Volume Two: The Youth of a Thousand Faces, Truth in Disguise Chapter Seventy-Four: The Calamity of a Thousand Threads

The blade is the commander of all weapons, unrivaled in the carnage of battlefields; the sword is the king among arms, its twin edges reflecting truth and self-examination.
Blade and sword sing in harmony, walking together between life and death.

In the end, Huo Ye and Shangguan Jade Butterfly were forced to face Kalen directly, lacking the analytical prowess of Jiang Feng. They never considered shattering the node; all they could do now was fight.

First stance: Circular Dance
Ice Dance in Flowing Splendor

Both warriors wielded rare divine weapons; even if their foe's skin were forged of steel, their blades would slice through as if it were mere mud.

Kalen's limbs were severed again and again, yet each time they healed rapidly. Huo Ye once tried to kick away the decapitated head, but to his astonishment, Kalen's body dissolved into ash, and the disembodied head regenerated a new body mid-air. Huo Ye had only heard of such regeneration when Eddie recounted his battles with the Twelve Calamities; and that particular Calamity was the third-ranked, slain only by Eddie Hall thus far.

This creature, not even of Calamity rank, should never be so powerful under normal circumstances. There could only be one explanation: everything in this space was under Kalen’s control. He could alter certain rules of this world, hence his terrifying regenerative speed.

Yet, even with such power, there must be limits to how much he can change the world's rules. It was time to see who would reach their limit first.

Huo Ye’s guess was correct. Kalen could indeed alter the rules of this self-created pocket space, but only with his true consciousness present. The other two spaces were mere puppet bodies.

But that mattered little; so long as his consciousness remained, he could modify the rules, albeit with reduced strength. If he could wear down the two, devour that high-quality youth, perhaps he might ascend directly to Calamity rank. The remaining four would pose no threat. Years of training or consuming more humans—that is the path to a Calamity's strength, for humans are but nourishing supplements to them.

Abilities could not be used continuously. Both Huo Ye and Shangguan Jade Butterfly were now breathing heavily. Especially Shangguan Jade Butterfly, whose stamina had begun to falter beneath the relentless combat; her style was always to strike from the shadows, killing with a single blow. She had hoped, with Huo Ye’s cooperation, they might swiftly slay their foe. As long as her ability remained, she could locate the true body and, with a single precise outburst, end the battle.

But the opportunity never came. Kalen’s regeneration was abnormally monstrous, well beyond their level's capacity to counter; this was surely his trump card.

"Jade, can you sense his true body's exact location?" Huo Ye asked.

"I can try, but I’ll need several minutes—and I can’t use any other abilities during that time," Shangguan Jade Butterfly replied.

"Good. I’ll take the front, you find your chance to finish him! I refuse to believe he can keep living once his true body is shattered!" Huo Ye said, then charged ahead.

Sixth stance: Blood-Thrusting Strike

Huo Ye’s form left a trail of afterimages in the air. Flames burned along his blade, and serpentine lightning coiled about its spine.

"Hmph! You think you can harm me? In this space, I am the sovereign!"

But as he finished speaking, Kalen’s world seemed to shift, growing more… one-sided, for his right eye had been stabbed blind.

---

A blade pierced straight through the eyeball, then the entire skull, the radiant edge emerging flawless.

"Hey, you really ought to learn your lesson, shouldn’t you? How many times now have you been slapped down right after making such a boast? Don’t you feel any shame? Even the most naïve human child would howl in embarrassment at a moment like this. Do you speak without thinking? Ah, forgive me—that disaster-formed body of yours doesn’t even have a brain. Should I pull my blade out and drain the water from your empty skull, so it’s completely hollow?"

Huo Ye whispered demonically as he struck, his blade sweeping toward Kalen’s neck.

Kalen roared, "Enough!!!"

His voice shook earth and sky, making the ruins tremble; nearby structures even collapsed. That roar was infused with spatial abilities, every vibration a powerful attack.

