Life-and-Death Duel

"Sword Gate, Hong Qing!" "Red Moon, Sun Hongxiu!" When martial masters sparred, pleasantries were few. After trading names and affiliations, Hong Qing drew her sword and lunged. As the blade thrust forward, mist swirled, and gravel churned across the ground, sweeping up a violent wave of stone. "Break!" With a low bark, Hongxiu drove her staff into the dirt. The ground trembled, a shudder rippling through the earth. Out of the haze, she brought her staff cleaving downward toward Hong Qing. The two women instantly shifted into full combat. There was little probing; with comparable realms and matching strength, everything hinged on experience and execution. Sword light flashed; the staff blurred. The clash was ferocious! All around them, Lunar Nether supers watched, dazzled and breathless. *** Over by the Night Watchers, Someone drew a sharp breath. "Impressive! Why do they feel so much stronger than the martial masters we've run into before?" Why? Because these were martial masters with authentic lineages, not half-baked dabblers. Whether in secret techniques or physical conditioning, they were at their absolute peak. Fighters like this bore no resemblance to the second-rate masters running corner martial halls, nor could their secret arts be learned just anywhere. In the arena, Hongxiu wielded her eyebrow-height staff in a defense tight enough to turn away driving rain, closing in swiftly on Hong Qing. An instant later, blade and staff slammed together in a flurry of clattering rings and exploding sparks. With two late Hundred-Breaker martial masters trading blows, the spectacle was immense. The ground Sun Yifei had cleared out was churned into a cratered mess within moments. Beyond the perimeter, A sudden gasp rose from the crowd. Hong Qing thrust her sword through the staff's guard, blade streaking straight toward Sun Hongxiu's throat. Sun Hongxiu's eyes chilled as her staff spun into a blur. Whirling like a meat grinder, the staff swept around Hong Qing's blade and right hand alike, aiming to mangle her wrist and fingers. It became clear that the opening she had exposed a heartbeat earlier was merely bait. The two women were fighting with savage cruelty. Many supers held their breath. Some even looked squeamish, as if dreading the sight of either woman being butchered. *** Among the Night Watchers, Liu Long, Wang Ming, and Liu Yan watched intently. Wang Ming stared without blinking, clearly thrilled. After a while, he glanced aside and saw that Liu Long and Liu Yan remained completely impassive. Surprised, he asked, "Aren't you two nervous at all?" Liu Long's face did not twitch. After a long pause, he muttered, "An opening exhibition. Just flashy." *What's that supposed to mean?* Confused, Wang Ming pressed, "It's already this brutal! Look, Hong Qing's arm was nearly ground to mince, and you call that just flashy?" From his vantage point, this clash showed off both the power of martial masters and the lethal danger of their confrontations. It was gripping! He turned to Liu Yan. "Captain Liu, what do you think?" Liu Long was a Thousand-Battler martial master, so it made sense that he looked down on this. But what about Liu Yan? Liu Yan glanced at him, hesitated, and said, "They're only sparring." Wang Ming chewed on her words. *Only sparring?* Did that mean Liu Yan also considered this dazzling, perilous-looking exhibition to be nothing special? After a long pause, Wang Ming said, "This is already the most fierce martial fight I've ever seen! Listen to that sword wail, that staff whistle, look at the flying stone and cracked earth... It looks lethal to me. Chief Liu, isn't this what a true martial master should look like?" Liu Long replied calmly, "You'll see soon enough." "Between Teacher Yuan and Sun Yifei?" "Not necessarily." Liu Long did not elaborate. Who said Li Hao couldn't deliver a true martial master's duel? Li Hao lacked extensive battle experience, but Liu Long had fought him countless times; Li Hao possessed the true martial master's temperament. If Sun Yifei's disciple was also a genuine martial master, then today, everyone might witness the most spectacular battle beneath the Thousand-Battler realm. *** In the arena, The clash dragged on, looking terrifyingly lethal. The surrounding supers gasped repeatedly, feeling as though someone could die at any second. *** Within the inner circle, Sun Yifei frowned slightly. Though they had agreed this would be a spar, it still left him dissatisfied. He glanced at Sun Moxian beside him and murmured, "What do you think?" Sun Moxian watched for a moment, then chuckled softly. "A solid showing. Junior Sister's foundation is firm." "And?" Sun Moxian fell silent. There was no 'and.' That was it. A decent fight with a solid foundation—what else was there to say? Seeing his silence, Sun Yifei smiled. Good! That was the proper assessment. Aside from looking