Swoosh

Three figures are seen flying simultaneously towards a certain part of the forest.

"Uncle Meng, how long until we reach the demon's location?"

"No worries, we're getting closer to where the demon fled."

"He seemed to stop at a spot for a few minutes before moving again. His location after that was wiped away."

As soon as he spoke these words, the Elder crushed a jade slip, and his mouth curled into a wide grin.

"Well, he won't get away. I've deployed the clan's illusory Grand Formation near the forest's exit. Unless someone is at the Core Formation stage, no one can break through the barrier."

"Your third uncle, Baek Shen, is stationed near the perimeter of the Grand Formation. He'll delay that demon until we show up."

Hearing this, Baek Wu felt a surge of excitement for the first time since his defeat at the hands of Yi Shan.

Baek Wu vividly remembers accepting the foolish bet of being challenged by a martial artist. Who would've thought Yi Shan was on par with Qi Condensation cultivators? Baek Wu himself had barely ascended to Qi Condensation using dozens of pills and was still in the early stage.

The humiliation he endured was even worse because after the defeat, Yi Shan rifled through his bags and slapped him repeatedly while demanding the ancestral whetstone.

'I'll have his bones displayed at my doorstep for that humiliation.'

With that thought, he sped up and caught up with Clan Elder Meng.

Meanwhile, back in the forest, a blur moves along at an astonishing pace.

I peer through another Gang Sphere I implanted in the forest.

'Why haven't they picked up the pace yet? I was sure they'd accelerate once they found my location. Do they have another trick up their sleeve?'

I dismiss the thought as soon as it comes.

'Why would they chase me so relentlessly for a mere whetstone? I was just a poor citizen in need. The Baek clan controls half of the Gyuran region.'

"Greedy bastards! I only borrowed an ancestral treasure, and they howl at me like this."

"Anyway, buddy, just you wait. I'll make you brand new with this treasure I borrowed from the Baek clan."

I glance at my sword, which has grown dull after countless years of fighting by my side. The passage of time has taken its toll on the blade.

Looking at my sword fills me with incredible happiness. Ever since I began my martial arts journey, this sword has been my only long-lasting companion.

It fought the Six-Eared Monkey with me.

It slayed the Four-Armed Kraken.

It helped me overthrow the Qing dynasty.

It even helped me cut my precious Ox meat.

And most importantly, it saved me at my lowest.

'Now's not the time to reminisce. I need to get out of this predicament first.'

Noticing my opponents' increasing speed, I decide to recall my Gang Spheres. These Spheres depict my own sword and land around me.

Earlier, I absorbed five of them to gain a speed boost and laid out four others to spy on the approaching cultivators.

Now, I'm about to do something extremely dangerous, even for someone like me.

I'm going to fuse all of them to gain a ninefold speed boost.

The Gang Spheres enter my mind, and during my increased speed, I begin to perform the Third Move.

Third Move, Blurry Soil.

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Using Gang Qi from my feet, I propel myself at a breathtaking pace, reaching the edge of the forest in a matter of seconds.

Just before I reach the edge, I am forced out of the nine Gang Spheres state, and ahead of me stands an unfamiliar face.

The man has a ducktail beard, bizarrely intimidating eyebrows, and is suited with bright purple armor while holding a black spear in his right hand.

"We finally meet, Desolate Demon."

"Is that what they call me nowadays? I mean, I don't mind, but why make me sound so messed up?"

"..."

"Did you forget how many clans you've robbed?"

"Whaaaat? Noooo, it was just borrowing. I never robbed."

A vein bulges on the man's forehead at my statement.

"Enough chatter. I'll make mince meat of you for daring to steal our clan's treasure."

The man, who is at the Qi Condensation stage, uses a Fire element technique to summon a multitude of fireballs with his spear.

'Fire, huh? I'll move too fast for your flames.'

Fourth Move, Undaunted Will.

Using the speed gained from the Third Move, I position my sword for a lunge and charge straight at my opponent. The vanishing technique from the Third Move is also used alongside the Fourth Move.

'Did that demon disappear? I saw him, but then he vanished.'

The man with the spear squints his eyes and uses the full power of his divine sense to detect tiny ripples moving toward him at an astonishing speed.

'What is that?'

'Wait, is that him?'

