Chapter 441: One Deadly Strike

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A repulsive aura of evil filled the space, emanating not only uncomfortable spirit power but also a piercing wailing and boundless resentment and despair.

Zeng Yi stood firmly with his feet apart, tightly gripping the hilt of his sword, the sword pointing directly at his opponent.

In his cold silver eyes, an endless murderous intent emerged.

Previously, Zeng Yi didn't have a deep understanding of Evil Spirit Masters. Almost every encounter with them was defined by the emanating malicious aura, savage nature, and cruelty.

But this time, Zeng Yi truly witnessed the hidden face of these people.

At least, the person in front of him was like that.

When the piercing wails reached his ears, Zeng Yi seemed to have seen countless helpless and desperate people – the elderly, women, children – who were brutally killed, carrying boundless resentment.

Even in death, their spirits were imprisoned by the hideous ghostly hands, subjected to endless torment.

As the negative emotions filled his mind, Zeng Yi's consciousness nearly collapsed, threatening to lose himself.

Fortunately, it was a spiritual attack-type spirit skill. The strength of this Spirit Master couldn't surpass Zeng Yi's, and coupled with his cultivation in swordsmanship, his mental state was incredibly high. After years of training, he was close to reaching the state of [Unity of Heaven and Man].

Zeng Yi gazed at the True Body Martial Spirit of Qing Gui, covered with countless ghostly crying faces, a hint of pity appearing in his eyes.

Soon, I will free all of you!

Zeng Yi silently thought, the pity in his eyes vanished, replaced by an almost tangible icy coldness. The freezing intent almost materialized into a chilling murderous intent.

"Today, you will die! No one can save you!"

Spoken from Zeng Yi's mouth, filled with the icy coldness of a killing intent, it was the first time he displayed such a strong desire to kill.

From his years of cultivation until now, Zeng Yi had seen and killed many people. But never before had he felt such an urgent need to kill someone.

A frigid whirlwind swept around Zeng Yi's body, carrying tiny, pure white snowflakes.

Whoosh!

In an instant, Zeng Yi launched an attack, almost reaching the pinnacle of speed. Like the speed of a hurricane, his body moved while leaving only a fleeting phantom behind.

His silver spirit power enveloped his body, swiftly crossing the space like a streak of silver lightning.

The sharp sword was accompanied by howling winds, effortlessly cleaving through the resistive airflow. The sword's tip drew a beautiful line like a delicate thread.

And the end point of this line was Qing Gui's neck!

[Sword of Tempest: Instant Flash!]

However, as a Spirit Saint, Qing Gui would not foolishly stand still and wait for his opponent's attack.

The moment he repelled Zeng Yi, he immediately reacted.

His skin turned bronze, radiating a metallic sheen. The terrifying ghostly hand, previously covered in weeping faces, also changed.

The monstrous ghostly hand transformed into a huge bronze hand, the deep crack caused by Zeng Yi's strike healed as if it were a sponge regaining its original form.

[Spirit Skill: Bronze Ghost Armor!]

Qing Gui's Martial Spirit is his right arm!

Therefore, his martial spirit's right arm can undergo different transformations based on the attributes of his spirit beast spirit rings!

For example, this Bronze Ghost Armor is the strongest defense technique that enhances his defense to the maximum level!

After the direct confrontation just now, Qing Gui was fully aware that he couldn't match his opponent head-on. Moreover, his opponent's attacks were extremely powerful. If he was slightly careless, he could lose his life on the spot!

So, he changed his fighting style and utilized his strongest defensive posture to withstand his opponent's thunderous attacks!

This battle between Spirit Masters caused a residual impact. Qing Gui believed that with such a significant disturbance, his unperceptive comrades could not possibly be unaware!

Therefore, his only concern was to hold on until his comrades arrived, and then he would have nothing to fear!

This is what Qing Gui thought.

He let out a roar and swung his enormous bronze fist, smashing it into the ground.

A powerful shockwave surged, and suddenly, a thick wall of bronze rose from the ground in front of him.

Just like a city wall, it stood in front of him, providing him with a sense of relief.

However, this sense of relief didn't even last for a second before it dissipated!

Fear caused Qing Gui's pupils to narrow into vertical lines!

Boom!

In Qing Gui's terrified gaze, that bronze wall was effortlessly sliced like tofu.

But Zeng Yi's assault didn't end there. Like a bolt of lightning, his body swiftly moved in front of Qing Gui.

In that instant, Qing Gui felt the cold sharpness already reaching his neck. Even though his neck was protected by the hard bronze, he couldn't feel any sense of security.

Qing Gui didn't believe that his neck was tougher than the wall just now!

When facing those silver eyes as cold as ice, Qing Gui blocked with his right arm, defending himself against the almost spirit-chilling strike!

[5th Spirit Skill: Armor Break!]

The sharp sword clashed with the large and sturdy bronze hand.

At the moment of impact, the powerful compressed wind pressure on the sword exploded!

Rumble...

In that moment, it was as if a nuclear bomb had been set off, resulting in an explosion.

Terrifying whirlwinds manifested in space, a gigantic tornado of ice and snow accompanied by powerful winds, as if it could tear everything apart.

Zhang Ruonan and the others took shelter from a distance, as the howling storm made it almost impossible to keep their eyes open.

But through the narrowest of gaps, they still saw the highly shocking scene over there.

A true ice and snow storm!

That is a truly powerful Spirit Master! With his strength alone, he created a spectacle comparable to a natural disaster—extremely beautiful, yet immensely destructive!

The furious ice and snow storm engulfed both Zeng Yi and Qing Gui in the center.

In an instant, the blizzard vanished after those few seconds.

Boom!

Something shot out like a missile, flying away.

Zeng Yi held the sword of in both hands, and the force propelled him to fly, leaving behind a long trench in the snowy ground, breaking and knocking down numerous trees and boulders before finally stopping.

Qing Gui couldn't believe that the person in front of him was so powerful. This terrifying strike, this terrifying sword intent, tore into his body like a raging snowstorm, madly tearing it apart.

Though it was just one strike, he felt as if his body was slashed thousands of times.

At this moment, Qing Gui's bronze skin was already riddled with cracks, like a dense spider web, seeping with blood.

He now resembled a fragile ceramic piece on the verge of shattering, where his bones could crumble to dust at any moment!

"Oh, so your blood is red too?" Zeng Yi coldly remarked as he gazed at the blood oozing from Qing Gui's body.

Then he pulled out the sword embedded in Qing Gui's bronze forearm, adorned with a sinister spray of blood.

Even though Qing Gui was a Spirit Saint and his spirit skill, Bronze Ghost Armor, greatly boosted his defense, it couldn't withstand Zeng Yi's furious strike aimed at delivering a fatal blow.

His Fifth Spirit Skill, Break the Blade, had a twenty percent armor penetration effect, resulting in actual damage! Moreover, Qing Gui wasn't purely a defensive Spirit Saint, possessing only one spirit skill that enhanced his defense, and it was an inferior one at that.

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[[Notes: So ya, 4 chapters today.]]