decent and having a solid foundation, there was nothing noteworthy. Of course, Sun Hongxiu lacked Sun Moxian's experience and had rarely killed enemies; fighting to this level was already commendable. Against ordinary supers, she would have little trouble. After all, weren't the supers around them crying out in wonder? A trace of disdain flickered deep in Sun Yifei's eyes. He wasn't singling anyone out; all supers who didn't originate from martial arts were trash in his book! The fight went on, but Sun Yifei had lost interest, and so had Sun Moxian. Master and disciple turned their eyes across the field toward Yuan Shuo and Li Hao. *** At that exact moment, Li Hao and Yuan Shuo looked their way as well. Their gazes collided. Li Hao offered a shy smile and lowered his head. Yuan Shuo sneered openly, shooting Sun Yifei a provocative smirk. All four quickly withdrew their eyes. Yuan Shuo murmured, "That Sun Moxian is no soft target. A martial master's posture and eyes give away plenty! Don't mistake his junior sister's strength for his own." "Understood," Li Hao nodded. He wouldn't underestimate his opponent. He intended to fight him as if facing the captain—specifically, the captain in their final sparring match, when Liu Long had nearly beaten him to death. Before the battle, his goal was to condense sword momentum. But once the fight began, a martial master had only one goal: kill the enemy! Slay the foe; everything else could wait. As the pairs of masters and disciples exchanged quiet remarks, sharp battle cries rang across the clearing. A deafening crash followed. With two dull thuds, Hong Qing took a staff blow to the chest and flew backward, coughing blood before slamming hard onto the cracked ground. Sun Hongxiu didn't escape unscathed either. A thrust had pierced her arm, sending blood gushing out. Clasping her staff, she staggered back dozens of paces before finding her balance. She panted violently, but pride burned in her eyes. She had won! Though wounded, she had indeed triumphed; the eyebrow-height staff had overcome the Earth-Overturning Sword. "I lose!" Hong Qing spat out a mouthful of blood, visibly dejected. She held a reputable standing in today's Silver Moon martial arts world. She had challenged senior masters before, winning far more often than she lost, which had led her to believe she was exceptionally formidable along the martial path. Yet today, a disciple of the King of the Eyebrow-Height Staff of equal realm had defeated her in a spar. The blow was hard to swallow. In the distance, Hong Yitang said nothing. Winning was normal; losing was just as normal. The disciple of the King of the Eyebrow-Height Staff was naturally remarkable. While his Earth-Overturning Sword was formidable, the other man hadn't earned his fame on hollow boasts. A loss was just a loss; without having condensed momentum yet, the setback wasn't critical. Tasting defeat would do his daughter good by reminding her that there was always someone greater. "Brother Sun trains his disciples well. Hong admits defeat!" Hong Yitang offered courteously, waving to his daughter. Carrying her sword, Hong Qing walked back downcast. Passing by Li Hao, she suddenly murmured, "Don't you lose! Our Silver Moon martial arts world has already lost one round. If you lose again... it'll be humiliating!" With that, she walked off. She genuinely wanted Li Hao to win. Li Hao belonged to Silver Moon, whereas who knew where that Sun Moxian came from? He wasn't from Silver Moon, and his master had left decades ago. *** Li Hao was slightly baffled, but he didn't dwell on it. After a thought, he called out, "Um... could I borrow your sword for a bit?" He had just remembered he only had the Starry Sky Sword. With so many onlookers, its uncanny sharpness made it unsuitable to reveal. No one else carried a decent blade, but this woman's sword was extraordinary; Li Hao had watched her pierce solid rock earlier without leaving a nick on the steel. A fine sword! "The sword?" Hong Qing blinked. Wasn't he under the Five Animals King? The Five Animals King excelled in fist, palm, and claw arts, but certainly not swordsmanship! Even so, she handed the weapon over. For the glory of the Silver Moon martial arts world! Farther back, Hong Yitang frowned slightly, sighing inwardly. His daughter was too naive. That wasn't good. If Li Hao used that sword to defeat or kill Sun Moxian, it might invite needless trouble. Sun Yifei might not care, but Hong Yitang's habitual caution made him uneasy. He quickly masked it, however. The sword was already lent; taking it back now would offend Yuan Shuo before he had even crossed Sun Yifei. *** Li Hao took the sword, flicked the blade, and smiled at its crisp ring. A fine sword! He shed his outer coat, leaving himself in an undershirt and leather boots issued by the Inspectorate. It looked a bit mismatched, but Li Hao didn't care. Across the