Decapitation Ghost Blade, Seven Kill Divine Intent

"Good, good, good. Our Yama Gate doesn't have many rules, unlike other sects."

"Since you've already honed the Decapitation Blade Technique to this level, what follows is the final trial of Yama Gate."

Senior Brother Zhao Hu spoke with a grave expression.

Clearly, this matter was no small affair, or else he wouldn't have come in person.

That said, Liang Qisheng's early-morning blade practice had indeed given him no small shock.

In all these years, he had never seen anyone master the Decapitation Blade Technique to the Realm of Mind-Blade Unity in just a few short months.

His earlier words were merely an attempt to save face.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken it upon himself to guide Liang Qisheng into the inner disciple assessment.

"Follow me."

Without further ado, Senior Brother Zhao led Liang Qisheng toward the rear courtyard.

Their destination was no longer in the Outer Courtyard; instead, they passed through a side door across this hall and entered a deeper, more secluded part of the compound.

"What place is this? Such a sinister killing intent?"

The rear courtyard was even more somber, with towering greenery blotting out nearly half the sky.

Only the sunlight overhead managed to filter through.

The moment Liang Qisheng stepped into the courtyard, his hairs stood on end. He clearly felt several sharp gazes land on him.

Those looks were like blades pressing against his skin, stirring a sense of unease within him.

Liang Qisheng couldn't help but sweep his gaze around, and to his astonishment, he discovered figures hidden in the shadows, some standing, some sitting.

And all of them were dressed as executioners, each with a uniform Ghost Head Blade slung across their backs.

"No wonder I didn't see many experts up front. The Outer Courtyard is for apprentice disciples, while Yama Gate's true elites are all in the Inner Courtyard."

Liang Qisheng quickly realized.

Back at the Yama Sect, he had wondered why the number of skilled fighters he encountered was so limited—they were all ordinary disciples like him, who had paid a hundred taels of silver to learn the trade.

This didn't match his imagined image of Yama Gate, which supposedly monopolized the executioner trade across Shiwu County's one county and nine towns.

After all, Master Chen was hailed as the founding patriarch of executioners in Shiwu County—a title not given lightly.

So now, as he followed Senior Brother Zhao into the Inner Courtyard, Liang Qisheng felt the chilling killing intent locking onto him from the darkness.

He understood at once that this must be a vital restricted area of Yama Gate, guarded by so many elite disciples.

"This is where I'm bringing you—the core of Yama Gate. Only inner disciples of our Decapitation Blade lineage may set foot here."

Senior Brother Zhao Hu raised a hand and waved slightly to both sides. Instantly, those sharp gazes withdrew.

The figures concealed themselves, no longer paying them any attention.

Liang Qisheng wisely refrained from asking questions.

Senior Brother Zhao offered no further explanation either, simply telling Liang Qisheng to keep following him.

Though his heart was full of questions, Liang Qisheng understood this was not the time to ask. He silently trailed behind and continued forward.

After passing through another courtyard, they stopped before a building that resembled an ancestral hall.

Without hesitation, Zhao Hu pushed open the door.

Liang Qisheng followed him inside.

The room was small, brightly lit by candlelight.

Directly ahead stood an offering table, upon which rested a memorial tablet.

On the long altar, instead of sacrificial offerings, lay an ancient Ghost Head Blade.

"This is the Inner Courtyard Ancestral Hall of our Yama Gate. The tablet above honors the founder's name."

Senior Brother Zhao Hu spoke softly. "First, offer incense to the founder's name."

Liang Qisheng followed his senior brother's lead, obediently lighting a stick of incense.

He bowed several times from behind, then inserted it into the incense burner.

"Having paid respects to the founder, though you have yet to receive Master Chen's formal approval, you are now considered half a disciple of Yama Gate."

"Today, I have brought you here to teach you a new martial technique."

Senior Brother Zhao Hu's voice echoed in the small room, carrying an undeniable authority.

