"I’ve made a grave miscalculation!"

As Li Hong spoke, his voice cold as ice, the Eight Trigrams Mirror shattered like porcelain. Before the pieces could even touch the ground, they disintegrated into dust and scattered on the wind.

The mountain wind was cold that night, but a murderous rage roiled within him like a furious flame.

’Qi Refining Sixth Layer!’

’If I’d known he was this strong, I should have intervened myself, no matter the cost.’

"If I let someone like you continue to grow, you’ll inevitably become a disaster."

Gripping the giant sword on his back, Li Hong’s eyes were sharp as daggers as he slowly lowered his stance. In an instant, his entire aura transformed, becoming like that of a Fierce Beast descending a mountain, ready to pounce and devour its prey. His tiger-like eyes locked onto Chen Che with savage intensity.

"But it’s not too late!"

"Die!"

With a furious roar, he bent his knees and pushed off the ground.

A thunderous BOOM echoed as the ground beneath Li Hong’s feet caved in, leaving a crater five feet wide. He rode the explosive burst of True Essence, shrouded in a gale, and arrived before Chen Che in an instant.

The distance of over a thousand feet was crossed as if in a single stride.

Even as he closed the distance, he was already swinging his giant sword in a reckless, horizontal sweep.

This strike.

It was an immensely powerful and heavy blow, its momentum ferocious to the extreme. Like a collapsing mountain, a tsunami, or a surging tidal wave, it seemed unstoppable. From the very first move, he held nothing back, intending to slay Chen Che where he stood!

"CLANG!"

This was their second clash, and Chen Che was ready for it.

He gripped his sword with both hands, pushing his True Essence and Qi and Blood to their absolute limits. The Pure Jun Sword swung out in a measured arc to meet the attack head-on.

"BOOM!"

The collision of the two swords unleashed a boundless wave of Strong Qi.

The violent blast of True Essence whipped up a gale that instantly tore the roof from the dilapidated little temple. The earthen Divine Statue within was ripped apart by the force of the wind, stripped away as if being unraveled, until in a flash, only the empty stone pedestal was left.

Dust and splintered wood filled the air. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but devastation.

The two broke apart after a single clash. Li Hong retreated rapidly, his expression a mixture of shock and disbelief.

Before, he’d had his doubts about whether Wu Hui and the others had truly died at Chen Che’s hands. But after that one exchange, all his suspicions vanished into thin air.

But a greater question immediately took its place:

"Who in the world are you? Where did you come from?"

He had traveled for many years and met disciples from great sects.

He’d even had the honor of sparring with a few. But even those disciples from great sects, at the same Qi Refining Sixth Layer, were nowhere near as strong as Chen Che. They weren’t powerful to this degree.

’Could he be a Golden Core Sect Member? Other than a Golden Core True Master, who could possibly train a disciple like this?’

"Dead men don’t need answers!"

Chen Che had no patience for pointless talk. He brandished his Pure Jun Sword, poured True Essence into it, and lunged forward like a striking dragon.

’This man is truly unnatural. Had I known, I never would have provoked him so carelessly!’

A bitter taste filled Li Hong’s mouth, but he no longer had a choice. Now that they were enemies, his only option was to kill Chen Che. With this thought, he thrust his giant sword forward in a move like an Immortal pointing the way, meeting Chen Che’s strike.

"CLANG!"

Amidst the deafening clang, Chen Che was thrown backward, but in the blink of an eye, he lunged forward again with even greater speed.

"Break!"

Li Hong clenched his jaw, his expression as dark as a deep abyss, as he swung his giant sword once more to block Chen Che’s strike.

"CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG..."

In an instant, the two were a tangled blur of battle.

"This is terrifying!"

Hu Yao, who was hiding in the shadows, watched dumbfounded.

To him, the clearing was nothing but a dazzling blur of sword light and flying sparks.

The two were moving so fast that even the sounds of their blades clashing seemed to merge into one continuous shriek.

"My Weapon!"

