Gao Xiao and Tu Gang exchanged a glance, both seeing intense killing intent in the other’s eyes.

Gao Xiao’s fingers tightened slightly. Beneath the moonlight, his slender, curved blade glinted with a cold, spectral blue light. The deadly poison coating its edge seemed to move slowly in the darkness, as if alive.

Tu Gang quietly clenched his fists. His jet-black metal claws made a soft scraping sound, their tips glinting with a cold light.

Thoughts raced through both of their minds.

Fang Han was ranked eighty-first on the Celestial Pride List, so he was certainly not weak.

But as Stewards of the Netherworld Pavilion in the Late Stage of Fourth Grade, they had been immersed in this Realm for many years. Their foundations were far deeper than those of any ordinary Late-Fourth Grade Martial Artist.

If not for the fact they were over the thirty-year-old age limit, their strength would have been more than enough to earn them a spot on the Celestial Pride List.

Now, by joining forces, they were confident they could kill someone ranked eighty-first on the Celestial Pride List.

The two locked their auras onto Fang Han. Inner Qi surged through their bodies, and the oppressive presence of the Late Stage of Fourth Grade emanated from them, making the surrounding air feel heavy and stagnant.

"Kill!"

With a low shout, Gao Xiao shot forward like a phantom. His short blade cut through the night, tracing a deadly arc of light as it flew straight for Fang Han’s throat.

Tu Gang moved at almost the same instant. His twin claws slashed in a crisscrossing pattern, the wind from their passage howling as they sealed off Fang Han’s paths of retreat to the left and right.

Their coordination was perfect. One attacked from the left, the other from the right. The light from the blade and the shadows of the claws wove into a net that enveloped an area of several yards around Fang Han.

"You think you can kill me by teaming up?"

Fang Han’s expression was calm, his eyes as still as a tranquil lake.

Either one of them was at least as strong as the masked man he had encountered over ten days ago.

If his Nine Swords of Sky Splitting had not reached the stage of Great Success, it would have been difficult for him to win, even if he unleashed his full power.

But now that his Nine Swords of Sky Splitting had reached Great Success, the situation was much easier.

WHOOSH!

Facing their combined assault, he tapped his toes lightly on the ground, activating his Wind and Cloud Escape technique.

His body moved like a willow seed drifting on the wind, slipping through the gaps between blade and claws by a hair’s breadth.

Gao Xiao’s blade missed, but instead of pulling back, he pressed his attack, his Blade Momentum shifting from a thrust to a slice aimed at Fang Han’s ribs.

The wind from Tu Gang’s claws intensified. He feinted with his left claw to draw his opponent’s attention while his right claw silently snaked toward the center of Fang Han’s back.

Their attacks were vicious, each move a killing blow. They were clearly determined to kill him.

But Fang Han seemed to have anticipated this. He shifted slightly to the side, dodging the blade.

At the same time, he swung his Cloud Splitting Sword. A flash of cyan light from the blade perfectly parried Tu Gang’s surprise attack.

CLANG!

The crisp sound of metal striking metal rang out as sparks flew.

Tu Gang felt a massive force travel up his claw, the impact so strong it numbed his wrist. He was horrified.

Seizing the opportunity, Gao Xiao’s short blade shifted again, transforming into dozens of afterimages that rained down on Fang Han’s face like a torrential downpour.

Instead of retreating, Fang Han advanced. Cyan light flowed along his Cloud Splitting Sword as he casually executed the "Sky Splitting" technique.

The sword strike looked slow, yet it struck first despite being launched second. As the tip of the sword passed, the air itself seemed to tear with a faint sound.

The Sword Qi was so condensed it was almost tangible, forming a cyan blade of light as thin as a cicada’s wing that met Gao Xiao’s flurry of blade-shadows.

SSSSHHHK—

The blade-shadows collapsed against the blade of light, torn apart as if they were made of paper.

Gao Xiao felt an incomparably sharp Powerful Qi invade his body, forcing him to stagger backward, the blood roiling in his chest.

