Chapter Twenty-Eight: I Am the Legend

The feeble struggle only further agitated the nerves of the dwarf, who leapt at Xu Xing again and again, striking him relentlessly until he could no longer lift his arms.

"Still trying to resist? Today, I’ll begin with this hand of yours. That’s what you get for meddling, for playing the hero!"

The dwarf seized Xu Xing’s hand and twisted it with a flick of his wrist. The sound of bones dislocating was clear. Beside them, Ziyan shouted herself hoarse:

"Let him go! He’s the one I have my eye on! Would you dare let him grow stronger? What honor is there in bullying someone at the peak of Qi Refinement?"

At her words, the dwarf pried open Xu Xing’s palm, dragging it toward Zhou Lingya, and bellowed:

"So what? The carp has yet to leap the dragon gate, so he is no dragon. I’ll throw him into the Sea of Suffering to feed the demons—nothing will remain of him."

Zhou Lingya, locked in her own battle, glanced at the crushed Xu Xing. Under the moonlight, worry etched her face, making her look all the more delicate.

Xu Xing’s defeat distracted Ziyan, splitting her focus and leaving her powerless. After only a brief exchange, she was struck down. She unfurled her white fan, blue light flooding her eyes.

"I’ll give you one more chance. Let him go—or you’ll be the ones thrown to the demons in the Sea of Suffering."

"Mythic weapon? Do you think you’re the only one who owns such a thing?" hissed the centipede man, producing a wooden rod and laying it across his shoulders.

The two resumed their clash, their duel fierce and even. Even with Zhou Lingya’s full strength, she could only hold her own.

Neither side could gain the upper hand; the battle blazed white-hot.

"Boy, today your name will be struck from the world. Don’t blame me for being ruthless! You dared threaten our interests—maybe in your next life, you’ll learn to stay out of trouble!"

The dwarf raised his curved blade, pinning Xu Xing’s withered hand, then whipped the blade back and brought it down with all his might.

"No!"

Zhou Lingya screamed in anguish, struggling desperately, but the centipede man pinned her fast.

The razor-edged blade whistled down toward Xu Xing’s arm, intent on severing it.

The blade struck only empty air, slicing through nothing with a whistling sound. The dwarf stared in surprise.

"What’s happening?"

The grains of sand on the ground began to tremble. Leaves from the locust tree drifted down, wild grasses began to shed their husks. Even the clouds beneath the moon started to part.

Sand flew, the tree hung suspended, grass roots rose, the clouds withdrew.

It was as if this place had been forgotten by time. The dwarf realized, to his horror, that a powerful spiritual energy was erupting from Xu Xing, pinned beneath him—like a volcano, Xu Xing was about to erupt.

A force burst from the earth, flinging the dwarf more than ten meters away.

The power was terrifying, shaking the heavens around them.

The dwarf, sprawled on the ground, was dumbstruck, his soul quaking with fear. His legs trembled as if plunged into icy water; his jaw hung open.

The battle nearby paused for an instant at the spectacle. Ziyan, seeing the dwarf flung aside, looked astonished, then smiled knowingly.

"I told you, you wouldn’t leave so easily."

She pulled herself together, focusing on the tall man. Perhaps Xu Xing’s display had given her new strength, for she now pressed the tall man back.

Xu Xing began to rise, inch by inch, from the earth.

"What is happening?" The centipede man’s nerves were taut, his voice shaking as he watched Xu Xing slowly stand. Fear overtook him.

"Xu Xing, you’re amazing!" Ziyan called, brandishing her white fan, beaming in the moonlight.

Xu Xing stood tall, shaking the dust and sand from his body. The night breeze swept his face clean.

He opened his eyes, and within his pupils, two Sanskrit characters shimmered. He murmured words under his breath, fixing his gaze on the fallen dwarf and intoning:

"Great Incineration: Wind of Peace, let all be transformed."

"Still just a cultivator at Qi Refinement, overreaching yourself. Incantations? I know a few myself. Let me show you the true power of Foundation Establishment! Cross Sutra: Extinction!"

Winds howled, waves crashed, clouds surged.

The dwarf’s Cross Sutra transformed into a swastika, swelling with golden light, dazzling as it hurtled toward Xu Xing.

