TANDING—!!!
Suara nyaring yang aneh memecah deru Qi Pedang yang merobek udara.
Qi Pedang berwarna emas gelap yang begitu masif dan kuat, seolah mampu membelah apa pun, bergetar hebat saat bersentuhan dengan Cahaya Pedang Cyan yang menyerupai retakan di ruang hampa.
Suara retakan samar namun pekat terpancar dari dalam Qi Pedang itu. Permukaannya, yang tadinya sekeras kaca glasir, kini dipenuhi jaring-jaring celah.
Retakan itu menyebar dengan cepat, menutupi seluruh Qi Pedang dalam sekejap mata.
Saat berikutnya, Qi Pedang yang mengerikan dan membentang sepanjang beberapa zhang hancur berkeping-keping tepat tiga kaki di depan Fang Han.
Benda itu hancur menjadi hujan bintik cahaya emas gelap yang berserakan bagaikan hujan, menghujani tanah di sekitarnya dengan kluban lubang yang tak terhitung jumlahnya dengan berbagai kedalaman.
SYUR—!
Melepaskan kekuatan penuh dari Tahap Awal Inner Qi Tingkat Kedua dan kekuatan fisik tiga ratus ribu jin, sosok Fang Han melesat keluar dari balik Qi Pedang yang sedang buyar.
Dengan Pedang Pemecah Awan yang diarahkan secara diagonal ke tanah, ia mengaktifkan Wind God Step hingga batas maksimal, jubah cyan-nya berkibar kencang di tengah angin yang menderu.
Dalam satu langkah.
Jarak sejauh beberapa zhang antara dirinya dan Qi Zhen seketika lenyap. Bagai sambaran petir berwarna cyan, ia tiba-tiba muncul di hadapan Qi Zhen.
Pedang Pemecah Awan menyabet ke atas dari bawah.
Mata pedang itu merobek udara dengan siulan tajam.
Ia menyalurkan Teknik Pedang Pembelah Langit di Ranah Kesempurnaan Besar secara penuh. Niat Pedang Angin miliknya begitu pekat hingga hampir berwujud, melimpahi serangan itu dengan ketajaman yang mampu merobek apa pun saat meluncur lurus mengincar pinggang Qi Zhen.
Pupil mata Qi Zhen mengerut tajam.
Fang Han terlalu cepat, begitu cepat hingga ia bahkan tidak sempat menghimpun kekuatannya untuk melakukan serangan balasan.
Namun, insting bertempur seorang Praktisi Martial Penembus memungkinkannya bereaksi di detik-detik terakhir—
Dalam sekejap, ia merintangkan golok panjangnya di depan dada secara horizontal, dengan panik menuangkan Inner Qi ke dalam bilah golok.
Setelah berhasil menembus Hambatan Gerbang Tiga Esensi, Qi, dan Roh, Inner Qi miliknya telah mengalami transformasi kualitatif, menjadi sepekat air raksa.
Di bawah pengaruh Inner Qi yang bagaikan air raksa ini memancar cahaya keemasan yang menyilaukan, seolah-olah ada matahari emas yang mekar di atas bilah senjata itu.
TANDING—!!!
Golok dan pedang beradu, memercikan api yang menyilaukan. Sebuah gelombang kejut yang kasat mata menyebar dari titik benturan.
Kendati kekuatan Qi Zhen telah meningkat lebih dari sepuluh kali lipat setelah menjadi seorang Praktisi Martial Penembus, kekuatan Fang Han sendiri, yang telah meningkatkan Teknik Pedang Pembelah Langit dari Ranah Mahir ke Ranah Kesempurnaan Besar, telah bertumbuh sama pesatnya, bahkan mungkin lebih.
Sebuah kekuatan masif yang tak tertahankan merambat naik dari bilah pedang. Qi Zhen merasakan seluruh lengan kanannya mati rasa seketika.
Niat tajam yang luar biasa pekat menembus bilah goloknya, menyebabkan qi dan darah di dalam tubuhnya bergolak hebat.
Benturan itu membuatnya terseret mundur, sementara kedua kakinya menorehkan dua alur yang dalam di atas tanah.
