Shao had only run a few steps when an unmistakable voice spoke from near his flank. He had only heard the voice once before, but he would never forget it.

“War and Death, back in the saddle.”

In between the trees, there stood an indistinguishable man leaning against a farming scythe. Pluto continued with a strangely wistful voice. “The execution is sloppy, but the enthusiasm is still there.”

Shao halted his advance for a moment to turn his eyes toward Pluto. When he looked, however, the god had disappeared completely. Scanning the forest for the blurry figure, Shao cried, “Pluto! Where are you! I have so many questions!”

There was no response. Realizing that he didn’t have time to waste chasing after the Death God, Shao continued following the path of shattered trees and trampled foliage until he reached the end of Shen Guanzhong’s arc through the air.

Faint splotches of blood could be seen on the trees that Shen Guanzhong struck, and a pool of recently spilled blood laid at the end of the abrasion marks in the forest floor. Despite this, the actual body was nowhere to be seen. Even with his injuries, Shen Guanzhong was able to move before Yang Shao could catch up to him.

Shao recalled the conversation he had with Shen Jian. Members of the Shen Clan followed the Path of the Concealing Shadow; they were the stealthy clan that others would call upon for covert missions. Shen Guanzhong must have picked up some techniques when he lived with his father.

The slightest rustle of leaves and the sound of steel flying through the air informed Shao of his opponent’s location. He spun in place and deflected Shen Guanzhong’s piercing blade. Shao just barely managed to strike the sword due to his enhanced speed. If not for the Howl of the Black Wolf, he would not have been fast enough to perceive and block the attack.

Not giving Shen Guanzhong a chance to retreat, Yang Shao began to press his advantage. With one hand, Shao slashed at his opponent’s neck and heart. His blows were deflected by Shen Guanzhong, but Shao’s blade came closer to his opponent’s vulnerable flesh with each attack.

Holding his sword in both hands, Shen Guanzhong lifted it high into the air. It seemed like a normal attack, but Shao recognized the practiced ritualistic motion of a martial technique. Shao knew that this attack would have to be like the Crashing Star of the Southern Heavens. It would be much stronger than any other attack, but it would be predictable. Considering the stance Shen Guanzhong had taken, Yang Shao was confident that the next attack would be a downward slash.

At the last possible moment, Shao sidestepped the telegraphed attack. Just as he expected, Shen Guanzhong attacked with a powerful downward slash. The attack was so powerful that it created a shockwave through the air, and a tree a few paces behind where Shao had stood a moment before was cut in half.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Shao’s counterattack was much weaker. With a swift diagonal cut with one arm, Shao severed Shen Guanzhong’s arm at the shoulder. Once more, the Shen man’s blood covered the forest floor. This time, however, a healing pill would be insufficient to recover from all the damage.

Along with his blade, Shen Guanzhong’s writhing arm fell to the ground. As his opponent fell to the ground screaming, Shao frowned and inspected the blade of his antique sword. The blade had chipped slightly where it had severed and splintered Shen Guanzhong’s humerus.

“You fucking bastard!” Shen Guanzhong roared. His calm demeanor from a moment before had completely disappeared. “I’ll kill you!”

Blood flowing from his arm wound like a burbling stream, Shen Guanzhong crawled toward his sword. Just as he had managed to grasp his hilt in his remaining hand, Gao Long’s foot came down and pressed his wrist against the ground.

Both Xiahou Ren and Gao Long had reached Shao a moment after he had severed his opponent’s arm. The two upper-realm Lianqi were covered with blood, though neither seemed visibly injured. Suddenly, Shao was aware of what happened to the other five cultivators.

“Don’t kill him,” Xiahou Ren said casually as he wiped the blood off his face with a small cloth. “I want to ask him a few questions.”

Gao Long hauled the one-armed cultivator to his feet, and Shen Guanzhong moaned in a mixture of rage, discomfort, and pain. The blood loss must have been catching up to him. As Shao looked once more at Shen Guanzhong’s arm wound, he was surprised to find that the blood flow had already started to slow. Such a wound would have been fatal to any mortal. With cultivator biology, however, Shen Guanzhong just might have survived it.

“Who put you up to this?” Ren asked with alacrity in his voice. He didn’t seem confident that Shen Guanzhong would be able to survive his wound.

“What’s in it for me?”

“If you talk, we won’t kill you or break your dantian. You’ll be able to leave here and live your life as the great one-armed swordsman.”

“Hey!” Shao interjected. He was about to say something else, but Ren cut him off with a look that told him to play along.

“Fine, fine,” Shen Guanzhong said. His complexion was starting to get pale, and he reached into his pocket as he spoke. “If you’re serious, then let me take a healing pill before I bleed to death.”

“Do you have one?”

“Yeah,” Shen Guanzhong muttered as he removed a healing pill from his pocket and popped it into his own mouth. After a second, his severed arm scabbed over, and a fresh set of skin surged forward and covered the exposed flesh.

“What was the question?” Shen Guanzhong asked.

“Who do you work for?”

“No one special,” Shen Guanzhong chuckled as if he took great pleasure in giving the three cultivators a boring answer. “I was sent here by Dong Bai. He was the one who summoned the wolves by the Southern Gate, and he was the one who whipped the local yaoguai into a frenzy.”