As the battle raged on, Lin Chen and Cheng Fan's blades collided again and again, each clash sending sparks flying like scattered stars.
Cheng Fan pressed forward relentlessly, his sword howling with blood Qi. Every swing carried a killing intent sharp enough to tear flesh from bones.
"Azure Thunder Arts — Second Form, Thunderblade Slash!"
Lin Chen's blade flashed with arcs of lightning.
Boom!
Thunder clashed with crimson. Energy rippled outward, shaking the trees. Lin Chen staggered back from the shock, but Cheng Fan was already upon him, eyes blazing with madness.
"Die!"
Bang!
His leg smashed toward Lin Chen's waist.
Lin Chen twisted his sword down, catching the blow on the flat of his blade. Even so, the impact rattled his ribs and drove him back several paces.
Before he could regain his stance—whoosh!
Cheng Fan's sword cleaved down immediately after, the scarlet Qi roaring like a waterfall.
Lin Chen's pupils tightened. His figure blurred, lightning racing beneath his feet.
Lightning Phantom Step!
He vanished in a breath before the strike landed, reappearing several yards away as the blood sword split the ground where he stood.
Cheng Fan snarled, then grinned cruelly. "Hahaha! Run all you like! Each step you take only makes your blood sweeter!"
Cheng Fan slammed his foot into the ground.
BOOOOM!
Cracks split the soil as rivers of crimson Qi poured upward, spreading like veins beneath the forest floor. A thick blood mist gushed out, rolling across the clearing with a stench of iron so heavy it made the air hard to breathe .
Lin Chen's stomach churned. This stench… it's like standing in a slaughterhouse!
From within the mist, skeletal figures began crawling forth. Their bones were blackened and slick with half-rotted flesh, their entrails dangling like ribbons. Empty eye sockets burned with crimson fire, and blood dripped endlessly from their jaws.
Clatter—clatter!
"Do you see them? These are the souls devoured by my sword. Every scream, every drop of blood—etched into its blade. And soon, you will join them."
The skeletal wraiths screeched, rushing in from all sides. Their claws tore through the air, cold enough to bite into his bones.
Rip! Blood sprayed as a gash split open across Lin Chen's arm—even though his sword had already passed through the figure.
His pupils shrank. What the hell… no bodies, but they can still hurt me?!
Another claw swiped across his chest, tearing flesh and cloth in one stroke. Hot blood streamed down, soaking him in the stench of death. The mist thickened.
Grinding his teeth, Lin Chen slammed his blade into the ground.
"Azure Thunder Arts—Third Form! Storm Ring Technique!"
CRACK—BOOOOM!
Arcs of lightning burst across the ground, weaving like serpents . They slithered through the mist, devouring it in a frenzy of thunder and sparks.
The wraiths shrieked as the storm ripped them apart. Their blackened bones splintered, the flesh still clinging to them sizzling and bursting into foul gore.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
One after another, the abominations exploded, their bodies torn to shreds by crackling thunder. Rotten entrails sprayed across the clearing. Bone shards whistled like arrows, embedding into the trees with sickening cracks.
The forest floor was painted in blood. Fragments of meat smoked under the glare of azure lightning, hissing as if the land itself rejected their existence.
When the haze thinned, Lin Chen stood at the center of the carnage. His body dripped crimson, his robes soaked through—half of it was his own blood, half from slaughtered wraiths. Lightning still danced faintly across his sword.
He had to admit—despite the pain gnawing at his bones—this fight stirred something inside him. A wild grin tugged at the corner of his lips. So this is the rush battle maniacs talk about…
Before the thought could root, Aiva's voice cut through his mind like a blade.
[Warning. Massive accumulation of Essence Qi detected. The enemy is preparing for a devastating strike. Retreat immediately.]
"Huh? What—" Lin Chen froze.
Cheng Fan's sword swelled with a tide of crimson aura, thicker and darker than before.
"Blood Fiend Sword Art—Soul-Crushing Severance!" Cheng Fan howled. His laughter drowned beneath the wails erupting from his blade.
A sea of horror surged outwards. Waves towered like blood-stained mountains, dragging with them skeletal corpses and shrieking phantoms. Every ripple carried slaughter, every crest promised obliteration.
Lin Chen's heart jolted. Escape? None. The tide pressed in from all sides, leaving not even the sky as a refuge. To leap was to die.
"Holy shit…"No way around it—I'll have to meet it head-on!"
He slammed his sword into the ground. Lightning detonated from his body, blue arcs crawling across his skin. His Qi burst outwards, weaving a shell of crackling thunder around him.
The blood waves struck his barrier with shaking force.
BOOOOM!
The explosion roared, a shockwave scattering soil and stone in all directions. Dust swallowed the forest , the acrid smell of blood Qi clinging to the air like poison.
Cheng Fan's shoulders rose and fell as he steadied his breath. That strike had drained nearly all of his Qi—something he rarely used unless he wanted an enemy erased without question.
A cold smirk spread across his face.
"Hmph. Outer court trash. That move… even a ninth-stage Essence Forging cultivator wouldn't withstand it. And you? At the first stage? You're nothing but dust now."
He gave a short, harsh laugh, arrogance dripping from every note.
With a flick of his sleeve, he sheathed his sword. His tone turning casual—as if speaking of a trivial chore.
"The elder will be pleased to hear that I have avenged Yu Feng."
He didn't care who had truly killed Yu Feng. All he needed was to say he had slain the culprit, and the elder would accept it without question. No one would investigate further. For him, this was the perfect cover.
"But …his sword… I feel like I've seen it somewhere before." He shook his head and snorted. "Doesn't matter."
Turning away, he strode off, his steps slow and arrogant. Behind him, the dust of the explosion still swirled through the forest.
But then—
Step.
From within the sea of explosion and dust, a charred figure surged forth.
Cheng Fan, hearing the sound, snapped his head around. His pupils shrank. "Impossible—"
Before his words could finish, the charred figure's blade flashed with ruthless precision. Shhhk! The cut was clean, almost merciful in its swiftness.
Cheng Fan's head flew off his shoulders, spinning in the air. Eyes still stared blankly as if unable to comprehend how he had died.
His lips trembled as though trying to speak, but only a faint gurgle escaped before his head struck the ground with a dull thud.
His body swayed, blood spraying like a fountain, before collapsing into the dirt.
Lin Chen staggered, his blade slipping from his grasp as it sank into the soil with a heavy clang. He collapsed to his knees, his body trembling violently.
His appearance was ghastly — half his flesh burned black, the skin peeled away to reveal raw muscle beneath.
Veins bulged across his face, pulsing unnaturally from the strain. His robes were torn to shreds, and his chest rose and fell in ragged, shallow breaths. Blood dripped from his lips, staining the earth beneath him.
He looked less like a man and more like a half-burned corpse clawing at life.
"D-Damn…" Lin Chen coughed, black blood spraying from his mouth. "If I hadn't… if I hadn't risked it all…" His voice cracked into a bitter laugh that quickly dissolved into another cough. "I'd be the one headless right now…"
His vision was blurred. Pain gnawed at every nerve, spreading like wildfire through his battered body. He could feel his insides tearing with each breath — ribs fractured, organs ruptured, Qi pathways seared beyond recognition.
If left like this, even if no one struck him down, he would still die — slowly, painfully — from his wounds.
[Emergency situation detected.]
Before Lin Chen could even register the words, his vision swam. Darkness pressed down on him.
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Also, if you have any ideas or suggestions for the story, feel free to share them in the comments — I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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