Quadruple split.

Chapter 2727 The Strong Become Stronger

five minutes later
"It's almost reached its limit."

Oboro, who was leaning back in his chair as if dozing, suddenly broke the silence and said calmly, "That swordsman named Yune has adapted to the 'new environment,' and the influence and weakening effect of the Reality Marble on him is getting smaller and smaller."

Sitting opposite him, Noyce shook his wings and nodded slightly, saying, "Although he hasn't found an opening for a fatal blow yet, if this continues... it'll be difficult."

“Yes, although ‘Yin-Yang Arts’ are quite different from the mysticism we know, Yune’s sword was never the kind of sword that was constantly changing and adapting to circumstances.”

Long chuckled and said approvingly, "It is a closed-loop sword that is unrestricted and self-consistent."

Noyce clicked his tongue and sighed, "So Gu Xiaole's ability to gain the upper hand against most enemies with his unpredictable and cunning tactics, and to build up his advantage through change and secrecy, will be much less effective against Yune. In this situation, the focus will return to the 'absolute strength' of both sides."

Long nodded slightly and said softly, "Gu Xiaole is very strong, but Yune's sword... is even stronger."

So, you see~

Noyce grinned and said chuckled, "How exactly does that clever girl, who would never overlook this point, plan to deal with the impending dead end?"

Long slowly turned his head towards Noyce and asked in a calm tone, "Has this much time been enough for you to 'analyze' the essence of that moon?"

"Ha, as if you can't see it yourself."

Noyce raised a hand to smooth his hair and chuckled, "That's not the moon, it's clearly an eye—"

……

"Ok?"

At the same time, Yune, who had already closed in on Gu Xiaole with a swift sword strike and was about to slit his throat, paused and looked up at the cold moon in the sky, which had stopped trembling at some point.

"Thanks for showing mercy."

Gu Xiaole, who was standing in front of Yune, bowed gracefully to him and said with a smile, "You could have killed me before 'completing' the task, but you deliberately delayed. Even if you had some selfish motives, I should still thank you out of courtesy and reason."

"No need."

Yune shook his head and said calmly, "You were a fraction slower because the power of the fast sword wasn't enough to kill you."

"Honestly, at a time like this, all you have to do is accept the thanks. We have an old saying that goes, 'A wise person knows when to play dumb!'"

Gu Xiaole wrinkled her nose and complained, then surprisingly released her 'weapons' from her hands, letting [Sheng Men Ji] and [Hei Chu · Zhan Shi Lue] dissipate into the cold air. She opened her arms and smiled, saying, "Alright, now I'm completely defenseless. Shall we make a move?"

"..."

Calmly gazing at Gu Xiaole, who was literally 'completely unprepared' before him, Yune did not make a move. Instead, he slowly took half a step back, held his longsword horizontally in front of him, and looked up at the lively, charming, and bright eyes in the sky: "It seems that you really don't need to be on guard now."

The next instant, the 'Gu Xiaole' in front of Yune vanished like an illusion, and above the shrine where he was standing, a 'Gu Xiaole' appeared, magnified many times over, making Yune look like an ant in comparison. The blue moon that had been hanging high in the night sky not long ago had now perfectly overlapped with her right pupil.

"I guess you've already figured it out. As the inherent barrier of a genius, beautiful female Onmyoji like me, whether it's a personal benefit or a weakening effect on you, up until just now, this space's level is rather low."

Gu Xiaole looked down at Younie, who was much smaller than herself, and said with a smile, "But even so, you've been willing to play with me until now, and that's the real reason I want to thank you."

"You're welcome."

This time, Yune readily accepted Gu Xiaole's apology. At the same time, the fighting spirit on his body began to shift from burning outward like flames to being drawn back inward. His left hand, which had been hanging naturally at his side, was slightly raised, and his index and middle fingers, which were joined together, gently rested on the tip of the sword.

Clearly, there was still some flaw in Gu Xiaole's [Unique Boundary], which was too slow to activate, and once it was fully deployed, the offensive and defensive balances between the two sides instantly reversed.

