Cultivation is Creation-Chapter 172: :Fakes VS Chapter 1:Real

Wu Kangming's first move was so fast Li Yuan almost missed it. The floating sword blurred forward in a thrust that would have pierced straight through Li Yuan's heart if he hadn't already been moving. Even so, the blade caught his sleeve, the cloth parting with a whisper that spoke of terrifying sharpness.

"Thread Cutting," Wu Kangming said softly. "First iteration."

Li Yuan's eyes widened as he felt his connection to his spiritual energy waver. That casual strike hadn't just cut his sleeve: it had severed some of his spiritual pathways. If he had been even a fraction slower...

Mo Qingyin didn't waste time with words. Her black flower burst into dozens of smaller blooms that filled the air with a mix of poisonous pollen and razor-sharp petals. It was an impressive technique, one that should have forced any normal cultivator to either retreat or waste energy on defense.

Wu Kangming did neither. His sword moved in a complex pattern, each swing somehow hitting multiple targets simultaneously. Where the blade passed, Mo Qingyin's attacks simply ceased to exist, the petals and pollen vanishing as though they had never been.

"How..." Mo Qingyin started, then had to dodge as the sword changed direction mid-swing, nearly taking her head off.

"Thread Cutting, second iteration," Wu Kangming explained, as though he were teaching a technique rather than trying to kill them. "The first cuts physical connections. The second severs the bond between spiritual energy and its manifestations."

Li Yuan took advantage of Wu Kangming's focus on Mo Qingyin to launch his own attack. The Hollow Sword Dao wasn't as flashy as his old Ocean's Will techniques, but it had its advantages. His blade materialized from the void directly behind Wu Kangming, aimed at the base of his spine.

Without turning, without any indication he had even sensed the attack, Wu Kangming's floating sword split into three identical copies. Two continued pressuring Mo Qingyin while the third intercepted Li Yuan's strike with perfect precision.

The clash of their blades sent shockwaves through the clearing, uprooting small trees and creating ripples in the nearby stream. Li Yuan felt his arms go numb from the impact. How could a mere outer disciple generate this much force?

"Sword Spirit Manifestation," Wu Kangming commented. "My teacher says your Hollow Sword Dao has potential, but it's incomplete. You're trying to embody nothingness without understanding its true nature."

Before Li Yuan could even think about where this teacher was, all three sword copies blurred into motion. Their attacks came from different angles, each strike flowing into the next in a continuous stream that left no room for counterattack. It was like trying to fight a waterfall made of blades.

Mo Qingyin's voice cut through the chaos: "Switch!"

Li Yuan didn't hesitate. They might never have fought together before, but some tactical maneuvers were universal. He disengaged from the sword barrage, trading places with Mo Qingyin in a smooth motion that momentarily confused their opponent's rhythm.

Mo Qingyin took advantage of the brief opening to unleash her most devastating technique. Her hands blurred through a series of seals as she pulled out three more black seeds. "Bloom of the Hundred Poisons!"

The seeds erupted into a jungle of twisted vegetation. Thorny vines whipped through the air while flowers that shouldn't exist sprayed clouds of technicolor toxins. The very air seemed to warp around the demonic plants, reality struggling to contain their wrongness.

For a moment, even Wu Kangming seemed taken aback by the sheer wrongness of the technique. His sword copies flickered, their perfect coordination momentarily disrupted as their wielder adjusted to this new threat.

Li Yuan pressed the advantage, his Hollow Sword streaming with void energy as he executed a complex series of strikes. Each attack targeted a different angle, forcing Wu Kangming to split his attention between defending against physical attacks and dealing with Mo Qingyin's botanical nightmare.

"Interesting combination," Wu Kangming admitted as his swords danced through increasingly complex patterns. "The void energy disrupts spatial relationships while the demonic plants attack through multiple vectors simultaneously. Against most opponents, this would be checkmate."

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Something in his tone sent warning signals through Li Yuan's tactical instincts. He started to pull back, but it was too late.

"Unfortunately for you," Wu Kangming continued, "my teacher specialized in dealing with exactly this kind of situation. Sword Spirit Art: Absolute Territory!"

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The air crystallized. There was no other way to describe it. Everything within a ten-meter radius of Wu Kangming suddenly became sharp, as though reality itself had been transformed into an infinitely faceted blade.

