Chapter 113

After Seeing Chu Tianshu broke into the Prince Yi's mansion that day, the voice of his challenge was too loud, which was fundamentally very different from the tone of his usual speech.

Duan Zhong was far away at that time, and just now, when talking to Hai Donglai, he hadn't noticed anything unusual.

But without using tone to distinguish, relying on the battle just now and the meaning in Seeing Chu Tianshu's words,

some things were already very clear.

"You are the one who broke into Prince Yi's mansion?"

"According to reports, you spent quite a bit of effort when you killed Yuwen Tongxin and those few people, yet you've made progress so quickly?"

Duan Zhong murmured, his voice not high; rather than asking a question, it was more like talking to himself.

"Yes, when I led troops into battle back then, and when Hai Donglai was rising to fame, there were days of such rapid progress."

"It's just that when I got older and my pace slowed, I subconsciously didn't think that among my enemies this time, there would be such a person."

Seeing Chu Tianshu smiled.

"Are you done reminiscing? By admitting you're old, are you trying to make me respect the elderly and let you strike first?"

Seeing Chu Tianshu spread his right hand and issued an invitation.

"Fine, then please make your move first."

There were tiny circles of light in his eyes, expanding and contracting, as he already sensed several different Soldier Spirit auras on Duan Zhong.

Strangely, these Soldier Spirits did not have that feeling of being evil, dark, or turbid.

If they weren't evil weapons, then they were all cultivated by Duan Zhong himself.

Normally, as long as a Soldier Spirit has not dissipated, the master's mental and physical energy will all be spent on that Soldier Spirit.

Being distracted and wanting to cultivate other Soldier Spirits is a very arduous and thankless task.

For the same person, even if they cultivate different blood-refining weapon arts, the effects of the Soldier Spirits they cultivate are very likely to be similar.

Going through so much trouble is not as good as focusing on cultivating the original Soldier Spirit or finding a way to gain insight into new moves.

Duan Zhong's situation, however, was likely because he could ensure that the new Soldier Spirits he cultivated each had their own merits.

For such a person, one cannot be rash.

Seeing Chu Tianshu letting him strike first also had the meaning of controlling movement through stillness.

The lonely moon shone, and the spirit banners fluttered.

The cold night wind blew over the front of the Maitreya Hall again and again, blowing over these white-canopied coffins in the square wave after wave.

Duan Zhong held his hands in front of him, standing among these sparse and empty coffins, his eyes deep, and he did not speak again.

Hai Donglai stroked his chest and reminded, "He can affect breathing; don't talk much with him."

In the standoff in the hall just now, with Hai Donglai's state of mind, there shouldn't have been any obvious changes in his breathing.

The moment his breathing became heavy and he revealed a flaw was purely a physical problem.

It was a bit like the feeling he had when he was scouting military intelligence in Tibet, standing on the top of a high mountain, but it was far more serious than that.

What he inhaled were useless air currents, not the kind of air currents that could refresh his lungs.

Seeing Chu Tianshu had also already sensed the abnormality.

He had precise control over his lungs and clearly felt that the oxygen content in every breath of air he inhaled was decreasing rapidly.

This was originally a place with very fresh air, and the oxygen content was not low.

The night wind blew, and the air was also very well-circulated.

But the situation now was as if, when the night wind blew over, it passed through a layer of filtration, and what blew in was all waste gas with no oxygen.

Soldier Spirit, Wisdom Root Six Paths, Heavenly Human Breath Cessation!

Duan Zhong suddenly smiled, his body lunged forward, and he killed toward Seeing Chu Tianshu, his left hand glowing with charcoal-red light and his right hand with ice-white luster.

Wisdom Root Six Paths...

The human world is like charcoal! The hungry ghosts are cold!

The low mood and sentimental appearance he had just now could not be said to be entirely fake, but at least ninety-nine percent of it was fake.

