Chapter 184: Midnight

This sword strike was a sword strike, yet it was also more than just a sword strike.

It was a sword strike of peerless power, and also a sword strike of explosive, ten-thousand-fold force!

This sword strike had stored too much, too violent a power, so much so that beyond the strike itself, the remaining force was boundless; the sword body sliced through Bai Gu Lou, and the released power rushed impatiently from all directions toward every inch of the surroundings of Bai Gu Lou, destroying all of its pillar supports.

Boom!

Damage overflow!

The massive Bai Gu Lou was blasted into fragments by the Sword Qi.

The sturdy, thick walls reinforced by the test paper could not resist the sword might at all; after consuming only a portion of the power, the Sword Qi, striking out in all directions, swept without pause toward every corner of the street. The surrounding, slightly more fragile houses were all swept by the sword wind and suffered heavy damage. In the blink of an eye, half the street was filled with dilapidated buildings.

As for the various prying eyes hidden within, many were caught in the aftermath, either scurrying away or fleeing in panic.

Only the Iron House that had turned into scrap metal near the bones was not affected, because the young woman had struck her sword before arriving at the Iron House, and she had blocked that lump of iron behind her.

After striking, she couldn't help but stomp her foot and say, "Big brother, are you alright?"

Then she heard someone behind her say, "I'm fine. I have to say, elder sister, good sword, good strength."

It was Tang Zhao, who had emerged from a house further back.

It turned out that when he went in to carve the Rune Formula, besides "Forceful Demand," he also used "Sturdy," trying to pit the walls against Bai Gu Lou, and immediately knew it was hopeless. In terms of the architectural design of this Maze City, the materials were inferior to the Rune Formula, and the Rune Formula was inferior to the reinforcement. Whether or not one had the reinforcement of a test paper truly made a world of difference. Tang Zhao had no test paper in hand now, and having gone into battle in a rush, a head-on clash was absolutely unwinnable.

Fortunately, Tang Zhao had some Rune Formulas converted from Sword Arts, which were just right for extraordinary times.

This was the "Forceful Demand" from the "Bu De Sword."

This sword no longer existed in this world; it had been wiped clean by Xue Xianyun. The Sword Image was gone, and even if there were a new Sword Guest in the future, it would not be the same sword as before. But before it was wiped, it had been recorded by Tang Zhao in his Sword Manual, proving it had once been in this world.

That was page seventy-nine of the Sword Manual; the... Sumeru Sword was on page seventy-eight, and the Pi Gan Jian was on page eighty.

In terms of power and the realm of the sword, the Bu De Sword was actually unremarkable, but it possessed special Sword Arts and Sword Intent, which had miraculous effects in special situations.

For example, "Forceful Demand."

This Rune Formula converted from a Sword Art, when carved onto an object, forces the opponent to focus their attention on it, making the opponent attack incessantly with nothing else in their eyes until the object the formula is attached to is smashed to pieces and the formula is extinguished. Unless one has extremely strong Spirit defense and targeted breaking techniques, it is extremely difficult to resolve.

This shows the difference between Sword Arts and Rune Formulas. For a Rune Formula to form a useful technique, one must start from theoretical construction, then approach the goal through various technical means to realize the concept; this is a process of building a high-rise from flat ground, and the building might collapse halfway, never achieving the goal. It is similar to the technological side, requiring step-by-step technical accumulation.

Sword Arts, however, rely on Sword Intent and Sword Heart. Although they also have realms like techniques, laws, and momentum, generally speaking, they are still metaphysical things. A Sword Art is born simply from imagination; if the corresponding Sword Intent permits it, it can be realized. It is on the mysterious side. It is incomparably powerful and diverse, but it belongs only to a specific sword, unique in the world, and might only streak across the world like a meteor at a certain moment; whether the sword is damaged or the Sword Guest passes away, the Sword Art will disappear forever.

And Tang Zhao's Glasses are the miraculous objects that forcibly pull the mysterious side toward the technological side. No matter how bizarre or profound a Sword Art is, the Glasses can analyze it, express it using Rune Formulas, and turn it into a universal technique. While one is inevitably restricted by the Rune Formula's origin power, materials, and so on when casting it—not as free-willed as a Sword Art—it can be popularized. In the future, as Tang Zhao derives more Rune Formula writing methods and rules from it, he will be able to truly enrich the foundation of this edifice of Rune Formulas.

The "Forceful Demand" Rune Formula Tang Zhao used on the Iron House did not have the traceless nature of the Bu De Sword releasing a Sword Art. If the two sides were dueling, it would be easily seen through and countered. But the opponent was not a Sword Guest or a Loose Practitioner; he was merely a Talisman Sword Master who sat back and enjoyed the offerings of Bone Servants. A cruel nature and a twisted psychology do not mean he is rich in combat experience or keen in observation. Secondly, the person was hiding in the Bone House, manipulating the house through Rune Formulas, which is never intuitive and easily influenced by the formulas.

In the short time of one hundred counts, Yi Zhixin could not break through the influence of the "Forceful Demand" Rune Formula and spent a long time doing useless work, to the point that he was slashed and exploded by the prepared Sword Student.

As for Tang Zhao, knowing that the situation was impossible, he left the Rune Formula and slipped away. He didn't have the hobby of sitting still and being beaten up, even if it was through an Iron House. The reason that Iron House seemed to be "slacking off" was because no one was manipulating it.

Emerging from the house where he had been hiding, Tang Zhao asked, "Is that guy dead?"

