Chapter 71: Times Have Changed; the Sword Demon Craves Hearts
To live in this world, one sometimes must do things they do not wish to do. The caprices of fate and the arrangements of destiny leave even the greatest heroes helpless. (Gu Long)
……
It should be noted that after taking the Ice Cicada from the Cold Sword, the Ten Great Assassins have reached a new level of skill. With the gathering of their fierce energy, the “Heavenly Spear” technique of “Tian Gang Dou Quan” instantly forms a white gas blade over two feet long, which, like an iron spear, is thrust straight at Wei Tian Tuo.
Wei Tian Tuo realizes the strength of this man before him and darts behind the ten assassins, ordering, “Kill them!”
The ten immediately draw their long swords and, as if by agreement, surround the targets in an instant.
The Great Sword King draws his “Scorching Sun” sword from behind and shouts, “Perfect! This gives me a chance to test the power of the ‘Autumn Leaf Sword Technique’.”
The ten split into five groups of two, each facing one opponent. Liu Yi, the Great Sword King, and Ah Jiu stand back to back, ready to defend against the six attackers.
Looking at the Ten Great Assassins, one fighting four, they clearly hold the upper hand. It won’t take more than a minute before their opponents fall.
Meanwhile, the six attackers surrounding Liu Yi also begin to attack the trio.
Liu Yi, being an experienced warrior, remains calm. He takes a step forward and activates the “Illusion” technique from “Hidden Spin Nine Shadows,” effortlessly dodging the attacks of the two assassins.
As for the Great Sword King, when the two assassins charge, he swiftly moves his right hand with his “Scorching Sun” sword, spinning it in an arc to create a dazzling sword flash. Then he shouts, “Autumn Wind!” The sword instantly turns into a flurry of golden light. In that instant, the Great Sword King delivers twenty-one slashes, each leaving a three-foot-long afterimage in the air, preventing the assassins from getting close and forcing them to look for opportunities from afar.
Seeing an opening, the Great Sword King reverses the sword hilt and throws “Scorching Sun” forward, commanding with his fingers, “Leaf Fall.” In that instant, the sword truly descends like autumn leaves, slowly floating toward the two assassins. Though not fast, its erratic movement makes it seem to be right in front of them, leaving the assassins unsure of which direction to defend against. With a swift motion, the sword slices through their throats. The “Leaf Fall” technique appears slow, but it’s actually an illusion; its speed is even greater than usual, which is why the assassins die before they can react.
As for the two assassins aiming at Ah Jiu, seeing their companions killed instantly by that strange sword, they quickly change their target and turn to attack the Great Sword King.
The Great Sword King smirks, swiftly retracts his “Scorching Sun” sword, turns the blade downward, grabs the hilt, and sweeps it horizontally. A golden sword aura shoots out along the ground. Before the assassins can react, they feel intense pain in their legs. Only when they fall do they realize that the golden aura has severed their legs.
The Great Sword King stroked the ‘Blazing Sun’ sword, looking at the four people who had fallen, and then at the situation with the Ten Heroes and One, smiling and saying, “It seems I’m not bad either—consider me an expert as well.”
As for Liu Yi, two people attacked him one after another, while Liu Yi used the ‘Illusion’ technique from ‘Hidden Spin Nine Shadows’ to dodge. He planned to use the ‘Jade Flower Finger’ technique, but the distance was too close, making it ineffective. Suddenly, Liu Yi noticed the long sword in his left hand and thought to himself, “Right, let’s try this sword and those ‘Chaotic Thirteen Styles’ to see if I can use them.”
While dodging, Liu Yi grasped the long sword hilt with his right hand. Instantly, a wave of sorrow emanated from the sword, reminding him of Jillian. A question kept haunting him: Why did she leave? Could true love really withstand no storms or tests?
Gently turning the hilt, he pulled the sword out suddenly. A white light mixed with black gas shot out, accompanied by a dragon-like roar, as if just awakened. Without hesitation, he used one of the ‘Chaotic Thirteen Styles’, ‘Confusion of Hearts’, thrusting the long sword at one of the assassins in a direction no one could predict. When the sword was three feet away from the assassin, a white light burst out from it—again, ‘Confusion of Hearts’. The white light flashed across the assassin in an instant.
The assassin stepped back several times, suddenly stopping his attack and standing there foolishly.
Liu Yi struck again, sweeping the long sword diagonally from below at another assassin, using another technique from the ‘Chaotic Thirteen Styles’, ‘Confusion of Intent’. With a clanging sound, the two swords collided, and at that moment, a white light pierced into the assassin’s body. At the same time, the assassin seemed to go mad, his moves meaningless, following only a set pattern.
Liu Yi gripped the long sword with his right hand and swung it horizontally. Black gas surrounded the sword, mixed with a white light, which shot out violently. With a loud boom, like an explosion, the mad assassin was instantly torn apart.
Liu Yi sheathed ‘Sorrowful Dream’ and placed it at his waist, recalling that strike. It had made him see the sword of the person from his dream—identical to ‘Sorrowful Dream’ in his hand.
With his left hand on the hilt, Liu Yi walked over to the Great Sword King and A Jiu. By now, the four people with the Ten Heroes and One had also been dealt with, leaving only one person among the eleven. Who could it be? Besides Wei Tian Tuo, who else?
The Ten Heroes and One also approached Liu Yi. The four of them faced Wei Tian Tuo in surprising silence. Wei Tian Tuo wasn’t expecting their skills to have improved so rapidly, especially the Great Sword King’s strange sword, which was extremely powerful. And that foolish kid, the Ten Heroes and One, seemed to have even harder fists.
Wei Tian Tuo looked at them and laughed foolishly, saying, “I guess you won’t, won’t attack an unarmed person.” Then he slowly backed away.
Liu Yi nodded and said, “Of course, we won’t.”
Wei Tian Tuo turned and ran away.
The Ten Heroes and One looked at Liu Yi and said, “Boss, we can’t let him go. This kid has sent assassins several times already.”
At this moment, the “Sorrowful Dream” sword in Liu Yi’s left hand trembled incessantly, waves of killing desire surging into his body. Liu Yi watched Wei Tian Tuo running away and said, “Of course, I won’t let him go either.” Suddenly, he grabbed the sword hilt with his right hand, turned it gently, and drew the sword sideways. Subconsciously, he had learned the “Four Sorrowful Styles” from the person in his dreams. Holding the main hilt with both hands and shouting loudly, a black aura mixed with a white light was sent out. Perhaps because the sword energy was too strong, another thunderous sound came, and Wei Tian Tuo’s body was instantly split into countless pieces, with his internal organs and intestines scattered everywhere. Liu Yi sheathed the sword back and looked at the corpse, seemingly moved, but said nothing. He simply said, “Let’s go.” Then he turned and headed toward his horse. The Great Sword King looked at Liu Yi and then at the body split into countless pieces, shook his head, and got on his horse as well.