Free Web NovelChapter 39: Chapter 39: Surround and Kill
Southern Cang City, morning.
The scorching sun hung high in the sky, its light beating down on the hill and making Su Xing’s eyes ache.
He narrowed his eyes, gripped the Black Sword tightly in his right hand, and swung it back in a wide arc with a WHOOSH that tore through the air.
He held the Black Sword horizontally at his side. The phantom "White Blade" flickering along its length glinted gold under the sun’s rays.
Su Xing stepped forward with his left foot, twisted his hips, and spun. His right arm shot out, and the Black Sword thrust forward, letting out a BUZZ as it sliced through the air.
BOOM!
The sound of a collapsing mountain suddenly erupted. The cliff face Su Xing had struck began to issue a series of loud CRACKS.
Crack after crack spread out from the point of impact. The entire mountainside seemed to be collapsing as it abruptly split in two.
The top half of the mountain toppled backward, falling dozens of meters before smashing into the wasteland below. It shattered on impact, kicking up a vast cloud of dust and scattering rubble everywhere.
Su Xing stared in astonishment at the result of his attack. He hadn’t expected the White Blade to be so devastatingly powerful.
’One strike flattened an entire mountaintop... Is this still the same "Pierce" that could only leave a large crater in a cliff face before?!’
Su Xing calmed his racing heart. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Then, he gave the Black Sword a fancy flourish.
In the middle of the flourish, the Black Sword abruptly dissipated into motes of dark light, surprisingly distinct under the bright sun. The White Blade surrounding it faded away just as quickly.
Su Xing was once again empty-handed, but he couldn’t suppress the smile that spread across his face.
The power of the White Blade was simply staggering.
It confirmed for Su Xing just how immense his latest power-up had been.
Beyond the upgrade to "White Blade," Su Xing had also figured out the advancement principle of the Sword Saint System: it improved and evolved Sword Techniques based on the user’s—Su Xing’s—own thoughts and intentions.
This meant that whenever Su Xing evolved a Sword Technique in the future,
he could correct any perceived flaws during its next evolution.
’The "Sword-Drawing Stance" breakthrough is complete. Time to decide which Sword Technique to prioritize next.’ With that thought, Su Xing opened his system panel and gazed thoughtfully at his list of class skills.
Currently, of his three fundamentals—Sword Techniques, Stances, and Breathing Rhythm—only his Sword Techniques had yet to reach Tier Three.
The next skill points would have to go to one of the two remaining Sword Techniques, "White Line Slash" or "Pierce," but deciding which one to prioritize gave Su Xing pause.
"White Line Slash"’s advantages were obvious: it was an area-of-effect attack with multiple hits and high damage.
In contrast, "Pierce" was more of a targeted, single-target ability. Its power was slightly greater than an area-of-effect "White Line Slash," but if all the ’white lines’ were concentrated on a single spot, "Pierce" would be slightly weaker. On top of that, "Pierce" also inflicted a "Grievous Wound" status.
Su Xing considered this carefully.
’As it stands now, "Pierce" is sufficient as a targeted Sword Technique.’
’On the other hand, "White Line Slash" has a higher ceiling. Purely in terms of damage potential, it’s clearly a cut above "Pierce." ’
Su Xing needed a Sword Technique powerful enough to make him utterly dominant among Tier Three practitioners, one that would even give him a fighting chance against a Tier Four Sequencer.
With that, Su Xing made up his mind.
He would make "White Line Slash" his top priority for the next upgrade. He could always invest in "Pierce" later if the need arose.
"Whew."
Having decided on his upgrade path, Su Xing let out a breath and prepared to leave.
Just then, the sound of fighting suddenly drifted up from the foot of the mountain. The clash of battle grew closer, clearly moving from somewhere else toward the base of the hill, and it even seemed like the fight might spill up the slope.
Su Xing looked toward the source of the noise and saw three figures locked in combat. Bursts of multicolored energy flared from their bodies, allowing him to immediately identify all three as Tier Three Peak Sequencers.
Two of them wore the white robes of the Spiritual Sect. The third was someone Su Xing recognized immediately: Liu Ming, the head of the special department in Southern Cang City.
Liu Ming was clearly being besieged by the two Spiritualist Priests.
’This is trouble...’
There was only one path down the mountain. With them fighting at its base, it would be impossible for him to get past without being noticed. Su Xing’s eyes narrowed, his killing intent flaring as he spoke aloud:
"Since I can’t avoid them, I’ll just help Liu Ming kill them all."
As he spoke, he made a gripping motion with his right hand. The Black Sword, which had just dissipated, re-formed in his palm, its edge glinting with a cold light.
...
Down at the foot of the mountain, the three-way battle was raging.
Liu Ming struggled to fend off the two Tier Three Peak opponents. He was often a step too slow, and another slash would carve a fresh wound into his body.
By now, Liu Ming was covered in wounds and his stamina was failing. If not for his truly formidable power, he would have been dead long ago.
This time,
Liu Ming had fallen right into the Spiritual Sect’s trap.
The special organization had first discovered traces of a Spiritualist Priest. After extensive investigation, they determined that the Spiritual Sect had only sent a single Priest. To play it safe, Liu Ming had hidden near the Sword Hall alone, planning to capture the Priest the moment he made a move.
But unexpectedly, the Spiritual Sect had a trick up their sleeve. They had sent a total of three Tier Three Peak Priests.
In the initial clash, Liu Ming had managed to kill one of them even while fighting one-on-three, but it had left him severely wounded. Now, facing the remaining two Priests, he was at his limit.
His forehead was beaded with sweat and his eyes betrayed his exhaustion, but Liu Ming gritted his teeth and focused on enduring the two Spiritualist Priests’ relentless assault. ’Just... just hold on until reinforcements arrive. Then this will all be over.’
So, Liu Ming suddenly called out, "Surrender now! Once my people get here, any resistance will be futile. You’ll have no way out."
His voice was weak and hoarse, a clear sign of how badly he was injured.
"Hahaha, Chief Liu, you have a strange sense of humor. Your special organization has killed so many members of our Spiritual Sect, and now you’re telling us to surrender?"
"Surrender my ass! We’ll worry about that ’dead end’ when your people actually get here! But... I’m afraid you won’t last that long, Chief Liu!"
The pale-faced Spiritualist Priest with the longsword gave a sinister cackle.
The other, a man whose hands were covered in blood-red claws, scowled and growled,
"Enough chit-chat. Let’s kill him quickly and get out of here!"
"Heh, you think I don’t know that!"
The pale-faced Spiritualist Priest roared hoarsely, "I am the Sword Priestess! Today, I will take your head, Chief Liu, as an offering for the Filth Ritual!"
