Chapter 19: Soul

Oulden's twin swords came at incredible speed; Luoshan had employed the Wind-Control Technique, but still could not dodge in time, so he raised his longsword to block. With a dull thud, Oulden's twin swords flashed a deep blue light, and in an instant they overwhelmed Luoshan's white glow. Luoshan felt a tremendous force pressing on his chest, almost suffocating; he drew a deep breath, summoned all his magical power, and poured it into his blade. The white light surged, forcing Oulden's blue light back half a step. In that very moment, Luoshan switched from defense to offense, unleashing the Creation Sword Technique—three swift strikes in succession. Oulden's twin swords crossed, blocking each strike as if it were weightless, then he suddenly reversed his grip, his left short sword sweeping past Luoshan's left shoulder, cutting a gash. Luoshan shifted his footwork, retreating several steps in an instant. Feeling a faint pain in his shoulder, he was overcome with inexplicable fear.

That block and counterattack were already the utmost of his lifelong strength, yet Oulden easily deflected it, and in an instant even managed to wound him. Such power was truly unprecedented in his life.

He knew that his earlier victory over Gote had been pure luck, but he could not fathom why, unable to explain it even to himself. Luoshan's body contained a vast amount of magical power left by Xiao Yushan; though formidable, he could not possibly use it except in a life‑or‑death situation, and he himself was not even clear on this point. That day he had defeated Gote in a single move, then received Peier's guidance and learned the exquisite sword technique left by the Sword God; repeatedly attacking, he always won in one bout, which made him somewhat overconfident, thinking that although Mingguang, Gote and the others were strong, compared to him they were at best slightly superior. Thus the original idea of storming the Spirit God Hall to rescue his parents had, without his noticing, grown stronger still. Yet only now, after his battle with Oulden, did he suddenly awaken to the fact that the Hall Master of the Spirit God Hall was utterly unfathomable. Even a single Oulden was like that—how could he possibly be a match for seven deputy hall masters plus Mingguang? To rescue his parents and that old man named Xiao Tian would be enormously difficult.

Before he could catch his breath, Oulden's twin swords attacked again. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and meet them with his sword. After exchanging another seven or eight moves, his left leg was sliced by Oulden's sword, and blood immediately gushed forth.

Both were masters of dual cultivation in magic and swordsmanship; Luoshan's sword art, though created by the Sword God and exquisitely perfect, had not been personally transmitted by him. Peier, being a woman, had slightly less aptitude for swordsmanship than a man, and her peaceful nature meant the swordsmanship she passed to Luoshan differed somewhat from the Sword God's original. Moreover, Oulden surpassed Luoshan in both magical power and combat experience, thus gaining a decisive advantage. Each of his blows carried a blue magical radiance; had Luoshan's personal magical shield not been quite strong, the two strikes that had already landed would have left him unable to stand. Even though his injuries were not severe, for Luoshan, whose original strength was already weaker, it was yet another blow. After dozens more exchanges, Luoshan felt numbness in his tiger's mouth and saw defeat approaching.

However, in that instant of flint and spark, Luoshan saw Oulden's twin swords strike out, and suddenly noticed a huge opening hidden within them. Although Oulden's attack was swift and fierce, his own defenses were extremely lax, especially his rear, which was completely unguarded. Although Oulden was then seizing the initiative, Luoshan found it difficult to strike at his back, but to him this seemed an opportunity to turn defeat into victory. For Luoshan's thoughts were always meticulous; back at Luofude Mountain Villa he had instantly seen the secret in the battle between Si La Ke and Xie Feierde, and during Si La Ke's fight with Ruige he had realized that when facing a strong opponent one must seek a flaw and attack from an unexpected direction. After mastering the Creation Sword Technique, his grasp of this point in its swiftness became even deeper. Now, facing Oulden head‑on and clearly at a disadvantage, he thought that continuing would only lead to loss, so it was better to take a risky move: using the Wind-Control Technique to aid the light, agile glide of the Creation Sword, he would attack Oulden from behind, just as Si La Ke had once toppled Ruige—achieving great effect with little effort, succeeding in one blow. Though facing such a peerless master as Oulden, this wildly imaginative tactic might not work, but Luoshan had no better alternative.

Just as Oulden's twin swords were about to strike Luoshan, he suddenly abandoned all his shield defenses, resolved to endure a heavy blow from Oulden's magical power, and under his feet he already deployed the Wind-Control Technique, swinging his longsword in a circle—indeed, in an instant he flashed to Oulden's rear and fiercely slashed at his back! Originally the two faced each other, magical aura suffusing their bodies, necessitating shields to ward off the spells attached to the opponent's swords. Thus each person's magical power was limited, making the Wind-Control Technique impossible to use. Yet Luoshan forcibly withdrew all his magical power, turned to wind‑borne movement, and in an instant changed his position. Hence Oulden had not anticipated it at all.

This strike carried no magical power, yet aimed at Oulden's utterly unguarded back it was still no small matter. Oulden had no time to react; his back was pierced, blood spurting wildly. Almost at the same moment, Luoshan was penetrated by the magical power clinging to Oulden's sword. The blow was fierce: Luoshan's entire magical power seemed shattered, his sword fell to the ground, and even two of his ribs were broken.

In the span of a single move, both were already gravely wounded. Oulden's injury was especially severe; blood gushed from the wound like a spring, and within moments he felt utterly limp, unable to muster even a shred of strength. His vision swam from blood loss, the wound throbbed with pain, and the whole world seemed to fall into darkness.

In an instant, decades of memories flashed before his eyes. From childhood he had painstakingly cultivated magic; at twenty‑five he finally reached the rank of Human Master, then took up swordsmanship, defeated countless strong foes, and in a single leap became one of the seven hall masters of the Spirit God Hall. Yet after ascending to such a lofty and powerful seat, he discovered that the hall master's position was not what he had imagined. Mingguang remained supreme, issuing orders; anyone who defied his commands was mercilessly eradicated. Although Oulden was called a deputy hall master, all real authority still lay in Mingguang's hands, which made him resentful but left him powerless.

He knew his strength was far insufficient, so he must endure, endure, until he possessed the power to contend with it. Yet Mingguang's talent was astonishing; after years of cultivation he still could not match him. In recent years Mingguang has also grasped the secret art of using angel‑clan souls to resurrect the Supreme God, and he has been seizing angel‑clan people across the continent on a large scale. He knows that if Mingguang revives the Supreme God, he will never have a chance to rise again.

Therefore he sought greater power, therefore he aimed to ruin Mingguang's plans. Thus he realized that if he used a blood‑thirsty soul like Luoshan's, perhaps he could rival Mingguang, even dominate the continent.

But he still failed.

Darkness gradually claimed his field of vision, his consciousness growing fuzzy. Oulden let out a long sigh, a bitter smile flickering across his pale lips, then he closed his eyes and never moved again.