His real age was not important at all; his physical strength and ambition were still entirely those of a man in his prime.

Then he truly was a man in his prime.

How could such a general in his prime easily show the flaw of low mood when facing his mortal enemy?

It was all just the cunning disguise of a person on the path of the soldier.

Bang bang bang bang bang!!!!

Duan Zhong's hands unleashed continuous afterimages, while Seeing Chu Tianshu's arms were like blue steel, not yielding an inch, clashing forcefully.

Forearms crossed, palms collided, elbows struck fists...

In their extremely fast offensive, both of them were also full of variations.

The repeated disturbance of cold and hot temperatures had not yet hurt Seeing Chu Tianshu's hands, but it had already caused the surrounding air currents to twist and shake.

This caused the sounds of their fight to be continuously amplified in the distorted air currents.

Rumble!!

In an instant, the sounds emanating from where the two of them were fighting had become no different from continuous muffled thunder.

The sounds were more surging wave after wave.

Just like the fighting spirit and killing intent rising in Duan Zhong's heart.

Crack!!

As the four arm afterimages collided in curves and straight lines.

Seeing Chu Tianshu's hand gesture suddenly changed, like plucking a flower; he was not attacking the enemy, but rather, in the midst of the crossing afterimages, he pinched a corner of a sleeve.

Breaking the Shaolin fist stance, the method of sticking and throwing!

For an ordinary person, with just this shake from Seeing Chu Tianshu pinching the sleeve, he could throw the entire person onto the ground.

Even now, after this shake, a force that seemed soft but was actually resilient covered Duan Zhong's entire right arm.

However, Duan Zhong's sleeve suddenly exploded.

Wisdom Root Six Paths, Asura Wielding Weapon!

Compared to Duan Rusu needing to use her hands to grab objects, exert force to explode them, and coordinate with the Soldier Spirit—these cumbersome steps—

Duan Zhong only needed a thought, and his sleeve exploded like a pile of shattered iron pieces.

Seeing Chu Tianshu tilted his head, slightly dodging a fragment shooting toward his left eye, and let the remaining fragments shoot into his chest and even his face.

When he fought, he was always swift and meticulous, liking to dismantle and block all of his opponent's moves.

But in reality, with his current "Inner Sage and Outer King" physical state, he could completely use the fighting style of a hard-training expert.

The "iron pieces" shot out at this speed simply could not break Seeing Chu Tianshu's defense.

Therefore, he clearly saw Duan Zhong's shoulders drop at this moment, his palm reaching out urgently, digging toward his kidneys.

Clang!!

The long sword at Seeing Chu Tianshu's waist suddenly straightened; as soon as his right hand touched the hilt, he flicked the blade that was horizontal in front of his waist upward.

Duan Zhong retracted his hand instantly, but the middle finger of his right hand was still shaved of a small piece of skin and flesh.

The sword light flashed urgently, just like a dozen curved white lines, all attacking Duan Zhong.

Duan Zhong's expression changed slightly, his hand gestures changing at extreme speed, palm shadows flying like butterfly wings flashing and disappearing.

He used six finger rings to hastily block the sword tip, his figure retreating violently.

Since Seeing Chu Tianshu started fighting, he initially seemed like a fist technique master pursuing speed and clever changes.

Then he suddenly displayed a hard-training style, and now he had unleashed a sword technique.

His style was complex, and each was exquisite, making one suspect if his real age was also a cycle older than his appearance.

However, after this fierce sword attack, Seeing Chu Tianshu could not help but pant.

He did not pursue Duan Zhong, but instead retreated.

In the blink of an eye, the two sides pulled ten zhang apart.

Seeing Chu Tianshu suddenly felt the oxygen return to normal and took a deep breath.

He could hold his breath for a long time now, but in a low-oxygen state, fighting a strong enemy fiercely, he still couldn't hold on for too long.

On Duan Zhong's side, his right sleeve was already shattered, revealing the green, wrinkled skin on his arm, looking like the back of a lizard or the bark of an old tree.

