Purge

A clash between evenly matched opponents demanded unwavering, ruthless resolve from both sides—there could not be the slightest hesitation or retreat! Often, killing moves and secret arts had to be unleashed as second nature, striking faster than thought to achieve a fatal finish. Thus, acutely aware of how terrifying the other was as they charged in once more, neither held anything back, their eyes brimming with cold, murderous intent. This time, You Long brought the advantage of his refined steel cane into full play. The cane measured over 1.1 meters in length. By contrast, the Chengying sword in Yaoguang's hand was barely over ninety centimeters. Furthermore, while You Long was not quite as massive as the incompletely humanoid demon in the basement of Qingyu Industrial Park, who stood at 2.3 meters, he was still over two meters tall—roughly 2.05 meters. With his broad shoulders and long reach combined with the advantage of the 1.1-meter cane, his strike distance exceeded Yaoguang's by more than twenty centimeters. An inch longer, an inch stronger. In this clash, he pushed that advantage to its peak. The instant Yaoguang entered his range, You Long swung his cane down savagely. It fell like a battle-axe cleaving straight down, forcing Yaoguang to block. Yet the moment Yaoguang parried the vertical strike, You Long followed up in rapid succession with a diagonal slash and another downward chop. Clang! Clang! Clang! Cane met blade, sending sparks flying in all directions. A savage force surged through the Chengying sword. Had it not been a renowned blade worth tens of millions, that relentless barrage of impacts would have likely shattered it. Even so, Yaoguang felt the web between his thumb and forefinger shudder violently, his inner vitality thrown into turmoil and his arm stiffening. Seizing this opening, You Long pressed his frontal assault, suddenly shifting his momentum downward and using the cane's reach to sweep directly toward Yaoguang's knees. An aggressive opening, seamless transitions between high and low, feinting high to strike low—this sequence of adaptations was blindingly fast. Yet while Yaoguang was not as tall as You Long, his recent battles against towering demons had granted him rich experience, and the agility he displayed in this moment was astonishing. With several backsteps, he swiftly defused You Long's assault. Moreover, as Yaoguang parried, the distance between them closed rapidly. An inch shorter, an inch deadlier. Having several consecutive strikes blocked without breaking through, You Long found himself drawn directly into Chengying's strike radius as Yaoguang gave ground. Shifting into a reverse grip, arm and sword moving as one, Yaoguang blocked another downward bash from the steel cane before suddenly springing forward like an ape. His blade slashed horizontally, only to be parried in the nick of time by You Long. Yet the moment the strike was checked, Yaoguang twisted his sword sharply, winding the blade around the steel cane and hooking it before yanking inward with vicious force, while his left palm lashed out simultaneously. Screeech! The hooked blade dragged across the steel cane with harsh friction, throwing off bright sparks. He was going for a disarm! Realizing this, You Long moved with the momentum, preparing to shift his technique. Just then, Yaoguang's striking left hand struck You Long's elbow with pinpoint accuracy. The jarring force broke his grip, and the hooked Chengying sword ripped the cane completely from his grasp, sending it flying several meters away to crash heavily against the wall. The disarm was complete. Before reaching the level of a Martial Saint, no matter how powerful someone was, they remained flesh and blood. Armed versus unarmed was an entirely different realm of lethality. A top Martial Master with consummate swordsmanship, blade in hand, could face even a champion of the National Martial Arts Tournament like Xia Wuyuan bare-handed, and the outcome of life or death would still hang in the balance. Much less when both combatants were Grandmasters! The moment he was disarmed, the demon immediately sensed mortal danger and retreated. Having seized the upper hand, Yaoguang unleashed an onslaught like a torrential storm. The Chengying sword moved at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye, cleaving down fiercely and forcing You Long to retreat once more. With that single step back, Yaoguang seized the initiative again. Power erupted from beneath his feet as he shifted the chopping arc into a straight thrust. Propelled by a