Chapter 27: With Sword in Hand, I Laugh at the Heavens—My Courage Stands Tall as the Twin Peaks!
Confucius said: “Jade, if not carved, cannot become a vessel. Man, if not taught, cannot know the way!”
Under the astonished gaze of Lin Silent, Xu Ye once more shouted loudly, then unleashed a concise and ruthless fist technique she had never seen before, striking the fierce ghost in the abdomen and sending it flying backward.
Crack!
Before the ghost could get up, Xu Ye rushed forward and, using joint manipulation, twisted and broke one of its arms.
“Learning, if not pursued, risks loss.”
He continued reciting. Borrowing the surge of righteous energy around him, Xu Ye stomped and shattered one of the ghost’s joints.
“How interesting—righteous energy infuses me, and my reflexes, stamina, and mental strength are all multiplied. Movements that used to be difficult are now effortless.”
“Lie down for me!”
Overjoyed, Xu Ye suddenly grabbed the vengeful ghost’s right leg, lifting it forcefully and causing it to lose balance and fall backward.
Crack!
As soon as the ghost’s body hit the ground, Xu Ye mercilessly twisted its calf, breaking it entirely, and then smashed its other knee with his fist.
“Ah!...”
The ghost screamed again.
Yet Xu Ye did not stop. As the ghost struggled to rise, he swiftly circled behind it, broke and crushed the joints of its other arm, then locked its neck, and with all the righteous energy bolstering his strength, twisted and broke its neck with a sharp snap.
Crack, crack, crack...
But just as Xu Ye thought the creature could no longer rise, a series of crackling, grinding sounds echoed from its body. In the blink of an eye, the ghost’s nearly disassembled form suddenly restored itself!
“Damn, is this endless?”
Xu Ye grumbled, stepping forward to kick the fierce ghost down again.
“Xu Ye, use the Demon-Slaying Blade to decapitate it! Ghosts are not like humans; their ghostly energy constantly restores their bodies. They are immortal!”
Lin Silent’s voice suddenly rang out, clearly seeing Xu Ye’s predicament.
“Understood!”
With her reminder, Xu Ye quickly reacted, imitating the Iron Mask’s manner, and recited loudly: “The human heart is perilous, the heart of the Way is subtle. Only with precision and unity can one rightly hold the center!”
Boom...
Just as Xu Ye had suspected, after reciting the sixteen-character mantra, he felt a warm current enter his body, flowing into his martial courage.
“Wait, why can’t I draw it?!”
But as he mimicked Iron Mask’s action and tried to draw the blade, his Demon-Slaying Knife seemed fused with its sheath, no matter how hard he tried.
“Xu Ye, what are you doing? Draw your blade!”
Lin Silent, who had just praised Xu Ye, now saw that he had rushed before the vengeful ghost without drawing his blade, and was suddenly startled and anxious.
“I can’t draw it!”
Xu Ye turned to Lin Silent helplessly.
“Can’t draw it?”
Lin Silent looked utterly confused.
Boom!
At that moment, the vengeful ghost lying on the ground suddenly flipped over and lunged at Xu Ye with its scissors.
“Miss Silent, is there a trick to drawing the Demon-Slaying Blade?”
Xu Ye asked quickly as he rolled aside to dodge the ghost’s attack, loudly reciting the sixteen-character mantra to replenish his righteous energy.
Unless faced with critical danger, he would only use the mantras of this world, never his own.
“This...”
Lin Silent had no idea. Just then, Iron Mask, who had been unconscious, finally managed to speak.
“Little... Little Ye, the Demon-Slaying Blade... To draw it for the first time, the edge must be opened with martial courage.”
He struggled to call out.
Crack!
Xu Ye had just dodged the ghost’s attack, twisted its arm with a counter-joint technique, then quickly turned to ask Iron Mask:
“What does it mean to open the edge with martial courage?”
“When you face life and death without fear, the Demon-Slaying Blade will sense your martial courage.”
Iron Mask suppressed his unruly energy and responded loudly. Lin Silent, beside him, was doing her best to contain the ghostly energy invading his chest.
“Isn’t that just like how one opens martial courage?”
Xu Ye frowned.
“Little Ye... If you can’t draw it... Hold it off for now, wait until I recover a bit... I’ll help you!”
Iron Mask reminded Xu Ye again.
Normally, opening the edge of the Demon-Slaying Blade, like awakening martial courage, would be done in the Bureau of Ghost Suppression, otherwise it would be too dangerous.
Smack!
As he spoke, Xu Ye, who was trying to restrain the vengeful ghost’s leg, had his arm shaken off and took a hard kick to the stomach.
Had it not been for his uniform absorbing much of the force, Xu Ye might have been knocked flat.
“In this situation, it’s unlikely I can hold out much longer.”
Xu Ye bit his lip.
He could sense that the vengeful ghost not only restored its body, but could also learn its opponent’s fighting techniques. When using similar moves, it was already able to counter them.
At the same time, Xu Ye felt he was reaching the ceiling of his own strength.
He realized that even with abundant righteous energy, his martial courage would absorb no more; his strength would not grow, and he could only watch as the righteous energy dissipated from his body.
“This must be what Iron Mask meant—the physical limit for martial cultivators at the Warrior stage.”
He speculated inwardly.
Bang!
Seizing the opportunity, Xu Ye again grabbed the fierce ghost’s leg, loudly reciting the sixteen-character mantra as he slammed the vengeful ghost to the ground and twisted its leg with a snap.
Roar!...
But this time, as Xu Ye stood up, the vengeful ghost, propping itself up on one leg, twisted its body and rose, wielding scissors and a cleaver as it lunged at Xu Ye.
But this time, Xu Ye did not dodge. He stood his ground, drew into a blade-drawing stance, and recited loudly: “Seeking shelter at the gate, I long for Zhang Jian; enduring death for a moment, I await Du Gen.”
The situation was dire; having tried every possible method, he could only use poetry to slay the ghost.
As he recited, majestic righteous energy surged from him like a tide.
He had already verified that classic poems could increase righteous energy, as proven with his family’s ancestral ruler, so he hoped this poem’s surge of energy would forcibly open the edge of the Demon-Slaying Blade.
“Even if I still can’t draw the blade, this righteous energy should help me hold out a bit longer.”
As Xu Ye thought this, his arm suddenly tensed. The heat from his liver and gallbladder flowed to his palm. His fingers gripped the hilt, and he drew the blade while reciting the poem’s final lines:
“I brandish my blade and laugh toward the heavens, my courage steadfast as the twin peaks of Kunlun!”