Supreme Sword Exalt

As pain flared from his forehead, resentment surged through Jiang Hong. He screamed hysterically, “You can’t kill me! If I go down, you’re coming with me!”

Yet Gu Han remained unmoved. Just then, a weak coughing sound reached his ears. The sound was faint, but he heard it with perfect clarity.

This is bad!

His expression shifted as the speed of his descending sword suddenly increased threefold.

In the next moment, a gust of gentle wind drifted over. The sword struck, splitting the earth with a deep, jagged crack. However, not a trace of blood could be seen on the blade.

Jiang Hong had vanished without a trace.

Reaching his limits, Gu Han collapsed to the ground. He was now feeling the full force of the Blood Spirit Art’s backlash. Bone-piercing agony swept through him, leaving him completely immobile.

Not far away, Fatty was dumbfounded. “Where is he?”

“I don’t know, he’s gone.”

Fatty bristled, unable to let go. “What?! After everything we went through, it was all for nothing?!”

“Forget it. You saw how powerful he was. Even if we were perfectly fine, I highly doubt we stand a chance against him. We should celebrate that he only took Jiang Hong, and not our lives.” Gu Han sighed, cursing under his breath, “Pft! That bastard!”

Fatty also lay back down, frantically stuffing pills into his mouth. He sighed with emotions. “How many years has it been since I last fought so desperately? I can’t even remember.”

“When all you do is play dead?”

“What the hell do you know?!” Fatty was not ashamed but rather proud. “My move was a tactic! Showing weakness to the enemy, lulling them into carelessness, then delivering a fatal blow at the critical moment—”

Gu Han stopped paying attention to his nonsense. Leaving his questionable statement aside, Fatty had truly put in great effort this time. Without Fatty, regardless of his abilities, Gu Han would likely have been in grave danger. Besieged by three people, not even the Blood Spirit Art and the Kill Sword could guarantee a victory.

Upon seeing Gu Han silent, Fatty also fell uncharacteristically quiet. Although neither spoke, both could guess the other’s thoughts.

Jiang Feng!

***

In the meantime, Jiang Feng had been caught by the two and was severely injured. Despite having fled with all his might, his speed was ultimately limited. He had only covered less than half the distance when the two caught up and blocked his way.

Liu Tong grinned smugly. “We meet again, Your Highness. Well? Don’t you regret not listening to my cousin? You brought this upon yourself. You only have yourself to blame.”

Jiang Feng remained silent. Not because he feared death, but more so because of immense guilt and self-loathing for failing to fulfil Gu Han’s final request.

That’s it! I’ll fight until the end!

Secretly sighing, Jiang Feng glared at Liu Tong and unleashed all the remaining strength in his body. He was ready to fight for his life.

Greed bled through Liu Tong’s expression. “Your cultivation method is indeed extraordinary! Tsk tsk, what a pity. Such a technique was never meant for someone like you! Liu Ying, let’s—huh? What’s wrong with you?”

Liu Ying snapped back to attention. “Ah? N-nothing!”

From the start, she had seemed absent-minded, as if her soul had wandered off. Gu Han’s murderous words kept replaying in her mind. Will Gu Han really die this time?

Liu Tong pointed at Jiang Feng. “Let’s attack together! Capture him, and we’ll both get a share of that technique.”

A struggle flashed in Liu Ying’s eyes. “Alright...”

Jiang Feng remained expressionless. “Miss Liu, I was truly blind to have misjudged you that day.”

Liu Ying didn’t say anything.

Liu Tong slowly advanced forward. “There’s no point wasting your breath. Surrender quietly, and you’ll suffer less.”

Jiang Feng laughed miserably. “Dream on! If Brother Gu and the others survive, you will definitely pay in blood!”

Boom.

These words struck Liu Ying’s mind like a bolt from the blue.

Right... If he doesn’t die, with his temperament, my fate will be sealed!

Liu Ying secretly gritted her teeth, reaching a decision she had never even dreamed of.

Oblivious to her dilemma, Liu Tong sneered and closed in on Jiang Feng. “Big words! Later, I’ll let you witness how he dies—”

Suddenly, a sword pierced through his chest from behind.

Jiang Feng was stunned.

Liu Tong stared incredulously at the blade protruding from his chest. He turned his head with difficulty. “Liu Ying... why...?”

Liu Ying murmured to herself, “Y-you don’t understand... Gu Han is ruthless! From the moment he was crippled, it was as if he became a different person. He didn’t lose in the Wild Forest and the Gu residence... Then at the inn, the martial academy, the banquet—he won in all these situations, where death seemed certain! I don’t dare to gamble anymore. I don’t want to! He’s too terrifying! I have no choice... die!”

Liu Tong’s eyes were bloodshot. “Fucking bitch, I will kill you!”

Before he could do anything, the sword’s spirit power erupted, fully severing his vitality. He sank lifelessly to the ground.

Upon seeing Liu Tong dead, Jiang Feng felt not a hint of joy. Rather, a chill continuously rose from the depths of his heart. This woman is too cold-blooded! She’s so heartless and terrifying!

Liu Ying’s voice, usually clear and captivating, now sounded somewhat frightening. “Your Highness, you may go.”

Wordlessly, Jiang Feng stared meaningfully at her, then sped away into the distance.

Liu Ying stood dazed for a long time, then also chose an unfamiliar direction and left immediately. She had made up her mind. From now on, she would do everything she could to avoid sharing a space with Gu Han.

