panic as she whirled to face Ji Wuye and Qiu Xia, her robes billowing around her like stormclouds. In her desperation, she dug her nails into Ji Wuye''s shoulder, the sharp points biting through fabric and skin alike.
"JI WUYE!" she cried out again, her eyes wide with urgency. This time, a faint bluish Qi, shaped like a delicate musical note, drifted toward him from her outstretched palm. Accompanied by a soothing melody that seemed to vibrate the very air around them, the Qi enveloped Ji Wuye, attempting to enchant him and snap him out of his trance with its gentle thrall.
However, he barely flinched, his firm stance resisting her efforts as if her trick slid off an impenetrable barrier. Startled, that Elder was pushed back slightly by an invisible force¡ªher attempt thwarted¡ªbut was stopped by another Elder before she flung further.
"Have you lost your mind?! Are you courting death?!" that Elder was no one other than Elder Qiao, who shouted urgently, her brows furrowed in frustration and her lips pressed into a deep frown as she struggled to pull Ji Wuye away, her delicate features marred by the strain. Beads of sweat formed on her pale forehead as she redoubled her efforts, her gaze darting to Qiu Xia.
"Little Qiu, tell him! Do something!" she implored.
Qiu Xia, now seemingly as flustered and panicked as the Elders, looked at Ji Wuye with wide, pleading eyes. His face rested heavily on her shoulder, still showing no signs of letting go, his arms wrapped around her like iron bands.
"Let''s mo¡ª" Qiu Xia began, her voice soft but urgent, but her warning was cut short by a sudden, thunderous shout that shook the very ground beneath their feet.
SWOSH!
Suddenly, a streak of Lightning Qi hurtled toward them with blinding speed, the air crackling violently as a massive halberd, cloaked in tendrils of crackling thunder, shot forward like a violet comet.
BANG!
A deafening explosion rocked the area as the halberd''s Qi collided with the ground near the gathered Elders and disciples, the impact kicking up a maelstrom of debris and scorched earth. Several Elders from the righteous factions were knocked back with sickening force, coughing up blood as waves of wind and volatile Qi scattered across the battlefield like a rampaging storm.
The aftermath of the halberd''s devastating force spread outward in a shockwave, sparks of volatile Lightning Qi raining down and scorching the ground in its wake, leaving smoldering craters where they struck.
Before a second impact could strike, a great sword blazing with a contained, razor-sharp Qi intercepted the halberd mid-air with a resounding clang that set teeth on edge. It was a swift and precise maneuver, executed by an Elder from the Huashan School whose robes billowed from the force of his movement.
The enormous blade slashed through the air in one fluid motion, halting the halberd''s deadly advance and sending arcs of lightning skittering across its gleaming edge.
At the same time, the sound of a zither echoed faintly, blending eerily with the chaos¡ªa calming yet haunting melody reverberating through the battlefield, carried on invisible currents of spiritual energy.
"THERE YOU ARE, LITTLE MOUSE!" The booming voice belonged to none other than the Black Thunder Emperor himself, his words dripping with menace as his towering presence radiated power and hostility like a looming thunderhead.
His eyes, burning with unbridled fury, locked onto the group huddled around Ji Wuye and Qiu Xia, the veins in his thick neck standing out in stark relief.
But before anyone could react, another explosive sound reverberated, shaking the very ground beneath them with the force of an earthquake. The paved stones of the Lower Kunlun ground cracked and trembled violently under the impact, spider-webbing outward in a dizzying array of fissures.
Above them, the oppressive dark clouds that had been blocking out the daylight split apart, letting shards of brilliant sunlight pierce through in radiant beams.
"You are not going anywhere!"
The Kunlun Patriarch stood firm, his voice calm yet commanding as he faced the towering figure of the Black Thunder Emperor, refusing to yield even an inch of ground. His white martial robe, tattered and frayed from the earlier battles, fluttered slightly in the growing turbulence.
At the same time, the clouds above began to descend, cascading down like a shroud over the battlefield in an unnatural movement. In mere moments, the entire Lower Level Kunlun ground was cloaked in a dense, rolling mist that seemed to take on a life of its own.
The thick fog enveloped the area where the Elders had gathered tightly around Ji Wuye and Qiu Xia, its ethereal presence transforming the surroundings into an otherworldly haze.
Chapter 302
The fog descended like living breath, swallowing the Lower Level Kunlun grounds. It thickened in the space between heartbeats, its damp tendrils coiling around Ji Wuye and Qiu Xia until the world narrowed to the shared warmth of their bodies.
The air tasted of petrichor and aged stone, cold enough to prickle exposed skin, yet neither seemed to notice¡ªhis arms remained locked around her, her back pressed to his chest, their silhouettes blurred into a single shadow against the pearlescent haze.
Qiu Xia¡¯s pulse hammered in her throat, a frantic drumbeat echoing in the hollow of her collarbone. Ji Wuye¡¯s whisper slithered through the silence, his lips grazing the shell of her ear as he spoke: ¡°Will you forgive me, Senior Sister?¡±She stiffened, her fingers curling reflexively into the silk of his remaning tattered sleeve.
¡°Aiya! What nonsense are you¡ª¡± Her voice fractured, rising half an octave as she twisted in his grip. The movement pressed her spine flush against him, and she jerked her head away. ¡°Let me go! You fool¡ªdo you want us to die? You hear that old man rage¡ª¡±
Her protests dissolved into a gasp as his hands slid lower, palms burning twin brand-marks through the gauzy layers of her outermost robe.
His fingers flexed¡ªonce, deliberately¡ªagainst her shoulders, and she felt the tremor in them, subtle as the distant rumble of thunder beyond the mountains. Though she pushed halfheartedly at his forearms, the heat of him seeped into her skin, unraveling the frost of her resolve.
