The inscription of the scarlet dragon on the blade of the taijijian was of course the scarlet dragon that was haunted by the young girl and the Sanctum.
Ever since having been coerced by a mysterious figure to continue its employment as the Envoy of the Gate of Death, the mythical creature had harbored a substantial amount of resentment towards the young girl who was its owner, as well as its master.
Before, she was slightly airheaded and lousy at whatever she did, requiring the envoys to come forth and settle any of the aftermath’s disputes.
However, back then, she was excruciatingly loveable with her pure and innocent soul that warmed the hearts of even the coldest immortals of the Realm.
Now, it stared at the husk of a soul, one that was tainted by the corruption of the mortal world and some other corrosive force entirely. Seeing the previously charming and heartwarming soul become strife with chaos, despair, malice, and a corrosive desperation, the scarlet dragon didn’t know whether the emotion it felt at the base of its heart was regret or pity.
Sometimes, it regretted that it had followed that person’s commands at the crucial moment, instead of staying next to the young girl.
Sometimes, it wondered whether why the mysterious figure didn’t allow the young girl to escape her torment in the mortal worlds.
Sometimes, it wondered whether the Nephilim Lord was the better candidate for the position of envoy of the Gate of Death. After all, the latter would have never committed such mistakes.
…sometimes, it wondered why those figures had even allowed the series of events to occur in the first place.
But regret and wonder was to be separated by duty. Since An Fei’s soul – or what remained of it – blazed with a rampant desire to murder and utterly crush the people before her, the scarlet dragon was bound to its duty as the envoy of death.
As such, it would kill those humans before the young girl. Perhaps, it could vent a portion of its own regret and sorrows from back then.
–
“What is that!?”
“That practice sword is also a spiritual artefact? But what’s with the suppressive aura – capable of suppressing even my cultivation!?”
In the chamber housing the transference array, the taijijian grasped within the young girl’s hand blazed with a scarlet flame. The scarlet letters inscribed along the length of the blade howled as they challenged the fabric of the mortal world’s authority, singing an irresistible song of death.
As she grasped the slender sword, An Fei could feel some of the suppressive effect on her abilities loosen, and her physique’s capabilities surged to accommodate for the breathing space.
Though unable to display its full potential, her condition at this moment neared that of her abilities within the Sanctum.
Nothing could be done regarding the massive blot of damage imposed onto her abdominal region – at least not yet.
However, as the shackles on the young girl were slightly thrown off by the song of the scarlet dragon, the cultivators of the Hundred Clan Coalition found their capabilities, their martial arts techniques, and even their attainments in cultivation suppressed.
Those who were within the Core Formation Realm plummeted to the Spirit Building Realm regarding their combat abilities, and so forth. Every capability granted to a cultivator seemed to have been suppressed and unable to display its potential.
…what they just couldn’t understand the most was how a mortal girl could cause a spiritual artefact to display its capabilities beyond passive amplification. The Hundred Clan Coalition’s cultivators stood speechless, ignoring the painful rivulets of blood leaving their body.
Pa! Pa! Pa!
Yang Jian’s clapping caused those present to jolt back to their senses, and the cultivators’ hearts trembled with wariness and shame as they glared at the young girl.
The handsome man stepped forwards, and many noticed the peculiarity of the situation at that moment.
They were bleeding and heavily injured from the two waves of attacks, yet Yang Jian had not incurred a single scratch on his body whatsoever.
Moreover, the three men besides him similarly had not a single indicator of battle on their bodies and clothes.
“The Young Miss’ abilities are indeed powerful,” Yang Jian praised with a genial smile.
“I suppose… that would be another miraculous spiritual artefact owned by the Young Miss? Indeed, my curiosity simply cannot help but increase at this rate, hm…”
“I don’t see you injured or hurt anywhere – that’s rather interesting,” An Fei retorted with a grimace.
“Do your compatriots enjoy having an esteemed, honorable Yang loiter around as though a parasitic leech who only knows to reap benefits from behind?”
The various expressions of the cultivators changed at the young girl’s remark, but only incurred a slight smile from the handsome man.
