Chapter 22: Purging

A clash between evenly matched opponents required both sides to wield a firm and unyielding will to fight, allowing no hesitation and no retreat!

In many moments, a killing strike had to be unleashed instinctively, at a speed that surpassed conscious thought, or the finishing blow would never land.

Both Yaoguang and Yao Long knew the power their enemy possessed, and therefore charged without holding back, their eyes brimming with cold, merciless killing intent.

This time, You Long directly exploited the advantage of his refined-steel cane. The entire cane exceeded one meter and ten centimeters in length. By contrast, the Chengying Sword in Yaoguang's hand measured barely over ninety centimeters.

In addition, although You Long was not as exaggeratedly massive as the 2.3-meter daemon in Qingyu Industrial Park's basement, his height still surpassed two meters, likely around 2.05 meters.

His broad shoulders, long reach, and the extra length of the cane gave him over twenty centimeters of reach beyond Yaoguang's, and having a longer reach was an obvious advantage.

In the exchange, he leveraged it to the utmost. The instant he brought Yaoguang into his attack range, he smashed the cane down like a war axe cleaving from above, forcing Yaoguang to block.

The moment Yaoguang caught the downward strike, You Long followed with a diagonal chop and then another vertical smash.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Cane and sword collided, sparks bursting in every direction.

Even so, Yaoguang felt his mouth tremble, his qi and blood roil, and his arm stiffen.

You Long seized the moment. His assault shifted sharply from high to low, the refined-steel cane sweeping straight toward Yaoguang's knee.

Opening with aggression and feinting high while attacking low. The attack sequence was astonishingly fast.

Yet, although Yaoguang was shorter than You Long, his repeated battles against tall daemons had given him abundant experience. His responsiveness at this moment was far beyond ordinary.

A few steps back absorbed the impact from the entire sequence of attacks. At the same time, during his blocks, Yaoguang made sure to reduce the distance between him and the enemy.

You Long's continuous blows were stopped one after another, and his assault failed to break through. During Yaoguang's retreat, he had already drawn You Long fully into the Chengying Sword's ideal striking distance.

With a reverse grip, Yaoguang unified the arm and the blade. After blocking You Long's descending strike, he suddenly lunged forward.

The sword swept horizontally. You Long reacted quickly and blocked.

But the instant he intercepted the slash, Yaoguang twisted his wrist. The blade wrapped around the cane, hooking it sharply downward as he pulled, while his left hand struck out.

Zzzt!

The sword edge and the cane scraped violently, bursting with bright sparks.

He is trying to disarm me!

Realizing this instantly, You Long attempted to shift tactics.

But Yaoguang's descending left palm struck directly at his elbow joint. Jin exploded through the limb, forcing his grip to loosen. The cane, already hooked by the Chengying Sword, was torn free and flung several meters away, smashing heavily against the wall.

Before becoming a martial paragon, no matter how strong one was, flesh and blood remained flesh and blood. Having a weapon or not having one made a massive difference in the level of threat posed.

A top martial master whose swordsmanship had reached mastery, armed with a sharp blade, could face someone like Xia Wuyuan, the national Martial Dao Tournament champion bare-handed, and the outcome would still be uncertain. Not to mention both were grandmasters.

Once Yaoguang disarmed him, the daemon immediately sensed danger and retreated. But with the advantage secured, Yaoguang relentlessly assaulted him.

The Chengying Sword slashed down in swift arcs, so fast it almost vanished from sight. You Long was forced back.

The moment he retreated, Yaoguang seized the opening. Jin surged under his feet as the descending slash shifted into a thrust. The power coursed up from his soles, running through every muscle like a swimming dragon. He shot forward like an arrow loose from a bowstring, man and sword united, the blade driving straight toward You Long's throat.

In that instant, You Long clearly saw the Chengying Sword's edge closing in, sharper and closer by the heartbeat. The icy aura felt as though it would pierce through him a split second before the blade even touched.

Under this crushing pressure, he let out a low roar. His body seemed to enlarge again. His right hand twisted further into a daemonized claw, sweeping fiercely toward the Chengying Sword. His left hand simultaneously formed a fist and drove toward Yaoguang's temple, jin surging like lightning.

If all went well, he could smack the Chengying Sword aside, escaping the killing strike. At worst, he would injure his arm but still break the deadlock.

Once the deadlock was broken, even if Yaoguang was not forced back by the punch, You Long could call on the other Yulong International experts in the building to besiege him and reverse the situation.

However, just as You Long committed to his desperate counterattack, Yaoguang's thrust toward his throat suddenly shifted. He twisted, avoiding the daemonized right claw, and gripped the sword with both hands, raising the Chengying Sword vertically to slash upward at You Long's incoming left fist.

Pssch!

Blood sprayed.

The two-handed rising slash, combined with You Long's own fist jin and the sheer sharpness of a famed blade worth tens of millions, caused You Long's entire left forearm to be torn off at the elbow.

Blood gushed as the severed limb spun through the air. The sight made You Long's pupils dilate as unprecedented shock and fury surged through him.

Yaoguang completed the twisting motion of his slash, then shifted into an arcing step. His body spun a full 360 degrees, dissolving every thread of jin circulating through him.

During the rotation, his center of gravity dropped with unbelievable speed.

By the time You Long recovered from his shock and fury, his claw sweeping in front of him in an attempt to strike, Yaoguang had already crouched to a height of barely 1.5 meters.

At that height, the horizontal sweep tore through empty air.

In the blink of an eye, the position reversed. You Long was now in front, and Yaoguang was behind him.

Yaoguang didn't stop for even a single second, taking full advantage of his superior agility.

Just as You Long twisted his torso, attempting to turn around to counterattack, the razor edge of the Chengying Sword pierced into his back, thrusting straight through his chest and emerging more than ten centimeters from the front.

"Ahhh!" As if the pain of his severed arm finally reached his mind, You Long released a raw, agonized scream.

Pssch!

Before the cry had even finished leaving his throat, the sword that skewered his chest had already been drawn out. A tremendous force slammed into his body.

The flow of qi and blood along his governor vessel felt severed, and numbness flooded his limbs.[1]

He pitched forward uncontrollably and crashed into the wall three meters ahead.

"Stop! The Prosecutor's Office does not have the authority to kill people..." You Long's voice trembled with pain.

But with his Governor Vessel cut off and the gaping wound in his chest draining every shred of strength, even his protest sounded weak.

Especially when his body pressed helplessly against the wall, the Chengying Sword stabbed into him again from behind, piercing through his chest once more!

Thrusts came after thrusts...

Pssch! Pssch! Pssch!

Thirteen consecutive thrusts. No hesitation. No pause. One blow after another.

Each strike dragged fresh blood from his body, pierced clean through him, and was taking his life away.

Only when You Long, pinned to the wall, stopped moving entirely did Yaoguang finally halt.

"Kill people?" Yaoguang said softly.

Pssch!

He pulled the sword from You Long's body one last time.

He released the left hand that had been severing his qi and blood flow. The daemonized body, inflated to two meters and three, slid down the wall and collapsed heavily on the floor.

"I did not kill a person."

Bang!

The office door burst open. Someone outside must have heard the commotion.

Several martial artists from Yulong International, along with Xia Wuyuan, Ye Yuhe, Lin Xiaowei, and the others, rushed inside all at once.

1. The governor vessel is defined as the main trunk of a meridian that runs along the interior of the spinal column, connecting various acupoints related to brain and marrow disorders. ☜