Martial Cultivator

A massive white tiger appeared within the wind and snow, casting an incomparably terrifying pressure over everyone present.

When a great demon was forced to reveal its true form, it meant without question that the battle had reached the point of a fight to the death. What was more, Autumn had already reached the end of Nepenthe. For her to now reveal her true form made the situation all the more dreadful.

And among those present, perhaps only Chen Chao clearly knew just how much Autumn despised revealing her true form before others.

Now that she disregarded everything and revealed it, there could only be one explanation: the depth of her killing intent, and the degree to which she took Chen Chao seriously, could no longer be measured by common reason.

Chen Chao gave a bitter smile and muttered under his breath: crazy woman.

But after saying that, the young martial artist quickly lifted his head, narrowed his eyes slightly, exhaled the stifled breath in his chest, and suddenly shot upward. Cloud Mud swept along in his grip, and in midair he unleashed a saber strike.

A saber aura hundreds of feet long exploded forth, splitting the blizzard clean in two. Amidst the boundless storm, only this domineering saber aura remained, ripping through snow and wind as if everything before it would be torn apart in an instant.

Rather than saying it was swung, this strike was more like being smashed down. Chen Chao then charged forward in great strides, his figure flashing closer and closer to Autumn’s true form.

Autumn raised her head and let out a furious roar, the terrifying soundwave triggering yet another avalanche.

The wind and snow from all around surged together, rumbling endlessly. Just witnessing this scene felt as if the heavens themselves had birthed a rare, catastrophic snowstorm.

To stir the forces of heaven and earth was the specialty of qi refiners.

But Autumn’s method was much simpler, much more direct. Even so, it was a situation that none could treat lightly.

By now, Chen Chao had already closed in on Autumn’s massive body. He swung Cloud Mud down, the saber gleaming with light. But in the blink of an eye, it was caught by Autumn’s colossal tiger claw and pressed heavily downward.

The saber Cloud Mud was forced deep into the snow under the crushing weight of her claw. Chen Chao made no attempt to wrench his saber free, instead releasing the hilt and clenching his fist, throwing a heavy punch forward.

That fist, brimming with the terrifying qi of someone at the end of Nepenthe, slammed hard into Autumn’s flank. Yet unlike with others, it did not punch straight through her. Instead, it landed as if striking a sheet of iron, producing a ringing sound like clashing metal.

Pain shot through Chen Chao, and he staggered backward several steps, his body reeling.

While Autumn turned around, her massive tiger claw descending directly toward him.

In her revealed true form, Autumn’s body was enormous, her presence overwhelming. With every movement, torrents of demonic qi surged violently with her.

That descending claw seemed almost casual, yet in the blink of an eye it brought forth a tidal wave of raging demonic qi that covered the heavens and earth.

Chen Chao looked at the claw that was many times larger than his own face and did not dodge. He swung his fist straight at it. Chapters fırst released on n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net

The terrifying flows of qi clashed at this moment, and before the two even met, heaven and earth first let out a dreadful roar. The surrounding wind and snow were instantly shaken apart and shredded by the surging qi.

Countless waves of qi blasted outward in all directions. Within hundreds of feet, no one could remain for even a moment.

Chen Chao narrowed his eyes, killing intent rising.

”You actually didn’t manage to fully refine that sword qi. Well, that’s only natural. The existence of that man is absolutely above Nepenthe. Don’t even mention this short period of time, even if you spent several more years, you still might not be able to refine it all.”

Chen Chao spoke with narrowed eyes, his voice filled with certainty. ”You must have used some secret method to refine part of that sword qi, while the rest is still sealed within your flying sword?”

Although these were Chen Chao’s conjectures, he felt they were almost certainly correct, because at this very moment, he could clearly sense that Autumn’s qi within her body was somewhat disordered.

Unlike him. Back then, after the two had each returned to demon territories and the Divine Capital, Chen Chao had made up his mind to refine the chaotic auras within his body into one true current of qi that belonged to him alone, one he could wield as easily as his own arm. But as for Autumn, when she faced that sword qi, she was likely somewhat powerless. Otherwise, she would not have chosen to refine only a small portion and to seal most of the sword qi within that flying sword.

Perhaps it was done out of helplessness. Or perhaps Autumn intended to take things slowly, refining that qi bit by bit afterward.

But no matter the reason, the final result was that some sword qi had not been fully refined. In the end, it remained sealed within her flying sword. The sealing method must have loosened somewhat, which caused that sword qi to surge into Autumn’s body, leaving her qi in disarray.

”Autumn, I’ve felt for a while now that something about you was different this time. Now I finally understand the reason.”

”In that case, I won’t miss this chance.”

Chen Chao exhaled a turbid breath. By this point, he himself was already somewhat exhausted. But since Autumn had weakened to such a state, Chen Chao naturally would not let this opportunity slip away.

Killing this demon princess would mean Great Liang would have one fewer formidable enemy. Not only now, but in the future as well. At least after the Demon Emperor, there would absolutely never be another Autumn among the demon race.

This was a bargain Chen Chao didn’t even need to think about. No matter how one looked at it, it was a gain.

Except, at this very moment, although Autumn was clearly wracked with disordered qi, she instead borrowed that turmoil, letting it pour forth, and became all the stronger.

Autumn’s true body bristled with fur, each strand standing on end like countless steel needles, more like countless flying swords, abruptly shooting forth.

It was as if countless flying swords were shooting forth, and their sole target to pin down and kill was none other than Chen Chao.

Chen Chao frowned slightly. Instinctively, he wanted to retreat, but in the next moment, he forcibly stopped that thought. Instead, he faced those flying swords head-on, pushing through the gaps between them to continue closing the distance with Autumn.

There was a saying: an arrow at the end of its flight. Chen Chao was utterly convinced that the Autumn before him had already reached that point. As long as he withstood these flying swords, the situation afterward would surely be much better.

No.

It could even be said that once he endured these flying swords, what lay ahead would definitely be smooth and unimpeded, like an open plain.

So Chen Chao was willing to take the risk.

Very soon, those snow-white hairs brushed past Chen Chao’s body. Each strand, like a flying sword, mercilessly tore at his robes, trying to shred this young martial artist apart.

But Chen Chao avoided most of the flying swords. In the end, his shoulder was pierced through by about a dozen of those hair-turned-swords, blood blossoming into the snow.

Chen Chao gritted his teeth, but in the next moment, he had already forced his way past those so-called flying swords, drawing near to Autumn.

He moved as his heart willed.

That saber, Cloud Mud, which had been buried deep in the snow earlier, suddenly broke through the storm and flew back into Chen Chao’s hand.

Chen Chao gripped Cloud Mud and delivered what was likely the strongest slash of his entire life.

Endless saber intent erupted, shredding the wind and snow before him with terrifying force. Autumn’s true body took the brunt of that slash and was sent flying, crashing heavily into the boundless storm in the blink of an eye.

But Chen Chao refused to let it end there. He continued rushing forward, determined to slay the demon princess here and now.

He had long known, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

So he would not let it slip away.

Thus he cut through the snowstorm, unleashing another slash at Autumn hidden within the blizzard.

This slash was dazzling, the saber light flashing brilliantly before finally dissipating.

At that moment, the wind and snow came to a stop.

Autumn reappeared within the storm in human form.

A saber was lodged in her chest.