Stronger by Killing

Chapter 421: Chapter 286: Battle of Destiny (Double-Length Chapter, 12,000 Words)

Yuan Zhixiang squinted his eyes, slowly extended his hand, and the long sword flew into his grasp. Looking at Gu Zhan, he said coldly, "Gang Leader Gu, what is the meaning of this? Raising a clamor for battle upon meeting—have you truly fallen into the Demon Dao?"

At that moment,

amidst the torrential rain, a figure suddenly flashed by at incredible speed, as if tearing through space, appearing directly behind Gu Zhan, lifting the grievously wounded Qi Baiyu. Then, with another stride, the figure crossed dozens of feet away from Gu Zhan, reappearing beside Yuan Zhixiang.

Gu Zhan looked at the person who appeared suddenly and slowly said, "You are Nie Ghost God of equal rank."

Nie Ghost God placed Qi Baiyu on the ground, quickly channeled a stream of True Essence into him, and fed him an elixir. He then stood up and cupped his hands towards Gu Zhan, saying, "Nie Ghost God of Sword King City, at your service, Gang Leader Gu."

Gu Zhan rested Horizontal Saber on the ground and said plainly, "Just the two of you, anyone else?"

Yuan Zhixiang gently wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said, "Gang Leader Gu, as the Righteous Martial Dao, you have wantonly slaughtered fellow practitioners and annihilated the Danyang Sect. Sword King City, as part of the Righteous Dao Alliance, cannot turn a blind eye to this. I dare to replace the Righteous Martial Dao and demand an explanation from you!"

Gu Zhan chuckled and said, "I thought you were going to ask about the Rain Summoning Technique!"

Yuan Zhixiang’s face changed suddenly as he lifted Qi Baiyu and threw him to Nie Ghost God, saying in a deep voice, "Go!"

Nie Ghost God was stunned for a moment but quickly came to his senses,

Gu Zhan intends to tear off the facade,

They already knew that the person who rescued Sword One and Nangong Weiyang in Great Desert City was Gu Zhan, yet now they appear but do not mention the Great Desert City because they never planned to fight Gu Zhan to the death.

Gu Zhan, who can use the Rain Summoning Technique, is practically without flaw,

Even if it’s two against one now, it’s questionable if they can gain much advantage, so they let Yuan Zhixiang appear first to probe Gu Zhan’s true strength.

After taking two punches from Gu Zhan, Yuan Zhixiang had a sense of Gu Zhan’s strength, realizing it was mostly intact and certainly not weak.

They had also seen,

The combination of the Rain Summoning Technique and Water Manipulation Skill made Gu Zhan practically limitless, akin to a strengthened version of Mo Jingzhou.

So they retreated to a secondary plan, deciding to rescue Qi Baiyu rather than kill Gu Zhan.

Hence,

They only mentioned the massacre at Danyang Mountain.

No one would truly scrutinize a destroyed sect too much; they merely wanted this condition to retrieve Qi Baiyu.

A straightforward trade,

Yuan Zhixiang demanded an explanation for the fall of Danyang Mountain so Gu Zhan could find a justifiable reason, and Sword King City would testify for him,

Thus, the massacre of the various sects of Lu Yuan Dao by Gu Zhan could stand righteous in the Martial World. At that point, they would leave some matters unspoken. Yuan Zhixiang would then request, with some dignified reason, such as not wanting the Righteous Dao’s prodigy to fall, to take Qi Baiyu away.

Gu Zhan would gain a reputation for being magnanimous by letting Qi Baiyu go, earning the name of a hero, and everyone would part ways, concluding the matter.

However,

Neither Yuan Zhixiang nor Nie Ghost God anticipated Gu Zhan would voluntarily provoke the Great Desert City affair.

One must know, now Sword One and Nangong Weiyang are universally condemned, recognized as Demon Dao; any involvement with them becomes an enemy of the Martial Arts community.

Gu Zhan made it clear under such circumstances,

signifying a fight to the death.

...

Nie Ghost God, realizing what was happening, immediately grabbed the severely injured Qi Baiyu and was ready to leave.

Yet, in that instant,

a poignant sword whistle suddenly pierced through the night,

A blood-red sword shot through the air towards Nie Ghost God’s face, blocking his path.