Seeing this, Tu Gang let out a savage roar. His claws danced in a frenzy, creating a storm of claw-shadows that swept toward Fang Han like dark clouds descending upon a city.

Fang Han’s Sword Momentum remained unchanged. With a casual swing of his Cloud Splitting Sword, he parried the real claws hidden within the storm of shadows.

CLANG—!

The clash of sword and claw erupted in a piercing shriek of metal.

Tu Gang felt a terrifying power transmit from the sword, forcing him back several steps.

Each step backward left a deep footprint in the ground.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—

The three figures flickered rapidly through the forest, leaving a trail of utter destruction in their wake.

Gao Xiao’s blade missed, and the Blade Qi struck the ground, blasting a foot-deep trench and sending dirt flying.

Tu Gang’s claw struck a tree trunk, and the ancient tree—so thick a person couldn’t wrap their arms around it—cracked and split, sending splinters flying.

The wind from Fang Han’s sword left even greater devastation in its wake.

His Sword Qi grazed the ground, carving a gash several yards long. When it struck boulders, they shattered, sending shrapnel flying in all directions.

After a mere dozen exchanges, the area for dozens of yards around them looked as if a hurricane had torn through it, a complete ruin.

"The eighty-first on the Celestial Pride List is... this strong?"

After dozens of rounds of fierce combat, both Gao Xiao and Tu Gang were breaking out in a cold sweat.

They exchanged a look, finding not a shred of confidence in each other’s eyes—only unconcealable horror.

’Fang Han’s sword... it’s too fast, too sharp!’

Every time they clashed, the Cloud Splitting Sword exuded a conceptual Realm of pure severance, an intent to tear through all obstacles.

It was as if he wasn’t wielding a sword, but the invisible wind, the inherent sharpness of the world itself.

Their attacks felt like striking a slippery eel; seventy to eighty percent of their power was deflected or redirected, and the rest was easily blocked and repelled by his incredibly condensed Sword Qi.

The force split the webbing of their hands. Blood dripped down the hilt of the blade and the gauntlets of the claws, and their arms grew so numb they nearly lost all feeling in them.

Gao Xiao roared inwardly, ’I can’t let this go on!’

’If this continues, not only will we fail to kill Fang Han, it’s highly likely we’ll both die by his hand.’

’I have to risk it all!’

He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue. Spurred by the intense pain, the Inner Qi in his body began to circulate at an unprecedented, frantic pace. He could even faintly hear his meridians groaning from the strain.

The spectral blue light on his curved blade suddenly flared, as if a venomous snake had opened its crimson eyes.

He let out a savage cry as his body and the light of his blade merged, becoming a distorted stream of blue light that shrieked like a wailing ghost.

This was no longer a sky full of afterimages, but a single strike that condensed all of his Essence, Qi, and Spirit, aimed directly at Fang Han’s head.

Before the blade even arrived, its bone-chilling pressure sent the hair on Fang Han’s forehead whipping back and made his skin break out in goosebumps.

At almost the exact same moment, Tu Gang understood Gao Xiao’s intent.

A low, bestial roar rumbled in his throat as the dark light on his claws flared.

He no longer aimed for cunning Transformations, instead pouring all his strength into his claws. One from the left and one from the right, they came together like a pair of giant iron pincers.

With an ear-splitting shriek, they shot brazenly toward Fang Han’s shoulders.

He was coordinating with Gao Xiao, intending to lock down all of Fang Han’s room to maneuver and force him to take the killing blow head-on.

’So they’re finally putting their lives on the line?’

Facing this pincer attack from front and back, this nearly perfect, all-or-nothing assault, Fang Han’s eyes remained as tranquil as a cold, deep well.

Just as the blue blade light was about to strike—

VMMMM!

The Cloud Splitting Sword let out a clear, piercing hum. The subtle cyan glow on its blade suddenly became blinding.

He pushed his Wind and Cloud Escape to its absolute limit. Instead of retreating, he advanced, stepping sideways into the path of the blade with a movement that seemed to defy all logic.

