Volcanic Age

"How did you—?!"

Dan Libai burst out, unable to contain his shock, while Tiemu Minghuan remained silent.

Man with a veil?

It was only the Evil Valley Master who didn't understand what was going on and just stood there puzzled.

"…"

Tiemu Minghuan's eyes became as sharp as an eagle's.

"You ridiculous fool."

It was a voice as cold as a northern blizzard.

Just as Dan Libai was about to get angry at the words 'ridiculous fool,' a sharp burst of air interrupted him.

An arrow that shot in a long arc like a meteor forced Tiemu Minghuan and Dan Libai apart.

Bang!

This time, it wasn't an arrow, it was Zhou Xuchuan himself.

As expected!

Zhou Xuchuan was convinced after seeing how Tiemu Minghuan reacted.

The moment he called him the man with a veil, he flinched slightly. Then, when Dan Libai, who was standing next to him, responded, his aura changed completely.

It was as if he had become a completely different person.

"Heup!"

Zhou Xuchuan tensed, grounding himself as he swung the sword in his hands with all his might, adding speed to his strength.

Boom!

The sword struck the ground with explosive force, shaking the surroundings. Although aimed at Tiemu Minghuan, the swordsman stepped back just before the blade reached him.

"Gasp!"

Ren Chaojian and Ge Hongxi, momentarily unconscious, snapped awake at the deafening explosion. Their eyes widened as they scrambled to their feet.

As expected of experts, they each grabbed their weapons and crouched in place to take defensive stances. However, there were no attacks aimed at them.

Instead, a loud boom echoed in their ears.

"Just who the hell are you?"

Zhou Xuchuan could clearly be seen in Tiemu Minghuan's gloomy eyes.

He was the elder of the Xia Wu Sect, whom he had met just a little while ago. However, this aura hadn't been there the last time they met.

Tiemu Minghuan had done some research just in case. However, nothing much came out of it.

Of course, since he was from the Xia Wu Sect, there was no way that he believed what he had found at face value. However, he didn't have enough time to dig any deeper. Ŗ𝖆NÖʙÈṣ

He didn't seem like a particularly notable expert anyway, and he had a lot of things to worry about, so he just dismissed him.

However, that was a mistake.

"Neidan Sword Gate. The Neidan Sword Gate…"

Instead of answering, Zhou Xuchuan just muttered to himself.

I don't remember it.

He had never heard of the Neidan Sword Gate in his previous life, only in this one.

The first time he had heard about it was when it had risen to replace the destroyed Flowing Waterfall Saber Gate. However, he hadn't really suspected anything back then.

In the original timeline, the destruction of the Flowing Waterfall Saber Gate happened much later, only after the power structure had changed due to the Seven Swords War.

Because of how things had changed, the future had become completely unpredictable. So, he hadn't considered it strange.

However, I can't just let it go anymore.

Before he had come, he hadn't thought much about the Neidan Sword Gate. But things were different now.

The Neidan Sword Gate Master Tiemu Minghuan.

As soon as the image of the veil that he had seen a few days ago overlapped with his face, Zhou Xuchuan's fists tightened.

Thump. Thump.

His pulse quickened.

The feeling of his hair standing on end and the intense emotions welling up inside of him was enough to make him understand that this was no ordinary enemy.

"Who are you?"

Zhou Xuchuan absentmindedly let his thoughts slip out of his mouth.

"…"

Tiemu Minghuan didn't answer. He just glared at Zhou Xuchuan with a wary look.

Avaricious Wolf?

The center and core of the Seven Stars Division.

However, that couldn't be Tiemu Minghuan.

Avaricious Wolf was in the Righteous Faction, not the Evil Faction.

If we put aside Blessed Existence, he's at least on the level of Twisted Melody, Pure Faith, or Warped Valor. Moreover, there's no reason for Destructive Soldier to be here either…

Blessed Existence wasn't someone who would come to the forefront, so it was natural to exclude him, and Destructive Soldier couldn't be here for various reasons.

If so, the person in front of him had to be either Twisted Melody, Pure Faith, or Warped Valor.

There was no reason to consider anyone else. The Director of the Archive was walking around looking for things to add to his collection, and those below him wouldn't dare to attack one of the Ten Empyrean Overlords.

In the first place, neither Blessed Existence nor the Dark Heavens Association Lord would have entrusted such an important matter to anyone other than one of the Seven Executives.

No, this kind of speculation is meaningless.

Zhou Xuchuan clenched his fists. Although it may not have been visible, his palms were sweaty and clammy.

"It'll all be over if I kill you anyway."

Boom!!

The moment he released his bloodlust, the qi in Zhou's lower dantian surged outward and covered the surroundings.

It was an amount that defied common sense.

