As Lin Feng and Xiao Siyang lunged forward, Xiao Siyang suddenly pulled out what looked like a sharpened human bone from thin air and stabbed at Yang Jun's chest. Lin Feng's hand went straight for Yang Jun's head. Just as Yang Xiao tried to help, Crow moved again. In the blink of an eye, he was already in front of Yang Xiao. At the same time, a translucent crystalline wall rose up, forcibly separating the two Yangs.
Just when it seemed the tide had turned again, a sharp gust tore through the air—a lightning-fast object flew straight toward Xiao Siyang's head. Quick on the draw, Xiao Siyang ducked, pulling his neck back just in time. Then came a loud bang—Lin Feng's palm landed squarely on Yang Jun's skull. But unlike what happened to Wang Ziheng and Po Jun two years ago, nothing happened. Yang Jun stood firm, gave Lin Feng a grimacing smile, and said, "If your death weren't already reserved for someone else, I'd send you off myself."
Meanwhile, Xiao Siyang scanned the room in alarm, trying to locate the source of the thrown object. A moment later, his eyes locked on me—and more precisely, on the other Blade of Sin now in my hand.
During the earlier chaos, a wave of inexplicable unease suddenly came over me. It felt as if something had yanked at my heart, and my arms lifted on their own, as if pulled by invisible strings. I had felt this once before—right before the Blade of Retribution had returned to me through the air.
Sure enough, I heard the faint whistle of blades cutting the wind. Two flashes of light darted toward my hands like lightning. By the time I felt sensation return to my palms, the Blades of Sin and Retribution were already back in my grasp. At this point, the fight among the two Yangs and the trio of Lin Feng was in full swing. No one had noticed my blades—except for one.
Gao Liang, leaning on my shoulder, had been watching everything. He had seen my arms move and noticed the swords return to my hands. Before I could act, he whispered in my ear, "You striking a pose or what? Move!"
His words pushed me to action. In a rush, I threw the Blade of Retribution, but due to the rush, it missed its mark—and Xiao Siyang dodged it with ease.
He stared at the second blade in my hand, his eyes gleaming with a mix of greed and cold fury. Without a word, he pointed his sharpened bone in my direction. We were more than ten meters apart—there was no way such a makeshift weapon could harm me from that distance, unless it was a gun or hidden dart.
But the moment Xiao Siyang raised the bone, a dreadful sense of foreboding gripped me. I instinctively took a step back—right as a searing pain erupted in my chest. Blood gushed from a hole that had suddenly opened with no warning.
The blood flow stopped on its own after a brief moment, but the wound was deep—exposing bone. Had I not stepped back, it would've pierced my heart directly.
Xiao Siyang sneered. "If you were an ordinary man, that blow would've torn your heart right out. But don't think you're invincible. Next time, I'll slice your neck—let's see if you can grow another head."
No sooner had he spoken than he slashed his bone diagonally toward my throat. I instinctively took another step back and raised the Blade of Sin, slashing toward him.
The blade struck something with a harsh scrape, sending up a shower of sparks. Just as Xiao Siyang was about to press his attack, things changed between Yang Jun and Lin Feng.
Lin Feng had failed with his strike, and Yang Jun retaliated by grabbing Lin Feng's head and twisting hard.
A sickening crack sounded. Lin Feng's neck bent unnaturally, his head now twisted behind his back. Yang Jun then kicked him square in the chest, sending him flying toward Xiao Siyang.
Xiao Siyang dodged aside, but before he could fully right himself, Yang Jun was already in front of him, swinging a heavy punch at his head. Xiao Siyang didn't dare take the hit and quickly retreated, leaving his back exposed.
I wasn't going to pass up this chance. I lunged forward with the Blade of Sin, aiming straight at Xiao Siyang's back.
The tip of the blade pierced his skin with no resistance. Just one more push and I could drive it through his chest.
Xiao Siyang leaned forward just in time, narrowly avoiding a lethal strike—but there was no dodging what came next.
Suddenly, Yang Jun staggered. A short blade emerged from his chest, its point gleaming.
He stumbled forward, only managing to stay upright by planting his right foot ahead to brace himself. Turning around, he saw Hao Zhengyi standing behind him, gripping a broken-hilted short sword.
I knew that sword—it was unmistakably a product of Wu Rendi. Without it, there was no way Hao Zhengyi could've landed a blow on Yang Jun.
Behind Hao Zhengyi, beyond the crystalline wall, everything was frozen. Yang Xiao was now fully encased in a layer of white frost. In his hands were two copper nails, aimed directly at Crow. The nails' tips had been caught in Crow's claws, and the two were locked in a fierce power struggle—but it looked like Yang Xiao was losing.
Seeing Yang Jun wounded, he no longer cared about Xiao Siyang. He bypassed him entirely and darted forward, reaching for the blade lodged in his chest.
With Yang Jun no longer a threat, Xiao Siyang leaned forward to avoid my blade again. At the same time, the mist that had been clinging to his body suddenly separated—and as if alive, the vapor surged toward me.
Now it was too late to retreat. Even if I didn't know exactly what that mist was, I could tell nothing good would come from letting it touch me. In a rush, I withdrew the Blade of Sin and slashed several times toward the approaching mist. The blade seemed to counter the mist naturally—wherever it passed, the fog vanished without a trace.
