"Cough, cough!"
The veins in Manor Master Yao's forehead bulged as he coughed up blood. Gritting his teeth, he exerted himself and pressed the major acupoints around his chest to stop the bleeding, but it was no use.
His powerful heart pounded violently, only making blood and scraps of organs gush from the wound.
An Internal Strengthening martial artist's body was far too strong and resilient. The bullet had failed to pass all the way through, instead spinning and shattering inside him, inflicting even greater damage and pulverizing more of his organs.
"I actually... died to a Flying Sword like this?!"
He fell to his knees. The ghostly green Poison Sha returned to his side and flowed toward the wound, trying to close it in one last, futile effort.
Staring at Manor Master Yao, whose aura was rapidly fading, An Jing finally felt the tight knot in his chest loosen a little. With Manor Master Yao's strength and reflexes, if An Jing had taken out his gun from the start, his cautious opponent would certainly have read the direction of the muzzle. He would never have been able to aim, let alone hit him.
Huaixu had no firearms, but it had plenty of powerful crossbows and concealed weapons. At most, they might not recognize a gun as a concealed weapon. But if a martial artist suspected you had one, they could absolutely dodge if they were on guard.
Only by striking in the instant an opponent relaxed, certain of victory, could he land a hit!
Seeing this, Bai Qinghan, who had been about to approach, stopped in the distance and fixed her gaze on the pistol in An Jing's hand.
At the very end, the old man, already pale as a corpse, raised his head. His bloodshot, increasingly blurred eyes stared at the pistol in An Jing's hand. "What is that... a Sword Box for a Flying Sword?!"
The Sword Spirit and Manor Master Yao had both mistaken the gun for a Flying Sword Supernatural Ability. They had An Jing wondering whether the Huaixu Realm really did have some kind of Sword Box resembling a firearm.
But there was no time for idle talk. An Jing knew that Manor Master Yao still had the strength to fight back.
He didn't approach. Instead, he raised his hand and pulled the trigger again without hesitation.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
Another ten shots rang out. Manor Master Yao's pupils shrank rapidly. With a furious roar, he forcibly rallied his strength and dodged, dragging his wounded body along. Even in this state, he actually managed to evade nine bullets. Only the last one struck him: his injuries slowed his movement, and a great spray of blood burst from his shoulder as he toppled to the side.
An Jing was secretly shaken and made a mental note of it. As expected, even on the brink of death, an Internal Strengthening martial artist could still unleash one last burst of strength!
But now, Manor Master Yao really was dying.
With the last of his strength, he looked up at An Jing, his gaze filled with nostalgia, fury, relief, and hatred.
Perhaps he was remembering the moment, many years ago, when he had seen his friend's corpse. Perhaps he was pondering An Jing's future. Perhaps, knowing he was about to die, he wanted to offer a warning. Perhaps he marveled that An Jing had chosen a path he himself had never taken.
But he could no longer say anything, and he had no right to say another word.
The moment after he raised his head, the old man—nameless and steeped in wickedness—let his head fall to one side and breathed his last.
At that moment, all of Xuanming Valley, all of the White Sand Plains, was both clamorous and silent.
In the distance, the Fear Demon had already been defeated by the instructors and lecturers, dispersing into demonic energy.
But the Demonic Cult had no time to rest. A squad of Red Armor Guards had flanked them from behind, plunging them into another battle.
The Children of Calamity who had chosen to stay were heading into the depths of the mountains under the guidance of several lecturers. The Demonic Cult must have prepared an escape route long ago, but An Jing's reversal and the Red Armor Guards' surprise attack had been so unexpected that only a few had managed to use it.
In the distance, Xuanming Manor was ablaze. The battle between the Red Armor Guards and the Demonic Cult's defenders had reached a fever pitch. For a time, the force of blades and swords crisscrossed, spiritual flames tangled with baleful energy, and booming battle cries and screams of combat rang through the manor and valley.
But across the entire White Sand Plains, only An Jing and Bai Qinghan remained.
Speechless. Silent.
Although An Jing had only been able to shoot Manor Master Yao after stopping Bai Qinghan, she had actually had plenty of chances to interfere and help Manor Master Yao suppress him, if she'd wanted to.
But she hadn't. Even now, she neither moved away nor came closer. She simply watched An Jing in silence, just as she had when he first sparred with her.
"Qinghan... huh?!"
Holding a gun in each hand, An Jing broke the silence and started to say something, but right then, a wave of dizziness suddenly hit him.
"Is this... poison?!"
The world spun. Gritting his teeth, An Jing staggered back half a step, struck by an intense dizziness. Suddenly, he remembered how Manor Master Yao's Nether Poisonous Evil had covered him earlier.
"Damn it, I forgot the old bastard's real position was Deputy Envoy of the Medicine Hall!"
His vision spun and flipped upside down.
