Chapter 25: Stand-in Part 8

Great Liao revered the wolf as their ancestral deity. “Khitan” meant “iron forged like steel.” Yelu Abaoji had forged the Charging Wolf Sword, defeated the Xianbei and Rouran, and founded Great Liao. The sword was then enshrined in the ancestral temple. Though an ordinary blade, it symbolized Great Liao’s heritage. After the Jin Kingdom destroyed Liao and breached Shangjing, the sword had gone missing.

“Who are you?” Xiao Kun said gravely. “Why do you hold my Great Liao’s heirloom sword?”

“You may call me ‘Yan Yan,’” the woman said. “How come it’s just you? Where is your companion?”

Xiao Kun slowly drew Senluo and Wanxiang, held the Tang Dao reversed, aligned the hilts together. A flash of light passed, and the dual knives transformed into twin blades. He crossed the blades in his right hand, flourished a graceful arc of blade flowers, held them behind his back, extended his left hand forward in a starting stance, and locked onto the female assassin’s entire body.

Yan Yan eyed Xiao Kun coldly.

“Your companion must have gone to guard Mr. Qin,” Yan Yan said. “Very well, let this palace see just how capable you are.”

“Mr. Qin?” Xiao Kun had many questions, but without answers, he realized this was their ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain—to separate them so their demonic allies could execute the plan.

He could not help but ask, “Where is the Heavenly Demon Palace? Where have you taken Sa Luan!”

“Great Liao has fallen, and Yelu Yari now has a new identity,” Yan Yan said gravely. “No empire lasts for eternity. Make your move. If you can defeat me, all your doubts will be resolved.”

Xiao Kun’s pupils contracted sharply. Yan Yan turned into a black shadow and lunged at him. The Charging Wolf Sword unsheathed, its blade light like countless thunderbolts, blooming with purple Thunder Lightning amid the black qi.

Xiao Kun fiercely guarded. Senluo Wanxiang clashed with the Charging Wolf Sword. The twin blades nearly flew from his grasp amid a massive clang. A tremendous force slammed into his chest, breaking ribs. He nearly spat blood as he flew backward, skidding on landing. Yan Yan attacked again, slashing diagonally with the Charging Wolf Sword.

Xiao Kun leaned back sharply, spun the twin blades. The Charging Wolf Sword thrust straight for his throat, grazing his neck and severing strands of hair. Yan Yan’s movements were indescribably fast—true to her name, like a swallow wheeling back. Her first strike unfinished, dozens of thunderous sword moves followed in a seamless storm, assaulting him like a gale.

High on the Fengshan Terrace, thunderclouds gathered. A bolt of clear-sky lightning exploded, forcing them apart.

Xiao Kun was injured in multiple places, blood bursting forth. He hunched over, gasping. Yan Yan held the Charging Wolf Sword horizontally, watching him coldly.

“What a pity,” Yan Yan said. “If your companion came today, two against one might have given you a fighting chance.”

Xiao Kun looked up, a wicked smile curling his lips. He held the Dragon Soaring Jade. An imperceptible red thread connected his left hand to the Charging Wolf Sword in Yan Yan’s right.

Yan Yan: “…”

Xiao Kun yanked back fiercely. Infused with magical power, the red rope on the jade pendant erupted in golden light. The Heavenly Gold Silk woven in by Xiang Xian activated, dragging Yan Yan involuntarily toward him.

The Heavenly Gold Silk was refined from a treasure called the Thousand Mechanism Chain. Legend held that in ancient times, Zhuangzi used it to bind the Great Peng Bird atop Chilechuan’s peak. Discovered by an exorcist during the Jin Dynasty, it passed down through generations, unbreakable by any weapon. Xiang Xian had woven it into the cord of Xiao Kun’s Dragon Soaring Jade. While blocking Yan Yan, Xiao Kun had endured injury to wrap it several times around the Charging Wolf Sword.

Now, with one pull, Yan Yan gripped the Charging Wolf tightly but was dragged into the air. Xiao Kun dodged agilely, seized the initiative, and whipped the Heavenly Gold Silk red rope in a fierce circle at the Fengshan Terrace’s center—like a meteor hammer—sending her crashing toward Shaoshi Mountain’s peak. A massive boom echoed as boulders collapsed. Yan Yan was forced to release it. Xiao Kun pulled back, and the Charging Wolf Sword flew from the rubble into his hand.

“The sword of the nation is mine now.” Xiao Kun’s wounds had fully healed. Charging Wolf Sword in left, twin blades in right.

Demonic Qi emanated from where Yan Yan was buried, reconverging into her form.

Yan Yan snorted coldly, formed hand seals with both palms, said nothing more, and shot toward Xiao Kun!

Xiao Kun shook the Charging Wolf Sword, sheathed it, sidestepped, pressed his hand to the blade—blood sacrifice!

Yan Yan halted abruptly in midair. Xiao Kun paused with a playful smile.

“Bone Phosphorus Light,” Yan Yan murmured. “To achieve such prowess with a mere Half-Demon Body! Impressive.”

“Still want to fight?” Xiao Kun gathered power and said gravely. “What is your master plotting? Can’t they come out for an honorable battle?”

“You’ve already met,” Yan Yan sneered mockingly. “More than once. No matter your choices or struggles, the Heavenly Sovereign will unravel them all. Abandon your obsession, Xiao Kun.”

With those words, Yan Yan dissolved into black mist, blending with the mountain wind. But Xiao Kun had no intention of letting her go—this was the moment he waited for. Blood sacrifice—strike!

In the instant space tore open, a massive black tree appeared. The tree erupted with a shockwave, blasting Xiao Kun off the Fengshan Terrace. His eyes widened. Nether Eyes blazed with light. As he focused on the cleaved spot, a strange thought flashed in his mind.

I’ve seen it!

I saw this black tree in my dream!

Xiao Kun plummeted like a severed kite from Shaoshi Mountain’s cliff.

In midair, he activated the Dragon Soaring Jade, spurred the dragon to flight, and circled the Fengshan Terrace. No traces remained of the prior events—only a corner of the terrace lay in collapsed rubble.

He rode the Golden Dragon, turned, and sped back toward Kaifeng City.