Nie Ghost God hurriedly swung his sword to block,

With a resonant clang,

The blood-red long sword flew back, disappearing into the night, but only for a moment, as it returned alongside a person.

"Sword One!" Nie Ghost God’s face stiffened.

Yuan Zhixiang also looked terribly at Gu Zhan in that moment, saying in a deep voice, "Gu Zhan, have you thought this through? Some matters cannot be brought to light. Are you sure you are ready to explain this to the Martial World?"

Gu Zhan suddenly swung his saber, directly attacking Yuan Zhixiang, saying coldly, "I’ve been through the Martial World; who do I need to explain to?"

Before he finished speaking,

Gu Zhan’s saber was already before Yuan Zhixiang.

"I will hold off Gu Zhan; you take Qi Baiyu and go!"

Yuan Zhixiang shouted, slashing with his long sword, unleashing a potent sword light that could pierce the heavens and earth, piercing the sky, extending over the entire Danyang Mountain!

Nie Ghost God hesitated not a bit and immediately struck towards Sword One before taking Qi Baiyu and fleeing, covering hundreds of feet in a blink,

From the moment Sword One appeared,

Nie Ghost God knew there was no hope for a peaceful resolution today,

Previously, when Gu Zhan single-handedly attacked Danyang Mountain, Nie Ghost God and Yuan Zhixiang were puzzled. It has been said since ancient times that a gentleman does not stand under a precarious wall, yet Gang Leader Gu boldly came alone to challenge Lu Yuan Dao.

They thought at the time that Gu Zhan was indeed unwise,

But then, they thought it was good; Gu Zhan himself created the opportunity for them.

However, when Gu Zhan fought Qi Baiyu,

They then realized,

Gu Zhan was daring because he possessed the Rain Summoning Technique,

Gu Zhan was already in an undefeatable position upon arriving at Danyang Mountain.

And when Sword One appeared,

They understood,

Gu Zhan was playing for a guaranteed victory from the start.

With Sword One lurking in the shadows,

Even if Qi Baiyu appeared at the outset, joining with Lu Yuan Dao’s groups to besiege Gu Zhan, it was unlikely they could trap Gu Zhan unless both of them intervened at that time.

But Gu Zhan was here to deal with Lu Yuan Dao,

Not Sword King City, nor could he have considered Sword King City in his plans, just as they hadn’t anticipated this becoming a two-versus-two affair.

However, it was now too late to consider why today’s battle turned out this way, nor did they have time to think about which part of the plan went awry.

...

Nie Ghost God dueling Sword One as he fled with Qi Baiyu was unsettling; though he was said to be of equal measure, he knew full well the terror of Sword One, a product of Sword King City, being part of the city’s leadership.

At the Fifth Realm, Sword One was assigned to challenge Qin Hongyi, a legendary Sword Fool of an era, at the Celestial Mountain Dao Pavilion because Sword One could already rival a Supreme Grandmaster.

And during his time at Sword King City,

Nie Ghost God had sparred with Sword One,

Understanding the frightening prowess of this young martial uncle on the Sword Dao,

And now, having broken through to Grandmaster status, Sword One’s power was undoubtedly manifold stronger.

So,

Facing Sword One, Nie Ghost God had no intent to decide a winner. Winning or losing held no significance; what mattered was taking Qi Baiyu away, after which Yuan Zhixiang could find an opportunity to escape.

The longer they tarried, the worse it would be for them,

Especially for Yuan Zhixiang, facing someone who had already overcome the Supreme Grandmaster, Qi Baiyu.

However, while aware of Sword One’s strengths, Nie Ghost God also knew his weaknesses, particularly his lack of depth in Qinggong.

Defeating Sword One was difficult,

But determined to escape, Nie Ghost God was quite adept.

He knew full well Yuan Zhixiang was no match for Gu Zhan, but as long as he escorted Qi Baiyu away, Yuan Zhixiang would not entangle himself with Gu Zhan and would find an opportunity to flee.

Yet, as Nie Ghost God focused solely on escaping with Qi Baiyu,

He hadn’t noticed that,

The eyes of Qi Baiyu, whom he was carrying, had somehow cleared, the blood mist that enveloped them gradually dissipating!