When he finally relented, the absence of his embrace left her unsteady. Ji Wuye lingered close, his crimson eyes glinting like twin coals through the mist. Qiu Xia¡¯s gaze flicked upward, pupils dilating as she dared meet that molten stare.
For a breath, time fractured.
She tore her eyes away, but not before a blush flooded her cheeks, spreading like silk from the bridge of her nose to the delicate curves of her ears.
Her lower lip trembled as she hissed, ¡°W-we have to leave immediately!¡± Her fists clenched, knuckles whitening, yet her feet remained rooted. The mist curled around her ankles, syrupy and suffocating, as if the mountain itself conspired to bind them there.
For the first time, Ji Wuye witnessed a fracture in Senior Sister Qiu¡¯s armor¡ªthe glacial poise she wore like a second robe crumbling into something tender and unguarded.
Her eyes, usually sharp as honed steel, darted away from his, lashes fluttering like trapped moths. The defiant line of her jaw had softened, lips parted in a silent gasp that mirrored the tremble in her fingers as they clutched the gossamer sleeve of her own robe.
A ghost of a smile tugged at Ji Wuye¡¯s lips, reckless and beguiled. His crimson irises glowed brighter, cutting through the haze like twin lanterns veiled in smoke.
¡°Will you forgive me, Senior Sister?¡± he repeated, voice velvet-soft yet fraying at the edges¡ªa hymn of exhaustion and hope. Blood streaked his face, garish against his pallid skin, its metallic tang sharpening the damp musk of the fog.
Ji Wuye seemed utterly transfixed by Qiu Xia''s uncharacteristic vulnerability, ignoring the imminent approach of the Elders whose looming shadows emerged dimly through the encroaching walls of cloud.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
They would soon reach them, ready to evacuate both disciples, but in that secluded cocoon of mist, such concerns seemed distant, irrelevant.
¡°Yes! Yes, let¡¯s go before anyone else sees¡ª¡± Qiu Xia¡¯s plea withered into a whisper, her throat bobbing as she swallowed. She yanked at the sash around her waist.
Ji Wuye¡¯s grin widened. A rasping chuckle escaped him as he dragged his tattered sleeve across his face, the once-pristine white linen now stiff with gore.
¡°Please convey my apology,¡± he murmured, fingers brushing hers. ¡°Tell them... I care about all of you.¡±
Qiu Xia stiffened, brow creasing. ¡°Junior, what are you¡ª?¡±
But he stepped back, hands raised in surrender, and pushed her toward the fog¡¯s billowing embrace. The mist coiled hungrily around her, swallowing her ¡ªuntil only her scent remained.
On the other hand, Ji Wuye remained behind, his crimson pupils glowing faintly as an ethereal, transparent screen flickered to life before his eyes.
================
[!] Your passive skill, Quick Adaptation (C), has been triggered!
================
The moment the screen appeared, the dense mist dissipated almost instantly, revealing the chaos that had been unfolding around them.
The scene that materialized was one of turmoil, with Elders from various righteous factions slashing through the lingering clouds, channeling their Qi into their weapons to carve wide openings in the fog as they searched relentlessly for him.
Meanwhile, thanks to his decision to push Qiu Xia away, most of his Senior Sisters had already been escorted to safety by the Kunlun Elders and Inner Disciples.
Only one person remained amidst the thinning veil of mist¡ªElder Qiao, whose piercing gaze seemed to find him effortlessly, as if able to penetrate the haze with her sharp eyes alone.
"As expected of Big Sister," Ji Wuye murmured, a faint smirk tugging at the corners of his lips as Elder Qiao''s figure emerged from the dissipating mist.
Clad in a long, flowing white martial robe lined with dark yellow accents that hugged her regal form, she approached with deliberate, measured steps. Her sharp, narrowed eyes fixed on him, and her hand rested firmly on her hip.
Without warning, her other hand shot out toward him in a swift, precise motion reminiscent of Qiu Xia''s earlier attempt.
SWOOSH!
The slap whistled through the air, but Ji Wuye swiftly stepped back, evading her strike with ease.
"I''m sorry, Big Sister," he said, "If it were you, it would definitely hurt."
"You know what you did pissed me off, Little Brother, and yet you still stand here like a mantis raising its arms before a war chariot?" Elder Qiao''s voice was sharp and unforgiving, her piercing gaze sweeping over Ji Wuye from head to toe, assessing him. "Do you think you''re anything more than a toad in a well compared to the Five Emperors? "
It was true¡ªhe bore no signs of injury despite the overwhelming odds he had faced. But after killing more than 200 unorthodox martial artists, it was impossible for his mind to remain unscathed or his body completely free of exhaustion.
Elder Qiao couldn''t help but conclude that youth had blinded him, making him overconfident in the face of newfound power.
"If that''s what you believe," Ji Wuye interjected, as if sensing her doubts, "then perhaps you should consider why this dragon has been hiding in shallow waters?" Instead of providing a direct answer, he responded with this cryptic question.
Then, stepping back slightly, Ji Wuye cupped his hands in a formal gesture and bowed his head, the lingering remnants of the mist swirling around his feet.
"Thank you for protecting me all this time, Big Sister¡ªno, Elder," he said, his tone soft yet filled with an unmistakable gratitude while bowing his head.
Memories flooded his mind of all that Elder Qiao had done for him, both in this timeline and the one before. She had gone to great lengths to shield him, standing by his side through it all. Altering discussions, shifting the focus of critical decisions, even taking all his Senior Sisters under her protection¡ªshe had carried out his requests without question.
"Thank you for everything," Ji Wuye repeated, his words echoing as the thick mist that had cocooned them began to dissolve, scattering into wispy tendrils that danced on the air.
