Divine Blade Slash! Revised

The warmth from the Divine Illumination Scripture had barely subsided when the World Announcement was still buzzing in his head.

Wang Xuan pulled the Blood Blade Scripture from his robes and flipped through it page by page beneath the moonlight, once again using "One-Click Max."

An entirely different surge of heat erupted beneath his dantian. The warmth of the Divine Illumination Scripture was Pure Yang and Upright; this, however, was wicked, savage, and scorching with the stench of blood, as though it were alive as it burrowed into his meridians.

The two streams of True Qi collided in an instant.

The Divine Illumination True Qi was like red-hot branding iron. The moment the Blood Blade Scripture's wicked force touched it, all its violent impurities were refined away, leaving behind only the purest blade intent and Blood Fiend True Qi.

Not only did the two forces not conflict, they twisted together like strands of rope. The Blood Blade Scripture's circulation route was forcibly altered, racing through the meridians opened by the Divine Illumination Scripture. With every cycle, it became more solid.

Wang Xuan's aura began to surge.

Xiantian First Layer... Xiantian Second Layer... Xiantian Third Layer.

Then it stopped.

He opened his eyes, and a flash of blood-red light swept through them. A sinister aura rose from his body, but it was quickly suppressed by the balanced, peaceful presence of Divine Illumination True Qi. In the end, all that remained was a pure sharpness that made one's heart tremble.

His System Panel appeared on its own.

[Realm]: Xiantian Third Layer

[Techniques]:

- Divine Illumination Scripture (Limit Realm, Traits: Pure Yang and Upright, Endless Vitality, Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, Five Energies Converge at the Origin)

- Blood Blade Scripture (Limit Realm, Traits: Blood-Drinking Blade Light, Evil Intent Overwhelming, Fierce Bloodlust)

- Divine Blade Slash (Limit Realm, Trait: One Blade Splits All)

"Blood-Drinking Blade Light..." Wang Xuan looked at that line. "The more blood the blade qi sees, the sharper it becomes? The more it kills, the fiercer it gets?"

"Evil Intent Overwhelming" and "Fierce Bloodlust" would be mental contamination for anyone else. Demonic Sect techniques had always taken an extreme path, relying on their wicked aura to overwhelm opponents first. Once that aura was unleashed in battle, anyone with a slightly weaker will would immediately be suppressed.

But Wang Xuan possessed a Unique Rank Talent and was directly immune to negative effects. He was immune to every adverse effect of cultivation techniques. When using the Blood Blade Technique through the Blood Blade Scripture, its power would instead rise to an even greater level.

Setting aside the Blood Blade Scripture, what he cared about most was Divine Blade Slash.

The Demonic Sect's supreme blade technique. More than thirty thousand variations had been forged into one, ultimately condensed into four words: One Blade Splits All.

Simple. Brutal.

Wang Xuan lowered his head and glanced at the Blood Blade at his waist. Its blade was narrow and gleaming. The moment he gripped the hilt, he felt a strange sensation crawl up from his palm. It was the mastery of more than thirty thousand variations of blade techniques. Once drawn, the blade could deliver a strike that was guaranteed to hit.

As long as he drew his blade and locked onto someone with his intent, that strike would certainly hit.

It could not be dodged or blocked. Whoever was struck would certainly be split apart. It was not that the blade was fast; the result had already been decided the instant the blade was drawn.

Suddenly, his divine sense stirred.

After the Divine Illumination Scripture broke through, his essence, qi, and spirit had all entered Xiantian. His senses were more than ten times stronger than before. Two powerful auras, utterly undisguised and filled with intense hostility and killing intent, were rapidly closing in on these abandoned houses from one direction.

They were moving extremely fast, far surpassing the martial artists from earlier that day.

"They came quickly enough."

He rose to his feet, his right hand resting on the Blood Blade's hilt as he waited quietly. Moonlight lay like snow across the earth.

Almost at the same time, at the other end of Jingzhou City, Yu Qingtian and Shen Chenzhou had just entered through the city gates when their expressions changed.

They had also heard the World Announcement.

"Wang Xuan... Xiantian?" Shock appeared on Shen Chenzhou's usually expressionless face. "It's only been a few days?"

Yu Qingtian's expression was so gloomy it seemed ready to drip water. His younger sister, Yu Jinghong, had died at that brat's hands.