"Before I teach you the blade technique, I need you to make a choice yourself: are you willing to accept the Inner Courtyard's inheritance?"

As he spoke, his gaze fixed on Liang Qisheng's face, waiting for his decision.

"Once you take the oath, you may not pass on what you learn without the permission of the sect's elders."

"...Otherwise, you will be pursued across a thousand miles, and subjected to the sect's punishment of three cuts and six holes, flaying and bone-stripping."

"This disciple willingly accepts."

In truth, after Liang Qisheng had pushed the Decapitation Blade Technique to 99%, he realized this martial skill was not as simple as he had imagined.

The Merit Points required for its transformation were far greater than he had anticipated.

At that time, a thought had already formed in Liang Qisheng's mind.

When he practiced his blade early in the morning and deliberately made some noise, there was indeed a hint of testing involved.

Seeing that Senior Brother Zhao Hu had personally brought him to this tightly guarded core area to teach him a new martial skill—one that, from the tone alone, sounded like a dangerously lethal blade technique—he naturally had no reason to refuse.

"Please instruct me, Senior Brother."

Liang Qisheng spoke with a resolute attitude, his gaze carrying an extremely firm will.

This reaction greatly satisfied Senior Brother Zhao, who then raised his hand and pointed at the large blade enshrined on the altar.

"This is the Decapitation Ghost Blade, passed down through generations of our Yama Sect, and it was also the blade our master once wielded."

"Because it has killed too many and its killing intent is too heavy, this blade has become saturated with resentment and malice, which have seeped into the very metal of the blade, capable of affecting a person's mind."

"...But if you can shake off the influence of its killing intent, it will also bring tremendous benefits to learning the Decapitation Blade lineage of techniques."

"As long as you can withstand the Decapitation Ghost Blade for ten breaths, you will have passed this trial and be qualified to receive the martial skills taught in the Inner Courtyard."

"Passed down through generations, having killed countless—this Decapitation Ghost Blade must have already become a Demon Blade. No wonder I felt an extremely sinister killing nature the moment I entered the Inner Courtyard, a killing intent so heavy it defies reason."

"...So it all comes from this Ghost Head Demon Blade?"

Liang Qisheng heard every word Senior Brother Zhao Hu spoke clearly.

Thus, when he looked again at the blade resting on the altar, his gaze became cautious.

But since the situation had been explained, Liang Qisheng did not hesitate.

He stepped forward, clasped his hands together, and bowed repeatedly to the ancestral masters on the altar.

"Disciple begs forgiveness from the ancestral masters if I cause any offense."

The next moment, Liang Qisheng straightened his body, his eyes blazing like torches, and he reached out with both hands to grab the blade's hilt.

The instant his hands tightly gripped the hilt and he lifted the blade, he felt an extreme, bone-piercing cold surge out from the hilt.

It rushed from his palms into his body in an instant.

And in that split second, it spread through his limbs and bones, making him unable to suppress a chill in his heart.

He nearly loosened his grip, and the heavy blade almost fell to the ground.

That cold was by no means ordinary; it was mixed with a killing nature that invaded the marrow.

It even began to affect him.

"What material is this blade made of? It looks like an ordinary Ghost Head Blade, but this weight must be over a hundred jin."

"...An ordinary person would struggle just to lift it, let alone wield it—that's nothing but a pipe dream!"

Liang Qisheng held the hilt with both hands, feeling the bone-chilling cold flow continuously.

At first, it was like a trickling stream, thin and threadlike, but in the blink of an eye, it became like a burst dam, a flood pouring out.

The cold current surged mightily, rushing along his arms and straight into every part of his body, making him shiver uncontrollably.

"Heaven breeds all things to nourish man, yet man has nothing to repay Heaven!"

"...Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!"

This Demonic Blade suddenly trembled, emitting a piercing shriek.

Seven blood-red characters for "kill," shocking to the eye, flashed in his mind, like demonic sounds entering his ears, shaking his very soul.