The last ray of twilight vanished from the sky. The vast land was enveloped in the thick darkness of night.

"Master, this woman is very strong. She didn't use her full strength when we clashed just now," Guan Changyun whispered, turning his head to look at Luo Xiu. "You must be careful."

Luo Xiu's expression was impassive. "Lend me the sword."

Guan Changyun was startled for a moment, then handed the broken sword to Luo Xiu.

This sword, named "Three-Foot," had been with him since he first set foot on the Martial Way and had never left his side. It could also be called his most trusted partner. To a swordsman, a sword is far more reliable than any person.

Just a short while ago, this "partner" he had taken such pride in was easily snapped in two by Luo Xiu's fingers. Yet, he hadn't discarded it. He chose to continue using the broken sword, wanting it to be a constant reminder of that day's defeat.

A gentle breeze lifted Ye Ningxue's fragrant hair, making her look particularly enchanting in the dim night.

Guan Changyun slowly stepped back.

Watching Luo Xiu's back, Zhu Hongmo's eyes held a trace of disdain. "Let's go. Forget this idiot!"

At that moment, Guan Changyun walked over, a faint, unreadable smile on his face as he spoke to Zhu Hongmo. "Of all the Grandmasters in Sea City, you are the one I respect the least."

Hearing this, Zhu Hongmo clenched his teeth but didn't retort. It wasn't important. Besides, Guan Changyun had the right to look down on him.

Just then, Luo Xiu made his move. He held the broken sword and walked unhurriedly toward Ye Ningxue.

Seeing this, Zhu Hongmo laughed with contempt. "It seems this kid really is courting death. Swaggering over like that without any defense, he's wide open! Never mind the inscrutable Third Miss Ye; if it were me, I could use my Mixed Yuan Iron Bone Hand to kill him in an instant in several different ways."

Growing impatient, Guan Changyun snapped, "Shut up!"

Zhu Hongmo gave a faint smile. "Am I wrong? From what I've seen, this kid has always relied on brute strength and trickery to win, with no real skill or technique to speak of."

Guan Changyun's face showed his contempt. "The height of foolishness is to be ignorant of one's own ignorance. Some people live in their own world, thinking they're the center of the universe and that their every word is truth. In reality, to others, they are nothing."

Zhu Hongmo, thinking Guan Changyun was talking about Luo Xiu, laughed. "Well said, Senior Guan. You can watch at your leisure; I will take my leave."

With that, he led Purple Mink and the others away.

Guan Changyun paid no mind to Zhu Hongmo's departure. His eyes were fixed solely on Luo Xiu. From his perspective, Luo Xiu's swaggering, seemingly vulnerable approach toward Ye Ningxue wasn't arrogance or recklessness, but a form of confidence.

It was the confidence of a swordsman. As a swordsman, if you couldn't be confident with a sword in your hand, what kind of swordsman were you?

Upon reaching Ye Ningxue, Luo Xiu raised his hand and brought the sword down in a single slash. The strike was clean, simple, and brutal, devoid of any flourish. It was like a butcher at a street stall hacking at ribs with a cleaver.

Ye Ningxue's calm eyes suddenly trembled. She instantly summoned all her strength, grabbing her sword's hilt with both hands to block Luo Xiu's incoming slash. The moment he had swung, she realized that this seemingly ordinary strike was filled with terrifying power; she could even feel the ultimate expression of the Sword Dao!

The ultimate expression of the Sword Dao is brutal simplicity! No matter what stands in your way, one slash is all it takes!

CLANG!

A deafening boom echoed through the night sky, like an ancient temple bell being struck.

The webbing between Ye Ningxue's thumbs and index fingers split open, blood pouring out. The snow-white longsword flew from her grasp, spinning away into the distance. Her eyes, visible above her mask, widened in utter disbelief as she stared at Luo Xiu.

What kind of power is this? It's terrifying! And what's even more terrifying is that such formidable power can be concentrated on the blade of a sword in an instant! How appalling is his sword control?

At that moment, Zhu Hongmo and the others, who had already turned to flee, stopped in their tracks. The boom still seemed to reverberate in their ears. Seeing Ye Ningxue standing there empty-handed, they wore strange expressions, their eyes filled with confusion.

How did the sword fly out of Ye Ningxue's hands? What exactly did Luo Xiu do?

