Chapter 193: No Matter How Hard She Tried, She Could Not Defeat Him

The demon queen's face turned livid; the air tore apart, the atmosphere shrieked piercingly, and she felt a gale slam into her face, a dark shadow blotting out all light as if everything had been instantly blocked.

Jia Ji's pupils shrank to needle points; in his total focus, time itself seemed to slow, allowing him to track even the demon queen's sword speed—faster than a salamander's.

After activating "Thunderstorm Divine Foot," his movement speed in that ultra-short span had surpassed sonic velocity, making every motion he made terrifyingly extreme.

Even the slightest—

Flick.

The Louguan Sword, struck by that single fingertip, bent to a perilous arc, letting out a mournful, blood-crying blade cry as if alive.

The sword's momentum shattered, the blade-light vanished, stripped of all lethal force; the demon queen used the force of his finger to stamp the earth, spin with it, and swung her next strike—

Third slash! Asura Sword "Worldly Obsession"!

The long blade, needless to say, was long and narrow, solid and sharp, its surface smooth as a mirror, reflective enough to see one's face.

The short blade matched her forearm in length, straight overall, suited for chopping, heavy in weight—only slightly lighter than the long blade.

The long and short blades crossed, yet the long blade moved faster, the short blade more vicious, revealing murderous intent.

Those who fell into the "Asura Path" clung to combat and slaughter, holding fast to obsession; the swordsman's eyes now glowed with flame-like brilliance, her will to fight utterly real, not a trace of illusion.

Swish—

The silver blade sliced across her clenched fist like steel, sending bright sparks flying.

Did it wound him? Or not?

But the half-human, half-spirit swordsman didn't care; she had no time to think—landing a single blow to defeat this self-proclaimed "human martial artist" stronger than herself was impossible.

She drew a deep breath; when focus concentrated into a single point, even sound vanished. In this state of extreme concentration, she swung three slashes in succession.

Fourth slash, Human-God Sword "Worldly Truth Endures"!

All phenomena of the "worldly truth" are identical to the "ultimate truth"—unborn, undying, eternally existing.

Fifth slash, Heaven-God Sword "Three Souls, Seven Spirits"!

Three souls: "Tai Guang, Shuang Ling, You Jing"; seven spirits: "Shi Gou, Fu Shi, Que Yin, Tun Zei, Fei Du, Yin Hui, Chou Fei."

With one strike, harmonize the three souls, refine the seven spirits; expel the three corpses, soothe the six viscera…

Sixth slash, Hell-God Sword "Karma Wind Divine Flash Slash"!

The flames of hell, karmic fire, and fierce winds—the winds of retribution—came crashing down all at once.

Her three full-power strikes plunged the world once more into silence; the swirling blades danced like the wings of waterbirds, each strike landing squarely on Jia Ji.

He first blinked in surprise, then sighed softly: "Waterbirds? Too bad I didn't learn Tea Table Lei's Water Dumpling Fist before leaving—otherwise I could've had a waterbird vs. waterbird match."

Jia Ji gazed calmly at the incoming blade-light and wind, his dark eyes filled with regret; as the blade-tip neared his face, he whispered: "One strike."

The demon queen's heart pounded wildly, her nerves snapped taut, and she added another third of power—but it was useless!

Boom!

A figure flew backward uncontrollably.

The collision was direct and brutal; the soul demon queen felt a terrifying force surge from the blade into her arms, numbing and weakening all four limbs, making the white spirit trailing behind her shudder violently as if severely wounded.

The blade, famed as "unbreakable," didn't penetrate even an inch—it was violently knocked from her grasp by the recoil.

A trickle of blood seeped from her lips; the demon queen barely stabilized her stance, forcing herself upright, knowing full well she was no match for him.

She stared deeply at him, only to find not a single scratch on his steel-and-iron body.

The white-haired swordswoman gazed for a long while, then bowed her head, her spirit drained, ready to speak surrender.