Fang Han membayangi bagaikan bayangan.
Ia kembali menebaskan Pedang Pemecah Awan. Serangan kali ini jauh lebih cepat dan lebih ganas, mengincar langsung tenggorokan Qi Zhen.
Qi Zhen mengatupkan rahangnya dan menangkis dengan golok panjangnya.
TANDING—!!!
Satu lagi pekikan logam beradu yang memekakkan telinga.
Gelombang kejut, bagaikan tsunami fisik, menyebar dengan liar ke segala arah dari titik benturan senjata mereka.
Lapisan tanah terkikis dengan kasar, menerbangkan puing-puing bagaikan hujan dan memenuhi udara dengan debu.
Fang Han mundur setengah langkah, tetapi Qi Zhen dipaksa mundur hingga tiga langkah penuh.
DUAR, DUAR, DUAR—
Jarak di antara keduanya berkedip-kedip, berulang kali merapat dan melebar, hanya untuk kembali berbenturan di saat berikutnya.
Cahaya Pedang Cyan dan Qi Pedang emas gelap saling berjalin, setiap benturan meledakkan deru yang memekakkan telinga, setiap pertukaran meninggalkan lebih banyak luka di atas tanah liar yang telah porak-poranda.
Didukung oleh Niat Pedang Angin miliknya, pedang Fang Han bergerak begitu cepat hingga mata telanjang tak mampu mengikuti.
Niat tajam yang mampu merobek apa pun itu membuat setiap tangkisan Qi Zhen terasa seolah-olah ia sedang menangkis senjata ilahi tak kasat mata.
Teknik Pedang Pembelah Langit di Ranah Kesempurnaan Besar memperkuat kekuatan Niat Pedang ini. Cahaya pedang itu berkilat bagaikan sambaran petir yang tiba-tiba, sangat ganas, lalu mengalir bagaikan air raksa yang merata di atas tanah, meresap ke setiap celah.
Meskipun Momentum Golok Qi Zhen, yang didorong oleh Inner Qi miliknya yang luas, terasa garang dan mendominasi, dengan setiap tebasan membawa kekuatan pembelah gunung dan penghancur batu, pedang Fang Han terlampau cepat dan licik, selalu menemukan cara untuk menyelusup melewati celah-celah Momentum Golok lawannya dan memaksanya berada dalam posisi bertahan.
Setelah puluhan kali bertukar jurus.
Kilatan melintas di mata Fang Han. Memanfaatkan celah sekecil apa pun setelah salah satu tebasan Qi Zhen, ia tiba-tiba mempercepat Pedang Pemecah Awan miliknya.
Serangan ini tidak memiliki penjajakan, tidak pula pembangunan momentum—ini hanyalah tusukan yang sederhana dan langsung.
Tapi saat serangan itu dilepaskan, celah tipis yang senyap terbuka di udara tempat ujung pedang itu melintas.
Qi Zhen merasakan kengerian dari serangan ini. Pupil matanya mengerut saat ia berusaha mati-matian menarik kembali goloknya untuk bertahan, tetapi pedang Fang Han terlampau cepat.
Ia hanya sempat sedikit memutar tubuhnya, menyebabkan pedang yang semula mengincar jantungnya itu akhirnya mendarat di sisi sebelah kiri tubuhnya.
SRASH—!
Mata pedang itu mengiris sisi rusuk kiri Qi Zhen. Jubah brokat emas gelapnya merobek terbuka, memperampas Baju Zirah Lembut di baliknya yang memancarkan cahaya samar.
Bilah pedang itu bergesek di permukaan Baju Zirah Lembut, memercikan bunga api yang menyilaukan. Serangan itu gagal menembus pertahanan; ini pastinya Baju Zirah Lembut berharga di Tingkat Senjata Sihir Kelas Menengah.
Kendati demikian, niat tajam yang sangat pekat itu berhasil merangsek menembus pertahanan Baju Zirah Lembut.
Sebuah luka sepanjang satu kaki menganga di sisi kiri Qi Zhen, dan darah seketika memancar keluar, membasahi separuh jubahnya.
"Ukh—!"
