Heart of Despair

White Tiger Ridge, Crimson Fire Stronghold.

Before the main hall, the atmosphere was deathly still.

Yang Long, the Boss of Crimson Fire Stronghold, stood with a dark expression, staring at the several corpses lying on the ground in the middle of the courtyard.

His gaze rested silently on Yang Jinhong, who was fighting fiercely at the center, as dark and gloomy as if it could drip water.

Yet everyone could see the fury he was suppressing.

Though his face remained expressionless, true qi continually burst from his pores, surging, twisting, and writhing across the surface of his body. It looked as though the shadow of a black tiger hovered uncertainly around him.

He had clearly recognized what Yang Jinhong had used just now—it was precisely the Great Vajra Temple's Sect-Protecting Ultimate Skill, the one he had longed for and tried every possible means to obtain.

The Crimson Fire Bandits around them also watched the man with furious expressions. Yang Jinhong had somehow seized a heavy saber.

Blood and qi churned through the crowd as he moved as though no one were there.

Yang Long took a deep breath. Blood and qi roiled within him, his sinews and bones thundered, and he snatched the Nine-Ringed Saber from a nearby weapon rack before leaping into the fray like a Fierce Beast charging forth.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Amid a succession of metallic clashes, Yang Long reached Yang Jinhong, and the two had already exchanged blows.

Yang Jinhong fixed his gaze on the Boss before him, anger suppressed beneath his expression, and fiercely slashed his saber at Yang Long.

Yang Long blocked the attack with his Nine-Ringed Saber, then drifted away to open some distance. Just as he was about to strike back, a streak of saber light suddenly flashed before his eyes—abrupt and exquisitely strange.

It was Yang Jinhong's chained follow-up.

However, Yang Long was a Fourth Realm Martial Cultivator, and his reaction speed was anything but weak. The instant he spotted the saber light, he lightly swayed aside to evade it, then cleaved out with his Nine-Ringed Saber, striking Yang Jinhong's blade at the moment his old force had not yet faded and his new force had not yet arisen.

With a clang, the saber flew from Yang Jinhong's hand.

Yet Yang Jinhong did not care in the slightest. He straightened, and his entire body abruptly swelled by a full size. A faint golden glow surfaced over his skin as he attacked Yang Long barehanded.

Yang Long drew his blade and slashed down, cutting directly into his wrist.

As the sound of metal striking metal rang out and he felt the rebounding force transmitted through his weapon, Yang Long's expression shifted slightly. "The Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill!"

"Hmph, correct! Again!"

Yang Jinhong sneered and launched another fist strike, his golden-glowing body charging at Yang Long.

Golden light flashed from his fists. His whole body seemed coated in a layer of gleaming gold paint, as though cast from bronze, yet he fearlessly met Yang Long's Nine-Ringed Saber head-on.

Yang Long frowned deeply. He knew the Great Vajra Temple's Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill was powerful, but he had never imagined it could be this powerful.

Several of his heavy, forceful attacks failed to injure Yang Jinhong in the slightest. Instead, the immense rebounding force left the web between his thumb and forefinger aching sharply.

After attack after attack failed, he gave it a brief thought and avoided Yang Jinhong's edge, shifting instead to an erratic circling style and striking from time to time.

He coveted the Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill in Yang Jinhong's hands—how could he not know its characteristics and secrets?

He had once read a book that described the Great Vajra Temple's Sect-Protecting Ultimate Skill, the Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill. It said that the skill possessed overwhelming might and could repel blades and spears, but the depth of one's cultivation determined both its power and duration.

More importantly, it consumed Inner Breath and force to an extreme degree. Even a Fifth Realm Martial Cultivator whose Inner Breath had fully formed could not withstand the violent drain of the Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill. It was indeed supremely powerful and unyielding, but endurance was also one of its weaknesses.

Yang Long did not believe that Yang Jinhong, whom he had imprisoned for over two years, still had enough breath left to withstand the Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill's consumption.

With this strategy in mind, saber light flashed and metal rang against metal as Yang Long and Yang Jinhong became locked in battle.

The Crimson Fire Bandits around them watched until their eyes blurred. They were astonished both by their Boss's formidable saber technique and by the terrifying might still possessed by that martial arts pavilion master who had been imprisoned for two and a half years.

Fortunately, the Second Boss had poisoned him.

Thinking of this, a silent dread rose uncontrollably in their hearts. Such a powerful man had been tortured by them for so long.

Now that they had witnessed his strength, their killing intent boiled over. Yet because the two were fighting, they, with only Second Realm cultivation, could not intervene at all.

Yang Long's Nine-Ringed Saber was heavy, yet he wielded it with extreme agility. When Yang Jinhong could not evade, he simply did not. As they fought, his clothes flew apart, and before long Yang Jinhong's garments had all been cut away, leaving him completely naked.

The Crimson Fire Bandits around them spat several times. Then they discovered that Pavilion Master Yang's manhood had taken two blows from their Boss's saber and remained completely unharmed, leaving them utterly awestruck.

At once, they seemed to think of something, and their eyes lit up brightly.

The blade struck Yang Jinhong's body as though hitting metal. It stopped at the surface and could not cut in, as though there was nothing Yang Long could do to him. Yet Yang Long did not lose heart, continuing his frenzied assault without pause.

Yang Jinhong merely sneered and threw punches and palm strikes. He did not care how fast the other's blade was or how nimble the other's movement technique.

As long as he landed one slash on the other party, it would not be effort spent in vain.

"You cannot break my Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill!" Yang Jinhong said deeply as he watched Yang Long evade his attacks before him.

"Not necessarily!" Yang Long slashed out, but he chuckled with complete confidence.

"Then let's see who laughs last."

Yang Jinhong snorted coldly without yielding an inch. Yet inwardly, he was somewhat unsettled; he had vaguely sensed the other's strategy.

It had truly struck his weak spot.

If this continued, he would likely still end up with his breath exhausted, his strength spent, and die.

Though he had already embraced death, he still could not forgive himself if he died without causing even the slightest impact.

Yang Jinhong's expression did not change. He tried his best not to let the other see through his thoughts, while racking his brains for a way to break this predicament.

But alone as he was, what other way could he possibly have?

Too many thoughts flooded his mind, and his focus inevitably slackened. One of Yang Long's strikes landed, nearly carving a faint bloody mark into him.

Though the wound was tiny, Yang Long, convinced Yang Jinhong would not last much longer, was instantly overjoyed and attacked even more fiercely.

The sudden increase in pressure drove Yang Jinhong back again and again. He struggled to defend himself, unable to stop a Heart of Despair from rising within him.

Was there truly no other way?

Was I truly powerless?

Just like back then?

Could I only watch helplessly as Wang Yuehu drained dry those two disciples of mine who had been felled by poison?

Question after question echoed through his heart.

No!

I cannot!

Yang Jinhong's heart clenched as his fingernails dug into his flesh.

With a long howl, his blood and qi erupted and surged without restraint, like wild horses breaking free of their reins, savagely squeezing out every last shred of life force within him.

At that moment, a sound like a mirror suddenly shattering rang out from inside his body.

Immediately afterward, an unusual aura arose within him.

Then his steadily weakening aura came to an abrupt halt, and his presence began to rise—surging! Surging! Surging again! His blood and qi churned!