Wisdom Root Six Paths, Animal Armor Leaf!

After activating the Animal Path, he could still maintain the normal operation of his body in a state with extremely low oxygen content.

Duan Zhong's Animal Path had already been opened long ago.

Seeing Chu Tianshu stared at this opponent, holding his sword across his chest, the blade humming softly.

Five small white frost spots appeared on the clothing at his waist, only to be melted by his body heat.

The cold energy on Duan Zhong's hand just now had already soaked through his clothes and invaded his muscles.

If he had been even a fraction slower, his kidney would likely have been dug out.

Duan Zhong was also looking at him, suddenly looking up to the sky and letting out a long howl, singing and articulating words.

"Chu! Tian! Shu!!"

At this moment, the sound Duan Zhong emitted was high and sharp, traveling extremely far, and had already lost its authenticity.

It didn't sound like a human throat, and it was unclear whether he was actually shouting those three characters.

Seeing Chu Tianshu felt he was calling his own name.

Hai Donglai, Guan Changling, and Cheng Xiazi, who had just arrived at the Maitreya Hall, also felt he was calling their names.

Even Zheng Hui, whose name only had two characters, had the same feeling.

Moreover, because Zheng Hui was seriously injured, he felt it the most deeply.

His heart was shocked and his spirit shaken, his head dizzy and eyes blurred; he only felt that three or four Chu Tianshus and five or six Duan Zhongs appeared in front of him.

His heart seemed to have left his chest, and his soul seemed to have drifted away from his body.

Wisdom Root Six Paths, Hell Soul-Hooking!

Among the local top experts, Hai Donglai was an out-of-place existence because, due to a congenital disease, he had been accustomed to focusing on tempering his physique since he was young.

When he was normal, his physique was extremely strong, but in terms of Soldier Spirit, he was only at the realm of the Deer Cart.

And Duan Zhong could be considered a true top expert who conformed to the mainstream of this world.

If one were to use the three-cart realm of the "Blood River Cart" as a metaphor.

Duan Zhong had already reached the realm of "Green Ox Pulling the Cart" in his blood-refining weapon art, touching upon profound blood-refining wisdom.

Starting with the Asura Path Soldier Spirit, he coordinated it with the essence of Buddhism.

He split it into five different Soldier Spirits: Heavenly Human, Animal, Human, Hungry Ghost, and Hell.

The six effects complemented each other, making him an existence with no shortcomings.

The singing of the Hell Soul-Hooking was not originally created to target a single enemy.

It was created to target situations where large numbers of soldiers and crossbowmen were surrounding and killing.

With "Heavenly Human" and "Hell" coordinated, Duan Zhong almost didn't need to do it himself when dealing with ordinary soldiers.

As long as he walked through once with the power of the two Soldier Spirits, people wherever he passed would fall into a coma.

He was now unleashing such singing, but it was not because he expected to rely on this to deal with Seeing Chu Tianshu, but to stimulate himself.

Hooking the soul and shaking the spirit, destroying the normal state of his own body.

For Duan Zhong, as long as he struck at Seeing Chu Tianshu next, his body could be excited to the extreme at every instant.

But his emotions could also be hooked out and detached from it, maintaining a calm and sharp fighting style.

"Chu! Tian! Shu!!"

Three characters, like a song, like a chant.

The white banners shook urgently, and his heart fluttered continuously.

The raised banner tails seemed to have suddenly slowed down.

Duan Zhong's body "swam" out extremely fast and silently at this moment.

The cold and hot air currents seemed to have completed a compression behind his back, and the air in front was just extremely thin.

He thrust forward with a single palm, his entire figure natural and miraculous.

It was like a swimming fish in the clouds.

That thrusting palm was just like the sword in a fish's mouth.

In the ethereal silence, it struck toward Seeing Chu Tianshu's heart.

(End of chapter)