The tremors beneath their feet grew more violent, shaking the ground with intensity, while ominous rumbles filled the air, punctuated by the sharp clash of weapons and the reverberating sounds of attacks. The ongoing battle between the Black Thunder Emperor and the Patriarch loomed ever closer, its impact undeniable.
"Where do you think you''re going? Do you really think I''ll let you do whatever you please, just because I happen to like you?" Elder Qiao''s voice was sharp, laced with an underlying frustration that belied the depths of her concern.
A faint bluish Qi began to emanate from her body, radiating an aura of calm yet oppressive power. Suddenly, the soothing sound of music filled the air as a flute materialized in her hands.
Ji Wuye instantly felt the effects, his body suddenly growing heavy as though invisible chains were binding him, a dizzying sensation taking hold of his mind.
Yet, he remained steadfast, his tone calm and steady despite the overwhelming oppression bearing down on him. "I must beg for your favor once again, Big Sister," he replied, meeting her piercing gaze with unwavering crimson eyes. "This time, I assure you, it will be fine."
Then he bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment. "Please pardon me for being rude, Big Sister."
In that instant, his hand moved with precision to the grip of his sheathed jian.
================
[!] Your passive skill, Deflecting Blows (C), has been triggered!
================
Chapter 303
In an instant, the melodious sound that had been overwhelming Ji Wuye''s mind, causing a pounding headache and dizziness, vanished.
At the same time, Elder Qiao''s figure was suddenly flung backward, as if an invisible hand had pushed her with tremendous force.
Her body twisted and rotated midair, the fabric of her martial robe whipping loudly in the slowly dispersing mist, the loose folds billowing like tattered wings. Her usually composed expression contorted into one of shock and surprise as she fought to regain control.
Yet, just as she was about to smash into the ground with bone-shattering impact, she managed to stabilize herself at the last moment, landing in a half-kneeling position with one hand pressed against the stone surface for balance.
Her narrowed eyes, locked onto him¡ªor more precisely, Ji Wuye''s back¡ªas he walked forward, heading toward the source of loud, furious clashing between the Black Thunder Emperor and the Kunlun Patriarch, which echoed through the dissipating, misty air like the clash of titans.
Meanwhile, Ji Wuye''s crimson pupils glowed ominously beneath the mist, cutting through the white haze like two smoldering embers. These piercing eyes revealed a fierce battle, where the Kunlun Patriarch and the Black Thunder Emperor stood locked in combat, their figures obscured by swirling tendrils of mist.
The Patriarch, his robes rippling from the sheer force of their exchange, held his ground against the Emperor, whose fury raged alongside the crackling of Thunder Qi that danced across his towering form.
"Greetings, Patriarch," Ji Wuye said as he emerged from the dissipating mist, his voice cutting through the cacophony of battle like a knife.
With his sudden presence, he immediately drew a reaction from the Patriarch, whose head snapped towards the sound. In a blur of motion, a swift horizontal slash from the edge of the Patriarch''s jian came slicing through the air, aimed straight at Ji Wuye''s face with lethal precision.
SWOOSH!
The sharp wave of the jian''s strike sliced through the lingering mist that shrouded the vast, stone-paved Lower Level of Kunlun, dispersing it almost instantly in a violent gust.
The entire scene came into full view: the Black Thunder Emperor, standing tall with his halberd radiating roaring threads of thunder Qi that crackled and snapped like living tendrils; the Kunlun Patriarch, gripping his jian extended horizontally to the side, halting the blade''s lethal path just before it could reach Ji Wuye''s face.
"What are you doing here?" the Kunlun Patriarch asked with a deep frown creasing his brow, his white pupils shifting slightly to the side as he observed how this particularly handsome disciple neither flinched nor showed any sign of being affected by the aftermath of his jian''s powerful swing.
The whitish Qi enveloping both the Patriarch''s jian and his entire body was calm like still water, yet as deadly as poison. Its overwhelming presence could be felt by anyone who approached too closely, imbued as it was with the essence of the metal element¡ªa suffocating weight that seemed to bear down on the very air itself.
Such was the vast difference between a martial artist who had reached the 9th Realm and those below it.
Once a martial artist attained the 9th Realm, they no longer needed to summon or resonate with their weapons, nor require a weapon as a medium to manifest their elemental energy. The Qi flowed from them as naturally as breath, an extension of their very being.
"As a disciple of Kunlun, and as the one responsible for causing this trouble, please allow me to handle it," Ji Wuye said politely, though his tone and demeanor were far from sincere.
He didn''t offer a bow or even the customary gesture of cupping his hands toward the Kunlun Patriarch.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Instead, his gaze swept over the Patriarch from head to toe, lingering on the wisps of whitish Qi that seemed to shimmer around the his form, before finally settling on the Patriarch''s white pupils with an almost challenging glint in his own crimson eyes.
''White Qi... Pure Metal, huh?'' Ji Wuye mused, his crimson pupils locking with the Patriarch''s white ones. The two stood side by side in tense, unbroken silence, their gazes unwavering. The Kunlun Patriarch¡¯s expression remained calm and impassive, mirroring Ji Wuye¡¯s restrained demeanor.
Then, out of nowhere, as if on instinct¡ªwith a heaviness suddenly pressing upon the entire space, nearly suffocating in its intensity¡ªboth Ji Wuye and the Patriarch moved simultaneously in a blur of motion, their forms blurring and merging with the ebb and flow of Qi around them.
CLANK!
The sharp sound of a jian clashing against a massive halberd shattered the tension and cracked through the air like a thunderclap, sending a surge of Thunder Qi rippling outward in violent waves that distorted the very space around them.
Ji Wuye, gripping his jian with only one hand, raised his left arm, his elbow held high above his chest in a defensive stance.
