Wu Hua smiled. "No matter what, your way of thinking is truly admirable. Since ancient times, I doubt anyone in the martial world has ever thought this way."
Chu Liuxiang said slowly, "Many years from now, people who think this way will naturally become more and more common. In time, everyone will understand that martial arts cannot solve everything, and that no one in this world has the right to take another person's life."
Wu Hua sighed. "That's a matter for the future. Right now, you..."
Chu Liuxiang said, "Right now, I'm turning you over to those who can bring you to justice."
Wu Hua cried out, "You're handing me over to someone else?"
Chu Liuxiang said, "That's right."
Wu Hua laughed maniacally. "If you can't bring me to justice, who in the world can?"
Chu Liuxiang said, "Those people may not be especially noble, but they represent the laws and rules that everyone must respect."
Wu Hua sneered. "Have you always been so respectful of rules?"
Chu Liuxiang said, "The rules we scorn are those imposed by a handful of people. They're not worthy of respect. But no one should ever look down on morality and justice."
Wu Hua sighed. "Chu Liuxiang, you truly are a strange person. But no matter what, you'll never hand me over to people like that."
Chu Liuxiang sighed. "Why not? You were once a man of great distinction. Those people wouldn't dare so much as brush against your clothes. But you committed such a base crime. The law makes no distinction between royalty and commoners. Surely you understand that?"
Wu Hua seemed not to have heard him. He only smiled and murmured, "Chu Liuxiang, no matter what, you'll never let people like that lay a finger on me." As he spoke, his body slowly crumpled to the ground.
Lightning flashed, and thunder shook the heavens and earth.
Chu Liuxiang hurriedly caught him. In a flash of lightning, he saw Wu Hua's face—once refined and handsome, now a terrible shade of ashen blue.
Chu Liuxiang was horrified. "Wu Hua, you... why would you be so foolish? Isn't death just another way of running away?"
Wu Hua opened his eyes and managed a faint smile. "I'm not running. I'm not afraid to face them. I simply refuse to lower my head before such base people." His eyes suddenly shone with a brilliant light. "No matter what I've done wrong, I'm still a man of distinction—far more so than most people in this world. Chu Liuxiang, you admit that, don't you?" His eyes slowly closed.
"Wu Hua!" As Chu Liuxiang grieved, he suddenly noticed a figure appear beneath the vast night sky. He turned and saw, to his surprise, Bai Yu Jing.
"Clap, clap, clap..." He Heng smiled as he looked at Wu Hua, whose life had already ended, and applauded.
"Tsk, tsk. What a performance, Wu Hua. The Oscars owe you a little Golden Person..." He Heng gazed at Wu Hua with detached eyes, his voice icy and faintly amused.
"Longevity Sword, Bai Yu Jing?" Chu Liuxiang abruptly raised his head and stared coldly at He Heng. His eyes were guarded and grave. Then he asked woodenly, "What brings you here?"
"What brings me here? Fragrant Marshal, why don't you take a guess? They say you're exceptionally clever, able to see through anything at a glance. Today, I'd like to see for myself." He Heng glanced at Chu Liuxiang and spoke calmly.
Chu Liuxiang gave a bitter smile. "I'm afraid I can't guess what you have in mind."
He Heng smiled and looked deeply at Chu Liuxiang, a trace of menace in his gaze. "It's nothing much. I just want to give him one last sword strike."
As he spoke, He Heng gripped the hilt of the Longevity Sword tightly and fixed his cold gaze on Wu Hua, who lay motionless on the ground.
"What?" Chu Liuxiang's expression changed. He swiftly stepped in front of He Heng, his eyes flashing with anger. "Wu Hua may have done wrong, but he has already washed away all his sins with his life. If you intend to do anything to his body, I absolutely will not allow it."
As Chu Liuxiang spoke, his eyes shone with resolve and fearlessness. He stared coldly at He Heng, his expression solemn and grave.
He Heng sneered. "What a loyal and devoted man—and what a blind one, Chu Xiangshuai!"
"Still, does that mean you intend to stop me?"
He Heng's voice was full of menace, his words dripping with murderous intent. A tremendous aura pressed down on Chu Liuxiang.
The air seemed to freeze in an instant. Chu Liuxiang felt an immense pressure, heavy as a mountain, bearing down on him. It hemmed him in from every direction, leaving him unable to breathe.
Chu Liuxiang had made countless friends and faced countless enemies. He had seen more masters than he could count, but apart from one or two rare exceptions, he had never faced anyone with such an overwhelming presence.
