Yuteki was so shocked he couldn't speak. Even though he barely had the strength to talk anyway, the result would have been the same even if he had.
Despite the sword strike not being aimed at him, despite only witnessing it from a distance behind, Yuteki still felt a bone-chilling sensation, as if he had witnessed his own death from the sidelines.
The terrifying monster—the Hollow—had brought Yuteki a level of terror and oppression that could, to some extent, alter the trajectory of his entire life.
Yet even so, at this moment Yuteki couldn't help but wonder how incredibly resilient this creature's life force must be to survive such a strike.
What Lingqing held was just an ordinary katana, yet he had sent the Hollow's massive body flying with a single strike—and with one hand, no less.
Yuteki didn't dare to even imagine how much strength Lingqing possessed.
No matter how many thoughts flashed through Yuteki's mind, the battle unfolding before him was far from over.
This time, it was Lingqing who actively approached the fallen Hollow.
He moved unhurriedly, leisurely closing the distance between himself and the Hollow. Though his movements appeared slow, when one finally noticed, he had already appeared in front of the Hollow, speaking with a sense of looking down from above.
"What's wrong? Not coming at me anymore?"
The katana in Lingqing's grip was no longer held in that peculiar and distinctive reverse grip with the blade tip pointed at his opponent.
Instead, it hung casually at his side.
Lingqing's sword posture seemed to unconsciously express his attitude toward the Hollow.
"You... what are you?!" the Hollow let out a piercing shriek, a turbid sound mixing wails and screams.
As the Hollow rose from the ground, its murky white body was finally stained with another color—bright red, the color of blood.
A massive gash had been carved across the Hollow's body, blood flowing unstoppably from the wound, staining its pure white form crimson.
The bright red blood dripped down its body to the ground, forming a small pool of blood in just this brief time.
Lingqing looked at the Hollow as it rose again, its tall body like a small mountain. He raised his eyebrows slightly.
Having no intention of answering its question, he remarked with bland observation, "So even in a form like yours, blood is still red?"
"Don't... don't mock me!" Lingqing's dismissive attitude enraged the Hollow. It roared and raised its hand—those five claw-like appendages that resembled hanging knives suddenly became soft like putty, then merged together to form a spear-like thrust.
Or rather, like a short spear.
If its previous form could deliver knife-like cutting power with a casual swing while maintaining finger-like flexibility, now it possessed greater penetrating power and more deadly force.
The Hollow charged at Lingqing with a roar, moving with even greater speed and more terrifying power than before!
To Yuteki watching from afar, all he could see was a white flash.
But strangely, Yuteki felt no worry that Lingqing would be harmed by this attack, as if this level of assault meant nothing to him.
In fact, Yuteki's intuition was correct.
"Too slow."
Though he lifted his hand a step after the Hollow, the katana passed from his left hand in a horizontal slash was actually faster than the Hollow's attack!
The Hollow's eyes widened as something spun through the air before it, spraying red liquid in crimson beads through the air before falling to the ground together...
What flew past its eyes was its own attacking spear-hand.
More terrifyingly, even now, it felt no sensation of having a part of its body severed...
It was a horizontal slash that cut cleanly through.
Time seemed to freeze.
Several seconds passed before the Hollow reacted with a scream, raising its severed arm. Where there should have been claws, or now a short spear, there was instead a clean cut.
Blood gushed out like water from an opened faucet.
Lingqing frowned slightly, somewhat dissatisfied as he asked the screaming Hollow, "Is this really all the strength you have? Such a large body, yet only this much power?"
Lingqing simply stood in place without moving, but to the Hollow's eyes, it seemed as if he had stepped forward, drawing one step closer.
Its expression instantly froze, and its entire massive body unconsciously retreated a step.
The thought finally surfaced in the Hollow's mind: it couldn't defeat this monster.
The moment this thought—no, this realization—appeared, it spread like poison through all its consciousness.
Continuing to fight here, continuing to battle him, would only lead to death! The Hollow gained this clear understanding.
It couldn't fathom its terrible luck at encountering such a frightening opponent alone. The Hollow had completely lost its previous arrogance and pride.
The swagger it had shown when facing the weak had now entirely transformed into fear. At this moment, the Hollow was no different from Yuteki moments ago. When faced with superior power, with more terrifying intimidation, both trembled in fear.
Actually, there was one difference.
There was still a distinction between the Hollow and Yuteki.
A strange moan escaped its throat as the Hollow abandoned its severed arm and turned to flee without hesitation, moving even faster than when it had attacked, as if pouring all its life's energy into escape.
Run, run fast, run faster! If it didn't escape now, it would truly die!
But!
"How disappointing."
Lingqing let out a soft sigh and raised his hand, sending a slash toward the Hollow's retreating back.
The sword arc that tore through space instantly struck the fleeing Hollow's back, opening another wound, but the Hollow only gritted its teeth. Far from turning back for a desperate final battle with Lingqing, it didn't even acknowledge the wound on its back, instead seeming stimulated to burst forth with even greater speed.
However—
In an instant, like teleportation, Lingqing appeared behind the fleeing Hollow, leaving three or four afterimages in his wake.
His sharp katana swung upward from below, the flowing light of an ascending slash directly launching the Hollow into the air.
The massive body tumbling through the air now showed only terrible fear on its face.
But Lingqing was no longer looking at it.
As Lingqing turned and walked toward Yuteki, behind him, beside the airborne Hollow, invisible forces raged and twisted, destroying even normal space itself!
Four needle-thin black lines suddenly tore open in all directions—front, back, left, and right—like black holes. In the blink of an eye, these four lines expanded into terrifying black spheres, rushing toward the Hollow before it could fall from its highest point!
The black spheres grinding against each other suddenly transformed into destructive black light.
A terrible explosion erupted in the sky behind Lingqing!