Mo Qingyin's demonic plants withered and died, cut into pieces so small they might as well have been atoms. The very air seemed to bleed as unseen edges sliced through it, creating a high-pitched keening sound that set Li Yuan's teeth on edge.

"Fall back!" Li Yuan shouted, recognizing the technique for what it was: a domain, something that should have been impossible for someone at Wu Kangming's cultivation level. Yet there it was, a space where everything became a weapon under its master's control.

Mo Qingyin tried to retreat, but she was a fraction too slow. One of Wu Kangming's sword copies caught her in the shoulder, the blade passing through her flesh. She stumbled, black blood spraying from the wound.

"First blood," Wu Kangming noted. "Though I suppose that's not really blood, is it? More like the essence your Master used to create your current forms."

Li Yuan grit his teeth. This was rapidly spiraling out of control. Their target wasn't just talented, his battle prowess transcended realms.

"We need to end this quickly," Li Yuan called to Mo Qingyin. "All out attack, no holding back!"

She nodded, her wound already closing as she drew on the power the Masked One had given them. Their bodies might be artificial, but they had their advantages: like accelerated healing and reserves of power that exceeded their apparent cultivation level.

They attacked simultaneously, Mo Qingyin unleashing her entire arsenal of demonic techniques while Li Yuan pushed his Hollow Sword Dao to its limits. The void energy around his blade intensified until it began eating away at reality itself, creating patches of nothingness that even Wu Kangming's domain had trouble affecting.

For a moment, it seemed to work. The combination of void energy negating Wu Kangming's domain while Mo Qingyin's endless waves of demonic plants provided cover and distraction actually pushed him back. His sword copies flickered and vanished, forced to reconsolidate into a single blade to maintain enough power to defend.

Then Wu Kangming smiled. "Thank you for this fight. My teacher says I've learned enough: time to show you what a true sword path looks like. Sword Spirit Art: Azure Edge!"

His blade blurred, leaving a trail of blue light that seemed to cut through the very concept of distance. One moment he was on the defensive, the next...

Li Yuan felt it before he saw it: a line of absolute severance passing through everything in its path. Mo Qingyin's remaining plants, the ground itself, the air... all of it split apart as though reality had been divided by a perfect blade.

Mo Qingyin never had a chance to scream. The Azure Edge caught her mid-technique, cutting through her defenses like they didn't exist. Her body literally fell apart, split into pieces so clean that for a moment they remained in perfect position, as though someone had simply drawn lines through a painting.

Then she collapsed, her body dissolving into motes of black energy that quickly faded away. Her soul, bound by contract to the Masked One, would return to its place in the void: assuming it survived the trauma of such a complete destruction of its vessel.

Li Yuan felt a moment of genuine grief. He hadn't particularly liked Mo Qingyin, but they were similar in many ways: both trapped in service to a master they couldn't escape, both trying to make the best of a terrible situation. And now...

"I am sorry about your friend," Wu Kangming said, and he actually sounded sincere. "But you left me no choice. Will you retreat now? I would prefer not to destroy another soul today."

Li Yuan wanted to run. Every tactical instinct screamed that this opponent was beyond him, that continuing would only lead to his own destruction. But...

"I can't," he admitted. "The contract compels me to continue until I either capture you or am destroyed in the attempt. Free will isn't something the Masked One allows his servants."

Wu Kangming nodded, as though this confirmed something he had suspected. "Then let us end this quickly. I promise to make it clean."

Li Yuan gathered the last of his power, pushing everything he had into one final attack. The Hollow Sword Dao might be incomplete, as Wu Kangming had said, but it was all he had. His blade blazed with void energy as he charged forward, trying to find any opening in his opponent's perfect defense.

For a brief moment, their blades clashed in a dance of steel and void energy. Li Yuan moved with everything he had learned in both life and death, each strike aimed at a vital point, each defense calculated to create an opening for a counter.

But it wasn't enough. It was never going to be enough.

The Azure Edge flashed once more, and Li Yuan felt his artificial body begin to come apart. The cut was so perfect he didn't even feel pain: just a curious sensation of separation, as though he were a puzzle being gently taken apart.

As his consciousness began to fade, Li Yuan caught one last glimpse of Wu Kangming's face. The young man looked sad, but not regretful. The face of someone who understood the weight of killing but accepted it as necessary.

Then, just before everything went dark, Li Yuan saw something that sent a spike of terror through his fading mind.