In Xu Xing’s eyes, the burning symbols spun, forming a model outside his body, swiftly coalescing.

A droplet of gold fell, deepening the impression in the earth.

The swastika flew, seething with the rage and spiritual power of Foundation Establishment.

Xu Xing’s burning symbols formed a hand, which shot forth, raising a gale sharpened with sword intent.

Infused with transformative power, as if a multitude sang his praises, as if the Buddhist chants and funeral dirges mingled in a holy cacophony.

The swastika and the burning hand collided, turning the silent night to day, bursting like fireworks.

A shockwave pulsed from the collision, knocking Zhou Lingya and her opponent to the ground.

The swastika and the burning hand vanished, and darkness returned, cloaking all.

"Who... who are you?" the dwarf gasped from the ground, his clothes in tatters.

He spat several mouthfuls of green blood, propped himself up, and stared at the unscathed Xu Xing in shock.

Xu Xing stood untouched, as if carved from stone, aloof in the moonlight. The world fell silent.

Ziyan had known the bearer of the Shu character was powerful, but this was monstrous beyond belief!

"I am but an anonymous wanderer who enjoys justice," Xu Xing replied calmly.

The dwarf rose, slashing open a vein with his curved blade. Green blood gushed into his mouth, and the blade melted into his body. He began to grow, swelling until he stood a hundred feet tall.

"Brother, run! He’s merged with his mythic weapon—using blood as a catalyst, sacrificing his lifespan, praying with his soul—he’s drawn on the power of his ancestors!" Ziyan called out.

"A mythic weapon? Let yours rot in decay!" Xu Xing answered, bold and unyielding.

Transformed into a monstrous toad, the dwarf’s eyes bulged larger than Xu Xing’s entire body. From his throat, a divine note rang out:

"You are the first to push me so far. Now die!"

"Song of Ruin!"

The toad, thirty meters tall, swelled its cheeks, inhaling the moon’s cold essence. An aura of ancient power radiated from within.

"Come then—let us fight!" Xu Xing replied, his spirit undaunted.

He reached for the sword at his waist, left hand gripping the scabbard, right the hilt. This was the sword he’d found on the sands, whose might he knew well.

Tonight, let this dwarf consecrate it with his blood!

He drew the blade, a dazzling white light flaring from within.

"Come, sword."

As the blade left its sheath, the trembling sands stilled, the locust leaves hung motionless, the wind ceased, and the moon shone piercingly bright.

The fighting between the tall man and Ziyan slowed; both turned toward Xu Xing’s sword. Sensing danger, the tall man shouted,

"Dwarf! Stop! You cannot withstand that sword!"

The giant toad replied, "No! He cannot defeat me. It’s already done! Song of Ruin!"

Waves of sound swept down the locust leaves, scouring the wild grass, and a furious wind rose.

"Sword One: The Single Blade Cuts Across."

The sonic wave galloped like a thousand horses, a lone rider charging through, demonic in its might.

Xu Xing gripped his sword, closed his eyes, exhaled, and, feeling the wild wind, slashed horizontally. Their powers collided.

Boom...

A brilliant explosion of light painted the bleak night in every color. The shockwave swept up all four of them.

The tall man and Ziyan cloaked themselves in spiritual shields, staring in disbelief at the place where sword and sound met.

The wind raged, the earth howled, as if thunder split the land, shaking all to the core. For a moment, the world fell utterly still.

...

In the moonlight, the giant toad had reverted to its original form. The dwarf knelt on the ground, battered and bleeding profusely.

"Where is your brother?"

"He stands beneath the moon."

The tall man lifted his head with effort. Xu Xing hovered in the moonlight, sword in hand, his robes and hair tousled by the cold wind, his eyes wild with battle. "What monster have we provoked this time?"

Xu Xing glanced back at the three sprawled on the ground. He appeared utterly unharmed.

The force of the clash had been so overwhelming that both Ziyan and the tall man had exhausted their spirit energy raising protective barriers against it.

Xu Xing descended by sword, coming to stand beside the dwarf.

"Why are you so powerful without a mythic weapon?"

"Because I am a myth!"