The Earth Official abruptly raised his Judge's Brush, and the four characters on the ground transformed into four streams of True Qi, directly attacking Su Muyu. Su Muyu lifted his dagger to barely block them, but a faint, crisp sound rang out—the dagger had finally chipped.
An opening had appeared!
The Heaven Official narrowed his eyes slightly, drew his long blade, and leaped down, aiming straight for Su Muyu's head. Su Muyu hastily raised his dagger to block, but the force pressed him down until he was bent at the waist. With another surge of strength from the Heaven Official, Su Muyu's dagger shattered into fragments. In desperation, he swung both hands fiercely, sending all the shards flying outward. The Heaven Official immediately withdrew his blade and retreated sharply, the fragments whizzing past him without landing a single wound.
But now, Su Muyu was left without any weapon.
The Earth Official's Judge's Brush advanced once more, the long brush sweeping through the air as he wrote ten more characters.
Yet they were all the same word.
Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die.
Su Muyu's sleeves were shredded by the brush's force, leaving him no choice but to leap into the air. Every martial art he had ever learned flashed through his mind. In the end, he chose to extend a single finger, thrusting it toward the Earth Official.
Finger Sword.
His fingertip struck the Earth Official's Judge's Brush.
Starting from the tip, the brush began to crack inch by inch, a surge of Sword Qi slicing through it and hurtling toward the Earth Official. The Earth Official immediately abandoned the brush, tapping his foot to retreat.
Su Muyu stood his ground, the finger he had just extended now a dark, bruised blue. To wield peerless Sword Qi with a single finger—this was a martial art recorded in a secret manual from the Swordless City. But the toll on the body was immense. Without years of relentless practice, a single burst of Sword Qi meant sacrificing a finger.
Su Muyu still had nine fingers left. Nine more bursts of Sword Qi.
The Heaven Official naturally wouldn’t give Su Muyu a moment to catch his breath. He swung his blade and charged forward again. Su Muyu turned, preparing to unleash another Finger Sword. Just then, a long sword suddenly shot toward the Heaven Official from behind. Sensing it, the Heaven Official twisted his body and slashed at the sword. The blade was knocked away, spinning midair before falling back down.
"Qingcheng Mountain’s Sword Control Technique?" The Heaven Official cautiously stepped back.
But the sword didn’t attack him again. Instead, it swept across the ground, coming to rest before Su Muyu.
Only then did the Heaven Official notice an extremely thin, nearly invisible thread attached to the sword.
The Dark River’s Puppet Silk.
Su Muyu took hold of the sword and turned around.
A tall, slender woman in white robes stood there, a medicine box strapped to her back and her arms crossed. "Su Muyu, you’ve really changed after indulging in worldly pleasures. Even the Imperial Music Academy doesn’t faze you now."
Su Muyu looked somewhat embarrassed. "Your father brought me here."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. So you’re innocent?" The woman shrugged.
"I can vouch that Young Master Su only came to listen to music," Butcher Second Master quickly interjected.
"Coming to the Imperial Music Academy just to listen to music is like me going to the Heaven Revelation City’s Diaolou Pavilion and then…" She paused. "Drinking a pot of pu-erh. Do you know what that’s called?"
"What’s it called?" Butcher Second Master and Su Muyu asked in unison.
"Playing the saint while indulging in sin," the woman said with a laugh.Su Muyu pondered for a moment before nodding decisively: "Swift and resolute!" As soon as the words left his lips, he leaped forward, sword in hand, arriving beside the woman. With a single sweep of his blade, he sent the Earth Official, who had attempted a sneak attack, flying backward. Su Muyu then gave the woman a gentle push on the shoulder, sending her toward Butcher Second Master: "Second Master, please look after Miracle Healer Bai for me."
"Miracle Healer Bai?" Butcher Second Master asked in confusion.
The woman smiled. "Bai Hehuai, junior aunt of Xin Baicao from Medicine King Valley."
Butcher Second Master immediately extended his hand. "An honor to meet you!"
Bai Hehuai slapped his hand away with a sharp "smack." "What 'honor'? I've never shown my face in the martial world before. Stop spouting nonsense. So I don't believe what you said earlier either."
Butcher Second Master looked awkward. "Young lady, you've left me at a loss for words." (Originally considered writing "you've got me tongue-tied," but then remembered Butcher Second Master probably isn't from Northeast China.)
With this long sword in hand, Su Muyu's aura immediately transformed. Even fighting alone against the Heaven Official wielding a blade and the Earth Official who had lost his Judge's Brush, he didn't falter in the slightest.
"Among the Three Officials, the Water Official is actually the strongest in martial arts." Su Muyu had once briefly crossed swords with the Water Official and knew his strength far surpassed these two.
The Heaven Official frowned slightly and barked, "Aren't you coming down to help?"
"Coming." The Water Official leaped down, his right hand outstretched as a mist slowly condensed in his palm, eventually forming the shape of a dagger. He landed beside the Heaven Official, then with a push of his palm, drove the mist-formed dagger into the Heaven Official's back.
"You!" The Heaven Official glared at him furiously, but his strength had already drained away, and the long blade in his hand clattered to the ground.
Butcher Second Master stared at the sudden turn of events, momentarily stunned. He turned to ask Bai Hehuai but suddenly realized they were all enveloped in a thick fog.
Su Muyu exhaled softly as three figures emerged from the mist.
The Dark River Grand Master, Su Changhe.
The Mu Family Head, Mu Qingyang.
And the red-robed ferrywoman from the Nether Springs.
"It seems we've arrived just in time," Su Changhe said, stroking his thin beard with a smug smile.
Seeing this, the Earth Official didn't hesitate—he immediately kicked off the ground to flee. But Su Changhe was faster, leaping up and with a light flick of his dagger, slit the Earth Official's throat. As the corpse hit the ground, Su Changhe landed before Su Muyu, twirling the dagger in his hand to flick off the blood. "Well? Isn't my Inch Finger Sword the real deal when it comes to killing?"
Su Muyu sighed. "This commotion is too much."
"Within my Solitary Void Formation, even if the Su Family Head turned heaven and earth upside down, no one would notice," Mu Qingyang said smugly, tossing a Peach Blossom Coin in his hand.
"You teamed up with the Water Official?" Su Muyu asked.
The Water Official pushed the unconscious Heaven Official to the ground. "I admire both of you."
"Like I said before, you're not qualified to admire me," Su Changhe said, stepping forward. He glanced down at the Heaven Official, then turned to the woman in red. "See clearly?"
"Clearly." The red-robed woman stepped forward, lightly brushing her hand over her face. When she turned back, her features had transformed into an exact replica of the Heaven Official on the ground."This is our Mu Family's new companion, Mu Ying." Su Changhe looked at Su Muyu. "I've given him a codename—Thousand-Faced Ghost. Not bad, right?"
Su Muyu shook his head helplessly. "Has the Underworld Pawnshop not come after you yet?"
Mu Ying bowed slightly to Su Muyu in greeting. His face was now indistinguishable from that of the Heaven Official, yet his voice remained the same delicate, alluring feminine tone: "This humble one, Mu Ying, pays respects to the head of the Su Family."
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