clearing, Sun Moxian unslung his staff and nodded slightly to Li Hao. Both stepped into the center of the ring. "Sun Moxian, disciple of the King of the Eyebrow-Height Staff!" "Li Hao, disciple of the Five Animals King!" Both introduced themselves with perfect courtesy. Around them, the spectating supers were still lamenting that Hong Qing's bout had ended so quickly. Then, several loud voices carried through the clearing: "This Li Hao—they say he only began martial arts less than three years ago. Isn't he just marching up to die?" "Pity. That last match was a spectacle, though at least we got to see a proper martial master showdown!" Several supers chatted idly, convinced this bout wouldn't be worth much. It certainly wouldn't match the excitement of the previous one. In the ring, Li Hao and Sun Moxian stared at each other, oblivious to the crowd. At this moment, only their opponent existed. Li Hao's eyes were solemn. This was his first genuine clash with a Hundred-Breaker culmination expert—and it wasn't a spar, but a duel to the death. There would be no ambush this time, only an outright slaughter. He planted the longsword in the dirt beside him, in no hurry to use it, and sank into the Five Animals Art stance. Sun Moxian's eyes were locked onto Li Hao as well. Raising his staff, he held his ground. Neither attacked immediately, each probing for an opening. Beyond the ring, after a brief lull without action, some grew impatient. "Get on with it!" "Are you kidding? Two men staring each other down—did you fall in love?" Most of the hecklers belonged to minor factions. Major organizations maintained strict discipline, and subordinates dared not speak out of turn without orders. Just then, Yuan Shuo tapped his foot lightly. A rock beneath him shattered into seven or eight fragments that shot outward with terrifying speed! A series of wet cracks echoed. In the blink of an eye, half of the heckling supers were struck dead on the spot! The sudden carnage sent a shockwave through the crowd! The survivors had only lived because stronger figures nearby intercepted the projectiles. Just as those experts flared with fury, a staff plummeted from the sky with a thunderous roar, wreathed in raging fire! One of the Solar Radiance experts was pulverized into ash by that single blow, eradicated from the world! The clearing fell instantly silent. The stones had come from Yuan Shuo. The staff had been hurled by Sun Yifei. Neither master spoke a word, their attention fixed entirely on the duel. The perimeter was terrifyingly quiet. Farther away, Hong Yitang had already pulled his people back. Seeing this, he sneered inwardly. An exhibition spar was one thing, but with their prized disciples locked in a life-and-death duel, these fools couldn't stop flapping their mouths. If those two hadn't killed someone, Hong Yitang would have wondered if they had been replaced! Speak another word, and the pair might well slaughter every onlooker before settling their own score. He knew their style all too well—after all, he had once been one of them. Many swallowed hard. Too powerful, and far too brutal! For a few passing remarks, the two masters had unleashed wholesale slaughter, slaying several Lunar Nether supers and obliterating a Solar Radiance expert in the span of a breath. In Silver Moon, Solar Radiance was already the pinnacle of the supernatural realm; Three Sols experts were legendary figures rarely glimpsed. Amid their horror and anger, sheer terror gripped the crowd. A Solar Radiance expert... had failed to stop a single flying staff from across the field! Terrifying! *** Right at that moment, the two men in the ring moved. When Yuan Shuo and Sun Yifei killed those hecklers, both combatants felt the subtle shift in their opponent's focus. That was the opening. Silent and swift, a tiger claw ripped toward the heart! As the savage claw struck out, the staff plunged toward Li Hao's skull. Li Hao dodged, releasing a roar that shook the air like a tiger's bellow! The staff stalled for a microsecond. Li Hao's claw tore in, ripping through flesh and spraying blood. Yet the stalled staff swept downward anyway—the hesitation had been a feint to bait Li Hao's advance! "Ha!" Li Hao bellowed, leaping off the ground. He raised his hands to catch the staff. With a crack, the wood grazed his head, spraying blood, but his hands clamped onto the shaft, halting its full descent. Blood streaked his face, yet Li Hao showed no fear. Gripping the staff with both hands, he launched himself forward with every ounce of power, channeling the Bear Combat Art like a hulking beast, sliding along the weapon to bring both fists down together upon Sun Moxian's hands! Sun Moxian twisted the staff, sending jarring tremors along its length. Inner force erupted like blades, carving bloody gashes into Li Hao's hands. Yet Li Hao kept sliding along the shaft, hammering his linked fists