Huo Ye took the brunt of it, blood pouring from every orifice, spraying from his mouth, even his organs suffering from the resonance.

But at that moment, Kalen, whose eye had been pierced by the Ghost-Slaying Blade, vanished and reappeared behind Huo Ye.

"Die!" Kalen cursed, aiming to ram his skull through the back of Huo Ye’s head.

Yet—

Tenth stance: Spirit Serpent Twist

Huo Ye spun his waist, twin blades cutting at impossible angles, even curving eerily in their path—one blow severed the waist and both legs, the other decapitated and cleaved the head.

Kalen was sliced into six pieces by this uncanny technique. Huo Ye wiped blood from his face and said, "You’re the first Calamity to force me past the tenth stance; the ultimate form truly is different."

He spoke with style, but was at his limit. Stances beyond the tenth, save for the thirteenth, consumed energy like lightning—already exhausted, Huo Ye could barely muster the strength for this move after healing his internal injuries.

Spirit Serpent Twist was a defensive counter: any enemy appearing behind him would have their vulnerabilities instantly exposed to his ability, and the caster would slay them with the swiftest, most unpredictable strike.

But it was not enough. Huo Ye still failed to shatter Kalen’s true body, while Kalen healed again. Enraged, he seized Huo Ye’s throat, nearly crushing his own teeth in fury.

Shangguan Jade Butterfly did not act rashly—just a little longer, the final moment! Her golden eyes stared so fiercely they seemed about to tear their sockets. She was about to lock onto the true body’s position. Just one more minute, Ye, hold on.

For Huo Ye, that minute was endless.

Kalen opened his mouth wide, famished, unwilling to wait another moment. He would devour Huo Ye.

Huo Ye, strangled and unable to breathe, knew his stamina was spent. His limbs barely moved, his abilities almost depleted, unable to cast any more techniques. Unable to breathe, even regeneration failed him. Think, think fast—how to escape?

---

Symptoms of oxygen deprivation set in, hallucinations crowding Huo Ye’s vision.

"Ah, little Ye with long hair, so cute! Perhaps from now on, Mom should raise you as her daughter." He remembered, at twelve, when Vivian had forced him into girls’ clothes, tying his hair in twin tails—his most humiliating memory.

Come to think of it, his abilities should still be able to stimulate sub-grade stem cells to make his hair grow. But what use was that?

No—he could try!

With the last of his power, he urged his stem cells, hair growing, growing!

Kalen noticed, but hunger took precedence—he bit into Huo Ye’s shoulder.

Blood sprayed from Huo Ye’s shoulder, but he seemed utterly unconcerned. His hair, once barely brushing his ears, suddenly lengthened—past his shoulders, waist, down to the ground.

Rise!

The wild strands moved as if commanded, entwining, piercing, stripping.

Kalen was shocked, but too late.

His right eye, already struck by Blood-Thrusting Strike, now seethed with fire and thunder, ravaging his wounds, tearing his body apart with sustained harm his regeneration could not counter.

Huo Ye’s serpent-like hair burrowed into these wounds, writhing inside Kalen’s body. Kalen screamed in agony, powerless to resist, for the destruction came from within.

He released Huo Ye, who could now breathe, producing more ability in an instant. His hair whipped about, binding Kalen tightly, even seizing the true body hidden within.

"Now!"

Shangguan Jade Butterfly had finally pinpointed Kalen’s true body. No need for elaborate abilities—just one sword thrust.

The sound of shattering—the true body broke, ash scattering.

Huo Ye stood motionless amid the chaos of his long hair, his bangs concealing his eyes. Shangguan Jade Butterfly could not see his expression. She stepped forward, only to hear Huo Ye murmur, "I've found a new path for my abilities. I want to call this move—Thousand Silk Tribulation…"

Huo Ye finished speaking and fainted, falling into Shangguan Jade Butterfly’s arms.

She cradled Huo Ye, who had all but single-handedly defeated Kalen, gently patting his back, whispering, "Sleep well, Ye."