The Frenzy of Youth
The sound of tearing through the air echoed as Kristin's fiery red hands moved swiftly, creating visible rifts in the space next to the claws that Ye Han could clearly see.
"I will tear you apart claw by claw," declared Kristin as he lunged towards Ye Han once again, humiliated by the fact that he, a being of the ninth tier, was repelled by a junior. This disgrace cut deeper than anything Ye Han had done before.
With no time to spare, Ye Han quickly drew the last sword from his ring, the same longsword once used by Otus.
Without any superfluous movements, like a fierce beast, he let out a thunderous roar and vanished from the ground, crossing paths with the swiftly approaching Kristin in the blink of an eye.
"Boom!"
The explosion of ferocious energy spread outwards like fire, cracking the ground with deep fissures.
Ignoring the wounds on his body, Ye Han took a deep breath. As his figure launched forward, the longsword traced a bizarre trajectory in the void, unleashing a powerful sword qi that tore through the air like a cataclysm.
The sword qi surged like a tidal wave, stirring the air into a blade-like gale that howled around Ye Han, leaving onlookers unable to discern whether it was the sword qi driving the wind or the wind enhancing the sword qi.
The spectators were secretly shocked at the black-robed figure's formidable display, even startling the four peak warriors of the Kleris family.
The longsword vibrated, its hum piercing into the minds of all, light as a dragon's call, heavy as a tiger's roar. Ye Han took a half-step back with his right foot while raising his sword horizontally, his body blurring once again.
Kristin's eyebrows raised as he too sprung into action, disappearing at the same moment as Ye Han.
"Clang!" The collision of sword and hand emitted a metallic sound, astonishing Ye Han with the hardness of Kristin's hands.
Both figures paused, then reappeared. Ye Han had to activate his greatest speed, yet still found himself a step slower than Kristin, wounds appearing across his body, oozing shallow trails of crimson that healed almost instantly.
This was a unique dueling method among sword immortals, relying solely on various sword techniques to determine the victor without the use of brute force.
While the crowd could not discern the intricacies of Ye Han's swordsmanship, the three individuals nearby and Kristin, who had exchanged blows with Ye Han, saw everything clearly, their astonishment even greater.
"Are you from the Sword Sect?" an elder asked uncertainly.
"Sword Sect? No," Ye Han frowned, hearing this for the second time.
"That's impossible, only the Sword Sect possesses such exquisite swordsmanship."
"Hmph, who decreed that only your so-called Sword Sect could have such mastery of the sword?"
"I want him alive," the elder spoke to Kristin, who hovered in the air.
The elder's gaze towards Ye Han shifted from seeing a dead man to one of greed, contemplating the power he could have if he possessed sword skills comparable to the Sword Sect.
Kristin, though confused by talk of 'shackles' and 'zombies,' did not dare disregard the elder's command and appeared before Ye Han in an instant, changing his claw attack to a palm strike against Ye Han's chest before he could react.
"Spurt"
Dust and stones flew as Ye Han hit the ground, creating a deep crater. His body was drenched in blood, his internal vessels shattered by Kristin's powerful strike, blood seeping from his pores.
"Ha ha, to think that a holy tier would stoop to a sneak attack against a junior," Ye Han laughed wildly.
The Vanshi decree rapidly circulated within him, healing his veins, while the energy from his core suffused his body with a dreadful aura, silencing the crowd. They looked at each other, bewildered and struck by a deep fear as the intimidating aura seemed to invade their hearts, making everyone tremble with dread.
Even the two holy tier and two ninth-tier peak mages felt the impact of Ye Han's aura, though they were not as shaken as the ordinary civilians and swordsmen.
"Capture him quickly, he must be using some secret technique," the elder shouted to Kristin. The other two ninth-tier peak mages considered intervening but, mindful of their dignity as holy tiers, they refrained.
Two holy tiers and two ninth-tier peak mages going after a ninth-tier—it was already embarrassing enough for the Kleris family. If they needed such forces to capture a ninth-tier swordsman, they would become the laughingstock of the continent.
Ye Han's black robe was blown away by the forceful energy, revealing a handsome face and snow-white hair that whipped wildly in the turbulent energy, causing surrounding debris to fly.
Feeling his blood boil and his
potential unleashed, a crisp sound echoed within Ye Han, bringing a sense of freedom and lightness to his soul.
"Ha ha," Ye Han laughed unrestrained. In that moment, he knew he had broken the shackles of his zombie heritage. He was no longer constrained by the realm of the infernal prison.
His soul, fused with the core of the infernal zombie, was akin to a special legacy from a second-tier zombie demon. A legacy-bearer's strength could never surpass that of the legacy giver, and breaking free from this shackle was immensely difficult.
"You forced me to break my shackles, so I'll let you feel the power of a zombie," Ye Han said, puzzling Kristin with his talk of shackles and zombies.
Ye Han closed his eyes, then suddenly reopened them, startling everyone, including the holy tiers and peak mages.
His eyes were a shade of gray.
Standing in the center of the arena like a demon god, his white hair moved on its own, fluttering wildly.
"Roar!" Ye Han howled to the sky, revealing two sharp fangs, emitting a beastly roar.
"Boom!" A surge of blood-red energy violently burst from Ye Han's body, quickly enveloping the entire battlefield.
"No matter what you are, although you have now reached the mid-ninth tier, you will never understand the power of the holy tier."
After breaking his shackles, Ye Han felt the absence of that invisible suppression. The Vanshi decree broke through to the third level, entering the fourth, achieving the strength of a mid-ninth tier on this continent.
Yet, he had not broken through the zombie ranks, still hovering in the late phase of a fourth-tier zombie lord.
"Star Dance Cyclone!"
Ye Han, standing amidst the bloody waves, shouted and began to spin slowly. As he spun faster, he became a blur.
With Ye Han's spinning, countless blood swords formed within the blood waves, propelled by the strong wind, shooting towards Kristin like lightning.
Kristin's face grew serious as he saw the blood swords emerge. Rings of fiery red light emitted from his body, countering the sharp blood swords.
Could the blood swords, formed from the unique blood waves of zombies with their corrosive strength and negative emotions, be so easily resisted? In battles with zombies, one would avoid close combat due to their formidable strength and the destructive blood waves that could corrode even the protective talismans of immortals, devouring souls if not treated promptly.
Where zombies tread, blood waves soared, and all that remained was death.
As Ye Han's spinning accelerated, the speed and power of the blood swords increased, forcing Kristin to fully release his protective qi to resist the piercing blood swords.
Witnessing the rapid escalation of energy, the number and power of blood swords growing, some breaking through his protective qi, Kristin's expression shifted. The impact of the blood swords was like a ninth-tier swordsman's full strike, but he knew well the principle of 'death by a thousand cuts'.
"Such a cunning sword technique, with just ninth-tier strength you can unleash such a powerful move, I cannot let you live." If Ye Han were allowed to grow and reach the holy tier, with this technique, he could kill most holy tier warriors.
Kristin rapidly formed several mysterious seals with his hands, declaring, "Domain of Endless Fire Sea."
As Kristin coldly uttered these words, a surge of powerful energy burst from his body, tearing through the blood waves released by Ye Han, enveloping him and the surrounding blood-colored mists.
Above the void, the wild blood waves and the myriad blood swords disappeared in an instant with Kristin's strike.