In a deserted region within the Mountains of Ten Thousand, on that very night.
Jin sat on a rock; he was crouching, his hands resting on his legs.
His sword was leaned against his body, the tip of the blade pierced into the ground.
The atmosphere was dark, and the moonlight barely reached that place.
He was looking at the ground, his face covered in shadows.
Sheng Yuan arrived.
Yuan: "I have come as you requested."
Jin raised his eyes slightly and looked at him.
Jin spoke with a heavy calmness: "So, is this the path you have chosen?"
Yuan: "Is there a flaw in it?"
Jin: "The elderly, children, women, the weak. You cared for none of them; you killed everyone who appeared before you. Is there anything that justifies this?"
Yuan (coldly): "Anything that will help me in my revenge, I will do... I do not believe you should stand in my face; you know what happened to me in the past."
Jin: "And is that a justification for killing the innocent? Does it increase your strength or experience to kill a child?"
Yuan (with provocative coldness): "Do I gain strength from this? Yes... anything that contains energy... I will obtain it until I kill that person, no matter what that thing is."
Jin (angrily): "Do you not intend to abandon this path?"
Yuan turned his back and spoke with a threatening tone:
"Jin… it is better that you do not stand in my way."
Jin grabbed his sword and rose from his place.
Jin: "Then… you have left me with no other choice."
Yuan looked at him coldly, then drew his sword.
Yuan: "So, this is how things will go?"
And the two charged.
The first collision. The ground was destroyed in a circle five meters in diameter; rocks flew from the intensity of the impact.
The two swords struck violently, and their arms shook from the force of the blow. The energy of the collision exploded like a shockwave that cracked the air itself.
Jin (angrily): "Do you delight in the death of people?"
Yuan (angrily): "You do not know my feelings; it is better that you stop now."
Jin's anger increased further, and they collided again.
The ground cracked beneath their feet, and rock shards embedded themselves in their bodies, leaving superficial wounds bleeding slowly.
Jin - Heavenly Demon Lesser Art - Second Movement
Jin - Dark Blade Art - Fifth Movement
Yuan - Heavenly Demon Lesser Art - Fourth Movement
Yuan - Wolf Fang Art - Third Movement
Jin - Soaring Blade Art - Sixth Movement
Yuan - Seven Claws Art - Fifth Movement
Yuan - Bloody Claw Art - Seventh Movement
Jin (angrily): "Do you get your strength from killing humans? Are you a real demon?"
Yuan (screaming): "Whatever the method, anything that will help me in my revenge... I will do it!"
Jin - Balance Sword Art - Ninth Movement
Yuan - Moon Sword Art - Fifth Movement - Crescent Brilliance
Jin was shocked.
He felt a shock piercing through his arm, and a deep wound opened on his shoulder due to the energy pressure.
How? Where did he get this extraordinary art? It rivals the arts of the Heavenly Demon!!!
Jin - Dance of the Manifesting Swords Art - Eighth Movement!
Blades of energy formed in the air around Jin as he attacked Yuan.
The blades were of a dark, lifeless shadow color, yet they were brilliant and eye-catching.
Some blades pierced Yuan's body, and blood erupted, but his muscles did not slacken.
Yuan executed his counter-attack:
Moon Sword Art - Seventh Movement - Full Moon Completion
A ring of energy formed around Yuan, completely scattering Jin's attack.
Jin's skin tore from the pressure of the rebounding energy, and blood flowed from his mouth.
And they collided again.
Yuan: "Jin… do not stand in my way… I will get my revenge no matter the cost."
Jin (screaming angrily): "Is your revenge at the expense of the innocent, you madman??"
They locked blades again.
Every style one executed, the other would copy.
One time was enough to memorize it, change its essence, and execute it.
But it was strange... Yuan was surpassing Jin!!
Not just in skill or talent… but even in power.
Yuan's aura appeared in the attack; it was deep purple and dark as well, but radically different.
If Jin's darkness was devoid of life, Yuan's energy was screaming with pain and filled with evil.
