Chapter 114
Gang Ryeong kneeled on the ground without a word.
His face was expressionless.
His body didn’t tremble.
But his demeanour felt empty, it no longer carried that familiar coldness or anything at all.
It felt hollow, distant.
Jian Ruxue remained silent as she observed Gang Ryeong’s condition. She wanted to console this poor, pitiful child, but no words of comfort came to her.
In the end, she could only sigh.
“…Sigh.”
She turned her attention to herself.
In truth, she had protected herself and a small area around her. Gang Ryeong was the only one who had instinctively rushed to her side when the explosion occurred.
Although she had shielded herself, the explosion’s backlash was simply too overwhelming.
Even her Sword Will had been torn apart.
Countless internal injuries racked her body.
Blood gushed from the corner of her mouth.
Her brows knit for the briefest moment, a flicker of pain flashing across her face.
But her eyes remained sharp, filled with vigilance.
The perpetrator of this disaster was still nearby. Someone capable of such terrifying destruction could not be ordinary.
As she scanned her surroundings cautiously…
A presence crept through the shadows, slowly writhing closer to the two of them.
The moment it drew near, it lunged forward.
The instant the creature emerged, she slashed, not even glancing its way.
Her swing was merciless, leaving a brilliant white arc in its wake.
The being hit the ground, neatly severed in two.
Only then did Jian Ruxue look. It was a worm, a small, white worm.
“Eh?”
In the next heartbeat, countless more worms hurtled through the air, whizzing in from every direction.
Jian Ruxue’s blade flashed again and again, each stroke bisecting another worm.
But she failed to notice what happened afterward: once the severed bodies hit the earth, they began to glow faintly, and a surge of death‑energy rose again.
“Ha… haha…”
Suddenly, Gang Ryeong began to laugh, a wild, unhinged laugh that echoed through the room.
“I tried so hard to protect them, but in the end—”
He spoke slowly, his voice cracking as tears streamed down his face with unbridled anger.
“I was wrong all along. How could I ever protect them… when I’m this weak?”
“Weakness.”
“That’s right… I’m weak.”
Gang Ryeong laughed again, this time with bitter self-deprecation as he opened his mouth.
All the death energy that had gathered around the room surged towards him, flowing into his mouth. Though invisible to the naked eye, its presence was immense, terrifying.
He, a ghoul, could be called the reaper of souls… the bearer of death energy itself, of course he could devour all the death energy.
“What are you doing?” Jian Ruxue demanded. She couldn’t quite discern his actions, but an ominous certainty told her he was crossing a point of no return.
“Haha… I’m doing what I should have done ages ago,” he replied, his voice chillingly cold.
Death‑energy swirled into him, draping his body in utter darkness.
Bit by bit, that darkness engulfed him.
And with it, his form began to change.
Though Gang Ryeong had been a ghoul, his body was still been technically alive and couldn’t contain death energy. But now, inundated by pure death‑energy…
Veins burst beneath his skin.
His once‑beating heart fell silent. His lungs collapsed.
His eyes became two pools of abyssal black.
His body is on the brink of collapse from taking in the Death energy directly.
But at the same time, it was transforming.
“What are you doing?” Jian Ruxue snapped, darting forward.
As she neared him, her hand began to crumble, flesh and bone flaking away. She hastily withdrew, a deep frown creasing her brow.
“What… is this?”
The energy felt uncannily familiar, yet wholly alien at the same time.
Before she could puzzle it out, her instincts screamed. She whirled and raised her sword to defend.
Bang!
A giant gray-skinned being punched her, sending her a few steps back.
Jian Ruxue merely scoffed and moved with grace.
Swinging her sword at his steel skin.
For a moment, there was only the sound of metal clashing.
But this lasted for a moment before the giant fell to the ground with a cry of pain.
“I have to admit, little girl, you do have some talent. Even at the verge of death, you were able to completely kill my Third-stage creation without much effort.”
A hoarse voice sounded from all directions.
“Show yourself, coward.”
A giant sword materialised behind as she clutched her sword tightly. Ready for a fight.
“Haha, who are you kidding? This is just a mere feint you’re displaying. You are severely injured, and I can see right through it.”
“We will see.”
She took a deep breath:
“Snow‑Blossom First Sword: Snow.”
Her figure gradually became a blur as she slowly integrated with the white sword behind her.
The surrounding atmosphere grew chilly.
Even in this room, which should be completely enclosed, snowflakes were swirling in the air.
Then the entire room erupted violently in almost an instant.
Bang!
After this, the snowflakes gradually gathered toward the sword, its tip slowly pointing toward a certain wall.
“Die,” Jian Ruxue roared.
The sword struck the wall in an instant, causing it to collapse.
Instantly, everything was covered in frost and ice.
“Hmph.” A snort came from a certain direction.
A seemingly young man in black robes walked out, leaving a layer of frost as he walked in.
He looked carefully at the Sword Will:
“As expected of the core disciple of Mount Hua. They take in very few disciples, but they make up in quality rather than quantity.”
Jian Ruxue didn’t speak. Instead, she replied with the giant sword swinging at him.
“However, don’t expect our Shadow Faction to be weaklings.”
The man merely pointed his fingers forward and completely halted the sword.
Jian Ruxue wasn’t discouraged:
“Sword-Blossom Second Sword: Frost Flower.”
The snowflakes changed, turning into a pristine white flower swirling around the snow-white sword before she attacked again.
To this, the man merely sneered. He raised his hand again, and a shadow swirled in his palm before he punched.
Bang!
When the two met, the giant sword started to form cobwebs, gradually breaking apart.
Then it completely broke apart.
A light erupted and landed on the ground,
revealing the unconscious figure of Jian Ruxue.
Her Sword Will was already weakened from the explosion, and now she was severely injured.
For a Martial Artist, their strongest weapon is their Will, and at the same time, they are very vulnerable if said weapon is damaged.
It was double-edged because Will was the manifestation of their mentality, and when the mentality is broken, obviously there will be damage done to your Will as well.
“Die.”
The man slowly walked up to her and pointed his finger right at her forehead, preparing to kill her in an instant.
But at this time, he sensed something wrong.
A familiar energy was brewing.
He turned around to look at a small figure covered in a layer of death energy:
“Weren’t you the brat who dealt with my trap?”
He raised an eyebrow when he saw this.
Actually, he hadn’t paid attention to it because no living man can devour death energy, and in his assumption, Gang Ryeong should have already been dead.