Bai Qi may have disliked the moniker that he got, [Black and White Terror], but it did serve his objectives, so he even carved it on the mortal-tier throwing daggers during the night's rest.

And now, after dealing with the remaining [Demon River Shore Sect] cultivators, he again left one of the signed daggers on the scene. Immediately after doing it, he rushed into the tower, and right in time, as an instant after he entered it, cultivators started arriving at the location.

First, three of the wolf-lined fur-robed ones - Bai Qi's principal targets. After them, a dozen Sages dressed in the green and red of the [Forest Lion Cult]. Just an instant later, six more arrived, these dressed in the brown colors of the [Earth's Demon Sons] that occupied the two towers directly to the south of this one.

"What the..." One of the latter asked no one in particular as the scene before the tower entered his eyes. A terrifying one indeed, close to three dozen bodies, with only a few showing signs of life. And probably more had died, as signs of carnage were present in places where no body was.

The [Forest Lion Cult] members were young and probably inexperienced, as they paled and could not mutter even a single word. It wasn't that they had not seen death before, but something like this?

In truth, the only ones that calmly analyzed the situation were the ones from the [Brave Wolf Gang], though they did not share anything with what they considered the useless weaklings. In turn, the three exchanged a few qi transmissions and, after a brief stay before the tower, rushed inside while drawing out their weapons.

"Are they crazy? Rushing after who did this, into the tower where no techniques and skills work?!" A young man, even a teen, dressed in a half green and half red martial attire, asked with a shaky voice as he observed the actions of the silent trio that had arrived first.

"They are the Wolves, so it's unsurprising for them to not care about anything but a strong opponent." A slightly older cultivator in a similar attire replied.

"Wolves? Do you mean the [Brave Wolf Gang] that the Elder has been talking about?"

"And wait, Ten, what do you mean, opponent? A single one did all of this?!"

Two different questions followed the reply, and the peak Sage disciple, feeling his importance, nodded deeply before explaining.

Not that there was much to explain, as the [Brave Wolf Gang] was something discussed just a few hours ago.

A loose alliance of elite rogue cultivators that, for different reasons, were kicked out of other regions and banded together. Hunting beasts, bounties, and accepting contracts to gain funds, the gang moved around in the surrounding area while operating from the only Overlord region that allowed them, the [Demon Worshippers] one. Known for their lack of moral code, extremely high requisites for joining, and their well-known leader, Chihong Lang the [Brave Wolf].

As for the part of a single cultivator being responsible for this massacre, there was nothing to explain either, the characters on the small blade near one of the corpses being information enough. Indeed, what else could the [Black and White] characters mean but the crazed killer that had appeared just over a day ago and targetted any of the besiegers he could?

***

Bai Qi had chosen the tower not only because it would allow him to avoid being surrounded, something he would like to avoid with powerful opponents, but also because of the Elder's words about the weapon skill of the fur-robed cultivators.

Choosing the wide area on the 4th floor as the stage for the battle, Bai Qi lightly flared his aura, and a few moments later, following it as a beacon, the three cultivators he had expected arrived.

"Remarkable work outside, but they were mere weaklings. I wonder how will the renowned [Terror] fare against someone stronger?" One of the cultivators asked while using his free hand to pull back the heavy fur-lined cowl, revealing a bearded and scarred face.

"Why not find it out then?" Bai Qi responded in a similar tone, even slightly bowing, although the latter was more in mock than courtesy.

The following actions surprised Bai Qi, as he expected that the three opponents would launch at him, but it did not happen. The one that had spoken exchanged a few qi transmissions with his companions, and after that, the latter two stepped back, blocking the stairs.

"My name is An Wei, currently with the [Brave Wolf Gang], originally a retainer of the [An Family]." The man saluted and then assumed a reversed high stance, with his ji's point aimed at Bai Qi's chest and pole high over his own head.

The courteous introduction and even revealing past allegation was unexpected as well. Still, surprising or not, Bai Qi always responded to courtesy with courtesy, so he did the same.

"Bai Qi, unaffiliated to any power or region, currently acting as an ally of the [Void Palace]." He saluted as well. And after a brief thought, he selected a yet unused weapon, a double-sized grip jiao, and assumed a simple high stance, with the sword blade almost a foot above his head.

A breath passed as both examined each other, and then, without any visible indication, Bai Qi and An Wei launched against each other.

*Clang* *Clang* *Swoosh* *Clang*

The ebony dagger-ax with an added speartip in An Wei's hands turned out to be a dangerous weapon, attacking Bai Qi's vitals from all the possible directions in a combination that seemed to flow like a calm, undisturbed river. And for the first few moments, Bai Qi centered on defense.

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*Clang* *Swoosh* *Clang* *Swoosh*

But as Bai Qi got used to the unusual weapon in his opponent's hands, his 60 inches long Jian sword quickened and started responding, forcing An Wei to take a step back and concentrate on defending against the quick series of slashes.

***

Both Bai Qi and An Wei had similar levels of mastery and strength, although the latter did not stem from the same reasons.

An Wei's original cultivation was of an intermediate 8th-level Warrior Lord, and he counted with a single-level prowess. And while the formation limited him to a 3rd level Warrior Lord, his body was trained to the utmost. All of that resulted in an innate physical strength close to a 6th-level one.

As for Bai Qi, his prowess varied between three and four levels above his own. So while he wasn't superior, he did equal An Wei's strength.

