Nightfall

It was humiliation. An undisguised humiliation.

There could be various types of humiliation. With words, it was the most common and mildest type. It would have meant nothing for an experienced cultivator, but not for Hengmu Liren. He was physically strong but not psychologically strong enough.

A powerful psyche was a state of spirit that could only be tempered through time and countless fights. To acquire a well-illuminated Taoist Heart, it required the same process. But for Hengmu Liren, it had happened too fast. Because of a spring rain he changed from a manservant of the Revelation Institute into the most powerful young cultivator in the Divine Halls of West-Hill. There was clearly something missing in his cultivation path. Therefore when he heard Liu Yiqing’s words, he was enraged. His hand that was holding the hilt started trembling.

The white cloth on Liu Yiqing’s eyes shivered in the night breeze. He sensed the trembling of Hengmu Liren’s hand and smiled slightly with pity.

Hengmu Liren said with a chilling voice, “You find me pitiable?”

Liu Yiqing shook his head and said, “I found you pathetic.”

Hengmu Liren said, “How dare you!”

Liu Yiqing answered, “You are pathetic because you couldn’t get what you want.”

Hengmu Liren asked, “Do you know what I want?”

Liu Yiqing said, “Whatever you want, you are not getting it tonight.”

Hengmu Liren pondered for a while and calmed down. He knew that the fight tonight was a trial or a honing process the Divine Halls prepared for him. He should learn to be a real powerful cultivator through the fight.

Externally, he should be able to shake the Heaven and Earth and turn the tides, while internally he should always be calm and introverted even if Peach Mountain were to collapse in front of him. That was what a truly powerful cultivator should be like, and only in that way could he make a long journey in the cultivation world.

Liu Yiqing wanted to enrage him, so he must not be enraged. It was because anger would affect his judgment and it would lead to failure. However, Liu Yiqing already made his first strike elsewhere and was seriously wounded by him. There was no way he could change the result of the fight. Then why was he trying to infuriate Hengmu at this point?

Hengmu Liren was satisfied by his reasoning. He was pleased that he could calm down and think it through during such a fight. He stared at Liu Yiqing’s pale face in front of his slasher and mocked, You probably have other hidden tricks, or maybe you are simply seeking for death. Either way, you are trying in vain.

Ever since the beginning, Liu Yiqing seemed to be seeking for death. Ever since he had reached the State of Knowing Destiny, Hengmu Liren acquired a different understanding of death. He realized that for many cultivators, death was less painful than living. Therefore he would not allow Liu Yiqing to die.

Or simply because he was still angry.

Hengmu Liren did not care about whether Liu Yiqing could continue fighting or have other hidden tricks. He was learning to become a truly powerful cultivator. While his cultivation and confidence had reached the highest level, he did not think that anyone in Haotian’s world could ever defeat him. Sometimes when he was looking at the disabled Abbey Dean sitting in the wheelchair on the plateau, he wanted to push him off the cliff. How could he care about someone like Liu Yiqing?

Come on. Show me your tricks.

Hengmu Liren still looked pale, while Haotian’s Divine Flame continued to burn his body. His slim slasher was no longer trembling or chilling. It glowed with a warm and blazing light, pierced through air in the remaining distance, and stabbed toward Liu Yiqing’s eyebrows.

Liu Yiqing was sitting with his legs crossed in the sedan. He did not dodge because his legs were cut off and blood was spurting. Actually he never thought of dodging but simply made another strike with his sword. But how could he strike with the sword that had fallen on the ground together with his broken right hand?

He used his left hand to get hold of the broken right hand, and … pushed the hand forward. Thus, he pushed the sword forward. It looked weird yet familiar to the people around the imperial city.

Many years ago in front the Verdant Canyon someone did the same thing. It was Jun Mo. And the person he attacked was Liu Bai, the Sage of Sword. Liu Yiqing was present in the wilderness at that time. He saw the strike and remembered it.

The Sword Garret was the fastest in swordsmanship. He applied Mr. Second’s way of swordsmanship together with the sword intent of Sword Garret, and made it unbelievably fast. It was like a bolt in the darkness.

Liu Yiqing’s sword was launched later but arrived first. Hengmu Liren’s blade had only made a tiny distance before Liu Yiqing’s sword in his right hand held by his left hand came to his chest.

Upon a slight puff, the tip of the sword pierced into Hengmu Liren’s chest. The tip of the sword was pushed half an inch into his chest and blood was about to gush out.

People around the imperial city was yet able to react.

The puff sound remained in the space between the two of them.

The blood had not gushed out from the point where the tip of the sword pierced through because it happened way too fast.

