One thick vine lashed toward me, smashing across the boat I stood on and nearly flinging me into the river. I sprang backward, landing shakily on a neighboring boat as the whole platform rocked beneath my weight.
Gritting my teeth, I anchored my stance and brandished my bamboo staff. I infused it with both light and dark qi, calling forth a spiritual blade that shimmered like polished obsidian rimmed with molten gold. The edge of it hissed with energy, glowing brighter with each breath I took.
The creature lunged again.
I dodged sideways in a sharp burst, my blade slicing cleanly through one of its flailing limbs. A gurgling scream erupted from its twisted body, and foul, black sap sprayed into the air, splattering across the river's surface.
From the docks, I glimpsed them—those two bastards who'd caused me more stress than any monster ever had. The Dark Wind Master stood, arms crossed like he was watching a street performance. And Ruan Yanjun… Ruan Yanjun simply observed, expression stoic. Detached. Distant.
"They're just going to stand there and watch," I growled, ducking another tendril that smashed into the boat's side.
The creature roared, lifting part of its swollen body to reveal a gaping maw rimmed with thorn-like fangs. It lunged. I countered with a swift aerial twist, slamming my spiritual blade downward across its open mouth. It howled in pain, jerking back with a spray of acidic sap.
I pressed the advantage, channeling both light and dark qi into a flurry of attacks. The light qi scorched its flesh with searing burns, while the dark qi sank deep, corrupting and slowing its regeneration.
But the monster fought back harder. Tendrils smashed boats, whipped up waves, and one wrapped around my ankle, yanking me down and slamming me into the deck with brutal force. The pain exploded across my back. Gritting my teeth, I released a surge of dark qi and sliced the vine clean with a sharp, vertical strike.
Just as I rose, another lashing tendril smacked my staff clean out of my grip. It flew across the river and vanished beneath the current.
I cursed aloud—then froze.
Something whistled through the air.
A sword—silver-hilted, perfectly balanced—came sailing toward me. I caught it by reflex, and for a breathless second, stared down at the weapon in my hand.
It had been seven years since I last held a sword, seven years since I had sheathed one in Frost Mountain.
My fingers tightened around the hilt.
The monster let out another screech and surged toward me.
I had no time to hesitate.
I stepped forward and drew a long breath. Light gathered in my palm—pure, radiant, unyielding—and wrapped itself around the blade. The sword's edge glowed with a brilliance that split the mist.
Then I moved.
My feet slid into a stance I hadn't used in years and unleashed one of the old signature moves I thought I had forgotten.
Radiant Crescent Slash.
A wide arc of light qi exploded from my blade, gleaming like a rising moon across the river's surface. It soared forward with crushing speed, carving a gleaming path through the monster's flailing mass. The light burned with divine purity, tearing through its core and leaving a smoking wound that refused to close.
The monster shrieked in agony, its form convulsing wildly.
But it didn't fall.
Not yet.
It reared back, roaring louder than ever. The dock trembled. Water surged. The final blow had not yet been struck.
And I—still catching my breath, sword glowing in my grip—knew the battle was far from over.
Summoning every last thread of energy I could muster, I launched myself high into the air, soaring far above the creature's grotesque crown. The sword in my grasp blazed with brilliant light qi, its glow intensifying until it burned like a star against the overcast sky. The air trembled around me, resonating with the raw force gathering in my blade.
I shifted my stance mid-flight, drawing both hands to the hilt.
This technique—I hadn't used it since my final spar at Frost Mountain.
Heaven's Mirror Descent—a high-level sword technique once reserved for final duels. A sweeping, light-imbued strike from above meant to reflect all darkness back upon itself.
I exhaled, and the world seemed to still.
Then I brought the sword down in a luminous arc.
A radiant crescent of light qi erupted from the blade, searing through the air like a falling moon. It struck the monster squarely from crown to base, cleaving through its center with devastating precision. The entire riverbank lit up in a blinding flash as the energy bisected the creature cleanly.
For one suspended heartbeat, the beast hung there—silent, motionless, as if stunned by the purity of the attack.
Then, with a thunderous crack, its body burst apart in a spectacular explosion of viscous black goo, erupting into the sky like a shattered ink pot.
I landed hard on the rocking boat, knees bent to absorb the impact, chest heaving with exhaustion. My sword trembled in my grip, still humming faintly with residual energy.
A deluge of gelatinous filth rained down.
Thick, dark sap splattered across my head, face, chest, shoulders—everywhere. It slithered down my cheeks and soaked into my collar, drenching my once-pristine white robes in a foul, gleaming sludge. Though it didn't reek, the cold, slimy texture was enough to make every hair on my body stand on end.
I stood there, dripping and furious, as the crowd on the dock erupted into stunned silence… followed by a round of cheers and scattered laughter.
I cast a glance down at myself—my sword still glowing faintly, my robes clinging pitifully to my frame, utterly ruined beyond salvation.
I let out a long, exasperated sigh. This wasn't exactly how I wanted to be remembered.
The crowd continued to cheer, echoing over the water like thunder.
"Did you see that?" Xiao Delun shouted, nearly tripping over himself as he bolted to the river's edge. "That was incredible! He cut that thing like he was slicing fruit!"
"He flew into the air like a phoenix and dropped divine judgment right on its head!" another voice exclaimed.
Even some of the Dark Path cultivators—normally too proud to praise anyone—nodded and murmured in reluctant admiration.
I stood motionless on the rocking boat, drenched in dark sap, my chest still rising and falling with uneven breaths. The sword I'd just used hung loosely from my hand, the glow of light qi fading.
My eyes, almost unconsciously, drifted to the edge of the dock.
Ruan Yanjun still stood there, with his hands clasped behind his back, tall and poised as ever. His face wore that same impassive calm—but his lips, just barely, curved upward.
A smile. Faint and fleeting, but it was there. He was proud of me.
A strange ache bloomed in my chest. Just then, a glint caught my eye. Farther downstream, the river's current carried something slender and familiar along its surface. My bamboo stick, alf-submerged, bobbing with the current, and drifting away from me.
As if on instinct, I dropped the sword where I stood and bolted across the boat, leaping into the air. Qi surged beneath my feet as I dashed across the water's surface, each step rippling with light energy. The cheers faded behind me.
Almost there.
The stick floated just ahead.
But a sudden current, stronger than expected, surged beneath the surface and struck me hard from the side.
My balance faltered.
I plunged into the river, cold and churning. My limbs flailed as the current tugged at me, threatening to drag me under. But I grit my teeth and pushed forward, reaching—reaching—
My fingers closed around the bamboo stick.
I seized it tightly and kicked toward the surface, lungs screaming for air. I barely managed to surface near a jagged outcrop, clutching it with one arm while holding the stick to my chest with the other. Water rushed around me in thick, icy waves, but I refused to let go.
A gust of wind swept past me, and moments later, a strong arm hauled me up.
The Dark Wind Master.
He dragged me to the ship with a grunt and dropped me unceremoniously onto the deck like a soaked bundle of rice.
"You fool," he barked, his voice sharp. "You'd throw your life away for a stick?"
I didn't answer. I stood there, soaked and shivering, clutching the bamboo stick in both hands.