***

*Clang* *Clang*

The back and forth continued, with An Wei's flowing attacks countering Bai Qi's lightning-like quick slashes and pierces.

*Swoosh* *Tear* *Clang* *Clang*

First a hundred, then two, then three, and so on until a thousand movements were exchanged. And only then did the first damage occur. Honestly, it wasn't even damage, as An Wei's slightly hooked blade managed to only tear at Bai Qi's sleeve without leaving any wound in its wake.

"Not bad. It has been a long time since someone has managed to equal me on even grounds." An Wei commented as he broke up the exchange and took two steps back.

"My sleeve says that it wasn't absolute equality." Bai Qi acknowledged with a slightly wry smile.

Bai Qi never lied to himself, and while he did know he could win, the battle would indeed be demanding. He added to the previous thought.

"Time to get serious then." An Wei enjoyed battle, as most of the gang did, and so he felt euphoric about meeting an opponent that did require utmost concentration and effort.

As Bai Qi's opponent spoke up, he made a seal with his left hand, and the ebony dagger-ax began humming from the amount of qi that flowed into it. Acting in the same way, but without seals, Bai Qi infused qi into the clear-blue Jiao he held.

When both weapons were full to the brim, both bolted forwards, and the ax blade clashed with the sword.

*Swoosh* *Clang*

Only a single clash but with such power that both Bai Qi and An Wei slid back for a few feet.

*Crack*

And on the spot where they had crashed, the floor plate made of formation reinforced [Void Stone] cracked. If the material resistance was taken into account, the crack meant that the combined released power was not lower than a Warrior King's attack!

"Again!" Both opponents shouted at the same time and launched against each other.

*Clang* *Clang* *Swoosh* *Clang* *Clang* *Crack* *Splinter* *Swoosh* *Clang*

Spiritual steel clashed against spiritual steel. And with each clash, strands of qi that were strong enough to continue damaging the cracked [Void Stone] floor, even making a few shards fly out, were released.

*Swoosh* *Pierce*

An Wei abruptly took a step back, rotated his weapon, and then pierced forward with the spearpoint. Bai Qi avoided the attack by taking one step back, out of reach, but it turned out to be a mistake.

*Swoosh* *Tear* *Drip*

A ray of concentrated qi flew from the point, and before Bai Qi could react, it pierced through his side. The wound wasn't serious, but blood was shed indeed, and it was Bai Qi's blood.

"Haha, it seems that you are lacking something. Still, impressive skills for a youngster." An Wei laughed joyfully.

"Did I miss something, and we agreed on a duel to first blood?" Bai Qi growled back, inwardly slapping himself for falling to notice such an easy trick.

"Oh, we did not. But the first blood is a good determiner of the final victor. Time to confirm that!" An Wei stopped laughing and prepared to launch again.

Bai Qi's current weapon was one of his creations as well.

A 60-inch long, two-handed, and double-edged sword that he had named [Blue Fury]. Built of a mix of the more common Blue Steel and a part of Cloud-steel. The latter was one of the rare Earth-tier materials from the ones he received in [Shuomen] city. But it wasn't that two materials the ones to give the [Fury] its name. Used as the spine, a single bone of a [Crimson Bonewolf] covered in the dust of a chaos core was present, and while Bai Qi initially meant it to amplify his [Ghostflame] qi, it should work for any slash-like attack. No matter the element behind it.

"Let's go!" Bai Qi launched forward first. Rousing his demon-energy qi, he infused it into the bone as the blade flew in a wide arc descent.

An Wei sensed that his opponent was preparing something, but he was sure of his weapon and skill, so he only infused the qi that he considered enough for defense into it, holding back a good amount to counterattack right after he blocked. Regretfully, he had no idea about Bai Qi's qi properties.

*Grrrr* *Clang*

Before the weapons connected, Bai Qi's blade glowed in a crimson hue. And a strange, inhumane growl came out of it as it touched the ebony dagger-ax.

*Snap*

The sword did not cut but directly broke the ax blade and continued forward, crashing against the Spiritual steel pole.

*Clang* *Snap*

And in the same manner, it broke the pole in two as if it was a simple twig.

*Swoosh*

But the sword did not stop there, continuing in the descending arc that Bai Qi had sent it.

*Splatter*

An Wei's aura and qi covers were ignored in the same manner as his weapons, parted apart as if they weren't meant to stop the blade. The [Blue Fury], albeit currently it could be referred to as [Demon Fury], slashed through An Wei's body, leaving an enormous wound from collarbone to waist.

"...Good fight, I lose." An Wei muttered before losing consciousness.

***

As An Wei fell to the ground, barely alive only because Bai Qi stopped the demonic qi from ravaging his opponent's body, Bai Qi groaned in pain. Bai Qi did expect a backslash for using something so destructive without preparation, but the searing pain that filled up all of his pathways and meridians was far above what he predicted.

*Swoosh* *Swoosh*

An Wei's companions rushed to his side, and at the same time, Bai Qi retreated to the edge of the room. He then quickly summoned and consumed a calming pill and a restorative one while An Wei was fed a few healing ones by his companions.

"I am next when you are ready." After confirming that their companion would survive, one of the remaining two stood up and nodded to Bai Qi.

Bai Qi felt his mind almost go blank as he found that the Wolves did not plan to gang upon him, as probably any of the so-called righteous cultivator groups would do.