Chapter 10: Chapter 10: One Sword Strike
"I’ll give you the grandest ’filthy funeral’!"
After the Spiritualist Follower said this, he tossed aside his weapon.
His body suddenly began to swell, growing to over three meters tall. Muscles burst through his skin, exposed and raw. Lumps like tumors sprouted one after another across his blood-red flesh, a truly shocking sight.
At this moment, the Spiritualist Follower looked like a true monster.
Su Yu’s face paled. He took a step back with his right leg and spoke with some surprise.
"Peak Tier One, Sequence 214: Muscle Recombination?"
"Heh heh, you know a lot for a little whelp. But what does it matter if you recognize it? You’re still going to die here!"
After activating Muscle Recombination, the Spiritualist Follower’s face was completely unrecognizable. A muffled, buzzing voice was all that could be heard coming from where his head used to be.
Although Su Yu was surprised that his opponent’s realm was a notch higher than his, he quickly calmed himself.
’Even if his realm is higher, it doesn’t mean I can’t win.’
After all, the red gun in his hands was the Gun of Truth, Sequence 135—nearly a hundred ranks higher than his opponent’s.
The Spiritualist Follower also knew his advantage wasn’t overwhelming. If this little whelp managed to stall him until his reinforcements arrived, he would be well and truly finished.
So, he wasted no more words. Activating Muscle Recombination again, he gathered all the muscles in his body into his right fist. He looked as ridiculous as a tiny man lifting Mount Tai, but the power of that punch was terrifying!
The punch, heavy and powerful, shot directly toward Su Yu.
Beneath that fist, Su Yu seemed as insignificant as an ant. But he simply narrowed his eyes, showing no fear. He raised his long gun and stabbed straight at the incoming fist!
In the blink of an eye, the gun and the fist collided.
BANG!
The Spiritualist Follower’s strength was beyond Su Yu’s expectations. Su Yu felt a numbing sensation shoot up his arm, and he was forced back several steps before he could stop. A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
The Gun of Truth in his hand began to twist from the immense force of the impact. Only when Su Yu tightened his grip did it stabilize once more.
’Is the gap between Tier One and peak Tier One really this big?’
’No, that can’t be right.’ Su Yu’s brow furrowed. He felt his opponent’s strength was ridiculously exaggerated.
The Spiritualist Follower had no intention of showing mercy. Seeing that his strike had forced Su Yu back, he ignored the hole punched through his own fist, leaped into the air, and charged toward Su Yu, intending to kill him in one blow!
If that punch landed, Su Yu was certain he would be turned into a pile of mangled flesh.
Yet Su Yu showed no sign of panic. His face was as pale as ever. He narrowed his eyes, watching the enemy rapidly descending upon him, and sighed inwardly.
’Do I really have to use that move?’
Using it would definitely cause some damage to his body. People in the organization had repeatedly warned him to avoid it if possible, but the situation was sudden, and he had no other choice.
Su Yu stretched out his right hand toward the descending Spiritualist Follower. His pupils suddenly turned a brilliant gold as he spoke in a language that was difficult to understand.
"Sequence: Judgment."
"Target: The man before me."
"Cost: A portion of my lifespan."
But just as he was about to activate his Judgment Sequence, a piercing whistle suddenly cut through the air. Su Yu immediately halted the activation and back-flipped out of the area.
BOOM!
The Spiritualist Follower’s attack missed, kicking up a large cloud of dust. At the same time, a brilliant white sword light sliced through the air, dicing the dust cloud to bits.
The light of the sword was like snow.
A snow-white sword light arrived in an instant!
’What the hell is this?!’
The Spiritualist Follower was startled. He reacted quickly, swiftly moving the muscles on his body to form a massive shield over his chest.
He felt a sharp pain in his chest.
A deep gash appeared on his torso, but it hadn’t managed to break through his fleshy shield.
A crazed look appeared in his eyes, and he roared.
"Which rat dares to sneak around?!"
"I hate sneaky rats the most! I’ll kill you first!"
The Spiritualist Follower’s legs suddenly began to bulge. He transferred some of his muscle mass to his thighs, greatly increasing his jumping power.
"Run!" Su Yu yelled, his assessment of the battle situation incredibly sharp.
He didn’t know who had unleashed that slash of white light, but judging by its power, they were at most a Tier One Sequencer. If that monster got close to them, their fate would be no better than his own!
