"Whoosh!"
In a single flash of fire, the Bone Spear appeared before Red Hair the Shark Demon with a piercing shriek through the air.
It was no slower than Red Hair's earlier thrust, and faster still.
But just as Xu Taiping had done earlier, Red Hair jerked his head aside the instant the Bone Spear came hurtling toward him, then reached out and caught it tightly with a smack.
Yet just as Red Hair tried to dissipate the force within the spear, his expression suddenly changed.
He discovered that, never mind dissipating it, he could not even control the force within the Bone Spear.
"Bang!"
Within a single breath, the arm with which Red Hair held the Bone Spear exploded.
The Bone Spear whistled past his side and shot straight toward the sea behind him, only stopping when an icicle shot out of the water and struck it.
"How could a mere mortal possess... such strength?"
Red Hair stared in disbelief at his left arm, severed at the shoulder.
He was not the only one. Old General Zhang Kaitai, atop the City Tower, was equally astonished at the sight.
"Boom!"
Amid those astonished gazes, Xu Taiping left an afterimage where he stood and, in the blink of an eye, hurtled through the air to appear before Red Hair.
"Shing!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Taiping drew the Water-Cutting Blade.
The Demon-Slaying Blade, newly deduced by the Spirit Bone Stele, still emphasized seizing force to overwhelm the enemy: gain the lead with the first stroke, and every stroke would lead.
"Boom!"
The instant the long blade left its scabbard, a crane's cry rang out. Then Xu Taiping abruptly became one with the blade in his hand, turning into a streak of blade light that slashed toward Red Hair at a speed