Lu Yang coughed up a mouthful of blood as he steadied himself after Young Master K's slash. He immediately took out a healing pill and swallowed it.
'Who is this bastard…' he thought grimly.
'He looks like a genius from the Central Continent's great sects. Then why is he targeting us?'
Not far away, Mo Xuan wiped the blood from his lips and circulated his qi to stabilize his injuries.
'He is not from the Eastern Continent… and his background is definitely terrifying', Mo Xuan judged silently.
'I cannot kill him…'
He raised his voice calmly, though his eyes remained sharp.
"You and we have no real grudge. Since you are an outsider, why not stop here and part ways? There is no need for more bloodshed."
Young Master K's sword tilted forward.
His figure flashed.
As he rushed toward Mo Xuan, his voice remained cold and indifferent.
"Did you forget? I already told you… I will cut you into a thousand pieces."
Mo Xuan hurriedly raised his dagger, Grade 2 Dagger Intent surging as dense spiritual qi wrapped around the blade.
Boom!
Another shockwave erupted. Mo Xuan slid back a single step and grunted, but managed to hold his ground.
"You are strong," Mo Xuan said coldly, "but don't think you have the power to kill me."
He immediately drew a second weapon… a narrow blade slightly longer than a dagger… gripping it in his right hand while keeping the dagger in his left.
The small dagger intercepted Young Master K's sword, while the longer blade shot straight toward his head.
Young Master K merely bent his body slightly, dodging with calm precision, and answered with a sideways slash aimed at Mo Xuan's waist.
Mo Xuan barely twisted away but couldn't dodge it completely.
Blood sprayed.
He clenched in pain and if he had been even a fraction slower, his body would have been split in two.
Lu Yang clenched his teeth and rushed in.
A burst of sword qi slashed toward Young Master K's blind spot.
Mo Xuan attacked simultaneously from the front.
Two directions. Perfect timing.
Yet Young Master K did not even look surprised.
His sword rotated in a smooth arc, deflecting Lu Yang's attack while his foot slid back half a step, avoiding Mo Xuan's blade by a hair's breadth. His elbow then struck backward, smashing into Lu Yang's chest.
Crack!
Lu Yang was sent flying again, coughing blood midair.
Mo Xuan's pupils shrank as he tried to press forward, but Young Master K's sword suddenly vanished from his sight…
And reappeared, slicing across his left wrist.
Mo Xuan froze. The dagger slipped from his fingers and clattered to the ground.
The blade had not truly cut… yet it felt as if it had.
Young Master K's Grade 3 Sword Intent seemed to have merged into his wrist itself, leaving behind a thin crimson line. The mark looked like a wound, yet the flesh beneath remained intact, only pressed by invisible sharpness.
A tingling, numbing sensation spread through his arm, as if his nerves were being carved instead of his skin.
Young Master K struck again.
This time at his shoulder.
Then his ribs.
Then his thigh.
Slowly, one after another, red lines bloomed across Mo Xuan's body.
"Too early to die," Young Master K said calmly.
Mo Xuan staggered back in disbelief, his breathing turning uneven.
Young Master K ignored him and shifted his gaze.
Lu Yang was struggling to stand once more, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Young Master K walked toward him unhurriedly, each step sending icy pressure into Lu Yang's bones.
Then he attacked.
Lu Yang tried to resist… but was crushed again within moments.
Mo Xuan rushed in from behind, only to be kicked violently in the abdomen, his body folding as he was sent flying.
They joined forces once more…
Yet every strike was predicted.
Every feint was seen through.
Every opening they believed they created became a trap waiting for themselves.
Young Master K toyed with them like a cat with wounded prey, granting them brief hope only to tear it away in the next heartbeat.
His sword flashed like silver lightning.
Mo Xuan twisted desperately, but never far enough. His body was now covered in countless red lines, yet none of them had truly split his flesh.
Step by step. Cut by cut.
Mo Xuan was no longer a fearsome cultivator… his body was now crisscrossed with countless red lines, each new mark carving away another fragment of his former confidence.
Yet Young Master K still did not kill him.
Not yet.
Not until a thousand lines were complete.
Every movement was precise.
Every strike was measured.
Like a master sculptor carving despair from living flesh.
His aura remained calm, unbroken.
Lu Yang was also the same.
The blade kissed his body again and again, carving thin, merciless wounds. Blood soaked into his robes, blooming like crimson flowers across white cloth.
Both of their breathing grew desperate, eyes flickering between rage and terror.
