"The Yama Palm technique ascends one realm at a time. Reaching the eighth layer allows one to glimpse the heavens and earth." Mu Ciling's Horse Chopping Sword parried, firmly pressing Su Jinhui's longsword to the ground. "But ascending to the ninth layer means becoming the heavens and earth themselves."
Su Changhe clicked his tongue impatiently. "Why does this guy talk so much?"
"You're one to talk," Su Muyu snorted coldly.
"I'm about to enter the ninth layer," Mu Ciling murmured softly. In that instant, his Horse Chopping Sword turned fiery red, as if scorched by flames. With an upward flick, he cleanly severed Su Jinhui's Serpent Sword in two. The broken blade flew across the hall.
"I win the bet!" Su Changhe flung his dagger, intercepting the broken sword and sending it clattering against the wall.
Su Muyu leaped forward, twisting the hilt of his sword sharply. The paper umbrella in his hand bloomed like a flower, releasing seventeen sharp blades that blanketed the entire courtyard.
Mu Ciling looked up, his expression shifting from surprise to wild delight. "The Eighteen Sword Formation!"
Seizing the moment to catch his breath, Su Jinhui retreated with his sword.
"Form the Wheel Dance Formation!" Su Muqiu bellowed.
Su Family disciples rushed into the courtyard, encircling Su Jinhui. However, since most of their longswords had been snatched away by Mu Ciling earlier, they had no choice but to draw the short blades hidden in their boots to assemble the sword array.
Su Jinhui sighed softly as he gazed at the broken sword in his hand. This break wasn't just the shattering of his blade—it also severed his path to drawing the Sleeping Dragon Sword.
But Mu Ciling's attention was no longer on him. Laughing maniacally, he brandished his Horse Chopping Sword, engaging Su Muyu's Eighteen Sword Formation. "I knew you were strong, but I never imagined you'd be this strong! The Eighteen Sword Formation—excellent, truly excellent! I once said my greatest regret in life was not being born a century earlier to face the Su Family's master, Su Shiba. Who would have thought that after being sealed in a coffin for years, the Su Family would produce someone capable of recreating the Eighteen Sword Formation!"
"Su Changhe was right—you really do talk too much," Su Muyu said coolly, his left hand twisting slightly. The eighteen blades trapped Mu Ciling, who had now reached the ninth layer of the Yama Palm.
Su Changhe cursed under his breath. "One moment of distraction, and this brat still managed to break free!"
"Hahahaha! Trapped in that black coffin for years, I've got endless words to say and endless fights to fight!" Mu Ciling roared with laughter. "But the Eighteen Sword Formation—is it just about hiding behind the scenes and manipulating blades with Puppet Silk? If it's a sword array, then where's your sword?"
"Let me show you!" Su Muyu's left hand slashed downward, forcing Mu Ciling back a step with a flurry of blades. Then, with a light step, he closed the distance, his right hand wielding a slender sword that met Mu Ciling's Horse Chopping Sword. The blade was incredibly thin and flexible, wrapping around the broadsword's body with a single stroke.
"Oh? The Drizzle Sword?" Mu Ciling raised an eyebrow.
Su Muyu yanked his sword back, flinging Mu Ciling's Horse Chopping Sword aside, then thrust straight for Mu Ciling's chest. Mu Ciling sneered, pushing out a palm to block the blade. Su Muyu froze, sensing his Sword Qi being slowly drained away by Mu Ciling's bare hands.So this was the terror of the Yama Palm!
Su Changhe spun the dagger in his hand lightly, then dashed forward with a loud shout, "Su Changhe of the Su Family! Though injured, I will fight to the death to protect our family head!"
Su Muyu, usually calm and reticent, couldn't help but curse angrily, "Bullshit!"
"Here to save you, and you curse me?" Su Changhe had already leaped in front of Mu Ci Ling, thrusting his dagger straight toward Mu Ci Ling's abdomen.
Mu Ci Ling first withdrew his palm, then swung it again, sending Su Muyu's Sword Qi right back at him, forcing Su Muyu to stagger back over a dozen steps. Seizing the opportunity, Su Changhe wildly brandished his dagger, each strike aimed at Mu Ci Ling's vital points. Mu Ci Ling's hands couldn't grasp the two slender daggers and had no choice but to retreat repeatedly.
The onlookers were dazzled by the spectacle, and they all came to the same conclusion—Su Changhe's injury was a ruse.
Because no injured person could wield two daggers with such mastery. Su Changhe's steps were swift, his Inch Finger Sword technique executed with deadly precision—it was even a sight to behold! Even Su Muyu couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "Your Inch Finger Sword has grown stronger than before."
"Strength depends on the opponent. Right now, if I were even slightly weaker, I'd be dead," Su Changhe replied helplessly.
"Well done!" Mu Ci Ling raised a hand toward the distant Horse Chopping Sword, which immediately flew off the ground and shot toward Su Changhe's back. Su Changhe didn't linger in the fight; with a sidestep, he clashed his dagger against the Horse Chopping Sword and used the momentum to retreat three steps. But the moment he steadied himself, Mu Ci Ling struck with another palm.
Su Changhe countered with his own palm.
The two palms collided, sending Su Changhe flying back ten steps. Mu Ci Ling caught the Horse Chopping Sword with his left hand while keeping his right in position, his expression one of surprise. "You—"
Su Changhe couldn't stop his backward momentum and finally plopped down onto the steps. "My wound split open! Can't fight anymore!"
Seeing this, Su Muyu immediately reactivated the Eighteen Sword Formation, this time holding nothing back as he unleashed a frenzied assault on Mu Ci Ling. If Mu Ci Ling had earlier unleashed a rain of swords, then Su Muyu's attack was a torrential downpour—unrelenting, as if it would never end!
Mu Ci Ling gripped the Horse Chopping Sword with both hands, spinning it rapidly. The Crimson True Qi surrounding him gradually shifted, turning purple.
"Damn it, this is endless!" Su Changhe stood up again.
The Mu Family disciple who had been watching from the courtyard wall was shocked. "Mu Ci Ling! Don't be reckless! Take the Sleeping Dragon Sword and retreat to—"
His words were cut short as his head was lopped off by a single slash.
A middle-aged man stood beside him, kicking the corpse off the wall.
"Uncle Qidao," Su Muyu murmured in surprise.
Su Changhe, however, smirked strangely. "The Xie Family has finally arrived."
Xie Qidao glanced at the scene below and scoffed disdainfully. "The once-mighty Su Family, now getting beaten to a pulp by a single Mu Ci Ling."
Mu Ci Ling planted the Horse Chopping Sword into the ground, the True Qi around him shifting back from purple to crimson. He glanced at Xie Qidao, then at the Sleeping Dragon Sword inside the house."Not so fast!" Su Muyu reached out to stop it, but was a step too late. The Sleeping Dragon Sword trembled a few times before breaking free from the ground and flying straight into Mu Ci Ling's hand.
"I've obtained the Sleeping Dragon Sword. Can I be considered The Head now?" Mu Ci Ling asked quietly.
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