The aura was tearing his body from the inside; his veins were bulging and his bones were making terrifying sounds.
It was... Death Qi!!!
Jin had read about this type of Mana and how its Dantian is formed!
Jin recognized it immediately, as he can identify all types of Mana at a glance.
He reached the peak of his anger.
Lesser Demon Art - Second Movement
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Tenth
Twelfth
Jin reached his limit.
His clothes were torn, blood flowed from dozens of wounds, and his breath was heavy as if he were fighting with a shattered body.
But Yuan was not pressured and was fighting at the same level!!!
Jin used Magic:
Ice Spears - Third Circle
Fire Spears - Fourth Circle
Lightning Ground - Third Circle
Yuan countered them.
His skin burned, his limbs froze, and blood erupted from his back, but he did not fall.
Every point of collision between them destroyed the earth, leaving behind a crater a meter deep!!
Jin did not stop.
Pain - Black Magic Third Circle
Paralysis - Black Magic Fourth Circle
Pain and helplessness permeated Yuan's body, but he did not stop.
His muscles were trembling, his knees were about to buckle, and blood was flowing from his eyes.
It was a terrifying scene. Their talent surpassed humans, their skill surpassed Sword Masters; each of them possessed more than 400 years of internal energy.
Clash after clash… the roar of the sound was heard from hundreds of meters away!
And the battle was not without witnesses; the Great Guardian was watching from afar!
Even he could not comprehend what he was seeing; these two had transcended human logic!!!
Yuan retreated backward, suspended his sword in the air with telekinesis, and began performing hand signs and symbols.
Shaman Arts Level Five - Restriction
Jin was frozen for a moment, restrained. Then his eyes turned deep purple, and runic inscriptions appeared on his right hand.
Black Magic Fifth Circle - Lower Grade Magic Cancellation
The energy dissipated, and the Shaman art—which differs from the logic of magic entirely—broke!
Both were burdened with wounds everywhere; their bodies were screaming in pain, yet they continued.
Yuan (screaming from his heart): "Why do you stand in my way? You haven't felt what I felt, you haven't seen the pain of losing everything you own, so why do you stand in my way?"
Jin's features changed, and he stopped.
He spoke with extreme coldness and a sad tone:
"I don't know how you feel? You never once asked me how I lived my life before I came here."
"You knew nothing about my parents or what happened to them."
"I was trapped in a dimensional gate for two whole years without any power or skill, and before that, I was living in the gutter."
"That is why I feel the pain of every person who loses a member of their family."
He wept while screaming from his heart:
"Every son who loses his parents, every mother who lost her children."
"I know everything they feel, that is why I cannot accept this, you madman, you scoundrel!!"
He spoke while crying: "Hey... if you want your revenge, I will help you."
"But just… stop this… please stop this and atone for your sins."
"You want internal energy? I will bring you as many energy pills as you want."
"You want martial arts? I will bring you the most formidable martial arts in Murim and Asterion."
"But just stop."
"I do not want to see the person I created with my own hands killing thousands."
"I do not want to see my friend become a mad demon."
Yuan did not respond for a while.
Anger and confusion were visible on his face.
And the Great Guardian stood astonished by this fight.
The entire area was destroyed; every few steps there was a crater a meter deep, and rocks were scattered everywhere. The lines and cracks on the ground from the sword arts were everywhere the eye could see.
These two used everything they knew in martial arts, everything they knew in magic and sorcery.
There was not an inch of their bodies that was not wounded, yet they stood...
Yuan (replied in a sad tone): "Please… keep your promise."
And he fell to the ground, unconscious.
Jin did not speak again; he was looking with regret, sadness, and pity.
He fell to his knees without a word. He was resisting fainting with great difficulty.
And so… the sun of the next day rose.
End of Chapter
Note: Death Mana/Qi is the mana resulting from killing in battles and releasing mana; it can also be forcibly drawn from another person's body.
Death Dantian: A dantian of death mana… separate from the primary Dantian.