Chapter Forty-Four: Afraid to Melt at a Touch

Mo Shan’s face turned pale. Grinding his teeth, he stared toward Lin Kuang in the distance. Then his expression suddenly changed. His right hand loosened at once, and the mountain sword clattered to the ground. He immediately pressed a trembling hand to the wound on his left arm. It was a look of utter despair.

Somehow, his eyes had already returned to normal; the darkness no longer filled them completely. His bearing was no longer calm and detached, but full of fury, his emotions surging wildly.

Perhaps Lin Kuang had been right: within his body lurked another soul. Just moments ago he had not felt the pain of his injuries, but now it was as though he were on the verge of death, his strength drained away in an instant. He was utterly spent, so weak he could no longer even hold his sword. Heat burned in his left arm, and the pain was like ten thousand ants gnawing at his heart.

"If you didn’t kill me just now, you’ll regret what you did today for the rest of your life... I’ll make you wish you were dead, and sentence you to the harshest punishment!" Mo Shan murmured under his breath. By the end, his voice had taken on a strangely weathered tone.

"Thank you, Little Po!" Hao Tian said, turning with heartfelt gratitude. His voice trembled violently.

"Save Ruo Xi first. Otherwise, everything will be pointless!" Hao Po cried, rushing toward Lin Kuang without looking back.

"Yes!" Hao Tian thought fiercely to himself. In his heart, Ruo Xi was the most important of all, unique beyond comparison.

Seeing Hao Tian and Hao Po charge at him, Lin Kuang could not help but be surprised. Back when their hatred had been at its peak, even when they were on the verge of killing him, he had never seen them this enraged, never seen them dare to strike him with such recklessness. Today, though, they were making their move for the first time.

He had even thought they would not dare to attack, which was why he had stood there so arrogantly before them. After his battle with Mo Shan, he had not been injured, but his true energy had been consumed by more than half. He would not recover it in less than half a quarter-hour.

Could it be because of the person beside them? Ruo Xi?

Before Lin Kuang could react, Hao Po was already in front of him in an instant, with Hao Tian close behind. However furious Hao Tian might be, even at full effort his cultivation could not match the speed of someone in the early stage of the martial realm.

Hao Po completely abandoned the moves Mo Shan had seen before. He drew both swords at once, raising the smaller sword high before thrusting straight at Lin Kuang.

Lin Kuang curled his lips, and with a casual flick of the black-edged sword, the smaller sword was instantly knocked from Hao Po’s hand and sent spinning into the air.

At that moment Lin Kuang’s expression changed. He had underestimated them. His gaze fixed sharply on Hao Po.

Then the heavy sword rose and came crashing down. Howling wind followed in its wake, and the hilt of the smaller sword happened to catch on the blade of the larger sword like a hook, sending the smaller sword shooting straight toward Lin Kuang’s shoulder.

It was almost a flawless strike. Even with the smaller sword knocked aside, the force of the heavy blade alone, carrying overwhelming power, meant that if this blow landed, Lin Kuang would at the very least suffer severe injury, if not die.

The technique was ingenious. If the enemy was unprepared, such a swift sword strike would leave no room to evade.

Because Hao Po was seriously wounded at this moment, he had brought out his killing move. He had not used this technique for two or three years.

Lin Kuang’s face changed drastically. He had thought this was merely an outlet for their anger, and never imagined that their first move would be a sword technique meant to take a life.

Did they not fear the one hovering high above, Zero? This was no longer as it had been before. If someone was killed, so long as there was no evidence, nothing could be done to the one who struck.

Zero monitored the ground at all times. Once any power with such terrifying potential and such a threat to the government appeared, punishment would be merciless.

But Lin Kuang did not know that the surroundings had already been sealed off. No signal could get out at all.

His mind raced with countless thoughts, yet reality passed in an instant, and his body did not hesitate for even a breath. Without the slightest carelessness, Lin Kuang held the black-edged sword horizontally above him. That was the move most likely to withstand this overwhelming, terrifying strike.

His expression grim, true essence surged through his body. In an instant, the black-edged sword seemed to swell larger and wider, thickening by nearly a centimeter. He was determined to block this blow no matter what.

With a force like a thousand catties, like a meteor striking the earth, the attack slammed into the black-edged sword at once. The blade let out a piercing ring, and under Lin Kuang’s momentum the smaller sword was immediately shaken free.

Lin Kuang felt the force travel up his arm, nearly wrenching the sword from his hand. His right foot sank slightly into the ground.

He gripped the sword in his right hand even tighter. Though blood had already begun to flow from his left hand, he did not dare so much as frown. He could not afford the slightest relaxation. The smaller sword had been knocked away, but that was only the appetizer; the heavier blade had not yet come down.