Before her master, the one she was sworn to protect, she couldn't even hold her own sword—knocked away by a single punch. What right did she have to claim another fight?

But Jia Ji gave her no chance; he flicked his toe, kicking the Louguan Sword and Bailing Sword, which had clattered to the ground, back to the dejected demon queen, returning them to her hands.

"Come! Slash once more!"

Jia Ji beckoned her again with a finger.

Both blades were of exceptional quality; even after such violent impact, they showed no damage. In this act that felt like humiliation, her heart ignited with fury, and her once-heroic face flushed crimson with shame and rage.

"You!! Won't even let me surrender…?!"

Hot sweat streamed down her temples; though her body temperature was lower than a living person's, she felt fire burning within—this was the first time she'd ever thought someone so utterly detestable, gripping her blades tighter than ever before.

"Next slash!!!"

"Next slash will surely cut down this hateful bastard!"

The demon queen silently swore after the humiliation Jia Ji inflicted.

Infinite rage burned in her heart; under crushing pressure, she achieved a new breakthrough in her "Life Dual-Sword Style"!

Seventh slash, Six Realms Sword "One Thought, Infinite Kalpa"!

"Hungry Ghost Realm," "Hell Realm," "Animal Realm," "Asura Realm," "Human Realm," "Heavenly Realm"—all six realms' techniques, good and evil, had been blocked; now she would use a technique piercing all six realms to challenge him again!

Her strong legs coiled and sprang like arrows loosed from a bow; the soul demon queen's eyes blazed crimson, terrifying and chilling, her murderous intent surging.

Thought and kalpa merge as one; the infinite and the minute contain each other, endlessly interwoven.

Though not truly infinite, this furious, indiscriminate slashing filled every inch of space, leaving no gap.

The wind rose; hundreds of thousands of blade-lights surged around her, gnashing like beasts, blotting out the morning sun above.

"Creating a new skill on the fly? Interesting…"

Jia Ji laughed aloud, and a terrifying aura erupted from his entire body, making him seem to grow impossibly tall in an instant; he raised his left hand visibly, clenched his right fist, then struck with brutal force.

His fist tore through the air; the punch wind exploded like thunder!

Boom Boom Boom!!!

Star-like streaks of light swirled around him, instantly shattering the blade cage and pulverizing the sword-light.

The demon queen stared, frozen, as a fist the size of a sandbag grazed her shoulder and slammed into empty space; her snow-white hair suddenly burst free from its tie, scattering and floating in the wind of that punch.

The swordswoman, in girl's form, seemed to have her consciousness shattered by the blow—motionless where she stood.

"Hey, you okay?"

Jia Ji stepped forward, shook the demon queen's shoulder, pulling her scattered awareness back into her body—but the next second…

"Wah! Lady Youyouzi!"

The barely conscious soul demon queen flung herself into her master's broad chest for comfort, tears glistening at her eyes: "This guy's bullying me!"

Her breakthrough technique, so full of confidence, had been effortlessly crushed—this was a crushing blow.

Though she appeared the most mature among them all, now she looked like a little girl who'd lost her favorite toy, her eyes swollen and red—anyone seeing her would think Jia Ji had done something terrible.

"There, there, Yaoci has tried very hard…"

Youyouzi gently stroked her head, retied her single braid, and comforted her.

In contrast stood the demon sage, who delighted in chaos.

"Bravo!"

Eight Cloud Purple had been lounging nearby, enjoying Youyouzi's lap pillow, watching as an audience.

When the defeated demon queen came seeking comfort, she dodged away with uncanny agility, showing not a trace of weakness; now seeing "Resurrected" Beidou's Third Brother perform so powerfully, she clapped enthusiastically, exclaiming:

"Half-spirit swordsman meets Beidou in the courtyard, divine fist unmatched, monstrous strength—no matter how hard she tries, she cannot defeat him."

(End of Chapter)