Only now did they finally understand…
They were not merely being defeated.
They were being dismantled.
Humiliated.
Stripped of every last fragment of pride.
Young Master K circled them slowly, his presence suffocating. The closer he drew, the deeper the terror carved into their bones.
This was no ordinary cultivator.
He was a predator.
And they were prey, trapped beneath his blade.
But even in the midst of battle, his Soul Sense never left Su Wen, sweeping the surroundings silently, ensuring no threat could rise from the shadows.
The sword hung in the air above Su Wen like a silent guardian.
Mo Xuan and Lu Yang lay sprawled on the shattered ground, breathing heavily, their once-proud robes torn and stained, no better than beggars.
Young Master K lifted his sword, ready to end them…
When he suddenly noticed Su Wen gripping Lu Tang by the neck, forcing his head to turn toward them.
Lu Tang's pupils trembled.
When he saw his father and the so-called Senior Mo lying in blood, battered worse than dogs, horror flooded his face.
Young Master K's Soul Sense had been fixed on Su Wen the entire time. He had heard every word he whispered to Lu Tang.
And when he called him precious wife...
He couldn't help himself.
His fingers clutched his robes as he giggled softly in front of the bloodied City Lord and Mo Xuan.
A beautiful young man with a sword in hand, dignified like a noble young master… now squirmed shyly in embarrassment.
'Hehehe… he called me precious wife…'
His smile bloomed like a spring flower.
His gaze drifted to Lu Tang's shattered face, especially the ruined left side.
'He even hurt him where I was injured before… he's so attentive… hehehe…'
'He crippled him for me… He's definitely holding himself back from killing him because of those girls.'
Young Master K's thoughts drifted back to Su Wen's expression in the reception hall… the moment he learned of the basement.
That cold, suppressed fury in his eyes sent a strange chill through his spine… followed by an inexplicable thrill that made his heart beat faster.
'Even when he was putting on an act before the crowd… he was truly enraged inside.'
Her lips curved into a faint, satisfied smile.
'My husband is really kind after all…'
Lu Yang and Mo Xuan watched his giggling figure, their hearts filled with both fear and rage.
'This bastard… why is he acting so strange…'
Mo Xuan on the brink of despair and enraged, suddenly threw his head back and laughed madly, blood staining his teeth, his crimson eyes blazing with insanity.
"You… bastard… you think you've already won?" he roared hoarsely. "If I must die today, then I'll make sure you remember my name in your nightmares! Even if I fall into hell, I'll drag you down with me and tear off a piece of your soul!"
His laughter turned hysterical.
"I'll show you what despair truly looks like!"
He bit down hard on his tongue.
A mouthful of blood essence sprayed onto his blade, igniting it with a violent crimson glow. His aura surged wildly as he burned his own life force, forcing out his strongest forbidden strike.
Young Master K came out of his tender reverie.
His expression turned cold in an instant.
"Let's finish this… he's already done over there."
Then, quietly in his heart…
'I'm feeling hungry… I need some of husband.'
Mo Xuan roared and charged forward like a mad beast.
Young Master K swung his sword calmly.
In that instant, the countless red lines across Mo Xuan's body suddenly lit up with blinding white light, as if invisible seals had been activated.
Mo Xuan's eyes widened in terror.
"Y-You…!"
Before he could finish…
His fingers fell.
Then his hand.
Then his arm.
Then the other arm.
Then his torso split apart.
Then his legs.
In less than a single breath, his body was carved into a thousand pieces.
True to his words…
A thousand cuts.
The unstable power within Mo Xuan's blade lost control and detonated, turning his remains into a rain of flesh and blood that scattered across the battlefield.
Young Master K turned slowly.
Lu Yang stared at Mo Xuan's shattered remains and completely lost control.
He wet himself.
Before he could even beg…
Young Master K's sword flashed.
His right arm was severed cleanly, his storage ring flying into his hand. Mo Xuan's ring, however, had already been destroyed in the explosion.
Another slash… his left arm fell.
A third… both legs were cut away.
Then, just like Su Wen had done to Lu Tang…
Young Master K kicked him viciously in the groin.
Lu Yang screamed like a dying beast.
A crushing punch followed, slamming straight into his Core.
Crack.
His cultivation shattered completely.
In an instant, his vitality drained away. His face wrinkled, his hair turned white, and his body withered like an old corpse.
He collapsed onto the ground, writhing in agony, eyes wide with disbelief and despair.
From a mighty City Lord…
He had been reduced to nothing more than a crippled, broken wreck.