dragon-like surge of force rising from the ground and running through his entire body, he shot forward like an arrow released from a bow—man and sword united—the tip aimed straight for You Long's throat. In that split second, You Long clearly "saw" the tip of the Chengying sword drawing closer and closer, its chilling edge seeming poised to pierce straight through him and deal the finishing blow before he could react. Under the crushing pressure of life and death, a low roar tore from his throat. His body seemed to swell once more, his right hand rapidly demonizing into a wicked claw that swiped violently toward the Chengying sword. At the same time, his left hand clenched from an open palm into a fist, surging with explosive force as it hammered toward Yaoguang's temple. The best outcome of this claw strike would be swatting the Chengying sword aside to evade the lethal thrust. At worst, sacrificing an arm would still break him out of this fatal trap. And once the trap was broken, the thunderous blow from his left fist would at least force Yaoguang back. Then he could call for the other Yulong International experts in the building to swarm Yaoguang and turn the tables. Yet just as You Long launched his desperate counterattack, the sword thrust aimed at his throat suddenly pivoted. Yaoguang twisted his torso, slipping past the downward swipe of the demonized right claw while shifting to a two-handed grip, raising Chengying vertically to deliver an upward slash straight into the incoming left fist. Squelch! Blood sprayed. The combined force of a two-handed diagonal upward slash and the momentum of You Long's incoming punch, enhanced by the sharpness of a renowned sword worth tens of millions... You Long's entire left arm was sheared cleanly off at the elbow. Blood erupted as the severed forearm was carried aloft by the momentum of the slash... The sight made You Long's pupils dilate, an unprecedented wave of shock and fury surging in his chest. At that very moment, having completed the upward slash, Yaoguang shifted into a curved step, spinning his body a full three hundred and sixty degrees to thoroughly bleed off the momentum. During this spin, his center of gravity dropped with unbelievable speed. By the time You Long reacted in fury and terror, sweeping his remaining claw across in thunderous wrath, Yaoguang had already ducked down to a height of less than 1.5 meters. At that height, he cleanly evaded the furious retaliatory sweep. In the blink of an eye, what had been a head-on clash reversed, leaving You Long in front and Yaoguang behind him. Yaoguang pushed his advantage in agility to the absolute limit. Without the slightest pause. Before You Long could fully turn his body to strike back, the razor-sharp tip of the Chengying sword thrust into his back and drove straight through his chest, emerging more than ten centimeters out the front. "Argh!" As if the delayed agony of his severed arm had finally caught up, You Long let out an agonized scream. Schwing! Just as the scream left his lips, the blade was wrenched free from his chest, and his burly frame shuddered as if struck by a massive force... The circulation of qi and blood through his Governor Vessel was severed, and his body went numb! The impact drove him helplessly forward, slamming him into the wall three meters away. "Stop... the Procuratorate has no right to kill..." You Long cried out in agony. Yet with the circulation in his Governor Vessel cut off and the wound in his chest acting like a void that drained all the strength from his body, his cries sounded utterly feeble. And worse... As he was pinned against the wall, the Chengying sword stabbed through his back once more, driving straight through his chest! One strike, two, three, four... Thud, thud, thud, thud! Thirteen consecutive thrusts. Without a single pause, without an ounce of hesitation. One strike after another. Every thrust drew crimson blood. Every thrust pierced clean through his torso. Every thrust was fatal. Until... You Long, pinned against the wall, moved no more. "Human?" Yaoguang murmured softly. Schwing! He drew his sword from You Long's body one final time. Releasing his left hand, which had held the demon's qi and blood suppressed, he let the swollen, 2.3-meter-tall corpse slide down the wall and crumple heavily onto the floor. "What I killed wasn't human." Bang! At that moment, the office doors were violently kicked open. Having heard the commotion, several Yulong International martial artists along with Xia Wuyuan, Ye Yuhe, Lin Xiaowei, and the others burst inside at once.