If the one who has been in control of the pace of the match from the beginning until now is Yune, who appears passive but is actually in complete control, then at this moment, the scales are finally beginning to tip slowly in Gu Xiaole's favor, putting this swordsman, who, while not exactly holding back, has certainly not been fighting like it's a life-or-death battle, into a dangerous situation.

And what he needs is precisely this kind of 'dangerous situation'.

As we all know, fighting in a mage's 'territory' is an extremely reckless, extremely courageous, and extremely terrifying thing. Although Gu Xiaole is not a mage, for Onmyoji and spirit mediums, the [Ghost Realm] is their territory. In the [Innocent Realm], this strange and crazy power mostly appears in the form of 'domains'.

The reason is simple: this is a power of 'idealism', and the basic rules of the [Realm of Innocence] obviously do not support 'materialism' in the 'Ghost Realm'.

Therefore, it must be an intrinsic enclosed boundary, and can only be an intrinsic enclosed boundary.

"Well then, from now on, it's my time to repay this debt of gratitude."

The girl chuckled softly, and then, without warning, unleashed her strongest killing move, showing no mercy whatsoever.

With a light pinch of the incantation, Gu Xiaole's gaze narrowed slightly, and the figure of Younie was reflected in his eyes, which were like the moon.

She didn't like crude fighting methods, and she never intended to use the size difference between them to kill or hammer her opponent. Not to mention whether such a cliché, boring attack that was completely in the opponent's comfort zone could achieve anything, even if it could, Gu Xiaole would not choose such an aesthetically unappealing and barbaric fighting style.

As we mentioned before, whether a genius or a monster, everyone has the right to use methods that conform to their own aesthetics to reduce enemy ships to ashes with a laugh.

In that instant, she glimpsed death.

That was the Death Star that once shone brightly above her head, constantly seeking to take her life.

The Nether Pool, the Hell Pool, and the Dark Spring—these three waters are the most desolate stars.

If all eight characters in one's birth chart indicate the extinction of the family line, then life is destined to end at the gate of death

A faint chill ran through the corner of her eye, and the girl couldn't help but smile knowingly.

That was something Gu Xiaole knew all too well... the temperature of death.

That was the temperature that would have drowned Gu Xiaole long ago if it weren't for the countless people's selfless help and that ray of light shining into her cold heart.

Now, having defied fate and broken free from her former destiny, she has finally rediscovered the warmth that was filled with the aura of death after completely merging with the Samurai Spirit.

This warmed her heart...

Only by recalling this feeling can she better experience that warmth.

So she removed the outermost 'shield' of her inherent barrier and turned to look at the person who was surely watching her at that moment.

Without much thought, even with the protective barriers and the level-three arena, Gu Xiaole could still accurately locate that person.

After all, in this cold world that could almost drown, that ray of warmth was as dazzling as the sun in his eyes.

So, Gu Xiaole blinked her left eye and gave her best smile to that light.

Then, Gu Xiaole blinked her right eye, letting the death reflected by the three death stars engulf the enemy in front of her.

[Imperial Decree - Three Waters, Absolute Stars - Netherworld Prison, Dark Night - The Great Compassionate Vow of Ten Thousand Deaths and Prosperity]

……

Is this death...?

Almost the instant Gu Xiaole blinked his right eye, Yune Yi's life force was completely extinguished under the influence of the Three Waters Star. Although he managed to prop himself up by plunging his longsword into the ground at the last moment, he was swept away by an irresistible death in the next instant.

However, if this is truly death...

His thoughts grew increasingly muddled, yet his sharp, sword-like will kept him barely conscious. Yune, his mind racing against the alluring drowsiness, struggled to lift his head and look at the figure before him—a figure that had been a blurry shadow moments before, but was now becoming increasingly clear. He took a deep breath—

"Old man."

Yune narrowed his eyes, frowned at the elderly man who was about two meters away from him, whose figure was somewhat hunched but who looked quite energetic, and asked indifferently, "Is it you?"

The old man rolled his eyes and said with a forced smile, "Are you out of your mind? Kid, how could it be me?"

"I feel so too."

Yune nodded, then asked, "So what are you?"

"I am your grandfather."

"Really?"

"Bullshit! I'm insulting you!"

"Hmm, so why don't you lie to me?"