downward. With a deafening boom, Sun Moxian roared and wrenched the staff free, slamming it into the ground. Boulders shattered, shards blasting in all directions. Both moved with blistering speed. Before the spectators could recover from the earlier killings, the two had already traded dozens of blows. Li Hao had shredded his opponent's chest, while Sun Moxian had gouged Li Hao's scalp. The instant the staff struck down, Li Hao closed the distance like flowing water. Fists and feet flew as their legs violently traded kicks on the ground, shattering more stone beneath them. Dust rose once more. Amid the churning gravel, Li Hao pushed the Five Animals Art to its limit, but his opponent was equally adept in unarmed combat. Though long, the staff moved with fluid agility, whipping back and thrusting forward! With a heavy thud, the staff struck Li Hao's chest. A sickening snap signaled a cracked bone. Yet Li Hao's fingers struck like blades, raking Sun Moxian's wrist and tearing away a chunk of flesh! Both recoiled. In a flash, they lunged again. Li Hao bounded into the air with a flying kick, but beneath his feet, the staff shot forward like a spear, threatening to impale him! At that instant, Li Hao's legs displayed inhuman flexibility, coiling like a serpent or an ape's tail. His leg wound around the staff, his body sliding down along it in an impossible contortion as he drove a fist toward Sun Moxian, inner force exploding with violent pops. Sun Moxian slammed the staff toward the ground! Li Hao clung to it like a monkey, wrapping himself around the weapon and firing flurries of punches and claws, each strike landing with a concussive boom. The onlookers were quickly drawn back into the spectacle. All they could see was Li Hao coiled around the staff, unleashing relentless assaults along its length, repeatedly tearing away flesh, while he was repeatedly slammed into the ground by the staff, battered and soaked in blood. Was there any elegance? None! There was none of the aesthetic beauty of the previous spar, only raw violence! An unspeakable, visceral brutality! Flesh flew, gravel sprayed, and the sickening sounds of cracking bones and tearing sinew filled the air. The clearing grew deathly quiet. It was no longer just fear of the earlier killings, but the sheer savagery of the duel that robbed them of the urge to speak. They could only share the suffocating tension. *This* was a life-and-death battle! At this moment, the supers seemed to understand the difference between this fight and the last. The previous bout had been perilous, yet constrained by propriety—neither fighter aimed for the groin, tore at the throat, pierced the heart, or smashed a skull to bits with unrestrained brutality. Martial masters were bred for slaughter. If they avoided weaknesses and clashed only against strength, could they still be called martial masters? *** Beside Hong Yitang, Hong Qing clenched her fists, watching unblinkingly. Hong Yitang observed in silence, his mind drifting back decades. The Silver Moon martial arts world of old had been exactly like this: blood on the first clash, and death on the second! Sparring? It didn't exist! Now that supers had risen and martial masters had declined, it had been a very long time since he had seen such a scene. *** Farther off, Sun Yifei's expression was grave. Sun Hongxiu and her junior brother looked equally tense. "Shameless!" Sun Hongxiu hissed through gritted teeth. *Smack!* Sun Yifei struck her across the face with a backhand, sending her stumbling several steps back. Sun Hongxiu lowered her head, not daring to utter a sound. Sun Yifei said nothing. He had struck her because Li Hao had just aimed a claw at the groin, nearly catching the vitals; even though Sun Moxian had dodged, his trousers had torn and blood was dripping down. Shameless? Yes, it was! Others could say it, but a disciple of Sun Yifei could not! This was a life-and-death battle. If his disciple thought such moves were shameless, what right did she have to call herself a martial master? The lofty, noble martial masters in the eyes of outsiders were all dead! Which of the survivors hadn't crawled through the same filth? Gouging groins and ripping out hearts were common practice. True martial masters survived these trials; those who couldn't died, and the dead had no say. Sun Yifei watched quietly. This was only the beginning. His disciple's momentum had yet to erupt. *** In the arena, Sun Moxian roared, sweeping his staff outward to shatter the air and sending Li Hao leaping clear like an agile ape. Sun Moxian panted heavily, his clothes drenched in blood. Li Hao was covered in grime, in no better shape. One leg dragged slightly, bone likely fractured from an earlier strike. Just then, Li Hao's eyes flickered. Opposite him, Sun Moxian planted his staff into the earth, his gaze freezing. "The Five Animals Art and the eyebrow-height staff have shown all they can. Isn't it time to get serious?" A stir ran through the onlookers, yet no one dared speak. *Get serious?