Chapter 51: Collecting a Debt

Once again, a ferocious collision echoed across the stage. Yun Zhonghe’s body shot backward, skimming the ground and leaving a long scar in the earth. Xiang Yingtian staggered back step after step, each footfall imprinting deep marks behind him.

In this clash, neither man had gained the upper hand.

The audience below was beyond mere astonishment. They knew full well how formidable Xiang Yingtian was, yet they had never imagined he could be pushed to such extremes.

Who was Xiang Yingtian? The direct disciple of the Misty Wave Wanderer, a renowned figure who had made his name on the martial scene for decades. Yet even with his own hand in the fight, was he truly unable to subdue Yun Zhonghe?

As this thought crossed their minds, Yun Zhonghe’s display of blade technique robbed Xiang Yingtian of his composure. The corners of his eyes twitched violently, and he struggled to suppress the fear rising within. A terrifying murderous aura radiated from him, enveloping Yun Zhonghe.

“Speak. Where did you learn that blade technique? If you don’t, I’ll kill you.”

“Do you think I, Yun Zhonghe, am so easily cowed?” Yun Zhonghe swept his longsword, its force slicing the air.

“If I refuse, what can you do about it?”

“Courting death!”

A glint of cold light flashed in Xiang Yingtian’s eyes as he darted forward like a ghost. Yun Zhonghe dared not be careless; Xiang Yingtian was the most skilled of his adversaries and required the utmost caution.

His mind raced, but his hands never slowed. The longsword danced, unleashing the Complete Reality Swordsmanship. After days of relentless battle, he had honed this technique to its pinnacle. Once executed, the sword split into countless shadows, real and illusory, impossible to predict, each thrust shrouded in a razor-sharp aura aimed at Xiang Yingtian from all sides.

Faced with such a barrage, Xiang Yingtian’s eyes flashed with surprise. He hadn’t expected Yun Zhonghe to know Complete Reality Swordsmanship, and to have mastered it at such a level.

Suppressing his thoughts, his withered hand curled like a claw, gathering terrifying inner force in his palm. With a swipe, the very air seemed to twist, a testament to the dreadful power contained within, as he clashed directly with Yun Zhonghe’s sword.

Clang!

The ring of metal echoed, followed by a surge of invisible energy rippling outward.

Yun Zhonghe lowered his voice as he faced the murderous Xiang Yingtian. “If the world ever learned that the illustrious Xiang Yingtian, famed hero of the martial world, had killed his own master with his own hand—”

“How do you think they’d look at you?”

Xiang Yingtian’s pupils contracted sharply. How did Yun Zhonghe know about that? But he was no ordinary man; he quickly realized Yun Zhonghe might be baiting him.

His voice was calm, but as chilling as the depths of the underworld. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t understand? But you surely recognize this blade technique.” Yun Zhonghe’s inner force surged as he retreated, slashing at Xiang Yingtian. “The Ninth Layer of the Annihilating Cross Blade Technique.”

“That’s impossible! How could you possibly know the Ninth Layer of the Annihilating Cross Blade Technique?” Xiang Yingtian’s face changed dramatically, his voice sharp.

Yun Zhonghe’s expression remained icy, his strikes ever more fierce.

The Ninth Layer of the Annihilating Cross Blade Technique—Fu Hongxue himself had never mastered it. But after demonstrating it to Yun Zhonghe, the system had automatically completed the missing parts of the technique for him. Yun Zhonghe, after watching Fu Hongxue’s performance, had then taught the perfected technique to Fu Hongxue.

Fu Hongxue was utterly astonished by Yun Zhonghe’s martial talent; he had only observed the technique once and not only recognized its flaws but was able to perfect it himself. Such formidable aptitude was the first of its kind Fu Hongxue had ever witnessed—unmatched by any other.

As the blade’s edge was about to strike him, Xiang Yingtian leapt into the air; the razor wind from the blade grazed his skin, stinging sharply.

Bang!

“What a formidable blade technique!”

“That lecherous villain truly has unfathomable luck—who knows where he learned such mastery?”

“It looks like Fu Hongxue’s Annihilating Cross Blade Technique, but… something seems different,” someone well-versed in martial arts murmured uncertainly.

Yet none were as shocked as Xiang Yingtian, who steadied himself on the stage, staring at Yun Zhonghe as if he had seen a ghost.

“The Ninth Layer of the Annihilating Cross Blade Technique—how is this possible?”

Yun Zhonghe answered only with a relentless barrage of strikes, each fiercer than the last.

“Heartsunder Palm!”

All of Xiang Yingtian’s inner force surged into his palm, coursing through special meridians and concentrating at the center, the flesh darkening as the energy within reached a terrifying pitch. With a piercing shout, he hurled himself into the storm of blades.

Boom!

The explosion of energy shook the heavens.

The shockwave swept rapidly outward, cracking the ground beneath their feet.

Every eye was fixed on the stage, desperate to see which man would emerge the victor.

Dust and smoke billowed on the stage.

Yun Zhonghe forcibly steadied himself, channeling his inner force to dissolve the alien energy that had invaded his body with the Northern Sea Divine Skill. When he had finished, he suppressed the turmoil in his chest and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his gaze searching for Xiang Yingtian.

The Ninth Layer of the Annihilating Cross Blade Technique was, in fact, designed by the Misty Wave Wanderer to counter the Heartsunder Palm. Though Yun Zhonghe had suffered serious internal injuries, Xiang Yingtian could not have fared much better.

As this thought crossed his mind, the air trembled faintly.

A dark, gleaming projectile shot toward him, silent as a shadow.

Yun Zhonghe had never relaxed his guard. At the first sign of danger, he dodged instinctively.

Clink!

A crisp sound rang out as the dart embedded itself in the floor at his side.

Bastard.

Xiang Yingtian, that despicable old scoundrel, had no sense of honor, resorting to a sneak attack. He didn’t even need to check—the dart was surely laced with deadly poison. A single scratch would mean certain death.

Suddenly inspired, Yun Zhonghe’s lips curled in a smile. No longer bothering to lower his voice, he let his words, carried by inner force, ring clearly in everyone’s ears.

“What a vicious secret weapon. Why not aim for the vital points on my back—Heart’s Hollow, Diaphragm’s Hollow, or Spinal Pillar?”

“Why not use your Tendon-Splitting Bone-Twisting Hand, shatter all my meridians, and toss me off a cliff—so I can’t live or die?”

His bizarre remarks left the crowd utterly baffled.

“A secret weapon. Is it true? Did Hero Xiang really use a secret weapon against Yun Zhonghe?”

“Thrown off a cliff, unable to live or die—what does he mean by that?”

“Bah, it’s just that scoundrel’s nonsense in the face of death.”

The rest murmured in confusion.

Upon hearing these words, Xiang Yingtian’s expression changed drastically. The mask of benevolence vanished, revealing a face twisted and fearsome, like a man-eating beast radiating murderous intent.

Now, at last, he understood why Yun Zhonghe had been targeting him all along—it was that old ghost who had sent him to settle old scores.

“I never imagined that old devil was still alive!”