The young woman said, "He should be dead. Let's go take a look; if he isn't dead, we'll add another strike."

The two arrived at the collapsed Bai Gu Lou, and Tang Zhao could still feel the residual violent power in the air, feeling astonished in his heart—if a Sword Student could store such powerful force, once they truly became a Sword Guest, they would surely be an incomparably violent Sword Guest.

In the ruins of bones, Yi Zhixin was actually still alive. His body was densely covered with a layer of bones, as if he had been hit head-on and his bones had emerged from his body. However, these were someone else's bones; he had just used them as bone armor in his moment of crisis, blocking them in front of himself to save his life. It was just that the sword had come with such great power that, under the shock of the remaining force, he was also on the verge of death.

The young woman snorted and said, "Well, he's still not dead? Isn't this a case of 'the wicked live for a thousand years'? I'll finish—"

Suddenly, the ground moved.

Tang Zhao was stunned for a moment, then felt the world spinning.

This was not a problem with his body; the heaven and earth were truly rotating.

The ground under his feet moved slightly, while the surrounding environment moved greatly. Buildings from all directions rotated incessantly like a revolving lantern; a familiar house suddenly disappeared, another strange house appeared abruptly, and the streets seemed to be dragged and turned upside down... This was a scene that only existed in dreams, yet it was happening in reality.

It was midnight! The Maze City had moved!

Tang Zhao remembered the rules of the Maze City: every midnight, the streets and buildings of the entire Maze City would be reshuffled, becoming unrecognizable. The next morning, everyone would wake up from their dreams to find themselves in a strange place.

This was his first time experiencing such a change. It was fortunate that he was standing on the ruins of Bai Gu Lou, counting as part of the building, and moved along with it, which was a relatively minor impact. If he had been standing on the street, it would be like standing in a storm; he would close his eyes and open them, only to find himself thrown into some unknown corner.

At this moment, he could not afford to lament the mysteries of the Maze City and stepped forward to grab Yi Zhixin.

Never mind the Maze City changing, even if the sky fell, it wouldn't save him!

Fortunately, Yi Zhixin was indeed breathing his last, and no plot twist occurred where he jumped up to do sit-ups during the chaos.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the chaotic phenomenon ceased.

Tang Zhao and the others had indeed arrived at a strange place. A glance around showed that none of the surrounding buildings had been seen before, and the neighbors who had been spying earlier had all disappeared.

Tang Zhao's gaze sharpened, fixing on a small building in front of him.

This small building was nothing special; on the contrary, it was quite normal, built of bricks and tiles, with an ordinary shape. But precisely because it was too normal, it appeared abnormal in the Maze City.

Moreover, on the entire street, only this small building had a lamp lit, the light shining extremely brightly in the darkness. This was likely unique in the Maze City; even if Tang Zhao returned to his lodging, he would not dare to light a lamp in such a complex situation.

Tang Zhao had a premonition that the fact that they had moved in front of this small building was likely not a coincidence.

Then...

The identity of the Master of the small building was about to be revealed.

Just as he was thinking this, the door of the small building opened, and two young men came out. They were indeed wearing the robes of Long Yuan Disciples, and they bowed to the two, saying, "Two distinguished guests, you have worked hard."

At this time, the young woman also reacted and said, "Oh, you are from Long Yuan? Haha, good—" She pointed at Yi Zhixin and said, "Look at this, how did this happen? You invited us here, and then invited these animals to disgust me? If we didn't have the ability, we would have nearly lost our lives in your venue! Some fellow practitioners have already lost their lives at his hands, and those were the lives of Talisman Sword Masters! Is this the Rune Gathering you want to hold? If you don't give an explanation, I will head home today. Does my Feitian Cave lack a bowl of rice at your table?"

The two young Long Yuan Disciples were both polite and helpless, saying, "Distinguished guests, please do not be anxious. Long Yuan will certainly give an explanation for this matter. This murderer, please..."

The young woman raised her eyebrows and said, "What, you want to take him away? I tell you, that's impossible! When this villain was attacking others, why didn't you come out? Now that he has been caught by me, why are you coming out? To protect him? I tell you, no one can protect him! Big brother, if they want to force a move, you carry out the execution. I will block them; I want to see who can step past me?"

Tang Zhao praised, "Sister is heroic! I shall follow Sister's orders."

The Long Yuan Disciples showed expressions of frustration and indignation, saying, "We will not protect him. We want him to be brought to justice and hung on the city wall to rectify the atmosphere of the Rune Gathering."

Tang Zhao and the woman both maintained an non-committal attitude; they didn't say whether they believed it or not, but they wouldn't move aside anyway. Then they heard a window on the upper floor open, and someone said in a clear voice, "Xi Yan, it is me. Do not misunderstand."

This was also a woman's voice, cold yet pleasant to the ear.

The young woman, Xi Yan, identified it slightly and realized, "Ah, so it is you—good, to think that even you..."

The Long Yuan Disciples had clearly received sudden instructions and said, "The two of you, please come upstairs." They didn't say who had told them to invite them up, but since Xi Yan recognized the voice, it was certainly not an enemy.

Tang Zhao lifted Yi Zhixin and said, "Should I bring him?"

The Longyuan Disciple tacitly agreed, then took out a box and said, "Please..."

Xi Yan glanced at it and said, "What for? Are you going to confiscate my weapon? Even if I were to reach the Jinluandian, my sword would not leave my hand."

The Longyuan Disciple said, "No—please let the Spirit Envoy in."