* Li Hao backed up several paces, pulled the borrowed sword from the ground, and smiled. "My teacher is famed for his Five Animals Art. If I didn't display its brilliance, how could I claim to be a disciple of the Five Animals King?" Sun Moxian said nothing, ripping his staff from the dirt. At that moment, a crushing momentum surged forth! The dust filling the air blew apart in an instant! Li Hao sensed it, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Earth?" Yes, earth! He felt the pulse of the earth. His opponent had comprehended the momentum of the earth! What an irony—had his teacher not guided him toward sword momentum, Li Hao would have wielded the momentum of the earth as well. He hadn't expected the staff master's disciple to grasp the very same element. Yet it differed slightly from Li Hao's. What Li Hao felt was immense, unyielding mass—the majestic momentum of the earth! The staff seemed tethered to the ground, cloaked in telluric power. With one strike, the earth itself seemed to surge with joy! "Die!" Sun Moxian's demeanor transformed into that of a seasoned battlefield veteran. His staff came crashing down with the singular intent to slaughter whatever stood in its path! The staff moved like a spear, exquisite yet overwhelmingly heavy. Wielding momentum, Sun Moxian was more than a cut above his previous state. Before the staff even touched down, the ground was already cleaving open. Li Hao's gaze turned sharp as a blade. Earth? Good. I like it. The sword struck, inner force coursing like steel! A flash of sword light flickered silently, vanishing in a breath. Li Hao melted into the shadows, disappearing and reappearing in an instant, sword stabbing toward his opponent's throat. "The Shadowless Sword!" Sun Yifei murmured slowly, casting a sharp, cold glance at Yuan Shuo. The old demon specialized in the Five Animals Art, yet he had passed on the Shadowless Sword to his disciple—an unexpected turn. The battle now seemed dominated by Sun Moxian alone. His staff tore through the air with overwhelming majesty, while Li Hao's sword made barely a whisper. Moving like a phantom, Li Hao closed in and retreated in blinks, striking once and leaping back if he missed. Such was the Shadowless Sword: an assassin's art. The two clashed again, the staff spinning into an impenetrable barrier that Li Hao's blade could not pierce. In the next instant, Sun Moxian bellowed. The ground fractured and caved in, forcing Li Hao's silhouette into view. Within a heartbeat, the staff cleaved downward toward Li Hao's skull. The earth momentum had done its work, splitting the ground without warning to unbalance Li Hao and expose him. "Die!" Sun Moxian roared again. The staff seemed to tear through the air, shattering the surrounding rocks before even touching them. Crisis loomed for Li Hao! The cleaving of the earth had exceeded his expectations; the opponent's momentum was stronger than anticipated. With his feet off balance, he was in grave peril as the staff fell with terrifying weight. Yet even in this instant, Li Hao did not summon his earth momentum—there was no time anyway. In that case... A burst of sword light erupted, followed instantly by a second, then a third... The Nine Refinements Force! In that split second, he switched his breathing technique. The closer to death he came, the calmer he grew. At this critical juncture, Li Hao had deployed an entirely different secret art. "Slash!" Li Hao swung his sword, stacking six waves of sword radiance together into a single stroke. The blade cleaved forward! *Rumble!* There was no crisp clash, only a violent impact. Li Hao was driven down by the blow, but the moment his feet touched the sunken earth, he launched himself upward with savage force. Pushing his strength to the limit, his sword slid along the staff with a rasping shriek! Fast! Impossibly fast! Sun Moxian's expression shifted. *What immense strength!* He instantly released the staff with his right hand; otherwise, the blade would have shorn off all his fingers. But the moment he let go, Li Hao seized the staff with his left hand and thrust it brutally forward. With a sickening crunch, the butt struck Sun Moxian's chest, shattering ribs and sending a spray of blood into the air! The blood shot straight toward Li Hao's face. Li Hao exhaled a breath of inner force like a sword! *Bang!* Blood and air collided and detonated. The spectators were completely dazzled, holding their breath. Everyone realized how razor-thin the margins were—a fraction of an error, and one of them would have died. Especially Li Hao! To erupt with such power midair... Only Liu Long and his peers understood the true peril. Liu Long broke into a cold sweat. It had happened too fast; had Li Hao failed to switch his breathing technique or stack the sixfold force, that staff would have crushed him! *Brilliant kid!