"It seems this Plot World has produced an extraordinary figure. I just wonder whether his Talent is SS-Rank or SSS-Rank!" Yu Qingtian pulled out a palm-sized Brass Compass from his robes.

The compass was ancient and covered in densely carved runes. He bit his fingertip, let a drop of blood fall onto its center, and muttered an incantation.

The compass needle spun wildly several times before trembling as it pointed toward somewhere in the west of the city.

"Over there." Yu Qingtian put away the compass. "Move."

The two no longer held anything back. Their movement techniques erupted at full force as they turned into two afterimages, racing across Jingzhou City's rooftops toward the direction indicated by the compass.

The Main Quest had already ended. All their investments had gone to waste, and the army of Players had been cast completely aside.

They had to determine Wang Xuan's Talent.

A lowborn commoner had awakened an extraordinary Talent, killed members of the Royal Clan in a Plot World, and even completed the Main Quest first?

That was equivalent to grinding the Royal Clan's face into the dirt. If word got out, the Yu and Shen families would lose all face, and they would certainly face punishment upon returning.

Two figures crashed down one after the other ten zhang in front of him, kicking up clouds of dust.

One moved with perfect control, landing soundlessly. The other was heavy and overbearing, like a cannonball.

They were Yu Qingtian and Shen Chenzhou.

Shen Chenzhou wore white robes and had a cold, stern face. Yu Qingtian was dressed in luxurious brocade, his aura deep and steady.

Their gazes were like lightning as they instantly locked onto Wang Xuan amid the ruins.

When they saw Wang Xuan clearly, especially after sensing the undisguised aura of a Xiantian expert around him, both their pupils contracted.

He really was Xiantian.

And his aura was absurdly deep and solid, nothing like someone who had just broken through.

"Wang Xuan!" Yu Qingtian spoke first, suppressing the fury in his voice along with a trace of barely perceptible suspicion. "You're not bad. You awakened an extraordinary Talent and dared to ambush and kill members of the Royal Clan. Kneel and admit your mistake now, and I can allow you to join the Royal Clan's ranks!"

"Indeed, Wang Xuan!" Shen Chenzhou smiled faintly. "Death in a Plot World is just death; it isn't an unforgivable offense. As long as you return from your misguided path, go back to Origin Earth Star, witness the Royal Clan's foundations, and join us, you will certainly receive proper cultivation. Then you'll understand the gap between the Royal Clan and ordinary Players."

Wang Xuan glanced at them, disdain appearing in his eyes. "Kneel? Admit my mistake? Be cultivated? Then become a dog that wags its tail and begs for pity? Are the Royal Clan's faces all this thick?"

"You..." Yu Qingtian nearly choked on his anger.

Shen Chenzhou was calmer. He sized Wang Xuan up and down. "Wang Xuan, there is an old saying: Rome wasn't built in a day! On Origin Earth Star, the Longevity Families control the cosmos, while the Royal Clan suppresses all living beings. This situation has existed for ten thousand years. Over those ten thousand years, it is not as if ordinary people have never awakened powerful Talents, fought against the Royal Clan, or challenged the Longevity Families. But each met a more miserable end than the last. Some were even stronger than you, yet they still changed nothing!"

"So, Wang Xuan, let me offer you a warning. Do not destroy yourself!!"

Wang Xuan laughed. "Are all you Royal Clan people like this? Do you think everyone has to kneel and listen to you speak? And that little speech of yours—haven't you changed it in all these years? As expected, it's long and stinks!"

Yu Qingtian sneered. "Sharp tongue! Do you think reaching Xiantian means you can challenge us?"

Though he said that, his vigilance had risen to its peak. Wang Xuan's rate of growth was too terrifying. He could not be treated by ordinary standards.

He exchanged a glance with Shen Chenzhou. Both saw the same decision in the other's eyes: use their trump cards and end this quickly.

Shen Chenzhou reached into his robes, took out a small jade bottle, tipped his head back, and swallowed a blood-red pill the size of a longan.

The instant the pill entered his stomach, Shen Chenzhou's aura explosively surged. Blazing, fierce inner force burst from his body, blasting the dust around his feet away in a ring. His Post-Heaven Realm bottleneck shattered, and he directly entered Xiantian.

His realm began climbing wildly.