Everyone in the chamber was astonished at the inconceivable amount of qi. Even the Neidan Sword Gate Master flinched.

'Was the Phantom Bow Swordsman really this strong?'

While the Evil Valley Master was expressionless, he was quite surprised inside.

Just where the hell did a bastard like that come from?

Ren Chaojian and Ge Hongxi groaned.

Possibly because of their internal injuries, they were having a hard time withstanding the aura that Zhou Xuchuan released.

"You audacious bastard! How dare you, do you know who I am?!"

His question had a double meaning.

It was the pride of being not only the Neidan Sword Gate Master but also one of the Seven Star Executives of the Dark Heavens Association on full display.

"Of course I do."

Boom!

At first, it felt like Zhou Xuchuan had swung a greatsword.

But no, that wasn't the case.

He had created a sword pressure so powerful it crushed the air itself with nothing more than an ordinary iron sword.

Power.

Primal, pure violence.

His strength forced the air aside as it descended upon Tiemu Minghuan with several times its weight.

BOOOOM!

Although it was clearly a clash of swords, somehow, a massive explosion erupted.

Having blocked the blow, Tiemu Minghuan's face twisted in pain. The sword in his hand shook, unable to fully absorb the force of the attack.

Crack.

The marble floor beneath him cracked. His muscular legs trembled as he was pushed back slightly.

"What…"

He couldn't finish the sentence, overwhelmed by the sheer strength pressing down on him.

But it didn't end there. The weight Zhou Xuchuan transmitted through his sword gradually increased, each strike heavier than the last.

The moment Tiemu Minghuan judged it dangerous and was about to step back, Zhou Xuchuan smiled deeply.

Then, for a moment, his eyes glowed green.

Poison?

Tiemu Minghuan's complexion changed. He wanted to have a showdown to see whose qi reserves would win, but he changed his mind and quickly stepped back.

It wasn't unusual for an Evil Faction member to use poison so that in itself wasn't strange. However, in this situation, things were a bit different.

Even as he fully displayed such incredible swordsmanship, to think he was also spewing such threatening poison.

Tiemu Minghuan's doubts were growing deeper and deeper.

"You dare?!"

Boom!

Zhou Xuchuan slammed his heels into the ground, sending shards of marble flying as he launched himself forward.

The one charging forward, creating such a shockwave of power, was like a rhinoceros in human form. His sword was raised as if it was his horn.

Wherever Zhou Xuchuan passed, destruction followed. The refined marble floor cracked and shattered in his wake.

"Hmph!"

Despite the terrifying momentum, Tiemu Minghuan snorted instead of being afraid.

No matter how confident one was regarding their martial arts, charging forward so recklessly was suicidal. The path was just too simple.

"Die!"

There was no need for him to dodge. If Zhou Xuchuan really were to charge forward with all his might, all he had to do was leverage that momentum to thrust forward and stab.

Anyone else may have gotten swept away before the attack even landed, but it was different for an expert like him.

"Foolish brat!"

Ren Chaojian and Ge Hongxi, who had suddenly become bystanders, also laughed.

What was the point of charging forward while smashing marble? If Zhou Xuchuan hadn't turned around and kept going, his body would have been split in two by Tiemu Minghuan's sword aura.

Woosh!

However, what they assumed to be a fact was wrong, and what happened next was unexpected.

"What, what…!"

Tiemu Minghuan's face distorted in shock.

BOOOOOM!

The explosion this time was deafening, far more intense than before, like dozens of lightning bolts striking simultaneously.

The rhinoceros with a single horn, Zhou Xuchuan, slammed into Tiemu Minghuan.

There was no evasion. Zhou Xuchuan flew forward, his body as it was.

Originally, Tiemu Minghuan's sword aura should have deflected the iron sword and cleaved Zhou Xuchuan's body in half. However, it didn't.

"A defensive qi barrier?"

Tiemu Minghuan's mouth fell open in shock, drool dripping down his lips.

Any of the experts gathered here could coat a weapon in aura. In fact, one wouldn't be able to stand here if they couldn't.

However, the defensive qi barrier was a bit different. While each of them could use it, it consumed a ridiculous amount of qi, meaning that it wasn't something that just anyone could feasibly use.

Moreover, even if one did use it, it was limited to a single burst. Yet Zhou Xuchuan had not only maintained it for a long time but even used it for attacking instead of defensively.

"No, just how…"

BOOOOM!

Despite being a Harmony Realm Master with qi reserves surpassing those of the same realm, his sword aura was completely overwhelmed and destroyed.

Whether it was in density, purity, or quantity, he was completely overwhelmed. When one side of a clash of power disappeared, the end result was obvious. Tiemu Minghuan was sent flying by the body slam empowered by a defensive qi barrier.

