Chapter 29: Chapter 29: You Think You’re Worthy?
"What terrifying power."
Su Xing gripped the longsword in his hand and couldn’t help but marvel.
He could feel his power had increased in every aspect.
’With my sword skills, my direct combat ability has probably reached an astonishing level. This must be the Tier Three that Shen Ruyun mentioned.’
Su Xing relaxed his right hand, and the Black Sword instantly dissolved into a speck of black light before vanishing into space.
’This Black Sword really is convenient,’ he thought. ’I can summon it whenever I want without having to carry it around.’
Even ignoring all his other enhancements,
just switching from the standard-issue practice sword from the Sword Hall to this Black Sword forged from pure energy was an unimaginable upgrade.
Now empty-handed again,
Su Xing finally took a moment to examine his body.
With the advancement of his [Sword of Breathing] to [Mortal Sword], his body had undergone immense changes. The most obvious was his height—Su Xing could clearly feel he’d grown taller.
Fortunately, his clothes were mostly loose-fitting, so even though he was taller, they didn’t look noticeably short.
Besides growing taller,
Su Xing’s muscles also seemed to have condensed, making him look lean and tall—nothing like the brawny figure he was before. Only with his shirt off could you see the musculature that now clung to his frame like forged steel.
They were more compact, but his strength had increased.
He could even faintly sense that his [Blade of White Silk] and [Sword Drawing Stance] had been enhanced by the advancement of his [Sword of Breathing].
Although he hadn’t tested it in a fight yet,
Su Xing couldn’t prove this theory just yet.
"Alright, time to head back."
Su Xing glanced at the moon hanging on the horizon and let out a soft breath. He turned to leave the hilltop but suddenly caught an unusual scent.
The smell of rust.
It was a scent Su Xing knew well—the same one he’d smelled on that letter.
’Has the Spiritual Sect found me?’
Without a moment’s hesitation, Su Xing’s palm became coated in white light. He slashed toward the source of the scent, drawing a long, thin white line through the darkness!
BUZZ!
The single line exploded into a hundred threads of light that streaked through the night, whistling sharply as they tore through the air, slashing viciously at a blood-red shadow where the scent originated.
Just as the lines were about to hit, the bloody shadow split open. A pair of slender, somewhat pale hands reached out and snatched the incoming threads of light from the air!
BANG!
But the next moment astonished Su Xing. The threads, powerful enough to instantly kill any Tier Two Peak Sequencer, were held firmly in those pale hands, as docile as a kitten before its owner.
Then,
the five pale fingers slowly tightened their grip. The threads of light began to tremble and fracture with a series of CRACKING sounds before being utterly crushed into motes of white light.
...
"Are you sure it’s there?"
Liu Ming asked Bailan, who was sitting in the passenger seat, his expression grim.
He was flooring it, the car racing toward their destination. Bailan stared intently at a distant hill for a long moment before finally nodding.
"There’s no mistake."
"First, I sensed a Martial Artist’s aura over there. Then, I smelled a Blood Shadow Sequencer. The stench of rust is sharper than a freshly painted house—I can’t be mistaken. The mysterious expert is definitely fighting one of the Spiritual Sect’s Blood Priests!"
The operation to wipe out the Spiritual Sect hadn’t been going smoothly,
but their special organization had made some headway. They’d at least obtained a list of all Spiritual Sect members under the High Priest. This Blood Priest, Xue City, was on it: Sequencer number seventy-five, codename Blood Shadow, Tier Three.
Bailan wasn’t as strong as Liu Ming, but he had complete faith in her sensitivity to energy. So, without a second thought, Liu Ming floored the accelerator, a single thought racing through his mind:
’I hope we make it in time.’
The mysterious expert had always lived up to his name, and his power was not to be underestimated, but there was no record of him ever fighting a Tier Three opponent. If he ran into trouble here, they would lose an invaluable ally in their fight against the Spiritual Sect. That was absolutely unacceptable!
...
GUSH—
The blood composing the shadow flowed like a river, gurgling softly as it streamed into Xue City’s mouth, slowly revealing the man enveloped within.
A pale man with black hair, dressed in the white robes of the Spiritual Sect, stood there. It was Xue City. He watched Su Xing with a calm expression.
Su Xing said nothing, his eyes narrowing. He made a grasping motion with his right hand, and the Black Sword materialized in his grip. He could feel an unprecedented power and a peerless killing intent radiating from the man before him.
’This opponent is far stronger than Lou Zhen. I’ll have to give this everything I’ve got.’
"Heh. I’m Xue City. And you are the mysterious expert, I presume?"
"Not answering? No matter. I’ll find out with a little test."
The man was smiling, but his voice was colder than ice, as if he were already looking at a corpse.
The words had barely left his lips when the man stomped his right foot. The ground erupted in a crimson shockwave, and in the next instant, his figure vanished.
BOOM!
With an explosive bang, the man’s fist, wreathed in a torrent of blood-red energy, shot toward Su Xing at an unbelievable speed!
The man was fast, but Su Xing, his focus razor-sharp, was faster. He dodged the attack, but his estimation of his opponent’s threat level shot up another level.
’His speed is astounding, and his power can’t be underestimated. He must be a Tier Three Sequencer.’
Seeing his attack fail, the man vanished again, reappearing in his original spot. He stared intently at Su Xing, a cold sneer forming as he murmured,
"I never thought the mysterious expert would turn out to be Su Yu’s brother."
"Then you must be the one who killed Lou Zhen, right?"
"And what if I am?"
Su Xing gave a short laugh, shifting the Black Sword to a ready position at his waist.
The man noted Su Xing’s posture but seemed completely unconcerned. He simply stood there, let out a soft sigh, and spoke.
"Sigh. He was my subordinate, after all."
"In that case, I’ll have to... send you on your way ahead of schedule!"
As his voice fell, his killing intent flared!
The man moved, his entire form blurring into a blood-red afterimage. Accompanied by the howl of a gale, he shot straight toward Su Xing!
His speed was even greater than before!
But Su Xing stood firm, his feet rooted to the ground like an ancient tree. He neither dodged nor retreated. Gripping his sword with all his might, he drew it in a flash, slashing at the charging blood shadow as he roared,
"You’re not worthy!"