Xiantian First Layer, Second Layer, Third Layer... Fourth Layer... Fifth Layer.

It surged directly into the Xiantian Fifth Layer before slowly stopping after advancing a little further.

An unnatural flush spread across Shen Chenzhou's face, and heat steamed from his skin, but his gaze was sharp as a blade as he stared fixedly at Wang Xuan.

His S-Rank Talent, [Spirit Pill Pulse Suppression], allowed him to perfectly absorb a pill's medicinal power and erupt with strength far exceeding his own realm for a short time. The effect lasted one day, and no matter how many pills he consumed during that period, their medicinal properties would not conflict.

At the same time, Yu Qingtian moved as well. His Talent was equally remarkable: Hard-Training Breakthrough (S-Rank Talent): When cultivating any hard-body technique, cultivation efficiency was greatly increased, breakthroughs had no bottlenecks, and physical potential could be rapidly enhanced while tempering the body.

What he took out was not a pill, but an even smaller jade bottle containing a threadlike drop of viscous dark-red liquid that gave off a faint bloody odor.

Resistance flashed in his eyes, but he ultimately tipped his head back and drank it.

Gulp.

The liquid entered his throat, and Yu Qingtian's entire body shuddered violently. His skin turned red at a visible rate, like a cooked shrimp, while white steam billowed from the top of his head and every pore of his body.

Crackling explosions sounded from within him. His muscles swelled slightly, and fine cracks even appeared across his skin, blood beads seeping out before being quickly evaporated by the heat.

The Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art he cultivated began breaking through frantically under the stimulation of the Exotic Beast Blood.

Ninth level... Tenth level... Eleventh level... Twelfth level.

It surged directly to the twelfth level. His corresponding True Qi cultivation also forcefully reached the Xiantian Fifth Layer.

"Roar!"

Yu Qingtian let out a low roar that barely sounded human. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Wang Xuan, then stepped forward, shattering the bluestone beneath his feet.

"Damn it, this hurts like hell! Die, you lowborn bastard!"

Yu Qingtian struck first. His Tianshan Six-Yang Palm's "Yang Song of Heavenly Balance" crashed forth, its palm wind carrying a piercing shriek. Blazing True Qi scorched the surrounding air until it warped. The immense strength of the twelfth level of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art poured into his palm as twelve indistinct dragon-elephant phantoms roared and charged out with the strike. Its momentum was like thunder, making the ground tremble faintly.

Shen Chenzhou attacked at the same time, opening with the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. Supreme Yang, supremely fierce Nine-Yang True Qi surged forth like a tide. His "Dragon Repents" palm strike arrived later but struck first, its dragon-shaped force as heavy as a mountain as it sealed off every path of Wang Xuan's retreat.

The two Xiantian Fifth Layer experts attacked with their full strength from left and right. Their palm winds collided and kicked up dust and sand that filled the sky. Their pressure descended like a mountain, enough to crush an ordinary Xiantian Third or Fourth Layer martial artist to the ground in an instant.

Yet Wang Xuan did not move in the slightest. How could the Three-Unity Great Xiantian of Three Flowers Gather at the Crown be shaken by two ordinary True Qi Xiantian practitioners? His right hand rested lightly upon the Blood Blade's hilt as he watched the two consume pills and drink blood, their realms soaring. Indifference flashed through his eyes. The Royal Clan might possess many trump cards, but so what?

All beneath Divine Blade Slash were ants!

He suddenly drew his blade. A clear ring of steel tore through the silence, and the setting sun at the horizon abruptly lost its color.

A Green Peak Crescent Moon appeared, echoing the full moon in the sky from afar. When the blade light emerged, the moonlight vanished. Even the vast, holy moonlight had to retreat before the demonic and tragic green blade light that flooded his vision.

Yu Qingtian's entire body froze. His protective True Qi was useless, and he could not even raise his hand to block. His body abruptly halted in place, his violent True Qi vanishing like a bubble. The savage expression on his face solidified. His eyes still held brutality and killing intent, but even more than that, they held a dazed, disbelieving terror.

Sshk—

A soft sound.

A thin red line appeared at his brow and ran straight downward, passing over his nose, lips, throat, chest, and lower abdomen...

Yu Qingtian's entire body split cleanly in half down the middle.

