Supreme Sword Exalt

It wasn’t just Gu Han, even Wu Xin seemed affected. He lowered his head, uncharacteristically quiet.

Meanwhile, Luo Wushuang showed slight surprise. The situation seemed a bit different from what he had imagined. He sighed softly. “Father, you’ve learned your lesson. It seems you don’t intend to make a move yourself.”

Just then, a dark-robed figure emerged from the mist, his back ramrod straight. Although his features were somewhat ordinary, he carried a unique temperament about him. As his gaze shifted, it seemed as though the Boundless Red Dust transformed endlessly within it.

Upon a closer inspection, one would realize that the Boundless Red Dust was akin to mist and clouds, concealing the essence of coldness and ruthlessness beneath. The Red Dust Intent in the arena became more than ten times stronger than before.

Gu Han was completely stunned as if struck by lightning. Not because of the Red Dust Intent, but because of how similar the man looked to Yang Ying, who was deceased.

Luo Wushuang was also extremely surprised. “Junior Brother Yang?”

The man ignored him. His gaze shifted, sweeping over the three of them, but lingered on Gu Han for just half a moment longer. He then said slowly, “Those who enter this pass will die.”

In spite of the air of mortal world he carried, his voice carried no emotion whatsoever. If anything, it gave off a sense of transcending above it all, of seeing through everything.

As the newcomer raised his hand slightly, endless mist immediately surged forth, converging into a red spear about a zhang long. The next moment, a cold gleam flashed, and the spear shot out like a dragon. Three red spear projections descended upon them.

Luo Wushuang raised an eyebrow. He crossed his arms, and two streams of immortal light converged, barely managing to block the spear projection. The projection, enhanced by the Boundless Red Dust Intent, showed overwhelmingly domineering power.

Luo Wushuang kept retreating, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. As his white robe billowed, the immortal light constantly exploded.

Meanwhile, a flash of ferocity appeared in the demonic projection’s eyes. Two chilling bone spurs grew on its arms as it roared and tore into the red spear projection.

Wu Xin hadn’t been idle either. Demonic qi filled his eyes as he charged toward the man. “Benefactor, I intend to convert you into a demon—”

The spear in the man’s hand flew out, its shaft swinging around to smash into him. The sound of bones cracking rang out, and Wu Xin was nearly smashed to pieces. Blood mixed with strands of demonic qi kept raining down. At the same time, the demonic projection collided against the spear projection.

A pained roar resounded. An overwhelmingly powerful spear intent had torn the colossal demonic projection to shreds. Before it was torn apart, Gu Han preceded it, spitting blood and heavily crashing to the ground. The red spear’s shaft trembled and once again landed in the man’s hand.

Despite using unfathomable means to dispel the spear projection, Luo Wushuang still trembled slightly. His face was white, clearly having gone all out. Wu Xin’s mangled body reassembled once more, but its regeneration was noticeably slower. Gu Han was injured far more severely than the other two.

Even though its color was somewhat different, the spear was almost identical to the one Yang Ying had once used. Having experienced countless battles, Gu Han deeply understood that momentary distraction during a fight meant certain death. Yet he had still lost focus.

In fact, when the spear projection came upon him, he hadn’t even noticed it. He hadn’t even intended to defend. In his heart, no matter the situation, Yang Ying would never strike at him.

At that moment, the man spun his spear and slammed it heavily to the ground. He showed no intention of giving the three any chance to catch their breath. Without waiting for them to take a breath, he struck again.

In an instant, three spear projections fell once more. This time, Luo Wushuang couldn’t hold on. His immortal light shattered bit by bit, and he flew. Wu Xin was reduced into a bloody mess once again.

Suddenly, a metallic ringing sound came as Gu Han gritted his teeth tightly. He held his sword horizontally before him, stubbornly blocking the red spear projection. For some reason, despite being the most severely injured, he found it easier to block the attack than the other two.

Qi continuously exploded between the sword and the spear projection, causing Gu Han to spit blood repeatedly. But he paid it no mind.

His eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the man opposite him. He said with difficulty, asking the question that mattered most to him, “A-are you Yang Ying?!”

The man’s brow furrowed slightly, alternating between slight discomfort and displeasure. Lifting the spear, he took a step forward and arrived before Gu Han. The spear shaft shook, wrapped in a thread of Red Dust Intent, and smashed down heavily onto Gu Han.

Gu Han gritted his teeth and unleashed all the power of heaven and earth he could control. As his cultivation operated at its limit, an overbearing sacred majesty descended endlessly, accompanied by the rumble of muffled thunder. In the blink of an eye, the power of heaven and earth surged forth, solidifying into a sword aura. It cleaved the spear projection in two, then continued to slash at the spear.

However, the technique he used was not the Kill Sword. Yang Ying would not strike at him, and likewise, he could not muster any killing intent toward Yang Ying. Without killing intent, the Kill Sword was almost useless. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

The metallic ringing sounded again. Spear and sword intersected, and a terrifyingly powerful momentum spread out. In just a moment, many of Gu Han’s bones had broken, his sword arm trembling endlessly. Once again, he had managed to block an attack that had left Wu Xin powerless.

Gu Han’s eyes were bloodshot. He didn’t spare a glance at his wounds, still staring at the man, asking the same question again, “Are you Yang Ying?!”

Unlike before, the man did not ignore the question. “No.”

Gu Han’s gaze dimmed. It’s not him? Did I mistake him?

After another moment of silence, the man uncharacteristically explained, “He is Yang Ying, and I am Yang Yi. He is me, but I am not him.”

Gu Han felt some bitterness. Yang Ying. Yang Yi.

In the end, he had been overthinking it. That brother who could unhesitatingly stand before him, unhesitatingly die for him was gone.

Yang Ying... Yang Ying is nothing more than someone else’s shadow.