Swoosh

The man with the spear barely dodges to the side.

Gaining the upper hand, he attempts a sideways spear attack.

I dodge the move and begin the Fifth Move of the Plum Blossom Bloom Technique.

Fifth Move, Explosive Expansion.

This move comprises a myriad of sword slashes, constantly advancing in front of my opponent.

A horizontal slash is made, which the man dodges, but he is met with another horizontal slash from the downward direction.

The slash nearly grazes him, and he prepares for a counterattack before I make a lunge, which he sidesteps.

Using the gap created by the lunge, he conjures a wall of fire around himself and uses the spear handle to create distance between us.

'I can't let him near me anymore. I need to attack from a distance.'

Drip

The man looks down to see blood dripping from his hand and notices a cut.

'When did that happen? Was it during my escape? Did he cut my hand when I hit him with the handle?'

'Ohoho, this is turning out to be fun. I'll crush you like every genius I've crushed before.'

Wiping the blood from his cut, he starts performing an incantation gesture.

The gesture creates a wide flame dragon, 10 meters long.

The flame dragon is so hot that it begins to melt the ground, and any trees within a four-meter vicinity catch fire.

Shockingly, the flame dragon suddenly merges with his spear, and the man advances.

As he advances, he swings the spear, causing the ground to melt and the surrounding trees to catch fire.

I, on the other hand, jump from tree to tree to gain speed, taking a final leap from a nearby tree to execute the First Move of the Plum Blossom Bloom technique.

First Move, Plum Meteor.

The first move is a simple downward slash. It symbolizes the simplicity of a plum blossom falling from a tree and serves as the catalyst for using the entire Plum Blossom Bloom technique consecutively.

Our sword and spear clash, with burn marks appearing on my body due to its frail condition.

I seem to be gaining the upper hand, but suddenly, a glint appears in the man's eyes, and he lets go of his spear.

I start to move, but then I notice the spearhead detaching.

Click

The spearhead detaches and hurtles toward me at incredible speed.

It slowly transforms into the giant flame dragon, homing in on me.

'What? No fair.'

Swoosh

I dodge the dragon constantly.

Sixth Move, Light Liberation.

The sixth move is not an attack but a technique used to absorb my opponent's strength and integrate it as my own. This move is used alongside the Fifth Move of the Plum Blossom Bloom swordsmanship. During the fight, I've been absorbing the man's strength little by little to prepare for a counterattack.

First Move, Plum Meteor.

Using the strength gained from the Sixth Move, I attack with a simple downward slash.

I manage to fend off the attack and slice the dragon in half, but the heat injures my left arm slightly.

I back away from the man's position, with only one thought running through my mind.

'Well, two can play that game.'

Three figures are seen heading in the direction of the fight between Yi Shan and the man with the spear.

One of them is covered in dust and smoke.

'That cunning Yi Shan, I haven't even reached his location yet, and he's already getting on my nerves.'

This was, in fact, the Young Master of the Baek clan, who had unfortunately been caught in the smoke talismans left by Yi Shan.

"Uncle Meng, how long until we reach him?"

Uncle Meng also seemed troubled. Upon reaching a certain spot, he discovered that 30% of the formation tablets he had laid down were stolen. This caused a rage to fester in Baek Shen's heart. He had paid a huge debt to the sect to acquire all these tablets, along with the clan's illusory Grand Formation.

It was a debt that would take a decade to pay off without losing any tablets. Yi Shan's actions just now had increased his debt by another five years.

With a grim expression, he answered Baek Wu's question after a moment of contemplation.

"Should take two minutes."

Gulp

"Is Uncle Baek Shen going to be okay in those two minutes? That demon is said to be capable of killing those at the peak of the Qi Condensation stage."

"He'll be fine. Besides me, no one at the Qi Condensation stage in the clan can beat your uncle. Even I can only best him because of my formations."

"Why's that, Uncle?"

"Your uncle is a peculiar person. He's killed many geniuses of his era during his rise to prominence."

"The reason? His fighting style is completely erratic. His fights are almost always filled with tricks and schemes."

"Poisoning his opponent's food, adding secret detonation talismans, detaching spearheads—anything is possible in a fight with him. I almost got caught in one myself when I was younger."

"This, combined with his merciless nature, has earned him a name."

"The Unfair Devil."