Blood and organs spilled out in a rush, covering the ground. The two halves of his corpse fell to either side and struck the earth with dull thuds.

Instant kill.

That blade strike continued onward, slicing through the air and through a broken wall, leaving a bottomless blade mark in the overgrown field at the edge of the ruins.

Shen Chenzhou, who had charged in right behind him, saw his pupils shrink into pinpoints.

What had he just seen? Yu Qingtian, Xiantian Fifth Layer, twelfth level Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art, cut down by one blade... just one blade...

Was that... the legendary Divine Blade Slash?

The Royal Clan possessed deep foundations. The Eight Styles of Heavenly Demon Ruyi was commonplace even in the family treasury, and young disciples often chose to study it. Yet few could cultivate the Eight Styles of Heavenly Demon Ruyi to the level of Divine Blade Slash. There were simply too many variations, unless one awakened a Talent related to intelligence or comprehension.

"No, Divine Blade Slash is the Main Quest reward."

"In other words, after this lowborn bastard obtained the reward, he cultivated the Eight Styles of Heavenly Demon Ruyi to the level of Divine Blade Slash in such a short time. Then his Talent..."

In an instant, Shen Chenzhou thought of many things. Gathering intelligence from the available information was the instinct of every Royal Clan descendant.

As his thoughts raced, Shen Chenzhou's palm strike had already arrived. "Dragon Repents" blasted out at full force, its palm power surging like waves as dragon roars shook the surroundings. Supreme Yang, supremely fierce Nine-Yang True Qi swept over everything. The nearly tangible palm shadow carried a heaven-destroying force as it rushed straight toward Wang Xuan's face.

Wang Xuan slowly turned his head, his gaze calm and unruffled. Blade intent silently flowed around his body, and the phantom of that Green Peak Crescent Moon appeared once more, cold and sharp as it intertwined with the Blood Fiend aura of the Blood Blade.

With a light flick of his wrist, the Blood Blade suddenly left its sheath. His figure was so fast that only an afterimage remained. It was as though he had always been lying in wait before Shen Chenzhou, appearing and vanishing unpredictably, impossible to guard against.

Shen Chenzhou roared in shock and fury, driving his Xiantian Fifth Layer Nine-Yang True Qi to its peak. Both palms struck in rapid succession, the techniques of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms pouring forth. Palm winds howled, and his protective True Qi condensed as thick as a shield as he attempted to withstand that blade strike head-on.

But the Green Peak Crescent Moon ignored it all, passing directly through his violent palm power and sweeping across his solid protective True Qi. It moved as gently as a lover's caress, yet carried lethal chill as it slowly descended through the center of his body.

Shen Chenzhou's movements froze at once. A thin line of blood wound down from the top of his head, horrifying to behold.

"Such... a fast... blade!"

He muttered the words.

The next moment, his body split open down the middle as well, dividing into two halves as he followed Yu Qingtian's fate.

Blood dyed the ruins red.

Wang Xuan lightly rotated his wrist, and the Blood Blade returned to its sheath. With a clear, crisp ring, the blade intent surrounding his body instantly withdrew.

He walked toward the two corpses that had been cut in half, crouched down, and efficiently searched through them with his fingertips.

Other than the Brass Compass covered in runes, Yu Qingtian carried a black Storage Bag with gold-thread embroidery along its edges.

A Primary Storage Bag. It seemed this was standard equipment for Royal Clan descendants.

Shen Chenzhou had the same thing: an identical black Storage Bag trimmed with gold thread.

Wang Xuan weighed the two Storage Bags in his hands, his brows knitting slightly. With a thought, a pale-blue System Panel appeared before his eyes.

The panel clearly showed that both Storage Bags had automatically bound themselves to him.

Obviously, the Royal Clan's Storage Bags had a special setting: regardless of whether the killer actively picked them up, as long as a Royal Clan descendant was slain, the Storage Bag would automatically bind itself to the killer.

But what concerned him was that the panel displayed binding information for three Storage Bags, and every line of binding text was an eye-searing red.

He had already known that the binding of a single Storage Bag was enough for the Royal Clan to use a compass to track him down. Now, all three bound Storage Bags glowed red. This was certainly not a simple stacking effect. There had to be an even stranger tracking method hidden within it, but for the moment, he could not guess the secret behind the red bindings.