Li Hong’s heart ached as he glanced at his giant sword.

This was his Giant Grinding Sword. He had spent years collecting Exotic Copper and Iron, found a master smith, and waited a full seven months for it to be forged into a Tier One High Grade Weapon. He had relied on this blade to slay countless foes.

But now, its blade was covered in nicks, jagged as a saw, and riddled with cracks.

Meanwhile, his opponent’s sword remained as pristine as ever, bearing only a few minor scratches.

’What kind of Weapon is that? And how in the world does he practice his Cultivation? Why is his True Essence so dense? Why hasn’t it run out yet?’

But what shocked Li Hong the most was his opponent’s True Essence.

He had intended to rely on his superior Cultivation to drag the fight out until his opponent was exhausted. Instead, he was the one about to collapse! His opponent’s assault hadn’t weakened in the slightest; on the contrary, it was growing stronger. It felt like he was fighting a Cultivator who had mastered both internal and external disciplines.

"CLANG!"

With each strike of his sword, Chen Che felt an exhilarating flow of power. This life-or-death struggle was completely different from his usual solitary training.

The things he had learned in his lessons now seemed to click, his understanding of them deepening with every moment.

He even began to effortlessly unleash some of the first-year Magic he had learned. It was clear he was using his opponent as a whetstone to sharpen his skills.

"You’re courting death!"

Forced back again and again and on the verge of coughing up blood, Li Hong’s eyes went red. With a low roar, he abruptly planted his feet. In an instant, his body swelled by a third. He had clearly activated some kind of desperate, life-risking Secret Technique!

His already massive frame seemed to transform into that of a giant.

He swung the giant sword with both hands, bringing it down from the heavens and brutally tearing through the web of Chen Che’s sword defense.

"BANG!"

From that one brutal impact, Chen Che felt as if his sword had struck an immense tidal wave. The skin on his hands was instantly torn open, and blood began to stream from his palms.

The sheer force of the rebound sent him flying backward.

"You damn little bastard, now it’s my turn!"

Having been beaten almost to helplessness, Li Hong roared in fury and surged forward, attacking with one sword strike after another.

"I won’t rest until I’ve chopped you into mincemeat and fed you to the dogs!"

’To be thrashed by a mere Sixth-Layer Cultivator... to be forced to use a Secret Technique that I can only use once in my entire life! Once used, it damages the meridians, burns away Qi and Blood, and consumes my very foundation. It means I’ll never have another chance to reach Foundation Establishment.’

How could he not be furious?

’A Forbidden Technique?’

Chen Che faltered.

His high school curriculum would never teach Magic that came at the cost of harming one’s own body. Seeing the overwhelming torrent of sword-light, his first instinct was to dodge. But Li Hong was already upon him; there was nowhere to run!

"Die!" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The giant sword descended. Li Hong’s face was a mask of savagery; with the power of this single strike, he could cleave the boy in two.

But in that instant, his vision swam. He felt a jarring impact, as if his Divine Soul had suffered a devastating blow, and his head throbbed as if it would split apart.

’A Divine Sense attack? How is that possible?’

Li Hong froze, his eyes filling with despair.

’Only a Foundation Establishment Cultivator should possess Divine Sense, let alone use it as a weapon.’

In the instant his vision blurred, he saw Chen Che’s sword slashing toward him.

"No!"

At the last possible second, Li Hong gripped his sword with both hands, its edge erupting with a boundless surge of power as he tried to block Chen Che’s strike.

But Chen Che’s strike was far too terrifying, completely beyond anything he could have imagined. He could only watch as his nicked and battered giant sword was snapped in two by the force of the blow. His peerless Protective True Essence was also shredded with ease.

Then, the Pure Jun Sword drifted effortlessly through Li Hong’s body.

"SQUELCH!"

A tearing sound echoed.

He froze on the spot. He tried to take another step, but his body was completely devoid of strength, leaving him standing there, paralyzed.

Then, his body slid into two halves and collapsed to the ground.