The jian''s edge, glowing faintly with bluish Qi that seemed to pulse and swirl around the blade, was aligned vertically as it met the force of the incoming halberd from the front with a resounding clang.
However, despite the halberd''s ferocious power and the thunderous Qi crackling around it, Ji Wuye''s blade held firm, stopping it cold in its tracks.
On the other hand, the Patriarch of Kunlun''s jian, which had almost cut Ji Wuye''s face moments before, now shifted its trajectory in a silver blur, the blade aiming to stab the side of the halberd''s haft in a flanking maneuver. Yet its movement was a fraction slower than Ji Wuye''s jian.
This brief clash left both Ji Wuye and the Patriarch locking eyes again, their gazes meeting across the crossed blades as the thunderous hum of colliding Qi filled the air.
Yet, once more time...
"HAARGG!"
The guttural battle cry split the air as a towering figure suddenly soared through the air, overshadowing Ji Wuye and the Patriarch of Kunlun.
It was the Black Thunder Emperor, his massive form arcing down from above in a surprise attack, the halberd clutched in his hands leaving a trail of crackling lightning in its wake as it descended towards the pair.
However, just as the attack was about to land¡ª
================
[!] Your passive skill, Deflecting Blows (C), has been triggered!
================
The transparent notification screen flashed before Ji Wuye''s crimson pupils, still fixed on the Patriarch''s white pupils in intense focus.
In that same instant, the ambusher''s trajectory was violently disrupted mid-flight, as if struck by an enormous invisible hand. The Black Thunder Emperor''s body jerked unnaturally, his arms and legs flailing as the force of the unseen blow flung him backwards through the air¡ªjust like what had happened to Elder Qiao earlier.
Meanwhile, Ji Wuye''s focus was elsewhere, noticing a subtle change in the Kunlun Patriarch''s expression. For just a moment, his white pupils briefly widened in surprise before narrowing in sharp calculation¡ªa fleeting crack in his otherwise impassive facade. The Patriarch''s gaze shifted toward the airborne figure that had been violently hurled back.
The aftermath of the failed attack played out in slow motion. The Black Thunder Emperor''s massive form twisted through the air causing the ground to tremble violently and sending spiderweb cracks radiating outwards.
Yet, the Black Thunder Emperor immediately stabilized upon landing, digging his free hand deep into the fractured stone to halt the momentum of his fall, his body carving a deep furrow in the paved surface before finally coming to a stop.
"I see," the Kunlun Patriarch muttered after a brief pause, lowering his gaze as if deep in thought. With a calm, deliberate motion, he withdrew his jian from the air and sheathed it in one fluid movement, the whitish Qi surrounding him dissipating in an instant like fog before the morning sun.
"If you think you can use those so-called ''skills'' you obtained from the Tower, then by all means, go ahead," he said.
With those final words hanging in the air, the Kunlun Patriarch turned away, presenting Ji Wuye with the sight of his retreating back.
The white martial robes billowed slightly as he began to walk, his steps measured and unhurried, leaving Ji Wuye behind as he made his way 16 zhang ahead, ascending the broad stone staircase that led into the Central Courtyard.
''Well, he''s still the same... or should I say...'' Ji Wuye''s thoughts trailed off, his crimson eyes narrowing as he observed the Patriarch''s departure.
In this new timeline, so much was both familiar yet different - impressions and nuances that seemed clearer now that he had grown stronger. He was beginning to sense new emotions from people he thought he knew well, or had known for far longer in the previous timeline...
Shaking off that thought, Ji Wuye turned his gaze - and his full, undivided attention - toward the Black Thunder Emperor.
The towering figure cut an imposing silhouette, standing utterly still and silent, his muscular forearms gathering dust and debris from the shattered paving stones, his bare hands clenched into tight fists.
A deep frown creased his forehead as he stared at Ji Wuye, his heavy brow furrowed over eyes that burned with an intense, smoldering rage. His gaze was dark and piercing, filled with a burning intensity that seemed to strip away all extraneous thoughts and focus solely on the target of his fury.
"I can finally see the face of the man who killed my precious disciple..." the Black Thunder Emperor growled, his deep voice rumbling like distant thunder.
His bloodshot eyes blazed with unbridled fury, yet that gravelly baritone carried an unsettling edge, a cold undercurrent of something far darker lurking beneath the surface rage.
Slowly, with painful deliberation, his lips stretched into a wide, almost deranged rictus grin that contorted his features into a terrifying mask of wrath.
Without warning, his stance shifted dramatically, the rubble crunching beneath his bare feet as he dropped low. Both of his knees bent, his powerful arms tensed and crackled with roaring Thunder Qi that danced across his bulk like living tendrils, casting flickering shadows.
Black streaks of Qi, flickering with flashes of searing lightning, erupted from his entire body in violent bursts. The dark, malevolent energy seemed alive, pulsating and roaring like a living tempest as it consumed the space around him, tendrils of inky blackness intertwined with snapping arcs of brilliant purple electricity.
The Emperor''s face twisted into a snarling rictus of pure, animalistic fury, the thunderous power gathering around him causing his hair and robes to whip and billow wildly.
"Black Thunder Clap!"
BANG!
Both of his hands came together in front of his body, palms cupped tightly as he channeled the full, terrifying force of his Qi.
Chapter 304
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[!] Your passive skill, Quick Adaptation (C), has been triggered!
===============
Black Thunder Clap...
''A technique that uses part of your Internal Art, with the core principle being to palm slam forces together, generating a violent shockwave capable of rupturing the Twelve Meridians of an opponent,'' Ji Wuye thought inwardly.