"Because normal people would desperately try to hypnotize themselves into believing that everything is real when they miss the other person too much, but you clearly believe that I am completely dead."

"Yes, definitely, completely dead."

"You heartless bastard," the old man chuckled and cursed, then raised an eyebrow and said, "Tell me, isn't the real me reunited with my wife by now?"

"do not know."

Yune shook his head and said indifferently, "Not interested."

"You heartless bastard!"

The old man slapped his thigh, his beard bristling and eyes wide, and demanded, "Then what are you interested in?"

"I am clear."

Yune casually waved his hand, gripped the longsword he remembered tightly again, and said calmly, "So you know."

"So you want to become a Sword Saint?"

The old man snorted, then casually waved his hand, and a very stylish, perfectly formed stick appeared in his palm: "That's a bit too boastful."

"Ah."

Yune nodded, then rushed towards the old man and slashed down with his sword: "I know."

Bah! !

With a muffled thud, the sword in Yune's hand spun into the sky, while the old man calmly weighed the wooden stick in his hand and said indifferently, "I'm not that strong."

"I know."

Yune silently picked up his longsword and said calmly, "But in my memory, you have always been so strong, and the gap between us has always been so great."

"Hahahaha, you're pretty clueless."

The old man let out a hearty laugh and grinned, "What can I do then? I won't hold back. If all else fails, you can just stand here and let me kill you. Anyway, this is Tianzhu Mountain, so you probably won't really die."

"No."

Yune shook his head, raised his longsword again, and said solemnly, "I want to become a Sword Saint."

"But I'm not even an epic."

The old man shrugged and continued to weigh the very cool, very cool, very cool stick in his hand, which looked like a long sword: "But hitting you is like hitting a mudskipper on the roadside."

Yune remained silent for a few seconds before looking up at the old man again and saying solemnly, "I am very strong."

"Do not."

The old man chuckled and said with a smile, "You're very weak."

"I used to be very weak."

Yune looked down at the longsword he held in his hand and said in a deep voice, "But I am very strong now."

"Really? Weaker than an old codger like me?"

The old man raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "Prove it to me."

"...You are not weak."

Yune took a small step forward, gently lifting the tip of his longsword with his left hand. He stared solemnly at the old man before him, a figure who existed only in his memories, and a rare, faint smile appeared on his face: "But I am stronger."

The old man chuckled, then struck the exact same pose, gripping the handle of the staff with his right hand and supporting the top with his left, raising an eyebrow and saying, "You just realized that?"

"Maybe they just don't want to admit it."

"Oh? So why are you willing to admit it now?"

"Because I just realized that I really don't need to give you face anymore."

"why?"

"Because you are already completely dead."

"idiot."

"How to say?"

"You know perfectly well that the stronger you are, the happier I am."

"……Feel sorry."

"Apologize for what?"

"If I hadn't given you any face earlier, you would have died a few years sooner."

"Promise me, kid, don't apologize to anyone before you become a sword saint, or you'll get beaten to death."

"These are the words you are capable of saying."

"Haha."

"I'm sorry for delaying your reunion with your master's wife for so many years."

"Don't talk about yourself like you're some kind of genius, it's disgusting."

"I never said that."

"Also, don't just talk to yourself here. Next time you go back to sweep the tombs, call out a few times to your mentor and his wife for us to hear."

"Do not."

"why?"

"Because you are already dead."

"A little ritual would be nice, it would make me happy."

"I'm very busy, I don't have that much time."

"What are you busy with?"

"Busy becoming a sword saint."

"Tsk tsk, they don't even have an epic rank yet, and they dare to boast that they're busy becoming a sword saint?"

"Now there is."

"Then prove it to me."

"it is good."

So, Yone Yi gripped the longsword that seemed to extend from himself, slowly walked towards the old man, and swung it down.

The old man raised his impressive stick and delivered a strike just as sharp as the one he had used to knock away the opponent's weapon earlier.

-

There was no sound of fighting. It was as if, after a moment of confusion, the great swordsman who had easily defeated his master regained consciousness, 'returned' from that direction, and gave a slight nod to the girl standing not far from him.

"Awaited."

"It's not bad."

"My next sword strike will be very powerful."

"That's the best."

Chapter 2718: The End

(End of this chapter)