Liu Yiqing’s first strike was dominating, resolute, and it chopped through the city wall. His second strike was so fast that no one was able to react. But the pain spread faster than the sound.

Hengmu Liren looked paler. He clearly felt the chilling blade piercing into his chest and the pain with a slight smell of blood. Yes, the pain smelled blood.

But he was not panicking or scared. On the contrary, he felt pleased because Liu Yiqing’s second strike seemed more powerful than his first one. And that was the respect he had longed for.

He got excited and his eyes became particularly bright. They seemed like burning stars that were pressing onto the ground and about to set fire to the grassland.

Liu Yiqing’s sword could no longer be pushed forward because the sword had reached Hengmu Liren’s blood. The blood was burning in Haotian’s Divine Flame. Blue smoke appeared while sizzling sounds were heard.

The sword pierced into a divine body and was stained by divine blood which burned into invisible ashes inch by inch.

The slim slasher in Hengmu Liren’s hand bloomed like a golden flower of Divine Flame. Meanwhile, the twelve slim slashers behind him also bloomed like golden flowers. The burning Divine Flame was the charming flower. He stood in the flower and pushed his slasher one inch further.

A bout of unimaginably and indescribably strong psyche power came to the sedan.

Is it Haotian’s will? Liu Yiqing thought and smiled slightly. Under the glory of Haotian’s Divine Flame his smile seemed to be a complex of mockery and self-mockery.

His left hand was holding his right hand. And his right hand was holding the burned sword. The sword was burned by the Divine Flame into ashes, like a powerless candle. And his broken right hand was burned to the bones. The white bones were darkened and sharpened in the flame.

Liu Yiqing raised his hand and the burned dark finger bones floated to in front of Hengmu Liren eyes like a sword.

Normally a sword would not float. Only the lightest object would. But Liu Yiqing’s last strike with his sword-like finger bones did float.

While he swayed his sword, willows along the moat around the imperial city swung in the night breeze. The tip of the willows touched and rippled the water. The white cloth on Liu Yiqing’s face drifted away and wiped off Haotian’s Divine Flame on the slasher.

Hengmu Liren became solemn for the first time. Liu Yiqing’s strike was intangible like the breeze. He was indeed the most powerful in the Sword Garret. Hengmu Liren became solemn and then excited.

Liu Yiqing was too seriously wounded to recover and could never defeat him tonight. But this strike was a serious test for him. He wanted to beat this strike perfectly and leave him in anguish and humiliation.

Hengmu Liren shouted out while countless bouts of flaming white lights spurted from between his hands. The blade of his slasher carried the magnificent will and darted forward.

If your sword could float like breeze, I will chop the breeze! Confronting the breeze, he chopped it.

…

…

It was all silent.

The breeze was chopped silently.

Countless willows by the moat were chopped and fell into the water, drifting like duckweed.

The white cloth on Liu Yiqing’s eyes were chopped and fell down. It stopped in front of his chest because there was a sword in his chest. His right hand was sword-like. Blood gushed from the wound. There were bloody wounds all over his body. Most of them were made by Hengmu Liren.

But the final fatal one was caused by his own sword.

“Why?” Hengmu Liren looked pale and asked him, “Why wasn’t your last strike against me?”

Liu Yiqing answered, “I told you. You are not worthy of it.” He coughed blood while he spoke and he smiled. That was a smile of mockery. A pitying smile.

Hengmu Liren shouted with anger, “Why am I not worthy of it?!”

Liu Yiqing said, “There’s no need for me to repeat.”

Hengmu Liren became quiet.

Liu Yiqing said with a smile, “Isn’t it upsetting to not to be able to kill me tonight?”

There were many powerful cultivators from West-Hill tonight. Liu Yiqing came by himself and knew clearly there was no escape. But he still came. It was because there had to be someone from the South Jin to declare their stand.

He knew that the Divine Halls of West-Hill wanted to showcase the power of Taoism on this stage in front of the imperial city of South Jin. He came to stage to be play a leading role.

He killed the emperor of South Jin and then himself. Therefore, no one else could ever kill him. Hengmu Liren could do nothing on such a stage. How could he be qualified to be a hero?

He, Liu yiqing, was the one bound to be remembered in history. Therefore he should claim all the glory on the stage at the last moment of his life. That was his last strike to the Divine Halls of West-Hill.

Hengmu Liren seemed desolate.

It should have been his first fight to become a powerful cultivator tonight. But he did not know that the end of the story had already been planned without him.

At that moment, he realized why the Abbey Dean said that before he left the Peach Mountain, and why the Abbey Dean had sent that person in the darkness to follow him.

It was indeed a tough journey to become powerful. And he was not ready to reconcile.