A moment later, both had vanished without a trace, leaving only Liu Tong’s body behind. Until death, he couldn’t understand why Liu Ying could be so heartless. Hadn’t he been extremely attentive, to the point of obsequiousness? Of course, this was a question he would never get an answer to.

***

Under an ancient tree, Jiang Hong stared at the old man’s back. The old man’s figure stooped as he held a broom.

Jiang Hong’s gaze was still lit with the joy of having narrowly escaped death. Of course, being his usual arrogant self, he didn’t recognize the old man. He clasped his fists with difficulty. “Senior, I will never forget this life-saving grace for the rest of my life.”

The old man chuckled, his tone somewhat emotional. “Little fellow, one must have self-awareness as a person. That youngster is not someone you can compare to. You shouldn’t have chosen him as your opponent.”

“Senior, I—”

“You’re very strong and ambitious, but you lack the corresponding ability. That is your greatest tragedy.”

Jiang Hong’s eyes turned bloodshot. “Senior, I still have a backup plan. He will definitely die today!”

The old man waved his hand. “Enough. I can’t be bothered with these trivial matters. However, you just said you wanted to repay me... Is that true?”

He slowly turned around, revealing a face full of wrinkles.

Upon seeing the old man’s appearance, Jiang Hong instantly understood. “Yes.”

He is definitely an expert. I must not miss this opportunity!

“Whatever Senior wants, if I have it, I will definitely give it.”

The old man smiled kindly. “Is that so? You said it yourself.”

“I dare not speak a single false word.”

The old man laughed. “You little fellow. Back then, you instigated Jiang Ping to secretly target that poor girl, causing her to die soon after giving birth. To think you were only five years old at the time...”

Jiang Ping was the ruler of Great Qi, Jiang Hong’s biological father. Since he rarely showed his face in public, so few mentioned him.

Jiang Hong’s face turned pale. “H-how do you know? Who are you exactly?!”

No more than five people knew about this matter.

The old man shook his head. “Who I am is not important. You were so malicious and narrow-minded at such a young age. You are destined to achieve nothing great in this life, wasting your body’s bloodline power. What a pity! How about giving it to me?”

Jiang Hong was terrified. “W-what?”

The old man walked over and patted his shoulder. “Don’t be nervous. We share the same roots, the same source. I definitely won’t make you suffer too much. Endure it, and it will soon be over.”

The sheer terror rooted Jiang Hong to the spot. “Tell me who you are—AAAH!”

The old man said with a face full of concern. “Endure it. It won’t hurt in a moment.”

Just then, a red mist suddenly drifted out from within Jiang Hong, slowly fusing into the old man.

With a look of intoxication, the old man said, “This is great! Aah, youth is the best!”

As time passed, the blood mist grew fainter, while the originally tall and mighty Jiang Hong had withered to almost a skeleton. His hair was grey, his face full of wrinkles, the light in his eyes rapidly fading away.

In contrast, the old man’s skin changed from slack to full, as if inflated. His hair also gradually turned black, and his figure no longer as thin and scrawny as before, becoming somewhat stout.

A moment later, he released his hand and Jiang Hong instantly fell to the ground. Looking at the old man’s face, which bore some resemblance to his own, he suddenly understood. “You... you are... the old—”

He drew his last breath, his words forever left incomplete.

The old man had transformed into a slightly overweight, middle-aged man. He basked in his newfound vitality, something he hadn’t felt for decades. Full of elation, he sighed. “I, Jiang Xuan, have returned!”

***

As chaotic as it was, the ambush on Gu Han didn’t even count as a minor disturbance for the trial grounds or even the entire Wild Forest. Outside the trial grounds, the instructors each found a quiet place, sharpening all five senses to observe. None of them had the slightest interest in conversation. The atmosphere felt faintly strange.

In previous years, the martial academy trial would always spark heated debate among the instructors. Whose student performed excellently, whose student would take first place... By the end of those discussions, it wasn’t uncommon for instructors to exchange blows.

However, no one wanted to bring it up this year, simply because of Gu Han. He Zhong wasn’t even worth mentioning. Even Jiang Hong, hailed as Great Qi’s number one genius, couldn’t hold out for long against him. What was the point of discussing who could take first place?

Everyone secretly shook their heads as they watched Mei Yun pacing back and forth in the distance. Could it be that The Jinx has really started to have a stroke of luck?

However, Mei Yun wasn’t as happy as everyone imagined.

He sighed for the twenty-seventh time today. “Please don’t act recklessly! How could the two of you possibly deal with Yu Hua?”

Just then, Han Fu seemed to see something. He stood up abruptly while frowning deeply. Among the instructors, his cultivation level was the highest, so he was naturally the first to notice something unusual.

From within the trial grounds, a figure stumbled out, but the distance was too far to make out their features.

Han Fu’s heart skipped a beat. “This is bad... Something has happened.”

Everyone stood up at once, their expressions grave.

Mei Yun also panicked and blurted out, “Huh? What’s wrong?! It can’t be the demonic beasts rioting again, can it?”

The atmosphere froze for a moment, before everyone’s gaze landed on him.

Upon feeling everyone’s murderous gazes, Mei Yun swallowed hard. “I... I was just joking—”

Before he could finish, his expression changed dramatically, and the ground began to tremble slightly.

Everyone looked at each other. It can’t be...

“It’s nothing, nothing!”

“Right, it might be something else...”

“Surely we’re overthinking it. How could such a coincidence happen?”

Just as they were comforting each other, one roar rang after another from the extreme depths of the Wild Forest.

Everyone’s hearts turned icy cold. It’s over... The demonic beasts are actually rioting!