As the mist dispersed, an object flew at me from Xiao Siyang's hand. My instincts kicked in—I swung the Blade of Sin in the direction of the incoming projectile. My timing was perfect, and the blade struck true. But there was no sensation at all, as if I had sliced empty air. I thought I heard a faint gunshot.
In that same moment, an agonizing pain tore through my chest, as if a blade had been driven straight into my heart. Before I could understand what was happening, I felt the same piercing pain down the line from my brow to my throat, then to my abdomen. Blood was already trickling down from my forehead and neck.
The agony intensified. The wound on my forehead suddenly tore open, ripping downward to merge with the wound on my throat. Blood gushed like an open faucet. But that wasn't the end—the wound continued to tear downward, and within seconds, it connected to the one on my lower abdomen.
I watched in horror as the torn skin on my chest revealed my still-beating heart—thumping slower and slower. I was being ripped in half while still alive. Even with the unusual resilience granted by my white-haired constitution, no one could survive such injuries for long. From up ahead came Xiao Siyang's cold, mocking voice: "You're the first…"
His words rang in my ears like a death knell. As more blood poured out, my consciousness began to blur. Just as I was about to black out, I heard Gao Liang's furious shout: "Snap out of it! This isn't the time to nap! Get up and keep fighting Xiao Siyang!" Then I felt a sharp pain in my backside—enough to yank me back into consciousness.
My vision shifted. In the blink of an eye, the scene had changed. Xiao Siyang and Hao Zhengyi were locked in combat with Yang Jun. During their scuffle, Xiao Siyang repeatedly tried to lunge in my direction, only to be intercepted by Yang Jun. Without him, I probably would've died several times over by now.
Gao Liang was now standing beside me. He looked slightly better than before, though what caught my attention most was the copper nail from Yang Xiao's hand that he now held. The nail's tip was still stained with blood. I reached back and wiped at my own backside—sure enough, there was a puncture wound, but at least the bleeding had already stopped.
The abrupt shift in reality left me momentarily dazed. Staring at Gao Liang's round face, I muttered, "What just happened?"
Still watching the ongoing fight ahead, Gao Liang replied, "You inhaled Xiao Siyang's phantasmic corruption and fell into a state of internal deviation. Lucky for you, I managed to pull you back—otherwise you'd be no different from a corpse right now. Feeling better? If so, get back in there and fight!"
I had no idea when I inhaled that so-called phantasmic corruption, but Yang Jun was clearly at a disadvantage now. Though he had pulled the short sword from his chest and the wound was already starting to heal, he was still fighting barehanded. Xiao Siyang's sharpened bone was dangerous enough, but Hao Zhengyi's short sword posed an even greater threat—one misstep could deal a serious blow.
Emboldened by their weapons, Xiao Siyang and Hao Zhengyi went all out. Yang Jun was mostly dodging and defending. But leveraging his white-haired body's resilience, Yang Jun repeatedly launched brutal counterattacks against Xiao Siyang, even risking a few hits just to try and take him down. Each time, however, Hao Zhengyi would charge in at the last second, short sword aimed at Yang Jun's vitals, with a near-suicidal resolve—forcing Yang Jun to break off his offense.
At that point, I no longer cared about giving Hao Wenming face. Raising the Blade of Sin, I charged straight at Hao Zhengyi. He reacted quickly, spinning around and flinging his short sword at me.
A cold gleam flashed through the air. I hurriedly raised my blade to block. But just as our swords were about to collide, his short sword suddenly veered off course in midair, slipping past my block like lightning—and stabbed directly into my shoulder.
Before I could even react, the sword pulled itself free and zipped back into Hao Zhengyi's hand like it had a mind of its own.
A remotely controlled sword? If Hao Zhengyi truly had that skill, this fight was unwinnable. Even with my white-haired body as a defense, I couldn't survive a strike like that to a vital point. I might not die instantly, but a severed limb was just as likely. Still, why hadn't Hao Zhengyi used that same move on Yang Jun earlier?
Fortunately, the wound on my shoulder wasn't serious. Though the bleeding looked nasty, it began to close the moment the sword withdrew. But Hao Zhengyi didn't plan on giving me any breathing room. With another flick of his wrist, the sword came flying again.
This time, I didn't try to block with the Blade of Sin. Instead, I darted to the right. Yet the short sword twisted again in midair, now heading straight for my head. In a blink, it was right in front of me.
Panicking, I tilted my head as far as I could.
Whoosh—the sword grazed my neck, leaving a shallow gash behind. But just as it passed, I felt something odd—like something brushing across my skin. The blade looped back again, now coming at me from behind.
In that instant, it all became clear.
I swung the Blade of Sin upward. Though there was no sound, I felt the blade strike something.
A metallic clang rang out—Hao Zhengyi's short sword dropped from the air. I looked closer—Wyrmvine Threads were tangled around its hilt!
No wonder he had seemed so much like that guy Pu Dage from Xiao Sanduo's memories—the one who played with flying swords.
Hao Zhengyi's face darkened. He hadn't expected me to see through it so quickly. Before I could rush him, a large shadow barreled past me.
By the time I realized what was happening, Fatty Gao had already charged in front of Hao Zhengyi.
"You go help Yang Jun! I'll deal with him!"