The Spiritualist Follower leaped, and the terrifying force of his jump made Su Yu feel as if the ground itself was trembling. He instinctively tried to give chase, but his previous injuries and the forced cancellation of his Judgment Sequence had consumed a large amount of his sequence energy. He couldn’t catch up now.
He could only watch as the muscle-bound freak disappeared into the night.
He gritted his teeth and ran in the direction the Spiritualist Follower had vanished.
The Spiritualist Follower was indeed fast. In the blink of an eye, he was above Su Xing. Su Xing could even see the deformed, twitching, blood-red muscles on his body.
"Peak Tier One?" Su Xing murmured, then suddenly slashed out with his sword.
A white light coated the heavy sword, drawing a thin white line through the darkness!
The white line spread, splitting from one into two, then four, then eight, until a total of sixteen white lines slashed out.
The sword strike was exceptionally bright, seeming to dim even the moon in the sky.
The white lines passed through his body.
The Spiritualist Follower felt a wave of pain wash over him. He lost control of his Sequence, which automatically deactivated, returning him to his normal human form. He plummeted from the sky, looking down at his body in disbelief.
One crack after another appeared on his body, following the paths of the white lines. They started on his chest, then spread to his limbs and head, until his entire body was covered in fissures.
He stared at Su Xing, the one who had delivered the strike, his eyes filled with despair. He recognized Su Xing. According to his intel, Su Xing was the target’s brother, a normal person... but could a fucking normal person do this?!
His lips parted, but before he could say a word, he broke into pieces of flesh that scattered across the ground.
The entire process took but an instant.
Su Xing sheathed his sword, scattering a few faint white motes of light, and disappeared into the night with steady steps.
A moment later, Su Yu arrived and saw the minced flesh scattered all over the ground. He reacted quickly, immediately understanding what had happened.
’What’s going on?’
’The enemy who just pushed me to the point of using my last resort was killed in a single move?!’
He hurriedly scanned his surroundings, trying to find the hidden master, but he saw no one.
’He left?’
’Who was he?’
Based on the timing, he could have only had enough time for one move.
’To kill a peak Tier One Sequencer in a single move... that would require a Tier Two Sequencer at the very least, right?’
’And...’
Su Yu recalled the image he saw while rushing over: more than a dozen intertwining white lines, exceptionally bright and impossible to miss in the darkness. To be honest, with his knowledge, he couldn’t recognize what Sequence it was or its ranking. Or rather... ’Does this Sequence even exist on the known list?’
...
Su Xing returned to the Sword Hall, carrying his sword on his back.
The power of that strike had indeed exceeded his own imagination.
Before, Su Xing could only produce a single white line with one slash. But after cultivating "Sword Breathing," he could unleash over a dozen.
This wasn’t an improvement of 1+1.
It was 1+1+1+1+1...
Su Xing never thought that improving "Sword Breathing" would bring about such a massive change. It had not only altered his physical condition but also made his sword techniques far more powerful.
He had actually managed to kill a peak Tier One Sequencer in a single strike.
However, Su Xing felt no pride.
He now recognized how dangerous this world was.
From the conversation between Su Yu and the Spiritualist Follower, he had gathered that they were both Tier One Sequencers.
Su Yu was a Tier One Sequencer, while the man from the Spiritual Sect was at the peak of Tier One.
The battle between mere Tier One Sequencers was already so powerful. If the more powerful Sequencers from the Spiritual Sect came after them, it would be even more dangerous.
It was possible that the people from the Spiritual Sect had already targeted his little brother.
’I have to get stronger.’
Su Xing opened his system panel and looked at the data. He began to look forward to today’s three Sword Dao lessons.
’Three Sword Dao Points... how should I spend them?’
...
「By the lake.」
Liu Ming and one of his subordinates rushed over.
He saw Su Yu standing alone by the lake, eyes closed, bathing in the gentle breeze blowing from the water’s surface. He was a bit dumbfounded. After a moment, he spoke.
"Are you all right?"
"Of course not. If you’d been any later, I would have been home in time for my morning run with my brother."
Su Yu looked at Liu Ming and rolled his eyes. Normally, he wouldn’t speak like this, but this time he had almost kicked the bucket, and the people from the special department had arrived so late.
"Heh heh..."
Liu Ming chuckled, a little embarrassed. He then explained,
"We couldn’t help it. Before things went south here, the Spiritual Sect was spotted somewhere else. We came straight here as soon as we were done."
"So tell me, Yu, what happened?"
Su Yu collected his thoughts, then turned to Liu Ming and said with a serious expression,
"Brother Ming, I think we may have a mysterious new Sequencer on our hands."