* Liu Long marveled inwardly. Li Hao's Nine Refinements Force had already reached six stacks, and more impressively, he had switched breathing techniques in that sliver of time. How calm did one have to be? By theory and timing, it was possible, but it demanded absolute composure. Was this kid born for the martial path? Who else could maintain such icy nerve between life and death? One mistake meant having his skull caved in—did he feel no fear? *** In the ring, Li Hao turned the tide using the Nine Refinements Force, injuring Sun Moxian with his own staff. The next instant, they clashed once more. Even though Sun Moxian wielded momentum while Li Hao held his back, Li Hao was not suppressed. Only now did his true strength reveal itself: his tempered viscera, formidable physique, the Nine Refinements Force, and a blend of secret arts closed the gap against momentum. His resilience was simply monstrous! Even Sun Yifei, watching from afar, could only frown deeply. Normally, a strike backed by Sun Moxian's momentum would have ruptured an opponent's internal organs even if parried. Yet Yuan Shuo's final disciple had organs so tough he was completely unbothered! It defied logic! Sun Yifei glanced at Yuan Shuo. Yuan Shuo, wearing a smug smirk, met his gaze and moved his lips: *What of momentum? The Five Animals Breathing Art is peerless under heaven! A martial master has no weaknesses; the internal organs are a fortress as well!* Sun Yifei said nothing. Looking back toward the ring, his confidence in Sun Moxian wavered slightly. Even though Li Hao hadn't unleashed momentum—appearing instead to be on the verge of comprehending sword momentum—his Nine Refinements Force, Shadowless Sword, Five Animals Art, and reinforced viscera prevented Sun Moxian from gaining the upper hand. During the warm-up, Sun Yifei had assumed Li Hao had reached his limit. It seemed he had underestimated Yuan Shuo, and underestimated his disciple even more. *** In the arena, Li Hao and Sun Moxian traded blows with fists and feet, tearing more flesh and blood. Li Hao stepped back, and Sun Moxian retreated several paces as well. Both wore solemn expressions. Blood still dripped from Li Hao's head. The blood on Sun Moxian had nearly crusted over. Gripping his staff anew, he coated the wood in fresh crimson. Li Hao seized the sword planted in the earth, laughed softly, and drew it to attack once more! The pressure still wasn't enough! That sword strike from that day resurfaced in his mind. *Draw the blade!* *Sever self!* *Slay the enemy!* Sun Moxian's face hardened. With a roar, he swung his staff dozens of times in rapid succession—*bang, bang, bang...* Both the staff and sword were fine weapons. Yet under Li Hao's relentless strikes, cracks began spreading across the staff, while fissures spiderwebbed through the sword. The next moment—*boom!* Sword and staff shattered simultaneously, spraying countless fragments outward! *** In the distance, Wang Ming saw a shard streaking toward him. His expression tightened as he reached out to snatch it from the air. Mid-motion, his face changed, and a golden gauntlet materialized over his hand—his metal-element energy. *Screech!* A grating shriek rang out as the sword shard, laced with sword energy, sliced the golden gauntlet clean in two. Blood dripped to the ground. Wang Ming's usual playful smirk vanished, replaced by sheer shock and gravity. *I'm a Solar Radiance expert!* This was merely a fragment from two clashing weapons, yet when he tried to block it, it had sliced through his mysterious energy defense and nearly severed his hand. Ignoring the pain, he stared at the deep wound on his palm, cut to the bone! For a moment, Wang Ming stood dazed. Other experts around the perimeter moved to deflect the flying debris. One Lunar Nether super attempted to incinerate a shard with bursts of fire. With a wet squelch, the shard pierced straight through the flame as if meeting no resistance, smashing through the man's skull! Silence! Dead silence! The two men in the ring were only Hundred-Breakers, equivalent in rank to Lunar Nether supers. At this moment, every Lunar Nether fell silent, and even Solar Radiance experts looked on with grave solemnity. Not a shred of contempt remained, only chilling dread. *These are Hundred-Breakers?* *Is this what a martial master truly is?