Yang Jian gestured towards the aggrieved expressions of the Hundred Clan Coalition’s members with his hand, his aura nonchalant and disinterested.
“Naturally, Yang Jian will not leave them dissatisfied with the matter. However, I am certain that by having you expose more treasures, the Hundred Clan Coalition will be even more satisfied.”
With that, the twin butterfly knives were unsheathed and aimed directly towards the young girl’s heart. At the same time, a double-headed warhammer was grasped by Shen Haoren’s right hand, and Tang Yunhe exposed the lethal blade of the multicolored jian.
“Brother Yang… I really can’t do this.”
However, at that moment, Wen Jiu withdrew his hand from the handle of his sword.
“Brother Wen, what’s wrong?” Tang Yunhe snorted, his eyebrows narrowing towards the handsome man.
“Can’t draw your sword?”
“Yes, I can’t draw my sword!” Wen Jiu emphatically nodded.
“Brother Yang, back then, you told me that the swords were an artefact that your Master had uncovered for you. I felt exceedingly touched when you offered to share the benefits with us brothers – however, they turned out to be the personal weapons of a mortal girl robbed without any conscience…”
“This goes against my morals, my beliefs. I am a cultivator averse to inappropriate desire; I cannot turn my blade against someone whom I have inadvertently exploited and benefited from. My deepest apologies!”
Wen Jiu sighed as he walked away towards the exit of the corridor, his figure desolate and lonely. Watching his sworn brother displaying his disagreement through such action, Yang Jian frowned for a brief moment, before reclaiming his calm.
“Attack!”
A broadsword swung down from above, supported by a mountain’s force. From behind, the lethal shadow of a jian stabbed for An Fei’s nape, and a silver coin smashed for her heart from afront.
The cultivators held their breaths as they fervently observed the young girl for her actions.
Formerly the attackers, though it was sudden, they had morphed from the aggressors to bystanders not involved in the fight; as such, their perspectives on the battle had changed somewhat.
Noticing the three-pronged attack, An Fei wasn’t certain how she was to raise a counterattack. With the limited time pressing on her heels, the young girl did what she thought worked best.
She leapt into the air, the taijijian stabbing forth to act as an imaginary pivot as she wrestled with her body’s weight. Shifting her momentum in a semicircular arc towards the right, An Fei’s foot unexpectedly landed against the top of Yang Jian’s broadsword.
Clang!
Then, before the astonished gazes of the Hundred Clan Coalition, the young girl suddenly accelerated in speed as her body reversed its rotational direction. The taijijian emitting the scarlet light of bloodthirst directly chopped at the bottom of the broadsword, wrenching the broadsword out of Yang Jian’s grasp and hurtling through the air.
The silver coin was smoothly dodged by An Fei as a result of the evasive and counterattacking movement, and Tang Yunhe’s stab towards the back nearly grazed the soles of her shoes.
She had effectively neutralized the first wave of a combination attack by Yang Jian, Shen Haoren, and Tang Yunhe, but what awaited her when her feet contacted the ground was a fist brimming with golden light and scarlet flames.
It was Yang Jian’s specialized martial arts technique, <Three Points of Yang>.
The technique was to breach any defenses via the flame shroud covering his fist in a protective layer through self-destructive expansion. By providing a constant stream of Yang-attributed spiritual essence circulated through his Governing and Conception meridians, Yang Jian could employ this technique to sear a hole in his opponent’s defenses.
Afterwards, he would then initiate a secondary strike covered by pure Yang-attributed spiritual essence onto the exposed vital regions of the enemy’s body.
Yang Jian had refined the intricacies of the technique to fully maximize its potential while minimizing the risks imposed onto himself, alas…
“I missed!?”
Why was the young girl so f*cking hard to hit with anything!? Wait –
“O-o-o-oh, my waist, my waist!!!!!“
The honorable and despicably righteous Yang Jian joined his fellow compatriots of the Hundred Clan Coalition in the unified, agonized cry of injustice.
At the same time, the young girl suppressed a curse as she retracted a dainty and delicate fist, purple welts arising at the first set of knuckles.
Why weren’t these people feeling anything?
The fist was infused with her spiritual essence – but how come she was the only one feeling pain!?
