A streak of light, like a bolt of silk, unfurled in the air. In an instant, countless cold gleams erupted from it, converging into the one and only longsword between Heaven and Earth.

A murderous Gang Qi surged like a tidal wave, unleashing a boundless killing intent. As the longsword swung, a magnificent pressure blotted out the sky and crashed down upon Takeda Masao, instantly sealing off all his escape routes.

Under the blade's piercing might, Takeda Masao was like a small boat tossed in a storm. In a crazed frenzy, he once again unleashed his Reversal Blade Dance Thirty-Six Slashes and bellowed furiously.

"Chen Zheng, don't you get arrogant! You think you can defeat me? In your next life!"

His saber technique shone like a rainbow. Takeda Masao, refusing to accept defeat, deployed his ultimate skill to confront Chen Zheng's Sword Intent head-on. However, his Reversal Blade Dance once again crumbled under Chen Zheng's ferocious assault.

Takeda Masao roared, continuously executing his ultimate techniques, but each one was invariably crushed by the Sword Intent. He was utterly unable to resist.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! I... how could he..."

Panic finally flooded Takeda Masao's eyes. He couldn't believe he was actually losing to Chen Zheng. His opponent was so young! Although he refused to admit it, he knew deep down that from the very beginning, he hadn't been able to withstand a single one of Chen Zheng's moves.

At this moment, Chen Zheng's assault did not let up. The longsword, condensed from his Gang Qi and Sword Qi, shone brilliantly under the sun as a dense killing intent materialized around it once more. A beam of sword light descended like a falling meteor, carrying a tyrannical, world-destroying pressure. With unstoppable momentum, it streaked through the air and shot toward Takeda Masao.

This strike was even more chilling than Chen Zheng's first, and its speed was indescribable. Takeda Masao had no time to react before the sword pierced straight through his body.

His body was sent flying backward, hurtling off the arena and into the Black Dragon Society's dojo below. He crashed into the crowd of kneeling martial artists, carving a path more than ten meters long and knocking over countless people before he was finally pinned firmly to the ground.

Everyone was aghast. No one saw it coming, nor did they imagine Takeda Masao would be defeated so quickly and so completely. He looked to be beyond saving.

Chen Zheng still stood tall upon the arena, looking down with disdain and merciless contempt upon Takeda Masao, who lay pinned in the square.

"That's it? You're done so soon? I thought you could last a little longer. Truly disappointing."

Hearing this, the crowd was once again dumbfounded and utterly at a loss. The Da Shang martial artists who had been knocked aside by Takeda Masao's fall were especially panicked.

"KEKEKE—"

Suddenly, Takeda Masao, who had seemed dead just a moment ago, let out a bizarre cackle.

"After all these years... to think someone could actually make me feel pain. How nostalgic! But if you think you've defeated me with just that, Chen Zheng, you're far too naive! I have to admit, you're the strongest young person I've ever met. It's a pity you chose the wrong opponent!"

Takeda Masao's body slowly began to rise. As he moved, a nearly tangible energy rapidly circulated around him. The longsword embedded in his chest shattered into fragments under its force. Upon seeing this, Chen Zheng's expression changed instantly. It wasn't because Takeda Masao's recovery surprised him, but because he sensed a familiar aura emanating from the man.

Under this new aura, Takeda Masao's dying body was flooded with vitality, and his wounds miraculously began to heal. As he rose to his feet, the aura he emitted soared to a peak, then broke through to an even higher pinnacle.

In mere moments, Takeda Masao stood straight. His pupils had turned a solid blood-red, and a crimson aura enveloped him. This tangible, blood-red aura pulsed outward in all directions. The bewildered Da Shang martial artists collapsed weakly to the ground, their gazes fixed on Takeda Masao as if they were witnessing a divine being. The might he now radiated was easily more than double what it was before; the oppressive presence he gave off was something no normal human could possess.

"KEKEKE—" Takeda Masao sneered, his head tilted back. "Chen Zheng, I never thought you'd force me to use my trump card. You really, truly deserve to die!"

Chen Zheng stared coldly at the still-escalating crimson aura surrounding Takeda Masao. A realization dawned on him. "Malevolent Aura!"

He had determined that the aura Takeda Masao just unleashed was essentially the same as the Malevolent Aura within his aunt's body. The only difference was that the one Takeda Masao had stimulated was fundamentally different in nature from his aunt's. Chen Zheng knew that after specific processing, Malevolent Aura could qualitatively enhance a Martial Artist's cultivation realm. He just hadn't anticipated that the results of using it would be so ferocious and terrifying. More than that, he'd never expected Takeda Masao to be the first person he would see wielding it.

"So, the Malevolent Aura in my aunt's body is related to you," Chen Zheng stated. The more critical the situation, the calmer he became.

"HAHAHA—" Takeda Masao laughed wildly as he leaped toward Chen Zheng. "Want to know? Go ask the King of Hell!"

At that very moment, Takeda Masao's aura was still climbing, yet Chen Zheng remained as cool and stern as ever on the stage.

"Courting death. Takeda Masao, you simply don't understand. You've just thrown away your last chance to live."

A light flashed in Chen Zheng's eyes as another longsword appeared in his hand. He swept the blade in an arc before him, and it suddenly burst with a dazzling light, followed by an eerie hum. The winds surged across the sky. A beam of sword light shot forth from the arena like a falling meteor, carrying a resplendent pressure as it descended from above and slashed down upon Takeda Masao.

With just that one strike, the crimson aura around Takeda Masao instantly collapsed. The rampant Sword Qi brutally slammed Takeda Masao, whose power had still been rising, back to the ground, pinning him once again. This time, no matter how he tried to stimulate the Malevolent Aura within his body, he couldn't move an inch.

"Damn it! Ah... Someone! Noda Takeshi, Mukai Toshiaki, quick, get the—"

However, before Takeda Masao could finish, Chen Zheng's follow-up Sword Intent crashed down, silencing him forever.

Noda Takeshi and Mukai Toshiaki had heard Takeda Masao's words and knew what he was referring to.

Before they came to Da Shang, the high priest of the Asura Eight Divisions Shrine had bestowed a divine talisman upon Takeda Masao. It contained a Saber Intent infused with the lifelong cultivation of the shrine's former high priest. It was a trump card meant for emergencies, a final killing move. The problem was, Noda Takeshi and Mukai Toshiaki were completely stunned by the scene before them. A being as formidable as Takeda Masao couldn't withstand a single strike from Chen Zheng. Even after fully activating the Malevolent Aura, he was still useless. What good would the high priest's divine talisman be now?

As Takeda Masao's last breath slipped away, he saw Noda Takeshi and Mukai Toshiaki staring at him, frozen and indifferent.

He knew his subordinates were psychologically scarred by fear. Even if they brought out the talisman now, it would be futile. With that thought, he gave up completely.

Takeda Masao could never have imagined that after ten years of honing his skills, he would come to Da Shang, brimming with confidence, only to meet such an end.

With blood spraying from his seven orifices, Takeda Masao died violently on the spot. Thus, the terrifying existence that had cast a decade-long shadow over the hearts of the Da Shang martial arts world ended his wicked life.

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