* *** "Fools!" Hong Yitang muttered under his breath. Two Hundred-Breaker martial masters—one mastering momentum, the other practically on par—had unleashed full-power strikes that shattered their weapons. That clash carried enough power that even an early Solar Radiance caught in the middle could be slaughtered. Yet a Lunar Nether dared try to intercept it? Who else was supposed to die? Supers from petty organizations were hopelessly ignorant, believing that awakening supernatural power allowed them to look down on martial masters. Yuan Shuo and Sun Yifei's killings hadn't taught them a thing. *** The next instant, everyone's gaze locked back onto the arena. The sword was shattered; the staff was broken. Both combatants were battered and bloody from each other's inner force. Sun Moxian panted heavily, the ragged breaths audible to all, as he drove his right fist toward Li Hao. Earth momentum converged on his knuckles, crashing in blow after blow, driving Li Hao back repeatedly. Having unleashed the Nine Refinements Force, Li Hao had no time to switch back to the Five Animals Art and could only endure the assault. Under this relentless barrage, even his reinforced viscera could not prevent blood from trickling from the corners of his mouth. This was a martial master! Bloody, violent, bone-crunching strikes. Sun Moxian was like a tireless berserker, his fists alternating in a storm of strikes, determined to suppress Li Hao until he beat him to death! Fists collided with fists, elbows smashed against elbows, and their legs clashed repeatedly until their trouser legs shredded, exposing bloody limbs. Though Sun Moxian had the upper hand, his own body was fraying. His internal organs were not nearly as tough, and the rebounding shockwaves pushed him to the brink, his viscera bleeding from internal tears. Yet he did not back down, retreat, or withhold a single strike. *Strike him while he's down! Take his life!* Li Hao's strength was unexpected, yet it fueled his frenzy. Slaying Li Hao was the sole objective! Killing Li Hao would rattle Yuan Shuo, which might offer a sliver of aid in the upcoming battle. Li Hao harbored the exact same thought. In Silver Moon martial duels, the disciples fought first. If one side killed the other's disciple, it boosted morale and shook the enemy's spirit. Among evenly matched masters, victory often went to the side whose disciple had prevailed. Slaying the opponent's disciple was often the secret to final victory. Yuan Shuo hadn't mentioned this, but Liu Long had. Pummeled and battered, Li Hao's eyes remained crystal clear. Teacher had said that every battle, every strike, was merely preparation for the final blow—a setup to kill the enemy. The process was just a process. The instant Sun Moxian threw another punch, Li Hao roared, exhaling a plume of white mist that shot like a blade! Sun Moxian instinctively struck out, smashing the sword-like breath to pieces. Yet that was not Li Hao's trump card. At that moment, he raised his right hand and bared his teeth in a bloody grin. The Nine Refinements Force erupted once more! Layers of inner force stacked into his right hand as Li Hao recalled that transcendent strike. Inner force condensed into a blade, his palm splitting as sword energy threatened to burst forth. In the distance, Sun Yifei's face drained of color. "Con..." He wanted to shout *concede*. He sensed something extraordinary. A sword intent! He even moved to step in and stop Li Hao. He took a stride forward, but across the field, Yuan Shuo remained motionless, making no move to intervene. Sun Yifei's foot froze. Agony flashed in his eyes. His disciple... had not conceded! Yuan Shuo frowned slightly, glanced at him, and looked away. Sun Yifei was a fine martial master and a fine teacher, but he wasn't necessarily a good master to his disciple! Because he hadn't intervened... because he had hesitated! Because of the rules! The rules of the martial arts world! Sun Yifei stared at his disciple with desperate hope. *Concede... Just concede, and I won't let you die!* *** Sun Moxian sensed the danger as well. Lethal danger! He could feel an exceedingly sharp sword intent radiating from Li Hao's hand. Li Hao seemed to hesitate slightly. Indeed, Li Hao was waiting for him to concede. Though he wanted to kill Sun Moxian to shake Sun Yifei, seeing Sun Moxian's face—a stranger who harbored no personal grudge—made him waver. *Give him the chance to concede... A concession works just as well.* Yet Sun Moxian did not concede. His master had lost once and spent decades unable to find peace, even leaping from the sky bridge above! If he conceded now, his master might feel relief and he would survive, but defeat might crush his master more than death. If he died, his master might grow stronger, fueled by grief and fury! Furthermore, in this stage of condensing momentum, if he lost to a newcomer, what drive would he have left to shatter his inner demons and step into the Thousand-Battler realm? Sun Moxian smiled faintly. A martial master's obsession was beyond the comprehension of outsiders. The next instant, a staff formed of inner force materialized across his fists! "Staff Rises to Eyebrow!" With a furious roar, the staff, infused with earth momentum, took solid form. It came crashing down like heaven and earth collapsing, detonations resounding across the clearing! He might die... but he hadn't