Qi Zhen mengeluarkan erangan tertahan, tubuhnya terseret mundur tak terkendali.
Kedua kakinya membajak dua alur dalam di atas tanah, dan ia harus mundur lebih dari sepuluh langkah sebelum berhasil sedikit menstabilkan diri.
Ia menunduk menatap sisi kirinya yang berdarah, lalu mendongakkan kepala untuk mengarahkan pandangannya ke arah Fang Han.
Wajahnya yang gelap dan kokoh kehilangan ketenangan awalnya tanpa jejak, digantikan oleh keseriusan yang ekstrem serta sedikit teror yang tak tertahankan.
'Jika aku tidak mengubah sesuatu, ini akan berakhir seperti saat di Kota Komando, atau bahkan lebih buruk lagi.'
'Waktu di Kota Komando, kita berada di bawah pandangan publik. Fang Han harus mempertimbangkan hubungan antara Sekte Qingxuan dan Geng Tiejiang, jadi dia tidak berani membunuhku.'
'Tapi kali ini—'
'Kita dikelilingi oleh padang liar yang luas dan kosong. Tidak ada seorang pun di sekitar sini.'
'Jika Fang Han membunuhku di sini, Geng Tiejiang mungkin akan curiga, tetapi tanpa bukti, mereka tidak bisa berbuat apa-apa padanya.'
CLANG—!!!
A peculiar, crisp sound pierced through the roar of the Sword Gang cleaving the air.
The immense, dark-gold Sword Gang, so powerful it seemed capable of cleaving through anything, trembled violently the moment it made contact with the Cyan Sword Light that resembled a crack in space.
Faint yet dense cracking sounds emanated from within the Sword Gang. Its surface, once as solid as glazed glass, was now covered in a web of fissures.
The fissures spread rapidly, covering the entire Sword Gang in the blink of an eye.
The next moment, the terrifying, several-zhang-long Sword Gang shattered just three feet in front of Fang Han.
It disintegrated into a shower of dark-gold specks of light that scattered like rain, peppering the surrounding ground with countless pits of varying depths.
SWOOSH!
Unleashing the full force of his Early Stage of Second Grade Inner Qi and three hundred thousand jin of physical strength, Fang Han’s figure flashed out from behind the dissipating Sword Gang.
With his Cloud Splitting Sword pointed diagonally at the ground, he activated his Wind God Step to its fullest, his cyan robes whipping loudly in the fierce wind.
In a single step.
The distance of several zhang between him and Qi Zhen was instantly erased. Like a bolt of cyan lightning, he appeared abruptly before Qi Zhen.
The Cloud Splitting Sword swept upward from below.
The blade tore through the air with a sharp whistle.
He fully channeled the Sky-Splitting Sword Technique at the Great Success Realm. His Wind Sword Intent was so condensed it was almost tangible, imbuing the strike with a sharpness that could tear through anything as it aimed straight for Qi Zhen’s waist.
Qi Zhen’s pupils contracted sharply.
Fang Han was too fast, so fast that he didn’t even have time to gather his strength for a counterattack.
But the combat instincts of a Breaking Through Martial Artist allowed him to react in the nick of time—
In an instant, he brought his long saber horizontally before him, frantically pouring Inner Qi into the blade.
Having broken through the Qi Pass of the Three Gates of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, his Inner Qi had undergone a qualitative transformation, becoming as dense as mercury.
Under the influence of this mercury-like Inner Qi, the long saber radiated a dazzling golden light, as if a golden sun were blooming on the blade.
CLANG—!!!
Saber and sword met, sending sparks flying. A visible shockwave spread out from the point of impact.
While Qi Zhen’s strength had increased more than tenfold by becoming a Breaking Through Martial Artist, Fang Han’s own power, having advanced his Sky-Splitting Sword Technique from Mastery to Great Success, had grown just as much, if not more.
An irresistible, immense force traveled up from the sword. Qi Zhen felt his entire right arm go numb in an instant.
The incredibly condensed, sharp intent pierced through the body of his saber, causing the qi and blood in his body to churn violently.
The impact sent him sliding backward, his feet carving two deep furrows into the ground.
Fang Han followed like a shadow.