Luo Xiu looked at Ye Ningxue, feeling a little surprised. He had expected to shatter her sword and cut off her hands in the process. To his surprise, she had managed to block it.

Should I say she has some strength of her own? Or is the sword in her hand just that good?

To Luo Xiu, however, there was no one in this world that couldn't be killed with one slash. If there was, then a second slash would do.

So he swung his sword again.

The gleam of the blade was inches from her face. The fear of death struck instantly. Ye Ningxue's heart pounded, and with no time for grace, she threw herself to the ground, narrowly avoiding the strike.

BOOM!

The formless Sword Qi tore through the air at an incredible speed. Tens of meters away, a heavy truck was instantly cleaved neatly in two! However, the Sword Qi did not dissipate after slicing through the truck. It continued on, cleaving through a stone building beyond the dam before silently vanishing into the night.

The area fell utterly silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone stared at the burning, bisected truck and the stone building that had been sliced in two, all of them shocked beyond words.

"Is... is he even human?"

"He's a monster, right?"

Purple Mink wiped the cold sweat from her face and subconsciously glanced at Zhu Hongmo. She was eager to see the expression on his face. She wanted to ask him: Is this the General Luo you looked down on? The one you called arrogant and said was courting death?

Zhu Hongmo's face was pale, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He clenched the hem of his clothes tightly, his old body trembling uncontrollably as a new fear filled his eyes when he looked at Luo Xiu. He thought of his attitude toward Luo Xiu, how he had looked down on him, and the words he had just said... his face suddenly burned with shame.

So I was just a fly, buzzing in front of a giant dragon this whole time. The ignorant fool Guan Changyun was talking about... was me!

"Looks like this won't be necessary," Luo Xiu said into the silence, casually tossing the broken sword back to Guan Changyun. He looked at Ye Ningxue with a sudden sense of disappointment. He had thought she would be an expert, someone he could use to test his own strength, but the result was the same as always.

Ye Ningxue's cultivation realm might be above Grandmaster Great Perfection, but to Luo Xiu, she was no different from someone in the Body Refinement Phase. However, he had to commend her on one thing: her reaction speed was incredibly fast. Had it been anyone else, they would have been unable to block or dodge those two slashes.

A proud smile touched Guan Changyun's lips as he caught the sword. "It seems I was worried for nothing. Master, I'll leave it to you."

"Master... Master?" Hearing this, Zhu Hongmo was stunned. He slowly turned his stiff neck to look at Guan Changyun, his face a mask of astonishment. "Senior Guan, what... what did you just call him?"

Guan Changyun replied truthfully, "He is my master."

Zhu Hongmo froze, as if turned to stone.

On the other side, Luo Xiu reached out to grab Ye Ningxue's neck. But her reactions were indeed swift. She leaped back, evading his hand, and with a beckoning motion, the longsword flew from wherever it had landed back into her grasp.

The moment she held the sword, her aura surged, and she thrust it toward Luo Xiu.

Luo Xiu, however, casually and effortlessly caught her blade between two fingers. He observed the sword for a moment, then suddenly laughed. "So, it's this sword."

Seizing the opportunity while Luo Xiu was speaking, Ye Ningxue quickly withdrew her blade and drifted back, putting distance between them.

Luo Xiu walked slowly toward her, saying, "White snow falls without a trace; it travels a thousand miles leaving no footprints. Is this 'Snow Scar,' ranked tenth among Hua Country's ten famous swords?"

Ye Ningxue nodded lightly. She brought the sword across her chest in a defensive stance, watching him with vigilance.

Just then, the roar of engines echoed from beyond the dam. Several trucks drove onto the dam, and figures began jumping down one after another. They were fully armed mercenaries, many of whom shouldered rocket launchers.

Luo Xiu assumed they were reinforcements from Wu Xin, but to his surprise, the mercenaries opened fire on him without mercy.

Luo Xiu's eyelids lowered as he calmly dodged the incoming bullets. When he turned back, he saw that Ye Ningxue had vanished, as if she had evaporated into thin air. Clearly, she had used the opportunity to escape.

"Kill him!" someone shouted in broken Hua Country dialect.

Immediately after, several formidable-looking Martial Mercenaries charged toward Luo Xiu.

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