Chapter 402 - 399: Killing You Xin
Chapter 402: Chapter 399: Killing You Xin
Fang Han quickly scrambled up from the ground. You Xin, however, remained sprawled out, not getting up right away.
In the distance, the dozen or so Qingxuan Sect disciples watched this scene, undisguised joy flashing in their eyes.
"You Xin’s down!"
"Did Senior Brother Fang win?"
Someone couldn’t help but whisper in amazement, their voice filled with irrepressible excitement.
But in the next moment—
You Xin’s figure on the ground stirred.
He slowly pushed himself up, rising from the pool of blood.
His movements were slow and difficult. Each one tugged at the wounds covering his body, drawing a muffled groan from him.
But eventually, he stood up.
His once-handsome face was now pale as paper, a trail of fresh blood at the corner of his mouth.
His dark, silver-patterned black robe was soaked through with blood, clinging tightly to his body.
He stood there, swaying slightly, as if he could collapse again at any moment.
But his narrow eyes remained locked on Fang Han.
His gaze held indignation, fury, and a hint of... desperate resolve.
Then, an eerie aura began to surge from him.
’Is he using a Secret Technique?’
Fang Han’s pupils constricted.
He immediately sensed an eerie aura surging within You Xin’s body.
A Secret Technique.
You Xin was activating some kind of Secret Technique, most likely one meant for escaping.
He couldn’t possibly let You Xin succeed.
SWOOSH!
He instantly pushed his Wind and Cloud Escape to the limit, his body transforming into a streak of pale green light as he shot toward You Xin.
He crossed the ten-zhang distance in an instant.
The Cloud Splitting Sword became a condensed, brilliant green light, thrusting straight for You Xin’s heart.
However—
Just as the tip of the sword was about to touch You Xin’s chest, a blinding, spectral light erupted from his narrow eyes.
BOOM—!
An unbelievably violent aura erupted from within You Xin’s body.
The aura was far more powerful than it had been at any point before.
CLANG—!
A sharp claw met Fang Han’s thrusting sword, and he felt an immense, irresistible force slam into him.
His forward momentum was brought to a dead halt, and the impact sent him flying back several zhang.
He steadied himself and looked up.
You Xin stood in place, the aura around him skyrocketing wildly.
The spectral light in his narrow eyes flickered, as if two will-o’-the-wisps were burning inside.
His previously fading aura now flared up like an ignited pyre, swelling at an astonishing rate.
His aura quickly surpassed the Late-Stage Fourth Grade Limit and entered the Third Grade level.
’Is it a... combat-enhancing Secret Technique?’
Fang Han’s pupils constricted slightly.
He had thought You Xin would use an Escape Secret Technique, just like Duan Wuya had, burning his Essence to make a desperate escape.
But he never expected—
You Xin didn’t flee.
The top disciple of the Netherworld Pavilion, sixth on the Celestial Pride List, made a choice that defied his expectations. He actually used a Secret Technique to continue the deathmatch.
"Surprised?"
You Xin spoke, his voice hoarse and deep, yet tinged with an uncontrollable madness.
"I, You Xin, have never fled before, and I will not flee now!"
He raised his right hand. A dark light swirled over his jet-black claws, seeming to devour all light.
"Today, only one of us is leaving here alive."
Before his voice had even faded, he moved.
His speed had more than doubled.
His pitch-black figure was like a dark bolt of lightning tearing through the air, appearing before Fang Han in an instant.
He lashed out with his right claw in a simple strike.
Yet the power of this strike far surpassed any of his previous attacks.
Where the claw’s light passed, the air itself seemed to corrode with a SIZZLING sound, and even the light was seemingly devoured.
Fang Han’s expression changed drastically. With no time to think, he brought the Cloud Splitting Sword up horizontally, his Inner Qi surging as he met the blow head-on.
CLANG—!!!
A deafening clash of metal rang out.
Fang Han felt an immense, irresistible force travel up the blade, and his entire arm went instantly numb.
He was sent sliding back several zhang, his feet carving two deep furrows in the ground.
His blood roiled in his chest and a sweet taste rose in his throat. He nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
Before he could steady himself, You Xin’s second strike arrived.
This strike was faster and more vicious, aimed straight for Fang Han’s throat.
Fang Han pushed his Wind and Cloud Escape to its limits, his body like a willow catkin in the wind, dodging to the side by a hair’s breadth.
The claw’s light grazed his neck, and the fierce gust of wind it created stung his skin.
He countered with a backhand slash, the sword’s light aimed at You Xin’s midsection.
But You Xin was too fast.
His figure flickered as he dodged the sword and swept out with his left claw.
CLANG—!
Fang Han hurriedly brought his sword up to block the claw but was once again thrown back by the force.
This time, he stumbled back more than ten steps before he managed to regain his footing.
He looked down to see his sword arm trembling slightly, the webbing between his thumb and forefinger torn open.
"Senior Brother Fang!"
A cry of alarm came from the distance. It was Shen Qing’s voice.
The dozen or so Qingxuan Sect disciples were all deathly pale, their eyes filled with undisguised horror and worry.
They could see it clearly.
Fang Han was at a disadvantage.
After using some sort of Secret Technique, You Xin’s Cultivation had skyrocketed to the Third Grade level.
Though Fang Han was powerful, he was clearly struggling against such an opponent.
"What do we do?"
One of the disciples asked Shen Qing anxiously.
Shen Qing gritted his teeth, staring intently at the battlefield, unable to speak.
’What could I do?’