His movements transitioned into a fluid dance, each step exaggerated yet purposeful, as he slid past the Black Thunder Emperor. The air around them seemed to thicken, slowing time itself to a crawl. The Black Thunder Emperor''s intense focus betrayed no awareness of Ji Wuye''s presence, his entire being consumed by the impending unleashing of the powerful move.
Ji Wuye''s battle-worn robe, once a pristine white, now bore the stains of dried crimson. Tattered strands danced in the heavy air, rustling like dead leaves against his sweat-soaked skin and equally blood-spattered hair. His crimson pupils glowed faintly.
"But, Senior..." Ji Wuye''s words reverberated through the viscous atmosphere, stretched and distorted as if spoken from the depths of the ocean. "...did you really think I would just stand there and wait for you to finish that move?"
The faint hum of surging Qi enveloped him.
¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª
Active Skill: Slash Breaker!
¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª
His jian, covered with bluish Qi, already unsheathed, executed a sharp, fluid horizontal slash aimed directly at the Black Thunder Emperor''s torso.
==============================
[>> Slash Breaker (D) <<]
Type: Active Skill
A sword technique commonly used by Adventurers to slay thick-skinned monsters, imbuing the blade with concentrated mana.
(New) Upgraded capability: Now able to cleave through even the densest materials.
==============================
The resounding crack of Ji Wuye''s voice shattered the Black Thunder Emperor''s trance, his eyes widening in alarm as the glinting edge of the jian seemed to materialize from the ether itself.
Caught utterly off guard, the Black Thunder Emperor could only raise his arms in a desperate attempt to guard against the imminent strike, interlocking his elbows to present a meager defense.
BANG!
The deafening impact reverberated across the stone-paved grounds of the Lower Level, sending a shockwave rippling outward like a tangible force. The already cracked surface of the masonry now bore new fissures, spiderwebbing outward and further buckling under the immense pressure of the collision.
Simultaneously, a crimson arc streaked through the air, blood splattering across the shattered stone. It marked the violent trail of the Black Thunder Emperor as he was once again sent hurtling backward.
He tumbled several zhang away, his massive frame disappearing momentarily behind a dense cloud of dust and scattered debris kicked up by the incredible force of the impact.
Once the choking haze settled, it revealed the Black Thunder Emperor¡ªboth elbows laid bare, deep crimson scoring their flesh where Ji Wuye''s jian had bitten through cloth, muscle and bone.
Previously shrouded in the rebellious, crackling of Thunder Qi, his arms now bore vicious scars, the wounds so severe that they exposed the glistening inner flesh beneath the torn skin.
"Master!" The shocked cries of the Black Thunder Emperor''s disciples echoed, their voices tinged with disbelief as they took in the grotesque sight.
Beads of sweat formed on ashen brows as they watched rivulets of their Master''s blood drip onto the cracked stone¡ªa jarring display that left them momentarily speechless. Even during his battle against the Kunlun Patriarch, their Master hadn''t bled like this. In addition, for the first time, their Master''s Black Thunder Clap had been utterly disrupted.
"You... know my martial art?" The Black Thunder Emperor''s booming voice sliced through the tension like a blade, his fury momentarily tempered by a dawning realization.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
As he observed the calm and calculating demeanor of this strikingly handsome young man, a strange sensation overcame him. It felt as though he were facing an old adversary.
The timing... the relaxed posture... everything about Ji Wuye radiated the confidence of someone who had already dissected his every move.
Rising from his low stance with an audible crack of bent knees straining against his muscular frame, he stood tall once more¡ªthe sheer bulk of his towering figure accentuated by the blood-coated halberd gripped firmly in his calloused hand.
Then, as a twisted grin slowly spread across his features, he growled, the timbre of his voice taking on an almost feral edge, "Then it seems this...will be FUN!"
In an instant, the Black Thunder Emperor''s imposing silhouette vanished into a blur of motion too swift for the naked eye to track, displacing the air with a deafening rush.
Meanwhile, Ji Wuye''s glowing crimson pupils narrowed in focus. He had noticed the Black Thunder Emperor''s wounds remained grievously unhealed despite his sudden disappearance into high-speed movement.
''Even the upgraded Slash Breaker isn''t enough to cut cleanly through the body of someone at the 9th realm,'' Ji Wuye muttered inwardly, a hint of disappointment tempering his stoic demeanor¡ªthough he could hardly feign surprise.
After all, how could a single attack, no matter how refined, possibly bring about the demise of one who had ascended to 9th realm?
At that moment, a transparent screen materialized before his eyes:
========================
[!] Your passive skill, Feline Reflexes (D), has been triggered!
========================
In an instant, Ji Wuye''s body reacted. His bloodstained jian, the razor-sharp edge still slick with the Black Thunder Emperor''s vital essence, arced into a defensive stance. His keen eyes, burning with an intense crimson glare, darted to the right, catching the blur of movement just as his opponent rematerialized from the ether.
The Black Thunder Emperor''s massive frame lunged forward with startling swiftness, a wicked grin twisting his features as he wielded the crackling Thunder Qi-imbued halberd.
CLANG!
The deafening echo of metal striking metal reverberated across the battlefield as Ji Wuye''s jian met the descending halberd with immense force. Sparks danced through the air, brief crimson fireflies winking in and out of existence amidst the resounding clash of two titans locked in lethal combat.
================
[!] Your passive skill, Deflecting Blows (C), has been triggered!
================
In that infinite fraction of a second, Ji Wuye''s jian seemed to almost drink in the ferocious power behind the Black Thunder Emperor''s strike¡ªabsorbing and redirecting the overwhelming force.
The transparent warning flashed before his eyes, and in the same instant, the Black Thunder Emperor''s massive frame was violently repelled¡ªflung backward as if struck by an unseen colossus.
This time, however, the Black Thunder Emperor managed to maintain his white-knuckled grip on the halberd''s haft.