He didn’t retreat in a straight line, but cut in at an angle!

The timing was perfect, down to a hair’s breadth.

Gao Xiao’s strike, which contained the culmination of his life’s Cultivation, grazed past the fabric of Fang Han’s robes at his chest and stomach.

The razor-sharp Blade Qi scraped past him but failed to even tear his clothes.

As for Fang Han, he moved like a phantom, using the momentum of his sidestep to instantly appear beside Tu Gang, who had left his center exposed after putting his all into the claw attack.

’Not good!’

Tu Gang had never imagined Fang Han would dare take such a risk, let alone that his Body Technique could be so exquisite.

His claws had already lunged forward; the old force was spent, but new strength had yet to be mustered. He could only watch helplessly as the cyan figure closed the distance as if teleporting. It was too late to change his move.

CLANG—

A cold glint flashed in Fang Han’s eyes. His Cloud Splitting Sword followed the momentum, its body trembling lightly as it deflected Tu Gang’s hastily raised right claw with impeccable precision.

Tu Gang felt a spiraling Hidden Force travel up from his claw. His entire right arm went instantly numb and unresponsive, leaving his guard wide open.

The next moment, without the slightest hesitation, the Cloud Splitting Sword transformed into a cold, cyan bolt of lightning and flashed across his throat.

SHHCK—!

A soft, yet scalp-numbing, sound of a sharp blade tearing through flesh rang out.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Tu Gang’s forward lunge froze. His claws remained outstretched, and his eyes filled with utter astonishment and disbelief.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only a wet, gurgling sound escaped. A thin line of blood appeared on his neck, rapidly widening.

And then—

PSHHH—!

Scalding blood, like a long-suppressed fountain, burst from the wound, tracing a ghastly crimson arc in the pale moonlight.

Blood spattered against the nearby tree trunks and blades of grass with a soft hiss. The thick stench of blood instantly filled the air.

Tu Gang’s body convulsed violently twice. The light in his eyes, like a candle sputtering in the wind, rapidly flickered and died.

His massive body lost all support, crumpling like a boneless sack of skin.

He fell limply forward, hitting the ground with a heavy THUD that kicked up a cloud of dust and dead leaves.

The jet-black claws that had torn apart countless opponents fell away limply, landing in the dirt stained with his own blood, where they faintly reflected the ghostly light.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye, from Gao Xiao’s all-or-nothing strike to Fang Han’s narrow dodge and fatal counterattack on Tu Gang.

Gao Xiao’s blade sliced through empty air. The momentum sent him stumbling forward several steps before he managed to regain his balance.

He whipped his head around just in time to see the final image of Tu Gang collapsing, blood gushing from his throat.

In that instant, Gao Xiao felt a bone-deep chill shoot from the base of his spine to the crown of his head, threatening to freeze the very blood in his veins.

’Tu Gang... is dead?’

’Tu Gang, who was my equal in strength... he just died? Just like that?’

A boundless tide of fear instantly drowned him.

All his previous confidence evaporated, replaced by a tangible, suffocating, ice-cold despair.

The hand gripping his curved blade began to tremble uncontrollably. The courage and killing intent he had mustered moments before vanished completely, like air from a punctured balloon.

Only one thought remained in his mind:

’Run! I have to run, now! Or I’ll be the next one to die!’

But how could Fang Han possibly give him that chance?

The moment Tu Gang’s body hit the ground, Fang Han was already turning.

His icy gaze, like two invisible swords, instantly locked onto the panic-stricken Gao Xiao.

The Cloud Splitting Sword pointed diagonally toward the ground. A single, crimson drop of blood slowly slid off its tip and soaked into the earth.

"Run!"

The moment Fang Han’s gaze swept over him, Gao Xiao felt as if he’d been targeted by a venomous snake. His heart hammered against his ribs, threatening to burst from his chest.

He let out a strange cry. Forgetting all about secret manuals and his mission, he frantically poured his remaining Inner Qi into his legs and shot backward in retreat.

His only thought was to escape this terrifying god of slaughter as fast as he possibly could!