He didn't just fly away, he bounced across the marble floor like a pebble skipping across water.

Ugh!

Tiemu Minghuan couldn't even let out a groan of pain. He just tried to protect his body as much as possible to minimize the impact.

However, that, too, was for only a moment. Tiemu Minghuan flew forward and blasted a hole in the wall, flying all the way outside.

"Not yet."

Others may have thought that the fight was over, assuming Tiemu Minghuan had gotten hurt.

However, Zhou Xuchuan wasn't like that. Instead of lowering his guard, he prepared to use even more strength. He changed his stance using the Hundred Divine Transformations.

Getting rid of heaviness, he moved with incredible lightness. At the same time, he also completely hid his presence.

Bending his knees, his thigh muscles pressed lightly against his femur. This lasted for only a moment.

Boom!

The scenery around him blurred as he moved. Zhou Xuchuan caught glimpses of Dan Libai and the Evil Valley Master but paid them no attention.

Passing the ornately decorated interior, he stepped through the collapsed hole. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Evil Faction members fighting fiercely, their weapons clashing. The air was thick with dust, making it hard to breathe.

However, Zhou Xuchuan's eyes were only focused on a single place.

Tiemu Minghuan, flung into the air, now hovered helplessly, suspended like a broken kite.

Zhou Xuchuan, who had become a Phantom, flew like a bird. Regretfully, though, he still hadn't reached the highest level of lightness technique, the Void Steps or the Void-Conquering Path.

Still, he was able to get close to Tiemu Minghuan, who was about to fall while flailing wildly from the force of the earlier collision.

"Roar!"

He took a deep breath and shouted. The shout caused the fight beneath him to stop for a moment.

Seven Stars Division!

Zhou Xuchuan was certain.

He looked at Tiemu Minghuan, who was enduring the pain while floating in the air, not letting go of his sword even until the very end, and thought that he, indeed, was of the Dark Heavens Association.

Not even a Harmony Realm Master would have been able to withstand the blow just now. Normally, his opponent should have panicked.

But Tiemu Minghuan was different. His arrogance made Zhou Xuchuan think of Vast Gate, and his monstrous martial arts confirmed his suspicions.

That was why Zhou Xuchuan didn't let his guard down.

He didn't make any hasty judgments.

If Tiemu Minghuan was from the Dark Heavens Association, and if he were one of the Seven Stars, he would definitely survive.

He had no doubt, only confidence.

He pulled his shoulders back, raising both hands above and behind his head. He put all of his strength into the sword he was holding tightly in his hands.

There was no complicated technique or anything special about it.

He put weight into his sword.

The past.

The present.

The future.

His two lives.

He put everything into his sword and converted it into weight.

Shing!!

In his hands was a sword, his life, a blunt weapon.

The sword in his hands, no longer a blade, became a blunt hammer.

With all his might, Zhou brought it down.

BOOOOM!

"Ugh!"

The sword slipped from Tiemu Minghuan's hand.

Crack!

At the same time, Zhou Xuchuan's sword shattered under the immense force. Tiemu Minghuan's body bent at an unnatural angle, plummeting toward the earth like a falling star.

"Kya!!!"

"Agk!!"

The impact sent a shockwave rippling outward. Warriors who had been fighting just moments ago cried out and fell.

The ground beneath Tiemu Minghuan gave way, forming a circular pit nearly a foot deep.

A dust cloud rose and covered the surroundings.

"Cough, cough!"

The surroundings were covered in dust. In it, faint groans could be heard coming from Tiemu Minghuan.

"..."

Zhou Xuchuan wasn't unscathed either. That last blow had taken everything out of him, leaving him unable to land properly.

His arms were in bad shape due to the excessive force he had put into his attack. His left arm had broken.

His torn clothes, blood dripping from his injured forehead, and his dirt-covered head made him look like a beggar.

However, he didn't groan. His eyes, filled with strong determination, shone as he headed toward the deep pit.

"Gasp, gasp…"

He was still alive. He really was a tough bastard. The sound coming from the hole couldn't be called a cry or a groan. Tiemu Minghuan, who had been completely battered, could be barely seen.

Zhou Xuchuan glanced down at the pit, his expression shifting as if something had just occurred to him.

"You're too weak to be Warped Valor."

"...!"

"Then, are you Twisted Melody?"

Tiemu Minghuan's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Just… who… the hell… are… you…?"

The words were squeezed out with difficulty. Zhou Xuchuan looked down at the owner of the voice and muttered quietly.

"Mount Hua Sect."

Tiemu Minghuan's breathing became shallow.

"Zhou Xuchuan."

As soon as he heard that name, his body trembled, but that was the end of it.

The heart of Tiemu Minghuan, Twisted Melody, had stopped.

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