Driving the halberd into the unyielding stone with every ounce of his considerable might, he brought his wild momentum to an abrupt, shattering halt¡ªthe ground itself buckling and deforming beneath him as he carved a massive crater into the Lower Level''s once pristine masonry.
"HAHAH! INTERESTING!" The Black Thunder Emperor''s booming laughter echoed across the ravaged Lower Level, though flecks of blood spilled from the corners of his mouth.
On the other hand, Ji Wuye remained an indomitable pillar of calm amidst the chaos¡ªhis stance unshaken, his expression an inscrutable mask of serene focus as he met the Black Thunder Emperor''s manic gaze with smoldering crimson eyes.
"THEN!" The words tore from the Black Thunder Emperor''s bloodied lips, trailing off into a guttural roar as his towering silhouette vanished once more in a blurring rush of motion.
Void Flash Step...
''A qigong technique that utilizes the Black Thunder Internal Art to momentarily convert the practitioner into pure Thunder Qi, allowing movement through the air like a bolt of lightning,'' Ji Wuye recalled inwardly.
His piercing crimson gaze followed the Black Thunder Emperor''s form as it flickered across the ravaged Lower Level ground¡ªthe towering figure darting from one point to the next in a dizzying display of speed and agility, like a manic child desperately trying to bewilder its opponent through sheer erratic motion.
''It works by saturating his body and the Twelve Meridians with Thunder Qi to the point of causing this lightning-fast movement. A remarkable move,'' Ji Wuye continued his scrutiny.
''But unless one has fully mastered the Black Thunder Internal Art, such a practice would inevitably damage the body. Moreover, compared to Cloudsoaring Steps, this technique consumes immense amounts of Qi and becomes exhausting if overused.''
========================
[!] Your passive skill, Feline Reflexes (D), has been triggered!
========================
The familiar transparent warning flashed across Ji Wuye''s vision, its pale ethereal glow reflecting in the burning depths of his crimson eyes.
In an instantaneous flux of preternatural awareness, his gaze snapped to the left¡ªhis body following the shift of focus with a fluidity that belied the raw speed of his reflexes.
He moved with decisive purpose, his jian held at the ready as the Black Thunder Emperor rematerialized from the ether, his crackling Thunder Qi-imbued halberd leading the way. The lethally sharpened tip of the halberd was aimed with murderous intent at Ji Wuye''s chest, promising to impale him upon its wicked edge.
SWOOSH!
Yet before the strike could land, the Black Thunder Emperor''s imposing silhouette flickered out of existence once more¡ªvanishing like a vengeful spectre upon witnessing how effortlessly Ji Wuye had reacted to his previous attack.
However... it was futile and almost amusing how the Black Thunder Emperor himself was now acting like a coward, darting about in a manic frenzy as...
========================
[!] Your passive skill, Feline Reflexes (D), has been triggered!
========================
The familiar warning manifested before Ji Wuye''s eyes yet again. Without the faintest hint of hesitation, his burning crimson gaze instinctively snapped forward, his entire body shifting with that same sublime confluence of poise and diabolical speed.
Ji Wuye''s body turned with preternatural grace, his movements harmonizing seamlessly with his heightened senses as he caught sight of the Black Thunder Emperor''s rapidly descending form.
Suspended in mid-air, the Black Thunder Emperor''s towering frame was silhouetted against the dimly lit backdrop of Kunlun''s Lower Level¡ªa colossal demon taking winged flight as he raised his massive, crackling halberd high above his head in preparation for a devastating overhead strike.
The halberd seemed to thrum with malevolent Qi, its razor-sharp edge trailing tendrils of volatile Thunder Qi as the Black Thunder Emperor lunged downward at incredible speed¡ªthe full force of his considerable bulk and momentum channeled into a single, focused point aimed squarely at Ji Wuye''s unprotected head.
Yet Ji Wuye reacted with poise and unerring precision. His stance shifted with a fluidity so subtle it masked the sheer speed of his movements, his body instinctively aligning itself to deflect the impending strike with effortless grace.
From his vantage point high above, the Black Thunder Emperor''s narrowed eyes squinted even further, his glare boring into Ji Wuye with mounting frustration.
His frown deepened into a grave scowl, the simmering rage within him steadily rising. His expression darkened.
Meanwhile, Ji Wuye¡¯s own face betrayed no hint of strain or unease.
As for why he seemed to be stalling, delaying the inevitable conclusion to their deadly dance despite having already copied¡ªand deftly countered¡ªthe vast repertoire of the Black Thunder Emperor''s martial art...
It wasn''t for lack of ability to end the battle immediately, nor from any deficit in his capacity to further injure his formidable opponent just as he had done from the outset.
''Well, it''s rare to encounter an opponent like him...one who not only forces me to react but also increases the proficiency of my Feline Reflexes skill,'' Ji Wuye mused inwardly, the faintest ghost of a smirk beginning to curl the corners of his lips in an expression of restrained satisfaction.
Chapter 305
"H-how?" Their wide eyes were filled with horror, disbelief etched into their ashen faces. Mouths hung agape, jaws trembling as if trying to form words that refused to come. Trembling hands clutched at their robes, knuckles white, reflecting the shivering of their very souls.
They were none other than the disciples of the Black Thunder Emperor himself, now powerless witnesses to the carnage unfolding before them. Blood splattered like morbid droplets of rain, hanging in the air for haunting moments before staining the deformed, weathered stone ground of Kunlun''s Lower Level a deep crimson.
What unfolded was a waking nightmare¡ªsomething they could never have imagined, not even in their darkest dreams that found them bolting upright, sweat-drenched and gasping for air.
The towering, muscular figure of the Black Thunder Emperor, their revered Master, one of the legendary Five Emperors of Jianghu, was... a pitiful sight that carved lines of anguish into their hearts.
