"HUFF!"
Yan Guiyun’s chest heaved. His whole body felt as if it had been sliced by a thousand blades, and every breath sent a wave of agony that contorted his features.
He was filled with grief and indignation. He couldn’t believe he’d been so grievously wounded and forced to flee by someone he had never even considered a threat. That was what pained him the most.
Leaving a trail of blood, he shot into the distance like a crimson streak.
’Flee! I can’t die here! Today’s defeat is just a minor setback on my Celestial Essence Road.’
Yan Guiyun suppressed the terror in his heart. With his masterful control over his body, he sealed all his wounds to stop the bleeding.
He was a genius, and he had the pride to match. A temporary failure wouldn’t crush him; it would only serve as a whetstone to sharpen his ambition.
"I told you, today is the day you die."
A piercing sound grated on the ears as Xu Yang, glowing with a brilliant golden light, tore through the air in pursuit. He pointed a finger from mid-air, unleashing an incredibly condensed beam of Finger Force that shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow, accompanied by a sharp, shrieking whistle.
Pure Essence Gold-Splitting Finger!
"Xu Yang, are you really going to be this ruthless? I am the Sect Leader’s Disciple!"
His senses picked up on the Finger Force, sharper than any blade, and Yan Guiyun roared in fury.
He was already injured; he could take at most one more Palm from Xu Yang before his life was extinguished.
"CLANG!"
He didn’t turn around. Instead, he thrust his Half-Spirit Weapon out from under his arm, precisely striking the golden Finger Force.
The Finger Force dissipated. A tremor ran through Yan Guiyun’s arm, and he nearly lost his grip on his Half-Spirit Weapon. Though he managed to hold on, the impact reopened his previously staunched wounds, causing them to gush blood. He staggered in mid-air, his speed dropping sharply.
’This is bad!’
A sense of foreboding filled his heart as his senses picked up the sound of Xu Yang rapidly cutting through the wind, an terrifying pressure closing in on him.
Without any hesitation, he ignored the wounds covering his body. Letting his blood flow freely, he erupted with Gang Qi, spun around, and unleashed a deadly sword strike.
"BOOM!"
This was his final, desperate counterattack—a strike for survival. Its momentum and killing intent surged to an unprecedented height.
Infused with Gang Qi, the Half-Spirit Treasure Sword let out a clear cry like a dragon’s roar. It transformed into a surging torrent of sword light, kicking up clouds of dust and leaving countless fine sword marks on the ground.
’A desperate, dying struggle.’ Xu Yang’s gaze was sharp.
If Yan Guiyun were still in his peak condition, even he would have to evade the Half-Spirit Weapon. But now, grievously wounded and on the verge of death, Yan Guiyun had less than half his full strength. Xu Yang had nothing to fear.
The Sword Momentum looked fierce and terrifying, but it held little actual power.
The golden bear phantom roared, its savage aura sweeping out as a golden palm pushed forward horizontally.
The moment the sword light touched the palm, it shattered like a soap bubble, completely unable to withstand such an overwhelmingly hard and ferocious power. The Half-Spirit Weapon’s true form was revealed, its tip pressed against the golden palm.
His gaze fell upon the blood-soaked prodigy from the Ten Prodigies, whose fierce expression was marred by his wretched state, as the Golden Gang Qi collided with the sword light.
The Palm Force pulsed, and fine cracks spread across the sword light. The Half-Spirit Weapon, which had been bent into an arc, snapped straight. Yan Guiyun felt a savage Force surge through the blade, making the sword in his hand feel like a red-hot branding iron he couldn’t possibly hold onto.
"PFFT!"
Amidst a splash of blood, the Half-Spirit Weapon flew from his grasp. It was sent flying by the Palm, the hilt slamming heavily into his chest.
In his current state, he couldn’t harm Xu Yang in the slightest, even with his Half-Spirit Weapon.
He couldn’t help but feel despair!
He regretted relying on his Cultivation and talent to bully others, creating such a deep-seated enmity. Even more, he regretted not striking sooner, before Xu Yang had grown this powerful.
After slapping the Half-Spirit Weapon aside, the great golden hand continued its descent, breaking through all resistance like a hot knife through butter and smashing through the air.
"I’m not resigned to this!" Yan Yun didn’t even try to dodge, because there was no escape.
The golden palm carried an unimaginable pressure. Before the Palm even arrived, the sheer force of its presence made his body feel like it was about to fall apart. His wounds burst open, and his legs buckled beneath him.
"BANG!"
"CRACK!"
Like a heavy hammer striking a leather drum, a crack of bone echoed as Yan Guiyun’s chest caved in. His body, bent like a cooked shrimp, was sent flying backward, and he coughed up mouthfuls of blood in mid-air.
"THUD!"
He slammed into the ground, carving out a large crater, and skidded some distance before coming to a stop.
His face was covered in filthy blood and dirt, completely devoid of the elegant demeanor of the third-ranked genius of the Ten Prodigies.
"Any last words?" Xu Yang strode over, the golden light around him fading as his battle intent subsided.
A flicker of light appeared in Yan Guiyun’s dull eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, "I..."
"Never mind. I’m not interested in hearing them."
But before he could finish, Xu Yang stomped on his chest, crushing it into a paste and shattering his internal organs.
’That bastard was toying with me!’
Yan Guiyun’s eyes widened as he died, filled with unwillingness.
Xu Yang leaned down to loot the corpse. Unfortunately, Yan Guiyun had nothing on him. Any silver banknotes, Elixirs, and the like had been destroyed during their great battle. Nothing was left. He only took the scabbard, gathering it with the sword that had fallen to the side.
’Another Half-Spirit Weapon!’
He considered just tossing it away but was somewhat reluctant.
Yan Guiyun’s Half-Spirit Weapon was of high quality. It was likely crafted by an Elder from Li Fire Peak and would be worth at least ten thousand taels of silver.
But if he didn’t throw it away, it was useless for him to keep. Even if he tried to sell it, and even if someone dared to buy it, he wouldn’t dare to sell. The Sect Leader’s Disciple, the third-ranked prodigy of the Ten Prodigies... even though Yan Guiyun had initiated the attack, Xu Yang didn’t dare reveal that he was the one who had killed him.
After all, the man was dead, and dead men tell no tales.
Even if some people believed him, would Yan Guiyun’s sponsoring family and his master, Sect Leader Zhang Jingyuan, simply choose not to take revenge just because Yan Guiyun had attacked first?
If everyone were so reasonable, the world wouldn’t be in such chaos, and disciples from the same sect wouldn’t be slaughtering each other.
In fact, it wasn’t just Yan Guiyun’s Half-Spirit Weapon; he couldn’t get rid of the Weapons belonging to Song Wenshan and Song Wenxuan either. Doing so would very likely lead the investigation back to him.