All he could see was white sand and a surging river.
As he fell to the ground, An Jing caught the faint scent of medicine. It was a concoction mixed into the Nether Poison's baleful energy, made from poisonous insects and poisonous herbs—the signature trick of Manor Master Yao.
If An Jing hadn't drawn his gun and had continued fighting Manor Master Yao, he would probably have been defeated and taken away without the other man so much as lifting a finger.
He hadn't been beaten by his enemy. He'd been brought down by the medicinal poison instead. As his mind began sinking into chaos, An Jing saw a pair of plain white cloth shoes.
She slowly approached.
Then... his body was lifted upright.
A pair of hands pressed against his back. Cool spiritual energy traveled along the Celestial Pillar of his spine, spreading upward and downward. It followed the circulation of his Inner Breath, gradually driving out the medicinal poison and clearing the darkening blur of An Jing's vision.
The sensation was entirely unlike his own Inner Breath. An Jing's Inner Breath flowed like molten iron, hot and searing. This cool current was like a bowl of water drawn from a frigid pool on the hottest day of summer—refreshing and clear.
"...Why?" His voice was faint as he murmured in confusion. "Didn't you want me to leave with you?"
"If you don't mean it, what would be the point of taking you with me?" Using the power of her Profound Yin Fate Grid to help An Jing circulate his Inner Breath and expel the poison, the girl spoke calmly. "Now that Xuanming Manor can't hold you back, Tianyi Mountain won't be able to stop you in the future, either."
"Go, Senior Brother."
Once she confirmed that An Jing's condition was already recovering on its own, her hands withdrew. "You killed Manor Master Yao, and I was already weaker than you. I couldn't bring you back. That's only natural."
"Besides, I think you were right."
"Those two evil dragons that devour people... I shouldn't have chosen either one. I just hated Da Chen too much."
"Senior Brother, I really, really..."
"Hated them too much."
—I'll make those high-and-mighty bastards pay.
Silence.
Only the sound of the river flowing and the decisive footsteps moving farther away.
"Thank you," An Jing said softly at last. He heard her footsteps pause. "I'm the one who should thank you."
"Thank you for teaching me to read. Thank you for teaching me martial arts. Thank you for not killing me. Thank you for eating with me. Thank you for training with me. Thank you for never once thinking of eating me..."
"Thank you... thank you for believing in me and treating me as a friend."
When An Jing opened his eyes again, Bai Qinghan had already left the White Sand Plains.
—I'm sorry. And tell Ye Qi and the others I'm sorry, too. He could just barely make out her final words.
The sounds of battle still came from Xuanming Manor. It would probably take until nightfall for the fighting to end.
After An Jing had completely driven the medicinal poison Manor Master Yao had left in his body, he rose to his feet and found quite a few small objects on the Manor Master's corpse.
But he had no mind to figure out what they did just then, so he stuffed them into his clothes without a second glance.
"An Jing, you did well!"
It was then that he heard the Sword Spirit's excited voice. "You actually saved most of the people and held back the Demonic Cult. You didn't let anyone come and disturb me!"
"I've completely suppressed the remnant soul of the Heavenly Demon in the valley. You can go inside and retrieve my second fragment from the Central Altar!"
"Okay, I'll go now."
An Jing replied, only to realize he wasn't as excited as he'd expected to be. The Sword Spirit noticed, too. "What is it? Your state of mind is wavering... You're more resolute, but there's a trace of doubt?"
"But don't worry. A heart is like a rusty sword; it needs to be honed constantly. If you don't mind, can you tell me what you're wondering about?"
"Mm..." An Jing pondered for several breaths, then slowly asked, "Fuxie, in your era, if you believed the world was unjust, what would you do?"
"Kill."
Without the slightest hesitation, the Sword Spirit replied as if it were only natural. "If you believe the world is wrong, you have to set it right. But there will always be people who think the world is fine as it is. They can profit from it; they can reign supreme beneath this vast heaven."
"Some of them can't even imagine what a 'right' or 'better' path might look like."
"In that case, words are useless. You can only speak with your sword and make one side shut up for good."
"Kill. Only killing!"
Swords were always brimming with killing intent, because that was the mission they were born to fulfill. That was their Heavenly Fate.
"Is that so?"
After listening in silence for a while, An Jing instead smiled in relief. "As expected, this..."
—My Past Life Wisdom, my morals, my character, my talent... I see. Just as I thought.
All the elements guiding me to make these choices, every last one of them, had come together...
"This is my Heavenly Fate."
With that, he turned and strode toward the depths of Xuanming Valley, his gaze resolute once more—more resolute than ever.
Behind An Jing, a crimson halo and totem flowed outward, manifesting as blood-red stars.
The radiance of Heavenly Fate stretched the boy's shadow in seven directions, sharp as a sword.
—Just as I wished.
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