lost yet! Master had said that until the final moment, no one knew who the true victor was. The blow was terrifyingly potent, aimed straight for Li Hao's brow to crush him where he stood. However sharp the sword, it all came down to who was faster, and who could endure the peril! Far off, Sun Yifei trembled with emotion! His disciple hadn't conceded, hadn't waited for death... He was stronger than his master had been! Decades ago, faced with the same fate against Yuan Shuo, Sun Yifei had chosen to leap from the sky bridge rather than die by Yuan Shuo's hand. His disciple was braver than he had ever been! Yuan Shuo, however, frowned with sudden worry. He hadn't expected Sun Moxian to erupt like this, fusing momentum with inner force—a sign of breaking into the Thousand-Battler realm! The young man had nearly crossed that threshold at this desperate juncture, something Sun Yifei hadn't managed all those years ago. Could his own student withstand this strike? Life and death hung on this single breath; victory and defeat would be decided now. Yuan Shuo was worried, and he wanted to step in! He was a teacher, but he was also a master—a father figure. A teacher could abide by the rules and watch a disciple die for them, but a father could not. Even if intervening meant he could no longer face Sun Yifei with honor, what did that matter? Just as he was about to move, Li Hao let out a thunderous roar! Using his hand as a sword! A strike cleaved forward! Staff and sword detonated the air as they met, blasting the atmosphere apart. Surrounding rocks shattered into powder, and distant supers looked on with grim reverence. "Dual momentum clash!" Li Hao seemed to have grasped sword momentum. These were two warriors on the verge of the Thousand-Battler realm, no longer the novices they had seemed. Even Solar Radiance and Three Sols experts watched with rapt, nervous attention. *Boom!* A cataclysmic roar echoed as sword energy severed the phantom staff in an instant. Sun Moxian's eyes widened with utter disbelief. *How is this possible?* *It makes no sense!* That staff strike had felt like the pinnacle of his life, a blow he believed rivaled a Thousand-Battler. Yet it had been sheared clean through by a single stroke! A thin red line appeared on his forehead. Sun Moxian harbored no resentment, only confusion and wonder. His lips parted. Li Hao heard no sound, yet panted his answer: "It is no sword of this mortal realm!" This strike was not of this world! Therefore, what Sun Moxian had lost to was neither skill nor momentum, but the world they had witnessed. Li Hao had seen that transcendent sword; Sun Moxian had not. Sun Moxian seemed half to understand. After a long moment, his body slowly tipped back, crashing to the ground with a dull thud. A streak of crimson ran from his skull all the way down his body. Li Hao stared quietly, feeling neither excitement nor joy. This was the martial arts world. With no personal grievance, bound only by their masters' rivalry, they had bathed in blood simply so their teachers could claim the upper hand in the duel to come. "Moxian!" "Senior Brother!" Heartbroken cries erupted from the edge of the clearing. Sun Yifei appeared in an instant, staring at his fallen disciple with torment in his eyes. He... had been wrong. He should have stopped it! He looked at Li Hao, killing intent flaring before he forced it down. Turning to Yuan Shuo, he gritted his teeth. "I will beat you to death!" *Without fail!* Yuan Shuo's expression remained grave. "I'll be waiting!" His student had won! Yet this victory had not broken Sun Yifei in despair; it had made him stronger. Still... what of it? Li Hao frowned slightly, saying nothing. Sun Yifei hadn't flown into a frenzy after all. Glancing at the fallen Sun Moxian, Li Hao cupped his fist in a brief salute, then turned and limped out of the circle. Winning was enough. His teacher... would win as well! Behind him, shrill weeping rose. Clutching the blood-drenched corpse, Sun Hongxiu shrieked with hoarse fury, "Li Hao! I will kill you! I swear it!" Li Hao did not look back. This was the way of martial masters. If you couldn't pull the weed out by its roots today, you awaited revenge tomorrow, year after year, battle after battle, until falling in some future clash. Such was the fate and cycle of a martial master. Even if his teacher won today, he likely wouldn't kill Sun Hongxiu... because of the rules! Pedantic? Perhaps a little. Yet Li Hao knew his teacher was already among the less rule-bound martial masters. Compared to him, men like Sun Yifei were far more rigid. But sometimes, that wasn't entirely a bad thing; a bit of pedantry made martial masters something worth remembering. With countless thoughts swirling in his mind, Li Hao stepped out of the ring and collapsed onto the ground. Only now did the agony hit him—pain wracking every inch of his body, sharp and overwhelming.