He slashed out with the Cloud Splitting Sword again. This strike was faster and fiercer, aimed straight for Qi Zhen’s throat.
Qi Zhen gritted his teeth and blocked with his long saber.
CLANG—!!!
Another deafening screech of metal on metal.
The shockwave, like a physical tsunami, spread madly in all directions from the point where their weapons clashed.
A layer of the ground was violently scraped away, sending rubble flying and filling the air with dust.
Fang Han retreated half a step, but Qi Zhen was forced back three whole steps.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—
The distance between the two flickered, repeatedly closing and widening, only for them to collide again the next instant.
The Cyan Sword Light and the dark-gold Sword Aura intertwined, each collision erupting with a deafening roar, each exchange leaving more scars on the already ravaged wilderness.
Empowered by his Wind Sword Intent, Fang Han’s sword moved too fast for the naked eye to follow.
That sharp intent, capable of tearing through anything, made every one of Qi Zhen’s blocks feel like he was parrying an invisible divine weapon.
The Sky-Splitting Sword Technique at the Great Success Realm amplified the power of this Sword Intent. The sword light would flash like a sudden thunderclap, incomparably fierce, then flow like mercury spreading across the ground, seeping into every opening.
Although Qi Zhen’s Sword Momentum, driven by his vast Inner Qi, was fierce and domineering, with each strike carrying Mountain-Splitting Stone-Shattering force, Fang Han’s sword was simply too fast and too tricky, always finding a way to slip through the gaps in his Sword Momentum and force him onto the defensive.
After dozens of exchanges.
A glint flashed in Fang Han’s eyes. Seizing a minute opening after one of Qi Zhen’s slashes, he suddenly accelerated his Cloud Splitting Sword.
This strike held no probing, no building of momentum—it was just a simple, direct thrust.
But the moment it was unleashed, a fine, silent fissure opened in the air where the sword tip passed.
Qi Zhen sensed the terror of this strike. His pupils constricted as he tried desperately to pull his saber back to defend, but Fang Han’s sword was too fast.
He only had time to slightly twist his body, causing the sword that had been aimed at his heart to land on his left side instead.
SHIIING—!
The sword’s edge sliced across Qi Zhen’s left ribs. His dark-gold brocade robe tore open, revealing the Soft Armor beneath it, which gleamed with a faint light.
The blade scraped across the surface of the Soft Armor, creating a shower of dazzling sparks. It didn’t break through the defense; this had to be a precious piece of Soft Armor at the Mid-grade Spiritual Soldier Level.
However, the incredibly condensed, sharp intent pierced through the Soft Armor’s defense.
A foot-long gash opened on Qi Zhen’s left side, and blood instantly gushed out, soaking half of his robes.
"Ugh—!"
Qi Zhen let out a muffled groan, his body sliding backward uncontrollably.
His feet plowed two deep furrows in the ground, and he had to retreat more than ten steps before he could barely steady himself.
He glanced down at his bleeding left side, then raised his head to fix his gaze on Fang Han.
On his dark, rugged face, his initial composure had vanished without a trace, replaced by extreme gravity and a hint of irrepressible terror.
’If I don’t change something, this will end up just like last time in the Commandery City, or even worse.’
’Last time in the Commandery City, we were under the public eye. Fang Han had to consider the relationship between the Qingxuan Sect and the Tiejiang Gang, so he didn’t dare to kill me.’
’But this time—’
’We’re surrounded by a vast, empty wilderness. There’s no one around.’
’If Fang Han kills me here, the Tiejiang Gang might be suspicious, but without proof, they can’t do anything to him.’
"I can’t let this continue."
Qi Zhen gritted his teeth, his voice as hoarse as rubbing sandpaper.
He took a deep breath, and the Inner Qi in his body began to circulate in a different way.
The Magic Gate he used to circulate it was completely different from before. He was no longer suppressing its power for the sake of concealment; instead, he released it completely.
He released his suppression of the violent and sinister Inner Qi hidden deep within his body.
BOOM—!
At that moment, the aura around Qi Zhen changed abruptly.
His dark-gold Inner Qi, which had been flaring like a raging fire, began to change color from the inside out, as if being corroded by some invisible force.