He was being battered, kicked, his massive frame jerking with each cruel impact, and cornered¡ªhis mighty halberd, a symbol of his unparalleled might that had felled countless foes, now used more as a shield than a weapon.
The Black Thunder Emperor''s powerful arms shook with the effort of deflecting the relentless onslaught, his calloused knuckles whitening around the haft.
His once-proud body was broken and battered, flung around like a ragdoll, leaving sickening trails of blood that dyed the gray stone beneath his staggering feet into a sickening crimson sea.
Dust filled the devastated battlefield, swirling like a shroud of despair around their crumbling master, stinging his squinting eyes.
Even the storm and lightning, which had always raged as his instruments of terror and power, now seemed almost cruelly twisted against him.
The swirling black Qi surrounding the Black Thunder Emperor¡ªonce a force of domination that filled his enemies with dread¡ªwas being turned into a weapon by his opponent, slamming into the Black Thunder Emperor''s body with concussive force.
That opponent...
A mysterious, dreadful figure. His long, moon-white hair cascaded like silk, swaying gently despite the maelstrom around him.
His strikingly handsome face, with high cheekbones and full lips, contrasted sharply with those unnaturally crimson eyes¡ªa shade much too similar to the freshly spilled blood pooling at his feet.
He wielded his jian with an ease that belied its deadly precision, slashing through the Black Thunder Emperor''s every desperate defense. His smile was calm and unyielding¡ªmocking the Black Thunder Emperor''s futile efforts. Worse yet, that Demon, no that Whtie Demon, remained entirely unscathed, not a single hair out of place.
"Master!" came the anguished cry of one disciple, unable to contain his rage any longer at the sight of his teacher''s torment. His face contorted in a snarl, narrowed eyes blazing with determination as he shot forward in a blur, his figure distorting from the sheer speed of his execution of the Void Flash Step.
A crackling halberd was raised high above his head, smaller and less commanding than the Black Thunder Emperor''s own legendary weapon, yet deadly in its own right.
The disciple lunged at the White Demon, which no one other than Ji Wuye, his killing intent palpable, a crimson haze of wrath clouding his vision as he aimed for the White Demon''s seemingly impenetrable form.
But...Ji Wuye''s blood-red pupils immediately shifted, locking onto the incoming attack with eerie calm. A faint, cruel smile played on his lips as he prepared to meet the disciple''s wrath head-on, utterly unfazed.
"Y-YOU FOOL!" Several zhang away, the battered Black Thunder Emperor froze in disbelief, his hoarse voice cracking with anguish.
Fresh blood spilled from his lips as he erupted into a violent coughing fit, his pallid face twisted in despair. Despite his broken state, he mustered enough strength to shout a warning, though his cry was hopelessly futile.
In stark contrast to the desperation etched onto the Black Thunder Emperor''s features, Ji Wuye merely smirked, "Thanks for delivering me a weapon." His jian had shattered moments earlier, the blade splintering into fragments that fluttered to the ground like wilting petals.
Now, Ji Wuye''s crimson pupils gleamed with a faint shimmer. Like guiding arrows, they manifested within his vision, charting the precise movements he needed to make to dodge the attack effortlessly with practiced ease.
Then...
The disciple''s crackling halberd descended in a blazing arc, aimed directly at Ji Wuye''s heart. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, the weapon''s razor edge leaving a shimmering trail of energy in its wake.
But Ji Wuye did not flinch. With incredible fluidity, he spun on one heel, his long white hair fanning out behind him as he allowed the halberd to pass just cun from his body, the blade missing its mark by a mere hair''s breadth.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
GRAB!
As the halberd swept past him, Ji Wuye''s hands moved like striking serpents. In one impossibly smooth motion, he seized the weapon''s haft with a flawless grip, his long fingers clamping down with vise-like force as he wrenched it effortlessly from the disciple''s white-knuckled grasp.
The young man''s face contorted into a mask of shock and disbelief, his mouth working soundlessly as his prized weapon was stolen right from his hands.
There was no hesitation in Ji Wuye''s movements.
STAB!
Even as the halberd was ripped away, Ji Wuye struck immediately. His free hand, the palm sharpened to a lethal edge and cloaked in a faint azure aura of crackling Qi, cut through the air with blinding speed.
The knife-hand cleaved into the disciple''s exposed throat with terrifying force, fingers piercing deep to lock onto the vulnerable neck bone beneath the yielding flesh.
The next moment...
SNAP!
A chilling, meaty crack echoed through the devastated battlefield like a thunderclap. The disciple''s body went instantly limp, his eyes rolling back as his grip on the halberd went slack. He crumpled bonelessly to the blood-stained dirt at Ji Wuye''s feet.
Ji Wuye stood motionless for a breathless moment, his crimson eyes gleaming with icy calm as he held the stolen halberd firmly in his grasp, its tip stained a fresh crimson.
"NOOOO!!" The Black Thunder Emperor''s already pallid visage twisted further in agony at the brutal execution of another of his beloved disciple. Blood tears welled in the corners of his eyes as he roared his grief and desperation to the uncaring heavens.
His own body was utterly mangled¡ªdeep, grievous wounds riddled his once-mighty flesh, and blood streamed endlessly from countless gashes scored across his torn muscles¡ªbut the pain of watching another disciple coldly slaughtered before his dimming eyes seemed to wound him deeper than any blade.
His cry, raw and wrenching, echoed across Kunlun''s Lower Level as if the very foundations of the holy mountain might crack from the force of his anguish and fury.
BANG!
At the same time, Ji Wuye, who had so effortlessly crushed the disciple of the Black Thunder Emperor and wrested the halberd from his grasp, found his figure momentarily obscured by an explosive cloud of dust and debris.
