Chapter Forty-Six: Crisis and Opportunity Coexist

In the blur of overlapping afterimages, the two swords stood locked in opposition. Unable to withstand the razor edge of the Feimo Sword, Haotian was forced back first.

At once Lin Kuang’s presence surged violently. The Feimo Sword lunged forward.

Haotian’s arm began to tremble. Veins rose on the back of his hand as his wrist twisted, trying to draw a slash at Lin Kuang. Then, with a sudden change of technique and a sharp crack of bone, the thrust became a cut; the sword in Haotian’s hand was sent flying into the air.

Haotian’s eyes flew wide. His center of gravity dropped, his ankles drove him upward, and he sprang into the air, his right hand reaching out as though to seize his sword.

Lin Kuang’s mouth curled with a cold sneer. Leaping into the air, with his footing gone and no weapon in hand, how was he supposed to take this blow?

He breathed out the name softly.

“Ink Sorrow.”

In an instant, the blood-red blade turned black. The sword body swelled at once, then split cleanly from the hilt and shot forth like a falling star, nearly invisible beneath the black sky.

A flash of sword light caught Haotian’s eye. His right hand closed at last around his own sword, and he curled his body into a tight ball. Sparks flared as he managed to block it.

Seeing this, Lin Kuang sprang again, his target still Haotian. From the hilt, the blade fused once more. The clash of steel rang out across the heavens, and in just a few seconds the Feimo Sword pierced straight into Haotian’s chest.

Haotian lost his balance at once and crashed to the ground.

“It still isn’t enough...” he murmured, his voice growing weaker and weaker until it could scarcely be heard at all. He slumped over beside Ruoxi.

“Ha ha! You think a heavily wounded man plus a mere ant can contend with me? What a ridiculous fantasy!” Lin Kuang’s expression shifted from solemn to brazen in an instant. “I didn’t even come to kill you, and you still dared to try to snatch someone from under my nose. You’re practically courting death!”

His hideously twisted face burst into laughter. Hao Po forced back the revulsion rising from the depths of his chest, set down the No-Edge Sword, lifted the secondary blade, and slowly pushed himself upright.

“Oh? You can still stand?” Lin Kuang mocked, watching as Hao Po leaned on his sword to rise. He pretended to be astonished. “I underestimated how badly injured you really are!”

“Today you injured my brother. Between the two of us, one must die,” Hao Po said coldly, staring at the motionless Haotian.

“Then let me see where you get the courage to say something like that.” Lin Kuang clasped his hands behind his back and spoke slowly. “Actually, if you kneel today and crawl between my legs, I might consider sparing your life. And Haotian won’t have to die either.

“Back then, there was someone just like you, trying to protect his brother’s life. The grass on those two graves is already taller than you are.

“So for your brother’s sake, you’d better kneel and beg.”

When he finished, Lin Kuang tilted his mouth and laughed aloud.

The grudges and covert struggles of the past, the fury born from life-and-death enmity, all seemed to dissolve into thin air. At this moment, only laughter at his former enemy could bring him satisfaction.

“Dream on! We won’t know who wins until the end!” Hao Po snapped, glaring at Lin Kuang in fury.

He lifted his leaden feet and staggered forward. His steps swayed left and right, weak as a reed, as though a gust of wind could knock him flat.

“A major change has occurred. We may suffer casualties and may no longer be able to protect the target. Requesting support!”

Hao Yun clenched his right fist, and a glow seeped from the opening in his chest, taking in the message he was transmitting bit by bit.

Then his hand slowly opened. Countless specks of light drifted upward and vanished into the high air.

Unnoticed, the black mist that had been masking signals in the sky had already dispersed, revealing a radiant sunset of breathtaking beauty.

He tightened his right hand and spread his left, and a white cylindrical object appeared in his palm.

White light flowed over it.

Click.

A mechanical sound rang out. One cylindrical segment after another extended outward, lengthening it to nearly a meter. It spun once in Hao Yun’s hand, then stopped extending. A sharp spearhead thrust out from the front, while a round cap protruded from the back.

Hao Yun’s eyes shone with fierce brilliance as he gazed ahead, the spearpoint angled downward. White light continued to flow around it, proof of its extraordinary nature.