The gold faded.
In its place was a strange, intense blood-red.
The bloody color wasn’t bright, but had a dark, dull quality, like dried blood.
As the Inner Qi churned, the faint, nauseatingly sweet smell of blood began to spread.
On his long saber, the dark-gold Sword Aura was also stained blood-red.
The blade hummed and trembled, letting out a screech like that of a starving beast.
In the depths of his eyes, a strange trace of blood-red appeared in his pupils.
BOOM!
As his Inner Qi turned from gold to blood-red, Qi Zhen’s aura visibly surged in power.
SWOOSH!
His dark-gold brocade robe snapped in the wind as Qi Zhen shot forward like a blood-soaked streak of light, crossing over ten zhang in an instant.
The blood-red Inner Qi on his long saber writhed and pulsed like a living thing, carrying a nauseatingly sweet stench as it hacked straight for Fang Han’s face.
Fang Han’s pupils shrank slightly. He brought his Cloud Splitting Sword up horizontally and channeled his Wind Sword Intent to its absolute limit.
CLANG—!!!
Saber and sword met, sending sparks flying.
An immense force, far more violent and ferocious than before, traveled up from the sword. Fang Han felt his entire right arm go numb as the qi and blood in his body churned as if boiling.
He was forced back, each step leaving a deep footprint in the ground. He retreated more than ten steps before he barely managed to stabilize himself.
He raised his head, his gaze falling on Qi Zhen.
A bloody aura suffused Qi Zhen’s long saber.
The red was not merely a change in color; it flowed slowly across the blade’s surface like a living entity, exuding a heart-pounding, violent aura.
Deep within Qi Zhen’s pupils, a strange glint of blood-red could be faintly seen.
On his dark, rugged face, veins bulged slightly, as if something inside him was awakening, struggling, and roaring.
"You...?"
Fang Han spoke, his voice low.
His gaze swept over the churning, dark-red Inner Qi around Qi Zhen, then fell upon the blood-soaked long saber. A flash of insight struck him.
A Demon Skill.
The aura was exactly the same as when he had fought Chu Feng—violent, sinister, and carrying a hunger that seemed to want to devour everything.
No, it was even stronger and deeper than Chu Feng’s Demon Skill.
’No wonder I always felt a sense of unease whenever I thought of the Tiejiang Gang. I never understood the source of that feeling, but now I finally get it.’
’The reason is the Demon Skill.’
"You’re cultivating a Demon Skill!"
Fang Han’s grip on his sword tightened slightly. The initial shock and doubt in his calm eyes were replaced by a cold understanding.
"No wonder your strength improved so quickly. No wonder you were secretly targeting the experts of the major factions—"
He paused, his voice growing even lower.
"You kill people to devour their Essence Qi, using the Demon Skill to convert it into your own Cultivation."
A cold smirk slowly formed on Qi Zhen’s lips.
He neither denied nor explained, merely holding his long saber horizontally before him as the blood-red Inner Qi on the blade churned even more violently.
"So what if you know?"
Qi Zhen’s voice was hoarse and carried an irrepressible violence, a clear sign that his mind had been unknowingly influenced by the Demon Skill.
"You’re not leaving here alive today."
Before the words had even faded, he moved again.
The blood-red saber light, like a bolt of lightning tearing through the night sky, hacked straight at Fang Han with mountain-toppling, earth-shaking momentum.
Before the blade arrived, the violent killing intent washed over him like a physical force, causing the surrounding air to seem to stagnate.
Fang Han’s expression turned grave.
He pointed his Cloud Splitting Sword diagonally at the ground as the Wind Sword Intent around him erupted with unprecedented intensity.
He channeled the Sky-Splitting Sword Technique at the Great Success Realm without reservation. The cyan-gold sword light and the blood-red Sword Aura collided brazenly in mid-air.
BOOM—!!!
A massive explosion erupted, and a shockwave spread madly in all directions.
A layer of the ground was violently scraped away, sending rubble flying like rain and dust shooting into the sky.
Two figures flickered rapidly within the cloud of dust, cyan and blood-red interweaving and clashing, each impact producing a deafening roar.
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