The thunderous blast hadn''t been of Ji Wuye''s making; it had originated from the failed attack of the slain disciple moments earlier.
The residual crackling Thunder Qi channeled into that lethal strike had struck the ground behind Ji Wuye''s position, sparked by the young man''s death throes into a violent explosion that sent debris fountaining into the air.
Meanwhile...
"UNFORGIVABLE! HOW DARE YOU CLAIM TO WALK THE RIGHTEOUS PATH?" The Black Thunder Emperor''s voice echoed like the peal of thunder itself, dripping with fury and defiance that seemed to make the very air tremble.
His mangled, bloodied form had been collapsing beneath the weight of his grievous wounds just moments ago, yet now he stood tall once more, feet planted in a wide stance. His towering and powerfully muscular frame was partially obscured by a dense, roiling shroud of inky black Qi.
But it was no ordinary Qi¡ªit crackled with violent arcs of azure lightning that danced across his body, pulsating and surrounding him like a living membrane of raw power.
Each surge of Thunder Qi radiating from the Black Thunder Emperor seemed to distort the very air around him, forcing everything nearby to either submit or shatter under the sheer, oppressive force of his presence.
His raven-black hair, wild and wavy, whipped violently through the charged air, hovering unnaturally as if caught in a perpetual windstorm under the chaotic influence of the Thunder Qi enveloping him. His eyes blazed with determination, gleaming like chips of golden topaz beneath his furrowed brow. And then¡ª
RUMBLE!
The heavens themselves seemed to respond to the Black Thunder Emperor''s defiant stand.
The dark thunderclouds that had been momentarily driven away by the slash of the Kunlun Patriarch''s blade began to reform above with startling swiftness.
Black, swirling masses grew thicker and denser by the second, rapidly choking out the daylight to plunge the entire expanse of Kunlun''s Lower Level into a deep, foreboding gloom.
Forks of lightning, blinding and violet-white, lanced across the roiling clouds, leaving the acrid tang of ozone in the air. The very mountain itself seemed to tremble in the face of the Black Thunder Emperor''s rising power.
Ji Wuye, however, stood completely still in the face of the unfolding chaos before him. He observed the Black Thunder Emperor''s gathering might with an eerie calmness, his faint, mocking smile utterly unwavering.
His crimson pupils glowed with an almost feverish vibrancy, shimmering countless transparent screens flickered. His smile didn¡¯t falter, even as his opponent gathered his overwhelming power for what was clearly an ultimate strike or rather why should he?
================
[>> QUICK ADAPTATION (C) <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill has slightly increased!
================
================
[>> QUICK ADAPTATION (C) <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill has slightly increased!
================
================
[>> QUICK ADAPTATION (C) <<]
The proficiency of your passive skill has slightly increased!
================
''Ah...This is why... they call martial artists of the Ninth Realm as legends¡ªno, as divine beings,'' Ji Wuye mused to himself.
Before him, the Black Thunder Emperor was transforming into a true force of nature, his very being transcending the limitations of mere mortal flesh.
His eyes¡ªand now even his entire eye sockets¡ªglimmered with the raw, scintillating power of lightning itself, flickering and crackling like violet storm clouds contained within the cradle of his skull.
The massive halberd gripped tightly in his calloused hands no longer resembled a mere weapon fashioned by mortal hands; it had become something primal, an extension of the Black Thunder Emperor''s vast power over the fury of the storm.
Lightning crackled across its razor edge in blinding arcs, branching out like dancing streaks of raw, boundless power.
In addition, the Black Thunder Emperor''s wild raven hair flared outward, behaving like a tempest itself as it whipped and swirled with a mind of its own, as if it were some living entity born of pure elemental force.
This entire awe-inspiring transformation lent the Black Thunder Emperor an aura utterly unlike that of any mere mortal martial artist Ji Wuye had ever encountered. He no longer resembled a humble practitioner of techniques and forms¡ªinstead, he appeared as a true cultivator unbounded by such limitations.
A being who could manipulate the primal forces of Qi freely, without the constraints of martial moves, the channeling of energy through meridians, or the need to draw from the Dantians.
Then, the Black Thunder Emperor suddenly reared back his head and roared¡ªa sound that shook the very foundations of Kunlun as if the mountain itself trembled in the face of such primal fury.
And in that moment, something unexpected occurred within Ji Wuye''s inhuman perceptions.
Out of nowhere, his entire field of vision became filled with a blizzard of guiding arrows, flickering trajectories and angles painting the world around him in a dizzying kaleidoscope of shimmering paths.
This was not the attack trajectory he had been expecting from his observations. It wasn''t the Black Thunder Emperor himself charging forward or launching a direct strike as anticipated from his gathered power. Instead...
================
[!] Your passive skill, Quick Adaptation (C), has been triggered!
================
''From the sky...'' Ji Wuye muttered inwardly, his brow furrowing ever so slightly as the second effect of his Quick Adaptation immediately activated.
Within his glowing crimson pupils, under the second effect of the Quick Adaptation skill where he could trace and see any form of Qi, Ji Wuye witnessed something extraordinary unfolding high above.
The volatile Thunder Qi that had been crackling around the Black Thunder Emperor''s transformed state like a living shroud now manifested into a colossal display of raw, elemental power.
Bolts of lightning, blindingly bright and pure white, began to gather across the dense, roiling storm clouds, their thunderous energies coalescing into a devastating, celestial form.
The guiding arrows¡ªan ethereal manifestation of the third effect of his Quick Adaptation skill¡ªstretched from the heart of the storm''s churning darkness down towards the ground far below, clearly delineating in Ji Wuye''s vision where the lightning would strike , and where he would need to move to avoid that.
And in the next moment...
BANG!