In a clash of that magnitude, with their meager strength, rushing in would be suicide. They weren’t even qualified to serve as cannon fodder.
The only thing they could do was stand there and watch helplessly.
Watching Fang Han struggle to hold on under You Xin’s relentless, stormy onslaught.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG—!!
The sound of metal clashing rang out in a rapid-fire succession, like popping beans.
You Xin’s assault was relentless, each wave of attacks stronger than the last.
Not only was his speed astonishing, but each strike carried enough terrifying power to grievously wound a Third Grade Martial Artist.
Fang Han pushed his Wind and Cloud Escape to the absolute limit, his figure flickering erratically as he weaved and dodged through a sky filled with claw shadows.
But the power behind the attacks was too immense. Some were simply unavoidable and found their mark.
SHLICK—!
A claw strike swept across his back, tearing his green robe and revealing the Silver Soft Armor beneath.
Hidden Force penetrated the Silver Soft Armor, leaving a deep, bloody gash on his back.
The power behind this strike was far greater than before.
If not for the formidable physical defense granted by his Entry Level Xuanwu True Skill, that single strike would have been enough to grievously wound him.
SHLICK—!
Another claw strike slashed across his left arm, leaving a gruesome wound where the skin and flesh were peeled back.
Blood gushed out, instantly dyeing half his sleeve red.
Fang Han grunted in pain but didn’t break stride, continuing to dodge You Xin’s attacks.
He lashed out with the Cloud Splitting Sword from time to time, attempting to counterattack.
But You Xin was now far too powerful. His counterattacks either missed their mark or were easily parried.
"Let’s see how long you can last,"
You Xin sneered, his assault growing even more ferocious.
"..."
Fang Han responded calmly, pushing his Wind and Cloud Escape to its absolute limit.
His figure flickered rapidly across the ravaged battlefield, sometimes darting forward, sometimes stopping abruptly, at times leaving a trail of afterimages in a tiny patch of space.
Even so, he continued to accumulate wounds.
His left shoulder, his right arm, his side, his back—
His green robe was soaked through with blood, clinging tightly to his body.
But his eyes remained serene.
His eyes were locked on You Xin, showing no anger, no fear—only an extreme, unnerving calm.
’Secret Techniques often come at the cost of devastating the user’s body.’
’A Secret Technique that boosts one’s combat power so dramatically in such a short time must put an incredible strain on the body.’
’You Xin is powerful right now, but he can’t possibly maintain this for long.’
’I just have to survive this period. Once the Secret Technique wears off—’
’—that will be my time to counterattack.’
CLANG—!
Another violent collision.
Fang Han was thrown back several zhang, blood trickling from his mouth.
But a very faint glint flashed in his eyes.
’You Xin’s assault is still ferocious, but its rhythm... ’
’...is no longer as fluid as it was at the start.’
’Almost there.’
Fang Han thought.
He took a deep breath. The Inner Qi of his Profound Wind Technique surged as he held the Cloud Splitting Sword before him, continuing to meet You Xin’s stormy assault.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG—
You Xin’s assault grew ever more ferocious, as if he intended to completely crush Fang Han in these final moments.
But Fang Han’s defense only grew steadier.
He pushed his Wind and Cloud Escape to the limit, weaving through the flurry of claw strikes, bracing for the impact of those he couldn’t dodge.
The number of wounds on his body continued to increase.
But his eyes remained as calm as still water.
Finally—
You Xin’s assault suddenly faltered.
The spectral light in his narrow eyes flickered wildly, then, like a guttering candle in the wind, rapidly dimmed.
The berserk aura around him receded as quickly as a falling tide.
His power dropped from Third Grade back to the Late-Stage Fourth Grade Limit, but it didn’t stop there. It continued to plummet until it finally settled at the Middle Stage of Fourth Grade.
You Xin’s face instantly became as pale as paper.
He staggered back several steps, nearly losing his balance as he gasped for breath.
The Secret Technique had worn off.
His meridians screamed as if pierced by needles, his Inner Qi was nearly depleted, and an indescribable exhaustion washed over his entire body.
His combat power was now even lower than before he had used the Secret Technique.
Fang Han did not miss this opportunity.
SWOOSH—!
In a flash of green, Fang Han appeared before You Xin.
The Cloud Splitting Sword became an incredibly concentrated beam of green light, thrusting straight for You Xin’s heart.
The sword strike was neither fast nor slow, neither hard nor soft.
It was just a simple thrust.
But at this moment, You Xin no longer had the strength to even dodge.
He could only watch helplessly as the sword light grew closer, and closer—
PFFT—!
The tip of the sword pierced You Xin’s heart, punching through the Soft Armor and leaving a bloody hole in his chest.
You Xin’s body stiffened violently.
The light in his narrow eyes faded rapidly.
He opened his mouth, uttering a few muffled syllables, but it was impossible to tell what he was trying to say.
The next moment, he collapsed limply to the ground.
THUD.
His body hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Fang Han slowly withdrew his longsword and stood in place.
He looked down, coldly regarding the now-lifeless body at his feet.
You Xin, sixth on the Celestial Pride List and top disciple of the Netherworld Pavilion—
—was dead.
Even he hadn’t expected that the sixth-ranked prodigy on the Celestial Pride List, the top disciple of the Netherworld Pavilion, would die by his sword.
It was only because You Xin had chosen to fight to the death instead of using a Secret Technique to escape.
Otherwise, with his strength, just defeating You Xin had been a major struggle. Killing him would have been almost impossible.