Chapter 352: The Pride of the Hong

Hong Xi countered, "And what of the enmity between the Hong and Musi clans? I hardly think there's any possibility of repairing our relationship."

"Repairing our relationship? Oh, no, no—I'll simply tell the clan that you're all dead. The two of you can't be thinking of taking revenge on the Musi clan, surely?"

Hong Xi narrowed her eyes. "Why not? Should I allow the Musi clan to kill those of the Hong clan without retribution?"

Musi Fala laughed. "Come, now— how many hunters are left in the Hong clan? Just you and your brother, no one else! On the other hand, the Musi clan's at the height of prosperity. Even if you kill Musi Te, there'll still be a Musi Ke, a Musi Zhan, a Musi He—far too many young masters for me to name. Do you really think you would be able to take revenge on the Musi clan as is?"

Hong Xiao roared, "In that case, we'll slaughter them one by one, until they become as decrepit as the Hong clan!"

"Lad, it took your sister all she had to kill Musi Te. Do you think you'll be able to kill Musi Ke, Musi Feng, and Musi Lu, who are said to be at the peak of the third realm? And after that, how about the Musi clan head? Do you really think you can get rid of him too? The Musi clan will only grow more and more prosperous with every day he remains alive, but on the other hand, if the two of you die here, the Hong line will end with you!"

Musi Fala was quite good at persuasion, and his words left both Hong Xi and Hong Xiao silent. Indeed, they wouldn't be able to accomplish much beyond killing the young masters of the Musi clan. The head of the Musi clan was a hegemon in the third realm, and his continued presence would only strengthen the clan. On the other hand, the Hong clan was already on its last legs.

Musi Fala was confident that he would be able to secure the two youths' cooperation, but Hong Xi remained unconvinced.

"I admit that you're right, that the Hong clan consists only of us siblings. As descendants of the Hong, we should do our best to protect our line, but my master has taught me never to succumb, and the Hong clan needs no cowards." She stared at Musi Fala firmly, steely resolve in her eyes.

Hong Xiao nodded. "The clan's honor is more important than our lives."

Musi Fala shook his head in regret. "Ah, the naivete of youth! You wouldn't last three blows against me with your current skills. Believe me, you don't have any other choice but to cooperate with me. I'm trying to be nice here—don't force me to hold you here until I find a hunter who has a summoned soulbeast with them!"

Hong Xi cocked an eyebrow. "So you were scheming against us from the very beginning! Don't you worry—regardless of whether we live or die, there's no chance at all that you'll be able to acquire [Eclipse]."

The hunters of the Musi clan began to laugh.

"This girl's crazy to think that she can stand up to Musi Fala!"

"Who does she think she is? Does she really expect to be able to take on Musi Fala just because she managed to defeat Musi Te? They're on a different level entirely!"

Musi Fala sighed. "A foolish woman you are. Even ten of you combined wouldn't be able to touch me—this sort of fight would be meaningless!"

He continued to try to persuade Hong Xi, but she refused to listen. With a fan in her left hand and a sword in her right, she activated the domain of [Eclipse].

Musi Fala shook his head and pulled out his long sword in exasperation. "It looks like you won't ever be obedient if I don't teach you a lesson!"

Hong Xi shot forward with a flurry of moonlight strikes, but Musi Fala countered her attack with nothing more than a simple wave of his sword.

Hong Xi shot out a beam from her iris peacock soulshard. Before it struck him, he vanished from sight, then appeared immediately in front of her.

"I told you, there's nothing you can do against me." Musi Fala impaled Hong Xi with his sword.

Hong Xiao cried out in fear, "Sister!"

Strangely, however, not a single drop of blood leaked out of the wound. Musi Fala frowned. Before he could react, Hong Xi's body shattered, and she appeared by his side, shooting out another beam from her iris peacock soulshard at him.

Musi Fala had been observing the match between her and Musi Te, and he had devised a strategy to counter hers in the meantime. He dodged the beam once more, then swept his sword in an arc all around him, revealing the cloaked Hong Xi.

"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Tremor]!" Ripples of genetic energy collected on her fist, sliding down and stacking over her arm.

Musi Fala had watched Musi Te die to such a blow, and he was naturally careful not to take it head-on. He swiveled his body, but, to his surprise, Hong Xi also pulled her arm back and sent a kick in his direction instead.

With his left arm, Musi Fala caught and hooked her leg, then made to attack her with the sword in his right. The attack was so rapid that Hong Xi had no chance of evading it.

A long, fiery robe suddenly materialized over her body. Flames flared where Musi Fala's sword touched it, forcing him to stumble back in shock.

He narrowed his eyes. "To think you were hiding this even in your fight against Musi Te."

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

He inwardly cursed Musi Te for being such a useless hunter that he wasn't even able to force Hong Xi to reveal her armor-type soulshard. It was evident that she had considered Musi Te beneath her all this time.

The short-ranged explosion didn't hurt Musi Fala, but it did singe part of his hair. He tsked in annoyance. "It looks like I have to take this somewhat seriously, too. [Black Sun, Occluded Skies]!"

A black sun rose into the air, one far stronger and larger than Musi Te's pale imitation of the technique. Under the black sun, Musi Fala's aura grew tremendously. His body swelled; he seemed to turn into a deity of black flame, with an aura that forced Hong Xi to stagger back.

Musi Fala clenched his fists. Just how much stronger would [Black Sun] grow with the inclusion of [Eclipse]? He stared greedily at Hong Xi.