Hangfang's opponent did not move toward him in a series of clean flows, one stroke leading into the next, but all in one flash, and suddenly he was right before him, slash down the sword. However, just when the blade was about to touch Hangfang, he activated the Smoke Path and disappeared like mist. The sword sliced through empty air, and in the next moment, Hangfang reappeared, raising his still-gore-splattered arm to do battle.
Every movement sent pain radiating through his body. His arm, still unhealed, throbbed with agony and blood ran from his fingertips. His grip faltered slightly with each clash of their swords sending shockwaves through his nerves. That weakness was exploited by his opponent's relentless assault, compelling Hangfang to depend more on speed than raw strength. But his movements had to be perfect — hesitation, however slight, could invite death.
The Blood Queen, watching from the side, squinted. She had witnessed the shift in balance, the moment Hangfang's body failed him. Without warning, she moved. One step sent her spinning, her palm slamming into Yan Xiao's chest so hard that his sword flew from his hand. The blow knocked him backward, wheezing with a gasp as if the wind had been knocked out of him.
Then, with a simple motion, the Blood Queen used her ability. A deep red fluid, viscous and throbbing, coiled around Hangfang's wounded arm and closed the gash instantly. A pulse of life returned to him, the agony disappearing as his arm responded like anew. His fingers curled into a fist, the strength returned.
Unnerving laughter rang out on the battlefield.
Yan Xiao, his lips stained with blood, righted himself. His side roasted raw, his clothes in burnt tatters, yet his eyes shone with something primal. He stepped forward, relaxed but predatory. Then, with a flick of the wrist, his sword lit up. Flames burst up around him, crackling ravenously. His very blood ignited, a molten red flame, veins enveloped like rivers of lava coursing beneath his skin. The hellish light twisted around him, turning him into an abomination.
Hangfang narrowed his eyes. His instincts were screaming danger.
But he did not hesitate.
He used Blood Healing, his own ability. Droplets of his own blood, reflecting in the air, danced around him. They clung to his wounds, weaving flesh back together at an unnatural speed. His energy burst forth and his breath stabilized.
And then, in a single heartbeat, both fighters surged.
The ground beneath them shattered at their first clash. The power of their blows cracked jagged fissures in the battlefield, billowing clouds of debris and shards of stone flying through the air. They unleashed pure power that transformed the battlefield into a war zone, creating a miniature storm of destruction that made the other contestants protect themselves. The most steadfast and resolute among them all faltered at the knees under the weight of the energy unleashed.
With the aura of lightning around Yan Xiao, his speed was no longer something a human could match. He shined, materializing like an apparition and vanishing, each offensive stroke a deadly blur. Hangfang responded like the wind, his Smoke Path weaving him through the lethal torrent. Their swords struck in such rapidity that sparks fell as if the stars themselves had fallen, illuminating their battlefield in blinding strokes of light.
Then came the final strike.
Yan Xiao sprang into the air, spinning his sword so fast that space itself seemed to tremble. The energy around him warped with violence, shredding the ground below. His blade spun like the hand of a clock, each devastating revolution tearing apart life in its wake as if the resulting gust had woven cracks in the very fabric of reality, deep scars traversing the crust of the earth so powerful the mountains shattered. Unstable things crackled through the air, warping the fabric of reality.
Hangfang stood firm. He had no storied technique against it — no fabled move handed down through the centuries.
But he had something else.
Experience.
His body, shaped by years of training, responded with absolute precision. His previous life as a sword instructor informed his hand, his murderous instincts crystallizing into an edge that no technique could keep up with. His body contracted, muscles knotted like coils.
Then he moved.
When their swords clashed, shock waves rippled through the sky. Their impacts shook the battlefield, causing the air to resonate loudly. For one moment, it seemed Hangfang had lost.
But in that instant, he reversed the rotation of this blade.
By using the friction of their weapons grinding together, he deflected Yan Xiao's blow, redirecting its force away from his own body. Before Yan Xiao could respond, Hangfang's steel had already broken past his nut-soft guard, aimed directly at his throat.
Yan Xiao's eyes widened.
Instinct kicked in — he jerked back, narrowly evading the deadly blow. But in doing so, he laid himself fully bare.
Hangfang made good use of the opportunity.
A vicious kick landed on Yan Xiao's chest, sending him reeling. A second kick followed. Then another. Each blow thumbed home with bone-splintering force, shock waves radiating outward. Yan Xiao was blasted out of the balance, his body flying all cough on a thousand meters away, taking a tail flame to smash to the ground, a huge shock! The impact lodged him deep into a fractured piece of rock, his body frozen for a moment.
Hangfang did not linger. As soon as Yan Xiao's feet landed on the ground, he disappeared. He was still standing in the battlefield, but like a ghost.
The scene shifted.
Yan Xiao coughed, and his body was stuck in the cracks on the broken stone. His sight swam, blood running down his chin. The battle replayed, recalled the last moment, the last stroke. His hand balled weakly, the flavor of defeat bitter on his tongue.
Then, a voice whispered to him in his head.
"Oh… I see. Hangfang picked a worthy successor."
Yan Xiao's breath steadied. He wiped the blood from his lips, his face unreadable.
"Oh? So he's from that world too?"
His lips c
rolled into a slow, frightening smile.
Now this is going to be fun'
Follow me on telegram channel name novel nexus