The terrible instinct he had honed over many years warned him that he was in extreme danger. This man before him could absolutely kill him. But that was no reason to back down. Chu Liuxiang's gaze remained unwavering as he stared coldly at He Heng.
"If you're truly set on doing this, then you'll have to step over me."
He Heng glanced at Chu Liuxiang and snorted. "No one in this world can stop me from doing what I want."
"Then I'd like to find out," Chu Liuxiang replied, his voice resolute.
Ssshing!
With a clear ring of steel, He Heng's right hand moved sharply. A flash of swordlight blazed, sword energy surged like a dragon, and its radiance tore through the endless Dark Night as he struck with all his might.
The terrifying swordlight was sharp beyond compare. Even the air burst under its friction. He Heng's expression was icy, utterly devoid of emotion, as though he were an exalted immortal looking down upon the mortal world.
In the blink of an eye, Chu Liuxiang moved. His afterimages darted and weaved, evading one streak of swordlight after another as he closed in on He Heng.
He Heng's expression was as cold as the heavens. In an instant, he unleashed another dazzling flash of swordlight—a sword strike far more brilliant than the last.
It seemed to move extraordinarily slowly, yet it was terrifying. Its force built inch by inch, carrying an unstoppable momentum. Cold sweat covered Chu Liuxiang's back. He felt like a lone boat adrift on a vast ocean, engulfed by monstrous waves. Sword energy and killing intent surged down upon him like a dam giving way.
The Sword Momentum roared like century-old wine that had been fermenting for ages, reaching its peak in an instant. It seemed to freeze the soul itself.
Chu Liuxiang knew he had to dodge, and even knew how to do it, but his body was no longer under his control. He couldn't move at all, as though the sword energy had frozen him in place.
"Gasp..." Chu Liuxiang's heart was gripped by a dread beyond measure. Facing this exquisite sword strike, so perfect it seemed unreal, he felt a deathly chill envelop his entire body.
He couldn't dodge this strike, much less stop it!
As he watched the slender Longevity Sword slowly bear down on him, Chu Liuxiang's heart grew colder. He seemed to hear death calling, but he absolutely refused to accept his fate.
Though his thoughts could no longer control his body, Chu Liuxiang was, after all, Chu Liuxiang. Instinct took over, and he leaped, narrowly avoiding the edge of the strike. But He Heng's sword was not so easily evaded.
The moment Chu Liuxiang sprang aside, He Heng's Sword Momentum shifted, changing with even greater precision to thrust at Chu Liuxiang's back.
Chu Liuxiang had regained control of his body, but it was already too late. He Heng's sword was simply too fast. In a thousandth of an instant, its light had enveloped Chu Liuxiang's back. The next moment, he would be disemboweled.
Just as Chu Liuxiang had given up hope, he suddenly saw He Heng's otherwise flawless Sword Momentum shift once more—or rather, veer slightly off course. It was a mistake no excellent swordsman should ever make, but Chu Liuxiang had no time to think about anything else.
The deviation in He Heng's strike was slight, barely an inch or two. But for Chu Liuxiang, that was the distance between life and death.
He jerked sideways. The sword energy grazed his shoulder, leaving a deep gash as blood streamed down. If the strike had not veered that inch or two, it would have cut across his chest.
As it was, Chu Liuxiang had suffered only a minor wound. He gasped for breath, grateful to have survived.
"Splendid! Your Lightness Skill truly is second to none, Chu Xiangshuai." He Heng praised him without reservation. Though he had deliberately left that inch or two of space, giving Chu Liuxiang a chance to survive, there was no denying how impressive it was that Chu Liuxiang had seized that opening in the nick of time and escaped a sword strike that could have ranked among the five best in the world almost unscathed.
Chu Liuxiang was panting. That terrifying strike had nearly scared him to death. Now that he had survived, he greedily gulped in the air.
"Not good!" Chu Liuxiang suddenly shouted, his gaze snapping toward He Heng.
After Chu Liuxiang evaded his strike, He Heng's Sword Momentum shifted again, sweeping down toward Wu Hua, who lay motionless on the ground.
Chu Liuxiang sprang up in a panic and rushed toward Wu Hua, but it was already too late.
He Heng's terrifying Sword Momentum had enveloped Wu Hua. In an instant, it could tear his body apart. Chu Liuxiang had no chance of stopping it.
"No!"
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